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authorRoger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org>2025-10-14 20:09:11 -0700
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Natural History in Anecdote, by Various
+
+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
+
+
+Title: Natural History in Anecdote
+ Illustrating the nature, habits, manners and customs of
+ animals, birds, fishes, reptiles, etc., etc., etc.
+
+Author: Various
+
+Editor: Alfred Henry Miles
+
+Release Date: November 10, 2011 [EBook #37959]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NATURAL HISTORY IN ANECDOTE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Malcolm Farmer, LN Yaddanapudi and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ NATURAL HISTORY
+ IN
+ ANECDOTE
+
+ _ILLUSTRATING THE NATURE,
+ HABITS, MANNERS AND CUSTOMS,
+ OF ANIMALS, BIRDS, FISHES,
+ REPTILES, ETC., ETC., ETC._
+
+ ARRANGED AND EDITED BY
+ ALFRED H. MILES
+
+ EDITOR OF
+
+ "_1001 Anecdotes_", "_The New Standard Elocutionist_", "_The Poets
+ and the Poetry of the Century_", "_The A1 Reciters_",
+ "_The Aldine Reciters_", _etc., etc._
+
+ London
+ HUTCHINSON & CO.
+ 34 PATERNOSTER ROW
+
+
+
+
+ A. C. FOWLER,
+ PRINTER,
+ MOORFIELDS, LONDON.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Tiger Hunting]
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+Illustrations are like windows to the house of knowledge. They let light
+in upon the understanding, and they facilitate the outlook upon truth
+and beauty. To illustrate is to help one sense by the use of another, to
+reason by analogy, and to teach the unknown by the known. When
+definition fails, illustration often carries conviction, and the most
+successful teachers are those who make the best use of sound and telling
+illustrations. How many lessons would have been wholly forgotten by us,
+but for the illustrations which made their meanings clear, and left
+their truths for ever in our minds?
+
+The book of nature is full of illustrations which help the understanding
+of the book of life, and no illustrations are more valuable and
+fascinating, whether as revelations of the order and habits of Nature
+herself, or as parallels and parables, full of suggestive application to
+the social and moral life of humanity, than those afforded by the study
+of Natural History.
+
+To gather into a convenient volume Illustrative Anecdotes of Natural
+History, which shall throw light upon the study of Animal Life, for
+those pursuing it for its own sake, and help to the understanding of
+Nature herself is the primary object of this work, while it is hoped
+that it may serve a secondary purpose of no small utility, in
+suggesting social and moral parallels.
+
+With a view to its first purpose the illustrations are classified in
+order as those of Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, Fishes, etc., etc., and as
+much knowledge of Natural History as can be conveyed in anecdote form
+has been attempted. The book will thus, it is hoped, be a valuable aid
+to the teacher of Natural History, as a manual of illustrations for his
+lessons, as well as full of interest to the general reader, who may not
+wish to devote the time necessary to more exhaustive scientific study.
+
+A. H. M.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+ =INTRODUCTION=
+
+ Science, 1
+ The Kingdoms of Nature, 1
+ Zoology, 2
+ Classification, 2
+
+
+ =THE ANIMAL KINGDOM=
+
+ =Sub-Kingdom Vertebrata=
+
+ =Class I.--Mammalia=
+
+
+ ORDER I
+ PRIMATES
+
+
+ SUB-ORDER I.--MAN-SHAPED ANIMALS
+
+ The Ape Family, 3
+ The Gorilla, 4
+ The Ancestors of the Gorilla, 4
+ A Gorilla Hunt, 5
+ Du Chaillu's First Gorilla, 7
+ A Young Gorilla, 9
+ Gorilla Superstitions, 10
+ The Chimpanzee, 11
+ The Docility of the Chimpanzee, 11
+ The Orang-Utan, 12
+ The Habits of the Orang-Utan, 12
+ The Walk of the Orang-Utan, 13
+ The Strength of the Orang-Utan, 14
+ The Docility of the Orang-Utan, 14
+ The Orang-Utan's Intelligence, 15
+ The Orang-Utan's Affection, 15
+ The Maternal Instinct, 16
+ Gibbons, or Long-Armed Apes, 17
+ Monkeys, 18
+ The Sacred Monkeys, 18
+ The Long-nosed Monkey, 19
+ Cheek-pouched Monkeys, 19
+ The Baboon, 19
+ The Arabian Baboon, 20
+ The Baboon's Imitative Faculty, 20
+ The Chackma Baboon, 21
+ The Baboon's Utility, 21
+ The Tame Baboon, 22
+ The Baboon's Cunning, 22
+ The Baboon's Loyalty, 24
+ The Baboon's Intelligence, 24
+ The Bonnet Monkey, 25
+ Indian Monkeys, 25
+ The Monkey Outdone, 27
+ The Monkey Aroused, 29
+ The Monkey's Affection, 30
+ American Monkeys, 30
+ The Capuchin Monkey, 30
+ The Spider Monkeys, 30
+ The Howling Monkeys, 31
+ The Bearded Saki, 31
+ The Douroucouli, 32
+ The Marmosets, 32
+
+
+ SUB-ORDER II.--THE LEMURS
+
+ The Lemurs, 32
+
+ The Tarsier, 33
+
+ The Aye-Aye, 33
+
+
+ ORDER II
+ WING-HANDED ANIMALS
+
+ Bats, 35
+ The Common English Bat, 36
+ The Vampire Bat, 36
+ A Traveller's Experience, 37
+ Megaderma Lyra, 38
+
+
+ ORDER III
+ INSECT-EATING ANIMALS
+
+ The Hedgehog, 39
+ The Mole, 40
+ An Enterprising Mole, 41
+ The Use of the Mole, 41
+ The Shrew, 42
+
+
+ ORDER IV
+ FLESH-EATING ANIMALS
+
+
+ SUB-ORDER I.--THE FISSIPEDIA
+
+ The Fissipedia, 43
+ Animals of the Cat Kind, 43
+ The Lion, 44
+ The Lion's Character, 44
+ Attitude towards Man, 45
+ The Better Part of Valour, 46
+ The Lion's Strength, 47
+ The Lion's Affection, 48
+ The Lion's Docility, 48
+ The Story of Androcles, 49
+ A Lion Hunt, 50
+ A Thrilling Experience, 52
+ Attacked by a Lion, 53
+ A Night Surprise, 55
+ A Lion Outwitted, 56
+ Old Instincts and New Opportunities, 56
+ The Tiger, 57
+ The Tiger's Ravages, 58
+ An Intrepid Hunter, 60
+ The Leopard, 61
+ The Leopard's Tenacity of Life, 61
+ Hunters Hunted, 63
+ The Jaguar, 64
+ The Jaguar's Strength, 65
+ A Night of Horror, 65
+ The Puma, 67
+ The Puma's Ferocity, 67
+ Animals and Men, 68
+ The Ocelot, 69
+ The Clouded Tiger, 70
+ The Serval, 70
+ The Common Wild Cat, 70
+ The Domestic Cat, 71
+ Cat Superstitions, 71
+ The Cat as a Hunter, 72
+ The Cat and Her Young, 72
+ The Cat as a Foster Mother, 73
+ The Cat as a Traveller, 74
+ The Cat as a Sportsman, 75
+ The Cat's Intelligence, 75
+ The Lynx, 76
+ The Chetah as Huntsman, 78
+ The Civits, 79
+ The Ichneumon, 79
+ Dormant Instinct, 80
+ The Aard Wolf, 80
+ The HyA|na, 80
+ The Striped HyA|na, 82
+ Spotted HyA|na, 82
+ A Narrow Escape, 83
+ Animals of the Dog Kind, 84
+ The Wolf, 84
+ The Fox, 85
+ The Jackal, 86
+ The Wolf's Mode of Attack, 86
+ The Wolf's Cunning, 87
+ The Wolf's Cowardice, 88
+ Hunted by Wolves, 88
+ A Terrible Alternative, 89
+ A Marvellous Escape, 89
+ Tame Wolves, 90
+ The Cunning of the Fox, 90
+ The Fox as a Hunter, 91
+ A Fox Hunt, 92
+ The Arctic Fox, 93
+ Wild Dogs, 93
+ The Dog, 94
+ The Dog's Understanding, 95
+ The Dog's Sense of Locality, 97
+ Dog Friendships and Enmities, 99
+ The Dog Language, 100
+ The Dog's Intelligence, 101
+ Dogs' Mistakes, 104
+ Eskimo Dogs, 104
+ A Hard Lot, 106
+ The Newfoundland Dog, 107
+ The Newfoundland's Generosity, 108
+ The Newfoundland's Perception of Danger, 109
+ The Newfoundland's Sense of Right, 111
+ The Newfoundland's Fidelity, 112
+ The Newfoundland under Training, 112
+ The Sheep Dog, 114
+ The Sheep Dog's Sagacity, 115
+ The Sheep Dog's Fidelity, 117
+ The St. Bernard, 119
+ The St. Bernard at Work, 121
+ The Greyhound, 122
+ The Greyhound's Affection, 123
+ The Lurcher, 124
+ The Bloodhound, 125
+ The Scent of the Bloodhound, 126
+ The Stag Hound, 127
+ A Stag Hunt, 127
+ The Fox Hound, 128
+ The Fox Hound's Tenacity, 128
+ The Harrier, 129
+ The Beagle, 129
+ The Dalmatian Dog, 130
+ The Turnspit, 130
+ The Turnspit's Sagacity, 130
+ The Pointer, 130
+ The Pointer's Intelligence, 131
+ The Setter, 132
+ Pointers and Setters, 132
+ The Sagacity of the Setter, 133
+ The Spaniel, 134
+ The Sagacity of the Water Spaniel, 135
+ The Terrier, 136
+ The Mastiff, 136
+ The Fidelity of the Mastiff, 136
+ The Intelligence of the Mastiff, 137
+ The Mastiff as a Protector, 137
+ The Bull Dog, 138
+ The Poodle, 139
+ The Shoe-black's Poodle, 139
+ Weasels, Otters, and Badgers, 140
+ The Polecat, 140
+ The Weasel, 140
+ The Weasel and the Kite, 141
+ The Common Otter, 141
+ The Badger, 142
+ The Ratel and the Skunk, 143
+ The Skunk, 144
+ The Raccoon and the Coati, 145
+ The Bear, 145
+ The Polar Bear, 146
+ The Black Bear, 147
+ The Docility of the Bear, 148
+ The Grizzly Bear, 149
+ The Brown Bear, 151
+ The Malayan Bear, 151
+
+
+ SUB-ORDER II.--THE PINNIPEDIA
+
+ Sea Lions, 152
+ Sea Bears, 153
+ The Walrus, 154
+ The Common Seal, 155
+ The Seal's Docility, 156
+
+
+ ORDER V
+ WHALES AND DOLPHINS
+
+ The Right Whale, 158
+ The Sperm Whale, 159
+ The Dolphin, 159
+ The White Whale, 160
+ The Narwhal, 160
+ The Porpoise, 161
+ The Grampus, 161
+
+
+ ORDER VI
+ MANATIDA†
+
+ The Sea Cow, 162
+
+
+ ORDER VII
+ HOOFED ANIMALS
+
+ The Horse, 162
+ The Arabian Horse, 163
+ The Horse's Affection, 165
+ The Domestic Horse, 166
+ The Structure of a Horse, 167
+ The Horse's Speed, 169
+ The Horse's Endurance, 170
+ The Horse's Memory, 171
+ The Force of Habit, 172
+ The Intelligence of the Horse, 174
+ Horse-Play, 176
+ Horses and Dogs, 177
+ The Ass, 178
+ The Sagacity of the Ass, 180
+ The Instinct of the Ass, 181
+ The Trained Ass, 182
+ The Mule and the Hinny, 183
+ The Zebra, 183
+ The Tapir, 183
+ The Rhinoceros, 184
+ Rhinoceros Hunting, 186
+ The Tame Rhinoceros, 187
+ The Hippopotamus, 188
+ The Haunt of the Hippopotami, 189
+ The Pig Family, 190
+ The Boar, 190
+ The Common Hog, 191
+ The Babiroussa, 192
+ The Peccary, 192
+ The Camel and the Dromedary, 192
+ The Strength of the Camel, 193
+ The Camel and his Master, 194
+ Camel Riding, 195
+ A Camel's Revenge, 195
+ The Terrors of the Desert, 196
+ The Llama, 198
+ The Deer, 198
+ The Red Deer, 199
+ A Stag Hunt, 200
+ The Tame Stag, 201
+ The Reindeer, 201
+ The Moose or Elk, 204
+ The Fallow Deer and the Roebuck, 204
+ The Giraffe, 205
+ The History of the Giraffe, 205
+ Hollow-Horned Ruminants, 206
+ The Bull, the Bison, and the Buffalo, 207
+ The Bull, The Ox, The Cow, 207
+ The Bull, 208
+ The Brahmin Bull, 209
+ The Ox, 209
+ The Cow, 210
+ The Pride of a Cow, 210
+ The Bison, 211
+ Hunting the Bison, 212
+ The Buffalo, 213
+ Hunting the Indian Buffalo, 213
+ The Cape Buffalo, 214
+ Hunting the Cape Buffalo, 215
+ The Zebu, 216
+ The Yak, 216
+ The Antelope, 216
+ The Gazelle, 217
+ The Sheep and the Goat, 217
+ The Intelligence of the Sheep, 218
+ Animals and Music, 218
+
+
+ ORDER VIII
+ THE ELEPHANT
+
+ The Elephant, 219
+ The Wild Elephant, 220
+ Elephant Herds, 221
+ Elephant Friendships, 223
+ The Sagacity of the Elephant, 224
+ A Centenarian Elephant, 224
+ An Elephant Nurse, 225
+ The Intelligence of the Elephant, 225
+
+
+ ORDER IX
+ HYRAX
+
+ The Conies, 226
+
+
+ ORDER X
+ THE RODENTS
+
+ Animals that Gnaw, 226
+ Rats and Mice, 227
+ The Rat Family, 227
+ The Hamster, 228
+ Swarms of Rats, 228
+ Invaded by Rats, 229
+ Migrations of Rats, 230
+ The Intelligence of Rats, 231
+ Saved by a Rat, 231
+ The Mouse, 232
+ The Harvest Mouse, 233
+ The Field Mouse, 233
+ The Dormouse, 233
+ The Jerboa, 234
+ The Beaver, 234
+ The European Beaver, 234
+ The American Beaver, 235
+ The Squirrel, 237
+ The Squirrel at Home, 238
+ Tame Squirrels, 239
+ The Marmot, the Bobak, the Prairie Dog, 240
+ The Chinchilla, 240
+ The Porcupine, 240
+ The Guinea-Pig, 241
+ Hares and Rabbits, 241
+ The Common Hare, 241
+ The Intelligence of the Hare, 242
+ A Hunted Hare, 243
+ Tame Hares, 244
+ The Common Rabbit, 245
+
+
+ ORDER XI
+ TOOTHLESS ANIMALS
+
+ The Sloth, 245
+ The Pangolin, 246
+ The Armadillo, 246
+ The Cape Ant-Bear, 246
+ The Ant-Eater, 247
+
+
+ ORDER XII
+ POUCHED ANIMALS
+
+ The Opossum, 247
+ The Kangaroo, 247
+ Kangaroo Hunting, 248
+
+
+ ORDER XIII
+ MONOTREMATA
+
+ The Duck-billed Platypus, 249
+ The Australian Hedgehog, 249
+
+
+ =Class II.--Aves=
+
+ Classification, 250
+
+
+ ORDER I
+
+ Perching Birds, 250
+ The Thrushes, 251
+ The Common Thrush, 251
+ The Missel Thrush, 252
+ The Blackbird, 252
+ The Mocking Bird, 234
+ The Tailor Bird, 255
+ The Golden Crested Wren, 255
+ The Migration of Birds, 255
+ The Willow Wren, 256
+ The Common Wren, 256
+ A Wren's Music Lesson, 257
+ The House Wren, 257
+ The Nightingale, 258
+ The Song of the Nightingale, 258
+ The Robin Redbreast, 259
+ The Intelligence of the Robin, 260
+ The Titmouse, 260
+ The Golden Oriole, 261
+ The Shrike, 262
+ The Jay, 262
+ The Blue Jay, 263
+ The Magpie, 264
+ The Habits of the Magpie, 264
+ The Raven, 266
+ Unnatural Parents, 267
+ The Tame Raven, 268
+ The Raven and the Dog, 269
+ The Rook, 270
+ The Carrion Crow, 270
+ The Jackdaw, 271
+ The Chough, 271
+ The Bird of Paradise, 271
+ Hunting the Bird of Paradise, 272
+ The Tanagers, 273
+ The Tanager, 273
+ The Swallow, 273
+ Swallows in Council, 274
+ The House Martin, 274
+ The Sand Martin, 275
+ The Chaffinch. The Goldfinch. The Greenfinch, 275
+ The Linnet, 276
+ The Canary, 276
+ The Tame Canary, 277
+ The Crossbill, 277
+ The Bunting, 277
+ The Starling, 278
+ The Common Starling, 278
+ The Weaver Bird, 278
+ The Lark, 279
+ The Maternal Instinct of the Lark, 280
+ The Lark and the Hawk, 281
+ The Wagtails and the Pipits, 281
+ The Ant-Eaters, 282
+ The King Bird, 282
+ The Chatterers, 282
+ The Lyre Bird, 283
+
+
+ ORDER II
+ Climbers and Gapers, 283
+
+ The Woodpecker, 284
+ The Wryneck, 284
+ The Cuckoo, 284
+ The Cuckoo and the Hedge-Sparrow, 285
+ The Cuckoo and the Thrush, 286
+ The Trogons, 287
+ The Kingfishers, 287
+ The Hornbill, 287
+ The Goat-Suckers, 288
+ The Whip-poor-Will, 288
+ The Chuck-Will's-Widow, 288
+ The Swifts, 289
+ The Humming Bird, 289
+
+
+ ORDER III
+
+ The Parrots, 290
+ The Intelligence of the Parrot, 290
+ Famous Parrots, 291
+ The Grey Parrot, 292
+ Parrot Talk, 293
+
+
+ ORDER IV
+
+ Pigeons, 294
+ Carrier Pigeons, 294
+ Pigeons on the Wing, 295
+
+
+ ORDER V
+
+ Fowls, 297
+ The Peacock, 297
+ The Pheasant, 298
+ The Partridge, 299
+ The Wild Turkey, 300
+ The Domestic Turkey, 300
+ The Sagacity of the Turkey, 300
+ Sitting Turkey Cocks, 301
+ Domestic Fowls, 302
+ The Common Hen, 303
+
+
+ ORDER VI
+
+ The Hoazin, 304
+
+
+ ORDER VII
+
+ Birds of Prey, 304
+ The Eagle, 305
+ Eagle Shooting, 305
+ The White-headed Eagle, 306
+ The Vultures, 307
+ The Condor, 308
+ The King of the Vultures, 308
+ A Feast of Vultures, 309
+ The Secretary Bird, 310
+ The Kite. The Osprey. The Buzzard, 311
+ The Falcon, 311
+ The Sparrow-Hawk, 312
+ The Owl, 313
+
+
+ ORDER VIII
+
+ Wading Birds, 314
+ The Cranes, 314
+ The Heron, 314
+ The Bittern, 315
+ The Stork, 315
+ The Jealousy of the Stork, 315
+ A Stork's Revenge, 316
+
+
+ ORDER IX
+
+ The Goose, 316
+ The Gratitude of the Goose, 316
+ A Wild Goose Chase, 317
+ Goose Friendships, 317
+ The Goose and the Dog, 318
+ The Maternal Instinct of the Goose, 318
+ The Duck, 319
+ The Swan, 319
+ The Maternal Instinct of the Swan, 320
+ The Intelligence of the Swan, 320
+ The Swan and the Fawn, 321
+ The Common Sea-Gull, 321
+ A Tame Sea-Gull, 321
+ Mother Carey's Chicken, 322
+ Catching the Stormy Petrel, 322
+ The Cormorant, 323
+ The Albatross, 324
+ The Pelican, 325
+ A Tame Pelican, 325
+ The Penguin, 326
+ The Puffin, 327
+
+
+ ORDER X
+
+ The Ostrich, 328
+ The Ostrich and its Young, 328
+ The Rhea. The Cassowary. The Emu, 329
+
+
+ =Class III.--Reptilia=
+
+
+ ORDER I
+
+ The Tortoise and the Turtle, 331
+ The Elephant Tortoise, 332
+ The Turtle, 333
+
+
+ ORDER II
+
+ The Crocodile, 334
+ The Alligator, 335
+ A Tame Alligator, 336
+
+
+ ORDER III
+
+ Hatteria Punctata, 337
+
+
+ ORDER IV
+
+ The Lizards, 337
+ The Chameleon, 337
+ The Iguana, 338
+ The Common Lizard, 338
+ The Monitor, 339
+
+
+ ORDER V
+
+ Snakes, 339
+ The Viper, 340
+ The Viper and its Young, 340
+ The Rattlesnake, 341
+ The Sting of the Rattlesnake, 341
+ The Black Snake and the Rattlesnake, 342
+ The Cobra, 342
+ Snake Charming, 343
+ The Cobra as Companion of the Bath, 344
+ A Night with a Cobra, 345
+ An Unpleasant Bedfellow, 346
+ The Boa Constrictor, 346
+ The Boa and its Prey, 346
+ The Boa's Appetite, 347
+ A Terrible Boa, 348
+ A Narrow Escape, 349
+
+
+ =Class IV.--Batrachia=
+
+ The Batrachia, 350
+ The Common Toad, 351
+ Tame Toads, 351
+ The Common Frog, 352
+ The Ingenuity of the Frog, 352
+ The Tree Frog, 353
+
+
+ =Class V.--Pisces=
+
+ Fishes, 354
+ The Stickleback, 354
+ The Stickleback and the Leech, 355
+ The Mackerel, 356
+ The Sword Fish, 356
+ The Cod, 357
+ The Salmon, 358
+ The Pike, 359
+ The Herring, 360
+ The Flying Fish, 360
+ The Eel, 361
+ The Gymnotus, 362
+ Catching the Gymnotus, 362
+ The Torpedo, 366
+ The Shark, 366
+ The White Shark, 367
+ Sharks in the South Seas, 367
+ The Rays, 368
+ Ray Catching, 369
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION.
+
+
+Science.
+
+Science is classified truth. Men study the heavenly bodies, note their
+characteristics, observe their movements, and define their
+relationships; and having verified their deductions by repeated
+experiments, arrange the truths they have discovered into systems, and
+by classifying their knowledge reduce it to a science: this science they
+call Astronomy. Astronomy is thus the classified arrangement of all
+known truths concerning the heavenly bodies. Geology, similarly, is the
+classified arrangement of all known truths concerning the material
+structure of the Earth.
+
+
+The Kingdoms of Nature.
+
+The Natural World has been variously divided for the purposes of study.
+LinnA|us divided it into three kingdoms; (I) the Mineral kingdom (II) the
+Vegetable kingdom and (III) the Animal kingdom, thus naming the three
+kingdoms in the order of their natural geneses. The Mineral kingdom
+comprises the _inorganic_ forms of nature,--those which have no organism
+and which can only increase by external addition. The Vegetable and
+Animal kingdoms comprise the organic life of nature,--those forms which
+are provided with means for promoting their own development and
+propagating species. The Vegetable kingdom, while easily distinguishable
+from the Mineral kingdom is in some of its forms so similar to the lower
+forms of animal life as to suggest relationship between the two; while
+the Animal kingdom, beginning with the lower forms which approximate so
+closely to vegetable forms, embraces the whole range of animal life and
+reaches its highest order in man. The science which treats of organic
+life as a whole is called Biology, while its two departments are
+separately known as Botany and Zoology. Natural History is a general
+term popularly applied to the study of Zoology.
+
+
+Zoology.
+
+Zoology is the science of animal life. It deals with the origin of
+species, and the evolution of the varied forms of animated nature, and
+treats of the structure, habits, and environment of all living
+creatures. Scientifically speaking, Zoology is the classified
+arrangement of all known truths concerning all animal organisms.
+
+
+Classification.
+
+For convenience in study the Animal kingdom is divided into seven
+Sub-kingdoms, each of which is further divided into classes. These
+Sub-kingdoms are known as: I Vertebrata, II Arthropoda, III Mollusca, IV
+Echinodermata, V Vermes, VI CA"lenterata, and VII Protozoa. Sub-kingdom
+I, Vertebrata, includes all animals distinguished by the possession of
+VertebrA| or back-bones, and its classes are I _Mammalia_:--animals that
+suckle their young; II _Aves_:--Birds; III _Reptilia_:--Reptiles; IV
+_Batrachia_:--Frogs, Toads, etc.; and V _Pisces_:--Fishes. Sub-kingdom
+II, Arthropoda, includes the Insect families, etc., which it also
+divides into classes. Sub-kingdom III, Mollusca, animals of the
+cuttle-fish order, including limpets, oysters, and slugs. Sub-kingdom
+IV, Echinodermata, a large number of marine animals, such as the
+star-fish and the sea-urchin. Sub-kingdom V, Vermes, the various classes
+of worms. Sub-kingdom VI, CA"lenterata, corals and sponges, etc., etc.,
+and Sub-kingdom VII, Protozoa, protoplasms and the lowest forms of
+animal life. This volume is devoted to the illustration of the first of
+these sub-kingdoms, the Vertebrata, with its five classes, Mammalia,
+Aves, Reptilia, Batrachia and Pisces.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: The Gorilla]
+
+THE ANIMAL KINGDOM.
+
+SUB-KINGDOM I--VERTEBRATA.
+
+CLASS I--MAMMALIA.
+
+
+ORDER I.
+
+PRIMATES.
+
+The most perfect of all animals is man, for besides having a marvellous
+animal organism he possesses reason, which so far transcends the highest
+instincts of other animals, that it places him in a category by himself.
+
+
+SUB-ORDER I.
+
+Man-shaped Animals.
+
+Next to man it is convenient to deal with man-shaped animals,
+(_anthropoidea_)--those animals which most resemble him in external
+appearance and internal organism. This brings us to the order called
+_Quadrumana_ or four-handed animals which include Lemurs and their
+allied forms, and manlike monkeys. Monkeys are divided into five
+families, one at least of which has to be further divided into
+sub-families to accommodate its variety. These families are: I The Apes;
+II The Sacred Monkeys; III The Cheek-pouched Monkeys; IV The Cebidae,
+with its several sub-families, and V The Marmosets. The first three of
+these families inhabit the old world, the last two belong to the new.
+
+
+The Ape Family.
+
+The family of the Apes includes the Gorilla, the Chimpanzee, the
+Orang-utan or mias, the Gibbons or long-armed Apes, and the Siamang; of
+these the Gorilla and the Chimpanzee belong to the West of Africa, the
+Orang-utan to Borneo, the Gibbons to Assam, the Malay Peninsula, Java,
+Sumatra, Borneo, Cambodia and Hainan, and the Siamang to Java and
+Sumatra.
+
+
+The Gorilla.
+
+The gorilla is the largest of the ape family, and sometimes attains to
+the height of six feet. It is also the fiercest, if not the strongest,
+of man-shaped animals. It belongs to the genus Troglodytes of which the
+chimpanzee is the only other species, and it inhabits a somewhat limited
+range of Equatorial Africa, where it makes for itself nests of sticks
+and foliage, among the lower branches of trees, and lives upon berries,
+nuts and fruits. Though apparently a vegetarian the gorilla has enormous
+physical strength. His arms bear much the same proportion to the size of
+his body as those of man do relatively, but his lower limbs are shorter,
+and have no calves, the leg growing thicker from the knee downwards. The
+hands are broad, thick, and of great length of palm, and are remarkable
+for their strength; the feet, broader than those of man, and more like
+hands, are very large and of great power. The gorilla uses his hands
+when walking or running, but as his arms are longer than those of other
+apes, and his legs shorter he stoops less than they do in moving from
+place to place. The gorilla herds in small companies, or rather
+families, one adult male being the husband and father of the band. The
+females are much smaller than the males.
+
+
+The Ancestors of the Gorilla.
+
+The gorilla, though rediscovered in recent years, was apparently known
+to the ancients. Hanno, a Carthaginian admiral who flourished some five
+or six hundred years B.C., once sailed from Carthage with a fleet of
+sixty vessels and a company of 30,000 persons, under instructions to
+proceed past the Pillars of Hercules (the Straits of Gibraltar), with a
+view to planting colonies on the western coast of Africa. In the course
+of their travels they discovered several islands inhabited by wild
+creatures with hairy bodies. "There were," says the ancient navigator,
+"many more females than males, all equally covered with hair on all
+parts of the body. The interpreters called them _gorillas_. On pursuing
+them, we could not succeed in taking a single male, they all escaped
+with astonishing swiftness, and threw stones at us; but we took three
+females, who defended themselves with so much violence, that we were
+obliged to kill them; but we brought their skins, stuffed with straw, to
+Carthage." Professor Owen remarks upon this that "though such creatures
+would suggest to Hanno and his crew no other idea of their nature than
+that of a kind of human being, yet the climbing faculty, the hairy body,
+and the skinning of the dead specimens strongly suggest that they were
+great apes. The fact that apes somewhat resembling the negroes, of human
+size and with hairy bodies, still exist on the west coast of Africa
+renders it highly probable that such were the creatures which Hanno saw,
+captured, and called 'gorullai'."
+
+
+A Gorilla Hunt.
+
+Paul du Chaillu, in his "Stories of the Gorilla Country," gives a
+graphic description of his first sight of these "wild men of the woods."
+He was inspecting the ruins of a native village with a party of
+Africans, when they discovered footprints which the natives immediately
+recognised as those of the gorilla. "It was," says he, "the first time I
+had seen the footprints of these wild men of the woods, and I cannot
+tell you how I felt. Here was I now, it seemed, on the point of meeting,
+face to face, that monster, of whose ferocity, strength and cunning, the
+natives had told me so much, and which no man before had hunted. By the
+tracks it was easy to know that there must have been several gorillas in
+company. We prepared at once to follow them. My men were remarkably
+silent, for they were going on an expedition of more than usual risk;
+for the male gorilla is literally the king of the forest--the king of
+the equatorial regions. He and the crested lion of Mount Atlas are the
+two fiercest and strongest beasts of that continent. The lion of South
+Africa cannot be compared with either for strength or courage. As we
+left the camp, the men and women left behind crowded together, with fear
+written on their faces. Miengai, Ngolai, and Makinda set out for the
+hunt in one party; myself and Yeava formed another. We determined to
+keep near each other, so that in case of trouble we might be at hand to
+help one another. For the rest silence and a sure aim were the only
+cautions to be given. I confess that I was never more excited in my
+life. For years I had heard of the terrible roar of the gorilla, of its
+vast strength, of its fierce courage when only wounded. I knew that we
+were about to pit ourselves against an animal which even the enormous
+leopards of the mountains fear, which the elephants let alone and which
+perhaps has driven away the lion out of his territory; for the king of
+beasts, so numerous elsewhere in Africa, is not met with in the land of
+the gorilla. We descended a hill, crossed a stream on a fallen log,
+crept under the trees, and presently approached some huge boulders of
+granite. In the stream we had crossed we could see plainly that the
+animals had just crossed it, for the water was still disturbed. Along
+side of the granite blocks lay an immense dead tree, and about this the
+gorillas were likely to be. Our approach was very cautious. With guns
+cocked and ready we advanced through the dense wood, which cast a gloom
+even at mid-day over the whole scene. I looked at my men and saw that
+they were even more excited than myself. Slowly we pressed on through
+the dense bush, dreading almost to breathe for fear of alarming the
+beasts. Makinda was to go to the right of the rock, while I took the
+left. Unfortunately he and his party circled it at too great a distance.
+The watchful animals saw him. Suddenly I was startled by a strange,
+discordant, half human cry, and beheld four young and half-grown
+gorillas running towards the deep forest. I was not ready. We fired but
+hit nothing. Then we rushed on in pursuit; but they knew the woods
+better than we. Once I caught a glimpse of one of the animals again;
+but an intervening tree spoiled my mark, and I did not fire. We pursued
+them till we were exhausted, but in vain. I protest I felt almost like a
+murderer when I saw the gorilla this first time. As they ran on their
+hind legs with their heads down, their bodies inclined forward, their
+whole appearance was that of hairy men running for their lives. Add to
+this their cry, so awful yet with something human in its discordance,
+and you will cease to wonder that the natives have the wildest
+superstitions about these 'wild men of the woods.'"
+
+
+Du Chaillu's First Gorilla.
+
+In his "Explorations and Adventures in Equatorial Africa" du Chaillu
+gives an equally thrilling account of the capture of his first gorilla.
+He says: "We started early, and pushed through the most dense and
+impenetrable part of the forest; in hopes to find the very home of the
+beast I so much wished to shoot. Hour after hour we travelled and yet no
+signs of gorillas. Only the everlasting, little, chattering monkeys--and
+not many of these--and occasionally birds. Suddenly Miengai uttered a
+little cluck with his tongue which is the native way of showing that
+something is stirring and that a sharp look-out is necessary. And
+presently I noticed, ahead of us seemingly, a noise as of some one
+breaking down branches or twigs of trees. This was a gorilla--I knew at
+once by the eager satisfied looks of the men. We walked with the
+greatest care making no noise at all. Suddenly, as we were yet creeping
+along, in a silence which made a heavy breath seem loud and distinct,
+the woods were at once filled with the tremendous barking roar of the
+gorilla. Then the underbrush swayed rapidly just ahead, and presently
+before us stood an immense male gorilla. He had gone through the jungle
+on all fours; but when he saw our party he erected himself and looked us
+boldly in the face. He stood about a dozen yards from us, and was a
+sight I think I shall never forget. Nearly six feet high (he proved
+four inches shorter), with immense body, huge chest, and great muscular
+arms, with fiercely glaring, large, deep gray eyes, and a hellish
+expression of face, which seemed to me like some nightmare vision: thus
+stood before us this king of the African forest. He was not afraid of
+us. He stood there and beat his breast with his huge fists till it
+resounded like an immense bass-drum, which is the gorillas' mode of
+offering defiance; meantime giving vent to roar after roar. The roar of
+the gorilla is the most singular and awful noise heard in these African
+woods. It begins with a sharp _bark_, like an angry dog, then glides
+into a deep bass _roll_, which literally and closely resembles the roll
+of distant thunder along the sky. So deep is it that it seems to proceed
+less from the mouth and throat than from the deep chest and vast paunch.
+His eyes began to flash fiercer fire as we stood motionless on the
+defensive, and the crest of short hair which stands on his forehead
+began to twitch rapidly up and down, while his powerful fangs were shown
+as he again sent forth his thunderous roar. He advanced a few
+steps--then stopped to utter that hideous roar again--advanced again,
+and finally stopped when at a distance of about six yards from us. And
+here, just as he began another of his roars, beating his breast with
+rage, we fired, and killed him. With a groan which had something
+terribly human in it, and yet was full of brutishness, he fell forward
+on his face. The body shook convulsively for a few minutes, the limbs
+moved about in a struggling way, and then all was quiet: death had done
+its work, and I had leisure to examine the huge body. It proved to be
+five feet eight inches high, and the muscular development of the arms
+and breast showed what immense strength it had possessed." A smaller
+gorilla, shot by M. du Chaillu on another occasion, measured five feet
+six inches in height, fifty inches round the chest, and his arms had a
+spread of seven feet two inches.
+
+
+A Young Gorilla.
+
+A young gorilla which some natives succeeded in capturing for M. du
+Chaillu, and which he named "Fighting Joe," forms the subject of one of
+his most interesting chapters. The young cub was caught by the adroit
+use of a cloth which one of the natives managed to throw over his head,
+but not until he had severely bitten one of his captors in the hand and
+taken a mouthful out of the leg of another. He was about three years
+old, three feet six inches in height and of great strength. A cage was
+made for him, from which he twice escaped, on each occasion being
+recaptured by the use of fishing nets. On his first escape he concealed
+himself under the bed in M. du Chaillu's house. "Running in," says the
+writer, "to get one of my guns, I was startled by an angry growl. It was
+master Joe; there was no mistake about it; I knew his growl too well. I
+cleared out faster than I came in. I instantly shut the windows and
+called in my people to guard the door. When Joe saw the crowd of black
+faces he became furious, and with his eyes glaring, and every sign of
+rage in his face and body, he got out from beneath the bed. He was about
+to make a rush at all of us. He was not afraid. A stampede of my men
+took place, I shut the door quickly (from outside) and left Joe master
+of the premises." While the men outside were devising means for his
+recapture, the young gorilla carefully inspected the furniture and M. du
+Chaillu became apprehensive for the safety of his clock, the ticking of
+which was likely to attract unwelcome attention. However, by means of a
+net dexterously thrown over him, he was secured once more and carried
+back to his cage, which in the meantime had been repaired, the full
+strength of four men being required for the purpose. On his second
+escape he made for the woods and took refuge in a large clump of trees.
+"This we surrounded," says M. du Chaillu. "He did not ascend a tree, but
+stood defiantly at the border of the wood. About one hundred and fifty
+of us surrounded him. As we moved up he began to yell, and made a dash
+upon a poor fellow who was in advance. The fellow ran and tumbled down
+in affright. By his fall he escaped the tender mercies of Joe's teeth;
+but he also detained the little rascal long enough for the nets to be
+thrown over him." But Joe was a child of nature and could not live with
+the chain of civilisation around his neck, and he died somewhat suddenly
+some ten days afterwards and finally found his way to the British
+museum.
+
+
+Gorilla Superstitions.
+
+According to du Chaillu, the natives entertain many superstitions about
+the gorilla, among the commonest of which is the belief that some
+gorillas are inhabited by human spirits. In his "Stories of the Gorilla
+Country" he gives an interesting illustration of this. "In the evening,"
+he says, "the men told stories about gorillas. 'I remember,' said one,
+'my father told me he once went out to the forest, when just in his path
+he met a great gorilla. My father had his spear in his hand. When the
+gorilla saw the spear he began to roar; then my father was terrified and
+dropped the spear. When the gorilla saw that my father had dropped the
+spear he was pleased. He looked at him, and then left him and went into
+the thick forest. Then my father was glad and went on his way.' Here all
+shouted: 'Yes! so we must do when we meet the gorilla. Drop the spear;
+that appeases him.' Next Gambo spoke. 'Several dry seasons ago, a man
+suddenly disappeared from my village after an angry quarrel. Some time
+after an Ashira of that village was out in the forest. He met a very
+large gorilla. That gorilla was the man who had disappeared; he had
+turned into a gorilla. He jumped upon the poor Ashira and bit a piece
+out of his arm; then he let him go. Then the man came back with the
+bleeding arm. He told me this, I hope we shall not meet such gorillas.'
+_Chorus_: 'No; we shall not meet such wicked gorillas.' "I myself," says
+du Chaillu, "afterwards met that man in the Ashira country. I saw his
+maimed arm and he repeated the same story." Then one of the men spoke
+up: 'If we kill a gorilla to-morrow, I should like to have a part of the
+brain for a fetich. Nothing makes a man so brave as to have a fetich of
+gorilla's brain. That gives a man a strong heart.' _Chorus_ (of those
+who remained awake) 'Yes; that gives a man a strong heart.'" A fetich of
+the brain of the gorilla is said also to help its owner in love as well
+as war.
+
+
+The Chimpanzee.
+
+The chimpanzee is a near neighbour of the gorilla in Equatorial Africa
+though he appears to have a more extended range. He is found in Sierra
+Leone and in the country lying to the north of the river Congo, and
+according to native accounts is gregarious in his habits, travelling in
+formidable companies, who carry sticks and make effective use of them.
+They are said to reach maturity at nine or ten years of age and to
+attain a height of from four to five feet. Like the gorillas they have
+immensely powerful limbs, and have been known without apparent effort to
+break off branches of trees which a man would have been powerless to
+bend.
+
+
+The Docility and Sagacity of the Chimpanzee.
+
+The chimpanzee differs from the gorilla in his amenability to
+civilisation. The gorilla, however young, seems incapable of being
+tamed; while the chimpanzee in its infancy and youth at least has often
+been domesticated, though like most other apes, as it approaches
+maturity, it needs to be kept under strong control. Captain Brown in his
+"Habits and Characteristics of Animals and Birds" gives the following
+illustration of the docility and sagacity of the chimpanzee. He says:
+"M. de GrandprA(C) saw, on board of a vessel, a female chimpanzee, which
+exhibited wonderful proofs of intelligence. She had learnt to heat the
+oven; she took great care not to let any of the coals fall out, which
+might have done mischief in the ship; and she was very accurate in
+observing when the oven was heated to the proper degree, of which she
+immediately apprized the baker, who, relying with perfect confidence
+upon her information, carried his dough to the oven as soon as the
+chimpanzee came to fetch him. This animal performed all the business of
+a sailor, spliced ropes, handled the sails, and assisted at unfurling
+them; and she was, in fact considered by the sailors as one of
+themselves. The vessel was bound for America; but the poor animal did
+not live to see that country, having fallen a victim to the brutality of
+the first mate, who inflicted very cruel chastisement upon her, which
+she had not deserved. She endured it with the greatest patience, only
+holding out her hands in a suppliant attitude, in order to break the
+force of the blows she received. But from that moment she steadily
+refused to take any food, and died on the fifth day from grief and
+hunger. She was lamented by every person on board, not insensible to the
+feelings of humanity, who knew the circumstances of her fate."
+
+
+The Orang-utan.
+
+The orang-utan is one of the largest of the ape species and until the
+discovery of the gorilla was supposed to be the largest. It is said
+sometimes to attain to the height of six feet, and some travellers'
+tales credit it with even greater height. The orang is possessed of
+great strength but is of a docile disposition when brought under
+civilisation, and even in a wild state is often quiet and peaceable
+except when attacked. It inhabits country that is low, level, and
+swampy, and that is at the same time covered with lofty virgin forests.
+It belongs to the genus _Simia_ of which it is the single species.
+
+
+The Habits of the Orang-utan.
+
+The following account of the orang is given by Mr. Brooke of Sarawak.
+"On the habits of the orangs, as far as I have been able to observe
+them, I may remark that they are as dull and as slothful as can well be
+conceived, and on no occasion, when pursuing them, did they move so fast
+as to preclude my keeping pace with them easily through a moderately
+clear forest; and even when obstructions below (such as wading up to
+the neck) allowed them to get away some distance, they were sure to stop
+and allow us to come up. I never observed the slightest attempt at
+defence; and the wood, which sometimes rattled about our ears, was
+broken by their weight, and not thrown, as some persons represent. If
+pushed to extremity, however, the pappan could not be otherwise than
+formidable; and one unfortunate man, who with a party was trying to
+catch one alive, lost two of his fingers, besides being severely bitten
+on the face, whilst the animal finally beat off his pursuers and
+escaped. When hunters wish to catch an adult, they cut down a circle of
+trees round the one on which he is seated, and then fell that also, and
+close before he can recover himself, and endeavour to bind him. The rude
+hut which they are stated to build in the trees would be more properly
+called a seat, or nest, for it has no roof or cover of any sort. The
+facility with which they form this seat is curious; and I had an
+opportunity of seeing a wounded female weave the branches together, and
+seat herself in a minute. She afterwards received our fire without
+moving, and expired in her lofty abode, whence it cost us much trouble
+to dislodge her. The adult male I killed was seated lazily on a tree;
+and when approached only took the trouble to interpose the trunk between
+us, peeping at me and dodging as I dodged. I hit him on the wrist, and
+he was afterwards despatched."
+
+
+The Walk of the Orang-utan.
+
+In locomotion the orang disdains the earth and perambulates the vernal
+terraces of the forest trees. "It is a singular sight," says Mr.
+Wallace, "to watch a mias (orang-utan) making his way leisurely through
+a forest. He walks deliberately along some of the larger branches in the
+semi-erect attitude which the great length of his arms and the shortness
+of his legs cause him naturally to assume, and seems always to choose
+those branches which intermingle with an adjoining tree, on approaching
+which he stretches out his long arms, and seizing the opposing boughs,
+grasps them together with both hands, seems to try their strength, and
+then deliberately swings himself across to the next branch on which he
+walks along as before. He never jumps or springs, or even appears to
+hurry himself, and yet manages to get along almost as quickly as a
+person can run through the forest beneath."
+
+
+The Strength of the Orang-utan.
+
+"The Dyaks," says Mr. Wallace, "all declare that the mias is never
+attacked by any animal in the forest, with two rare exceptions; and the
+accounts received of these are so curious that I give them nearly in the
+words of my informants, old Dyak Chiefs, who had lived all their lives
+in the places where the animal is most abundant. The first of whom I
+enquired said, 'No animal is strong enough to hurt the mias, and the
+only creature he ever fights with is the crocodile. When there is no
+fruit in the jungle he goes to seek food on the banks of the river where
+there are plenty of young shoots that he likes, and fruits that grow
+close to the water. Then the crocodile sometimes tries to seize him, but
+the mias gets upon him and beats him with his hands and feet, and tears
+and kills him.' He added that he had once seen such a fight and that he
+believed that the mias is always the victor. My next informant was Orang
+Kayo or chief of the Balow Dyaks on the Simunjou River. He said the mias
+has no enemies, no animals dare attack it but the crocodile and the
+python. He always kills the crocodile by main strength, standing upon
+it, and pulling open its jaws and ripping up its throat. If a python
+attacks a mias he seizes it with his hands and then bites it, and soon
+kills it. The mias is very strong; there is no animal in the jungle so
+strong as he."
+
+
+The Docility of the Orang-utan.
+
+Buffon thus describes an orang-utan that he saw: "His aspect was
+melancholy, his deportment grave, his movements regular, and his
+disposition gentle. Unlike the baboon or the monkey, who are fond of
+mischief, and only obedient through fear, a look kept him in awe; while
+the other animals could not be brought to obey without blows. He would
+present his hand to conduct the people who came to visit him, and walk
+as gravely along with them as if he had formed a part of the company. I
+have seen him sit down at table, when he would unfold his towel, wipe
+his lips, use a spoon or a fork to carry his victuals to his mouth, pour
+his liquor into a glass, and make it touch that of a person who drank
+along with him. When invited to take tea, he would bring a cup and
+saucer, place them on the table, put in sugar, pour out the tea, and
+allow it to cool before he drank it. All this I have seen him perform
+without any other instigation than the signs or the command of his
+master, and often even of his own accord."
+
+
+The Orang-utan's Intelligence.
+
+M. de la Bosse thus describes two young orang-utans, male and female.
+"We had these animals with us on shipboard. They ate at the same table
+with us. When they wanted anything, they, by certain signs, acquainted
+the cabin boy with their wishes; and if he did not bring it, they
+sometimes flew into a rage at him, bit him in the arm, and not
+unfrequently threw him down. The male fell sick during the voyage, and
+submitted to be treated like a human patient. The disease being of an
+inflammatory nature, the surgeon bled him twice in the right arm; and
+when he afterwards felt himself indisposed, he used to hold out his arm
+to be bled, because he recollected that he found himself benefited by
+that operation on a former occasion."
+
+
+The Orang-utan's Affection.
+
+Dr. Tyson in describing one of the earliest specimens of the orang
+brought to London, says that it conceived a great affection for those
+with whom travel had made it familiar, frequently embracing them with
+the greatest tenderness. A female orang belonging to a Dutch menagerie
+showed the greatest affection for her attendants, giving unmistakable
+signs of her delight in their company and distress in their absence. She
+would often take the hay from her bed and spread it at her side and with
+anxious and obvious signs invite her keeper to sit beside her. M.
+Palavicini credited a pair of orangs which he had in his possession in
+1759 with the still more remarkable quality in animals of bashfulness.
+It is said that the female would shrink from the too persistent gaze of
+a spectator, and throw herself into the arms of the male, hiding her
+face in his bosom.
+
+
+The Maternal Instinct.
+
+In his "Marvels and Mysteries of Instinct," Mr. Garrett gives the
+following instance of maternal affection. "A gentleman was out with a
+party of men in Sumatra, when in some trees removed from a dense forest
+a female orang-utan, with a young one in its arms, was discovered, and
+the pursuit commenced. In the ardour of the moment, and excited by the
+hope of possessing an animal so rare, the gentleman forgot everything
+but the prize before him, and urged on his men by the promise of a
+reward, should their exertions be successful. Thus stimulated they
+followed up the chase; the animal, encumbered by her young one, making
+prodigious efforts to gain the dense and intricate recesses of the wood,
+springing from tree to tree, and endeavouring by every means to elude
+her pursuers. Several shots were fired, and at length one took fatal
+effect, the ball penetrating the right side of the chest. Feeling
+herself mortally wounded, and with the blood gushing from her mouth, she
+from that moment took no care of herself, but with a mother's feelings
+summoned up all her dying energies to save her young one. She threw it
+onwards over the tops of the trees, and from one branch to another,
+taking the most desperate leaps after it herself, and again facilitating
+its progress until, the intricacy of the forest being nearly gained, its
+chances of success were sure. All this time the blood was flowing: but
+her efforts had been unabated, and it was only when her young one was
+on the point of attaining to a place of safety that she rested on one of
+the topmost branches of a gigantic tree. True to her ruling passion,
+even in death, she turned for a moment to gaze after her young one,
+reeled, and fell head foremost to the ground. The sight was so touching
+that it called forth the sympathy of the whole party. The eagerness of
+the chase subsided; and so deep an impression did the maternal
+tenderness and unexpected self-devotion of the poor orang make on the
+gentleman alluded to, whose heart was indeed formed in 'nature's
+gentlest mould,' that he expressed the utmost remorse and pity,
+declaring that he would not go through the same scene again for all the
+world; nor did the tragical death of the animal cease to haunt his mind
+for many weeks, and he never afterwards recurred to it but with feelings
+of emotion. The preserved skin is now in the Museum of the Zoological
+Society."
+
+
+Gibbons or Long Armed Apes.
+
+The gibbons belong to the genus Hylobates, of which there are several
+species. They are characterised by the ability to walk almost erect,
+hence the name Hylobates. They live in the tops of trees, in large
+companies and possess marvellous powers of locomotion, swinging
+themselves from tree to tree with such rapidity as to baffle all
+pursuit. When on the ground they balance themselves in walking by
+holding their hands above their heads. The adult gibbon is about three
+feet in height and has a reach of arms of about six feet. The gibbon is
+tractable and capable of strong affection towards those who show it
+kindness. One of the Hoolock species petted by Dr. Burrough, became
+companionable and would sit at his master's breakfast-table, eat eggs
+and chicken, and drink tea and coffee with great propriety. Fruit was
+his favourite food, but insects were especially palatable to him and he
+was an expert in catching flies. The siamang differs from the other
+species of long-armed apes in the formation of its feet and in several
+other characteristics. It is, however, similar to the Hoolock in its
+amenity to kindness and its affection for its master, when brought under
+the influence of kindly treatment. The gibbons have great strength in
+their lower limbs, whereby they are enabled to leap surprising
+distances. M. Duvaneel said he once saw one of these animals clear a
+space of forty feet, from the branch of a tree. Mr. George Bennet, in
+his "Wanderings," describes the action of a siamang that belonged to
+him, which having managed to free himself of his tether, proceeded to
+embrace the legs of the Malays whom he came across, until he discovered
+his former master, whereupon he climbed into the Malay's arms and hugged
+him with the tenderest affection.
+
+
+Monkeys.
+
+Monkeys differ from the apes we have dealt with in the important
+characteristic, among others, of possessing tails. These vary in length
+from inches to feet, in some cases being considerably longer than the
+body and in others little more than stumps. They vary also in form, some
+being completely covered with hair, and others only partially so; some
+apparently useful only as ornaments, others being prehensile, that is
+capable of grasp, and giving their owners almost the advantage of a
+fifth limb.
+
+
+The Sacred Monkeys.
+
+The Sacred Monkeys (_SemnopithecidA|_) include two genera and a large
+number of species. Among these are the species which bear the name of
+HanumAin, a Hindoo divinity, and are worshipped in his honour. The
+protection these monkeys receive on account of the superstitions
+prevalent concerning them, leads to their large increase in numbers and
+to many inconveniences arising therefrom. It is said that if a traveller
+should be unfortunate enough to offend one of these animals he is likely
+enough to be followed by the whole party howling in a most hideous and
+discordant manner, and pelting him with any missiles upon which they can
+lay their hands. There are eighteen species of the Semnopithecus, all of
+which are found in the East. Of these the Entellus is one of the best
+known species. It is very susceptible to cold, and cannot live long in
+Europe.
+
+
+The Long-nosed Monkey.
+
+The Long-nosed Monkey (_Semnopithecus Larvatus_) belongs to this family
+and is distinguished, as its name implies, by the length of its
+proboscis. This animal is described by Wallace as about the size of a
+child of three years of age, while possessing a nose considerably longer
+than that of any human adult. From the head to the tip of the tail the
+proboscis monkey measures about four feet and a half. It is sometimes
+called the Kahau from its cry which resembles the sound of that word. It
+is said to hold its nose when leaping to protect it from being injured
+by the branches of trees. The second genus of this family, of which
+there are numerous species, belongs to Africa.
+
+
+Cheek-pouched Monkeys.
+
+The Cheek-pouched Monkeys form the third family of the quadrumana. They
+include seven genera, and sixty or seventy species, of which five genera
+belong to Africa and two to Asia and to the Malay Islands. Among the
+better known of these species is the Talapoin of West Africa; the Diana
+monkey and the Mona (Africa); the little White-nosed monkey (Guinea);
+the Grivet (Nubia and Abyssinia); the Green monkey (Cape de Verds); the
+Patas (Senegal); the Malbrouck monkey; and the Vervet monkey (South
+Africa). The Green monkey and the Vervet monkey are those most commonly
+seen in England. One of the best known members of this family is the
+Baboon.
+
+
+The Baboon.
+
+The baboon is found in many parts of Africa, and one of its species in
+Arabia. It is of the genus _cynocephalus_, and some of its species
+attain to considerable size; the head and face of one species resembling
+those of a dog, it is sometimes called the dog-faced baboon. The baboon
+herds in large numbers, and is said to make apparently organized attacks
+upon villages during the absence of the peasants in harvest time,
+placing sentinels on the look out, to apprise them of danger, while they
+visit the houses and take possession of all the food they can find. They
+are cunning and powerful, and formidable in combat, but, greedy in
+habit, they eat to excess, and when gorged to satiety fall an easy prey
+to their enemies. In their wild state they feed on berries and bulbous
+roots, but when proximity to civilisation gives them wider opportunity,
+they show their appreciation of a more varied menu. Among the more
+familiar species of the baboon are the _Chackma_, the _Drill_, the
+_Mandrill_, the _Anubis_, the _Babouin_, and the _Sphinx_, all of which
+belong to the West of Africa.
+
+
+The Arabian Baboon.
+
+The Arabian baboon is an animal with a history. It was worshipped by the
+Egyptians, who embalmed its body after death and set apart portions of
+their cemeteries for its use. Sacred to Thoth, the Egyptian Hermes, the
+God of letters, the baboon sometimes represents that deity in Egyptian
+sculptures, where it is usually figured in a sitting posture, the
+attitude in which its body was generally embalmed. The baboon was also
+held as emblematic of the Moon, and honoured symbolically in other
+connections. It is commonly represented in judgment scenes of the dead
+with a pair of scales in front of it, Thoth being supposed to exercise
+important duties in the final judgment of men. The baboon was held
+especially sacred at Hermopolis. According to Sir J. G. Wilkinson the
+Egyptians trained baboons to useful offices, making them torch-bearers
+at their feasts and festivals.
+
+
+The Imitative Faculty of the Baboon.
+
+Like others of the monkey tribes the baboon shows an extraordinary
+faculty for imitation. Captain Browne in his "Characteristics of
+Animals" says: "The following circumstance is truly characteristic of
+the imitative powers of the baboon:--The army of Alexander the Great
+marched in complete battle-array into a country inhabited by great
+numbers of baboons, and encamped there for the night. The next morning,
+when the army was about to proceed on its march, the soldiers saw, at
+some distance, an enormous number of baboons, drawn up in rank and file,
+like a small army, with such regularity, that the Macedonians, who could
+have no idea of such a manA"uvre, imagined at first that it was the
+enemy drawn up to receive them."
+
+
+The Chackma Baboon.
+
+The chackma lives among the mountains of the Cape of Good Hope, where he
+attains about the size of an English mastiff and even greater strength.
+He descends to the plains on foraging expeditions, and, when not
+attacked, will usually make off on the approach of danger, but if
+aroused to anger can both show and use his teeth, and is far superior to
+the average English boy in throwing stones.
+
+
+The Baboon's Utility.
+
+Le Vaillant gives an interesting account of a chackma baboon which
+accompanied him through South Africa, and which bore the name of Kees.
+He says: "I made him my taster. Whenever we found fruits or roots, with
+which my Hottentots were unacquainted, we did not touch them till Kees
+had tasted them. If he threw them away, we concluded that they were
+either of a disagreeable flavour, or of a pernicious quality, and left
+them untasted. The monkey possesses a peculiar property, wherein he
+differs greatly from other animals, and resembles man,--namely, that he
+is by nature equally gluttonous and inquisitive. Without necessity, and
+without appetite, he tastes every thing that falls in his way, or that
+is given to him. But Kees had a still more valuable quality,--he was an
+excellent sentinel; for, whether by day or night, he immediately sprang
+up on the slightest appearance of danger. By his cry, and the symptoms
+of fear which he exhibited, we were always apprized of the approach of
+an enemy, even though the dogs perceived nothing of it. The latter, at
+length, learned to rely upon him with such confidence, that they slept
+on in perfect tranquillity. I often took Kees with me when I went
+hunting; and when he saw me preparing for sport, he exhibited the most
+lively demonstrations of joy. On the way, he would climb into the trees
+to look for gum, of which he was very fond. Sometimes he discovered to
+me honey, deposited in the clefts of rocks, or hollow trees. But, if he
+happened to have met with neither honey nor gum, and his appetite had
+become sharp by his running about, I always witnessed a very ludicrous
+scene. In those cases, he looked for roots, which he ate with great
+greediness, especially a particular kind, which, to his cost, I also
+found to be very well tasted and refreshing, and therefore insisted upon
+sharing with him. In order to draw these roots out of the ground, he
+employed a very ingenious method, which afforded me much amusement. He
+laid hold of the herbage with his teeth, stemmed his fore feet against
+the ground, and drew back his head, which gradually pulled out the root.
+But if this expedient, for which he employed his whole strength, did not
+succeed, he laid hold of the leaves as before, as close to the ground as
+possible, and then threw himself heels over head, which gave such a
+concussion to the root, that it never failed to come out.
+
+
+The Tame Baboon.
+
+"Serpents excepted, there were no animals of whom Kees stood in such
+great dread as of his own species,--perhaps owing to a consciousness of
+loss of natural capacity. Sometimes he heard the cry of other apes among
+the mountains, and, terrified as he was, he yet answered them. But, if
+they approached nearer, and he saw any of them, he fled, with a hideous
+cry, crept between our legs, and trembled over his whole body. It was
+very difficult to compose him, and it required some time before he
+recovered from his fright.
+
+
+The Cunning of the Baboon
+
+"Like all other animals, Kees was addicted to stealing. He understood
+admirably well how to loose the strings of a basket, in order to take
+victuals out of it, especially milk, of which he was very fond. My
+people chastised him for these thefts; but that did not make him amend
+his conduct. I myself sometimes whipped him; but then he ran away, and
+did not return again to the tent until it grew dark. Once, as I was
+about to dine, and had put the beans, which I had boiled for myself,
+upon a plate, I heard the voice of a bird with which I was not
+acquainted. I left my dinner standing, seized my gun, and ran out of the
+tent. After the space of about a quarter of an hour I returned, with the
+bird in my hand, but, to my astonishment, found not a single bean upon
+the plate. Kees had stolen them all, and taken himself out of the way.
+When he had committed any trespass of this kind, he used always, about
+the time when I drank tea, to return quietly, and seat himself in his
+usual place, with every appearance of innocence, as if nothing had
+happened; but this evening he did not let himself be seen. And, on the
+following day, also, he was not seen by any of us; and, in consequence,
+I began to grow seriously uneasy about him, and apprehensive that he
+might be lost for ever. But, on the third day, one of my people, who had
+been to fetch water, informed me that he had seen Kees in the
+neighbourhood, but that, as soon as the animal espied him, he had
+concealed himself again. I immediately went out and beat the whole
+neighbourhood with my dogs. All at once, I heard a cry, like that which
+Kees used to make, when I returned from my shooting, and had not taken
+him with me. I looked about, and at length espied him, endeavouring to
+hide himself behind the large branches of a tree. I now called to him in
+a friendly tone of voice, and made motions to him to come down to me.
+But he could not trust me, and I was obliged to climb up the tree to
+fetch him. He did not attempt to fly, and we returned together to my
+quarters; here he expected to receive his punishment; but I did nothing,
+as it would have been of no use.
+
+
+The Loyalty of the Baboon.
+
+"An officer, wishing to put the fidelity of my baboon to the test,
+pretended to strike me. At this he flew in a violent rage, and, from
+that time, could never endure the sight of the officer. If he only saw
+him at a distance he began to cry, and make all kinds of grimaces, which
+evidently showed that he wished to revenge the insult that had been done
+to me; he ground his teeth; and endeavoured, with all his might, to fly
+at his face, but that was out of his power, as he was chained down. The
+offender several times endeavoured, in vain, to conciliate him, by
+offering him dainties, but he remained long implacable.
+
+
+The Intelligence of the Baboon.
+
+"When any eatables were pilfered, at my quarters, the fault was always
+laid upon Kees; and rarely was the accusation unfounded. For a time the
+eggs, which a hen laid me, were constantly stolen, and I wished to
+ascertain whether I had to attribute this loss also to him. For this
+purpose I went one morning to watch him, and waited till the hen
+announced, by her cackling, that she had laid an egg. Kees was sitting
+upon my vehicle; but, the moment he heard the hen's voice, he leapt
+down, and was running to fetch the egg. When he saw me, he suddenly
+stopped, and affected a careless posture, swaying himself backwards upon
+his hind legs, and assuming a very innocent look; in short, he employed
+all his art to deceive me with respect to his design. His hypocritical
+manA"uvres only confirmed my suspicions, and, in order, in my turn, to
+deceive him, I pretended not to attend to him, and turned my back to the
+bush where the hen was cackling, upon which he immediately sprang to the
+place. I ran after him, and came up to him at the moment when he had
+broken the egg and was swallowing it. Having caught the thief in the
+fact, I gave him a good beating upon the spot, but this severe
+chastisement did not prevent his soon stealing fresh-laid eggs again. As
+I was convinced that I should never be able to break Kees off his
+natural vices, and that, unless I chained him up every morning, I should
+never get an egg, I endeavoured to accomplish my purpose in another
+manner; I trained one of my dogs, as soon as the hen cackled, to run to
+the nest, and bring me the egg, without breaking it. In a few days, the
+dog had learned his lesson; but Kees, as soon as he heard the hen
+cackle, ran with him to the nest. A contest now took place between them,
+who should have the egg; often the dog was foiled, although he was the
+stronger of the two. If he gained the victory, he ran joyfully to me
+with the egg, and put it into my hand. Kees, nevertheless, followed him,
+and did not cease to grumble and make threatening grimaces at him, till
+he saw me take the egg,--as if he was comforted for the loss of his
+booty by his adversary's not retaining it for himself. If Kees had got
+hold of the egg, he endeavoured to run with it to a tree, where, having
+devoured it, he threw down the shells upon his adversary, as if to make
+game of him. Kees was always the first awake in the morning, and, when
+it was the proper time, he awoke the dogs, who were accustomed to his
+voice, and, in general, obeyed, without hesitation, the slightest
+motions by which he communicated his orders to them, immediately taking
+their posts about the tent and carriage, as he directed them."
+
+
+The Bonnet Monkey.
+
+The bonnet monkey is of the genus macacus, and is to be found in many
+parts of India. It is characterized by a bonnet, or cap of hair, which
+radiates from the centre of the crown. It is known as the _Macacus
+Radiatus_. Other species of the genus macacus are the _Rhesus_ monkey,
+the _Wanderoo_, the _Barbary Ape_ or _Magot_, and the _Macaque_.
+
+
+Indian Monkeys.
+
+Many stories are told of the audacity of the Indian monkeys in which
+those of the genus macacus come in for more than honourable mention.
+Whether in their native haunts, or in European menageries, they are an
+endless source of amusement and not unfrequently one of annoyance. In
+their free state, they tax the ingenuity of native and European alike by
+their mischievous habits and thievish propensities. They climb upon the
+tops of the Bazaars and the slightest relapse from vigilance on the part
+of the shopkeepers is sure to be followed by the loss or spoliation of
+their wares. A common defence against these unwelcome intruders is to
+cover the roofs with a certain prickly shrub, the thorns of which
+command respect even from monkeys. Mrs. Bowdich says: "In some places
+they are even fed, encouraged, and allowed to live on the roofs of
+houses;" but this would be where the goods of the householder were
+beyond their reach. "If a man wishes to revenge himself for any injury
+committed upon him," says Mrs. Bowdich, "he has only to sprinkle some
+rice or corn upon the top of his enemy's house or granary just before
+the rain sets in, and the monkeys will assemble upon it, eat all they
+can find outside, and then pull off the tiles to get at that which has
+fallen through the crevices. This, of course, gives access to the
+torrents which fall in such countries, and house, furniture and stores
+are all ruined." Quoting from another writer, Mrs. Bowdich gives an
+amusing description of the way in which one of these monkeys watched his
+opportunity for making his descent upon a sweet-stuff shop. Taking up a
+position opposite the shop, "he pretended to be asleep, but every now
+and then softly raised his head to look at the tempting piles and the
+owner of them, who sat smoking his pipe without symptoms even of a doze.
+In half an hour the monkey got up, as if he were just awake, yawned,
+stretched himself, and took another position a few yards off, where he
+pretended to play with his tail, occasionally looking over his shoulder
+at the coveted delicacies. At length the shopman gave signs of activity,
+and the monkey was on the alert; the man went to his back room, the
+monkey cleared the street at one bound, and in an instant stuffed his
+pouches full of the delicious morsels. He had, however, overlooked some
+hornets, which were regaling themselves at the same time. They resented
+his disturbance, and the tormented monkey, in his hurry to escape, came
+upon a thorn-covered roof, where he lay stung, torn, and bleeding. He
+spurted the stolen bonbons from his pouches and barked hoarsely looking
+the picture of misery. The noise of the tiles which he had dislodged in
+his retreat brought out the inhabitants, and among them the vendor of
+the sweets, with his turban unwound, and streaming two yards behind him.
+All joined in laughing at the wretched monkey; but their religious
+reverence for him induced them to go to his assistance: they picked out
+his thorns and he limped away to the woods quite crestfallen."
+
+
+The Monkey Outdone.
+
+The writer, from whom Mrs. Bowdich quoted the above story, gives a
+graphic account of the success of a stratagem he employed to rid himself
+of the unwelcome visits of his monkey friends. "Although," says he, "a
+good deal shyer of me than they were of the natives, I found no
+difficulty in getting within a few yards of them; and when I lay still
+among the brushwood they gambolled round me with as much freedom as if I
+had been one of themselves. This happy understanding, however, did not
+last long, and we soon began to urge war upon each other. The _casus
+belli_ was a field of sugar-cane which I had planted on the newly
+cleared jungle.
+
+"Every beast of the field seemed leagued against this devoted patch of
+sugar-cane. The wild elephants came and browzed in it; the jungle hogs
+rooted it up, and munched it at their leisure; the jackals gnawed the
+stalks into squash; and the wild deer ate the tops of the young plants.
+Against all these marauders there was an obvious remedy,--to build a
+stout fence round the cane-field. This was done accordingly; and a deep
+trench dug outside, that even the wild elephant did not deem it prudent
+to cross. The wild hogs came and inspected the trench and the palisades
+beyond. A bristly old tusker was observed taking a survey of the
+defences; but, after mature deliberation, he gave two short grunts, the
+porcine (language), I imagined, for 'No go,' and took himself off at a
+round trot, to pay a visit to my neighbour Ram Chunder, and inquire how
+his little plot of sweet yams was coming on. The jackals sniffed at
+every crevice, and determined to wait a bit; but the monkeys laughed the
+whole entrenchment to scorn. Day after day was I doomed to behold my
+canes devoured as fast as they ripened, by troops of jubilant monkeys.
+It was of no use attempting to drive them away. When disturbed, they
+merely retreated to the nearest tree, dragging whole stalks of
+sugar-cane along with them, and then spurted the chewed fragments in my
+face, as I looked up at them. This was adding insult to injury; and I
+positively began to grow bloodthirsty at the idea of being outwitted by
+monkeys. The case between us might have been stated in this way. 'I
+have, at much trouble and expense, cleared and cultivated this jungle
+land,' said I. 'More fool you,' said the monkeys. 'I have planted and
+watched over these sugar-canes.' 'Watched! Ah, ah! so have we, for the
+matter of that.' 'But surely I have a right to reap what I sowed.'
+'Don't see it,' said the monkeys; 'the jungle, by rights prescriptive
+and indefeasible, is ours, and has been so ever since the days of Ram
+HanumAin of the long tail. If you cultivate the jungle without our
+consent, you must look to the consequences. If you don't like our
+customs, you may get about your business. We don't want you.' I kept
+brooding over this mortifying view of the matter, until one morning I
+hatched revenge in a practicable shape. A tree, with about a score of
+monkeys on it, was cut down, and half a dozen of the youngest were
+caught as they attempted to escape. A large pot of _ghow_ (treacle) was
+then mixed with as much tarter emetic as could be spared from the
+medicine chest, and the young hopefuls, after being carefully painted
+over with the compound, were allowed to return to their distressed
+relatives, who, as soon as they arrived, gathered round them and
+commenced licking them with the greatest assiduity. The results I had
+anticipated were not long in making their appearance. A more melancholy
+sight it was impossible to behold; but so efficacious was this
+treatment, that for more than two years I hardly ever saw a monkey in
+the neighbourhood."
+
+
+The Monkey Aroused.
+
+Tavernier was once travelling from Agra to Surat with the English
+president, when passing within a few miles of Amenabad through a forest
+of mangoes, they experienced the danger of provoking such companies. He
+says, "We saw a vast number of very large apes, male and female, many of
+the latter having their young in their arms. We were each of us in our
+coaches; and the English president stopped his to tell me that he had a
+very fine new gun; and knowing that I was a good marksman, desired me to
+try it, by shooting one of the apes. One of my servants, who was a
+native of the country, made a sign to me not to do it; and I did all
+that was in my power to dissuade the gentleman from his design, but to
+no purpose; for he immediately levelled his piece, and shot a she ape,
+who fell through the branches of the tree on which she was sitting, her
+young ones tumbling at the same time out of her arms on the ground. We
+presently saw that happen which my servant apprehended; for all the
+apes, to the number of sixty, came immediately down from the trees, and
+attacked the president's coach with such fury that they must infallibly
+have destroyed him if all who were present had not flown to his relief,
+and by drawing up the windows, and posting all the servants about the
+coach, protected him from their resentment." That diplomacy is better
+than war in dealing with bands of monkeys is shown by comparing the
+results of the foregoing experiences.
+
+
+The Monkeys' Affection.
+
+That monkeys are capable of very poignant feeling is shown by the
+following pathetic story. Mr. Forbes, in his "Oriental Memoirs,"
+says:--"On a shooting party one of my friends killed a female monkey,
+and carried it to his tent, which was soon surrounded by forty or fifty
+of the tribe, who made a great noise, and in a menacing posture advanced
+towards it. On presenting his fowling-piece they retreated, but one
+stood his ground, chattering and menacing in a furious manner. He at
+length came close to the tent door, and finding that his threatenings
+were of no avail, began a lamentable moaning, and by every expression of
+grief and supplication seemed to beg the body of the deceased. On this
+it was given to him. He took it up in his arms, eagerly pressed it to
+his bosom, and carried it off in a sort of triumph to his expecting
+companions. The artless behaviour of this poor animal wrought so
+powerfully on the sportsmen that they resolved never more to level a gun
+at one of the monkey tribe."
+
+
+American Monkeys.
+
+To visit the family of the CebidA| we have to cross the Atlantic Ocean,
+and here we find characteristics with which the monkeys of the East are
+unfamiliar, while we miss others which are common to the monkeys of the
+old world. In passing from East to West we lose the cheek-pouch
+characteristic and we find that of the prehensile tail. There are more
+than eighty species in the family of the CebidA|, divided into ten genera
+and grouped in four sub-families. The first of the sub-families includes
+the monkeys with prehensile tails.
+
+
+The Capuchin Monkey.
+
+The capuchins belong to the genus _Cebus_ which includes the majority of
+American monkeys. There are a number of species of which the Brown
+Capuchin (Brazil), the Wheeper Capuchin (Brazil), and the White-throated
+Capuchin (Central America) are the best known.
+
+
+The Spider Monkeys.
+
+The Spider Monkey is of the genus _Ateles_ and is one of the best known
+of the CebidA| family. In it the prehensile tail reaches its perfection.
+It is a remarkably sensitive organ, answering the purpose, as the Rev.
+J. G. Wood puts it, of "a fifth hand," being capable of use "for any
+purpose to which the hand could be applied," and for hooking out objects
+from places "where a hand could not be inserted." According to Mr. Wood
+they wrap their tails about them to protect themselves from cold, to
+which they are very sensitive, and hold on by them to the branches of
+trees with such tenacity that they remain suspended after death. The
+prehensile part of the tail is naked and of extreme sensibility. The
+tail is also used to preserve balance when walking erect, for which
+purpose it is thrown up and curled over. The appearance of these
+monkeys, as they leap from branch to branch in their native woods,
+swinging by their tails, and often hanging on to those of each other,
+until a living bridge is formed from tree to tree, is exceedingly
+picturesque.
+
+
+The Howling Monkeys.
+
+The Howling Monkeys form the single genus of the second sub-family of
+the CebidA|--the genus Mycetes. There are a number of species, popularly
+known as the "Golden Howler," the "Black Howler," &c. &c. They are
+chiefly characteristic for the attribute to which they owe their name.
+The howl is a loud mournful cry which can be heard at a great distance,
+and is said by Wallace to proceed from the leader of the band who howls
+for the whole company. These animals are larger and more clumsy than the
+spider monkeys and therefore less agile; they have powerful, prehensile
+tails. The "Howler" is much prized by the Indians as an article of food.
+
+
+The Bearded Saki.
+
+The third sub-family of the CebidA| includes some dozen species which
+inhabit the forests of Equatorial America. They are of the genus
+_Pithecia_, and some species have broad beards and bushy tails. The head
+of the Bearded Saki (_Pithecia Satanas_) has a singularly human
+appearance.
+
+
+The Douroucouli.
+
+The fourth sub-family of the CebidA| includes several genera and a number
+of species, of these the Douroucouli (_Nyctipithecus felinus_) is one of
+the most interesting. It is a small monkey, measuring only thirteen
+inches, apart from its tail, which is eighteen inches long: It is
+catlike in some of its habits, sleeping during the day, and prowling
+about at night in search of food, which it finds in fruits, insects and
+small birds. It has a catlike mew, though it often makes a louder cry
+more resembling the noise of the jaguar.
+
+
+The Marmosets.
+
+The fifth family of the quadrumana comprises the marmosets, of which
+there are two genera--the _Hapale_ and the _Midas_. These are very
+small, measuring about eight inches without the tail, which is eleven
+inches long. The marmoset is one of the prettiest of the monkeys, and,
+though at first shy, soon becomes playful and affectionate. Marmosets
+are one of the few species that breed in confinement. Sir William
+Jardine describes a marmoset who gave birth to three offspring in Paris.
+One of these, for some reason, displeased her, and she killed it, but
+upon the others beginning to suck the maternal instinct awoke, and she
+became as affectionate as she was before careless. "The male seemed more
+affectionate and careful of them than the mother, and assisted in the
+charge. The young generally keep upon the back or under the belly of the
+female, and Cuvier observed, that when the female was tired of carrying
+them, she would approach the male with a shrill cry, who immediately
+relieved her with his hands, placing them upon his back, or under his
+belly, where they held themselves and were carried about until they
+became restless for milk, when they were given over to the mother who,
+in her turn, would again endeavour to get rid of them."
+
+
+SUB-ORDER II. The Lemurs.
+
+The lemurs and their allied forms make up the remaining families of the
+quadrumana. These are three. The _LemuridA|_, of which there are many
+species, most of which belong to Madagascar, others to Africa, Asia, and
+the Indian Archipelago; the _TarsidA|_, which hail from Sumatra and
+Borneo; and the _ChiromyidA|_, of which the aye-aye is the
+representative. The _LemuridA|_ are divided into four sub-families by
+Professor Mivart. I, the Indri; II, the true Lemurs; III, the slow
+Lemurs and IV, the Galagos. The lemur is nocturnal in its habits and
+noiseless in its movements. Some of its species much resemble the cat in
+appearance though its four hands unmistakably demonstrate its order. Sir
+William Jones describes a Slow Lemur (_Nycticebus tardigradus_), which
+he had in his possession, as "gentle except in the cold season, when his
+temper seemed wholly changed." This animal expressed great resentment
+when disturbed unseasonably. From half an hour after sunrise to half an
+hour before sunset he slept without any intermission, rolled up like a
+hedgehog: and as soon as he awoke he began to prepare himself for the
+occupations of his approaching day, licking and dressing himself like a
+cat--an operation which the flexibility of his neck and limbs enabled
+him to perform very completely. He was then ready for a slight
+breakfast, after which he commonly took a short nap; but when the sun
+was quite set he recovered all his vivacity. "Generally he was not
+voracious, but of grasshoppers he never could have enough; and passed
+the whole night during the hot season in prowling for them. He used all
+his paws indifferently as hands." Mrs. Bowdich tells of one of these
+animals, procured by Mr. Baird at Prince of Wales Island, who shared a
+cage with a dog to whom he became greatly attached, while nothing could
+reconcile him to a cat, which constantly jumped over his back, causing
+him great annoyance.
+
+
+The Tarsier.
+
+The tarsier (_Tarsius spectrum_) is a small, kitten-faced animal with
+long hind legs, which enable it to leap like a frog. It is nocturnal in
+habit, and is found in Sumatra, Borneo, and elsewhere.
+
+
+The Aye-Aye.
+
+The aye-aye (_Chiromys madagascariensis_) is a remarkable little animal
+resembling, as Professor Owen says, in size and shape the domestic cat,
+its head and ears being larger, and its hind legs and tail longer than
+those of the cat. Dr. Sandwich, writing of one he had in his possession,
+says:--"The thick sticks I put into his cage were bored in all
+directions by a large and destructive grub, called the _montouk_. Just
+at sunset the aye-aye crept from under his blanket, yawned, stretched
+and betook himself to his tree. Presently he came to one of the
+worm-eaten branches, which he began to examine most attentively, and
+bending forward his ears, and applying his nose close to the bark, he
+rapidly tapped the surface with the curious second digit, as a
+woodpecker taps a tree, though with much less noise, from time to time
+inserting the end of the slender finger into the worm-holes as a surgeon
+would a probe. At length he came to a part of the branch which evidently
+gave out an interesting sound, for he began to tear it with his strong
+teeth. He rapidly stripped off the bark, cut into the wood, and exposed
+the nest of a grub which he daintily picked out of its bed, with the
+slender, tapping finger, and conveyed the luscious morsel to his mouth.
+But I was yet to learn another peculiarity. I gave him water to drink in
+a saucer, on which he stretched out his hand, dipped a finger into it
+and drew it obliquely through his open mouth. After a while he lapped
+like a cat, but his first mode of drinking appeared to me to be his way
+of reaching water in the deep clefts of trees."
+
+
+ORDER II.
+
+Wing-Handed Animals.
+
+The animals which most nearly resemble the four-handed animals or
+quadrumana are the wing-handed animals,--the bats or _Cheiroptera_.
+These are of singular appearance and interesting habit. "If," says the
+Rev. J. G. Wood, "the fingers of a man were to be drawn out like wire to
+about four feet in length, a thin membrane to extend from finger to
+finger, and another membrane to fall from the little finger to the
+ankles, he would make a very tolerable imitation of a bat."--Of course,
+it should be added, making allowance for proportion, the full grown male
+bat, of the largest species, rarely exceeding twelve inches in height
+from head to foot. Bats' wings are highly nervous and sensitive, so much
+so as to render their owners almost independent of sight. Besides being
+"well adapted for flight," says Dr. Percival Wright, "they are still
+capable in a small measure of seizing, differing thus from the anterior
+limbs of Birds."
+
+
+Bats.
+
+Dr. Dobson divides the order _Cheiroptera_ into two sub-orders: I, The
+Great Bats and II, The Smaller Bats. Of these there are numerous genera
+and a large number of species. THE GREAT BATS abound in the tropical and
+sub-tropical regions of the East, where they live on fruit, and from
+this circumstance are classified as "fruit-eating bats," though they are
+sometimes called "flying-foxes." The largest of these inhabit Sumatra
+and Java, living in large companies, sleeping by day and foraging by
+night. A large tree serves them for a sleeping-chamber, where,
+suspending themselves head downwards from the branches, they wrap their
+wings about them in lieu of blankets and sleep out the sunshine. After
+sunset they gradually awake and proceed to ravage any fruit preserves
+which may be within reach, committing serious depredations while the
+owners outsleep the moon. According to Mr. Francis Day, "they do very
+great injury to cocoa-nut plantations and mangoe gardens." "Their
+habits," says Mr. Day, "are very intemperate, and they often pass the
+night drinking the toddy from the chatties in the cocoa-nut trees, which
+results either in their returning home in the early morning in a state
+of extreme and riotous intoxication, or in being found the next day at
+the foot of the trees, sleeping off the effects of their midnight
+debauch." THE SMALLER BATS include several families, numerous genera,
+and a large number of species to be found in almost all parts of the
+world. These bats are chiefly insect-eaters, though included among them
+are the vampire bats and the Megaderma lyra which have the reputation
+of being cannibalistic. The various families are "The Horseshoe Bats,"
+"The NycteridA|," "The VespertilionidA|," "The EmballonuridA|," and "The
+PhyllostomidA|.
+
+
+The Common English Bats.
+
+The common English bats belong to the VespertilionidA|. The Pipistrelle
+feeds upon insects but will eat flesh if opportunity serves. In his
+"Natural History of Selbourne," Mr. White describes a tame bat which he
+saw, which would take flies out of a person's hand. "If you gave it
+anything to eat," he says, "it brought its wings round before the mouth,
+hovering and hiding its head in the manner of birds of prey when they
+feed. The adroitness it showed in shearing off the wings of the flies,
+which were always rejected, pleased me much. Insects seemed to be most
+acceptable, though it did not refuse raw flesh when offered; so that the
+notion that bats go down chimneys and gnaw men's bacon seems no
+improbable story." The Long-eared Bat, _Plecotus auritus_, is also
+common in England. "Its ears," says Mr. Wood, "are about an inch and a
+half in length and have a fold in them reaching almost to the lips,"
+hence its name. "It is very easily tamed."
+
+
+The Vampire Bat.
+
+The Vampire Bat which belongs to South America has been invested with a
+halo of romance by the stories which have been told about its sanguinary
+character. "It lives," says the Rev. J. G. Wood, "on the blood of
+animals, and sucks usually while its victim sleeps. The extremities,
+where the blood flows freely, as the toe of a man, the ears of a horse,
+or the combs and wattles of fowls, are its favourite spots. When it has
+selected a subject, on which it intends to feed, it watches until the
+animal is fairly asleep. It then carefully fans its victim with its
+wings while it bites a little hole in the ear or shoulder, and through
+this small aperture, into which a pin's head would scarcely pass, it
+contrives to abstract sufficient blood to make a very ample meal. The
+wound is so small, and the bat manages so adroitly, that the victim
+does not discover that anything has happened until the morning, when a
+pool of blood betrays the visit of the vampire. "The Vampire Bat," says
+Professor Darwin, "is often the cause of much trouble by biting the
+horses on their withers. The injury is not so much owing to the loss of
+blood, as to the inflammation which the pressure of the saddle
+afterwards produces. The whole circumstance has lately been doubted in
+England. I was therefore fortunate in being present when one was
+actually caught on a horse's back. We were bivouacking late one evening,
+near Coquimbo, in Chili, when my servant, noticing that one of the
+horses was very restive, went to see what was the matter, and fancying
+he could distinguish something, suddenly put his hand on the beast's
+withers, and secured the vampire. In the morning the spot where the bite
+had been inflicted was easily distinguished by its being slightly
+swollen and bloody. The third day afterwards we rode the horse without
+any ill effects."
+
+
+A Traveller's Experience.
+
+Captain Steadman, in his "Narrative of a Five Years' Expedition against
+the Revolted Negroes of Surinam," relates, that on waking about four
+o'clock one morning in his hammock, he was extremely alarmed at finding
+himself weltering in congealed blood, and without feeling any pain
+whatever. "The mystery was," continues Captain Steadman, "that I had
+been bitten by the _Vampyre_ or _Spectre_ of Guiana, which is also
+called the _Flying Dog_ of New Spain, and by the Spaniards,
+_Perrovolador_. This is no other than a bat of monstrous size, that
+sucks the blood from men and cattle while they are fast asleep, even
+sometimes till they die; and as the manner in which they proceed is
+truly wonderful, I shall endeavour to give a distinct account of it.
+Knowing, by instinct, that the person they intend to attack is in a
+sound slumber, they generally alight near the feet, where, while the
+creature continues fanning with his enormous wings, which keeps one
+cool, he bites a piece out of the tip of the great toe, so very small,
+indeed, that the head of a pin could scarcely be received into the
+wound, which is consequently not painful; yet through this orifice he
+continues to suck the blood until he is obliged to disgorge. Cattle they
+generally bite in the ear, but always in places where the blood flows
+spontaneously."
+
+
+Megaderma Lyra.
+
+The Vampire Bat of South America has long been credited with
+sanguinivorous habits, and until recently was supposed to be the only
+bat having such propensities. Mr. Edward Blyth has, however, shown that
+the Megaderma Lyra of Asia will sometimes prey upon the smaller species
+of bat with which it comes in contact. Mr. Blyth, one evening, observed
+a rather large bat of this species enter an outhouse, whereupon he
+procured a light, closed the door to prevent escape and then proceeded
+to catch the intruder. In the chase the bat dropped what Mr. Blyth at
+first took to be a young one, but which proved to be a small Vespertilio
+Bat, "feeble from loss of blood, which it was evident the Megaderma had
+been sucking from a large, and still bleeding, wound under and behind
+the ear." As the Megaderma had not alighted while in the outhouse, Mr.
+Blyth concluded "that it sucked the vital current from its victim as it
+flew, having probably seized it on the wing, and that it was seeking a
+quiet nook where it might devour the body at leisure." Having caught the
+Megaderma Mr. Blyth kept both specimens until the next day, and having
+examined each separately put them both into a cage, whereupon the
+Megaderma attacked the smaller bat "with the ferocity of a tiger";
+finding it impossible to escape the cage "it hung by the hind legs to
+one side of its prison, and after sucking the victim till no more blood
+was left commenced devouring it, and soon left nothing but the head and
+some portions of the limbs." "The voidings observed shortly afterwards
+in its cage," says Mr. Blyth, "resembled clotted blood, which will
+explain the statement of Steadman and others concerning masses of
+congealed blood being observed near a patient who has been attacked by a
+South American vampire."
+
+
+ORDER III.
+
+Insect-Eating Animals.
+
+Insect-eating animals (_Insectivora_) include several families, of which
+the hedgehogs, the moles and the shrews, are the best known genera. The
+Colugo is perhaps the most singular member of the order. According to
+some writers his proper place is among the lemurs, and except that his
+feet are adorned with claws instead of nails, it is easy to understand
+why he might be classed with the quadrumana. The Colugo is covered from
+head to foot by a furry membrane, resembling an overcoat open in front
+and ending in a three cornered flap at the tail.
+
+
+The Hedgehog.
+
+The family of the hedgehog contains two genera and a number of species.
+Its length is from six to ten inches; the head, back, and sides being
+covered with short spines, the under parts with soft hair. It lives in
+thickets, and subsists on fruits, roots, and insects. During the winter,
+it lies imbedded in moss, or dried leaves, in a state of torpidity. It
+inhabits Europe, Asia and Africa. It is valuable in the garden for
+destroying the insects, and in the kitchen for the extermination of
+cockroaches, beetles and other household pests. For defence, it rolls
+itself into a ball in such a manner as to present its prickly spines on
+all sides. In this condition it can suffer considerable violence without
+injury. Mr. Bell mentions a hedgehog that was in the habit of running to
+the edge of an area wall twelve or fourteen feet high, and without a
+moment's pause, leap over, contracting into a ball as he fell, and in
+this form reaching the ground, where it quietly unfolded itself as if
+nothing had happened and ran on its way. It is nocturnal in its habits
+and in its natural state lives in pairs. It is easily tamed. A hedgehog
+has been trained to serve as a turnspit "as well," says Captain Brown,
+"in all respects as the dog of that denomination. In a wild state it
+has been known to attack and kill a leveret. In attacking a snake it
+will roll itself up between its bites and thus protect itself against
+retaliation.
+
+
+The Mole.
+
+The family of the TalpidA| to which the mole belongs is a large and
+interesting one. The common mole "when at rest," says the author of
+"Tales of Animals," "bears more resemblance to a small stuffed sack than
+to a living animal, its head being entirely destitute of external ears,
+and elongated nearly to a point, and its eyes so extremely small and
+completely hidden by the fur, that it would not be surprising should a
+casual observer conclude it to be blind. This apparently shapeless mass
+is endowed with great activity and a surprising degree of strength, and
+is excellently suited for deriving enjoyment from the peculiar life it
+is designed to lead. It is found abundantly in Europe and North America,
+from Canada to Virginia; often living at no great distance from
+water-courses, or in dykes thrown up to protect meadows from inundation.
+The mole burrows with great quickness, and travels under ground with
+much celerity; nothing can be better constructed for this purpose than
+its broad and strong hands, or fore paws, armed with long and powerful
+claws, which are very sharp at their extremities, and slightly curved on
+the inside. Numerous galleries, communicating with each other, enable
+the mole to travel in various directions, without coming to the surface,
+which they appear to do very rarely, unless their progress is impeded by
+a piece of ground so hard as to defy their strength and perseverance.
+The depth of their burrows depends very materially on the character of
+the soil, and the situation of the place; sometimes running for a great
+distance, at a depth of from one to three inches, and sometimes much
+deeper. Moles are most active early in the morning, at midday, and in
+the evening; after rains they are particularly busy in repairing their
+damaged galleries; and in long continued wet weather we find that they
+seek the high grounds for security."
+
+
+An Enterprising Mole.
+
+Though as Captain Brown points out nothing is more fatal to the mole
+than excessive rain, which fills their subterranean galleries with
+water; the following statement made by Mr. A. Bruce in the LinnA|an
+Transactions, shows that the animal is not without enterprise on the
+water:--"On visiting the Loch of Clunie, which I often did, I observed
+in it a small island at the distance of one hundred and eighty yards
+from the nearest land, measured to be so upon the ice. Upon the island,
+the Earl of Airly, the proprietor, has a castle and small shrubbery. I
+remarked frequently the appearance of fresh mole casts, or hills. I for
+some time took them for those of the water mouse, and one day asked the
+gardener if it was so. No, said he, it was the mole; and that he had
+caught one or two lately. Five or six years ago, he caught two in traps;
+and for two years after this he had observed none. But, about four years
+ago, coming ashore one summer's evening in the dusk, with the Earl of
+Airly's butler, they saw at a short distance, upon the smooth water,
+some animal paddling towards the island. They soon closed with this
+feeble passenger, and found it to be the common mole, led by a most
+astonishing instinct from the castle hill, the nearest point of land, to
+take possession of this desert island. It had been, at the time of my
+visit, for the space of two years quite free from any subterraneous
+inhabitant; but the mole has, for more than a year past, made its
+appearance again, and its operations I have since been witness to."
+
+
+The Use of the Mole.
+
+The use of the mole is often said to be far outweighed by the mischief
+he perpetrates, the truth appearing to be that like many other animals,
+in his own place he is valuable, out of it he is a source of danger.
+Both conditions are illustrated by the following, which I quote from
+Mrs. Bowdich's "Anecdotes of Animals."
+
+"A French naturalist of the name of Henri Lecourt devoted a great part
+of his life to the study of the habits and structure of moles; and he
+tells us that they will run as fast as a horse will gallop. By his
+observations he rendered essential service to a large district in
+France; for he discovered that numbers of moles had undermined the banks
+of a canal, and that unless means were taken to prevent the catastrophe,
+these banks would give way, and inundation would ensue. By his ingenious
+contrivances and accurate knowledge of their habits, he contrived to
+extirpate them before the occurrence of further mischief. Moles,
+however, are said to be excellent drainers of land; and Mr. Hogg, the
+Ettrick Shepherd, used to declare that if a hundred men and horses were
+employed to dress a pasture farm of 1500 or 2000 acres, they would not
+do it as effectually as moles would do, if left to themselves."
+
+
+The Shrew.
+
+The shrew family is a large one and widely distributed over the surface
+of the earth. The common shrew (_Sorex vulgaris_) is that best known in
+England. It resembles the mouse in general form and varies in size and
+colour, its usual length, including the tail being about four and a half
+inches. Its body is moderately full, its neck short, its head tapering
+to a pointed snout, the fore-feet small, the hind-feet larger and the
+tail shorter than the body. The shrew is generally found either in
+burrows, or among heaps of stones, or in holes made by other animals;
+near dung heaps or hayricks, they are more numerous than elsewhere.
+Insects are their principal subsistence, but they seem no less fond of
+grain, and show a pig's predilection for filth of various sorts. Its
+principal enemies are the Kestrel and the Barn Owl. A superstition to
+the effect that if the shrew should run over the legs of a cow or a
+horse while reposing on the grass it causes lameness, is also
+responsible for the destruction of many by ignorant country folk. One
+species of the shrew enjoys the reputation of being the smallest living
+mammal; it is but an inch and a half long with a tail of an inch in
+length. The water shrew is somewhat larger than the common shrew
+attaining to a length of five and a half inches including the tail. The
+water shrew colonises on the banks of rivers.
+
+
+ORDER IV.
+
+Flesh-eating Animals.
+
+The order of flesh-eating animals (_carnivora_) includes a large number
+of species among which are the lion, the tiger and the leopard, as well
+as the cat and the dog. The two sub-orders into which this order is
+divided are: I, The Fissipedia, and II, The Pinnipedia. The Fissipedia
+are again divided into ten families; lions, cats, dogs, hyenas, weasels,
+and bears being the most important members. The Pinnipedia includes the
+seal, the sea lion, the walrus and their allies.
+
+
+SUB-ORDER I.
+
+The Fissipedia. Animals of the Cat Kind.
+
+Animals of the cat kind are distinguished by their sharp and formidable
+claws, which they can hide or extend at pleasure. They are remarkable
+for their rapacity, subsisting entirely on the flesh and blood of other
+animals. The dog, wolf, and bear, are sometimes known to live on
+vegetables, or farinaceous food; but the lion, the tiger, the leopard,
+and other animals of this class, devour nothing but flesh, and would
+starve upon any other provision. They lead a solitary, ravenous life,
+uniting neither for mutual defence, like vegetable feeders, nor for
+mutual support, like those of the dog kind. The first of the class is
+the lion, distinguished from all the rest by his strength, his
+magnitude, and his mane. The second is the tiger, rather longer than the
+lion, but not so tall, and known by the streaks and vivid beauty of its
+skin; here we may also mention the puma, which is sometimes called a
+panther, or colloquially a "painter", otherwise a couguar, or American
+lion, which is of a tawny colour. The next is the leopard, sometimes
+called a panther, and the next the jaguar, followed by the ounce, not so
+large as any of the former, spotted like them, but distinguished by the
+cream-coloured ground of its hair, and a tail so long as to exceed the
+length of its body. The next is the catamountain, or tiger-cat, less
+than the ounce, but differing particularly in having a shorter tail,
+and being streaked down the back like a tiger. The next is the lynx, of
+the size of a fox, with its body streaked, and the tips of its ears
+tufted with black. Then comes the Persian lynx, not so large as the
+lynx, nor mottled like it, but with longer ears, tipped also with black,
+and the serval, shaped and streaked like the lynx, but not having the
+tips of its ears tufted. Lastly, the cat, wild and tame, with all its
+varieties; less than any of the former, but like them insidious,
+rapacious, and cruel.
+
+
+[Illustration: The Lion]
+
+The Lion.
+
+The lion is known as the King of Beasts; though modern travellers have
+done much to rob him of the homage that he once received. Like a human
+being who has been too much lionized, he suffers from the detractions
+which are excited by his pre-eminence. He is found chiefly in India and
+Africa, though he once had a more extended range. He was well known to
+the Greeks, and appears in both their poetry and history. Homer
+celebrates him, and according to Herodotus he exploited himself by
+attacking the camels of the army of Xerxes. His noble appearance is said
+to be responsible for the popular ideal of his character, which
+travellers and naturalists declare to be minus the magnanimous and
+generous qualities with which it was at one time credited.
+
+
+The Lion's Character.
+
+In judging of the lion's character it is important to remember that he
+belongs to the cat family, and that his virtues and vices are naturally
+of the cat kind. "The lion seldom runs," says the author of "Tales of
+Animals." "He either walks or creeps, or, for a short distance, advances
+rapidly by great bounds. It is evident, therefore, that he must seize
+his prey by stealth; that he is not fitted for an open attack; and that
+his character is necessarily that of great power, united to considerable
+skill and cunning in its exercise." Again, the lion, as well as others
+of the cat tribe, takes his prey at night; and it is necessary,
+therefore, that he should have peculiar organs of vision. In all those
+animals which seek their food in the dark, the eye is usually of a large
+size, to admit a great number of rays. This peculiar kind of eye,
+therefore, is necessary to the Lion to perceive his prey, and he creeps
+towards it with a certainty which nothing but this distinct nocturnal
+vision could give." Men who hunt the lion in the daytime, when he is
+usually sleeping off the effects of a hearty meal, and who awaken him in
+a surprised and dazed condition when his cat-like eyes cannot bear the
+blaze of the sun, ought not to be surprised if he tries to postpone
+fighting until a more convenient season. Nor can he be said to be less
+noble because he only fights when it is necessary to procure food, to
+protect his young, and to defend himself. A veritable Ulysses among the
+beasts he is ready to fight if needs be, but unless urged by hunger, or
+attacked by the hunter, he does not seem to bear any particular malice
+against mankind.
+
+
+The Lion's Attitude towards Man.
+
+"It is singular," says Sparrman, "that the lion, which, according to
+many, always kills his prey immediately if it belongs to the brute
+creation, is reported, frequently, although provoked, to content himself
+with merely wounding the human species; or, at least, to wait some time
+before he gives the fatal blow to the unhappy victim he has got under
+him. A farmer, who the year before had the misfortune to be a spectator
+of a lion seizing two of his oxen, at the very instant he had taken them
+out of the waggon, told me that they immediately fell down dead upon the
+spot, close to each other; though, upon examining the carcasses
+afterwards, it appeared that their backs only had been broken. In
+several places through which I passed, they mentioned to me by name a
+father and his two sons, who were said to be still living, and who,
+being on foot near a river on their estate, in search of a lion, this
+latter had rushed out upon them, and thrown one of them under his feet.
+The two others, however, had time enough to shoot the lion dead upon the
+spot, which had lain almost across the youth, so nearly and dearly
+related to them, without having done him any particular hurt. I myself
+saw, near the upper part of Duyvenhoek River, an elderly Hottentot who,
+at that time (his wounds being still open), bore under one eye, and
+underneath his cheek bone the ghastly marks of the bite of a lion, which
+did not think it worth his while to give him any other chastisement for
+having, together with his master (whom I also knew), and several other
+Christians, hunted him with great intrepidity, though without success.
+The conversation ran everywhere in this part of the country upon one
+Bota, a farmer and captain in the militia, who had lain for sometime
+under a lion, and had received several bruises from the beast, having
+been at the same time a good deal bitten by him in one arm, as a token
+to remember him by; but, upon the whole, had, in a manner, had his life
+given him by this noble animal. The man was said then to be living in
+the district of Artaquaskloof."
+
+
+Discretion the better part of Valour.
+
+The following seems to show a curious power of reasoning on the part of
+the lion. "Diederik Muller, one of the most intrepid and successful of
+modern lion-hunters in South Africa, had," says Sir William Jardine,
+"been out alone hunting in the wilds, when he came suddenly upon a lion,
+which, instead of giving way, seemed disposed, from the angry attitude
+he assumed, to dispute with him the dominion of the desert. Diederik
+instantly alighted, and confident of his unerring aim levelled his gun
+at the forehead of the lion, who was couched in the act to spring,
+within fifteen paces of him; but at the moment the hunter fired, his
+horse, whose bridle was round his arm, started back and caused him to
+miss. The lion, bounded forward, but stopped within a few paces,
+confronting Diederik who stood defenceless, his gun discharged, and his
+horse running off. The man and the beast stood looking at each other in
+the face for a short space. At length the lion moved backward as if to
+go away. Diederik began to load his gun, the lion looked over his
+shoulder, growled, and returned. Diederik stood still. The lion again
+moved cautiously off, and the Boer proceeded to load and ram down his
+bullet. The lion again looked back and growled angrily; and this
+occurred repeatedly, until the animal had got off to some distance when
+he took fairly to his heels and bounded away."
+
+
+The Strength of the Lion.
+
+Whatever may be said of the lion's courage, there can be no doubt as to
+his strength. Burchell thus describes an encounter with a lion. "The day
+was exceedingly pleasant and not a cloud was to be seen. For a mile or
+two we travelled along the banks of the river, which in this part
+abounded in late mat-rushes. The dogs seemed much to enjoy prowling
+about and examining every rushy place, and at last met with some object
+among the rushes which caused them to set up a most vehement and
+determined barking. We explored the spot with caution as we suspected,
+from the peculiar tone of the bark, that it was what it proved to
+be--lions. Having encouraged the dogs to drive them out, a task which
+they performed with great willingness, we had a full view of an enormous
+black-maned lion and lioness. The latter was seen only for a minute, as
+she made her escape up the river under concealment of the rushes; but
+the lion came steadily forward, and stood still and looked at us. At
+this moment we felt our situation not free from danger, as the animal
+seemed preparing to spring upon us, and we were standing on the bank, at
+a distance of only a few yards from him, most of us being on foot, and
+unarmed, without any visible possibility of escaping. At this instant
+the dogs boldly flew in between us and the lion, and surrounding him,
+kept him at bay by their violent and resolute barking. The lion,
+conscious of his strength, remained unmoved at their noisy attempts and
+kept his head turned towards us. At one moment, the dogs perceiving his
+eye thus engaged, had advanced close to his feet, and seemed as if they
+would actually seize hold of him; but they paid dearly for their
+imprudence, for, without discomposing the majestic and steady attitude
+in which he stood fixed, he merely moved his paw, and the next instant I
+beheld two lying dead. In doing this he made so little exertion, that it
+was scarcely perceptible by what means they had been killed. We fired
+upon him, and one of the balls went through his side, just between the
+short ribs, but the animal still remained standing in the same position.
+We had now no doubt that he would spring upon us, but happily we were
+mistaken and were not sorry to see him move slowly away."
+
+
+The Lion's Affection.
+
+Many instances are on record of strong attachments formed by the lion
+for his keeper, and for dogs or other animals which have been associated
+with him. A remarkable example of this kind is related, where a little
+dog, which had been thrown into a lion's den that he might be devoured,
+was not only spared by the noble animal, but became his companion and
+favourite. In a moment of irritation caused by long hunger, the dog,
+having snapped at the first morsels of food, received a blow from the
+lion which proved fatal. From that time the lion pined away, refused his
+food, and at length died, apparently of melancholy.
+
+
+The Lion's Docility.
+
+A carpenter was employed some years ago to do some repairs to the cage
+of a lion at a menagerie at Brussels. When the workman saw the lion he
+drew back in terror. The keeper, on this, entered the cage and led the
+animal to the upper part of it, while the lower was refitting. He there
+amused himself for some time playing with the lion, and being wearied he
+fell asleep. The carpenter, having finished his work, called the keeper
+to inspect what he had done, but the keeper made no answer. Having
+repeatedly called in vain he became alarmed and proceeded to the upper
+part of the cage, where, looking through the bars, he saw the lion and
+the keeper lying side by side, and immediately uttered a loud cry. The
+lion started up and stared at the carpenter with an eye of fury, and
+then, placing his paw on the breast of his keeper, lay down to sleep
+again. The carpenter, terrified at what he saw, ran off to secure help,
+whereupon some of the attendants succeeded in arousing the keeper who,
+far from being disconcerted by the circumstances, took the paw of the
+lion and shook it gently in token of regard and the animal quietly
+returned with him to his former residence. M. Felix, the keeper of the
+animals at Paris, had charge of a lion which refused food, and became
+sullen and mopish during the temporary absence of M. Felix through
+illness, but who regained his spirits and showed every demonstration of
+joy upon the reappearance of M. Felix at his post of duty.
+
+
+The story of Androcles.
+
+With so many authentic instances which can be cited of the amenability
+of the lion to kindly influences, the story of Androcles and the lion
+does not seem so improbable as it has been sometimes thought. The
+following is the story:--In the days of ancient Rome, a Roman governor
+treated one of his slaves or subjects, called Androcles, so cruelly that
+he ran away. To escape pursuit he fled to a desert and crept into a
+cave. What was his horror to find that this cave was a lion's den, and
+to see a large lion approach him! He expected instantly to be destroyed;
+but the lion, approaching Androcles, held up his paw or foot with a
+supplicating air. Androcles examined the lion's paw, and found a thorn
+in it which he drew out, and the lion, apparently relieved, fawned upon
+his benefactor as a dog does upon his master. After some time Androcles
+ventured back to the place where he lived before. He was discovered,
+taken up as a runaway slave, and condemned to be the prey of a wild
+beast. He was accordingly thrown into a place where a large lion,
+recently caught, was let in upon him. The lion came bounding toward
+Androcles, and the spectators expected to see the man instantly torn in
+pieces. What was their astonishment to see the lion approach him, and
+fawn before him like a dog who had found his master! It was the lion
+Androcles had met in the desert, and the grateful animal would not rend
+his benefactor.
+
+
+A Lion Hunt.
+
+Livingstone came to very close quarters with a lion on one occasion, the
+circumstances of which he thus narrates. "The BakAitla of the village
+Mabotsa, were much troubled by lions, which leaped into the cattle-pens
+by night and destroyed their cows. They even attacked the herds in open
+day. This was so unusual an occurrence that the people believed that
+they were bewitched, 'given' as they said, into the power of the lions
+by a neighbouring tribe. They went once to attack the animals, but being
+rather a cowardly people compared to Bechuanas in general on such
+occasions, they returned without killing any. It is well known that if
+one in a troop of lions is killed, the others take the hint and leave
+that part of the country. So the next time the herds were attacked, I
+went with the people in order to encourage them to rid themselves of the
+annoyance by destroying one of the marauders. We found the lions on a
+small hill, about a quarter of a mile in length and covered with trees.
+A circle of men was formed round it, and they gradually closed up,
+ascending pretty near to each other. Being down below on the plain with
+a native schoolmaster, named MebAilwe, I saw one of the lions sitting
+upon a piece of rock, within the now closed circle of men. MebAilwe fired
+at him before I could, and the ball struck the rock upon which the
+animal was sitting. He bit at the spot struck, as a dog does at a stick
+or a stone thrown at him, then, leaping away, broke through the opening
+circle and escaped unhurt. When the circle was reformed we saw two other
+lions in it, but we were afraid to fire lest we should strike the men;
+and they allowed the beasts to burst through also. If the BakAitla had
+acted according to the custom of the country, they would have speared
+the lions in their attempt to get out. Seeing that we could not get them
+to kill one of the lions, we bent our footsteps towards the village; in
+going round the end of the hill, however, I saw one of the beasts
+sitting on a piece of rock, as before, but this time he had a little
+bush in front. Being about thirty yards off, I took a good aim at his
+body through the bush, and fired both barrels into in. The men then
+called out: 'He is shot! He is shot!' Others cried: 'He has been shot by
+another man, too; let us go to him.' I did not see anyone else shoot at
+him, but I saw the lion's tail erected in anger behind the bush, and
+turning to the people, said: 'Stop a little till I load again.' When in
+the act of ramming down the bullets I heard a shout. Starting, and
+looking half round, I saw the lion just in the act of springing upon me.
+I was upon a little height. He caught my shoulder as he sprang and we
+both came to the ground below together. Growling horribly, close to my
+ear, he shook me as a terrier dog does a rat. The shock produced a
+stupor, similar to that which seems to be felt by a mouse after the
+first shake of a cat. It caused a sort of dreaminess, in which there was
+no sense of pain or feeling of terror, though quite conscious of all
+that was happening. It was like what patients partially under the
+influence of chloroform describe, who see all the operation but feel not
+the knife. This singular condition was not the result of any mental
+process. The shake annihilated fear, and allowed no sense of horror in
+looking round at the beast. This peculiar state is probably produced in
+all animals killed by the carnivora; and, if so, is a merciful provision
+by our benevolent Creator for lessening the pain of death. Turning round
+to relieve myself of the weight, as he had one paw on the back of my
+head, I saw his eyes directed to MebAilwe, who was trying to shoot him at
+a distance of ten or fifteen yards. His gun, a flint one, missed fire in
+both barrels. The lion immediately left me and attacking MebAilwe bit
+his thigh. Another man, whose life I had saved before, after he had
+been tossed by a buffalo, attempted to spear the lion while he was
+biting MebAilwe. He left MebAilwe and caught this man by the shoulder; but
+at that moment the bullets he had received took effect, and he fell down
+dead. The whole was the work of a few moments, and must have been his
+paroxysm of dying rage. In order to take out the charm from him, the
+BakAitla, on the following day, made a huge bonfire over the carcass,
+which was declared to be the largest lion they had ever seen. Besides
+crunching the bone into splinters, he left eleven teeth wounds on the
+upper part of my arm. A wound from this animal's tooth resembles a
+gunshot wound. It is generally followed by a great deal of sloughing and
+discharge, and pains are felt in the part periodically ever after. I had
+on a tartan jacket on the occasion, and I believe that it wiped off all
+the virus from the teeth that pierced the flesh; for my two companions
+in this affray have both suffered from the peculiar pains, while I have
+escaped with only the inconvenience of a false joint in my limb."
+
+
+A Thrilling Experience.
+
+Professor Lichtenstein, in his "Travels" gives a thrilling story of a
+Boer's adventure with a lion, which he had from the lips of the Boer
+himself. "It is now," said the colonist, "more than two years since, in
+the very place where we stand, I ventured to take one of the most daring
+shots that ever was hazarded. My wife was sitting within the house near
+the door, the children were playing about her, and I was without, near
+the house, busied in doing something to a waggon, when suddenly, though
+it was mid-day, an enormous lion appeared, came up and laid himself
+quietly down in the shade upon the very threshold of the door. My wife,
+either frozen with fear, or aware of the danger of attempting to fly,
+remained motionless in her place, while the children took refuge in her
+arms. The cry they uttered attracted my attention, and I hastened
+towards the door, but my astonishment may well be conceived when I
+found the entrance to it barred in such a way. Although the animal had
+not seen me, unarmed as I was escape seemed impossible, yet I glided
+gently, scarcely knowing what I meant to do, to the side of the house,
+up to the window of my chamber, where I knew my loaded gun was standing.
+By a most happy chance, I had set it into the corner close by the
+window, so that I could reach it with my hand; for, as you may perceive,
+the opening is too small to admit of my having got in, and still more
+fortunately, the door of the room was open, so that I could see the
+whole danger of the scene. The lion was beginning to move. There was no
+longer any time to think; I called softly to the mother not to be
+alarmed, and invoking the name of the Lord, fired my piece. The ball
+passed directly over the hair of my boy's head and lodged in the
+forehead of the lion, immediately above his eyes and stretched him on
+the ground, so that he never stirred more." "Indeed," says Professor
+Lichtenstein, "we all shuddered as we listened to this relation. Never,
+as he himself observed, was a more daring attempt hazarded. Had he
+failed in his aim, mother and children were all inevitably lost; if the
+boy had moved he had been struck; the least turn in the lion and the
+shot had not been mortal to him; and to consummate the whole, the head
+of the creature was in some sort protected by the door-post."
+
+
+Attacked by a Lion.
+
+In Phillips's "Researches in South Africa," the following account is
+given of the adventures of a traveller which we quote from Jardine's
+Naturalists' Library collated with other versions. "Our waggons, which
+were obliged to take a circuitous route, arrived at last, and we pitched
+our tent a musket-shot from the kraal, and, after having arranged
+everything, went to rest, but were soon disturbed; for, about midnight
+the cattle and horses, which were standing between the waggons, began to
+start and run, and one of the drivers to shout, on which every one ran
+out of the tent with his gun. About thirty paces from the tent stood a
+lion, which, on seeing us, walked very deliberately about thirty paces
+farther, behind a small thorn-bush, carrying something with him, which I
+took to be a young ox. We fired more than sixty shots at that bush,
+without perceiving any movement. The south-east wind blew strong, the
+sky was clear, and the moon shone very bright, so that we could perceive
+everything at that distance. After the cattle had been quieted again,
+and I had looked over everything, I missed the sentry from before the
+tent, Jan Smit, from Antwerp. We called as loudly as possible, but in
+vain; nobody answered, from which I concluded that the lion had carried
+him off. Three or four men then advanced very cautiously to the bush,
+which stood right opposite the door of the tent, to see if they could
+discover anything of the man, but returned helter-skelter; for the lion,
+who was there still, rose up, and began to roar. They found there the
+musket of the sentry, which was cocked, and also his cap and shoes. We
+fired again about a hundred shots at the bush, without perceiving
+anything of the lion, from which we concluded that he was killed, or had
+run away. This induced the marksman of our company to go and see if he
+was still there or not, taking with him a firebrand. As soon as he
+approached the bush, the lion roared terribly, and leapt at him; on
+which he threw the firebrand at him, and the other people having fired
+about ten shots at him, he retired directly to his former place behind
+that bush. The firebrand which he had thrown at the lion had fallen in
+the midst of the bush, and, favoured by the strong south-east wind, it
+began to burn with a great flame, so that we could see very clearly into
+and through it. We continued our firing into it until the night passed
+away, and the day began to break, when seven men were posted on the
+farthest waggons to watch him, and to take aim at him if he should come
+out. At last, before it became quite light, he walked up the hill, with
+the man in his mouth, when about forty shots were fired without hitting
+him, although some were very near. Every time this happened, he turned
+round towards the tent, and came roaring towards us; and, I am of
+opinion, that if he had been hit, he would have rushed on the people and
+the tent. When it became broad daylight, we perceived, by the blood, and
+a piece of the clothes of the man, that the lion had taken him away."
+"For the satisfaction of the curious," says Sir William Jardine, "it may
+be mentioned, that he was followed, and killed in the forenoon, over the
+mangled remains of the unfortunate sentinel."
+
+
+A Night Surprise.
+
+Mr. Gordon Cumming gives an even more thrilling account of a similar
+adventure of his experience. He says:--"About three hours after the sun
+went down, I called to my men to come and take their coffee and supper
+which was ready for them at my fire; and after supper, three of them
+returned before their comrades to their own fireside and lay down.... In
+a few minutes an ox came out by the gate of the kraal and walked round
+the back of it. Hendrick got up and drove him again and then went back
+to his fireside and lay down. Hendrick and Ruyter lay on one side of the
+fire under one blanket and John Stofolus lay on the other.... Suddenly
+the appalling and murderous voice of an angry bloodthirsty lion, within
+a few yards of us, burst upon my ear, followed by the shrieking of the
+Hottentots. Again and again the murderous roar of the attack was
+repeated. We heard John and Ruyter shriek, 'the Lion! the Lion!...' Next
+instant John Stofolus rushed into the midst of us almost speechless with
+fear and terror, and eyes bursting from their sockets, and shrieked out,
+'the lion! the lion! He has got Hendrick, he dragged him away from the
+fire beside me. I struck him with the burning brands upon his head, but
+he would not let go his hold. Hendrick is dead! O God! Hendrick is dead!
+Let us take fire and seek him....' It appeared that when the unfortunate
+Hendrick rose to drive in the ox, the lion had watched him to his
+fireside, and he had scarcely lain down, when the brute sprang upon him
+and Ruyter (for both lay under one blanket) with his appalling murderous
+roar, and roaring as he lay, grappled him with his fearful claws and
+kept biting him on the breast and shoulder, all the while feeling for
+his neck; having got hold of which, he at once dragged him away
+backwards round the bush into the dense shade.... The next morning, just
+as the day began to dawn we heard the lion dragging something up the
+river side under cover of the bank. We drove the cattle out of the kraal
+and then proceeded to inspect the scene of the night's awful tragedy. In
+the hollow where the lion had lain, consuming his prey, we found one leg
+of the unfortunate Hendrick, bitten off below the knee, the shoe still
+on the foot, the grass and bushes were all stained with his blood, and
+fragments of his pea-coat lay around. Hendrick was by far the best man I
+had about my waggons ... his loss to us all was very serious."
+
+
+A Lion Outwitted.
+
+In the southern part of Africa, where the Hottentots live, lions were
+very common, and the adventures of the inhabitants with them very
+frequent. One evening a Hottentot saw that he was pursued by a lion. He
+was very much alarmed, and devised the following means of escape. He
+went to the edge of a precipice, and placed himself a little below it.
+He then put his cloak and hat on a stick, and elevated them over his
+head, giving them a gentle motion. The lion came crouching along, and,
+mistaking the cloak and hat for the man, as the Hottentot intended he
+should do, he sprang upon them with a swift leap, and, passing over the
+head of the Hottentot, was plunged headlong down the precipice.
+
+
+Old Instincts and new Opportunities.
+
+In the "Miscellany of Natural History," from which several of these
+anecdotes are taken there is a story illustrating the way in which old
+instincts will show themselves in the presence of new opportunities. On
+the evening of the 20th October 1816, a lioness made her escape from a
+travelling menagerie which was drawn up on the road-side, about seven
+miles from the town of Salisbury. It was about eight o'clock, and quite
+dark, and the Exeter mail was passing when the animal suddenly darted
+forward, and springing at the throat of the off-leader, fastened the
+talons of her fore-feet on each side of the neck, close to the horse's
+head, while those of the hind-feet were forced into the chest. In this
+situation she hung, while the blood streamed from the agonized creature,
+as if a vein had been opened by a lancet. It may be easily supposed,
+that the alarm excited by this encounter, was very great. Two inside
+passengers instantly dashed out of the coach and fled to a house on the
+road-side. The keeper of the caravan came, and immediately set a large
+Newfoundland dog on the animal. The lioness, on finding herself seized
+by the leg, quitted the horse, and turned upon the dog, which the
+spectators expected would very soon become the victim of her fury; but
+she was contented with giving him only a slight punishment, and on
+hearing the voice of her keeper, retired under a neighbouring straw
+rick, and gently allowed herself to be secured. "This anecdote," says
+the writer, "is remarkably characteristic, the moment that the animal
+found herself at liberty, and an object of prey presented itself, all
+her original propensities, hitherto restrained, were instantly called
+into action; but no sooner did the voice of her keeper reach her ears,
+than the force of long habit prevailed, she became calm, and allowed
+herself to be bound, and led again to her den."
+
+
+The Tiger.
+
+The tiger is one of the most beautiful, but at the same time one of the
+most rapacious and destructive of the whole animal race. It is found in
+the warm climates of the East, especially in India and Siam. It so much
+resembles the cat, as almost to induce us to consider the latter a tiger
+in miniature. It lurks generally near a fountain, or on the brink of a
+river, to surprise such animals as come to quench their thirst; and like
+the lion bounds upon its prey, easily making a spring of twenty feet and
+upwards. When it has killed one animal it often attacks others,
+swallowing their blood for which it has an insatiable thirst in large
+draughts; for even when satisfied with food, it is not satiated with
+slaughter. The tiger is said by some to prefer human flesh to that of
+any other animal; and it is certain, that it does not, like many other
+beasts of prey, shun the presence of man, but has been even known on
+more than one occasion to spring upon a hunting party when seated at
+their refreshment, and carry off one of the number, rushing through the
+shrubs into the forest, and devouring the unfortunate victim at its
+leisure. The strength as well as the agility of this animal is
+remarkable; it carries off a deer with the greatest ease.
+
+The tiger is ornamented with long streaks across its body. The ground
+colour is yellow, very deep on the back, but growing lighter towards the
+belly, where it softens to white, as it does also on the throat and the
+inside of the legs. The bars which cross the body from the back to the
+belly are of the most beautiful black, and the skin altogether is so
+extremely fine and glossy, that it is much esteemed, and sold at a high
+price in all the eastern countries, especially China. "The colouring of
+the tiger," says the Rev. J. G. Wood, "is a good instance of the manner
+in which animals are protected by the similarity of their external
+appearance to the particular locality in which they reside. The stripes
+on the tiger's skin so exactly assimilate with the long jungle grass
+amongst which it lives, that it is impossible for unpractised eyes to
+discern the animal at all, even when a considerable portion of its body
+is exposed."
+
+
+Ravages Committed by Tigers.
+
+The ravages committed by tigers have often led to the organisation of
+hunting parties formed with a view to exterminate the more aggressive of
+the enemy. The following narrative of a tiger excursion at Doongal is
+from the "East India Government Gazette."
+
+"There were five tigers killed by the party, besides one bear killed,
+and another wounded; a wolf, a hyA|na, a panther, a leopard, and some
+immense rock and cobra capella snakes. Among the occurrences during the
+excursion, some were of a peculiar and pathetic nature. The first
+happened to a poor Bunnia, or dealer, of the village of Doongal, who had
+been to the city of Hydrabad, to collect some money, and who was
+returning, after having gathered together a small sum, when on the way,
+a little beyond the cantonment of Secunderabad, he saw an armed PA|on
+seated, and apparently a traveller in the same direction. After mutual
+inquiries, the PA|on told the Bunnia he was going to the same place; and,
+as the Bunnia was glad to have somebody to accompany him, he gave him a
+part of his victuals; and, on their way, they mutually related their
+histories. The Bunnia innocently mentioned the object of his visit to
+the city, and the fact of his returning with the money he had collected;
+this immediately raised the avarice of the PA|on, who decided in his mind
+to kill the poor Bunnia in a suitable place, and strip him of his money.
+They proceeded together, with this design in the mind of the PA|on, until
+they came to a place where the ravages of the tiger were notorious, and
+he prepared to kill the Bunnia; and while he was struggling with him,
+and in the act of drawing his sword to slay him, a tiger sprang upon the
+PA|on, and carried him off, leaving his shield and sword, which the
+Bunnia carried to Doongal, as trophies of retributive justice in his
+favour. The next victim was the wife of a Bunjarra. They were resting
+under a tree, when a tiger sprang up, and seized the woman by the head.
+The husband, from mere impulse to save his wife, held her by the legs;
+and a struggle ensued between the tiger pulling her by the head, and the
+man by the legs, until the issue, which could not be doubted, when the
+tiger carried off the woman. The man seemed to be rather partial to his
+wife, and devoted himself to revenge her death,--forsook his cattle and
+property,--resigned them to his brother, and offered his services to be
+of the tiger-killing party, and strayed about the jungles, until he was
+heard of no more."
+
+"A camel driver, who had been just married, was bringing home his bride,
+when a tiger followed, and kept them in view a great part of the road,
+for an opportunity to seize one of them. The bride having occasion to
+alight, was immediately pounced upon by the ferocious beast, and he
+scampered away with her in his mouth. A shepherd was taken by a young
+tiger, which was followed by the mother, a large tigress, and devoured
+at a distance of two miles; and a Bunnia, or dealer, from Bolarum, was
+seized returning from a fair. A woman, with an infant about a year old,
+was captured by a tiger; and the infant was found by the Puttal, or head
+of the village, who brought it to his house. Some of the Company's
+elephants that were going for forage were chased by a tiger, which was
+kept off by a spearman; and a comical chase of them was made up to
+Doongal, the elephants running before the tiger, until they entered the
+village. It is said the lives lost by these tigers amounted to about
+three hundred persons in one year, within the range of seven villages;
+and the destruction of cattle, sheep, and goats, was said to be
+immense."
+
+
+[Illustration: Lieutenant Collet and the Tiger]
+
+An Intrepid Hunter.
+
+Captain Brown in his "Natural History of Animals" tells a thrilling
+story of an adventure of Lieutenant Collet, of the Bombay army, who
+having heard that a very large tiger had destroyed seven inhabitants of
+an adjacent village, resolved, with another officer, to attempt the
+destruction of the monster. Having ordered seven elephants, they went in
+quest of the animal, which they found sleeping beneath a bush. Roused by
+the noise of the elephants, he made a furious charge upon them, and
+Lieutenant Collet's elephant received him on her shoulder, the other six
+having turned about, and run off, notwithstanding the exertions of
+their riders. The elephant shook off the tiger, and Lieutenant Collet
+having fired two balls at him, he fell; but, again recovering himself,
+he made a spring at the lieutenant. Having missed his object, he seized
+the elephant by the hind leg, and, having received a kick from her, and
+another ball, he let go his hold, and fell a second time. Supposing that
+he was now disabled, Collet very rashly dismounted, with the resolution
+of killing him with his pistols; but the tiger, who had only been
+crouching to take another spring, flew upon the lieutenant, and caught
+him in his mouth. The strength and intrepidity of the lieutenant,
+however, did not forsake him: he immediately fired his pistol into the
+tiger's body, and, finding that this had no effect, disengaged his arms
+with all his force, and, directing the other pistol to his heart, he at
+last destroyed him, after receiving twenty-five severe wounds.
+
+
+The Leopard.
+
+The Leopard, who is also known as the panther, belongs to Asia and
+Africa. He is distinguished by the beauty of his coat which is of a rich
+fawn colour, graduating to white underneath his belly. It is covered
+with spots or clusters of marks which resemble the form of a rose. He is
+an agile climber and a terror to goats, sheep, monkeys and all lesser
+animals, but shows no special hostility to man unless attacked or
+cornered.
+
+
+The Leopard's Tenacity of Life.
+
+Like other members of the cat family the Leopard shows remarkable
+tenacity of life. Whether like the domestic cat he has nine lives or
+not, he certainly takes a great deal of killing.
+
+The following account is from the pen of an eye-witness quoted from
+Captain Brown's "Natural History of Animals".--"I was at Jaffna, at the
+northern extremity of the Island of Ceylon, in the beginning of the year
+1819, when, one morning, my servant called me an hour or two before my
+usual time, with 'Master, master! people sent for master's dogs--tiger
+in the town!' There are no real tigers in Ceylon; but leopards or
+panthers are always called so, and by ourselves as well as by the
+natives. This turned out to be a panther. My gun chanced not to be put
+together; and, while my servant was doing it, the collector and two
+medical men, who had recently arrived, in consequence of the cholera
+morbus having just then reached Ceylon from the Continent, came to my
+door, the former armed with a fowling-piece, and the two latter with
+remarkably blunt hog-spears. They insisted upon setting off, without
+waiting for my gun,--a proceeding not much to my taste. The tiger (I
+must continue to call him so) had taken refuge in a hut, the roof of
+which, like those of Ceylon huts in general, spread to the ground like
+an umbrella; the only aperture into it was a small door, about four feet
+high. The collector wanted to get the tiger out at once. I begged to
+wait for my gun; but no--the fowling-piece, (loaded with ball, of
+course,) and the two hog-spears, were quite enough. I got a hedge-stake,
+and awaited my fate, from very shame. At this moment, to my great
+delight, there arrived from the fort an English officer, two
+artillery-men, and a Malay captain; and a pretty figure we should have
+cut without them, as the event will show. I was now quite ready to
+attack, and my gun came a minute afterwards. The whole scene which
+follows took place within an enclosure, about twenty feet square,
+formed, on three sides, by a strong fence of palmyra leaves, and on the
+fourth by the hut. At the door of this, the two artillery-men planted
+themselves: and the Malay captain got at the top, to frighten the tiger
+out, by worrying it--an easy operation, as the huts there are covered
+with cocoa-nut leaves. One of the artillery-men wanted to go in to the
+tiger, but we would not suffer it. At last the beast sprang. This man
+received him on his bayonet, which he thrust apparently down his throat,
+firing his piece at the same moment. The bayonet broke off short,
+leaving less than three inches on the musket; the rest remained in the
+animal, but was invisible to us. The shot probably went through his
+cheek, for it certainly did not seriously injure him, as he instantly
+rose upon his legs, with a loud roar, and placed his paws upon the
+soldier's breast. At this moment, the animal appeared to me to about
+reach the centre of the man's face; but I had scarcely time to observe
+this, when the tiger, stooping his head, seized the soldier's arm in his
+mouth, turned him half round staggering, threw him over on his back, and
+fell upon him. Our dread now was, that, if we fired upon the tiger, we
+might kill the man. For a moment, there was a pause, when his comrade
+attacked the beast exactly in the same manner as the gallant fellow
+himself had done. He struck his bayonet into his head; the tiger rose at
+him--he fired; and this time the ball took effect, and in the head. The
+animal staggered backwards, and we all poured in our fire. He still
+kicked and writhed; when the gentlemen with the hog-spears advanced, and
+fixed him, while he was finished by some natives beating him on the head
+with hedge-stakes. The brave artilleryman was, after all, but slightly
+hurt: He claimed the skin, which was very cheerfully given to him. There
+was, however, a cry among the natives, that the head should be cut off:
+it was; and, in so doing, the knife came directly across the bayonet.
+The animal measured little less than four feet, from the root of the
+tail to the muzzle. There was no tradition of a tiger having been in
+Jaffna before. Indeed, this one must have either come a distance of
+almost twenty miles, or have swam across an arm of the sea nearly two
+miles in breadth; for Jaffna stands on a peninsula, on which there is no
+jungle of any magnitude."
+
+
+Hunters Hunted.
+
+Captain Brown gives a thrilling story of an adventure which befell two
+Boers in South Africa in 1822. They were returning from a hunting
+excursion, when they unexpectedly fell in with a leopard in a mountain
+ravine, and immediately gave chase to him. The animal at first
+endeavoured to escape, by clambering up a precipice, but, being hotly
+pressed, and slightly wounded by a musket-ball, he turned upon his
+pursuers, with that frantic ferocity, which, on such emergencies, he
+frequently displays, and, springing upon the man who had fired at him,
+tore him from his horse to the ground, biting him at the same time very
+severely on the shoulder, and tearing his face and arms with his claws.
+The other hunter, seeing the danger of his comrade, sprang from his
+horse, and attempted to shoot the leopard through the head; but, whether
+owing to trepidation, or the fear of wounding his friend, or the sudden
+motions of the animal, he unfortunately missed his aim. The leopard,
+abandoning his prostrate enemy darted with redoubled fury upon this
+second antagonist; and so fierce and sudden was his onset, that before
+the Boer could stab him with his hunting-knife, he had struck him in the
+face with his claws, and torn the scalp over his forehead. In this
+frightful condition, the hunter grappled with the raging beast, and,
+struggling for life, they rolled together down a steep declivity. All
+this passed so rapidly that the other man had scarcely time to recover
+from the confusion into which his feline foe had thrown him, to seize
+his gun and rush forward to aid his comrade, when he beheld them rolling
+together down the steep bank, in mortal conflict. In a few moments he
+was at the bottom with them, but too late to save the life of his
+friend, who had so gallantly defended him. The leopard had torn open the
+jugular vein, and so dreadfully mangled the throat of the unfortunate
+man, that his death was inevitable; and his comrade had only the
+melancholy satisfaction of completing the destruction of the savage
+beast, which was already much exhausted by several deep wounds it had
+received in the breast, from the desperate knife of the expiring
+huntsman."
+
+
+The Jaguar.
+
+The Jaguar, otherwise known as the American Leopard, belongs to the
+forests of South America, and has many points of difference from as well
+as some of similarity with the Leopard of Asia. Though ferocious in his
+wild state, he is amenable to civilizing influences and becomes mild and
+tame in captivity. He is an excellent swimmer and an expert climber,
+ascending to the tops of high branchless trees by fixing his claws in
+the trunks. It is said that he can hunt in the trees almost as well as
+he can upon the ground, and that hence he becomes a formidable enemy to
+the monkeys. He is also a clever fisherman, his method being that of
+dropping saliva on to the surface of the water, and upon the approach of
+a fish, by a dexterous stroke of his paw knocking it out of the water on
+to the bank. D'Azara, says: "He is a very ferocious animal causing great
+destruction among horses and asses. He is extremely fond of eggs, and
+goes to the shores frequented by turtles, and digs their eggs out of the
+sand."
+
+
+The Strength of the Jaguar.
+
+The strength of the Jaguar is very great, and as he can climb, swim, and
+leap a great distance, he is almost equally formidable in three
+elements. He is said to attack the alligator and to banquet with evident
+relish off his victim. D'Azara says that on one occasion he found a
+Jaguar feasting upon a horse which it had killed. The Jaguar fled at his
+approach, whereupon he had the body of the horse dragged to within a
+musket shot of a tree in which he purposed watching for the Jaguar's
+return. While temporarily absent he left a man to keep watch, and while
+he was away the jaguar reappeared from the opposite side of a river
+which was both deep and broad. Having crossed the river the animal
+approached, and seizing the body of the horse with his teeth dragged it
+some sixty paces to the water side, plunged in with it, swam across the
+river, pulled it out upon the other side, and carried it into a
+neighbouring wood.
+
+
+A Night of Horror.
+
+Mrs. Bowdich tells a story of two early settlers in the Western States
+of America, a man and his wife, who closed their wooden hut, and went to
+pay a visit at a distance, leaving a freshly-killed piece of venison
+hanging inside. "The gable end of this house was not boarded up as high
+as the roof, but a large aperture was left for light and air. By taking
+an enormous leap, a hungry jaguar, attracted by the smell of the
+venison, had entered the hut and devoured part of it. He was disturbed
+by the return of the owners, and took his departure. The venison was
+removed. The husband went away the night after to a distance, and left
+his wife alone in the hut. She had not been long in bed before she heard
+the jaguar leap in at the open gable. There was no door between her room
+and that in which he had entered, and she knew not how to protect
+herself. She, however, screamed as loudly as she could, and made all the
+violent noises she could think of, which served to frighten him away at
+that time; but she knew he would come again, and she must be prepared
+for him. She tried to make a large fire, but the wood was expended. She
+thought of rolling herself up in the bedclothes, but these would be torn
+off. The idea of getting under the low bedstead suggested itself, but
+she felt sure a paw would be stretched forth which would drag her out.
+Her husband had taken all their firearms. At last, as she heard the
+jaguar scrambling up the end of the house, in despair she got into a
+large store chest, the lid of which closed with a spring. Scarcely was
+she within it, and had dragged the lid down, inserting her fingers
+between it and the side of the chest, when the jaguar discovered where
+she was. He smelt round the chest, tried to get his head in through the
+crack, but fortunately he could not raise the lid. He found her fingers
+and began to lick them; she felt them bleed, but did not dare to move
+them for fear she should be suffocated. At length the jaguar leaped on
+to the lid, and his weight pressing down the lid, fractured her fingers.
+Still she could not move. He smelt round again, he pulled, he leaped on
+and off, till at last getting tired of his vain efforts, he went away.
+The poor woman lay there till daybreak, and then only feeling safe from
+her enemy, she went as fast as her strength would let her to her nearest
+neighbour's a distance of two miles, where she procured help for her
+wounded fingers, which were long in getting well. On his return, her
+husband found a male and female jaguar with their cubs, in the forest
+close by, and all were destroyed."
+
+
+The Puma.
+
+The Puma, or American lion, is known by several names. It is sometimes
+called a panther, or colloquially a "painter", and sometimes a cougar.
+It resembles the lioness somewhat in appearance, especially about the
+head, though it is smaller and less powerful. Its length varies from
+four feet to four feet and a half, and its colour is that of the fox,
+graduating in parts to white. Like the lion it inhabits plains rather
+than forests;--in the marshy districts, and on the borders of rivers in
+the south, and in the swamps and prairies of the northern districts. It
+lives on such wild and domestic animals as come within its reach, lying
+at full length upon the lower branches of trees, and dropping upon its
+victims as they pass beneath. Deer and cattle of all kinds it attacks,
+and, not content with killing enough for immediate purposes, destroys
+large numbers, sucking small quantities of blood from each. According to
+Sir William Jardine it is exceedingly destructive among sheep and has
+been known to kill fifty in one night. The Puma is, however, easily
+tamed and becomes very docile under kindly treatment. Edward Kean kept a
+tame one which followed him about like a dog and was as playful as a
+kitten.
+
+
+The Puma's Ferocity.
+
+"Molina and D'Azara say," says Sir William Jardine, "that the puma will
+flee from men, and that its timidity renders its pursuit generally free
+from danger." The following incident given by Sir William Jardine and at
+greater length by Captain Brown, shows that this is not always the case.
+According to these accounts, two hunters visited the Katskills in
+pursuit of game, each armed with a gun and accompanied by a dog. They
+agreed to follow contrary directions round the base of a hill, and to
+join each other immediately upon hearing the report of a gun. Shortly
+after parting, one of the friends heard the gun of his comrade and
+hastening to his assistance came first upon the body of his friend's
+dog, torn and lacerated; proceeding further, his attention was attracted
+by the growl of a wild animal, and looking up, he discovered a large
+puma crouching over the body of his friend, upon the branch of a tree.
+The animal glared at him, and he, knowing the rapidity of the Puma's
+movements, immediately raised his gun and fired, whereupon the puma
+rolled over on to the ground with his prey. The dog flew at the
+infuriated beast, but one blow from the puma's paw silenced him for
+ever. Seeing that his comrade was dead the hunter left the scene in
+search of assistance, upon securing which, he returned to find the puma
+dead, beside the two dogs and the hunter whom he had killed.
+
+
+Animals and Men.
+
+Captain Head, in his "Journey Across the Pampas" says:--"The fear which
+all wild animals in America have of man is very singularly seen in the
+Pampas. I often rode towards the ostriches and _zamas_, crouching under
+the opposite side of my horse's neck; but I always found that, although
+they would allow my loose horse to approach them, they, even when young,
+ran from me, though little of my figure was visible; and when I saw them
+all enjoying themselves in such full liberty, it was at first not
+pleasing to observe that one's appearance was everywhere a signal to
+them that they should fly from their enemy. Yet it is by this fear 'that
+man hath dominion over the beasts of the field,' and there is no animal
+in South America that does not acknowledge this instinctive feeling. As
+a singular proof of the above, and of the difference between the wild
+beasts of America and of the old world, I will venture to relate a
+circumstance which a man sincerely assured me had happened to him in
+South America:--He was trying to shoot some wild ducks, and, in order to
+approach them unperceived, he put the corner of his poncho (which is a
+sort of long narrow blanket) over his head, and crawling along the
+ground upon his hands and knees, the poncho not only covered his body,
+but trailed along the ground behind him. As he was thus creeping by a
+large bush of reeds, he heard a loud, sudden noise, between a bark and a
+roar: he felt something heavy strike his feet, and, instantly jumping
+up, he saw, to his astonishment, a large puma actually standing on his
+poncho; and, perhaps, the animal was equally astonished to find himself
+in the immediate presence of so athletic a man. The man told me he was
+unwilling to fire, as his gun was loaded with very small shot; and he
+therefore remained motionless, the puma standing on his poncho for many
+seconds; at last the creature turned his head, and walking very slowly
+away about ten yards, he stopped, and turned again: the man still
+maintained his ground, upon which the puma tacitly acknowledged his
+supremacy, and walked off."
+
+
+The Ocelot.
+
+The Ocelot is a native of South America and one of the most beautiful of
+the Cat family. It is smaller than the Leopard, attaining to about three
+feet in length, and eighteen inches in height. Its colour is grey,
+tinged with fawn and the body and legs are covered with longitudinal
+chainlike stripes broken into patches of some inches. Its habits are
+like those of its near relations, the Leopard and the Jaguar, though its
+appetite for blood makes it perhaps even more destructive. It will suck
+blood with the greatest avidity and frequently leave a carcase otherwise
+untouched in order to pursue other animals for the sake of more blood.
+When tame the Ocelot is remarkably playful, climbing up the legs and
+nestling in the arms of its benefactors. It is apt to be dangerous in a
+poultry yard but will keep good friends with a house dog, and play,
+somewhat roughly, perhaps, but without malice, with children.
+
+
+The Clouded Tiger.
+
+This animal belongs to Sumatra where it lives upon the forest birds.
+Like the Ocelot it is exceedingly playful when tame, seeking the notice
+and returning the caresses of all who encourage it.
+
+
+The Serval.
+
+"The Serval," says Captain Brown, "is somewhat larger than the ordinary
+wild cat. Its general colour is a pale fulvous yellow. It resides on
+trees, where it makes a bed, and breeds its young. It seldom appears on
+the ground, living principally on birds, squirrels, and small animals;
+it is extremely agile, and leaps, with great rapidity, from one branch
+to another. The serval never assaults man, but rather endeavours to
+avoid him; if, however, it is compelled to attack, it darts furiously on
+its antagonist, and bites and tears, like the rest of the cat kind."
+
+
+The Common Wild Cat.
+
+The common wild cat is one of the few wild animals still to be found in
+the British Isles. Up till recent years these cats were observed among
+the woody mountainous districts of Cumberland and Westmoreland and in
+the wild parts of Scotland and Ireland, though as the land is brought
+more and more under cultivation they decrease in numbers, failing
+suitable asylum. They abound in the forests of Germany and Russia, where
+they live in the hollows of trees and caves of rocks, and feed on birds,
+squirrels, hares and rabbits, and will even attack young lambs and
+fawns. The wild cat is not to be confused with the domestic cat which
+has relapsed into a wild state. "In the form and shape of the tail,"
+says Sir William Jardine, "this animal somewhat resembles the Lynx. The
+fur is very thick, woolly and long. The general colour is a greyish
+yellow, in some specimens inclining much to a shade of bluish
+grey."--"They spring," says Mrs. Bowdich, "furiously upon whoever
+approaches, and utter unearthly cries. Mr. St. John, when walking up to
+his knees in heather over broken ground, came suddenly upon a wild cat.
+She rushed out between his legs, every hair standing up. He cut a
+good-sized stick; and three Skye terriers gave chase till she took
+refuge in a corner, spitting and growling. On trying to dislodge her,
+she flew at Mr. St. John's face, over the dogs' heads; but he struck her
+while in the air, and she fell among the dogs, who soon despatched her,
+even though it has been said that a wild cat has twelve instead of nine
+lives. If one of these animals is taken, those in the neighbourhood are
+sure to be also secured, as they will all, after the manner of foxes,
+assemble round the body of their relative."
+
+
+The Domestic Cat.
+
+The origin of the domestic cat is difficult to determine. Cats were
+numerous in Egypt from an early date, and are said to be native to
+Syria. According to Professor Rolleston the cat was not domesticated
+anywhere, except in Egypt, before the Christian Era. Few animals are
+more familiar to the general reader, and few therefore, need less
+description. The "Tabby" is perhaps the commonest, though black, white,
+and tortoise-shell varieties abound. The Angora or Angola cat, the
+Persian cat, and the Manx cat, which latter is deficient in the useful
+and ornamental embellishment of a tail, are also well known.
+
+
+Cat Superstitions.
+
+There are many superstitions concerning the cat, the black variety
+coming in for the larger share of popular suspicion. To steal one and
+bury it alive was at one time regarded as a specific against cattle
+disease in the Irish Highlands, while, according to Captain Brown, it
+was the practice for families in Scotland to tie up their cats on
+Hallowe'en to prevent their use for equestrian purposes by witches
+during the night. "They have always been regarded as attendants upon
+witches," says Mrs. Bowdich, "and witches themselves have been said to
+borrow their shapes when on their mysterious expeditions. I was once
+told that Lord Cochrane was accompanied by a favourite black cat in a
+cruise through the northern seas. The weather had been most
+unpropitious; no day had passed without some untoward circumstance; and
+the sailors were not slow in attributing the whole to the influence of
+the black cat on board. This came to Lord Cochrane's ears, and knowing
+that any attempt to reason his men out of so absurd a notion was
+perfectly useless, he offered to sacrifice this object of his regard,
+and have her thrown overboard. This, however, far from creating any
+satisfaction, only alarmed the men still more. They were sure that the
+tempests she would then raise would be much worse than any they had yet
+encountered; and they implored his lordship to let her remain
+unmolested. 'There was no help, and they could only hope, if she were
+not affronted, they might at the end of their time reach England in
+safety.'"
+
+
+The Cat as a Hunter.
+
+"The cat," says the Rev. J. G. Wood, "is familiarly known to us as a
+persevering mouse-hunter. So strong, indeed, is the passion for hunting
+in the breast of the cat, that she sometimes disdains mice, 'and such
+small deer,' and trespasses on warrens or preserves. A large tabby cat,
+residing at no great distance from White Horse Vale, was accustomed to
+go out poaching in the preserves of a neighbouring nobleman, and so
+expert was she at this illegal sport that she constantly returned
+bearing in her mouth a leveret or a partridge, which she insisted on
+presenting to her mistress, who in vain endeavoured to check her
+marauding propensities. These exploits, however, brought their own
+punishment; for one day, when in the act of seizing a leveret, she found
+herself caught in a vermin trap, which deprived her of one of her hind
+legs. This misfortune did not damp her enthusiasm for hunting, as,
+although the loss of a leg prevented her from chasing hares, and
+suchlike animals, she would still bring in an occasional rat."
+
+
+The Cat and her Young.
+
+"A cat, which had a numerous litter of kittens," says Captain Brown,
+"one sunny day encouraged her little ones to frolic in the vernal beams
+of noon, about the stable door, where she was domiciled. While she was
+joining them in a thousand tricks and gambols, a large hawk, who was
+sailing above the barn-yard, in a moment darted upon one of the kittens,
+and would have as quickly borne it off, but for the courageous mother,
+who, seeing the danger of her offspring, sprang on the common enemy,
+who, to defend itself, let fall the prize. The battle presently became
+severe to both parties. The hawk, by the power of his wings, the
+sharpness of his talons, and the strength of his beak, had for a while
+the advantage, cruelly lacerating the poor cat, and had actually
+deprived her of one eye in the conflict; but puss, no way daunted at the
+accident, strove, with all her cunning and agility, for her kittens,
+till she had broken the wing of her adversary. In this state, she got
+him more within the power of her claws, and availing herself of this
+advantage, by an instantaneous exertion, she laid the hawk motionless
+beneath her feet; and, as if exulting in the victory, tore the head off
+the vanquished tyrant. This accomplished, disregarding the loss of her
+eye, she ran to the bleeding kitten, licked the wounds made by the
+hawk's talons in its tender sides, and purred whilst she caressed her
+liberated offspring."
+
+
+The Cat as a Foster Mother.
+
+The female cat seems to be in a special sense a born mother. She is
+assiduous in the care of her own young and singularly ready to extend
+the benefits of motherhood even to alien offspring. Instances are on
+record in which cats have reared squirrels, dogs, leverets, rats, ducks,
+chickens, and even small birds. These have usually occurred at times
+when the cats have been deprived of their own young. Mr. T. Foggitt
+says: "A cat belonging to the Albert Dock Warehouse, Liverpool, gave
+birth to six kittens. It was deemed necessary to destroy four of them,
+and they were accordingly drowned. The remaining two were placed, along
+with their mother, in some loose cotton, collected for the purpose in a
+box, in one of the warehouse rooms. On removing the box a few mornings
+after, to give puss her usual breakfast, great curiosity was excited on
+seeing a third added to the number; and the astonishment was still
+greater when the third was discovered to be a young rat which the cat
+had taken from its nest in the night-time, and brought home as a
+companion to the kittens she was then nursing. The young rat was very
+lively, and was treated by the cat with the same attention and care as
+if it were one of her own offspring."
+
+
+The Cat as a Traveller.
+
+The distances that cats will travel, finding their way with unerring
+instinct many miles across country of which there seems no reason to
+suppose them to have had previous knowledge is very remarkable. Mrs.
+Bowdich records the case of a cat who disliking her new home, returned
+to her old one, in doing which, she had to cross two rivers, one of them
+about eighty feet broad and two feet and a half deep, running strong;
+the other wider and more rapid, but less deep. Cats are said to have
+found their way from Edinburgh to Glasgow, and one to the writer's
+knowledge returned from Dover to Canterbury after being carried from
+thence by rail. Captain Brown gives the following remarkable instance.
+In June, 1825, a farmer, residing in the neighbourhood of Ross, sent a
+load of grain to Gloucester, a distance of about sixteen miles. The
+waggoners loaded in the evening, and started early in the morning. On
+unloading at Gloucester, a favourite cat, belonging to the farmer, was
+found among the sacks, with two kittens of very recent birth. The
+waggoner very humanely placed puss and her young in a hay-loft, where he
+expected they would remain in safety, until he should be ready to depart
+for home. On his return to the loft shortly afterwards, neither cat nor
+kittens were to be found, and he reluctantly left town without them.
+Next morning the cat entered the kitchen of her master's house with one
+kitten in her mouth. It was dead; but she placed it before the fire, and
+without seeking food, or indulging, for a moment, in the genial warmth
+of her domestic hearth, disappeared again. In a short time she returned
+with the other kitten, laid it down by the first, stretched herself
+beside them, and instantly expired! The poor creature could have carried
+but one at a time, and, consequently, must have travelled three times
+over the whole line of her journey, and performed forty-eight miles in
+less than twelve hours.
+
+
+The Cat as Sportsman.
+
+The favourite food of the cat is fish, which curiously enough inhabits
+an element to which the cat has a great aversion. There are, however,
+numerous instances on record of cats which have overcome their natural
+antipathy to water in order to gratify their natural taste for fish. An
+extraordinary case of this kind is recorded in the _Plymouth Journal_,
+June, 1828:--"There is now at the battery on the Devil's Point, a cat,
+which is an expert catcher of the finny tribe, being in the constant
+habit of diving into the sea, and bringing up the fish alive in her
+mouth, and depositing them in the guard-room, for the use of the
+soldiers. She is now seven years old, and has long been a useful
+caterer. It is supposed that her pursuit of the water-rats first taught
+her to venture into the water, to which it is well known puss has a
+natural aversion. She is as fond of the water as a Newfoundland dog, and
+takes her regular peregrinations along the rocks at its edge, looking
+out for her prey, ready to dive for them at a moment's notice."
+
+Mr. Beverley R. Morris says: "When living in Worcester many years ago, I
+remember frequently seeing the cat of a near neighbour of ours bring
+fish, mostly eels, into the house, which it used to catch in a pond not
+far off. This was an almost everyday occurrence."
+
+
+The Cat's Intelligence.
+
+Many remarkable illustrations might be given of the sagacity and
+intelligence of the cat. A lady had for many years been the possessor of
+a cat and a canary bird, who became the closest friends, never bearing
+any lengthy separation from each other, and spending their whole time in
+each other's society. One summer day the lady was sitting working in
+her drawing-room, and the cat and bird were a short distance off.
+Suddenly, without a moment's deliberation, the cat, to the great
+astonishment of the lady, uttered a loud growl, and then, seizing her
+little playmate in her mouth, darted off with it to a place of safety. A
+strange cat had entered the room and the friendly one had adopted this
+plan of saving the bird from the enemy. A still more remarkable
+illustration of the intelligence of a cat is given by De la Croix as
+follows: "I once saw," says he, "a lecturer upon experimental philosophy
+place a cat under the glass receiver of an air-pump, for the purpose of
+demonstrating that very certain fact, that life cannot be supported
+without air and respiration. The lecturer had already made several
+strokes with the piston, in order to exhaust the receiver of its air,
+when the animal, who began to feel herself very uncomfortable in the
+rarefied atmosphere, was fortunate enough to discover the source from
+which her uneasiness proceeded. She placed her paw upon the hole through
+which the air escaped, and thus prevented any more from passing out of
+the receiver. All the exertions of the philosopher were now unavailing;
+in vain he drew the piston; the cat's paw effectually prevented its
+operation. Hoping to effect his purpose, he let air again into the
+receiver, which, as soon as the cat perceived, she withdrew her paw from
+the aperture; but whenever he attempted to exhaust the receiver, she
+applied her paw as before. All the spectators clapped their hands in
+admiration of the wonderful sagacity of the animal, and the lecturer
+found himself under the necessity of liberating her, and substituting in
+her place another, that possessed less penetration, and enabled him to
+exhibit the cruel experiment."
+
+
+The Lynx.
+
+The several species of the Lynx belong to the genus Lyncus, the
+principle varieties of which are the Canada Lynx, and the European Lynx.
+The Lynx has short legs, and is generally about the size of a fox,
+attaining often to three feet in length. It preys upon small quadrupeds
+and birds, in the pursuit of which it is an expert climber. The Canada
+Lynx preys largely upon the American hare, which it is well qualified to
+hunt. The Lynx is distinguished by a peculiar gait, for unlike other
+animals, it bounds with, and alights upon, all four feet at once. The
+ears are erect, and tipped with a long pencil of black hair. The fur
+which is long and thick is of a pale grey colour, with a reddish tinge,
+marked with dusky spots on the upper part of the body. The under parts
+are white. The European Lynx feeds upon small animals and birds. The fur
+of the lynx is valuable, on account of its great softness and warmth,
+and is in consequence an extensive article of commerce. It inhabits the
+northern parts of Europe, Asia, and America; and prefers cold or
+temperate climates, differing in this respect from most of the cat
+tribe.
+
+
+The Chetah.
+
+The Chetah or Hunting Leopard is the one species of the genus CynA"lurus.
+It is a handsome animal and capable of considerable training. According
+to Mr. Benet's description it is "intermediate in size between the
+leopard and the hound, more slender in its body, more elevated in its
+legs, and less flattened on the fore part of its head than the leopard,
+while deficient in the peculiarly graceful and lengthened form, both of
+head and body, which characterizes the hound." "The ground colour of the
+Chetah is a bright yellowish fawn above, and nearly pure white beneath;
+covered above, and on the sides, by innumerable closely approximating
+spots, from half an inch to an inch in diameter, which are intensely
+black, and do not, as in the leopard and other spotted cats, form roses
+with a lighter centre, but are full and complete." The Chetah is found
+in India and Africa but it is only in India that it is trained for
+hunting purposes. Sir William Jardine says: "the employment of the
+hunting leopard may be compared to the sport of falconry. The natural
+instinct teaches them to pursue the game, the reward of a portion of it,
+or of the blood, induces them to give it up, and again subject
+themselves to their master."
+
+
+The Chetah as a Huntsman.
+
+The practice of employing animals to hunt animals is of very early
+origin, and the docility of the Chetah early marked him out as a
+suitable ally in the chase. Chetahs are so gentle that they can be led
+about in a leash like greyhounds. The following description of a hunt is
+from "The Naturalist's Library". "Just before we reached our ground, the
+shuter suwars (camel courier), who always moved on our flanks in search
+of game, reported a herd of antelopes, about a mile out of the line of
+march, and the Chetahs being at hand, we went in pursuit of them. The
+leopards are each accommodated with a flat-topped cart, without sides,
+drawn by two bullocks, and each animal has two attendants. They are
+loosely bound by a collar and rope to the back of the vehicle, and are
+also held by the keeper by a strap round the loins. A leathern hood
+covers the eyes. On entering from a cotton field, we came in sight of
+four antelopes, and my driver managed to get within a hundred yards of
+them before they took alarm. The Chetah was quickly unhooded and loosed
+from his bonds; and, as soon as he viewed the deer, he dropped quietly
+off the cart on the opposite side to that on which they stood, and
+approached them at a slow crouching canter, masking himself by every
+bush, and inequality, which lay in his way. As soon, however, as the
+deer began to show alarm, he quickened his pace and was in the midst of
+them in a few bounds. He singled out a doe, and ran it close for about
+200 yards, when he reached it with a blow of his paw, rolled it over,
+and in an instant was sucking the life blood from its throat." "As soon
+as the deer is pulled," says the same account, "a keeper runs up, hoods
+the Chetah, cuts the victim's throat, and securing some of the blood in
+a wooden ladle, thrusts it under the leopard's nose. The antelope is
+then dragged away and placed in a receptacle under the hatchery, while
+the Chetah is rewarded with a leg for his pains."
+
+
+The Civits.
+
+The family ViverridA| includes a large number of species of small
+carnivorous animals of which the Civits and the Ichneumons are the best
+known. They belong chiefly to Africa and South Asia, but some are found
+in the south of Europe. The African Civit hails from Gaboon and
+Abyssinia and the Asiatic variety from Bengal, Nepaul, China and
+Formosa. It is from these animals that we get the fatty substance, used
+in perfumery and known as civit. Of this Mr. Piesse says: "In its pure
+state, civit has to nearly all persons a most disgusting odour, but when
+diluted to an infinitesimal portion its perfume is agreeable. The Genet,
+and the Paradoxure are other genera of this family."
+
+
+The Ichneumon.
+
+The Ichneumon numbers some fifteen genera, and sixty species. The best
+known of these is the grey Ichneumon which comes from India or adjacent
+countries. Naturally savage it soon becomes tame under kindly treatment.
+It seems to have a natural enmity towards serpents, which it attacks and
+destroys. The Mahrattas say that it neutralizes the effects of snake
+bites by eating the root of the monguswail. Captain Brown records an
+experiment in which the ichneumon was placed in a room with a poisonous
+serpent which it tried to avoid. On the two being removed to the open
+air, the ichneumon is said to have immediately darted at the serpent and
+destroyed it, afterwards retiring to the wood and eating a portion of
+the plant said to be an antidote to the serpent's venom. The Ichneumon
+is about the size of the domestic cat and of a dark silver grey colour.
+The Egyptian Ichneumon much resembles the cat in its habits and manners
+and is so deadly a foe to reptiles and vermin, that it is domesticated
+with a view to their destruction. It is remarkably quick in its
+movements, darting with unerring aim at the head of the reptile it
+attacks. It displays also the cat's patience in watching for its prey.
+It has a great liking for crocodile's eggs and with remarkable instinct
+unearths them from the banks of rivers where they have been deposited.
+
+
+Dormant Instinct.
+
+Though perfectly tame in captivity, the natural instincts of the
+ichneumon are only dormant, as the following illustration will show. M.
+d'Obsonville says, in his "Essay on the Nature of Various Animals", "I
+had an ichneumon very young, which I brought up. I fed it at first with
+milk, and afterwards with baked meat, mixed with rice. It soon became
+even tamer than a cat; for it came when called, and followed me, though
+at liberty, into the country. One day I brought to him a small water
+serpent alive, being desirous to know how far his instinct would carry
+him, against a being with which he was hitherto totally unacquainted.
+His first emotion seemed to be astonishment, mixed with anger: for his
+hair became erect; but in an instant after, he slipped behind the
+reptile, and, with remarkable swiftness and agility, leaped upon its
+head, seized it, and crushed it between his teeth. This essay, and new
+aliment, seemed to have awakened in him his innate and destructive
+voracity, which, till then, had given way to the gentleness he had
+acquired from his education. I had about my house several curious kinds
+of fowls, among which he had been brought up, and which, till then, he
+had suffered to go and come unmolested and unregarded; but, a few days
+after, when he found himself alone, he strangled them every one, eat a
+little, and, as it appeared, drank the blood of two."
+
+
+The Aard Wolf.
+
+The Aard Wolf of South Africa, is the sole genus and species of the
+ProtelidA| family. It much resembles the hyA|na in appearance and habit,
+and feeds on carrion and white ants.
+
+
+The HyA|na.
+
+The HyA|na, though long treated as a member of the dog family, is now
+separately classified as the HyA|nidA|, a family of one genus and three
+species, all of which are found in Africa. The HyA|na is also found in
+Egypt, Arabia, Persia and other parts of Asia. He has immensely
+powerful teeth with which he can crush the bones of his victims,
+apparently eating bones and flesh with impunity. He is nocturnal in his
+habits, living in caves and hollows in the day time and prowling about
+at night in search of prey. Speaking of the Barbary hyA|na Bruce
+says:--"He seems to be stupid or senseless in the day, or at the
+appearance of strong light, unless when pursued by hunters. I have
+locked up a goat, a kid, and a lamb, with him all day when he was
+fasting, and found them in the evening alive and unhurt." The principle
+varieties are the striped HyA|na, and the spotted HyA|na. Bruce speaking
+of the former says, "he is brutish, indolent, slovenly and impudent and
+seems to possess much the manners of the wolf. His courage appears to
+proceed from an insatiable appetite, and has nothing of the brave or
+generous in it, and he dies oftener flying than fighting." The cry of
+the hyA|na, sometimes called a laugh, begins with a moan and ends with a
+demoniacal shriek which has been variously described by travellers but
+which all agree in calling hideous and disgusting. In size he resembles
+a large mastiff, but the formation of his neck and jaws give him a power
+far beyond that of other animals of his size. Whatever fear he may have
+of man, he has none of other animals and will even face the lion. Bruce
+speaks of his special liking for the flesh of the dog and of the dog's
+reluctance to face him. "My greyhounds, accustomed to fasten upon the
+wild boar, would not venture to engage with him. On the contrary, there
+was not a journey I made that he did not kill several of my greyhounds,
+and once or twice robbed me of my whole stock: he would seek and seize
+them in the servants' tents where they were tied, and endeavour to carry
+them away before the very people that were guarding them." His coat is
+covered with long coarse hairs of a dirty grey colour, which form a mane
+the length of his back, his sides being striped or spotted, according to
+the species. The hyA|na for all his repulsiveness serves a useful
+purpose, as a scavenger, devouring all the offal which comes in its way,
+including the dead of his own species which no other animal will touch.
+The hyA|na can be tamed and taught to follow its master and to hunt other
+animals.
+
+
+The Striped HyA|na.
+
+Bruce tells the following story of the impudence of the striped hyA|na.
+"One night in Maitsha, being very intent on observation, I heard
+something pass behind me towards the bed, but upon looking round could
+perceive nothing. Having finished what I was then about, I went out of
+my tent, resolving directly to return, which I immediately did, when I
+perceived large blue eyes glaring at me in the dark. I called upon my
+servant with a light; and there was the hyA|na standing nigh the head of
+the bed, with two or three large bunches of candles in his mouth. To
+have fired at him, I was in danger of breaking my quadrant or other
+furniture; and he seemed, by keeping the candles steadily in his mouth,
+to wish for no other prey at that time. As his mouth was full, and he
+had no claws to tear with, I was not afraid of him, but with a pike
+struck him as near the heart as I could judge. It was not till then he
+showed any sign. of fierceness; but, upon feeling his wound, he let drop
+the candles, and endeavoured to run up the shaft of the spear to arrive
+at me; so that, in self-defence, I was obliged to draw out a pistol from
+my girdle and shoot him, and nearly at the same time my servant cleft
+his skull with a battle-axe. In a word, the hyA|na was the plague of our
+lives, the terror of our night-walks, the destruction of our mules and
+asses, which above all others are his favourite food."
+
+
+The Spotted HyA|na.
+
+The spotted hyA|na belongs to South Africa and seems to possess more
+daring than his cousin of Abyssinia, and to show a greater preference
+for human food. According to Mr. Stepstone, the Mambookies build their
+houses in the form of a beehive from eighteen to twenty feet in
+diameter, placing a raised platform at the back and leaving the
+front-area for the accommodation of the calves at night. Thus the
+animals are nearest to the door, notwithstanding which the hyA|na will
+"pass by the calves and take the children from under the mother's
+kaross; and this in such a gentle and cautious manner, that the poor
+parent is unconscious of her loss, until the cries of her little
+innocent have reached her from without, when it has been a close
+prisoner in the jaws of the monster." Many years ago, when animals were
+kept at the Tower of London, the den of a spotted hyA|na required some
+repair. "The carpenter," says Mrs. Bowdich, "nailed a thick oaken plank
+upon the floor, about seven feet long, putting at least a dozen nails
+into it, each longer than his middle finger. At one end of this piece of
+wood there was a small projection, and not having a proper chisel with
+him by which he might remove it, the man returned to his shop to fetch
+one. While he was absent some persons came to see the animals, and the
+hyA|na was let down by the keeper into the part of the den in which the
+carpenter had been at work. Directly the beast saw the projecting piece
+of wood he seized it with his teeth, tore the plank up, and drew out
+every nail with the utmost ease; which action will give a good idea of
+the muscular strength of this creature."
+
+
+A Narrow Escape.
+
+Sparrman tells an amusing story of the daring and the fright of a hyA|na,
+as follows: "One night, at a feast near the Cape, a trumpeter who had
+made himself drunk with liquor was carried out of doors and laid on the
+grass, in order that the air might both cool and sober him. The scent of
+the man soon attracted a spotted hyA|na, which threw him on his back, and
+carried him away towards Table Mountain. The hyA|na doubtless supposed
+that the senseless drunkard was a _corpse_, and consequently a fair
+prize. In the meantime the musician awoke, and was at once sufficiently
+sensible to know the danger of his situation, and to sound the alarm
+with his trumpet, which he fortunately carried at his side. The hyA|na,
+as it may be imagined, was greatly frightened in its turn, and
+immediately ran away, leaving the trumpeter, it is to be hoped, 'a wiser
+man' for his extraordinary ride. It is remarkable that the soldier was
+not seriously injured by the hyA|na, for the teeth of the animal were
+fortunately fastened in the coat and not in the flesh of the man."
+
+
+Animals of the Dog Kind.
+
+Animals of the dog kind, are neither so numerous, nor, in general, so
+ferocious as those of the panther or cat kind. The principal species are
+the wolf, the jackal, the fox, and the dog. This class may be
+principally distinguished by their claws, which have no sheath like
+those of the cat kind, but are placed at the point of each toe, without
+the capability of being stretched forward or drawn back. The nose, as
+well as the jaw, of all the dog kind, is longer than in the cat; the
+body in proportion more strongly made, and covered with hair instead of
+fur. They also far exceed the other kind in the sense of smell, the
+olfactory nerves being diffused upon a very extensive membrane within
+the skull, which accounts for their surprising acuteness in this sense.
+
+
+The Wolf.
+
+The Wolf is about three feet and a half long, and about two feet and a
+half high, larger than our great breed of mastiffs, which are seldom
+more than three feet by two. He bears a great resemblance to the dog,
+but is much stronger, and the length of his hair contributes still more
+to his robust appearance. The feature which principally distinguishes
+the visage of the wolf from that of the dog, is the eye, which opens
+slantingly upwards in the same direction with the nose; whereas, in the
+dog, it opens more at right angles with the nose, as in man. The colour
+of the eyeballs in the wolf, is a fiery green, giving his visage a
+fierce and formidable air. He generally hides by day in the thickest
+coverts, and only ventures out at night; when, sallying forth over the
+country, he keeps peering round the villages, and carries off such
+animals as are not under protection--attacks the sheep-fold, scratches
+up and undermines the thresholds of doors where the sheep are housed,
+enters furiously, and destroys all before he begins to fix upon and
+carry off his prey. The wolf has great strength, particularly in his
+foreparts, and the muscles of his neck and jaws. He carries off a sheep
+in his mouth without letting it touch the ground, and runs with it much
+faster than the shepherds who pursue him; so that nothing but the dogs
+can overtake and oblige him to quit his prey. Notwithstanding his great
+strength, cunning, and agility, the wolf being the declared enemy of
+man, is often hard pressed for subsistence; he has always a gaunt and
+starved appearance, and, indeed, often dies of hunger. He has been
+hunted down, and is now rarely to be found in civilized countries.
+
+
+The Fox.
+
+The Fox is of a much more slender make than the wolf, and not nearly so
+large, being little more than two feet long. The tail is longer and more
+bushy, the nose smaller, approaching nearer to that of the greyhound,
+and its hair softer. Its eyes, however, are obliquely set, like those of
+the wolf. The fox has long been famous for cunning; he is patient and
+prudent, and gains by address what is denied to his courage or strength.
+He is most destructive to poultry. When he gets into a farm-yard, he
+begins by levelling all the poultry without remorse, and carrying off a
+part of the spoil, he hides it at some convenient distance. Returning,
+he carries off another fowl, which he hides in like manner, but not in
+the same place; and this he repeats several times, until the approach of
+day, or the noise of the domestics, warns him to retire to his hole. He
+often destroys a large quantity of game, seizing the partridge and quail
+while sitting on their nests. He even eats rats, mice, serpents, toads,
+and lizards. In vain does the hedge-hog roll itself up into a ball to
+oppose him; he teases it until it is obliged to appear uncovered, and
+then devours it. Besides the common Fox (_Vulpes Vulgaris_), there are
+numerous varieties, of which the Tahaleb or Egyptian Fox and the Fennec
+(_Feneca Zaarensis_) of North Africa, the Kit Fox, the Red, the Grey
+and the Silver Fox of North America, and the Arctic Fox (_Leucocyon
+lagopus_) are the best known.
+
+
+The Jackal.
+
+The Jackal, one of the most common of wild animals in the East, is about
+the size of the fox, but in shape it more nearly resembles the wolf. Its
+colour is a bright yellow, or sorrel. Its cry is a howl, mixed with
+barking, and a lamentation resembling that of human distress. The jackal
+may be considered as the vulture of the quadruped kind; the most putrid
+substances that once had life, are greedily devoured. Like the hyA|na,
+the jackals scratch up with their feet the new-made grave, and devour
+the contents, however decomposed. While at this dreary work, they make a
+mournful cry, like that of children under chastisement, and having thus
+dug up the body, they amicably share it. In countries, therefore, where
+they abound, the people are obliged to beat the earth over the grave,
+and mix it with thorns, to prevent the jackals from scraping it away.
+The jackal never goes alone, but always in packs of forty or fifty
+together. They watch the burying-grounds, follow armies, and keep in the
+rear of caravans. The jackal, after having tired down its prey, is often
+deprived of the spoil by the lion, the panther, or the tiger, whose
+appetites are superior to their swiftness; these attend its call, and
+devour the prey which it has run down by its unceasing perseverance; and
+this circumstance has given rise to the erroneous opinion, that the
+jackal is the lion's provider. The jackal is found in some parts of
+Europe and abounds in most parts of Asia. Those of the warmest climates
+are the largest, and their colour is rather of a reddish brown than of
+that beautiful yellow by which the smaller jackals are distinguished.
+Like the Fox it forms burrows in the earth and emits an offensive odour.
+
+
+The Wolf's Mode of Attack.
+
+"The Wolf," says Professor Duncan in "Cassell's Natural History",
+"usually lives in solitary places in mountains; but in Spain he is said
+sometimes to make his lair in corn-fields, in close proximity to
+inhabited dwellings. Here he lives with his wife and family, usually
+_cachA(C)_ during the day, and issuing forth at night to take his prey.
+During the warmer periods of the year wolves, as a rule, hunt each one
+for himself, but in winter they often unite into great packs, and pursue
+their prey over the snow at a rapid pace and with indomitable
+perseverance. Swift and untiring must be the animal which, on an open
+plain, can escape from them; even the horse, perfectly constructed as he
+is for rapid running, is almost certain to succumb, unless he can reach
+a village before his pace begins to flag. They never spring upon an
+animal from an ambush--the nearest approach ever made to such a mode of
+attack being their practice of attacking sheepfolds by leaping into the
+midst of the flock and killing right and left; when they reach their
+prey, too, the first onslaught is made with their teeth, and never by a
+blow of the paw. Thus, a wolfs attack--like that of all members of the
+genus Canis--is entirely different from a cat's. The cat lies in ambush
+all alone, springs upon the passing prey, which if he misses he scarcely
+ever pursues, and kills by a blow of the paw. The dog and wolf attack
+openly, sometimes alone, but oftener in company, pursue their prey with
+unflagging energy until it falls a victim, and give the death-wound at
+once with their teeth."
+
+
+The Wolf's Cunning.
+
+That the wolf sometimes employs cunning as well as savagery in seeking
+his prey is shown by the following story from "Broke's Travels in the
+North of Sweden": "I observed, on setting out from Sormjole, the last
+post, that the peasant who drove my sledge was armed with a cutlass;
+and, on inquiring the reason, was told that, the day preceding, while he
+was passing in his sledge the part of the forest we were then in, he had
+encountered a wolf, which was so daring, that it actually sprang over
+the hinder part of the sledge he was driving, and attempted to carry
+off a small dog which was sitting behind him. During my journey from
+Tornea to Stockholm, I heard everywhere of the ravages committed by
+wolves, not upon the human species or the cattle, but chiefly upon the
+peasants' dogs, considerable numbers of which had been devoured. I was
+told that these were the favourite prey of this animal; and that, in
+order to seize upon them with the greater ease, it puts itself into a
+crouching posture, and begins to play several antic tricks, to attract
+the attention of the poor dog, which, caught by these seeming
+demonstrations of friendship, and fancying it to be one of his own
+species, from the similarity, advances towards it to join in the
+gambols, and is carried off by its treacherous enemy. Several peasants
+that I conversed with mentioned their having been eye-witnesses of this
+circumstance."
+
+
+The Wolf's Cowardice.
+
+Mr. Lloyd in his "Field Sports in the North of Europe" gives a
+remarkable illustration of the cowardice of the wolf when caught in a
+trap. "A peasant near St. Petersburg," says Mr. Lloyd, "when one day in
+his sledge, was pursued by eleven of these ferocious animals. At this
+time he was only about two miles from home, towards which he urged his
+horse at the very top of his speed. At the entrance to his residence was
+a gate, which happened to be closed at the time; but the horse dashed
+this open, and thus himself and his master found refuge within the
+court-yard. They were followed, however, by nine out of the eleven
+wolves; but, very fortunately, at the instant these had entered the
+enclosure, the gate swung back on its hinges, and thus they were caught
+as in a trap. From being the most voracious of animals, the nature of
+these beasts--now that they found escape impossible--became completely
+changed: so far, indeed, from offering molestation to any one, they
+slunk into holes and corners, and allowed themselves to be slaughtered
+almost without making resistance."
+
+
+[Illustration: Hunted by Wolves]
+
+Hunted by Wolves.
+
+Many terrible stories are told of the depredations caused by packs of
+wolves, especially in Russia, and of the desperate adventures
+travellers have met with when attacked by them. The story of the Russian
+peasant, who, to save his master's family, leaped out of the sledge and
+faced the pack alone, thus delaying the wolves by his own
+self-sacrifice, while the sledge proceeded on its journey, is one of
+these. In contrast to this is the story of the Russian woman, given by
+Mr. Lloyd in the work already quoted.
+
+
+A Terrible Alternative.
+
+A woman, accompanied by three of her children, was one day in a sledge,
+when they were pursued by a number of wolves. She put the horse into a
+gallop, and drove towards her home with the utmost speed. She was not
+far from it; but the ferocious animals gained upon her, and were on the
+point of rushing on to the sledge. For the preservation of her own life
+and that of the remaining children, the poor, frantic creature cast one
+of them to her bloodthirsty pursuers. This stopped their career for a
+moment; but, after devouring the poor child, they renewed the pursuit,
+and a second time came up with the vehicle. The mother, driven to
+desperation, resorted to the same horrible expedient, and threw another
+of her offspring to her ferocious assailants. The third child was also
+sacrificed in the same way, and soon after the wretched being reached
+her home in safety. Here she related what had happened, and endeavoured
+to palliate her own conduct by describing the dreadful alternative to
+which she had been, reduced. A peasant, however, who was among the
+bystanders, and heard the recital, took up an axe, and with one blow
+cleft her skull in two, saying at the same time, "that a mother who
+could thus sacrifice her children for the preservation of her own life,
+was no longer fit to live." The man was committed to prison, but the
+Emperor subsequently granted him a pardon.
+
+
+A Marvellous Escape.
+
+Equally terrible and more marvellous is the story of the adventure of a
+Russian family which took place as recently as the winter of 1894-5. A
+peasant was riding in a sleigh in company with his wife and child, when
+he became aware that they were being pursued by wolves. He urged the
+horses to their utmost speed but it soon became evident that the wolves
+would overtake them before they could reach a place of safety. Urged to
+desperation, the peasant ordered his wife to throw the child to the
+wolves, hoping thereby to gain time and thus escape. The wife refused to
+part with her little one, whereupon an altercation ensued, during which
+the peasant tried to drag the child from her arms with a view to
+throwing it to the wolves himself. In the struggle both mother and child
+fell from the vehicle, and with a lightened load the horses dashed
+forward at an even greater speed. For some apparently unaccountable
+reason, however, the wolves took no notice of the mother and child and
+continued to pursue the sleigh, possibly anticipating the larger meal
+that the horses would supply. In this they were not disappointed, for
+they succeeded in overtaking the sleigh, and the peasant and the horses
+fell victims to their ravage. In the meantime the mother and child found
+their way to a farm house where they were sheltered until danger was
+past.
+
+
+Tame Wolves.
+
+Notwithstanding his natural fierceness, the wolf becomes tame under
+kindly treatment, and shows much affection for those who cherish him.
+Instances are common in which wolves have remembered their benefactors,
+after years of absence, and have shown every demonstration of joy on
+recognition. They have even been harnessed and taught to draw carriages
+and to fulfil other useful offices. With wolves, as with many other
+animals, hunger and thirst are apparently the principal causes of
+savagery and the struggle for existence the main cause of rapacity and
+cruelty.
+
+
+The Cunning of the Fox.
+
+The cunning of the fox is proverbial and if only one half of the stories
+told about him are true, there are quite sufficient to invest him with a
+degree of artfulness which is apparently unique. The extraordinary way
+in which he will feign himself dead, whether when hunting or being
+hunted, is a proof of this, as are also the various tricks he will
+resort to, to throw his pursuers off the scent. Captain Brown tells a
+story of a fox who leapt a high wall and crouched under it on the
+further side until the hounds had passed over, and then quietly
+returned, giving them the slip. Another fox who suddenly baffled two
+blood hounds who were in hot pursuit, was discovered lying full length
+upon a log of wood from which at first it was difficult to distinguish
+him. When feigning death he is said sometimes to hold his breath and
+hang out his tongue. He will sometimes baffle his pursuers by hanging on
+to a branch of a tree.
+
+
+The Fox as a Hunter.
+
+Mr. St. John tells the following story of the fox as a hunter:--"Just
+after it was daylight I saw a large fox come very quietly along the edge
+of the plantation. He looked with great care over the turf wall into the
+field, and seemed to long very much to get hold of some of the hares
+that were feeding in it, but apparently knew that he had no chance of
+catching one by dint of running. After considering a short time, he
+seemed to have formed his plans, examined the different gaps in the
+wall, fixed upon one which appeared to be most frequented, and laid
+himself down close to it in an attitude like that of a cat at a mouse
+hole. In the meantime I watched all his plans. He then with great care
+and silence scraped a small hollow in the ground, throwing up the sand
+as a kind of screen. Every now and then, however, he stopped to listen,
+and sometimes to take a most cautious peep into the field. When he had
+done this, he laid himself down in a convenient posture for springing on
+his prey, and remained perfectly motionless, with the exception of an
+occasional reconnoitre of the feeding hares. When the sun began to rise,
+they came, one by one, from the field to the plantation: three had
+already come without passing by his ambush, one within twenty yards of
+him; but he made no movement beyond crouching still more flatly to the
+ground. Presently two came directly towards him, and though he did not
+venture to look up, I saw, by an involuntary motion of his ear, that
+those quick organs had already warned him of their approach. The two
+hares came through the gap together and the fox, springing with the
+quickness of lightning, caught one and killed her immediately; he then
+lifted up his booty and was carrying it off, when my rifle-ball stopped
+his course."
+
+
+A Fox Hunt.
+
+Captain Brown tells an amusing story of the resource shown by a fox who
+was hard pressed near Tamary, Ireland, which is as follows. "After a
+short chase, Reynard disappeared, having cunningly mounted a turf stack,
+on the top of which he lay down flat. Finding himself, at last,
+perceived by one of the hounds, he left his retreat, closely pursued by
+the pack, ran up a stone wall, from which he sprang on the roof of an
+adjoining cabin, and mounted to the chimney-top. From that elevated
+situation he looked all around him, as if carefully reconnoitring the
+coming enemy. A cunning old hound approached, and, having gained the
+summit of the roof, had already seized the fox in imagination, when, lo!
+Reynard dropped down the chimney, like a fallen star into a draw-well.
+The dog looked wistfully down the dark opening, but dared not pursue the
+fugitive. Meantime, whilst the hound was eagerly inspecting the smoky
+orifice of the chimney, Reynard, half enrobed in soot, had fallen into
+the lap of an old woman, who, surrounded by a number of children, was
+gravely smoking her pipe, not at all expecting the entrance of this
+abrupt visitor. 'Emiladh deouil!' said the affrighted female, as she
+threw from her the black and red quadruped: Reynard grinned, growled,
+and showed his fangs; and when the sportsmen, who had secured the door,
+entered, they found him in possession of the kitchen, the old woman and
+the children having retired, in terror of the invader, to a corner of
+the room. The fox was taken alive."
+
+
+The Arctic Fox.
+
+The Arctic Fox, which is of a beautiful white colour, is found,
+according to Captain James Ross, in the highest northern latitudes, even
+in the winter. In the late autumn the younger generation make their way
+south and congregate in the neighbourhood of Hudson's Bay, returning
+north in the early spring of the following year. They are gregarious,
+living in companies in burrows in sandy places.
+
+
+Wild Dogs.
+
+Wild dogs abound in various parts of the world, of which the Dingos of
+Australia, the Dholes of India and the Aguaras of South America are
+examples. The wild dogs of the East are familiar to all readers of
+Eastern travels. A writer in the Times newspaper describes the dogs of
+Constantinople, as "omnipresent, lawless, yet perfectly harmless dogs,"
+which perform valuable but ill requited service as scavengers of the
+city. He says:--"In shape, in countenance, in language, in their bandy
+legs, pointed noses, pricked up ears, dirty yellow coats, and bushy
+tails, they could be hunted as foxes in Gloucestershire. They are," he
+continues, "up and doing from sunset to sunrise, and enjoy the
+refreshment of well-earned, profound sleep almost throughout the day.
+They are not only homeless and masterless but have also a sovereign
+contempt for bed or shelter. There is a time it would seem, when sleep
+comes upon them--all of them--like sudden death; when all squat down,
+coil themselves up, nose to tail, wherever they chance to be--on the
+footpath, in the carriage way, in the gutter--and there lie in the
+sunshine, in the pelting rain, yellow bundles, hardly distinguishable
+from the mud. The Constantinople dog never learns to wag his tail; he
+never makes up, never looks up to a human being, never encourages or
+even notices men's advances. He is not exactly sullen, or cowed, or
+mistrustful; he is simply cold and distant as an Englishman is said to
+be when not introduced."
+
+"The Dingo, the wild dog of Australia," says Mrs. Bowdich "roams in
+packs through that vast country; has a broad head; fierce oblique eyes;
+acute muzzle; short, pointed, erect ears; tail bushy, and never raised
+to more than a horizontal position. He does not bark, but howls
+fearfully; is extremely sagacious, and has a remarkable power of bearing
+pain. When beaten so severely as to be left for dead, he has been seen
+to get up and run away. A man proceeded to skin one, not doubting that
+life was extinct, and after proceeding a little way with the operation,
+he left the hut to sharpen his knife. When he returned, the poor animal
+was sitting up, with the loose skin hanging over one side of his face."
+The Dhole of India, similarly hunts in packs, attacking and destroying
+even the tiger. Their sense of smell is very acute, their bark similar
+to that of a hound, their colour red or sandy. They have long heads,
+oblique eyes, long erect ears; and very powerful limbs. The Aguaras of
+South America, says Mrs. Bowdich, resemble foxes. "They are silent if
+not dumb, and appear to congregate in families rather than packs. They
+have a peculiar propensity to steal and secrete without any apparent
+object in so doing."
+
+
+The Dog.
+
+The dog divides with the horse the honour of being the most intimate and
+devoted of the servants of mankind. "His origin," says Mr. Jesse "is
+lost in antiquity. We find him occupying a place in the earliest pagan
+worship; his name has been given to one of the first-mentioned stars of
+the heavens, and his effigy may be seen in some of the most ancient
+works of art. Pliny was of opinion that there was no domestic animal
+without its unsubdued counterpart, and dogs are known to exist
+absolutely wild in various parts of the old and new world." Whether the
+dog of civilization is a descendant of these wild dogs, or whether the
+wild dog is the progeny of domestic varieties relapsed into a condition
+of savagery, and whether both are descended from the wolf and the jackal
+has often been discussed. Certain it is that many of the species which
+now obtain are in certain characteristics at least the result of
+artificial breeding. In its domestic state, the dog is remarkable for
+its usefulness, obedience, and attachment to its master; and the great
+variety of breeds that are trained and educated for our benefit or
+amusement, are almost too numerous to be mentioned. The principal are,
+the _greyhound_, noted for his speed; the _Newfoundland dog_, remarkable
+for his size, sagacity, and benevolence; the _shepherd's dog_, perhaps
+the most useful of all; the _spaniel_, the _barbel_, and the _setter_,
+useful in hunting; the _pointer_, the staunchest of all dogs; the
+_Dalmatian_ or _coach-dog_, with a skin beautifully spotted; the
+_terrier_, useful for destroying vermin; the _blood-hound_, formerly
+used for tracing criminals; the _harrier_, _beagle_, and _foxhound_,
+distinguished for their quick sense of smell; and the _bull-dog_, and
+_mastiff_, which are our watch-dogs.
+
+
+The Dog's Understanding.
+
+Many marvellous instances are on record of the dog's capacity for
+understanding not only the direct commands of his master, to which of
+course he may be easily trained, but also, sometimes, the drift of
+conversations in which his master may engage.
+
+The Rev. James Simpson of Edinburgh had a fine Newfoundland dog of which
+some good stories are told. On one occasion, however, Mr. Simpson
+happening to remark to a friend in the dog's hearing that, as he was
+about to change his residence, he would have to part with his dog, the
+dog took the hint, left the house and was never heard of again. Sheep
+dogs have been known to take very apparent interest in conversations
+upon the subject of their profession, and to anticipate the word of
+command by their perception of the drift of the remarks. Mr. St. John,
+in his "Highland Sports", gives a remarkable illustration of the way in
+which a shepherd's dog understood the conversation of his master:--"A
+shepherd once, to prove the quickness of his dog, who was lying before
+the fire in the house where we were talking, said to me, in the middle
+of a sentence concerning something else, 'I'm thinking, sir, the cow is
+in the potatoes.' Though he purposely laid no stress on these words, and
+said them in a quiet, unconcerned tone of voice, the dog, who appeared
+to be asleep, immediately jumped up, and leaping through the open
+window, scrambled up the turf roof of the house, from which he could see
+the potato field. He then (not seeing the cow there) ran and looked into
+the byre, where she was, and finding that all was right, came back to
+the house. After a short time the shepherd said the same words again,
+and the dog repeated his look-out; but on the false alarm being a third
+time given, the dog got up, and wagging his tail, looked his master in
+the face with so comical an expression of interrogation, that we could
+not help laughing aloud at him, on which, with a slight growl, he laid
+himself down in his warm corner, with an offended air, as if determined
+not to be made a fool of again."
+
+The well known story of Sir Walter Scott's dog, supplied by him to
+Captain Brown, is another illustration. "The wisest dog I ever had,"
+said Sir Walter, "was what is called the bull-dog terrier. I taught him
+to understand a great many words, insomuch that I am positive that the
+communication betwixt the canine species and ourselves might be greatly
+enlarged. Camp once bit the baker, who was bringing bread to the family.
+I beat him, and explained the enormity of his offence; after which, to
+the last moment of his life, he never heard the least allusion to the
+story, in whatever voice or tone it was mentioned, without getting up
+and retiring into the darkest corner of the room, with great appearance
+of distress. Then if you said, 'the baker was well paid,' or, 'the baker
+was not hurt after all,' Camp came forth from his hiding-place, capered,
+and barked, and rejoiced. When he was unable, towards the end of his
+life, to attend me when on horseback, he used to watch for my return,
+and the servant would tell him 'his master was coming down the hill, or
+through the moor,' and although he did not use any gesture to explain
+his meaning, Camp was never known to mistake him, but either went out at
+the front to go up the hill, or at the back to get down to the
+moor-side. He certainly had a singular knowledge of spoken language."
+
+One of the most remarkable illustrations of the dog's capacity for
+understanding is probably that given by Mrs. Bowdich, as follows:
+
+"Professor Owen was walking with a friend, by the side of a river, near
+its mouth, on the coast of Cornwall, and picked up a small piece of
+sea-weed. It was covered with minute animals; and Mr. Owen observed to
+his companion, throwing the weed into the water, 'If this small piece
+affords so many treasures, how microscopically rich the whole plant must
+be! I should much like to have one.' The gentlemen walked on, but
+hearing a splashing in the water, turned round, and saw it violently
+agitated. 'It is Lion!' both exclaimed; 'what can he be about? He was
+walking quietly enough by our side a minute ago.' At one moment they saw
+his tail above the water, then his head raised for a breath of air, then
+the surrounding element shook again, and at last he came ashore, panting
+from his exertions, and laid a whole plant of the identical weed at Mr.
+Owen's feet. After this proof of intelligence, it will not be wondered
+at, that when Lion was joyfully expecting to accompany his master and
+his guest on an excursion, and was told to go and take care of and
+comfort Mrs. Owen, who was ill, he should immediately return to the
+drawing-room and lay himself by her side, which he never left during the
+absence of his owner, his countenance alone betraying his
+disappointment, and that only for a few minutes."
+
+
+The Dog's Sense of Locality.
+
+Dogs have a remarkable sense of locality, and will find their way to a
+spot they have once visited with an unerring instinct under
+circumstances which make it impossible for them to rely entirely upon
+their sense of scent. Some of the stories told of the extraordinary
+journeys made by dogs, apparently without anything to guide them but
+their natural instinct, seem almost incredible.
+
+Captain Brown tells a story of a gentleman of Glasgow, who was
+unfortunately drowned in the river Oder while bathing during a
+continental tour. A Newfoundland dog, who was his travelling companion,
+made every effort to save him, but failing to do so, found his way
+either to Frankfort, or Hamburgh, where he went on board a vessel bound
+for England, from which he landed somewhere on the coast, finding his
+way ultimately to the person from whom he had been originally purchased,
+and who lived near Holyrood palace.
+
+Another dog who, on arriving in England from Newfoundland, was given to
+a gentleman in London, was sent by him to a friend in Scotland, by
+water. The dog, however, made his escape and found his way back to his
+old master at Fish Street Hill, London, though as Mr. Jesse puts it "in
+so exhausted a state that he could only express his joy at seeing his
+master and then die."
+
+This instinct seems to be common to many varieties of dogs. Captain
+Brown tells of a Dalmatian or coach-dog which Lord Maynard lost in
+France, and which he found at his house on his return to England, though
+how it had got there he never could trace. It is not necessary, says
+Captain Brown, that the dog shall have previously travelled the ground
+by which it returns. A person who went by sea from Aberdeen to Leith,
+lost his dog at the latter place, and found it on his return at
+Aberdeen. It must have travelled over a country unknown to it, and have
+crossed the firths of Forth and Tay.
+
+Illustrations might easily be multiplied. Mr. Jesse tells of a dog which
+was presented to the Captain of a collier by a gentleman residing at
+Wivenhoe in Essex and which on being landed at Sunderland found its way
+back to its old master, and also of a spaniel belonging to Colonel Hardy
+which after accompanying him from Essex to Bath in a post chaise, found
+its way back through London, a distance of 140 miles in three days.
+
+Perhaps a more remarkable instance is that recorded of his dog by M.
+d'Obsonville. This animal accompanied his master and a friend from
+Pondicherry to Bengalore, a distance of more than nine hundred miles. M.
+D'Obsonville says, "Our journey occupied nearly three weeks; and we had
+to traverse plains and mountains, and to ford rivers, and go along
+bypaths. The animal, which had certainly never been in that country
+before, lost us at Bengalore, and immediately returned to Pondicherry.
+He went directly to the house of my friend, M. Beglier, then commandant
+of artillery, and with whom I had generally lived. Now, the difficulty
+is not so much to know how the dog subsisted on the road (for he was
+very strong, and able to procure himself food), but how he should so
+well have found his way after an interval of more than a month! This was
+an effort of memory greatly superior to that which the human race is
+capable of exerting."
+
+
+Dog Friendships and Enmities.
+
+That dogs make very strong friendships among themselves is attested by
+many an affecting story. A Radnorshire lady, who married and went to
+reside in Yorkshire, afterwards paid a visit to her old home where her
+father, before her marriage, had kept two or three sheep-dogs of whom
+she was very fond. Having retired from business, her father had disposed
+of all but one dog, and upon her arrival this one met the lady with
+every demonstration of delight and, that same night, went a distance of
+seven miles to a farmhouse where one of the other dogs who had become
+blind, then lived. In the morning when the lady went to the door she saw
+not only the dog which had given her such a glad reception on the
+previous day, but also the old blind one, which had evidently been
+brought by the other dog to welcome her. When the second night came the
+old blind dog was taken back to its home by the same dog, which
+afterwards returned, having travelled a distance of twenty-eight miles
+to give pleasure to his old blind friend.
+
+Instances might easily be multiplied but we must content ourselves with
+one of a very different character from Colonel Hamilton Smith's
+"CyclopA|dia of Natural History." "In the neighbourhood of Cupar, in the
+county of Fife, there lived two dogs, mortal enemies to each other, and
+who always fought desperately whenever they met. Capt. R---- was the
+master of one of them, and the other belonged to a neighbouring farmer.
+Capt. R----'s dog was in the practice of going messages, and even of
+bringing butchers' meat and other articles from Cupar. One day, while
+returning, charged with a basket containing some pieces of mutton, he
+was attacked by some of the curs of the town, who, no doubt, thought the
+prize worth contending for. The assault was fierce, and of some
+duration; but the messenger, after doing his utmost, was at last
+overpowered and compelled to yield up the basket, though not before he
+had secured a part of its contents. The piece saved from the wreck he
+ran off with, at full speed, to the quarters of his old enemy, at whose
+feet he laid it down, stretching himself beside it till he had eaten it
+up. A few snuffs, a few whispers in the ear, and other dog-like
+courtesies, were then exchanged; after which they both set off together
+for Cupar, where they worried almost every dog in the town; and, what is
+more remarkable, they never afterwards quarrelled, but were always on
+friendly terms." This story also illustrates another characteristic of
+the dog family. Dogs combine for purposes of offence and defence. Cats
+stand or fall alone.
+
+
+Dog Language.
+
+The foregoing is also a proof of the faculty by which animals can
+communicate their ideas to each other which in dogs is particularly
+remarkable. There are many curious anecdotes recorded, illustrative of
+this faculty. "At Horton, England, about the year 1818, a gentleman
+from London took possession of a house, the former tenant of which had
+moved to a farm about half a mile off. The new inmate brought with him a
+large French poodle dog, to take the duty of watchman, in the place of a
+fine Newfoundland dog, which went away with his master; but a puppy of
+the same breed was left behind, and he was instantly persecuted by the
+poodle. As the puppy grew up, the persecution still continued. At
+length, he was one day missing for some hours; but he did not come back
+alone; he returned with his old friend, the large house-dog, to whom he
+had made a communication; and in an instant the two fell upon the
+unhappy poodle, and killed him before he could be rescued from their
+fury. In this case, the injuries of the young dog must have been made
+known to his friend; a plan of revenge concerted; and the determination
+to carry that plan into effect formed and executed with equal
+promptitude. The following story, which illustrates, even in a more
+singular manner, the communication of ideas between dogs, was told by a
+clergyman, as an authentic anecdote. A surgeon of Leeds found a little
+spaniel who had been lamed. He carried the poor animal home, bandaged up
+his leg, and, after two or three days, turned him out. The dog returned
+to the surgeon's house every morning, till his leg was perfectly well.
+At the end of several months, the spaniel again presented himself, in
+company with another dog, who had also been lamed; and he intimated, as
+well as piteous and intelligent looks could intimate, that he desired
+the same kind assistance to be rendered to his friend, as had been
+bestowed upon himself. A similar circumstance is stated to have occurred
+to Moraut, a celebrated French surgeon."
+
+
+The Dog's Intelligence.
+
+Many instances have been chronicled of the actions of dogs, which seem
+clearly the result of a process of reasoning. Mr. Jesse tells of a dog
+who was sent to fetch two hats which had been left lying upon the
+grass. After several unsuccessful attempts to carry the two together in
+his mouth, he laid them on the ground, placed the smaller within the
+larger, pressed it down with his foot, and then easily carried them to
+his master. Instances are recorded of dogs who while always ready to
+perform a useful service, absolutely refused to act for the amusement of
+on-lookers or to discharge unnecessary duties. Thus a dog who would go
+into the water to retrieve a wild duck would refuse to fetch anything
+that had been thrown in for the purpose of displaying his agility, and
+another who was accustomed to ring the servants' bell at the bidding of
+his mistress refused to do so when told while the servant was in the
+room, and if repeatedly commanded to do so, would lay hold of the
+servant's coat and attempt to drag him to his mistress. These
+illustrations seem to show a power of discrimination not usually
+credited to animals. Of the intelligence shown by dogs which have been
+trained, the following story from the "Percy Anecdotes" is at once a
+remarkable and an amusing illustration. "One day, when Dumont, a
+tradesman of the Rue St. Denis, was walking in the Boulevard St. Antoine
+with a friend, he offered to lay a wager with the latter, that if he
+were to hide a six-livre piece in the dust, his dog would discover and
+bring it to him. The wager was accepted, and the piece of money
+secreted, after being carefully marked. When the two had proceeded some
+distance from the spot, M. Dumont called to his dog that he had lost
+something, and ordered him to seek it. Caniche immediately turned back,
+and his master and his companion pursued their walk to the Rue St.
+Denis. Meanwhile a traveller, who happened to be just then returning in
+a small chaise from Vincennes, perceived the piece of money, which his
+horse had kicked from its hiding-place; he alighted, took it up, and
+drove to his inn, in the Rue Pont-aux-Choux. Caniche had just reached
+the spot in search of the lost piece when the stranger picked it up. He
+followed the chaise, went into the inn, and stuck close to the
+traveller. Having scented out the coin which he had been ordered to
+bring back in the pocket of the latter, he leaped up incessantly at and
+about him. The traveller, supposing him to be some dog that had been
+lost or left behind by his master, regarded his different movements as
+marks of fondness; and as the animal was handsome, he determined to keep
+him. He gave him a good supper, and on retiring to bed took him with him
+to his chamber. No sooner had he pulled off his breeches, than they were
+seized by the dog; the owner conceiving that he wanted to play with
+them, took them away again. The animal began to bark at the door, which
+the traveller opened, under the idea that the dog wanted to go out.
+Caniche snatched up the breeches, and away he flew. The traveller posted
+after him with his night-cap on, and literally _sans culottes_. Anxiety
+for the fate of a purse full of gold Napoleons, of forty francs each,
+which was in one of the pockets, gave redoubled velocity to his steps.
+Caniche ran full speed to his master's house, where the stranger arrived
+a moment afterwards breathless and enraged. He accused the dog of
+robbing him. 'Sir,' said the master, 'my dog is a very faithful
+creature; and if he has run away with your breeches, it is because you
+have in them money which does not belong to you.' The traveller became
+still more exasperated. 'Compose yourself, sir,' rejoined the other,
+smiling; 'without doubt there is in your purse a six-livre piece, with
+such and such marks, which you have picked up in the Boulevard St.
+Antoine, and which I threw down there with the firm conviction that my
+dog would bring it back again. This is the cause of the robbery which he
+has committed upon you.' The stranger's rage now yielded to
+astonishment; he delivered the six-livre piece to the owner, and could
+not forbear caressing the dog which had given him so much uneasiness,
+and such an unpleasant chase."
+
+
+Dogs' Mistakes.
+
+That dogs sometimes make mistakes in the exercise of their intelligence,
+with somewhat ludicrous results, is of course true. A dog once
+accompanied a gentleman's servant to a tailor's with a coat of his
+master's which needed repair. Having his suspicions with regard to the
+transaction, the dog watched his opportunity, seized the coat from the
+counter and carried it back with evident satisfaction to his master.
+Another dog caused great amusement at a swimming match by insisting upon
+the rescue of one of the competitors. Dogs have also been known to cause
+both amusement and consternation by leaping upon the stage to rescue the
+defenceless characters of the melodrama from the hands of the heavy
+villain of the play. The story of the dog who failed to recognise his
+master who had been bathing, and who therefore refused to allow him to
+have his clothes, is probably apochryphal, but if true is another
+illustration of the awkwardness of dogs' mistakes.
+
+
+The Eskimo Dog.
+
+Colonel Hamilton Smith in his classification of dogs begins with those
+which belong nearest to the arctic circle, and it will be convenient to
+follow his order in so far as space will allow. Speaking of the Eskimo
+dog Captain Lyon says:--"Having myself possessed during our hard winter
+a team of eleven fine dogs, I was enabled to become better acquainted
+with their good qualities than could possibly have been the case by the
+casual visits of the Esquimaux to the ships. The form of the Esquimaux
+dog is very similar to that of our shepherd's dog in England, but it is
+more muscular and broad-chested, owing to the constant and severe work
+to which he is brought up. His ears are pointed, and the aspect of the
+head is somewhat savage. In size a fine dog about the height of the
+Newfoundland breed, but broad like a mastiff in every part except the
+nose. The hair of the coat is in summer, as well as in winter, very
+long, but during the cold season a soft, downy under-covering is found,
+which does not appear in warm weather. Young dogs are put into harness
+as soon as they can walk, and being tied up, soon acquire a habit of
+pulling, in their attempts to recover their liberty, or to roam in quest
+of their mother. When about two months old, they are put into the sledge
+with the grown dogs, and sometimes eight or ten little ones are under
+the charge of some steady old animal, where, with frequent and sometimes
+severe beatings, they soon receive a competent education. Every dog is
+distinguished by a particular name, and the angry repetition of it has
+an effect as instantaneous as an application of the whip, which
+instrument is of an immense length, having a lash from eighteen to
+twenty-four feet, while the handle is one foot only; with this, by
+throwing it on one side or the other of the leader, and repeating
+certain words, the animals are guided or stopped. When the sledge is
+stopped they are all taught to lie down, by throwing the whip gently
+over their backs, and they will remain in this position even for hours,
+until their master returns to them. A walrus is frequently drawn along
+by three or four of these dogs, and seals are sometimes carried home in
+the same manner, though I have in some instances seen a dog bring home
+the greater part of a seal in panniers placed across his back. Cold has
+very little effect on them; for although the dogs at the huts slept
+within the snow passages, mine at the ships had no shelter, but lay
+alongside, with the thermometer at 42A deg. and 44A deg., and with as little
+concern as if the weather had been mild. I found, by several
+experiments, that three of my dogs could draw me on a sledge, weighing
+one hundred pounds, at the rate of one mile in six minutes; and as a
+proof of the strength of a well-grown dog, my leader drew one hundred
+and ninety-six pounds singly, and to the same distance, in eight
+minutes. At another time seven of my dogs ran a mile in four minutes,
+drawing a heavy sledge full of men. Afterwards, in carrying stores to
+the Fury, one mile distant, nine dogs drew one thousand six hundred and
+eleven pounds in the space of nine minutes. When the dogs slackened
+their pace, the sight of a seal or bird was sufficient to put them
+instantly to their full speed; and even though none of these might be
+seen on the ice, the cry of 'a seal!'--'a bear!'--or 'a bird!' &c., was
+enough to give play to the legs and voices of the whole pack. The voice
+and long whip answer all the purposes of reins, and the dogs can be made
+to turn a corner as dexterously as horses, though not in such an orderly
+manner, since they are constantly fighting; and I do not recollect to
+have seen one receive a flogging without instantly wreaking his passion
+on the ears of his neighbours. The cries of the men are not more
+melodious than those of the animals; and their wild looks and gestures
+when animated, give them an appearance of devils driving wolves before
+them. Our dogs had eaten nothing for forty-eight hours, and could not
+have gone over less than seventy miles of ground; yet they returned, to
+all appearance, as fresh and active as when they first set out."
+
+
+A Hard Lot.
+
+The unhappy condition of the Eskimo dogs under native treatment is
+pathetically referred to in "Cassell's Natural History," edited by
+Professor Duncan. The writer says "the horrible savagery of those poor
+wretches can hardly be wondered at; they live in a country where there
+is hardly a chance for them in any independent foraging expedition; they
+are half-starved by their masters, being fed chiefly on frozen walrus
+hides in the winter, and allowed to shift for themselves in the summer
+when their services are not required, and are in so perennial and acute
+a state of hunger that they are ready at any time to eat their own
+harness if allowed to do so. It is generally stated that they are
+perfectly insensible to kindness, and only to be kept in order by a
+liberal application of the lash, or even of a more formidable weapon;
+for the Eskimo, if their dogs are refractory, do not scruple to beat
+them about the head with a hammer, or anything else of sufficient
+hardness which happens to be at hand. They will even beat the poor
+brutes in this horrible manner until they are actually stunned.
+Notwithstanding the absolute dependence of the Eskimo on their dogs,
+little or no care is taken of them; they receive nothing in any degree
+approaching petting, and spend all their time in the open air. The chief
+use of the Eskimo dog is to draw the sledges, which are the only
+possible conveyances in that frozen land. In all the Arctic expeditions
+which have been sent out at various times, a good supply of sledge dogs
+has been one of the greatest _desiderata_, as without them it would be
+absolutely impossible to proceed far. No other animal would answer the
+purpose, both horses and cattle being quite useless in journeys over ice
+and snow, amongst which the pack of light, active dogs make their way
+with wonderful ease and safety." The Siberian dogs render equally
+valuable services to their masters with about an equal measure of
+appreciation.
+
+
+The Newfoundland Dog.
+
+The dog known as the Newfoundland dog is one of the handsomest and best
+beloved of the dog family. He is distinct from the Labrador dog, which
+is more slender in make, has a sharper muzzle and is generally "black in
+colour with a tawny nose and a rusty spot over each eye". The Labrador
+dog and the Eskimo have been credited with the parentage of the
+Newfoundland species. At home the Newfoundland is made useful for the
+purpose of drawing loads, being harnessed to small carts and sleighs for
+carrying wood and other commodities. Abroad like the prophet who "is not
+without honour save in his own country", he has been found capable and
+worthy of much more honourable service, and his fidelity and sagacity
+have won for him universal esteem. He is an expert swimmer, his feet
+being webbed and so peculiarly adapted for the exercise. He takes to the
+water as though it were his natural element, and has so often carried
+the line to sinking ships, and rescued persons about to drown that such
+incidents have become quite common. The tribute paid to him by Sir
+Edwin Landseer, when he named his famous picture of him "a distinguished
+member of the humane society", was no more poetical than just. Volumes
+might be filled with stories of his intelligence and prowess, and it is
+difficult within present limits to select a due variety of
+characteristic anecdotes.
+
+
+The Newfoundland's Generosity.
+
+One of the most marked characteristics of the Newfoundland dog is his
+generosity to a fallen foe. His temper is said to be uncertain, though
+this has been questioned by some who have had large experience of him
+under varying circumstances. Be this as it may, there are many stories
+told to his honour of his generosity to his enemies in the moment of
+victory. A Newfoundland dog, who had for some time treated with becoming
+dignity the impudence of some mongrels who were amusing themselves by
+snapping and snarling at his heels, suddenly turned and sent the crowd
+of persecutors flying in all directions, except the ringleader, who fell
+sprawling in the middle of the street, where he was about to receive the
+punishment he deserved when a cable car came dashing down the hill,
+right upon the dogs. The big dog saw the danger at once and sprang
+aside, but his enemy remained upon his back, too terrified to notice
+anything. The Newfoundland took in the situation, in a moment sprang
+back in front of the car, seized the cur in his teeth, and snatched him,
+still whining and begging for mercy, out of the very jaws of death.
+Laying him in the gutter, he gave a good-natured wag or two of his tail
+and went his way. Another Newfoundland much bothered by a small cur who
+was for ever barking at his heels, but who treated his assailant with
+sublime indifference, was on one occasion aroused to adopt drastic
+measures by receiving a bite on his leg. Seizing the cur by the loose
+skin of his back he carried him down to the quay of Cork and after
+letting him dangle over the water for a little while, dropped him into
+it. After watching the animal struggle with the water until nearly
+exhausted, the Newfoundland plunged in and rescued him. Mr. Jesse gives
+a fine illustration of this canine chivalry, witnessed at Donaghadee.
+"The one dog in this case was also a Newfoundland, and the other was a
+mastiff. They were both powerful dogs; and though each was good-natured
+when alone, they were very much in the habit of fighting when they met.
+One day they had a fierce and prolonged battle on the pier, from the
+point of which they both fell into the sea; and as the pier was long and
+steep, they had no means of escape but by swimming a considerable
+distance. Throwing water upon fighting dogs is an approved means of
+putting an end to their hostilities; and it is natural to suppose that
+two combatants of the same species tumbling themselves into the sea
+would have the same effect. It had; and each began to make for the land
+as best he could. The Newfoundland being an excellent swimmer, very
+speedily gained the pier, on which he stood shaking himself; but at the
+same time watching the motions of his late antagonist, which, being no
+swimmer, was struggling exhausted in the water, and just about to sink.
+In dashed the Newfoundland dog, took the other gently by the collar,
+kept his head above water, and brought him safely on shore. There was a
+peculiar kind of recognition between the two animals; they never fought
+again; they were always together: and when the Newfoundland dog had been
+accidentally killed by the passage of a stone waggon on the railway over
+him, the other languished and evidently lamented for a long time."
+
+
+The Newfoundland's Perception of Danger.
+
+The quickness with which the Newfoundland will realise the danger of a
+situation and the promptitude with which he will devise a remedy, make
+him in some cases a more valuable friend in need than a man could be.
+Human aid would have probably been too slow in the following case
+related by Mr. Jesse. "In the city of Worchester, one of the principal
+streets leads by a gentle declivity to the river Severn. One day a
+child, in crossing the street, fell down in the middle of it and a horse
+and cart, which was descending the hill, would have passed over it, had
+not a Newfoundland dog rushed to the rescue of the child, caught it up
+in his mouth, and conveyed it in safety to the foot pavement."
+
+The promptitude with which he will leap into the water to save the
+drowning, without waiting for any word of command, is another
+illustration of this faculty. Another case related by Mr. Jesse may be
+quoted. "In the year 1841, as a labourer, named Rake, in the parish of
+Botley, near Southampton, was at work in a gravel-pit, the top stratum
+gave way, and he was buried up to his neck by the great quantity of
+gravel which fell upon him. He was at the same time so much hurt, two of
+his ribs being broken, that he found it impossible to make any attempt
+to extricate himself from his perilous situation. Indeed, nothing could
+be more fearful than the prospect before him. No one was within hearing
+of his cries, nor was any one likely to come near the spot. He must
+almost inevitably have perished, had it not been for a Newfoundland dog
+belonging to his employer. This animal had been watching the man at his
+work for some days, as if he had been aware that his assistance would be
+required; for no particular attachment to each other had been exhibited
+on either side. As soon, however, as the accident occurred, the dog
+jumped into the pit, and commenced removing the gravel with his paws;
+and this he did in so vigorous and expeditious a manner, that the poor
+man was at length able to liberate himself, though with extreme
+difficulty. What an example of kindness, sensibility, and I may add
+reason, does this instance afford us!"
+
+Mr. Youatt gives a remarkable illustration, also quoted by Mr. Jesse, of
+a Newfoundland's apparent perception of danger of quite another sort.
+Finding it inconvenient to keep this animal Mr. Youatt had given it to a
+friend, and four years passed before the dog saw his late owner again,
+when they met quite by chance, the two masters and the dog, on a lonely
+road between Wandsworth and Kingston. The dog showed every sign of
+pleasure at meeting his old master, but when they parted faithfully
+followed the new. Mr. Youatt had not proceeded far, however, when he
+discovered that the dog had rejoined him and was walking at his side,
+growling and showing every sign of anger. Looking ahead he discovered
+two men approaching him stealthily from behind the bushes that skirted
+the road. "I can scarcely say," says Mr. Youatt, "what I felt; for
+presently one of the scoundrels emerged from the bushes, not twenty
+yards from me; but he no sooner saw my companion, and heard his
+growling, the loudness and depth of which were fearfully increasing,
+than he retreated, and I saw no more of him or of his associate. My
+gallant defender accompanied me to the direction-post at the bottom of
+the hill, and there, with many a mutual and honest greeting, we parted,
+and he bounded away to overtake his rightful owner. We never met again;
+but I need not say that I often thought of him with admiration and
+gratitude."
+
+
+The Newfoundland's Sense of Right and Wrong.
+
+A number of well authenticated stories, seem to indicate a certain sense
+of right and wrong as characteristic of the more intelligent dogs; of
+course the idea of right and wrong being in the case of animals as in
+the case of men, largely a matter of education. The Newfoundland dog
+belonging to the Rev. J. Simpson of Potterow Church, Edinburgh, already
+referred to, on one occasion detained a party of friends which had been
+entertained by the servants during their master's absence at church, by
+stationing himself in front of the hall door and preventing their egress
+until the rev. gentleman's return. Another Newfoundland dog who belonged
+to a grocer, and who had seen a porter hide money behind a heap of
+rubbish in a stable,--money which he had surreptitiously abstracted from
+the till,--followed an apprentice into the stable on the first
+opportunity, and scratching away the rubbish exposed the money to view,
+thus leading to the detection of the thief. It is of course easy to
+claim too much for actions apparently so intelligent and in estimating
+them coincidence has to be allowed for; but they are far too numerous to
+be ignored in estimating canine character. An instance is recorded of a
+quiet docile dog who refused to allow a visitor to leave a stable, when
+it was discovered that the man had secreted a bridle in his pocket.
+
+
+The Newfoundland's Fidelity.
+
+Many illustrations might be given of the fidelity which the Newfoundland
+shows in common with other dogs, but one or two must suffice. A story is
+told of a dog who picked up a coin which his master had dropped from his
+purse, and which he kept in his mouth all day, refusing food until his
+master's return in the evening, when he laid it at his feet, and then
+attacked his dinner voraciously; another of a dog who on being sent home
+by his master with a key which he had inadvertently taken with him, was
+attacked by a dog belonging to a butcher, but who declined the combat
+until he had delivered the key, but immediately returned and attacking
+the butcher's dog killed him. In the first case the dog suffered the
+natural pangs of hunger rather than hazard his master's property, and in
+the second he postponed the gratification of his natural feeling of
+revenge until after the execution of his duty.
+
+
+The Newfoundland under Training.
+
+The tricks to which dogs can be trained, though often amusing enough,
+have not the interest which attaches to the natural display of their
+faculties, and yet of course there is plenty of scope for the trained
+dog to supplement his culture by the exercise of his natural gifts, and
+this he often does. Perhaps one of the most remarkable of trained
+Newfoundland dogs, was the one possessed by Mr. McIntyre of Regent
+Bridge, Edinburgh. This dog was trained to perform all kinds of tricks.
+He would pick his master's hat out from a number of others of the same
+kind, or indeed almost any article of his master's from a group of
+similar articles. He would ring the bell to summon the servants, and if
+there was no bell rope in the room, find and use the hand bell with
+equal facility. A comb was hidden on the top of a mantel-piece in the
+room, and the dog required to bring it, which he almost immediately did,
+although in the search he found a number of articles also belonging to
+his master, purposely strewed around, all of which he passed over, and
+brought the identical comb which he was required to find, fully proving
+that he was not guided by the sense of smell, but that he perfectly
+understood what was spoken to him. One evening some gentlemen being in
+company, one of them accidentally dropped a shilling on the floor,
+which, after the most careful search, could not be found. Mr. M. seeing
+his dog sitting in a corner, and looking as if quite unconscious of what
+was passing, said to him, "Dandie, find us the shilling and you shall
+have a biscuit." The dog immediately jumped upon the table and laid down
+the shilling, which he had previously picked up without having been
+perceived. Mr. M. having one evening supped with a friend, on his return
+home could not find his boot-jack in the place where it usually lay. He
+then said to his dog, "Dandie, I cannot find my boot-jack,--search for
+it." The faithful animal, quite sensible of what had been said to him,
+scratched at the room-door, which his master opened. Dandie proceeded to
+a very distant part of the house, and returned carrying in his mouth the
+boot-jack, which Mr. M. then recollected to have left that morning under
+a sofa. A number of gentlemen, well acquainted with Dandie, were daily
+in the habit of giving him a penny which he took to a baker's shop and
+purchased bread for himself. One of these gentlemen, who lived in James'
+Square, when passing was accosted by Dandie, in expectation of his usual
+present. Mr. T. said to him, "I have not a penny with me to-day, but I
+have one at home." Having returned to his house some time after, he
+heard a noise at the door, which was opened by the servant, when in
+sprang Dandie to receive his penny. In a frolic Mr. T. gave him a bad
+one, which he, as usual, carried to the baker, who refused to take the
+bad coin. He immediately returned to Mr. T.'s, scratched at the door,
+and when the servant opened it, laid the penny down at her feet, and
+walked off, seemingly with the greatest contempt. Although Dandie, in
+general, made an immediate purchase of bread with the money which he
+received, the following circumstance clearly demonstrates that he
+possessed more prudent foresight than many who are reckoned rational
+beings. One Sunday, when it was very unlikely that he could have
+received a present of money, Dandie was observed to bring home a loaf.
+Mr. M. being somewhat surprised at this, desired the servant to search
+the room to see if any money could be found. While she was engaged in
+this task, the dog seemed quite unconcerned till she approached the bed,
+when he ran to her, and gently drew her back from it. Mr. M. then
+secured the dog, which kept struggling and growling while the servant
+went under the bed, where she found seven pence halfpenny under a bit of
+cloth. From that time he never could endure the girl, and was frequently
+observed to hide his money in a corner of a saw-pit, under the dust.
+When Mr. M. had company, if he desired the dog to see any one of the
+gentlemen home, he would walk with him till he reached his home, and
+then return to his master, how great soever the distance might be. Many
+other stories are told about Dandie but these must suffice. Of their
+authenticity there seems little doubt; they were recorded by Captain
+Brown during the lifetime of Dandie and his master.
+
+
+The Sheep Dog.
+
+The shepherd dog (_Canis domesticus_) rivals if not surpasses most other
+dogs in intelligence, though his intelligence is less general and more
+particular than that of other dogs, _i.e._, more special to his own
+profession and probably more due to training and culture. The principle
+of heredity operates conspicuously in the case of dogs, and shepherding
+being one of the oldest occupations of man, the shepherd's dog has
+probably been under culture for a longer period than any other,--hence
+his proficiency in his work. Buffon credited him with being "the parent
+stock of the whole species", and Colonel Smith with civilisation at a
+very early period. "The sheep dog," says Colonel Smith, "is seldom two
+feet high, but his make is muscular; the nose rather pointed; the ears
+erect; and the colour of the hair black and fulvous; the fur is rather
+long and rough. In great Britain, and more particularly in Scotland, the
+colours are more mixed with shades of brown, and the ears are often
+drooping at the tips. The sheep dog is not to be confused with the
+drover or cattle dog, which is larger and still more rugged in coat, as
+well as manners.
+
+
+The Sheep Dog's Sagacity.
+
+The sheep dog is credited with so many stories of skill and sagacity,
+that those unacquainted with his habits and achievements can scarcely
+believe the record. He has been known to rival the St. Bernard in
+tracking both men and sheep who have become buried in the snow, the
+mastiff in defending his master's property and the Newfoundland in
+procuring assistance he was unable to render himself. But it is in the
+pursuit of his special duties that he displays the most remarkable
+powers; and many illustrations might be given of his extraordinary skill
+and fidelity. Happily for him he found in the Ettrick Shepherd an
+historian as well acquainted with his prowess as he was able to record
+its exercise; from whose writings we are able to quote several
+remarkable illustrations.
+
+"My dog Sirrah," says he, "was, beyond all comparison, the best dog I
+ever saw: he was of a surly and unsocial temper,--disdaining all
+flattery, he refused to be caressed; but his attention to my commands
+and interests will never again, perhaps, be equalled by any of the
+canine race. Well as I knew him, he often astonished me; for, when hard
+pressed in accomplishing the task that he was put to, he had expedients
+of the moment that bespoke a great share of the reasoning faculty.
+
+"About seven hundred lambs, which were once under my care at weaning
+time, broke up at midnight, and scampered off in three divisions across
+the hills, in spite of all that I and an assistant lad could do to keep
+them together. 'Sirrah, my man!' said I, in great affliction, 'they are
+awa'.' The night was so dark that I could not see Sirrah, but the
+faithful animal heard my words--words such as of all others were sure to
+set him most on the alert; and without much ado he silently set off in
+search of the recreant flock. Meanwhile I and my companion did not fail
+to do all in our power to recover our lost charge. We spent the whole
+night in scouring the hills for miles around, but of neither the lambs
+nor Sirrah could we obtain the slightest trace. It was the most
+extraordinary circumstance that had occurred in my pastoral life. We had
+nothing for it (day having dawned), but to return to our master, and
+inform him that we had lost his whole flock of lambs, and knew not what
+had become of them. On our way home, however, we discovered a body of
+lambs at the bottom of a deep ravine, called the Flesh Cleuch, and the
+indefatigable Sirrah standing in front of them, looking all around for
+some relief, but still standing true to his charge. The sun was then up;
+and when we first came in view of them, we concluded that it was one of
+the divisions which Sirrah had been unable to manage until he came to
+that commanding situation. But what was our astonishment, when we
+discovered by degrees that not one lamb of the whole flock was wanting!
+How he had got all the divisions collected in the dark, is beyond my
+comprehension. The charge was left entirely to himself, from midnight
+until the rising of the sun; and if all the shepherds in the forest had
+been there to have assisted him, they could not have effected it with
+greater propriety. All that I can farther say is, that I never felt so
+grateful to any creature below the sun, as I did to my honest Sirrah
+that morning."
+
+
+The Sheep-dog's Fidelity.
+
+"The late Mr. Steel, flesher in Peebles," says James Hogg, "had a bitch
+whose feats in taking sheep from the neighbouring farms into the
+Flesh-market at Peebles, form innumerable anecdotes in that vicinity,
+all similar to one another. But there is one instance related of her,
+that combines so much sagacity with natural affection, that I do not
+think the history of the animal creation furnishes such another. Mr.
+Steel had such an implicit dependence on the attention of this animal to
+his orders, that, whenever he put a lot of sheep before her, he took a
+pride in leaving them to herself, and either remained to take a glass
+with the farmer of whom he had made the purchase, or took another road
+to look after bargains or other business. But one time he chanced to
+commit a drove to her charge at a place called Willenslee, without
+attending to her condition as he ought to have done. This farm is five
+miles from Peebles, over wild hills, and there is no regularly defined
+path to it. Whether Mr. Steel remained behind, or chose another road, I
+know not; but, on coming home late in the evening, he was astonished at
+hearing that his faithful animal had not made her appearance with the
+flock. He and his son, or servant, instantly prepared to set out by
+different paths in search of her; but, on their going out to the street,
+there was she coming with the drove, not one missing; and marvellous to
+relate, she was carrying a young pup in her mouth! She had been taken in
+travail on those hills; and how the poor beast had contrived to manage
+the drove in her state of suffering is beyond human calculation, for her
+road lay through sheep the whole way. Her master's heart smote him when
+he saw what she had suffered and effected: but she was nothing daunted;
+and having deposited her young one in a place of safety, she again set
+out full speed to the hills, and brought another and another, till she
+removed her whole litter one by one; but the last one was dead. The
+stories related of the dogs of sheep-stealers, he continues, are fairly
+beyond all credibility. I cannot attach credit to some of them without
+believing the animals to have been devils incarnate, come to the earth
+for the destruction both of the souls and bodies of men. I cannot
+mention names, for the sake of families that still remain in the
+country; but there have been sundry men executed, who belonged to this
+district of the kingdom, for that heinous crime, in my own days; and
+others have absconded, just in time to save their necks. There was not
+one of these to whom I allude who did not acknowledge his dog to be the
+greatest aggressor. One young man in particular, who was, I believe,
+overtaken by justice for his first offence, stated, that after he had
+folded the sheep by moonlight, and selected his number from the flock of
+a former master, he took them out, and set away with them towards
+Edinburgh. But before he had got them quite off the farm, his conscience
+smote him, as he said (but more likely a dread of that which soon
+followed), and he quitted the sheep, letting them go again to the hill.
+He called his dog off them; and mounting his pony, he rode away. At that
+time he said his dog was capering and playing around him, as if glad of
+having got free of a troublesome business; and he regarded him no more,
+till, after having rode about three miles, he thought again and again
+that he heard something coming up behind him. Halting, at length, to
+ascertain what it was, in a few minutes up came his dog with the stolen
+animals, driving them at a furious rate to keep up with his master. The
+sheep were all smoking, and hanging out their tongues, and their guide
+was fully as warm as they. The young man was now exceedingly troubled,
+for the sheep having been brought so far from home, he dreaded there
+would be a pursuit, and he could not get them home again before day.
+Resolving, at all events, to keep his hands clear of them, he corrected
+his dog in great wrath, left the sheep once more, and taking colley with
+him, rode off a second time. He had not ridden above a mile, till he
+perceived that his assistant had again given him the slip; and
+suspecting for what purpose, he was terribly alarmed as well as
+chagrined; for daylight now approached, and he durst not make a noise
+calling on his dog, for fear of alarming the neighbourhood, in a place
+where they were both well known. He resolved therefore to abandon the
+animal to himself, and take a road across the country which he was sure
+the other did not know, and could not follow. He took that road; but
+being on horseback, he could not get across the enclosed fields. He at
+length came to a gate, which he shut behind him, and went about half a
+mile farther, by a zigzag course, to a farm-house where both his sister
+and sweetheart lived; and at that place he remained until after
+breakfast time. The people of this house were all examined on the trial,
+and no one had either seen the sheep or heard them mentioned, save one
+man, who came up to the aggressor as he was standing at the stable-door,
+and told him that his dog had the sheep safe enough down at the Crooked
+Yett, and he needed not hurry himself. He answered, that the sheep were
+not his--they were young Mr. Thomson's, who had left them to his charge,
+and he was in search of a man to drive them, which made him come off his
+road." The fidelity of this animal cost his master his life.
+
+
+The St. Bernard Dog.
+
+The St. Bernard Dog always honoured for his work's sake, resembles the
+Newfoundland in form, hair, colour, and size. "There is another race,"
+says Colonel Smith, "trained to the same service, with close short hair,
+and more or less marked with grey, liver colour and black clouds." Bass,
+a famous St. Bernard, the property of Sir Thomas Dick Lauder, is thus
+described by him in a letter to Mr. W. H. Lizars printed in Vol. XIX of
+"The Naturalist's Library":--"My St. Bernard was brought home direct
+from the Great St. Bernard, when he was a puppy of about four or five
+months. His bark is tremendous; so loud, indeed, that I have often
+distinguished it nearly a mile off. He had been missing for some time,
+when, to my great joy, one of the letter-carriers brought him back; and
+the man's account was, that in going along a certain street, he heard
+his bark from the inside of a yard, and knew it immediately. He knocked
+at the gate, and said to the owner of the premises, 'You have got Sir
+Thomas Lauder's big dog.' The man denied it. 'But I know you have,'
+continued the letter-carrier; 'I can swear that I heard the bark of Sir
+Thomas's big dog; for there is no dog in or about all Edinburgh that has
+such a bark.' At last, with great reluctance, the man gave up the dog to
+the letter-carrier, who brought him home here. But though Bass's bark is
+so terrific, he is the best-natured and most playful dog I ever saw; so
+much so, indeed, that the small King Charles's spaniel, Raith, used to
+tyrannize over him for many months after he came here from abroad. I
+have seen the little creature run furiously at the great animal when
+gnawing a bone, who instantly turned himself submissively over on his
+back, with all his legs in the air, whilst Raith, seizing the bone,
+would make the most absurd and unavailing attempts to bestride the
+enormous head of his subdued companion, with the most ludicrous
+affectation of the terrible growling, that might bespeak the loftiest
+description of dog-indignation. When a dog attacks Bass in the street or
+road, he runs away rather than quarrel; but when compelled to fight by
+any perseverance in the attacking party, he throws his enemy down in a
+moment, and then, without biting him, he lays his whole immense bulk
+down upon him, till he nearly smothers him. He took a particular fancy
+for one of the postmen who deliver letters here, whose duty it was,
+besides delivering letters, to carry a letter bag from one
+receiving-house to another, and this bag he used to give Bass to carry.
+Bass always followed that man through all the villas in this
+neighbourhood where he had deliveries to make, and he invariably parted
+with him opposite to the gate of the Convent of St. Margaret's, and
+returned home. When our gate was shut here to prevent his following the
+postman, the dog always leaped a high wall to get after him. One day
+when the postman was ill, or detained by some accidental circumstance,
+he sent a man in his place. Bass went up to the man, curiously scanning
+his face, whilst the man rather retired from the dog, by no means liking
+his appearance. But as the man left the place, Bass followed him,
+showing strong symptoms that he was determined to have the post-bag. The
+man did all he could to keep possession of it. But at length Bass seeing
+that he had no chance of getting possession of the bag by civil
+entreaty, raised himself up on his hind-legs, and putting a great
+forepaw on each of the man's shoulders, he laid him flat on his back in
+the road, and quietly picking up the bag, he proceeded peaceably on his
+wonted way. The man, much dismayed, arose and followed the dog, making
+every now and then an ineffectual attempt to coax him to give up the
+bag. At the first house he came to, he told his fears, and the dilemma
+he was in; but the people comforted him, by telling him that the dog
+always carried the bag. Bass walked with the man to all the houses at
+which he delivered letters, and along the road till he came to the gate
+of St. Margaret's, where he dropped the bag and returned home."
+
+
+The St. Bernard at Work.
+
+"The convent of the Great St. Bernard is situated near the top of the
+mountain known by that name, near one of the most dangerous passages of
+the Alps, between Switzerland and Savoy. In these regions the traveller
+is often overtaken by the most severe weather, even after days of
+cloudless beauty, when the glaciers glitter in the sunshine, and the
+pink flowers of the rhododendron appear as if they were never to be
+sullied by the tempest. But a storm suddenly comes on; the roads are
+rendered impassable by drifts of snow; the avalanches, which are huge
+loosened masses of snow or ice, are swept into the valleys, carrying
+trees and crags of rock before them. Benumbed with cold, weary in the
+search for a lost track, his senses yielding to the stupifying influence
+of frost which betrays the exhausted sufferer into a deep sleep, the
+unhappy man sinks upon the ground, and the snow-drift covers him from
+human sight. It is then that the keen scent and the exquisite docility
+of these admirable dogs are called into action. Though the perishing man
+lie ten or even twelve feet beneath the snow, the delicacy of smell with
+which they can trace him offers a chance of escape. They scratch away
+the snow with their feet; they set up a continued hoarse and solemn
+bark, which brings the monks and labourers of the convent to their
+assistance. To provide for the chance that the dogs, without human help,
+may succeed in discovering the unfortunate traveller, one of them has a
+flask of spirits round his neck, to which the fainting man may apply for
+support; and another has a cloak to cover him. These wonderful exertions
+are often successful; and even where they fail of restoring him who has
+perished, the dogs discover the body, so that it may be secured for the
+recognition of friends; and such is the effect of the temperature, that
+the dead features generally preserve their firmness for the space of two
+years." One of these dogs is said to have saved as many as forty lives
+and finally to have fallen a victim to an avalanche.
+
+
+The Greyhound.
+
+The Greyhound is characterised by elegance of form and grace of
+movement; he has also great powers of speed and endurance, is mild and
+affectionate in disposition and sagacious in matters other than those
+connected with the chase. "The narrow, sharp head, the light half
+hanging ears, the long neck, the arched back, the slender yet sinewy
+limbs, the deep chest, showing the high development of the breathing
+organs, and the elevated hind quarters, says Mrs. Bowdich, all shadow
+forth the peculiar qualities of these dogs. Their coat has been adapted
+to the climate in which they originally lived: here it is smooth; but
+becomes more shaggy as they are from colder regions." "The Scotch
+Greyhound (_Canis Scoticus_)," she continues, "generally white, with
+black clouds, is said to be the most intellectual of all, and formerly
+to have had so good a scent as to be employed as a bloodhound. Maida,
+whose name is immortalized as the favourite of Sir Walter Scott, was a
+Scottish greyhound. The Irish is the largest of all the western breeds,
+and is supposed to owe this distinction to mingling with the great
+Danish dog. To it Ireland owes the extirpation of wolves, though it now
+scarcely exists itself but in name."
+
+The greyhound is now principally bred for sporting purposes, coursing
+being the favourite amusement. The great speed and endurance of the dog
+is shown in this pastime. Mr. Jesse records several instances of dogs
+who have died from exhaustion rather than give up the chase, in one of
+which it is stated that two dogs and a hare were found dead within a few
+yards of each other after a run of several miles. Mr. Daniel in his
+rural sports gives an instance in which a brace of greyhounds chased a
+hare a distance of four miles in twelve minutes.
+
+
+The Greyhound's Affection.
+
+Washington Irving tells the following story of a greyhound's affection
+for his master. "An officer named St. Leger, who was imprisoned in
+Vincennes (near Paris) during the wars of St. Bartholomew, wished to
+keep with him a greyhound that he had brought up, and which was much
+attached to him; but they harshly refused him this innocent pleasure,
+and sent away the greyhound to his house in the Rue des Lions Saint
+Paul. The next day the greyhound returned alone to Vincennes, and began
+to bark under the windows of the tower, where the officer was confined.
+St. Leger approached, looked through the bars, and was delighted again
+to see his faithful hound, who began to jump and play a thousand gambols
+to show her joy. He threw a piece of bread to the animal, who ate it
+with great good will; and, in spite of the immense wall which separated
+them, they breakfasted together like two friends. This friendly visit
+was not the last. Abandoned by his relations, who believed him dead, the
+unfortunate prisoner received the visits of his greyhound only, during
+four years' confinement. Whatever weather it might be, in spite of rain
+or snow, the faithful animal did not fail a single day to pay her
+accustomed visit. Six months after his release from prison St. Leger
+died. The faithful greyhound would no longer remain in the house; but on
+the day after the funeral returned to the castle of Vincennes, and it is
+supposed she was actuated by a motive of gratitude. A jailor of the
+outer court had always shown great kindness to this dog, which was as
+handsome as affectionate. Contrary to the custom of people of that
+class, this man had been touched by her attachment and beauty, so that
+he facilitated her approach to see her master, and also insured her a
+safe retreat. Penetrated with gratitude for this service, the greyhound
+remained the rest of her life near the benevolent jailor. It was
+remarked, that even while testifying her zeal and gratitude for her
+second master, one could easily see that her heart was with the first.
+Like those who, having lost a parent, a brother, or a friend, come from
+afar to seek consolation by viewing the place which they inhabited, this
+affectionate animal repaired frequently to the tower where St. Leger had
+been imprisoned, and would contemplate for hours together the gloomy
+window from which her dear master had so often smiled to her, and where
+they had so frequently breakfasted together."
+
+
+The Lurcher.
+
+"The rough, large-boned, ill-looking Lurcher," says Mrs. Bowdich, "is
+said to have descended from the rough greyhound and the shepherd's dog.
+It is now rare; but there are some of its sinister-looking mongrel
+progeny still to be seen. They always bear the reputation of being
+poachers' dogs, and are deeply attached to their owners. They have a
+fine scent; and a man confessed to Mr. Bewick, that he could, with a
+pair of lurchers, procure as many rabbits as he pleased. They never give
+tongue, but set about their work silently and cautiously, and hunt hares
+and partridges, driving the latter into the nets of the unlawful
+sportsmen." He is a dog to whom a bad name has been given, and who has
+found a bad name but one step from hanging.
+
+
+The Bloodhound.
+
+The Bloodhound (_Canis Sanguinarius_) whether because less needed now
+than formerly or not, is less cultivated and is therefore more rare. Mr.
+Bell's description of the breed is as follows:--"They stand twenty-eight
+inches high at the shoulder; the muzzle broad and full; the upper lip
+large and pendulous; the vertex of the head protuberant; the expression
+stern, thoughtful, and noble; the breast broad; the limbs strong and
+muscular; and the original colour a deep tan, with large black clouds.
+They are silent when following their scent; and in this respect differ
+from other hounds, who are generally gifted with fine deep voices.
+Numbers, under the name of sleuth-hounds, used to be kept on the
+Borders; and kings and troopers, perhaps equally marauders, have in
+olden times found it difficult to evade them. The noble Bruce had
+several narrow escapes from them; and the only sure way to destroy their
+scent was to spill blood upon the track. In all the common routine of
+life they are good-natured and intelligent, and make excellent
+watch-dogs. A story is related of a nobleman, who, to make a trial
+whether a young hound was well instructed, desired one of his servants
+to walk to a town four miles off, and then to a market town three miles
+from thence. The dog, without seeing the man he was to pursue, followed
+him by the scent to the above-mentioned places, notwithstanding the
+multitude of market-people that went along the same road, and of
+travellers that had occasion to come; and when the bloodhound came to
+the market town, he passed through the streets without taking notice of
+any of the people there, and ceased not till he had gone to the house
+where the man he sought rested himself, and where he found him in an
+upper room, to the wonder of those who had accompanied him in this
+pursuit."
+
+
+The Scent of the Bloodhound.
+
+A strong characteristic of the Bloodhound is of course his remarkable
+scent for blood.
+
+"Bloodhounds," says Bingley, "were formerly used in certain districts
+lying between England and Scotland, that were much infested by robbers
+and murderers; and a tax was laid on the inhabitants for keeping and
+maintaining a certain number of these animals. Some few are yet kept in
+the northern parts of the kingdom, and in the lodges of the royal
+forests, where they are used in pursuit of deer that have been
+previously wounded. They are also sometimes employed in discovering
+deer-stealers, whom they infallibly trace by the blood that issues from
+the wounds of their victims. A very extraordinary instance of this
+occurred in the New Forest, in the year 1810, and was related to me by
+the Right Hon. G. H. Rose. A person, in getting over a stile into a
+field near the Forest, remarked that there was blood upon it.
+Immediately afterwards he recollected that some deer had been killed,
+and several sheep stolen in the neighbourhood; and that this might
+possibly be the blood of one that had been killed in the preceding
+night. The man went to the nearest lodge to give information; but the
+keeper being from home, he was under the necessity of going to
+Rhinefield Lodge, which was at a considerable distance. Toomer, the
+under-keeper, went with him to the place, accompanied by a bloodhound.
+The dog, when brought to the spot, was laid on the scent; and after
+following for about a mile the track which the depredator had taken, he
+came at last to a heap of furze fagots belonging to the family of a
+cottager. The woman of the house attempted to drive the dog away, but
+was prevented; and on the fagots being removed a hole was discovered in
+the ground, which contained the body of a sheep that had recently been
+killed, and also a considerable quantity of salted meat. The
+circumstance which renders this account the more remarkable is, that the
+dog was not brought to the scent until more than sixteen hours had
+elapsed after the man had carried away the sheep."
+
+
+The Stag-Hound.
+
+"The stag hound," says Colonel Smith, "was a large stately animal, equal
+or little less than the blood hound, and originally, like that race,
+slow, sure, cautious and steady." "The modern hound is perhaps still
+handsomer, though somewhat smaller; and the breed having been crossed
+with the fox hound is now much faster." The stag hunt having declined in
+public favour they have ceased to be bred in packs for hunting purposes.
+
+
+A Stag-Hunt.
+
+"Many years since," says Captain Brown, "a very large stag was turned
+out of Whinfield Park in the county of Westmoreland, and was pursued by
+the hounds till, by accident or fatigue, the whole pack was thrown out
+with the exception of two dogs which continued the chase. Its length is
+uncertain, but the chase was seen at Red Kirk near Annan in Scotland,
+distant by the post road about forty-six miles. The stag returned to the
+park from which he had set out, so that considering the circuitous route
+which it pursued, it is supposed to have run over not less than one
+hundred and twenty miles. It was its greatest and last achievement, for
+it leapt the wall of the park and immediately expired; the hounds were
+also found dead at no great distance from the wall which they had been
+unable to leap. An inscription was placed on a tree in the park, in
+memory of the animals, and the horns of the stag, the largest ever seen
+in that part of the country, were placed over it."
+
+
+The Fox-Hound.
+
+"In giving a description of the various breeds of dogs," says Mr. Jesse,
+"everyone must be aware, that by crossing and recrossing them many of
+those we now see have but little claim to originality. The fox-hound,
+the old Irish wolf-dog, and the Colley or shepherd's dog, may perhaps be
+considered as possessing the greatest purity of blood." Mr. Jesse then
+refers to a picture of a pack of hounds in Wilkinson's "Manners and
+Customs of the Egyptians," a picture which was copied from a painting
+found in one of the tombs of the Pharaohs, in which "every individual
+hound is characteristic of the present breed." If this be so, as Mr.
+Jesse says, "this breed must be considered of a much more ancient date
+than is generally supposed." The Fox-hound is described by Colonel Smith
+as "somewhat lower at the shoulders and more slenderly built" than the
+stag-hound. His colour is "white, but commonly marked with larger clouds
+of black and tan, one on each side the head, covering the ears, the same
+on each flank and one at the root of the tail." The Fox-hound has great
+strength and endurance, and will run ten hours in pursuit of the fox.
+
+
+The Fox-hound's Tenacity.
+
+Many extraordinary stories are told of the Fox-hound's ardour for sport.
+According to Mr. Jesse, a bitch was on one occasion taken in labour
+while in the hunting field, and after giving birth to a pup took it in
+its mouth and pursued the chase. Another bitch, whose eye had been
+struck from the socket accidentally by the lash of the whipper-in who
+did not believe her challenge, pursued the fox alone for a great
+distance with her eye pendant, until the rest of the pack came up and
+the fox was killed. Perhaps one of the most remarkable instances of
+tenacity of purpose in an animal is that quoted by Mr. Jesse from the
+supplement to Mr. Daniel's "Rural Sports." "The circumstance took place
+in the year 1808, in the counties of Inverness and Perth, and perhaps
+surpasses any length of pursuit known in the annals of hunting. On the
+8th of June in that year, a fox and hound were seen near Dunkeld in
+Perthshire, on the high road, proceeding at a slow trotting pace. The
+dog was about fifty yards behind the fox, and each was so fatigued as
+not to gain on the other. A countryman very easily caught the fox, and
+both it and the dog were taken to a gentleman's house in the
+neighbourhood, where the fox died. It was afterwards ascertained that
+the hound belonged to the Duke of Gordon, and that the fox was started
+on the morning of the 4th of June, on the top of those hills called
+Monaliadh, which separate Badenoch from Fort Augustus. From this it
+appeared that the chase lasted four days, and that the distance
+traversed from the place where the fox was unkennelled to the spot where
+it was caught, without making any allowances for doubles, crosses, etc.,
+and as the crow flies, exceeded seventy miles."
+
+
+The Harrier.
+
+"The Harrier," says Colonel Smith, "so called from being usually applied
+to hare hunting is smaller than the fox-hound, not exceeding eighteen
+inches at the shoulder. It is entirely an artificial breed and is often
+confounded with the beagle."
+
+
+The Beagle.
+
+The Beagle is called by Mr. Jesse, "a Fox-hound in miniature," and he
+adds nothing can well be more perfect than the shape of these small
+dogs. "In Queen Elizabeth's reign," says Colonel Smith, "the fanciers
+bred a race so small, that a complete cry of them could be carried out
+to the field in a pair of panniers. That princess had little singing
+beagles which could be placed in a man's glove! At present they are
+about twelve or fourteen inches at the shoulders, stout and compact in
+make, with long ears, and either marked with a bright streak or spot of
+white about the neck on a dark brown coat, or white with spots like a
+harrier, of black and red. They are slow but persevering, and are
+sufficiently sure of killing their game."
+
+
+The Dalmatian Dog.
+
+Colonel Smith places the Dalmatian dog with the hounds on the ground of
+similarity of general structure. Elegant in form and beautiful in making
+it is said to be less keen in scent and less sagacious than other dogs.
+Sagacious or not, it was one of these dogs that Lord Maynard found
+awaiting him at his house in England after having lost him in France.
+
+
+The Turnspit.
+
+"The Turnspit," says Captain Brown, "derived its name from the service
+in which it was engaged before the invention of machinery to do the same
+work, and, what is remarkable, now that the office is extinct, so also
+has nearly become the species which used to perform it." "I have now in
+my kitchen," said the Duke de Laincourt, to M. Descartes, "two turnspits
+which take their turns regularly every other day in the wheel: one of
+them, not liking his employment, hid himself on the day he should have
+wrought, when his companion was forced to mount the wheel in his stead;
+but crying and wagging his tail, he intimated that those in attendance
+should first follow him. He immediately conducted them to a garret,
+where he dislodged the idle dog, and killed him immediately." Another
+instance is recorded by Captain Brown as follows: "When the cook had
+prepared the meat for roasting, he found that the dog which should have
+wrought the spit had disappeared. He attempted to employ another, but it
+bit his leg and fled. Soon after, however, the refractory dog entered
+the kitchen driving before him the truant turnspit, which immediately of
+its own accord went into the wheel." It is easy to see from these
+stories that the occupation was not a popular one and it is well that it
+is no longer a necessary one.
+
+
+The Pointer.
+
+The pointer (_Canis avicularis_) as resembling the race of hounds, more
+than any other of the shooting or gun dogs is placed next to them in the
+classification of Colonel Smith, who says: "In their present qualities
+of standing fixed and pointing to game, we see the result of a long
+course of severe training; and it is a curious fact, that by a
+succession of generations having been constantly educated to this
+purpose, it has become almost innate, and young dogs of the true breed
+point with scarcely any instruction: this habit is so firm in some that
+the late Mr. Gilpin is reported to have painted a brace of pointers
+while in the act, and that they stood an hour and a quarter without
+moving." A smooth dog, resembling the fox-hound in his markings, though
+sometimes entirely black, the pointer is used by sportsmen to point them
+to the spot where the game is to be found. "It ranges the fields," says
+Mr. Wood, "until it scents the hare or partridge lying close on the
+ground. It then remains still as if carved in stone, every limb fixed,
+and the tail pointing straight behind it. In this attitude it remains
+until the gun is discharged, reloaded, and the sportsman has reached the
+place where the bird sprang."
+
+
+The Pointer as a Sportsman.
+
+The pointer is a keen sportsman and will "point" without tiring while
+worthily supported by the gun, but many stories are told of his disgust
+at a bad shot and his refusal to "point" for unskilful sportsmen. The
+following amusing story is told by Captain Brown and is quoted as
+follows by Mr. Jesse: "A gentleman, on his requesting the loan of a
+pointer-dog from a friend, was informed by him that the dog would behave
+very well so long as he could kill his birds; but if he frequently
+missed them, it would run home and leave him. The dog was sent, and the
+following day was fixed for trial; but, unfortunately, his new master
+was a remarkably bad shot. Bird after bird rose and was fired at, but
+still pursued its flight untouched, till, at last, the pointer became
+careless, and often missed his game. As if seemingly willing, however,
+to give one chance more, he made a dead stop at a fern-bush, with his
+nose pointed downward, the fore-foot bent, and his tail straight and
+steady. In this position he remained firm till the sportsman was close
+to him, with both barrels cocked, then moving steadily forward for a
+few paces, he at last stood still near a bunch of heather, the tail
+expressing the anxiety of the mind by moving regularly backwards and
+forwards. At last out sprang a fine old blackcock. Bang, bang, went both
+barrels, but the bird escaped unhurt. The patience of the dog was now
+quite exhausted; and, instead of dropping to charge, he turned boldly
+round, placed his tail between his legs, gave one howl, long and loud,
+and set off as fast as he could to his own home." The pointer has been
+known to lie down without bidding beside game which has been dropped
+from a bag, after a long day's shooting, and watch it faithfully until
+relieved on the following day, when the missing birds were searched for
+and found.
+
+
+The Setter.
+
+The Setter (_Canis Index_) divides with the pointer the duty of
+attending the sportsman on his shooting expeditions. According to
+Captain Brown he was "originally derived from a cross between the
+Spanish pointer and the large water spaniel and was justly celebrated
+for his fine scent." Many crossings have considerably varied the breed,
+of which the Irish is now considered purer than the English and Scotch
+breeds. "In figure," says Colonel Smith, "they participate of the
+pointer and the Spaniel, though larger than the latter. In England they
+are white, or white with black or brown marks." They are intelligent,
+affectionate and docile, and often show great sagacity outside the
+domain of sport.
+
+
+The Scent of the Setter.
+
+Col. Hutchinson says, "I was partridge-shooting the season before last
+with an intimate friend. The air was soft, and there was a good breeze.
+We came upon a large turnip-field, deeply trenched on account of its
+damp situation. A white setter, that habitually carried a lofty head,
+drew for awhile, and then came to a point. We got up to her. She led us
+across some ridges, when her companion, a jealous dog (a pointer), which
+had at first backed correctly, most improperly pushed on in front, but,
+not being able to acknowledge the scent, went off, clearly imagining the
+bitch was in error. She, however, held on, and in beautiful style
+brought us up direct to a covey. My friend and I agreed that she must
+have been but little, if at all, less than one hundred yards off when
+she first winded the birds; and it was clear to us that they could not
+have been running, for the breeze came directly across the furrows, and
+she had led us in the wind's eye. We thought the point the more
+remarkable, as it is generally supposed that the strong smell of turnips
+diminishes a dog's power of scenting birds."
+
+
+The Setter's Sagacity.
+
+Mr. Huet tells the following story of the sagacity of the setter. "The
+gamekeeper had, on one of the short days of December, shot at and
+wounded a deer. Hoping to run him down before night, he instantly put
+the dog upon the track, which followed it at full speed, and soon was
+out of sight. At length it grew dark, and the gamekeeper returned home,
+thinking he should find the setter arrived there before him; but he was
+disappointed, and became apprehensive that his dog might have lost
+himself, or fallen a prey to some ravenous animal. The next morning,
+however, we were all greatly rejoiced to see him come running into the
+yard, whence he directly hastened to the door of my apartment, and, on
+being admitted, ran, with gestures expressive of solicitude and
+eagerness, to a corner of the room where guns were placed. We understood
+the hint, and, taking the guns, followed him. He led us not by the road
+which he himself had taken out of the wood, but by beaten paths half
+round it, and then by several wood-cutters' tracks in different
+directions, to a thicket, where, following him a few paces, we found the
+deer which he had killed. The dog seems to have rightly judged that we
+should have been obliged to make our way with much difficulty through
+almost the whole length of the wood, in order to come to the deer in a
+straight direction, and he therefore led us a circuitous but open and
+convenient road. Between the legs of the deer, which he had guarded
+during the night against the beasts of prey that might otherwise have
+seized upon it, he had scratched a hole in the snow, and filled it with
+dry leaves for his bed. The extraordinary sagacity which he had
+displayed upon this occasion rendered him doubly valuable to us, and it
+therefore caused us very serious regret when, in the ensuing summer, the
+poor animal went mad, possibly in consequence of his exposure to the
+severe frost of that night, and it became necessary for the gamekeeper
+to shoot him, which he could not do without shedding tears. He said he
+would willingly have given his best cow to save him; and I confess
+myself that I would not have hesitated to part with my best horse upon
+the same terms."
+
+
+The Spaniel.
+
+There are many varieties of the Spaniel of which the Water Spaniel, the
+King Charles Spaniel, the Blenheim and the Maltese Spaniels are the best
+known. The Water Spaniels figure on some of the later monuments of Rome
+and so prove their antiquity. Colonel Smith describes the Spaniel as a
+small setter, with silky hair and fine long villous ears; black, brown
+pied, liver coloured, white and black-and-white, the water spaniel
+differing from the other species chiefly in his readiness to hunt and
+swim in the water and the hair being somewhat harder to the touch. The
+spaniel has a great affection for his master and is never tired of
+testifying his appreciation of his kindness. Colonel Smith mentions a
+dog allied to the spaniel race, who at the time of his writing (April
+1840) had been lying on the grave of his mistress for three days,
+refusing all food, and was on that day being forcibly removed. Spaniels
+are often very intelligent, displaying the same sagacity as other and
+larger dogs and in the same way. Mr. Jesse mentions a King Charles
+spaniel who was locked by his master in a room in Vere St. Clare Market,
+one afternoon about half past five, while he went with his family to
+Drury Lane theatre. About eight o'clock in the evening the dog escaped
+his confinement and found his way to the theatre where he discovered his
+master in the midst of the pit, though it was crowded at the time. The
+Blenheim spaniel is similar to the King Charles breed, though somewhat
+different in its markings, fuller about the muzzle and shorter in the
+back. Blenheims have been known to show great intelligence and
+affection. A story is told of one who upon being attacked by two cats,
+obtained the assistance of a third cat, waylaid his enemies one at a
+time and, with the assistance of his friend, taught them better manners.
+The Maltese dog is another favourite species, much admired and petted by
+ladies.
+
+
+The Sagacity of the Water Spaniel.
+
+Captain Brown gives the following from a letter written by a gentleman
+at Dijon in France, to his friend in London, dated August 15, 1764:
+
+"Since my arrival here a man has been broken on the wheel, with no other
+proof to condemn him than that of a water-spaniel. The circumstances
+attending it being so very singular and striking, I beg leave to
+communicate them to you. A farmer, who had been to receive a sum of
+money, was waylaid, robbed, and murdered, by two villains. The farmer's
+dog returned with all speed to the house of the person who had paid the
+money, and expressed such amazing anxiety that he would follow him,
+pulling him several times by the sleeve and skirt of the coat, that, at
+length, the gentleman yielded to his importunity. The dog led him to the
+field, a little from the roadside, where the body lay. From thence the
+gentleman went to a public-house, in order to alarm the country. The
+moment he entered, (as the two villains were there drinking), the dog
+seized the murderer by the throat, and the other made his escape. This
+man lay in prison three months, during which time they visited him once
+a-week with the spaniel, and though they made him change his clothes
+with other prisoners, and always stand in the midst of a crowd, yet did
+the animal always find him out, and fly at him. On the day of trial,
+when the prisoner was at the bar, the dog was let loose in the
+court-house, and in the midst of some hundreds he found him out (though
+dressed entirely in new clothes), and would have torn him to pieces had
+he been allowed; in consequence of which he was condemned, and at the
+place of execution he confessed the fact."
+
+
+The Terrier.
+
+There are many varieties of terrier including numerous celebrated
+breeds. The English, Scotch, Skye, Bull and Fox terriers being the best
+known. Innumerable stories of the intelligence and sagacity of the
+various breeds might be told if space permitted, but it must suffice to
+say that for sportsmanlike qualities, for general intelligence and
+sagacity, and for affection for his master, the terrier of whatever
+breed will hold his own against any other dog. Dogs are said to have
+natural antipathies, and that of the Bull-dog for the bull is an obvious
+illustration. An equal antipathy is shown by the English terrier for the
+rat and by the Fox-terrier for the cat, though the latter is perhaps as
+much a matter of education as of nature. Terriers are, however, among
+the best known of dogs and therefore need the less description.
+
+
+The Mastiff.
+
+The Mastiff is said to be of an original breed indigenous to England,
+whence some were exported to Italy in the days of the Roman emperors.
+The breed has since been crossed by stag and blood hounds and the
+present is a magnificent animal of great power and noble character. The
+ancient breed was brindled yellow and black, the present is usually
+deeper or lighter buff with-dark muzzle and ears. The mastiff is
+sometimes twenty-nine or thirty inches in height at the shoulder.
+
+
+The Mastiff's Fidelity.
+
+The Mastiff is the best of watch dogs, for he brings an intelligence to
+bear upon his duty which is in the highest degree surprising. He has
+been known to walk by the side of an intending thief "forbidding his
+laying hands upon any article, yet abstaining from doing him any bodily
+harm, and suffering his escape over the walls," but leaving his master's
+property intact. A mastiff who had been left by his master, who was a
+sweep, in charge of his bag of soot in a narrow street in Southampton,
+refused to leave it either for coaxings or threats, and rather than
+desert his duty allowed himself to be run over and killed.
+
+
+The Mastiff's Discrimination.
+
+The mastiff has a powerful scent, and remarkable skill in discovering
+the lost property of his master. Captain Brown gives the following
+extract from a letter from St. Germains: "An English gentleman some time
+ago came to our Vauxhall with a large mastiff, which was refused
+admittance, and the gentleman left him in the care of the body-guards,
+who are placed there. The Englishman, some time after he had entered,
+returned to the gate and informed the guards that he had lost his watch,
+telling the sergeant, that if he would permit him to take in the dog, he
+would soon discover the thief. His request being granted, the gentleman
+made motions to the dog of what he had lost, which immediately ran about
+amongst the company, and traversed the gardens, till at last he laid
+hold of a man. The gentleman insisted that this person had got his
+watch; and on being searched, not only his watch, but six others, were
+discovered in his pockets. What is more remarkable, the dog possessed
+such a perfection of instinct as to take his master's watch from the
+other six, and carry it to him."
+
+
+The Mastiff as Protector.
+
+Mr. Jesse gives the following story which he reprinted from a
+contemporary newspaper:
+
+"A most extraordinary circumstance has just occurred at the Hawick
+toll-bar, which is kept by two old women. It appears that they had a sum
+of money in the house, and were extremely alarmed lest they should be
+robbed of it. Their fears prevailed to such an extent, that, when a
+carrier whom they knew was passing by, they urgently requested him to
+remain with them all night, which, however, his duties would not permit
+him to do; but, in consideration of the alarm of the women, he consented
+to leave with them a large mastiff dog. In the night the women were
+disturbed by the uneasiness of the dog, and heard a noise apparently
+like an attempt to force an entrance into the premises, upon which they
+escaped by the back-door, and ran to a neighbouring house, which
+happened to be a blacksmith's shop. They knocked at the door, and were
+answered from within by the smith's wife. She said her husband was
+absent, but that she was willing to accompany the terrified women to
+their home. On reaching the house, they heard a savage but half-stifled
+growling from the dog. On entering they saw the body of a man hanging
+half in and half out of their little window, whom the dog had seized by
+the throat, and was still worrying. On examination, the man proved to be
+their neighbour the blacksmith, dreadfully torn about the throat, and
+quite dead."
+
+
+The Bull-Dog.
+
+The Bull-dog (_Canis Anglicus_), is said to be an original English
+breed, and Colonel Smith suggests that this dog rather than the mastiff
+was the one which flourished in England in Roman times. Not indeed the
+breed as it at present exists, but "one little inferior to the mastiff,"
+"but with the peculiar features of the bull form more strongly marked."
+"The bull-dog," says Colonel Smith, "differs from all others, even from
+the mastiff, in giving no warning of his attack by his barking, he
+grapples his opponents without in the least estimating their comparative
+weight and powers. We have seen one pinning an American Bison and
+holding his nose down till the animal gradually brought forward its hind
+feet and crushing the dog to death tore his muzzle out of the fangs,
+most dreadfully mangled. We have known another hallooed on to attack a
+disabled eagle; the bird unable to escape, threw himself on the back,
+and as the dog sprang at his throat, struck him with his claws, one of
+which penetrating the skull, killed him instantly, and caused his
+master the loss of a valued animal and one hundred dollars in the
+wager." "The bull-dog is possessed of less sagacity and less attachment
+than any of the hound tribe; he is therefore less favoured, and more
+rarely bred with care, excepting by professed amateurs of sports and
+feelings little creditable to humanity. He is of moderate size, but
+entirely moulded for strength and elasticity." He never leaves his hold,
+when once he has got it, while life lasts, hence he has become the type
+of obstinate pertinacity; and unflinching courage.
+
+
+The Poodle Dog.
+
+The Poodle dog while possessing many natural qualities which endear it
+to its owner, is capable of great cultivation and is for this reason
+much affected by those who train dogs for public performances. Of the
+clever tricks the poodle has been trained to perform many stories are
+told, among which the following from M. Blaze's "History of the Dog," as
+quoted in Mr. Jesse's "Anecdotes of Dogs," is one of the most amusing.
+
+"A shoe-black on the Pont Neuf at Paris had a poodle dog, whose sagacity
+brought no small profit to his master. If the dog saw a person with
+well-polished boots go across the bridge, he contrived to dirty them, by
+having first rolled himself in the mud of the Seine. His master was then
+employed to clean them. An English gentleman, who had suffered more than
+once from the annoyance of having his boots dirtied by a dog, was at
+last induced to watch his proceedings, and thus detected the tricks he
+was playing for his master's benefit. He was so much pleased with the
+animal's sagacity, that he purchased him at a high price and conveyed
+him to London. On arriving there, he was confined to the house till he
+appeared perfectly satisfied with his new master and his new situation.
+He at last, however, contrived to escape, and made his way back to
+Paris, where he rejoined his old master, and resumed his former
+occupation."
+
+
+Weasels, Otters and Badgers.
+
+We come next to the family of the MustelidA| which includes Weasels,
+Otters and Badgers, which we take as the heads of the three sub-families
+into which it is divided. The first of these includes the Pine Marten,
+occasionally found in Ireland and Scotland but more commonly in
+different parts of Europe; the Sable, which belongs to northern Europe
+and Asia; the American Sable, which supplies the English market with
+hundreds of thousands of skins annually; the Ermine or Stoat, still to
+be found in Great-Britain and familiar in the northern parts of Europe,
+Africa and America; the Weasel which has much the same _locale_ as the
+Ermine; the Ferret which hails from Africa and which is cultivated in
+England for its use in the destruction of vermin; and the Glutton (_Gulo
+luscus_) which is found principally in North America. The Polecat is
+also a member of this family. It is about seventeen inches long and in
+form resembles the weasel. Its colour is deep chocolate. It generally
+lives in the neighbourhood of houses on hares, rabbits, and birds. When
+pinched for food it will also catch and eat fish. It is remarkable for
+an insufferably fetid odour.
+
+
+The Weasel.
+
+The weasel though thought by some to be incapable of domestication has,
+like most other animals who have had the chance, shown itself amenable
+to kindly treatment. Mdlle. de Laistre possessed one which she kept in
+her chamber, dispelling its strong odours by perfumes. This weasel
+displayed towards her extravagant evidence of affection. "If the servant
+sets it at liberty before I am up in the morning," she writes, "after a
+thousand gambols, it comes into my bed, and reposes in my hand or on my
+bosom. If I am up before it is let out, it will fly to me in rapture,
+and spend half an hour in caressing me. The curiosity of this little pet
+is unbounded, for it is impossible to open a drawer or box, without its
+roving through every part of it; if even a piece of paper or a book is
+looked at, it will also examine it with attention." This weasel lived
+on friendly terms with both a cat and a dog who shared his mistress'
+favours. That the weasel can defend himself when attacked is shown by
+the following incident told by Mr. Bell: "As a gentleman was riding over
+his grounds, he saw, at a short distance from him, a kite pounce on some
+object on the ground, and rise with it in his talons. In a few moments,
+however, the kite began to show signs of great uneasiness, rising
+rapidly in the air, or as quickly falling, and wheeling irregularly
+round, whilst evidently endeavouring to free himself from some obnoxious
+thing with his feet. After a short but sharp contest, the kite fell
+suddenly to the earth. The gentleman instantly rode up to the spot, when
+a weasel ran away from the kite, apparently unhurt, leaving the bird
+dead, with a hole eaten through the skin under the wing, and the large
+blood-vessels of the part torn through." The length of the common weasel
+is about eight inches.
+
+
+The Common Otter.
+
+There are several genera of Otters. The common otter (_Lutra vulgaris_)
+is known throughout Europe and is not uncommon in Great Britain. The
+otter lives on fish, for the hunting of which he is admirably fitted. He
+is web-footed and has a body of great flexibility and short but
+remarkably muscular legs. The Otter was looked upon as a friend by the
+peasants living near salmon preserves years ago, for after landing his
+prey he was content with but a small portion for himself, and left the
+rest which the peasants readily appropriated.
+
+"Otters," says Mr. St. John, "are very affectionate animals; the young
+anxiously seek their mother if she should be killed; and if the young
+are injured, the parent hovers near them till she is herself destroyed.
+If one of a pair be killed, the one that is left will hunt for its mate
+with untiring perseverance; and if one be caught in a trap, its
+companion will run round and round, endeavouring to set it free, on
+which occasions, though so quiet at other times, they make a snorting
+and blowing like a horse."
+
+"A labourer going to his work, soon after five o'clock in the morning,
+saw a number of animals coming towards him, and stood quietly by the
+hedge till they came alongside of him. He then perceived four old
+otters, probably dams, and about twenty young ones. He took a stick out
+of the hedge and killed one. Directly it began to squeak, all the four
+old ones turned back, and stood till the other young ones had escaped
+through the hedge, and then went quietly themselves. Several families
+were thus journeying together, and probably they had left their former
+abode from not finding a sufficiency of food." Otters have often been
+tamed and taught to catch fish for their masters. Captain Brown tells of
+an otter which was caught when young and trained by James Campbell near
+Inverness. "It was frequently employed in catching fish, and would,
+sometimes, take eight or ten salmon in a day. If not prevented, it
+always made an attempt to break the fish behind the anal fin, which is
+next the tail; and, as soon as one was taken away, it always dived in
+pursuit of more. It was equally dexterous at sea fishing, and took great
+numbers of young cod, and other fish, there. When tired, it would refuse
+to fish any longer, and was then rewarded with as much as it could
+devour. Having satisfied its appetite, it always coiled itself round,
+and fell asleep: in which state it was generally carried home."
+Professor Steller says that on killing and skinning a female otter,
+which he found at a place at which he had deprived her of her young
+eight days previously, he found her quite wasted away from grief at the
+loss of her progeny.
+
+
+The Badger.
+
+There are several varieties of Badger, the Indian and the American being
+the most important, respectively of the eastern and western worlds. The
+common badger (_Meles taxus_), which is found in different parts of
+England, feeds upon roots, bulbs, fruits, and all kinds of vegetables,
+as well as small animals, snails and worms. He has also a great fancy
+for eggs. He lives in burrows, which form passages having a central
+chamber and various anti-chambers, which he makes in sandy and gravelly
+soil. He is nocturnal in his habits. "When pursued," says Mrs. Bowdich,
+"he constantly impedes the progress of his enemies by throwing the soil
+behind him, so as to fill up the passages, while he escapes to the
+surface." He is a formidable opponent to his enemies, as his skin is so
+tough and his bite so severe, and he displays much sagacity in avoiding
+traps and escaping confinement. Mr. St. John placed one in a paved court
+for security, but before the next morning he had displaced a stone and
+burrowed his way out under the wall. Captain Brown tells an affecting
+story of the feeling of a badger for its mate. "Two persons in France
+killed a badger and proceeded to drag it towards a neighbouring village.
+They had not proceeded far when they heard the cry of an animal in
+seeming distress, and stopped to listen, when another badger approached
+them slowly. They at first threw stones at it; notwithstanding which, it
+drew near, came up to the dead animal, began to lick it, and continued
+its mournful cry. The men, surprised at this, desisted from offering any
+further injury to it, and again drew the dead one along as before; when
+the living badger, determined not to quit its companion, lay down on it,
+taking it gently by one ear, and in that manner was drawn into the midst
+of the village; nor could dogs, boys, or men induce it to quit its
+situation: and to their shame be it said, they had the inhumanity to
+kill the poor animal, and afterwards to burn it, declaring it could be
+no other than a witch."
+
+
+The Ratel and the Skunk.
+
+The Ratel (_Mellivora capensis_) of South and East Africa and the Skunk
+of Canada belong to this family. The Ratel is a small animal standing
+from ten to twelve inches high, with a very tough skin, which is so
+loose that, to quote Sparrman, "If anybody catches hold of the Ratel by
+the hind part of his neck, he is able to turn round, as it were, in his
+skin, and bite the arm of the person that seizes him." Dog-like in
+shape, the back and head are covered with a coat of lighter colour than
+that of the sides and under part of the body, giving it the appearance
+of a garment. The Ratel is the natural enemy of the Bees, his thick skin
+rendering him impervious to their attack, and he is said to show great
+sagacity in tracing their nests, watching at sundown, with his eyes
+shaded by his paws, the homeward flight of the honey makers and then
+following them to plunder and destroy. The Skunk is famous for its
+offensive smell, which according to Sir John Richardson is emitted by a
+deep yellow fluid which it discharges, and which is so strong that it
+retains its disgusting odour for many days. It is about eighteen inches
+in length, has short legs and a body that is broad and flat. It lives
+upon poultry and eggs, small quadrupeds, young birds, and wild fruits.
+Godman says: "Pedestrians, called by business or pleasure to ramble
+through the country during the morning or evening twilight, occasionally
+see a small and pretty animal a short distance before them in the path,
+scampering forward without appearing much alarmed, and advancing in a
+zigzag or somewhat serpentine direction. Experienced persons generally
+delay long enough to allow this unwelcome traveller to withdraw from the
+path; but it often happens that a view of the animal arouses the ardour
+of the observer, who, in his fondness for sport, thinks not of any
+result but that of securing a prize. It would be more prudent to rest
+content with pelting this quadruped from a safe distance, or to drive it
+away by shouting loudly; but almost all inexperienced persons, the first
+time such an opportunity occurs, rush forward with intent to run the
+animal down. This appears to be an easy task; in a few moments it is
+almost overtaken; a few more strides and the victim may be grasped by
+its long and waving tail--but the tail is now suddenly curled over the
+back, its pace is slackened, and in one instant the condition of things
+is entirely reversed;--the lately triumphant pursuer is eagerly flying
+from his intended prize, involved in an atmosphere of stench, gasping
+for breath, or blinded and smarting with pain, if his approach were
+sufficiently close to allow of his being struck in the eyes by the
+pestilent fluid of the Skunk."
+
+
+The Raccoon and the Coati.
+
+Our next concern is with the family of the procyonidA| which includes
+several bear-like animals, the Raccoon and the Coati being the best
+known. The raccoon belongs to North America, the coati to Central and
+Southern America. The raccoon is an expert swimmer, about the size of a
+fox, and of nocturnal habits. "His food," says the Rev. J. G. Wood, "is
+principally small animals and insects. "Oysters are also a very
+favourite article of its diet. It bites off the hinge of the oyster, and
+scrapes out the animal with its paws. Like a squirrel, when eating a
+nut, the raccoon usually holds its food between its fore-paws pressed
+together and sits upon its hind quarters while it eats. It is said to be
+as destructive in a farm-yard as any fox, for it only devours the heads
+of the murdered fowl. When taken young it is easily tamed but very
+frequently becomes blind soon after its capture. The coati (_Nasua
+nasica_) is distinguished from the raccoon by a pointed nose. In size it
+resembles the cat, its tail being as long as its body. Like the cat it
+is a good climber, and preys upon birds. When domesticated, as it is in
+Paraguay, the coati is kept in tether, as its climbing habits render it
+dangerous to ornaments and furniture. The Kinkajou (_Cercoleptes
+caudivolvulus_) of Demerara belongs to this family. The Panda (_A†lurus
+fulgens_) constitutes another family. It is cat-like in the face, but
+otherwise resembles the bear. It lives in the dense forests which clothe
+the declivities of the Himalayas.
+
+
+The Bear.
+
+After the lion and the tiger the bear is probably the most popular
+animal in legend and story. Dr. Gray divides the bears into three
+classes: the sea bear, the land bear, and the honey bear. The polar
+bear is the sea bear; the brown bear, the black bear, and the grizzly
+are land bears, and the Malayan bear is the honey bear. Mr. Wood says,
+"Bears and their allies are mostly heavy, and walk with the whole foot
+placed flat on the ground, unlike cats and dogs who walk with merely
+their paws or toes. They are omnivorous, that is, they can eat either
+animal or vegetable food, so that a leg of mutton, a pot of honey, a
+potatoe, or an apple are equally acceptable." The bears of Kamtchatka
+live principally on fish, which they are adepts in catching. The bear is
+found in the polar regions, in Siberia, the Caucasus, the Pyrenees, the
+Himalayas, in various parts of Western Asia, in Canada, and the United
+States.
+
+
+[Illustration: Hunting the Polar Bear]
+
+The Polar Bear.
+
+The Polar Bear is eight or nine feet long, and a little more than four
+feet in height. He has a long nose, short ears, large legs, and a short
+tail. His body and neck are long, and he has five sharp claws on each
+foot. His colour is a yellowish white; his hair long and shaggy. He
+inhabits Greenland and Lapland, as far north as eighty degrees. He lives
+on fish and seals and the bodies of whales, which are thrown ashore or
+which he finds in the sea. Dr. R. Brown deprecates the stories of the
+polar bear's ferocity which he regards as greatly exaggerated, though he
+admits, that when enraged, or suffering from hunger, they are formidable
+foes. That they are wary animals the following story quoted from Captain
+Brown will show. "The captain of a Greenland whaler, being anxious to
+procure a bear without injuring the skin, made trial of a stratagem of
+laying the noose of a rope in the snow, and placing a piece of kreng
+within it. A bear, ranging the neighbouring ice, was soon enticed to the
+spot by the smell of burning meat. He perceived the bait, approached,
+and seized it in his mouth; but his foot, at the same time, by a jerk of
+the rope, being entangled in the noose, he pushed it off with his paw,
+and deliberately retired. After having eaten the piece he had carried
+away with him, he returned. The noose, with another piece of kreng,
+having been replaced, he pushed the rope aside, and again walked
+triumphantly off with the bait. A third time the noose was laid; but,
+excited to caution by the evident observations of the bear, the sailors
+buried the rope beneath the snow, and laid the bait in a deep hole dug
+in the centre. The animal once more approached, and the sailors were
+assured of their success. But Bruin, more sagacious than they expected,
+after snuffing about the place for a few moments, scraped the snow away
+with his paw, threw the rope aside, and again escaped unhurt with his
+prize."
+
+The polar bear displays a great love for its young and many pathetic
+stories are told of its rage and grief at the loss of them. The
+following is from Captain Brown's "Anecdotes of Animals." "A Greenland
+bear, with two cubs under her protection, was pursued across a field of
+ice by a party of armed sailors. At first, she seemed to urge the young
+ones to increase their speed, by running before them, turning round, and
+manifesting, by a peculiar action and voice, her anxiety for their
+progress; but, finding her pursuers gaining upon them, she carried, or
+pushed, or pitched them alternately forward, until she effected their
+escape. In throwing them before her, the little creatures are said to
+have placed themselves across her path to receive the impulse, and, when
+projected some yards in advance, they ran onwards, until she overtook
+them, when they alternately adjusted themselves for another throw."
+
+
+The Black Bear.
+
+The Black Bear (_Ursus Americanus_) is about four and a half feet long
+and three feet high. He has long feet terminating in five claws each.
+His body is short with longish legs, and he has a large head, with small
+eyes, and a sharp nose. He has long, soft and woolly hair. His food is
+chiefly fruit, such as acorns, chestnuts, grapes, and corn; but when
+hungry he will feed on flesh, and attack other animals with courage and
+fierceness. He climbs trees, and uses his paws like hands. In winter he
+retires to his den, which is usually a hollow in some decayed tree,
+where he hybernates until spring. Though of a wild disposition, he can
+be tamed, and taught various tricks, in which he displays a good deal of
+sagacity and docility. The following story is quoted by Captain Brown
+from Captains Lewis' and Clarke's travels to the source of the Missouri,
+as a striking instance of the astonishing physical powers of the bear.
+"One evening, the men in the hindmost of the canoes, discovered a large
+bear lying in the open grounds, about three hundred paces from the
+river. Six of them, all good hunters, set out to attack him; and,
+concealing themselves by a small eminence, came unperceived within forty
+paces of him. Four of them now fired, and each lodged a ball in his
+body, two of them directly through the lungs. The enraged animal sprang
+up, and ran open-mouthed at them. As he came near, the two hunters who
+had reserved their fire, gave him two wounds, one of which, breaking his
+shoulder, retarded his motion for a moment; but, before they could
+reload, he was so near, that they were obliged to run to the river, and,
+when they reached it, he had almost overtaken them. Two jumped into the
+canoe; the other four separated, and, concealing themselves in the
+willows, fired as fast as each could load. They struck him several
+times, which only exasperated him; and he at last pursued two of them so
+closely, that they leaped down a perpendicular bank of twenty feet into
+the river. The bear sprang after them, and was within a few feet of the
+hindmost, when one of the hunters from the shore shot him in the head,
+and killed him. They dragged him to the banks of the river, and found
+that eight balls had passed through his body."
+
+Of his docility Mrs. Bowdich gives the following amusing, if, at the
+time, alarming illustration. "A young English officer, who was
+stationed at a lone fortress in Canada, amused himself by taming a bear
+of this species. He taught him to fetch and carry, to follow him like a
+dog, and to wait patiently at meal times for his share. The bear
+accompanied him when he returned to England, and became a great
+favourite with the passengers and the ship's company. Bruin, however,
+especially attached himself to a little girl about four years old, the
+daughter of one of the ladies on board, who romped with him as she would
+with a dog. In one of these games of play, he seized her with one
+fore-paw, and with the other clambered and clung to the rigging, till he
+lodged her and himself in the main-top, where, regardless of her cries
+and the agony of her mother, he tried to continue his romp. It would not
+do to pursue the pair, for fear the bear should drop the child; and his
+master, knowing how fond he was of sugar, had some mattresses placed
+round the mast in case the child should fall, and then strewed a
+quantity of sugar on the deck; he called Bruin, and pointed to it, who,
+after a moment's hesitation, came down as he went up, bringing the child
+in safety. He was, of course, deprived of his liberty during the rest of
+his voyage." The black bear is hunted for the sake of his skin, many
+thousands of skins being sent to Europe every year.
+
+
+The Grizzly Bear.
+
+The Grizzly Bear is an enormous animal, according to the measurement of
+Captains Lewis and Clarke of one they killed, nine feet from nose to
+tail, though they claim to have seen one of even larger size. It is said
+to attain to a weight of 800 pounds. The fore-foot of the animal already
+referred to exceeded nine inches in length, the hind foot being eleven
+inches and three quarters, exclusive of the talons, the breadth of the
+hind foot being seven inches. The Grizzly does not climb trees, like the
+brown and the black bear. He is ferocious when hungry, and when
+attacked, and the female will die hard in the defence of her young. Such
+is his strength that he can master a bison, and drag him to his
+retreat. He is by far the most dangerous brute of North America. He
+unhesitatingly pursues both men and animals; but, though he feeds on
+flesh, he is capable of subsisting upon roots and fruits. He is very
+tenacious of life, and will pursue his enemy after having received
+repeated mortal wounds. He is found in the eastern vicinity of the Rocky
+Mountains. Though the Grizzly will sometimes move off on the approach of
+the traveller, without showing fight, he will at other times attack him
+with great ferocity. A man named Nathan Rogers who lived on a ranch in
+the mountains about a mile above West Point, near the North Fork of the
+Mokelumne, once had a terrific encounter with a grizzly bear. He was out
+shooting small game when he was suddenly confronted by an enormous
+animal. He fired his only shot into the breast of the bear and then
+awaited his attack. The fight was fast and furious, and though in the
+end the grizzly was killed, the man only survived in a terrible
+condition. Conscious that he must soon have help or perish, he summoned
+all his resolution and staggered along, and managed to reach a spring in
+sight of a house, when his endurance gave way, and he fell in a dead
+faint by the water's edge. Fortunately he was soon discovered by his
+son, a lad of some twelve years, who immediately gave the alarm. In
+addition to his horrible wounds, the shock to his system was a terrible
+one. His left arm, literally mangled and torn to shreds, had to be
+amputated at the shoulder. His left clavicle and scapula were fractured,
+and the three lower ribs on the right side broken. The flesh and muscles
+on his back were so broken and abraded that the vertebrA| were actually
+visible in places; while, his lower limbs were literally seamed and
+furrowed by the crooked claws of the bear's hind feet. The left side of
+the bear was literally torn to pieces, there being no less than
+twenty-two knife-wounds, nearly every one of which reached to a vital
+point. Some idea of his size can be obtained when we state that one of
+his fore-paws just covered an ordinary dinner plate.
+
+
+The Brown Bear.
+
+The Brown Bear (_Ursus arctos_) was the bear of the British Isles, so
+long as the British Isles boasted of a bear. This was the baited bear of
+the Royal sports, and of the common Bear garden. His last appearance in
+Great-Britain in a wild state, however, dates back more than 800 years.
+In size, shape, and habits he much resembles the black bear of America.
+Like the Malayan bear he is very fond of honey as the following amusing
+story as told by Mrs Bowdich will show:
+
+"A countryman in Russia, when seeking honey, climbed a very high tree,
+the trunk of which was hollow; and finding there was a large quantity of
+comb in it, he descended, and stuck fast in the tenacious substance
+there deposited. He was so far distant from home, that his voice could
+not be heard, and he remained two days in this situation, relieving his
+hunger with the honey. He began to despair of ever being extricated,
+when a bear, who, like himself, came for the sake of the honey, slid
+down the hollow, hind-part foremost. The man, in spite of his alarm,
+seized hold of him; and the bear, also in a great fright, clambered out
+as fast as he could, dragging the man up with him, and when clear of his
+tail-bearer, made off as fast as possible."
+
+
+The Malayan Bear.
+
+The Malayan Bear is about four feet long and two feet high. It has a
+long tongue which serves it well in extracting honey from the honey
+combs in the hollow trunks of trees. Other bears are the Syrian Bear of
+Western Asia, the Spectacled Bear of South America and Peru and the
+Sloth Bear of India and the Mahratta country.
+
+
+SUB-ORDER II.
+
+The Pinnipedia.
+
+We come now to the second sub-order of the Carnivora or flesh-eating
+animals, the sub-order which includes the Seal and the Walrus. These in
+the form of their skulls and in other ways show evident relationship to
+the bear, and so appropriately follow him in classification. The family
+of the OtaridA|, includes the Eared Seals, the Northern Sea Lion and the
+Northern Sea Bear. The Eared Seal is distinguished from the true seal,
+as his name implies by the possession of external ears.
+
+
+Sea Lions.
+
+Mr. Theodore Lyman, who had excellent opportunities of observing the
+habits of the Sea Lions on the Seal Rocks of San Francisco, furnished
+Mr. Allen with a graphic account of their movements, from which we quote
+the following: "As they approach to effect a landing, the head only
+appears decidedly above water. This is their familiar element and they
+swim with great speed and ease, quite unmindful of the heavy surf, and
+of the breakers on the ledges. In landing they are apt to take advantage
+of a heavy wave which helps them to get the forward flippers on _terra
+firma_. As the wave retreats they begin to struggle up the steep rocks,
+twisting the body from side to side, with a clumsy worm-like motion, and
+thus alternately work their flippers into positions, where they may
+force the body a little onward. At such times they have a general
+appearance of sprawling over the ground. It is quite astonishing to see
+how they will go up surfaces having even a greater inclination than 45A deg.
+and where a man would have to creep with much exertion. In their onward
+path they are accompanied by the loud barking of all the seals they
+pass; and these cries may be heard a great distance. They play among
+themselves continually by rolling on each other and feigning to bite;
+often too, they will amuse themselves by pushing off those that are
+trying to land. All this is done in a very cumbrous manner, and is
+accompanied by incessant barking. As they issue from the water their fur
+is dark and shining; but as it dries, it becomes of a yellowish brown.
+Then they appear to feel either too dry or too hot, for they move to the
+nearest point from which they may tumble into the sea. I saw many roll
+off a ledge at least twenty feet high, and fall like so many huge brown
+sacks into the water, dashing up showers of spray."
+
+
+Sea Bears.
+
+The Northern Sea Bear is otherwise known as the Northern Fur Seal.
+Captain Charles Bryant gives a very interesting account of these
+singular animals, in which he describes them as approaching and taking
+possession of the shores of St. Paul's Island near the coast of Alaska,
+about the middle, or towards the end of April, when the snow has melted
+and the drift ice from the north has all passed. A few old male seals
+first make their appearance and reconnoitre for two or three days,
+afterwards climbing the slopes and taking possession of the rookeries,
+each male reserving about a square rod for himself and his wives. The
+scouts then return and younger male seals soon begin to arrive in small
+detachments, but are prevented from landing by their elders and are so
+forced to remain in the water or go to the upland above. By the middle
+of June all the males have arrived, and having adjusted their
+differences and divided the rookeries between them, await the arrival of
+the females. "These appear in small numbers at first but increase as the
+season advances, till the middle of July; when the rookeries are all
+full, the females often overlapping each other. The bachelor seals swim
+all day along the shore, escorting and driving the females on to the
+rocks as fast as they arrive. As soon as a female reaches the shore, the
+nearest male goes down to meet her, making meanwhile a noise like the
+clucking of a hen to her chickens. He bows to her, and coaxes her until
+he gets between her and the water so that she cannot escape him. Then
+his manner changes, and with a harsh growl he drives her to a place in
+his harem. This continues until the lower row of harems is nearly full.
+Then the males higher up select the time when their more fortunate
+neighbours are off their guard to steal their wives. This they do by
+taking them in their mouths and lifting them over the heads of the other
+females, and carefully placing them in their own harem carrying them as
+carefully as cats do their kittens. Those still higher up pursue the
+same method until the whole space is occupied. Frequently a struggle
+ensues between two males for the possession of the same female, and both
+seizing her at once, pull her in two, or terribly lacerate her with
+their teeth. When the space is all filled, the old male walks around
+complacently reviewing his family, scolding those who crowd or disturb
+the others, and fiercely driving off all intruders. This surveillance
+always keeps him actively occupied." After the birth of their young
+which takes place towards the end of July, the old males who have been
+four months without food, go to some distance from the shore to feed,
+teaching the young to swim on their return. "By the last of October the
+seals begin to leave the islands in small companies. The males going
+last and by themselves."
+
+
+The Walrus.
+
+The Walrus. (_Trichechus rosmarus_) is a large and unwieldy creature. It
+bears a stronger resemblance to the seal than to any other quadruped,
+but it is distinguished by the proportions of its body and its
+elephant-like tusks. Vast herds formerly frequented the shores of the
+islands scattered between America and Asia, the coasts of Davis's
+Straits and those of Hudson's Bay. They have been found as far south as
+the Magdalen Islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Now they are not met
+with in great numbers, except on the shores of Spitzbergen and the
+remotest northern borders of America. They attain to a very large size.
+The head is oval, short, small, and flat in front, having the eyes set
+in deep sockets so as to be moved forwards, or retracted at pleasure. On
+land the Walrus is a slow and clumsy animal, but in the water its
+motions are sufficiently quick and easy. When attacked, the Walrus is
+both fierce and formidable, and if in company with its young, becomes
+very furious, attempting to destroy its enemies by rising and hooking
+its tusks over the sides of the boat, in order to sink it.
+
+Captain Cook thus describes a herd of walruses he met with off the north
+coast of America. He says: "They lie in herds of many hundreds upon the
+ice, huddling over one another, like swine; and roar or bray so very
+loud, that in the night, or in foggy weather, they gave us notice of the
+ice, before we could see it. We never found the whole herd asleep, some
+being always upon the watch. These, on the approach of the boat, would
+awake those next to them; and the alarm being thus gradually
+communicated, the whole herd would be awake presently. But they were
+seldom in a hurry to get away, till after they had been once fired at.
+They then would tumble over one another into the sea, in the utmost
+confusion; and, if we did not, at the first discharge, kill those we
+fired at, we generally lost them, though mortally wounded. They did not
+appear to us to be that dangerous animal which some authors have
+described, not even when attacked. They are more so in appearance than
+reality. Vast numbers of them would follow, and come close up to the
+oars; but the flash of the musket in the pan, or even the bare pointing
+of one at them, would send them down in an instant. The female will
+defend her young to the very last, at the expense of her own life,
+whether in the water or upon the ice. Nor will the young one quit the
+dam, though she be dead; so that, if one is killed, the other is certain
+prey. The dam, when in the water, holds the young one between her fore
+arms."
+
+
+The Common Seal.
+
+The True Seals are divided by Dr. Gray into thirteen genera with
+eighteen species, of which the Common Seal, the Ringed Seal, the Harp
+Seal, the Grey Seal, the Sea Leopard, the Sea Elephant, and the
+Bladder-nose Hooded Seal are the best known. The common seal has a round
+head which in front bears some resemblance to that of the otter. Its
+average length is about five feet and its general colour of a yellowish
+gray, varied or spotted with brown or blackish in different degrees,
+according to the age of the animal. The Common Seal frequents the
+sea-coasts perhaps throughout the world, but is most numerous in high
+northern latitudes, and furnishes the inhabitants of those frigid
+regions with nearly all their necessaries and luxuries. Enormous numbers
+are caught annually for the sake of their skins and oil. The Harp Seal
+frequents the coast of Newfoundland and is so named from the harp-shaped
+band which marks the backs of the males. The Sea Elephant is the largest
+of the seals. It is said to attain to the length of twenty-five to
+thirty feet, and a circumference of fifteen to eighteen feet. It belongs
+to the Antarctic sea.
+
+"Seals when taken young," says Captain Brown, "are capable of being
+completely domesticated, will answer to their name, and follow their
+master from place to place. In January, 1819, a gentleman, in the
+neighbourhood of Burnt-island, county of Fife, in Scotland, completely
+succeeded in taming a seal. Its singularities attracted the curiosity of
+strangers daily. It appeared to possess all the sagacity of a dog, lived
+in its master's house, and ate from his hand. In his fishing excursions,
+this gentleman generally took it with him, when it afforded no small
+entertainment. If thrown into the water, it would follow for miles the
+track of the boat; and although thrust back by the oars, it never
+relinquished its purpose. Indeed, it struggled so hard to regain its
+seat, that one would imagine its fondness for its master had entirely
+overcome the natural predilection for its native element."
+
+
+The Seal's Docility.
+
+Notwithstanding the absence of external ears the common seal has a
+remarkable sense of hearing and a keen taste for sweet sounds. Seals
+have been known to follow a vessel, for miles, upon the deck of which a
+violin or a flute has been played. To quote Sir Walter Scott:
+
+ "Rude Heiskar's seals, through surges dark,
+ Will long pursue the minstrel's bark."
+
+They are also easily tamed, when they are found to be exceedingly
+affectionate to those who treat them kindly. Some years ago a farmer,
+residing on the east coast of Scotland, close to the sea-shore,
+obtained a young seal for the amusement of his children, who soon became
+exceedingly fond of it. Some time after, the farmer, having had a bad
+year for his crops, was told by an old woman in the village that he
+would never prosper as long as he kept that seal on his ground. The
+foolish man giving heed to the superstition sent away the seal in a boat
+some distance from land. Towards evening, as the children were sitting
+on the sea-shore, what was their joy on beholding their seal rising out
+of the water, and making its way straight back to them again. For some
+months they were allowed to retain their pet; but as the farmer's
+prospects did not brighten, he again determined to get rid of it, and
+for that purpose, hearing of a ship that was soon to sail for the
+Baltic, took the little seal, and gave it in charge to some sailors,
+begging them to keep it in the hold of the ship till they arrived at
+their destination, and then to throw it into the sea. This was
+accordingly done, but the faithful seal was not to be daunted; ere long,
+it reappeared, to the great delight of the children, who begged their
+father never to send it away again. The farmer gave a doubtful assent,
+for a suspicion still lurked in his mind, owing to the superstitious
+words of the old woman, that the presence of the seal had an evil effect
+upon his crops; and with these ideas preying upon his mind, the farmer
+conceived the cruel thought of putting out the seal's eyes with a view
+of preventing it from finding its way back, and again sending it away to
+sea. Unknown to his children, he carried this barbarous plan into
+execution; and they only discovered the loss of their favourite too late
+to aid in its recall, as the ship in which it had been placed had
+already sailed for Norway. Some days after the departure of the vessel,
+a fearful storm arose. The farmer and his family were glad enough to
+close up their shutters, and shut out as much as possible the wailings
+of the wind, as it swept in furious gusts round the house. They had
+scarcely retired to rest, when a faint and plaintive cry struck upon
+their ears--and repeated again it seemed to be--during the momentary
+lulls of the storm. The farmer continued to listen, but hearing nothing
+more, he descended to the front door and opened it; a dark object lay
+before him, on the very threshold, and stooping down to touch it, what
+was his astonishment to behold the poor blind, devoted little seal,
+apparently dead. The farmer was greatly touched; he took up the little
+body gently and carried it into the kitchen, and used every effort to
+restore it to life but in vain.
+
+
+ORDER V.
+
+Whales and Dolphins.
+
+This order is divided into two sub-orders, the one characterised by the
+possession of teeth, and the other being toothless.
+
+
+The Right Whale.
+
+The Right Whale when fully grown, attains to from fifty to sixty-five
+feet in length, and to from thirty to forty feet in circumference. It is
+thickest behind the fins. When the mouth is open, it presents a cavity
+as large as a room, and capable of containing a boat full of men. Its
+tongue is said to be as large as a stout feather-bed. The tail is a
+powerful instrument of motion and defence: it is only five or six feet
+long, but its motions are rapid, and its strength immense. The eyes are
+situated in the sides of the head; they are very small, being little
+larger than those of an ox. The whale has no external ear, but there is
+a small orifice under the skin for the admission of sound. On the most
+elevated part of the head are two blow holes six or eight inches in
+length. The mouth, instead of teeth, has two rows of whalebone, each of
+which contains more than three hundred laminae, the longest of which are
+about ten or eleven feet. A large whale sometimes contains a ton and a
+half of whalebone. The colour of the old whale is gray and white, that
+of the young ones a sort of bluish black. Immediately beneath the skin
+lies the blubber, or fat; its thickness round the body is eight or ten
+or twenty inches, varying in different parts: the lips are composed
+almost entirely of blubber. A large whale yields about twenty tons of
+oil, which is expressed from the blubber. It is for this and the
+whalebone that this animal is deemed so valuable, and for which it is so
+much sought by whalefishers. The sense of seeing in the whale is very
+acute. Under the surface of the water they discover one another at an
+amazing distance. They have no voice, but in breathing or blowing they
+make a loud noise.
+
+The usual rate at which whales swim seldom exceeds four miles an hour,
+but for a few minutes at a time they are capable of darting through the
+water with amazing velocity, and of ascending with such rapidity as to
+leap above the surface. This feat they perform as an amusement,
+apparently to the high admiration of distant spectators. Sometimes they
+throw themselves in a perpendicular posture, with the head downwards,
+and rearing their tails on high, beat the water with awful violence.
+Sometimes they shake their tails in the air, which, cracking like a
+whip, resound to the distance of two or three miles. The flesh of the
+whale, though it would be rejected by the dainty palates of refined
+nations, is eaten with much relish by the Eskimo, and the inhabitants
+along the coasts of Hudson's Bay and Davis's Straits, who esteem it a
+staple article of subsistence.
+
+Other whales of this sub-order are the common Fin Whale, which is said
+to reach eighty feet in length, the lesser Fin Whale and the Humpback
+Whale. In these, the yield of whalebone and oil is so small that they
+are not thought worth the trouble of catching.
+
+
+The Sperm Whale.
+
+The Sperm Whale rarely exceeds sixty feet in length and lives in warm
+regions, such as the Indian Ocean; rarely, if ever, visiting Arctic or
+European seas. Its yield of oil is said to be less than that of the
+Greenland whale but it is of a finer quality. Ambergris is also produced
+from the body of the sperm whale.
+
+
+The Dolphin.
+
+This is a large creature, so like the porpoise that he has been often
+confounded with it. He is, however, much larger, sometimes measuring
+from twenty to twenty-five feet in length. The body is roundish, growing
+gradually less towards the tail; the nose is long and pointed, the skin
+smooth, the back black or dusky blue, becoming white towards the belly.
+He is entirely destitute of gills, or any similar aperture, but respires
+and also spouts water through a pipe of semi-circular form placed on the
+upper part of the head. There are several varieties of dolphins,
+including the Long-nosed Dolphins of the rivers of Asia and South
+America and the Classical Dolphin of the Mediterranean (_Delphinus
+delphis_) The former are separately classified, and the family of the
+latter includes the White Whale, the Narwhal, the Common Porpoise and
+the Grampus. The dolphin is gregarious in its habits, herding and
+travelling in large shoals. It may sometimes be seen sporting in the
+bays and rivers of New York and is always a pretty sight.
+
+
+The White Whale.
+
+The White Whale (_Beluga catodon_) is the whale which Dr. R. Brown calls
+_the_ whale of Greenland. It is the whale which the Greenlander and the
+Eskimo find so valuable for its oil and flesh, the latter of which they
+dry for winter use. They are sometimes called sea pigs, from a fancied
+resemblance they bear to the pig when floundering in the sea, and
+sometimes sea canaries, on account of their peculiar whistle, which
+resembles that of a bird.
+
+
+The Narwhal.
+
+The narwhal (_Monodon monoceros_) is found frequently in company with
+the white whale, and inhabits much the same geographical area. It is
+distinguished by the possession of a tusk, the aim and purpose of which
+has been much debated. "It has been supposed to use it," says Dr. Brown,
+"to stir up its food from the bottom, but in such a case the female
+would be sadly at a loss. Fabricius thought that it was to keep the
+holes open in the ice during the winter; and the following occurrence
+seems to support this view. In April, 1860, a Greenlander was travelling
+along the ice in the vicinity of Christianshaab, and discovered one of
+those open spaces in the ice, which, even in the most severe winters,
+remain open. In this hole hundreds of narwhals and white whales were
+protruding their heads to breathe, no other place presenting itself for
+miles around. It was described to me as an Arctic 'Black Hole of
+Calcutta' in the eagerness of the animals to keep at the place."
+"Neither the narwhal nor the white whale," he continues, are timid
+animals, but will approach close to, and gambol for hours in the
+immediate vicinity of the ship." The oil is highly esteemed, and the
+flesh is very palatable. The skin of the narwhal boiled to a jelly is
+looked upon, and justly so, as one of the prime dainties of a
+Greenlander.
+
+
+The Common Porpoise.
+
+The Porpoise resembles the dolphin in general appearance. Its length,
+from the tip of the snout to the end of the tail, is from five to eight
+feet; and the width about two feet and a half. The figure of the whole
+body is conical; the colour of the back is deep blue, inclining to
+shining black; the sides are gray, and the belly white. When the flesh
+is cut up, it looks very much like pork; but, although it was once
+considered a sumptuous article of food, and is said to have been
+occasionally introduced at the tables of the old English nobility, it
+certainly has a disagreeable flavour. Their motion in the water is a
+kind of circular leap; they dive deep, but soon again rise up in order
+to breathe. They are seen in nearly all seas, where they sport with
+great activity, chiefly on the approach of a squall.
+
+
+The Grampus.
+
+The Grampus (_Orca Gladiator_) is the natural enemy of the whale and the
+seal, who hold him in mortal terror. His swallow is so great that he can
+take a porpoise or a seal whole, and has been known to swallow several
+in succession. The whale escapes him by getting among the ice, whither
+it is said the grampus will not follow him.
+
+
+ORDER VI.
+
+The Sea Cow.
+
+The Sea Cow is an aquatic vegetarian who lives on the coast. Of the
+three genera which constitute the family _ManatidA|_ one is now said to
+be extinct. The genus Manatus contains two species, one belonging to
+South America and the other to the West Coast of Africa. The Dugong
+(_Halicore Dugong_) which attains to a length of nine or ten feet at
+maturity produces oil having similar medicinal properties to that
+obtained from the Cod's liver. It inhabits the Indian Ocean, the Red
+Sea, the neighbourhood of the Malay Islands and the North and East
+coasts of Australia.
+
+
+ORDER VII.
+
+Hoofed Animals.
+
+The order of hoofed animals includes a number of well known species, of
+which the Horse, the Ass, the Ox and the Sheep among the tame, and the
+Rhinoceros, the Hippopotamus, the Boar and the Bison among the wild are
+familiar examples. The order is divided into two sub-orders and these
+into numerous families. The sub-orders are, I, The Perissodactyla, which
+includes three families of animals characterised by an odd number of
+toes in their hind feet, the horse having one, and the Rhinoceros three.
+II, The Artiodactyla which includes seven families of animals all having
+an even number of toes.
+
+
+The Horse.
+
+The horse stands first among the hoofed animals, as the friend and
+servant of man. He has a history which is full of interest but which it
+is quite impossible to give within the limits of our present
+opportunity. He is mentioned in both classical and Biblical history at
+an early period, but there is reason to believe that he flourished in
+prehistoric times. He was used by the Greeks in their public games, the
+chariot race being one of their most popular forms of entertainment; he
+was also employed by them for the purposes of war, of which the writings
+of Homer and other classical authors give abundant proof. First used
+apparently to draw the chariot only, the adaptation of the means to the
+end soon suggested to man the propriety of mounting his back, and from
+the throne he thus acquired man has since conquered the whole world.
+Man's first appearance on horseback doubtless suggested the fable of the
+Centaur; those unaccustomed to the sight imagining that they beheld a
+monster, half man and half horse, as it is said the aborigines of
+America did when they first saw Spanish equestrians. The Egyptians are
+said to have been the first to cultivate the horse, and the Persians the
+first to use him in battle.
+
+
+Arabian Horses.
+
+The beauty, strength and speed of the Arabian horse are well known, and
+the affection which subsists between him and his master is the basis of
+many a pathetic story. These horses are generally of a brown colour; the
+mane and tail being short, and the hair black and tufted. The Arabs for
+the most part use the mares in their ordinary excursions, as they are
+less vicious than the males, and are more capable of sustaining
+abstinence and fatigue.
+
+The Arab often shares his tent with his mare, the husband, the wife, the
+child, the mare, and the foal, lying together indiscriminately; and the
+youngest branches of the family embracing the neck, or reposing on the
+body, of the mare, without any idea of fear or danger.
+
+St. Pierre in his "Studies of Nature" tells a pretty story of the Arab's
+affection for his horse: "The whole stock of a poor Arabian of the
+desert consisted of a beautiful mare; this the French consul at Said
+offered to purchase, with an intention to send her to Louis XIV. The
+Arab, pressed by want, hesitated a long time, but at length consented,
+on condition of receiving a very considerable sum of money, which he
+named. The consul wrote to France for permission to close the bargain;
+and, having obtained it, sent the information to the Arab. The man, so
+indigent as to possess only a miserable covering for his body, arrived
+with his magnificent courser; he dismounted, and first looking at the
+gold, then steadfastly at his mare, heaved a sigh. 'To whom is it,'
+exclaimed he, 'that I am going to yield thee up? To Europeans! who will
+tie thee close, who will beat thee, who will render thee miserable!
+Return with me, my beauty, my jewel! and rejoice the hearts of my
+children.' As he pronounced the last words, he sprang upon her back, and
+was out of sight almost in a moment." This story forms the subject of
+the well known ballad by the Hon. Mrs. Norton, entitled "The Arab's
+farewell to his steed."
+
+Clarke thus describes the way in which the Arab will address a
+horse:--"Ibrahim went frequently to Rama to inquire news of the mare
+whom he dearly loved; he would embrace her, wipe her eyes with his
+handkerchief, would rub her with his shirt sleeves, would give her a
+thousand benedictions during whole hours that he would remain talking to
+her. 'My eyes! my soul! my heart!' he would say, 'must I be so
+unfortunate as to have thee sold to so many masters, and not keep thee
+myself? I am poor, my antelope! I brought thee up in my dwelling as a
+child; I did never beat nor chide thee----" Arabs have been known to
+refuse enormous sums for horses, though actually themselves in a
+condition of extreme want. That the horse can reciprocate the kindness
+shown to him is proved by many a story of his fidelity. Chateaubriand
+says, "When I was at Jerusalem the feats of one of these steeds made a
+great noise. The Bedouin to whom the animal, a mare, belonged, being
+pursued by the governor's guards, rushed with her from the top of the
+hills that overlooked Jericho. The mare scoured at full gallop down an
+almost perpendicular declivity without stumbling, and left the soldiers
+lost in admiration and astonishment. The poor creature, however, dropped
+down dead on entering Jericho, and the Bedouin, who would not quit her,
+was taken, weeping over the body of his faithful companion."
+
+More romantic is the story told by M. de Lamartine, thus quoted by Mrs.
+Bowdich. "An Arab chief and the tribe to which he belonged attacked a
+caravan in the night, and were returning with their plunder, when some
+horsemen belonging to the Pasha of Acre surrounded them, killed several,
+and bound the rest with cords. Among the latter was the chief Abou el
+Marek, who was carried to Acre, and, bound hand and foot, laid at the
+entrance of their tent during the night. Kept awake by the pain of his
+wounds he heard his horse, who was picketed at a distance from him,
+neigh. Wishing to caress him, perhaps for the last time, he dragged
+himself up to him, and said, 'Poor friend! what will you do among the
+Turks? You will be shut up under the roof of a khan, with the horses of
+a Pasha or an Aga. No longer will the women and children of the tent
+bring you barley, camel's milk, or dhourra, in the hollow of their
+hands; no longer will you gallop free as the wind in the desert; no
+longer will you cleave the waters with your breast, and lave your sides,
+as pure as the foam from your lips. If I am to be a slave, at least you
+may go free. Return to our tent, tell my wife that Abou el Marek will
+return no more; but put your head still into the folds of the tent, and
+lick the hands of my beloved children.' With these words, as his hands
+were tied, the chief with his teeth undid the fetters which held the
+courser bound, and set him at liberty; but the noble animal, on
+recovering his freedom, instead of galloping away to the desert, bent
+his head over his master, and seeing him in fetters and on the ground,
+took his clothes gently between his teeth, lifted him up, and set off at
+full speed towards home. Without resting he made straight for the
+distant but well-known tent in the mountains of Arabia. He arrived there
+in safety, laid his master down at the feet of his wife and children,
+and immediately dropped down dead with fatigue. The whole tribe mourned
+him, the poets celebrated his fidelity, and his name is still constantly
+in the mouths of the Arabs of Jericho."
+
+For the sake of the beautiful moral it contains the following story is
+well worth adding. In the tribe of Negde there was a mare of great
+reputation for beauty and swiftness, which a member of another tribe
+named Daber desired to possess. Having failed to obtain her by offering
+all he was worth, he sought to effect his object by stratagem. Disguised
+as a lame beggar he waited by a roadside, knowing that Nabee, the owner
+of the horse, would shortly pass that way. As soon as Nabee appeared,
+Daber cried out to him, begging assistance and pretending to be too weak
+to rise. Nabee thereupon dismounted from the mare, and helped the beggar
+to mount her. The moment he was mounted Daber declared himself and made
+off. Nabee called to him to stop, and on his turning round said to him,
+"Thou hast my mare, since it pleased God I wish you success but I
+conjure thee tell no one how thou hast come by her." "Why not?" said
+Daber. "Lest others should refrain from charity because I have been
+duped," said Nabee, whereupon Daber dismounted and returned the mare.
+
+
+The Domestic Horse.
+
+The Horse has only to be known to be loved, and has only to be loved to
+become the most tractable, patient, and useful of animals. "In the
+domestic horse," says Colonel Smith, "we behold an animal equally strong
+and beautiful, endowed with great docility and no less fire; with size
+and endurance joined to sobriety, speed, and patience; clean,
+companionable, emulous, even generous; forbearing, yet impetuous; with
+faculties susceptible of very considerable education, and perceptions
+which catch the spirit of man's intentions, lending his powers with the
+utmost readiness, and restraining them with as ready a compliance:
+saddled or in harness, labouring willingly, enjoying the sports of the
+field and exulting in the tumult of the battle; used by mankind in the
+most laudable and necessary operations, and often the unconscious
+instrument of the most sanguinary passions; applauded, cherished, then
+neglected, and ultimately abandoned to the authority of bipeds who often
+show little superiority of reason and much less of temper." "One who,
+like ourselves," continues Colonel Smith, "has repeatedly owed life to
+the exertions of his horse, in meeting a hostile shock, in swimming
+across streams, and in passing on the edge of elevated precipices, will
+feel with us, when contemplating the qualities of this most valuable
+animal, emotions of gratitude and affection which others may not so
+readily appreciate."
+
+
+The Structure of a Horse.
+
+"The beauty of the form of the horse has often been commented upon, his
+structure is thus admirably described by a writer in "Cassell's Magazine
+of Art": "His nature is eminently courageous, without ferocity,
+generous, docile, intelligent, and, if allowed to be so, almost as
+affectionate as the dog. In his structure, the ruling characteristic may
+be said in one word to consist in obliquity--all the leading bones in
+his frame are set obliquely, or nearly so, and not at right angles. His
+head is set on with a subtle curve of the last few vertebrA| of the neck,
+which at the shoulders, take another subtle curve before they become the
+dorsal vertebrA|, or backbone; which end, in their turn, with another
+curve, forming the tail. His shoulders slope back more than those of
+other quadrupeds, the scapula, or shoulder-blade, being oblique to the
+humerus, which, in its turn, is oblique to the radius, or upper part of
+the fore-leg. So, again, in the hind-quarters, the haunch is set
+obliquely to the true thigh, the thigh, at the stifle joint, to the
+upper bone of the hind-leg, which at the hock makes another angle. The
+fore and hind quarters form so large a portion of the entire length that
+a horse, though a lengthy animal from the front of the chest to the back
+of the haunch, is, comparatively, very short in the actual back or
+'saddle-place.' Then his hocks are much bent, and his pastern joints are
+rather long, and again are set at an angle, succeeded by a slightly
+different angle in the firm but expanding hoof, thus completing the
+beautiful mechanism, which preserves the limbs from jar, and ensures
+elasticity in every part of an animal destined to carry weight and to
+undergo rapid and continued exertion--a combination not existing in any
+other quadruped to anything like the same degree, and fitting him
+precisely for the purposes for which he was given to man. At present we
+have said nothing about his head, every part of which is equally
+characteristic. His well-shaped, delicate ears are capable of being
+moved separately in every direction, and every movement is full of
+meaning and in sympathy with the eye. The eye is prominent, full, and
+large, and placed laterally, so that he can see behind him without
+turning his head, his heels being his principal weapon of defence; his
+nostrils are large, open and flexible, and his lips fleshy, though thin,
+and exquisitely mobile and sensitive. The large, open nostril is
+essential to him, as a horse breathes solely and entirely through it,
+being physically incapable of breathing through his mouth, as a valve in
+the throat actually precludes him from so doing; hence the mouth of a
+horse, without a bridle in it, is opened only for purposes of eating or
+biting, but never from excitement or from exhaustion, like that of most
+other quadrupeds, except the deer species. The lips are, perhaps, even
+more characteristic; they are his hands as well as part of his mouth,
+and the horse and others of his family alone use them in this way. The
+ox, the sheep, the goat, the deer, the giraffe above all, and, in fact,
+we believe all graminivorous animals except the horse, either bite their
+food directly with the teeth, or grasp and gather it with the tongue,
+which is prehensile, and gifted with more or less power of prolongation;
+but the horse's tongue has no such function, and, therefore, no such
+powers, as these services are all performed in his case by the lips: and
+no horseman, who has let a favourite horse pick up small articles of
+food from the palm of his hand, can have failed to be struck with the
+extreme mobility, and also the sensibility and delicacy of touch, with
+which the lips are endowed."
+
+
+The Horse's Speed.
+
+The quality of speed for which the horse is so justly esteemed has been
+the subject of extensive culture in which the Arabian horse has
+contributed no mean share. "Some of the horses first brought from Arabia
+having been by no means celebrated," says Captain Brown, "the breed had
+fallen into disrepute, till the descendants of one procured by Mr.
+Darley from the deserts, and on that account called the Darley Arabian,
+having borne away the palm for fleetness from all others, turned the
+tide of fashion in favour of that breed. Yet it is only the progeny of
+the Arabian horses that excels. The English race-horses are equal, if
+not superior, to all other coursers. As the extraordinary swiftness of
+the horse has been most signally displayed in the English race-course,
+and can also be there most precisely measured, we cannot omit the notice
+of some of the most remarkable of our racers. The most celebrated of
+these--and indeed the fleetest horse that ever was bred in the
+world--was Flying Childers, got by the Darley Arabian. What Achilles was
+among warriors, and CA|sar among conquerors, such was Childers among
+horses, without an equal and without a rival. He ran against the most
+famous horses of his age, and was always victorious. He has been known
+to move at the rate of nearly a mile in the minute. Next to Childers, in
+fame and fleetness, is Eclipse, so called from having been foaled during
+the great eclipse of 1764. This horse likewise was never beaten: one
+contemporary rival alone was supposed to exist, Mr. Shaftoe's horse
+Goldfinder, but Goldfinder broke down the October before the proposed
+competition. Eclipse's rate of going was 47 feet in the second. Childers
+had a rate of 49. One hundred to one were offered on Eclipse against the
+most famous racers of his day. Mr. O'Kelly purchased him for sixteen
+hundred and fifty guineas, and cleared by him twenty-five thousand
+pounds. He had a vast stride,--never horse threw his haunches below him
+with more vigour or effect; and his hind legs were so spread in his
+gallop, that a wheelbarrow might have been driven between them. King
+Herod, another famous horse, which was generally, though not like
+Eclipse uniformly, successful, is chiefly celebrated for his progeny;
+his immediate descendants having gained to their owners above two
+hundred thousand pounds."
+
+
+The Horse's Endurance.
+
+Many marvellous stories are told of the endurance of the horse. Sir John
+Malcolm says, "Small parties of Toorkomans, who ventured several hundred
+miles into Persia, used both to advance and retreat at the average of
+nearly one hundred miles a day. They train their horses for these
+expeditions as we should do for a race, and describe him when in a
+condition for a foray by saying that his flesh is marble. When I was in
+Persia, a horseman mounted upon a Toorkoman horse, brought a packet of
+letters from Shiraz to Teherary, which is a distance of five hundred
+miles, within six days." Almost equally remarkable records are held by
+English horses, but the invention of the locomotive has done away with
+the necessity for such trying expeditions in civilized countries, and
+the horse is trained more for speed and strength than for such long
+distance efforts. M. de Pages in his travels round the world, tells a
+remarkable story of the endurance of the horse when out of his natural
+element; he says, "I should have found it difficult to give it credit
+had it not happened at this place (the Cape of Good Hope) the evening
+before my arrival; and if, besides the public notoriety of the fact, I
+had not been an eyewitness of those vehement emotions of sympathy,
+blended with admiration, which it had justly excited in the mind of
+every individual at the Cape. A violent gale of wind setting in from
+north and north west, a vessel in the road dragged her anchors, was
+forced on the rocks and bulged; and, while the greater part of the crew
+fell an immediate sacrifice to the waves, the remainder were seen from
+the shore struggling for their lives, by clinging to the different
+pieces of the wreck. The sea ran dreadfully high, and broke over the
+sailors with such amazing fury, that no boat whatever could venture off
+to their assistance. Meanwhile a planter, considerably advanced in life,
+had come from his farm to be a spectator of the shipwreck; his heart was
+melted at the sight of the unhappy seamen, and knowing the bold and
+enterprising spirit of his horse, and his particular excellence as a
+swimmer, he instantly determined to make a desperate effort for their
+deliverance. He alighted and blew a little brandy into his horse's
+nostrils, and again seating himself in the saddle, he instantly pushed
+into the midst of the breakers. At first both disappeared, but it was
+not long before they floated on the surface, and swam up to the wreck;
+when taking with him two men, each of whom held by one of his boots, he
+brought them safe to shore. This perilous expedition he repeated no
+seldomer than seven times, and saved fourteen lives; but, on his return
+the eighth time, his horse being much fatigued, and meeting a most
+formidable wave, he lost his balance and was overwhelmed in a moment.
+The horse swam safely to land, but his gallant rider was no more!"
+
+
+The Horse's Memory.
+
+Many remarkable instances are recorded of the exercise of the faculty of
+memory by horses. Colonel Smith mentions an instance of a horse which he
+had used for two years while in the army abroad, and which some years
+later made himself known to his old master with every demonstration of
+pleasure, though harnessed to a mail coach. "That the horse remembers
+the scenes and transactions of past times," says Captain Brown, "is
+proved from every day's experience. It enters familiarly into its usual
+abode; inclines to stop at its ordinary halting-place; prefers a journey
+which it has formerly taken, and falls readily into an occupation to
+which it has been accustomed. It seeks the fields in which it has
+formerly pastured, and has been known long afterwards to repair to the
+scenes of its earlier days. A horse belonging to a gentleman of Taunton
+strayed from a field at Corfe, three miles distant from thence. After a
+long and troublesome search, he was discovered on a farm at Branscombe,
+in Devon, a distance of twenty-three miles, being the place where he was
+foaled, although it is certain that the animal had not been there for
+ten years, during the whole of which time he had been in the possession
+of the gentleman who then owned him." Horses seem to have a similar
+sense of locality to that for which dogs are so famous. A horse will
+find its way home when its master cannot see a yard before him,
+instances being recorded of parties lost in the snow which covered all
+tracks, who only saved their lives by letting a horse loose and
+following him. Captain Brown gives two instances of horses who on
+becoming ill, found their way to the veterinary surgeon, who had
+previously treated them, entirely of their own accord. Instances are
+recorded also of Cavalry horses, who, on hearing thunder while out
+grazing, have mistaken it for the sound of cannon and who with great
+excitement have formed themselves into line and "presented the front of
+a field of war". Old Hunters who have become coach horses have been
+known upon hearing the hounds, at the moment of "changing" to dash after
+them with their harness on their backs and riderless and guideless
+follow the hunt for hours. These are instances of the ruling passion
+strong in after life, or perhaps more correctly speaking of the force of
+habit, of which there are countless illustrations. Kosciusko had a horse
+which he once lent to a young man whom he employed upon a commission,
+but who on his return declared that he would never use the horse again
+unless also supplied with his master's purse; for said he, "as soon as a
+poor man on the road takes off his hat and asks charity the animal
+immediately stands still, and will not stir until something is bestowed
+upon the petitioner; and as I had no money about me I had to feign
+giving, in order to satisfy the horse and induce him to proceed." Such
+loyalty to habit, however interesting, is not always convenient, as the
+following, which I quote from "Anecdotes in Natural History" by the Rev.
+F. O. Morris will show.
+
+"Towards the close of last century, when volunteers were first embodied
+in the different towns, an extensive line of turnpike road was in
+progress of construction in a part of the north. The clerk to the
+trustees upon this line used to send one of his assistants to ride along
+occasionally, to see that the contractors, who were at work in a great
+many places, were doing their work properly. The assistant, on these
+journeys, rode a horse which had for a long time carried a field
+officer, and, though aged, still possessed a great deal of spirit. One
+day, as he was passing near a town of considerable size which lay on the
+line of road, the volunteers were at drill on the common; and the
+instant the horse heard the drum he leaped the fence, and was speedily
+at that post in front of the volunteers which would have been occupied
+by the commanding officer of a regiment on parade or at drill; nor could
+the rider by any means get him off the ground until the volunteers
+retired to the town. As long as they kept the field the horse took the
+proper place of a commanding officer in all their manA"uvres, and he
+marched at the head of the corps into the town, prancing in military
+style as cleverly as his stiffened legs would allow him, to the great
+amusement of the volunteers and spectators, and to the no small
+annoyance of the clerk."
+
+Perhaps no more amusing illustration of this force of habit could be
+found than that cited by Captain Brown of a Scotch lawyer who purchased
+a horse at Smithfield upon which to make a journey north. The horse was
+a handsome one and started well, but on reaching Finchley common, at a
+place where the road ran down a slight eminence, and up another, the
+lawyer met a clergyman driving a one horse chaise. "There was nobody
+within sight, and the horse by his manA"uvre instantly discovered the
+profession of his former owner. Instead of pursuing his journey he laid
+his counter close up to the chaise and stopped it, having no doubt but
+his rider would embrace so fair an opportunity of exercising his
+profession. The clergyman seemed of the same opinion, produced his purse
+unasked, and assured the astonished lawyer, that it was quite
+unnecessary to draw his pistol as he did not intend to offer any
+resistance. The traveller rallied his horse, and with many apologies to
+the gentleman he had so innocently and unwillingly affrighted, pursued
+his journey. The horse next made the same suspicious approach to a
+coach, from the windows of which a blunderbuss was levelled with
+denunciations of death and destruction to the hapless and perplexed
+rider. In short, after his life had been once or twice endangered by the
+suspicions to which the conduct of his horse gave rise, and his liberty
+as often threatened by the peace-officers, who were disposed to
+apprehend him as a notorious highwayman, the former owner of the horse,
+he was obliged to part with the inauspicious animal for a trifle, and to
+purchase at a large price one less beautiful, but not accustomed to such
+dangerous habits."
+
+
+The Horse's Intelligence.
+
+Of the larger quadrupeds the horse is said to be only second in
+intelligence to the Elephant, and many proofs could be given of the high
+standard of intelligence to which he sometimes attains. The Rev. F. O.
+Morris says,--"We knew a blind coach-horse that ran one of the stages on
+the great north road for several years, and so perfectly was he
+acquainted with all the stables, halting-places, and other matters, that
+he was never found to commit a blunder. He could never be driven past
+his own stable; and at the sound of the coming coach he would turn out,
+of his own accord, into the stable-yard. So accurate was his knowledge
+of time, that though half-a-dozen coaches halted at the same inn daily,
+he was never known to stir till the sound of his own coach, the "ten
+o'clock" was heard in the distance." The intelligence of this horse was
+somewhat circumscribed but it was perfect within its limits. Colonel
+Smith, as already quoted, says, "Bipeds who exercise authority over
+horses, often show little superiority of reason, and much less of
+temper." The way in which horses have preserved masters who have
+rendered themselves incapable of taking care of themselves is proof of
+this. A horse has been known to poke his nose in at a tavern door and
+shake his master by the shoulder, when he has been lingering too long
+over his potations. Another horse whose master from a similar cause was
+unable to keep his seat watched by his side in the road all night, and
+on being discovered by some labourers in the early morning vigorously
+resented their attempts to awaken him. Professor Kruger of Halle says,
+"A friend of mine was one dark night riding home through a wood, and had
+the misfortune to strike his head against the branch of a tree, and fell
+from his horse, stunned by the blow. The horse immediately returned to
+the house which they had left, about a mile distant. He found the door
+closed, and the family gone to bed. He pawed at the door till one of
+them, hearing the noise, arose and opened it, and to his surprise saw
+the horse of his friend. No sooner was the door opened than the horse
+turned round, and the man, suspecting there was something wrong,
+followed the animal, which led him directly to the spot where his master
+lay on the ground in a faint." A pony has been known to leap into a
+canal and save the life of a child in danger of drowning, and a cart
+horse to lift a child out of the road and place it carefully on the side
+walk before proceeding with his load. A remarkable illustration of the
+intelligence of the horse under circumstances in which most human beings
+would have lost all presence of mind, is quoted by Captain Brown. "In
+the month of April, 1794, owing to a strong wind blowing contrary to the
+current of the river, the island Kroutsand, surrounded by the two
+branches of the Elbe, became entirely covered with water, to the great
+alarm of the horses, which, with some foals, had been grazing on it.
+They set up a loud neighing, and collected themselves together within a
+small space. To save the foals that were now standing up to their
+bellies in water seemed to be the object of their consultation. They
+adopted a method at once ingenious and effective. Each foal was arranged
+between horses, who pressed their sides together so as to keep them
+wedged up, and entirely free from injury from the water. They retained
+this position for six hours, nor did they relinquish their burden till
+the tide having ebbed and the water subsided, the foals were placed out
+of danger."
+
+
+Horse Play.
+
+Horse-play is a term which conveys the idea of rough if not brutal
+romping, and yet the horse can be gentle in its friendships and
+considerate in its dealings with weaker animals, and with children to a
+remarkable degree. White in his "Natural History of Selborne", tells of
+a curious friendship between a horse and a hen. "These two incongruous
+animals spent much of their time together in a lonely orchard, where
+they saw no creature but each other. By degrees an apparent regard began
+to take place between the two sequestered individuals; the fowl would
+approach the horse with notes of complacency, rubbing herself quietly
+against his legs, while the horse would look down with satisfaction, and
+move with the greatest caution and circumspection, lest he should
+trample on his diminutive companion." A similar friendship is recorded
+as between a horse and a sheep, whom circumstances threw much in
+company. Both gregarious animals and both failing of companionships of
+their own kind, they found solace in their loneliness in a beautiful if
+curious friendship. The gentleness of horses in dealing with children
+has often been remarked, even when within the confined limits of a
+stable they will use the utmost circumspection as to movements lest they
+should inadvertently tread upon their playfellows. Mr. Morris tells of a
+plough horse who was too tall for his little master to mount and who
+used to put his head down to the ground and allow the boy to bestride
+his neck and then by gently elevating his head help him to slide on to
+his back. Horses have been known to allow liberties to children that
+they would not allow to their elders, a remarkable illustration of which
+is given by Captain Brown. A hunter who always violently resented any
+attempt on the part of his grooms to trim his fetlocks, was once the
+subject of conversation in his master's house, when the master defied
+any man "to perform the operation singly." On the following day when
+passing through the stable-yard he was astonished and alarmed at seeing
+his youngest child, who had been an unnoticed listener to the
+conversation the night before, with a pair of scissors, clipping the
+fetlocks of the horse's hind legs, the horse watching the operation with
+evident satisfaction. It is, however, as between horses and dogs that
+the truest affinity appears to exist of animals of different families,
+and numerous anecdotes are told in illustration of these friendships.
+Captain Brown gives the following: "Doctor Smith, a practising physician
+in Dublin, had no other servant to take charge of his horse while at a
+patient's door, than a large Newfoundland dog; and between the two
+animals, a very good understanding subsisted. When he wished to pass to
+another patient without remounting, he needed but to give a signal to
+the pair, who followed him in the most perfect good order. The dog also
+led the horse to the water, and would give him a signal to leap over a
+stream. While performing this on one occasion, the dog lost hold of the
+reins, when the horse, having cleared the leap, trotted back to the dog,
+who resumed the reins."
+
+"A gentleman in Bristol had a greyhound which slept in the same stable,
+and contracted a very great intimacy with a fine hunter. When the dog
+was taken out the horse neighed wistfully after him; he welcomed him
+home with a neigh; the greyhound ran up to the horse and licked him;
+the horse, in return, scratched the greyhound's back with his teeth. On
+one occasion, when the groom had the pair out for exercise, a large dog
+attacked the greyhound, bore him to the ground, and seemed likely to
+worry him, when the horse threw back his ears, rushed forward, seized
+the strange dog by the back and flung him to a distance which the animal
+did not deem it prudent to make less."
+
+The horse's sympathy with his own kind must, however, not pass without
+mention. Horses have been known to masticate food for their toothless
+companions, an instance being recorded by M. de Boussanelle, a cavalry
+officer, of a horse belonging to his company who was fed for two months
+in this way by the horses stationed on either side of him. Whether the
+horses in the following case were actuated by sympathy or fear, the
+story deserves to be retold for its extreme pathos. When Sir John
+Moore's soldiers embarked after the battle of Corunna, orders were given
+that the troop horses should be shot, rather than that they should fall
+into the hands of the enemy. "These horses," says Colonel Smith,
+"witnessing their companions fall one after another, stood trembling
+with fear, and by their piteous looks seemed to implore mercy from the
+men who had been their riders, until the duty imposed upon the dragoons
+who had been intrusted with the execution of the order became
+unbearable, and the men turned away from the task with scalding tears:
+hence the French obtained a considerable number unhurt, and among them
+several belonging to officers who, rather than destroy them, had left
+their faithful chargers with billets attached recommending them to the
+kindness of the enemy."
+
+
+The Ass.
+
+The ass is an animal which seems to be more than ordinarily affected by
+its surrounding and treatment. In eastern countries where it is well
+cared for, and employed in the service of the rich, it rises to the
+occasion and becomes both graceful and spirited in action and elegant
+and refined in appearance: in the west where it is discarded for the
+sake of the horse, and used almost solely as a beast of heavy burden,
+often suffering great cruelty and hardship, it seems to lose spirit and
+become dull and obstinate, as people do who, crushed by hard
+circumstances, lose hope. The ass has an ancient and honourable history
+which dates back apparently as far as that of the horse. He is mentioned
+alike by sacred and profane writers, Job and Homer making flattering
+reference to him. In Syria and Persia, where he is cultivated, he
+attains to a much larger size than in the west, where he may be
+described as about two-thirds the size of the horse. In ancient times
+these animals fetched very large sums, sums which in our day would be
+considered very large for a horse, a stallion mentioned by Pliny
+realising a sum exceeding AL3000. "No domestic animal," says Colonel
+Smith, "in proportion to its bulk, can carry a greater weight, or
+continue to labour longer without sustenance. The ass is emphatically
+the poor man's horse in every country; and if care were taken of the
+breed, and well selected animals imported from Arabia, a very useful and
+handsome race might be reared." Though the ordinary ass is slow and
+obstinate, his eastern cousin is both fleet and obedient, and remarkable
+feats have been performed by half breeds. A half-bred, Spanish and
+English, of twelve and a half hands high, belonging to Mr. Wilson of
+Ipswich, drew a light gig from Ipswich to London and back again, a
+distance of 140 miles, in two days. He is said to have maintained a pace
+little short of that of a good gig horse and to have performed the whole
+journey with ease, finishing it without whip, at the rate of seven miles
+an hour. Though patient above most animals, the ass will sometimes turn
+like the proverbial worm, and instances are known in which he has
+adopted the offensive with effect. Some years ago, a bull dog which had
+been set on to an ass, was caught by the latter in his teeth, carried to
+the river Derwent and held under water until he was drowned. Donkeys
+have often been known after enduring great provocation from boys to
+turn on their assailants and put them to speedy and anxious flight.
+
+
+The Sagacity of the Ass.
+
+Dull though he appears to be, the ass show himself on occasion to be
+possessed of no little invention in matters that concern his liberty and
+comfort. His aptitude for lifting latches and drawing bolts has often
+been observed. Mr. Fuller describes the actions of an ass he saw, who
+put his head sideways between the bars of a gate and turning it into its
+normal position lifted the gate over the latch and pushed it forward,
+withdrawing his head after he had opened the gate and proceeding to
+enjoy the dainties of the field into which he had thus effected an
+entrance. A still more remarkable instance is given by Mr. East who
+says: "While living on the Sussex coast, I had myself a very fine
+donkey, which was a remarkably docile and knowing animal. He was the
+constant companion of my children in their rambles on the downs, and on
+those occasions seemed to think he had a right to share in all the
+eatables and drinkables, and would do so most readily, whether cakes,
+apples, oranges, sweetmeats, milk, or even tea; ginger-beer being the
+only exception. With this he was thoroughly disgusted, in consequence of
+the cork, which had been expelled from the bottle with the usual loud
+report, having struck him on the nose. This he never forgot; but would
+quickly march off whenever a ginger-beer bottle was produced. But his
+cleverness and cunning were more especially shown in the following
+incident:--His lodging-place at night was a small, open shed, whence he
+had free access to a yard; but not, of course, to the kitchen-garden
+which adjoined it. The latter was separated from the yard by a wall and
+door, fastened securely, as we imagined, by two bolts and an ordinary
+latch. We were, however, surprised to find that the door had been
+unfastened during the night, while the footprints of the donkey on the
+garden walks and beds too plainly told who had been the trespasser.
+Still we could hardly suppose he could have drawn the bolts and let
+himself in, especially as the upper bolt was fixed at a considerable
+height. This, however, proved to have been the case; for my bedroom
+overlooking the yard and garden, I one night watched at the window, and
+distinctly saw master donkey, reared on his hind legs, unfastening the
+upper bolt with his nose or mouth. He then withdrew the lower one,
+lifted the latch, and walked quietly into the garden. In a few minutes I
+further observed him returning to his shed with a large bunch of
+carrots, which he deposited in his shed, and then went back--not,
+certainly, to bolt, but to latch the door; after which he leisurely set
+about munching his slily acquired booty. Before putting a final stop to
+these proceedings, I gave several of my neighbours, who were incredulous
+upon the subject, an opportunity of witnessing them. And at these times
+his sagacity was further evinced by the fact that he would never
+commence his operations until after the light had been extinguished at
+the bedroom window."
+
+
+The Instinct of the Ass.
+
+The sense of locality so conspicuous in the dog, the cat and the horse
+is also possessed in a remarkable degree by the ass, as the following
+story told by Captain Brown will show. "In 1816, an ass belonging to
+Captain Dundas was shipped on board the Ister, bound from Gibraltar to
+Malta. The vessel struck on a sand-bank off the Point de Gat, and the
+ass was thrown overboard into a sea which was so stormy that a boat that
+soon after left the ship was lost. In the course of a few days, when the
+gates of Gibraltar were opened in the morning, the guard was surprised
+by the same ass which had so recently been removed, presenting itself
+for admittance. On entering, it proceeded immediately to the stable
+which it had formerly occupied. The ass had not only swum to the shore,
+but found its own way from Point de Gat to Gibraltar, a distance of more
+than two hundred miles, through a mountainous and intricate country
+intersected by streams, which it had never passed before--but which it
+had now crossed so expeditiously that it must have gone by a route
+leading the most directly to Gibraltar."
+
+
+The Trained Ass.
+
+The ass like many other animals is capable of being trained to perform
+many tricks, advantage of which seems to have been taken long before our
+time, as the following quoted by Captain Brown will show. John Leo, in a
+book printed as early as 1556, says, "when the Mahometan worship was
+over, the common people of Cairo resorted to the foot of the suburbs
+called Bed-Elloch to see the exhibition of stage-players and
+mountebanks, who teach camels, asses, and dogs to dance. The dancing of
+the ass is diverting enough; for after he has frisked and capered about,
+his master tells him, that the Soldan, meaning to build a great palace,
+intends to employ all the asses in carrying mortar, stones, and other
+materials; upon which the ass falls down with his heels upwards, closing
+his eyes, and extending his chest, as if he were dead. This done, the
+master begs some assistance of the company, to make up the loss of the
+dead ass; and having got all he can, he gives them to know that truly
+his ass is not dead, but only being sensible of his master's necessity,
+played that trick to procure some provender. He then commands the ass to
+rise, who still lies in the same posture, notwithstanding all the blows
+he can give him, till at last he proclaims, by virtue of an edict of the
+Soldan, all are bound to ride out next day upon the comeliest asses they
+can find, in order to see a triumphal show, and to entertain their asses
+with oats and Nile water. These words are no sooner pronounced, than the
+ass state up, prances, and leaps for joy. The master then declares, that
+his ass has been pitched upon by the warden of his street, to carry his
+deformed and ugly wife; upon which the ass lowers his ears, and limps
+with one of his legs, as if he were lame. The master, alleging that his
+ass admires handsome women, commands him to single out the prettiest
+lady in the company; and accordingly, he makes his choice by going
+round, and touching one of the prettiest with his head, to the great
+amusement of the company."
+
+
+The Mule and the Hinny.
+
+The Mule and the Hinny, are the off-spring of the ass and the horse and
+combine to some extent the qualities of both. The mule has the
+sure-footedness of the ass, and the size and appearance of the horse.
+His history dates back to classical and Biblical times, and mention is
+made of him both in the Iliad and in the Bible. In the East he is still
+trained to useful service, and in England he is used in tramways and
+road cars. The Spanish mules are trained to understand the calls of
+their driver who directs their course by shouting from the box.
+
+
+The Zebra.
+
+The Zebra resembles the horse in shape, and in size stands half way
+between the horse and the ass. He belongs to Central Africa, and
+hitherto has resisted all attempts to tame him for practical use. He is
+a beautiful animal, handsomely marked with black and white stripes all
+over the body, and black and white rings round the legs. Burchell's
+Zebra which belongs to the Cape of Good Hope, is similar, but has white
+legs. The Quagga of Southern Africa has a brown coat striped with black,
+a white waistcoat, and white stockings. Zebras have been half tamed,
+when kept in menageries, but lack the instinctive docility of the horse.
+
+
+The Tapir.
+
+The next family we have to deal with is the family of the _TapiridA|_, in
+which there are two genera and six species. The Tapir is a large and
+powerful animal standing from five to six feet in height and inhabiting
+the warmer regions of South America. It is nocturnal in its habits and
+feeds on water-melons, gourds, and other fruits and vegetables. It
+frequents the water and can remain below the surface for a long time.
+Its hide is very thick and its senses of sight, hearing, and smell very
+acute. Its most characteristic feature is a short mobile proboscis which
+enables it to seize hold of boughs and fruits when in search of food.
+The Rev. J. G. Wood says, "Its disposition is gentle, but when annoyed,
+it sometimes rushes at its antagonist, and defends itself vigorously
+with its powerful teeth. The jaguar frequently springs on it, but it is
+often dislodged by the activity of the Tapir, who rushes through the
+bushes immediately that it feels the claws of its enemy, and endeavours
+to brush him off against the thick branches." The Tapir is easily tamed
+and even domesticated, though it must be admitted it makes a somewhat
+huge pet. It is intelligent and in its own way shows appreciation of
+kindness and attachment to its owner. This family has sometimes been
+regarded as a link between the Elephant and the Rhinoceros, but in the
+classification here followed the Elephant forms a separate order; the
+Tapir and the Rhinoceros complete the sub-order of Perissodactyla or
+odd-toed, hoofed animals. The Indian Tapir is somewhat larger than his
+American cousin and is distinguished by the greyish-white colour of his
+hind quarters, which gives him the appearance of bearing a white horse
+cloth on his loins.
+
+
+The Rhinoceros.
+
+The Rhinoceros is found in both Asia and Africa, and is classified by
+Dr. Gray in four genera. Of these the Indian Rhinoceros, the Rhinoceros
+of Sumatra, and the Mahoohoo of South and Central Africa are
+representatives. Mr. Gordon Cumming says, "There are four varieties in
+South Africa, distinguished by the Bechuanas by the names of the BorA"lA(C)
+or black rhinoceros, the Keitloa or two-horned black rhinoceros, the
+Muchocho or common white rhinoceros and the Kobaoba or long-horned white
+rhinoceros. Both varieties of the black rhinoceros are extremely fierce
+and dangerous, and rush headlong and unprovoked upon any object which
+attracts their attention. Their horns are much shorter than those of the
+other varieties, seldom exceeding eighteen inches in length. They are
+finely polished with constant rubbing against trees. The skull is
+remarkably formed, its most striking feature being the tremendous thick
+ossification in which it ends above the nostrils. It is on this mass
+that the horn is supported. The horns are not connected with the skull,
+being attached merely by the skin, and they may thus be separated from
+the head by a sharp knife. They are hard and perfectly solid throughout.
+The eyes of the rhinoceros are small and sparkling and do not readily
+observe the hunter, provided he keep to leeward of them. The skin is
+extremely thick, and only to be penetrated by bullets hardened with
+solder." "During the day the rhinoceros will be found lying asleep or
+standing indolently in some retired part of the forest, or under the
+base of the mountains, sheltered from the power of the sun by some
+friendly grove of umbrella-topped mimosas. In the evening they commence
+their nightly ramble, and wander over a great extent of country." "The
+black rhinoceros is subject to paroxysms of unprovoked fury, often
+ploughing up the ground for several yards with its horns, and assaulting
+large bushes in the most violent manner." "The rhinoceros is supposed by
+many, and by myself among the rest, to be the animal alluded to by Job,
+Chap. XXXIX, verses 10 and 11, where it is written: 'Canst thou bind the
+unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after
+thee? Wilt thou trust him because his strength is great? or wilt thou
+leave thy labour to him?'" "All the four varieties delight to roll and
+wallow in mud, with which their rugged hides are generally encrusted.
+Both varieties of the black rhinoceros are much smaller and more active
+than the white, and are so swift that a horse with a rider on his back
+can rarely overtake them. The two varieties of the white rhinoceros are
+so similar in habits, that the description of one will serve for both;
+the principal difference consisting in the length and set of the
+anterior horn; that of the muchocho averaging from two to three feet in
+length, and pointing backwards; while the horn of the Kobaoba often
+exceeds four feet in length, and inclines forward from the nose at an
+angle of 45A deg.. The posterior horn of either species seldom exceeds six or
+seven inches in length. Both these varieties attain an enormous size,
+being the animals next in magnitude to the elephant. They feed solely on
+grass, carry much fat, and their flesh is excellent, being preferable to
+beef."
+
+
+Rhinoceros Hunting.
+
+Mr. Gordon Cumming gives several graphic descriptions of his experiences
+with the rhinoceros, in his "Hunting Adventures in South Africa", from
+which work the foregoing description of the several species is taken. On
+one occasion after following a huge white rhinoceros, which, however,
+escaped him, he says, "I found myself on the banks of the stream beside
+which my waggons were out-spanned. Following along its margin, I
+presently beheld a bull of the borA"lA(C), or black rhinoceros, standing
+within a hundred yards of me. Dismounting from my horse, I secured him
+to a tree, and then stalked within twenty yards of the huge beast, under
+cover of a large strong bush. BorA"lA(C), hearing me advance, came on to see
+what it was, and suddenly protruded his horny nose within twenty yards
+of me. Knowing well that a front shot would not prove deadly, I sprang
+to my feet and ran behind the bush. Upon this the villain charged,
+blowing loudly, and chased me round the bush. Had his activity been
+equal to his ugliness my wanderings would have terminated here, but by
+my superiority I had the advantage in the turn. After standing a short
+time eyeing me through the bush ... he wheeled about, leaving me master
+of the field." This was not the only nor even the narrowest escape
+experienced by Mr. Gordon Cumming when hunting this enormous beast. On
+another occasion he says:--"Having proceeded about two miles with large
+herds of game on every side, I observed a crusty looking old bull borA"lA(C)
+or black rhinoceros, cocking his ears one hundred yards in advance. He
+had not observed us; and soon after he walked slowly towards us, and
+stood broadside, eating some wait-a-bit thorns within fifty yards of
+me. I fired from my saddle, and sent a bullet in behind his shoulder,
+upon which he rushed forward about one hundred yards in tremendous
+consternation, blowing like a grampus, and then stood looking about him.
+Presently he made off. I followed, but found it hard to come up with
+him. The chase led through a large herd of wildebeests, zebras, and
+springboks, which gazed at us in utter amazement. At length I fired my
+second barrel, but my horse was fidgety, and I missed. I continued
+riding alongside of him, expecting in my ignorance, that at length he
+would come to bay, which rhinoceroses never do; when suddenly he fell
+flat on his broadside on the ground, but, recovering his feet resumed
+his course as if nothing had happened. Becoming at last annoyed at the
+length of the chase, as I wished to keep my horse fresh for the
+elephants, and being indifferent whether I got the rhinoceros or not, I
+determined to bring matters to a crisis, so spurring my horse, I dashed
+ahead, and rode right in his path. Upon this the hideous monster
+instantly charged me in the most resolute manner, blowing loudly through
+his nostrils; and although I quickly wheeled about to my left, he
+followed me at such a furious pace for several hundred yards, with his
+horrid horny snout within a few yards of my horse's tail, that my little
+bushman, who was looking on in great alarm, thought his master's
+destruction inevitable. It was certainly a very near thing; my horse was
+extremely afraid and exerted his utmost energies on the occasion. The
+rhinoceros, however, wheeled about and continued his former course, and
+I, being perfectly satisfied with the interview which I had already
+enjoyed with him, had no desire to cultivate his acquaintance any
+further, and accordingly made for the camp."
+
+
+The Tame Rhinoceros.
+
+Some species of the rhinoceros, if not all, seem to be tamable. The
+Indian variety distinguished by the thick folds of heavy garment-like
+skin, which hang from his shoulders, haunches and thighs, has been
+trained to exercise the same quiet patience which distinguishes the
+elephant. The paroxysms of rage which Mr. Gordon Cumming describes the
+African variety as venting upon a harmless bush, or employing in tearing
+up the earth, have been known to seize those specimens which have been
+imported into England, as the following account of the rhinoceros,
+exhibited at Exeter Change, published in the "Philosophical Transactions
+for 1822," will show. "This animal about a month after it came,
+endeavoured to kill the keeper, and nearly succeeded. It ran at him with
+the greatest impetuosity, but, fortunately, the horn passed between his
+thighs, and threw the keeper on its head; the horn came against a wooden
+partition, into which the animal forced it to such a depth as to be
+unable for a minute to withdraw it, and, during this interval, the man
+escaped. Frequently, (more especially in the middle of the night), fits
+of frenzy came on; and, while these lasted, nothing could control its
+rage, the rhinoceros running with great swiftness round the den, playing
+all kinds of antics, making hideous noises, knocking everything to
+pieces, disturbing the whole neighbourhood, and then, all at once,
+becoming quiet. While the fit was on, even the keeper durst not make his
+approach. The animal fell upon its knee to enable the horn to be borne
+upon any object. It was quick in all its motions, ate voraciously all
+kinds of vegetables, appearing to have no selection. They fed it on
+branches of willow. Three years' confinement made no alteration in its
+habits." The rhinoceros is said to live for a hundred years.
+
+
+The Hippopotamus.
+
+The Hippopotamus introduces the second sub-order of the hoofed animals,
+the _Artiodactyla_, animals having an even number of toes. There is but
+one genus of the Hippopotamus and two species, the Hippopotamus of the
+great rivers of Southern Africa, and the Liberian Hippopotamus of the
+West. The Hippopotamus is gregarious, congregating in the deep shady
+pools and on the sandy banks of the shallow rivers of its native land.
+It attains to ten or eleven feet in length, and to five feet, or more,
+in height, being the next largest animal to the rhinoceros and the
+elephant. He is a powerful beast and has been known to attack and
+capsize boats, though when hunted he usually sinks to the bottom of the
+river where he is able to remain five or six minutes without rising to
+the surface for breath. The form of his head enables him to lift his
+eyes and his nostrils above the water at the same time without exposing
+more than a slight portion of his head. Thus, while taking in breath to
+sustain him while out of the reach of his enemies, he can watch their
+movements and determine his course below. His hide is very thick and
+strong and is, therefore, very useful for a variety of purposes, while
+his tusks furnish the dentist with the material to supply human
+deficiencies.
+
+
+The Haunt of the Hippopotami.
+
+Mr. Gordon Cumming gives the following vivid description of the haunt of
+the Hippopotami. "The next day I rode down the river to seek sea-cows,
+taking as usual my double-barrelled rifles. We had proceeded about two
+miles when we came upon some most thoroughly beaten, old established
+hippopotamus paths, and presently, in a broad, long, deep, and shaded
+pool of the river, we heard the sea-cows bellowing. There I beheld one
+of the most wondrous and interesting sights that a sportsman can be
+blessed with. I at once knew that there must be an immense herd of them,
+for the voices came from the different parts of the pool; so creeping in
+through the bushes to obtain an inspection, a large sandy Island
+appeared at the neck of the pool, on which stood several large shady
+trees. The neck of the pool was very wide and shallow, with rocks and
+large stones; below, it was deep and still. On a sandy promontory of
+this Island stood about thirty cows and calves, whilst in the pool
+opposite, and a little below them, stood about twenty more sea-cows,
+with their heads and backs above water. About fifty yards further down
+the river again, showing out their heads, were eight or ten immense
+fellows, which I think were all bulls; and about one hundred yards below
+these in the middle of the stream stood another herd of about eight or
+ten cows with calves and two huge bulls. The sea-cows lay close together
+like pigs; a favourite position was to rest their heads on their
+comrade's sterns and sides. The herds were attended by an immense number
+of the invariable rhinoceros birds, which on observing me did their best
+to spread alarm throughout the hippopotami. I was resolved to select, if
+possible, a first-rate old bull out of this vast herd, and I accordingly
+delayed firing for nearly two hours, continually running up and down
+behind the thick thorny cover, attentively studying the heads. At length
+I determined to go close in and select the best head out of the eight or
+ten bulls which lay below the cows. I accordingly left the cover, and
+walked slowly forward in full view of the whole herd to the water's
+edge, where I lay down on my belly and studied the heads of these bulls.
+The cows on seeing me splashed into the water and kept up a continual
+snorting and blowing till night set in. After selecting for a few
+minutes I fired my first shot at a splendid bull and sent the ball in a
+little behind the eye. He was at once incapacitated, and kept plunging
+and swimming round and round, wearing away down the pool, until I
+finished him with two more shots."
+
+
+The Pig Family.
+
+Pigs, hogs and peccaries form the next family with which we have to
+deal. The Wild Boar which we may take first, is famous in classic
+history and European legends, and is celebrated both by ancient and
+modern poets. He is, or was common to Europe, Asia and Africa, and
+whether in the hunt or the banquet has always been highly esteemed. The
+boar hunt is an exciting chase, having all the elements of danger
+necessary to give it zest. Boars have been known to kill not only dogs,
+but horses and men with their powerful tusks, turning and rending them
+with great strength and ferocity. When in a wild state the boar is a
+dangerous and inconvenient neighbour, for he commits serious
+depredations upon the property of the peasant and the farmer. Bruce in
+his travels gives an illustration of this. He says: "We pitched our tent
+in a small plain by the banks of a quick clear running stream; the spot
+is called Mai-Shum. A peasant had made a very neat little garden, on
+both sides of the rivulet, in which he had sown abundance of onions and
+garlic, and he had a species of pumpkin which I thought was little
+inferior to a melon. This man guessed by our arms and our horses that we
+were hunters, and he brought us a present of the fruits of his garden,
+and begged our assistance against a number of wild boars, which carried
+havoc and desolation through all his labours, marks of which were,
+indeed, too visible everywhere.--Amongst us all we killed five boars,
+all large ones, in the space of about two hours; one of which measured
+six feet nine inches; and though he ran at an amazing speed near two
+miles, so as to be with difficulty overtaken by the horse, and was
+struck through and through with two heavy lances loaded at the end with
+iron, no person dared to come near him on foot, and he defended himself
+above half an hour, till having no other arms left, I shot him with a
+horse-pistol." The tusks of the wild boar are often a foot in length and
+his hide is so tough that small bullets have been found between the skin
+and the flesh of captured specimens.
+
+
+The Common Hog.
+
+Authorities differ as to whether the domestic pig is derived from the
+wild species or not, but certain it is that the domestic hog under
+suitable circumstances, betrays wild instincts. Hogs have been known to
+hunt rabbits and poultry and attack lambs when temporarily free from
+restraint, and instances have been recorded in which the hog has
+attacked and killed its keeper. The hog grows to a great size, the
+measurements of one belonging to Mr. Lunton of Bodmain some years ago
+being nine feet in length and seven feet five inches in girth. Its
+weight was eight hundred and fifteen pounds. These limits have, however,
+often been exceeded, a hog bred in Cheshire measuring nine feet eight
+inches including tail, and standing four feet six inches in height. This
+animal weighed 1,215 pounds when killed. Hampshire, Wiltshire,
+Berkshire, and Yorkshire have all fine breeds which supply the larders
+of the United Kingdom with prime bacon. The sucking pig has been deemed
+a dainty dish even from Roman times. The babiroussa belongs to Bouru and
+Celebes, and is gregarious. Its habits are similar to those of the wild
+hog, which the male rivals and even surpasses in size. It has tusks
+attached to both the upper and the lower jaw, which bend backwards with
+a graceful curve.
+
+
+The Peccary.
+
+The Peccary belongs to South America where it is indigenous. There are
+two species, the Collared Peccary and the White-lipped Peccary. The
+collared peccary is a timid, inoffensive animal about three feet long,
+and distinguished by white bands which traverse the shoulders and meet
+at the neck. They associate in pairs or small families and live in holes
+and hollows. The white-lipped peccary herds in large numbers, migrating
+apparently in regular order in companies sometimes a thousand strong.
+These animals are very fierce when attacked, and the hunter has little
+chance of escaping them unless he can find shelter in a friendly tree.
+Many stories are told of hunters who have sought such asylum, and who
+have been kept treed many hours by peccaries who, regardless of the
+mortality of their comrades, have lingered round the trunk.
+
+
+The Camel and the Dromedary.
+
+The history of the Camel carries us back to the age of the great
+patriarchs, and gives him some claim to be regarded as a patriarch
+himself. He belongs to Egypt and Arabia, where he is indispensable to
+the desert ranger, and where no longer found in a wild state, he takes
+rank as a domestic animal. His uses are several. As a beast of burden he
+is invaluable, while the milk of the female serves as an article of
+food, the surplus wool of his body as a material for rough woven cloth
+and his dung as excellent fuel. He is said by some to be docile and
+affectionate and by others to be dull and stupid, though harbouring the
+spirit of revenge. Probably like many other animals he will be found to
+reciprocate the treatment he receives in kindness as well as in cruelty.
+Some confusion exists in the popular mind as to distinctions between the
+Camel and the Dromedary, the number of the humps being said to
+differentiate the two. With regard to this Mr. Palgrave in his "Travels
+in Central and Eastern Arabia", says:--"The camel and the dromedary in
+Arabia are the same identical genus and creature, excepting that the
+dromedary is a high-bred camel, and the camel a low-bred dromedary;
+exactly the distinction which exists between a race-horse and a hack;
+both are horses, but the one of blood and the other not. The dromedary
+is the race horse of this species, thin, elegant, (or comparatively so)
+fine haired, light of step, easy of pace, and much more enduring of
+thirst than the woolly, thick-built, heavy-footed, ungainly and jolting
+camel. But both and each of them have only one hump, placed immediately
+behind their shoulders, where it serves as a fixing point for the saddle
+or burden. For the two humped beast--it exists, indeed, but it is
+neither an Arab dromedary nor camel; it belongs to the Persian breed
+called by the Arabs 'Bakhtee' or Bactrian."
+
+
+The Strength and Endurance of the Camel.
+
+Like all animals in their native lands the camel shows remarkable
+adaptation to his environment. Water is scarce in the desert, so the
+ship of the desert, as he has been poetically called, is provided with a
+capacity for the storage of the precious fluid and is able to take in a
+several days' supply at one time. The camel is said to drink "fifty,
+sixty, or even a hundred pounds' weight" of water at one time, and then
+to go for three or four days without a fresh supply. Again food is
+scarce in the desert, and the herbage of a very coarse kind, but the
+camel is able to do with remarkably little food, if his size and the
+weight of his burden are taken into consideration, and he will browse
+contentedly upon such food as he finds by the wayside, supplemented by
+"a cake of barley, a few dates, or beans" from the hands of his master.
+"They are particularly fond," says a writer in "Tales of Animals", "of
+those vegetable productions, which other animals would never touch, such
+as plants which are like spears and daggers, in comparison with the
+needles of the thistle, and which often pierce the incautious
+traveller's boot." A camel can be purchased in Egypt for from thirty to
+fifty dollars, though the high bred dromedary will fetch a very much
+larger sum. The camel will carry from five hundred to eight hundred
+pounds' weight, but will not stir if loaded beyond his strength. He
+travels at a uniform rate of three miles an hour, but will keep on at
+that rate for ten or twelve hours. The dromedary attains to a speed
+which the Arab compares to the speed of the wind.
+
+
+The Camel and his Master.
+
+Mr. Macfarlane says, "I have been told that the Arabs will kiss their
+Camels in gratitude and affection, after a journey across the desert. I
+never saw the Turks either of Asia-Minor or Roumelia, carry their
+kindness so far as this; but I have frequently seen them pat their
+Camels when the day's work was done, and talk to them on their journey,
+as if to cheer them. The Camels appeared to me quite as sensible to
+favour and gentle treatment as a good bred horse is. I have seen them
+curve and twist their long lithe necks as their driver approached, and
+often put down their tranquil heads towards his shoulder. Near Smyrna,
+and at Magnesia and Sardes, I have occasionally seen a Camel follow his
+master like a pet dog, and go down on his knees before him, as if
+inviting him to mount. I never saw a Turk ill use the useful, gentle,
+amiable quadruped. But I have frequently seen him give it a portion of
+his own dinner, when, in unfavourable places, it had nothing but
+chopped straw to eat. I have sometimes seen the drivers on a hot day, or
+in passing a dry district, spirt a little water in the Camel's nostrils;
+they pretend it refreshes them."
+
+
+Camel Riding.
+
+Camel riding is evidently an exercise which needs getting used to. Mrs.
+Bowdich says: "High saddles are placed on their backs; and it requires
+either to be used to them, or to be particularly careful, not to be
+half-killed at starting. The rider places himself in the saddle while
+the animals are kneeling; and when they raise their hind-legs, which
+they do first of all, they send the unprepared traveller forwards, and
+his breath is almost taken out of him by the blow which he receives upon
+his chest; then as they get upon their fore-legs they throw him back, so
+as to endanger his spine. Their pace is at first very disagreeable,
+being so long and slouching."
+
+Captain Riley describes his experiences as follows: "They placed me on
+the largest Camel I had yet seen, which was nine or ten feet in height.
+The Camels were now all kneeling or lying down, and mine among the rest.
+I thought I had taken a good hold, to steady myself while he was rising;
+yet his motion was so heavy, and my strength so far exhausted, that I
+could not possibly hold on, and tumbled off over his tail. Turning
+entirely over, I came down upon my feet, which prevented my receiving
+any material injury, though the shock to my frame was very severe."
+
+
+A Camel's Revenge.
+
+Mr. Palgrave who combats the idea of the camel's docility, unless
+stupidity may be taken as its synonym, gives a painful illustration of
+the savagery to which the camel may be provoked by cruel treatment,
+though we doubt if the elephant who is proverbial for his docility would
+stand the brutality to which the camel is sometimes treated. "A lad of
+about fourteen, had conducted a large camel laden with wood from one
+village to another, half an hour's distance or so. As the animal
+loitered or turned out of the way, its conductor struck it repeatedly,
+and harder than it seems to have thought he had any right to do, but
+not finding the occasion favourable for taking immediate quits, it 'bode
+its time', nor was that time long in coming. A few days later the same
+lad had to re-conduct the beast, but unladen, to his own village. When
+they were about half way on the road, and at some distance from any
+habitation, the camel suddenly stopped, looked deliberately round in
+every direction, to assure itself that no one was in sight, made a step
+forward, seized the unlucky boy's head in his monstrous mouth, and
+lifting him up in the air, flung him down again upon the earth with the
+upper part of his skull completely torn off, and his brains scattered on
+the ground. Having thus satisfied his revenge, the brute quietly resumed
+his pace towards the village as though nothing were the matter, till
+some men, who had observed the whole, though unfortunately at too great
+a distance to be able to afford timely help, came up and killed it."
+
+
+The Terrors of the Desert.
+
+Terrible stories are told of the sufferings sometimes experienced by
+camels and Arabs alike on desert journeys. Burckhardt gives the
+following narrative which is quoted by Captain Brown. "In the month of
+August, a small caravan prepared to set out from Berber to Daraou. They
+consisted of five merchants and about thirty slaves, with a
+proportionate number of camels. Afraid of the robber Naym, who at that
+time was in the habit of waylaying travellers about the wells of
+Nedjeym, and who had constant intelligence of the departure of every
+caravan from Berber, they determined to take a more easterly road, by
+the well of Owareyk. They had hired an Ababde guide, who conducted them
+in safety to that place, but who lost his way from thence northward, the
+route being little frequented. After five days' march in the mountains,
+their stock of water was exhausted, nor did they know where they were.
+They resolved, therefore, to direct their course towards the setting
+sun, hoping thus to reach the Nile. After experiencing two days'
+thirst, fifteen slaves and one of the merchants died; another of them,
+an Ababde, who had ten camels with him, thinking that the animals might
+know better than their masters where water was to be found, desired his
+comrades to tie him fast upon the saddle of his strongest camel, that he
+might not fall down from weakness, and thus he parted from them,
+permitting his camels to take their own way; but neither the man nor his
+camels were ever heard of afterwards. On the eighth day after leaving
+Owareyk, the survivors came in sight of the mountains of Shigre, which
+they immediately recognized; but their strength was quite exhausted, and
+neither men nor beasts were able to move any farther. Lying down under a
+rock, they sent two of their servants, with the two strongest remaining
+camels, in search of water. Before these two men could reach the
+mountain, one of them dropped off his camel, deprived of speech, and
+able only to move his hands to his comrade as a sign that he desired to
+be left to his fate. The survivor then continued his route; but such was
+the effect of thirst upon him, that his eyes grew dim, and he lost the
+road, though he had often travelled over it before, and had been
+perfectly acquainted with it. Having wandered about for a long time, he
+alighted under the shade of a tree, and tied the camel to one of its
+branches: the beast, however, smelt the water, (as the Arabs express it)
+and, wearied as it was, broke its halter, and set off galloping in the
+direction of the spring, which, as afterwards appeared, was at half an
+hour's distance. The man, well understanding the camel's action,
+endeavoured to follow its footsteps, but could only move a few yards; he
+fell exhausted on the ground, and was about to breathe his last, when
+Providence led that way from a neighbouring encampment, a Bisharye
+Bedouin, who, by throwing water upon the man's face, restored him to his
+senses. They then went hastily together to the water, filled the skins,
+and, returning to the caravan, had the good fortune to find the
+sufferers still alive. The Bisharye received a slave for his trouble."
+
+
+The Llama.
+
+The Llamas are classified as members of the Camel Family of which they
+are the second genus. The Vicuna (_Llama vicugna_) of the Peruvian Andes
+is one of these. It is a very beautiful animal, combining, as Professor
+Cunningham points out, to some extent the characteristics of the camel,
+the deer and the goat. Its neck is long and slender and carried with a
+graceful curve, and its legs are slight and elegant, its wool fine and
+silky. It is a timid animal and very wary of the approach of danger,
+seeking safety in flight, though often falling a victim to the rapacity
+of the puma, or the necessities of the Patagonian Indians, who eat its
+flesh and clothe themselves in its skin. The Llama, (_Llama peruana_)
+and the Alpaca (_Llama pacos_) are other species of this family. The
+former is used by the Peruvians as a beast of burden, as it will carry
+from a hundred-weight to a hundred weight and a half for fifteen or
+twenty miles a day. According to Mrs. Bowdich, at one time 300,000 of
+these animals were employed in carrying metal over the rugged mountain
+passes for the Potosi mines alone. Like the camel, it refuses to stir
+when overloaded, and continues to move at a slow uniform pace throughout
+the day. Like camels also, they are apt to fight among themselves, when
+the wool flies in an absurd way, and if not separated, they do each
+other serious injury. When offended with their driver they spit in his
+face, their saliva being particularly unpleasant. The Alpaca which is
+also domesticated is useful for its fleece.
+
+
+The Deer.
+
+There are two families of Deer; that of the Mouse deer with its
+mouse-shaped head, and without horns, and that of the deer proper of
+which there are more than fifty species. There are five species of the
+mouse deer, genus _Tragulus_, all of which belong to Asia. They are
+found in Java, Penang, Sumatra, Borneo, Cambodia and Siam. The Indian
+Chevrotain (_Tragulus meminna_) is spotted. It belongs to Ceylon,
+though it is said to be common to the forests of all parts of southern
+India. Mrs. Bowdich says: "The smallest of the deer species lives in
+Ceylon; a lovely delicate creature, with lustrous eyes and of exquisite
+form. When full grown it is only ten inches high, fourteen long, and
+weighs about five pounds. Its throat, head and neck are all white; its
+body is grey, striped with black, and spotted at equal distances with
+yellow. Although very timid it is to be tamed; but if angry it kicks out
+its little hind legs and slender pointed hoofs with great violence. One
+which was domesticated, was placed on a dinner table, where it ran about
+and nibbled fruit from the dishes, answered to its name and returned the
+caresses which were bestowed upon it." The deer proper, genus _cervus_,
+is found all over Europe, Asia and America, one or two species belonging
+to the Mediterranean coasts of Africa. Of these the Red Deer, the
+Reindeer, the Moose or Elk, the Fallow Deer and the Roe buck are the
+better known species, all of which chew the cud, have a divided hoof,
+and shed their horns annually.
+
+
+The Red Deer.
+
+The Red Deer (_Cervus elaphus_) is still found in Scotland as well as in
+the forests of Europe and Asia and is commonly hunted for sport. The
+stag is a timid and apparently highly sensitive animal, but when brought
+to bay has often shown a strength and courage which has cost its hunters
+dear. It is one of the most beautiful animals in nature, and combines
+with its beauty powers of speed and endurance which are little short of
+the marvellous. Full grown it measures four feet six inches in height at
+the shoulders, and about five feet six inches in length. The hunting of
+the stag in England has been a royal sport for centuries, though owing
+to altered conditions it has fallen into disrepute of late years. The
+overcrowded state of the country near London, and the half tame
+character of the royal stags have rendered the performances of the
+Windsor stag hounds an exhibition more honoured in the breach than in
+the observance. It would be difficult indeed to find anything noble or
+enobling in the following account of a stag hunt quoted by Captain Brown
+with deprecation, from the pages of "The Sporting Magazine."
+
+
+A Stag Hunt.
+
+"On Monday Nov. 20, 1820, the royal hounds met at Stoke Common, Bucks,
+where a remarkably fine deer was turned out. The field was extremely
+numerous. The deer, at starting, showed great sport, taking, at full
+speed, through the enclosures, making towards Slough, and afterwards for
+Datchet, where he crossed the Thames, and then took to the right, and
+again crossed the river. The deer proceeded up a lane at the back of
+Eton College, running with great swiftness into the yard of Mr. Castles,
+pork butcher. He boldly proceeded through the house into the street,
+with a cur-dog at his heels; and crossing Windsor Bridge, to the bottom
+of Thames-street, actually ran up the Hundred Steps, a steep and winding
+ascent to the Castle. On his reaching the top, he made a pause, and then
+returned into Thames-street, many of the sportsmen having rode round
+into the Castle, with the object of heading him as he came up the steps.
+The stag crossed Windsor Bridge again with great swiftness, and passed
+down Eton, entered the shop of Mr. Levy, an orange merchant, making his
+way in different parts of the house, till he got into the kitchen, where
+he remained some time: a great crowd was collected round the house. On
+his leaving the kitchen, he passed through the back way into gardens. At
+this time, many hundreds of persons joined in the chase. This excellent
+deer, after having performed these extraordinary feats, and afforded a
+charming day's sport, was at last taken in attempting to leap over the
+high wall between Eton College and the Fifteen-arch Bridge." In the open
+country and in the olden time a stag hunt was, of course, a very
+different thing, though the hunting of so sensitive and so timid an
+animal as the stag could never be other than a cruel pastime. Of the
+speed and endurance of the stag a remarkable illustration will be found
+on page 127. Many years ago the Duke of Cumberland thought to make trial
+of a stag's courage by placing him in an enclosure with an ounce, or
+hunting tiger, on Newmarket Heath. The enclosure was made by a net-work
+of about fifteen feet high, and the contest took place in the presence
+of some thousands of spectators. On seeing the stag, the ounce crouched
+down and prepared to spring, but the stag kept such a steady front that
+the ounce, turn as he would, was out-manA"uvred by the stag and could not
+get a chance of turning his flank. After a long time the ounce was
+goaded to the attack by the order of the Duke, whereupon it leapt, not
+upon the stag but over the enclosure and among the people, immediately
+crossing the road and entering the wood opposite, where it fastened upon
+the haunches of a fallow deer.
+
+
+The Tame Stag.
+
+Stags have been tamed and brought largely under control but they are
+said to be uncertain in their temper, probably from their timidity. Many
+years ago Lord Oxford trained four red deer stags to draw a phaeton, and
+Captain Brown tells an amusing story of an adventure which befell him
+while driving his unique team in the neighbourhood of Newmarket. It
+happened that as they were proceeding on the road to Newmarket they
+heard the cry of a pack of hounds and immediately the four stags made
+off at the top of their speed, followed by the hounds who had sighted
+them or scented them from a distance. The animals were quite beyond
+control, but on reaching Newmarket, they ran into the yard of the Ram
+Inn where Lord Oxford had been accustomed to take them, and they were
+safely housed in a barn when the pack of hounds came up. Stags have also
+been trained to play tricks of various kinds. A tame stag at one time
+marched with a Newfoundland dog, with the band of the 42nd Highlanders.
+
+
+The Reindeer.
+
+The Reindeer belongs to the north of Europe Asia and America, where he
+is the chief source of comfort and wealth of the natives. In Lapland,
+as the author of "Tales of Animals" puts it, he supplies the place of
+the horse, the cow, the sheep, and the goat. "Alive and dead, the
+reindeer is equally subservient to their wants. When he ceases to exist,
+spoons are made of his bones, glue of his horns, bowstrings and thread
+of his tendons, clothing of his skin, and his flesh becomes a savoury
+food. During his life, his milk is converted into cheese, and he is
+employed to convey his owner over the snowy wastes of his native
+country. Such is the swiftness of the reindeer that two of them, yoked
+in a sledge, will travel a hundred and twelve English miles in a day."
+The reindeer will draw about 300 lbs. weight, though 250 lbs. is a
+sufficient average load. His ordinary pace is said to be about ten miles
+an hour and his powers of endurance are very great. His pace for a short
+distance is thus given by Pictet, who took the measurements and tested
+the speed of three animals yoked to light sledges. "The first deer
+performed 3089 feet, 9 inches, in two minutes, being at the rate of
+nearly 19 English miles in an hour, and thus accomplishing 25 feet, 9
+inches, in every second. The second did the same in three minutes; and
+the third and last deer, in three minutes and twenty-six seconds. The
+ground in this race was nearly level." The reindeer is gregarious in its
+wild state, and retains its social instinct when in a state of
+domestication. When travelling, the hindmost animals follow their leader
+with dogged persistency, even though the leader may make a circuit which
+the followers might avoid by taking a direct cut. Nor will they accept
+the guidance of their drivers in such cases and if dragged out of their
+course by main force will return to it as soon as the force is removed.
+In his own way, however, the reindeer will follow unerringly though his
+leader may be out of sight, moving along with his nose close to the
+ground and tracing the way by his scent, which is very keen. The
+reindeer is much troubled in the summer time by the attacks of small
+flies. De Broke says "The poor animal is thus tormented to such a
+degree, that the Laplander, if he were to remain in the forests during
+the months of June, July, and August, would run the risk of losing the
+greater part of his herd, either by actual sickness, or from the deer
+fleeing of their own accord to mountainous situations to escape the
+gad-fly. From these causes, the Laplander is driven from the forests to
+the mountains that overhang the Norway and Lapland coasts, the elevated
+situations of which, and the cool breezes from the Ocean, are
+unfavourable to the existence of these troublesome insects, which,
+though found on the coast, are in far less considerable numbers there,
+and do not quit the valleys; so that the deer, by ascending the
+highlands, can avoid them." Reindeer are extremely timid when hunted,
+but if the hunter can get sufficiently near to strike panic into a herd
+they seem to lose all sense but that of fear, and are easily captured in
+numbers. Writing of the North American Reindeer, Sir John Richardson
+says:--"The Chippewayans, the Copper Indians, the Dog-ribs, and Hare
+Indians of the Great Bear Lake, would be totally unable to inhabit their
+barren grounds, were it not for the immense herds of this deer that
+exist there. Of the caribou horns they form their fish spears and hooks;
+the hide, dressed with the fur on, is excellent for winter clothing, and
+supplies the place both of blanket and feather bed to the inhabitants of
+these arctic wilds." Captain Franklin gives the following description of
+the manner in which the Dog-rib Indians kill the reindeer. "The hunters
+go in pairs, the foremost man carrying in one hand the horns and part of
+the skin of the head of a deer, and in the other a small bundle of
+twigs, against which he, from time to time, rubs the horns, imitating
+the gestures peculiar to the animal. His comrade follows, treading
+exactly in his footsteps, and holding the guns of both in a horizontal
+position, so that the muzzles project under the arms of him who carries
+the head. Both hunters have a fillet of white skin round their
+foreheads, and the foremost has a strip of the same round his wrists.
+They approach the herd by degrees, raising their legs very slowly, but
+setting them down somewhat suddenly, after the manner of a deer, and
+always taking care to lift their right or left feet simultaneously. If
+any of the herd leave off feeding to gaze upon this extraordinary
+phenomenon, it instantly stops, and the head begins to play its part by
+licking its shoulders, and performing other necessary movements. In this
+way the hunters attain the very centre of the herd without exciting
+suspicion, and have leisure to single out the fattest. The hindmost man
+then pushes forward his comrade's gun, the head is dropped, and they
+both fire nearly at the same instant."
+
+
+The Moose or Elk.
+
+The Moose or Elk is the largest of the Deer kind, and often attains to
+and even exceeds the size and bulk of the largest horses. He is less
+graceful than other members of his family, having a short thick neck,
+necessary perhaps to sustain his huge antlers, which sometimes reach
+five feet in length and weigh as much as sixty pounds. He escapes the
+torment of insects by taking to the water, in which he is an expert
+swimmer. Like the other animals of the Deer kind he sheds his horns
+annually. Year by year these huge growths increase in breadth and in the
+number of branches they bear, until there are sometimes as many as
+twenty on each horn. He is docile and easily tamed, and has been broken
+to run in harness. The Elk occupies much the same geographical area as
+the reindeer, though not travelling so far north.
+
+
+The Fallow Deer and the Roebuck.
+
+The Fallow Deer (_Dama vulgaris_) is smaller than the stag, but similar
+to it in colour, form, and habit. It is this species which is
+domesticated and kept in the parks of the wealthy in England. Fallow
+Deer often quarrel among themselves over rights of pasturage, the herd
+dividing into two and engaging in a pitched battle for the possession of
+the disputed land. The Roebuck is smaller than the Fallow Deer, his
+height being about two feet six inches and his length three feet. He is
+less sociable than other species of his kind, living alone with his
+family and not in herds like the Fallow Deer. He is found in Scotland
+and in the northern parts of Europe.
+
+
+The Giraffe.
+
+The Giraffe (_Camelopardalis giraffa_) belongs to Abyssinia, Nubia and
+South-Africa. It is the tallest of living animals, attaining to the
+height of eighteen feet. Its body has some similarity to that of the
+camel in form, and its head, which surmounts a neck seven feet long and
+bears two horns six inches long, resembles generally that of a horse.
+Its tongue, which can be extended seventeen inches, is very mobile and
+can be so tapered as to enter a small ring. It is used in tearing off
+the foliage of the trees upon which the animal feeds. Its neck, but for
+its length, is like that of the stag, and its legs are slender. The hide
+is spotted like that of the leopard and when young is of a light red
+colour, which becomes deeper with age, that of the female becoming a
+yellow brown and that of the male a dark brown approaching to black. In
+repose it lies on its side, resting its head on its hind quarters.
+Though only living in a wild state, the Giraffe is a mild and docile
+animal, only fighting in self-defence, and then making powerful use of
+its heels. The lion is its great enemy and if it succeeds in leaping
+upon its back there is not much chance for the giraffe, which usually
+runs until it drops from exhaustion. A blow from the heel of the Giraffe
+in the right place would probably kill any of its enemies, and even the
+lion has been known to pay dearly for coming within its reach.
+
+
+The History of the Giraffe.
+
+The Giraffe was known to the ancients, though, like the gorilla, it has
+been re-discovered in recent years. Le Vaillant saw and described the
+giraffe, but he was credited with having invented it, and it was not
+until a live specimen of it was brought to Paris that his credibility
+was established, Mrs. Bowdich, who happened to be in Paris at the time
+this animal arrived, gives an amusing description of its triumphal
+march from Bordeaux to the Capital. "A deputation from each large town
+through which she passed," says Mrs. Bowdich, "formed of the municipal
+authorities, met her; and one of the most learned savants went all the
+way from the Jardin des Plantes, to accompany her on her march. 'La
+giraffe,' however, did not appreciate these honours, and was often
+impatient under the etiquette imposed on her. On one occasion she broke
+loose from her cavalcade, keeper and all, and dashing among the
+horsemen, scattered them right and left, some on and some off their
+steeds. A dignified mayor lay in the dust, and by his side rolled the
+painstaking savant who had performed so long a journey in her service.
+The enthusiasm did not abate when she reached her destination. Thirteen
+thousand more than the usual weekly number passed over the Pont
+d'Austerlitz alone; and as the public curiosity did not but increase for
+six weeks, steps were obliged to be taken to prevent the multitude from
+pressing upon her. Her love for roses was very great; and she eagerly
+snatched them from those who carried or wore them, to their great
+astonishment; for few could calculate on the distance which she could
+reach." Mr. Gordon Cumming describes a herd of ten giraffes which he saw
+moving together along an African valley, forming an imposing spectacle.
+
+
+Hollow-Horned Ruminants.
+
+We come now to a family of great importance to the human race, the
+family which includes among its members the Ox and the Sheep. These are
+grouped as hollow-horned ruminants, this one touch of nature making the
+whole family kin. The hollow-horned ruminants are divided into numerous
+sub-families, of which the Ox, the Antelope, the Sheep, and the Goat are
+the best known representatives. The horn by which the family is
+characterised, comprises a hollow horny sheath which covers a bony core,
+and which, except in one case, unlike the horns of the stag, which are
+shed annually, is permanent. Sir Victor Brooke divides the family of the
+BovidA| into thirteen sub-families. I BovinA|, II TragelaphinA|, III
+OryginA|, IV HippotraginA|, V GazellinA|, VI AntilocaprinA|, VII
+CervicaprinA|, VIII CephalophinA|, IX AlcephalinA|, X BudorcinA|, XI
+RupicaprinA|, XII NemorhedinA|, XIII CaprinA|.
+
+
+The Bull, The Bison, and The Buffalo.
+
+The sub-family BovinA| includes the Bull, the Bison, and the Buffalo. The
+antiquity of the ruminants shrouds their origin in obscurity. They are
+of frequent mention in the sacred writings as belonging to the earliest
+historic period, and as living in a state of domestication in all times.
+The Bull has a very wide geographical area, and is found in most parts
+of the world. In England, as the Rev. J. G. Wood puts it, there are
+almost as many breeds as counties, and they are generally distinguished
+by the length or shape of their horns. The "long-horned" breed belong to
+Lancashire, the "short-horned" to Durham, the "middle-horned" to
+Devonshire, besides which there is the "polled", a hornless breed. Of
+the Bison there are two species, one belonging to Poland and the
+Caucasus, and the other to North America. The Buffalo belongs to the
+south of Europe, to India, and to North Africa, the Cape Buffalo
+inhabiting the south of "the dark continent."
+
+
+The Bull. The Ox. The Cow.
+
+Few animals show as much difference of disposition in the male and
+female as the Bull and the Cow. The Bull is often excited to
+ungovernable fury, is generally unsafe and often dangerous. These
+characteristics have doubtless marked him out as the object of sport in
+the Roman Amphitheatre and the Spanish Bull fight. The Cow, on the other
+hand, displays a gentle and docile disposition, is placid, mild, and
+obedient to the will of those who govern it. The Bull is kept mainly for
+the purposes of breeding, being too uncertain for use as a beast of
+burden or for other employment. The Ox which is the subdued offspring of
+the Bull and the Cow, is much more amenable to control and therefore a
+much more useful servant to man. The Cow is invaluable for the milk it
+supplies, upon which mankind is dependent for butter and for cheese.
+
+
+The Bull.
+
+The Bull is a handsome animal and of great strength, especially about
+the head and neck. Its fierceness has often been turned to account by
+the farmer, for it is an excellent animal to dispute a right of way, the
+force of its arguments usually bearing down all opposition. It has been
+known also to use its strength for the protection of other animals. "Two
+robbers," says the author of "Domestic Animals and their Treatment,"
+"took a pig, weighing fourteen stone, out of its sty, and drove it along
+a lane leading towards Rotherham. On coming to a lonely path across the
+fields they thought it would be better to kill the pig at once in this
+quiet place, where no one would be likely to hear the cries of the
+animal. One of the robbers accordingly took a knife out of his pocket,
+and commenced cutting the pig's throat. The poor pig struggled
+violently, and managed to escape from his hands, running squealing into
+the next field, with a fearful gash in his throat. The men ran after the
+pig, but found in the field a bull grazing, who seemed at once to
+understand the state of the case, and took upon himself the championship
+of the wounded animal. The bull ran furiously at the robbers, who fled
+for their lives, and only just managed to escape a toss from his horns.
+They lingered outside the fence, however, hoping that an opportunity
+would still offer of their catching the pig; but the pig wisely kept
+close to his new friend, and the men at last were under the mortifying
+necessity of going home without their booty. These men were afterwards
+convicted of stealing sheep and corn, when one of them confessed this
+affair of the pig, and thus explained what had been a great mystery to
+the owner, namely, how it was that his pig came to be in a field at some
+distance from the sty, with his throat partly cut, and keeping close
+company with the bull." Mr. Byam's "Central America" affords another
+illustration: "A bull had gored so many cattle that he was lassoed, and
+his horns blunted at the tips to prevent further mischief. A few weeks
+after, a panther (jaguar) killed a cow; and from the torn condition of
+the bull's head and neck, and the trampled state of the ground, he had
+evidently done battle for the cow. He was secured, his wounds plastered
+up, his horns made sharp again, and turned out into the savannah. The
+wild dogs and vultures having been kept from the body of the cow during
+the day, the panther returned to his feast at night, and a furious
+engagement took place between him and the bull; for the former was found
+dead close by the cow the next morning, pierced through and through. The
+bull returned again and again to him with fury, and was himself again
+wounded; but his gashes were sown up, and he remained so fierce that his
+horns were obliged to be re-blunted."
+
+
+The Brahmin Bull.
+
+The Brahmin Bull of India, is a sleek, tame animal of a different
+species to the ordinary working ox. He is protected as sacred and
+allowed more liberty than is sometimes either convenient or pleasant, as
+he is apt to become obtrusive and his devotees fear to check or thwart
+him. Sacred as he is he does not believe in the eighth commandment and
+so helps himself without scruple to the wares of the fruiterer and the
+gardener's preserves.
+
+
+The Ox.
+
+The Ox is one of the most useful creatures of the animal world. It is
+used as a beast of burden and employed to draw waggons and to drag the
+plough in England, and in a variety of useful labours abroad. "Every
+part of the Ox is of value," says the Rev. J. G. Wood. "We eat his
+flesh, we wear shoes soled with his skin, our candles are made from his
+fat, our tables are joined with glue made from his hoofs, his hair is
+mixed with the mortar of our walls, his horns are made into combs,
+knife-handles, drinking-cups, etc., etc., his bones are used as a cheap
+substitute for Ivory, and the fragments ground and scattered over the
+fields as manure, and soup is made from his tail." The value of the Ox
+in drawing waggons abroad may be gathered from the following quotation
+from Mr. Gordon Cumming's "Hunting Adventures in South Africa." "They
+(the oxen) are expected, unguided by reins, to hold the rare-trodden
+roads, which occur throughout the remoter parts of the Colony, either by
+day or night; and so well trained are these sagacious animals, that it
+is not uncommon to meet with a pair of fore-oxen which will, of their
+own accord, hold the "spoor" or track of a single waggon, which has
+perhaps crossed a plain six months previously."
+
+
+The Cow.
+
+The Cow after supplying enormous quantities of milk during life is
+almost as valuable as the Ox when dead. It is from the Cow moreover that
+we get the lymph used in vaccination, which has proved such a wonderful
+safeguard against small-pox. In its quiet way the Cow sometimes shows
+sagacity. Mr. Bell gives us the following illustration:--"A cow which
+was feeding tranquilly in a pasture, the gate of which was open to the
+road, was much annoyed by a mischievous boy who amused himself by
+throwing stones at the peaceful animal, which, after bearing with his
+impertinence for some time, at length went up to him, hooked the end of
+her horn into his clothes, and lifting him from the ground, carried him
+out of the field and laid him down in the road. She then calmly returned
+to her pasture, leaving him quit with a severe fright and a torn
+garment." Cows have been taught to graze close to forbidden crops
+without yielding to the temptation to eat them.
+
+
+The Pride of a Cow.
+
+A writer in Frank Leslie's popular monthly gives an amusing instance of
+vanity as shown by a cow. This cow, he was told, claimed precedence in
+all cases; she always went ahead of the herd and claimed the best piece
+of pasture as her exclusive domain. So far did she carry her
+pretensions, that if any of the other cows entered the stable before
+her, she would refuse to follow. Anxious to see this with his own eyes,
+he desired to be taken to her stable at evening. The man, instructed how
+to act, drove in some of the other cows. The white cow drew up; not only
+did she refuse to advance, in spite of all encouraging words, but her
+whole frame swelled with anger and offended dignity. She kept lowing
+continually. At last the cows within, as though conscious that they had
+forgotten their place, began to come out, and as they were driven out,
+the proud white cow, with an evident air of gratified pride, strode in
+in silence. It is almost impossible to convey the impression produced by
+this exhibition of downright pride, Hidalgo pride, in what many would
+call a dumb brute.
+
+
+The Bison.
+
+The American Bison is a formidable animal when engaged alone, and when
+charging in a pack simply irresistible. He is about the size of an ox,
+one measured by Sir J. Richardson being eight feet six inches in length,
+without his tail, and more than six feet in height at his forequarters.
+He has an enormous head, surmounted by a huge hump on his shoulder which
+is covered in winter with shaggy mane-like hair. His hinder quarters are
+comparatively thin and small, and his colour is a dark brown approaching
+to black. Sharp piercing eyes and short powerful horns give him a fierce
+appearance and dangerous powers. He has enormous strength in his head
+and neck. The Bison is gregarious, associating in herds many hundreds
+strong. These herds have been greatly reduced during late years, but a
+herd seen by Captains Lewis and Clerk was numbered by them at not less
+than twenty thousand. "Such was the multitude of these animals, that,
+although the river, including an island over which they passed, was a
+mile in breadth, the herd stretched as thick as they could swim
+completely from one side to the other." When they join in a stampede,
+they are said to rush over the plains like a cataract, with a noise
+resembling that of thunder. Captain Brown says, "Bison generally prefer
+the open plains, and do not resort to woods, except when attacked; they
+seldom attempt to defend themselves, but almost invariably take to
+flight. They are extremely fleet, and their sense of smell is so acute,
+that they discover an enemy at a great distance, so that it is difficult
+to get near them. They are frequently hunted by the natives, who live
+principally on their flesh. When the hunters kill an old dam, they pay
+no attention to the calf, as it is sure to remain by its dead mother.
+Instances have been known of a mother entering the town of Cincinnati,
+followed by its calves. Many of them fall victims to wolves and grizzly
+bears. Their beef is of an excellent quality, and of a very superior
+flavour."
+
+
+Hunting the Bison.
+
+Hunting the Bison is both a popular sport and a lucrative commercial
+enterprise. The Indians hunt them for their skins, which they sell as
+"Buffalo robes," the Bison being commonly called a Buffalo by them, as
+well as for food. The Rev. J. G. Wood says, "The hunters take advantage
+of the gregarious instincts of this animal, and hunt them when they are
+collected together in their vast herds, which blacken the face of the
+prairie for miles. Sometimes they form in line, and drive the herd to
+the edge of some tall cliff, over which they fall in hundreds, those
+behind pushing on those in the van; or sometimes they form a large
+circle, driving the animals into a helpless and leaderless mass, into
+which the hunters spring, leaving their horses, and treading with the
+skill of rope-dancers on the backs of the bewildered bisons, whom they
+slaughter as they pass, stepping from one to the other, and driving the
+sharp blade of their spear through the spine of the animal whose back
+they have just quitted. When only wounded the Bison is a most dangerous
+antagonist, and rushes on its enemy with the most determined ferocity."
+
+The Eastern Bison lives in the forests of Bialowesha in Lithuania under
+the protection of the Czar of Russia. The numbers are much smaller than
+those of North-America but they are said to be more fierce.
+
+
+The Buffalo.
+
+The Buffalo, which must not be confused with the Bison, is similar in
+appearance to an ox, which it often exceeds in size. It has no hump on
+its shoulder as the Bison has, but it has much longer horns, horns that
+often measure three feet in length, and is much fiercer in their use.
+The Indian Buffalo will attack the hunter when it is brought to bay, and
+unless the hunter can despatch him as he approaches, there is no chance
+for him at close quarters. These Buffaloes, however, may be tamed and
+are often trained to and employed in useful service.
+
+
+Hunting the Indian Buffalo.
+
+Captain Brown gives the following account of a Buffalo hunt which took
+place at Keshennagar, in Hindostan, when four gentlemen on horseback
+chased a herd of seven buffaloes and a calf for a long distance. "After
+having followed them three miles, the young one separated from the herd,
+and joined some tame cattle belonging to a neighbouring village. It was
+killed by the party, who afterwards continued the pursuit of the old
+ones, when they were overtaken in a high grass jungle four miles farther
+off. They were quickly driven from this place, and closely followed for
+more than six miles over a plain: at length the party succeeded in
+separating one buffalo from the herd. Here the encounter began. After
+receiving several wounds, he still continued his flight; he suddenly
+halted, and kept his pursuers at bay; after a short interval he again
+fled, and was pursued and wounded as before, carrying the spears
+sticking in his back and sides for several hundred yards. Lieutenant
+White, of the 15th Native Infantry, rode up very close to him, threw his
+spear, and wounded the animal in the loins. His horse being much
+exhausted, was unable to wheel round before the buffalo turned about and
+charged with such vigour, that both horse and rider were overthrown, and
+lay many yards distant. Fortunately, the lieutenant received no material
+injury; and when the animal approached he had the presence of mind to
+lie flat on his back. The beast approached, but stood at his feet,
+without offering any violence. The other sportsmen called repeatedly to
+their companion to arise and escape. For some time, however, he
+disregarded the advice, fearful of the consequences; at length, in
+compliance with their entreaty, he arose; the buffalo instantly rushed
+forward, but Mr. White escaped by throwing himself down; while the
+enraged beast, missing his aim, fell on the ground, his horns grazing
+Mr. White's back, as he passed over him. After this lucky escape, he
+seized the favourable opportunity, and regained his horse. The buffalo
+then took refuge in a tank; and when his former opponent joined his
+companions, who were standing upon the bank, the animal issued forth,
+and selecting Lieutenant White for the object of its vengeance, pursued
+him to a considerable distance. The animal was now rendered quite
+furious, and attacked everything within his reach, such as cows and
+dogs. Unfortunately, an old woman returning from market passed, and
+became the victim of his rage; she was taken up without any appearance
+of life, having her arms broken, and many wounds. The cavalry being,
+from fatigue, _hors de combat_, could not renew the attack; and the
+buffaloes, whose system was retreat, having gained a victory, now
+continued their course without molestation."
+
+
+The Cape Buffalo.
+
+The Cape Buffalo is the fiercest of the Bull family. He will charge a
+lion or a tiger and often come off victor in the strife. According to
+Mr. Pringle he is considerably larger than the domestic ox; the bony pad
+on his forehead making a complete helmet, and it is impossible to pierce
+him with bullets which have not been hardened by tin. He is said to be
+fierce, treacherous, and savage; and even when not provoked, to attack
+any man who strays near his haunts, skulking in the jungle when he sees
+him approach, and then suddenly rushing out upon him. Having tossed his
+enemy to his heart's content or thrown him down, he will trample and
+gore him, tearing off his skin with his tongue, until he is shockingly
+mutilated. He is one of the few animals which seem to cherish the spirit
+of revenge.
+
+
+Hunting the Cape Buffalo.
+
+Mr. Pringle gives the following description of a Cape Buffalo hunt. "A
+party of boers had gone out to hunt a herd of buffaloes which were
+grazing on a piece of marshy ground. As they could not get within shot
+of the game without crossing part of the marsh, which was not safe for
+the horses, they agreed to leave them in charge of the Hottentots, and
+advance on foot, thinking that if any of the buffaloes should turn upon
+them, it would be easy to escape by retreating across the quagmire,
+which, though passable for man, would not support the weight of a heavy
+quadruped. They advanced accordingly, and, under a covert of the bushes,
+approached the game with such advantage that the first volley brought
+down three of the fattest of the herd, and so severely wounded the great
+bull leader that he dropped on his knees, bellowing furiously. Thinking
+him mortally wounded, the foremost of the huntsmen issued from the
+covert, and began reloading his musket as he advanced to give him a
+finishing shot. But no sooner did the infuriated animal see his foe in
+front of him, than he sprang up and rushed headlong upon him. The man,
+throwing down his heavy gun, fled towards the quagmire; but the beast
+was so close upon him that he despaired of escaping in that direction,
+and turning suddenly round a clump of copsewood, began to climb an old
+mimosa tree which stood at one side of it. The raging beast, however,
+was too quick for him. Bounding forward with a roar which my informant
+described as being one of the most frightful sounds he ever heard, he
+caught the unfortunate man with his terrible horns just as he had nearly
+escaped his reach, and tossed him into the air with such force that the
+body fell, dreadfully mangled, into a cleft of the tree. The buffalo ran
+round the tree once or twice, apparently looking for the man, until,
+weakened with loss of blood, he again sank on his knees. The rest of
+the party, recovering from their confusion, then came up and despatched
+him, though too late to save their comrade, whose body was hanging in
+the tree quite dead."
+
+
+The Zebu.
+
+The Zebu is found in India, China, Arabia, Persia and Africa. It is of
+about the same size as a cow, but is distinguished by the possession of
+a hump upon its shoulders, giving it some resemblance to the Bison. It
+is used both for riding and driving in India, where it admirably serves
+the purposes of a horse, travelling at the rate of six miles an hour for
+many hours at a stretch and leaping obstacles with the facility of a
+practised hunter. It is also used for ploughing land and threshing corn.
+
+
+The Yak.
+
+The Yak belongs to Western Thibet. It is of singular appearance, having
+the head of a bull and the hump of a Bison, and being covered with long
+hair reaching almost to the ground. In a wild state it is savage and
+dangerous, but it is brought under cultivation by the Tartars, who use
+it as a beast of burden and make ropes and garments from its hair. The
+female yields rich milk from which excellent butter is made; butter
+which is stored in bladders from which the air is excluded. It is then
+carried to market by the faithful animal which has produced it.
+
+
+The Antelopes.
+
+The Antelopes are numerous in kind and various in form, too numerous and
+various to be separately described. The Eland, the largest and heaviest
+of the species, belongs to South Africa; the Bosch-bok, to South and
+Central Africa, the Harnessed Antelope to West Africa; and the Nylghau
+to India. The Leucoryx and the Addax are found in North Africa, the
+Equine Antelopes in tropical Africa and the Cape. The Pallah herds in
+South Africa. The Prong-horned Antelope belongs to North America,
+inhabiting the Rocky Mountains and the districts both north and south.
+The Bay Antelope is found on the Gold Coast, the Four-horned Antelope in
+India. The Gnu or Wildebeest belongs to South Africa and the Chamois and
+the Izard to the Pyrenees.
+
+
+The Gazelle.
+
+The Gazelle, of which there are numerous species, belongs to Syria,
+Egypt and Algeria. It is a beautiful animal, resembling a roebuck, but
+more delicately and finely limbed, with hair equally short, but finer
+and more glossy. It has a small tuft of hair on each of its fore limbs.
+Of all animals in the world, gazelles are said to have the most
+beautiful eyes--extremely brilliant, and yet meek and expressive. Their
+swiftness is equal to that of the roe; they do not, however, bound
+forward like the roe, but run along in an even, uninterrupted course.
+Most of them are brown upon the back, white under the belly with a black
+stripe separating these colours. Their horns are annulated or ringed
+round.
+
+
+The Sheep and the Goat.
+
+The sheep, so useful to man, furnishing him with both food and clothing,
+is one of the most defenceless and inoffensive of all animals. The goat
+is more hardy, more playful, lively, and vagrant than the sheep. It
+delights in climbing precipices, for which nature has fitted it, by
+giving it hoofs hollow underneath, with sharp edges, so that it walks
+securely on narrow ridges. Both animals have been known from the
+earliest times, and are frequently mentioned in the Sacred Writings. Of
+the different kinds of sheep, the common sheep, the long-tailed sheep
+and the Wallachian sheep are typical varieties. The common sheep
+provides us with our chief supplies of wool. The wool of the Spanish
+sheep (the merino) is finer in quality, but much less in quantity. The
+long-tailed sheep belongs to Syria and Egypt, and the Wallachian sheep
+to Crete, Wallachia, Hungary, and Western Asia. This last has long
+horns, and its wool is mixed with hair. The musk sheep of Arctic America
+resembles the yak somewhat in appearance, though minus the hump and with
+horns more resembling those of the buffalo. It is sometimes called the
+musk ox. The goat is not much used in England, but it is practically the
+cow of Syria and Switzerland. The Cashmir goat produces the fine wool so
+much valued for shawl material; the kid, the materials so largely used
+by the glove makers. The ibex belongs to the Carpathians, the Pyrenees,
+and the Savoy Alps, though it is now but rarely found in places where it
+was once abundant.
+
+
+The Intelligence of the Sheep.
+
+Mr. W. H. G. Kingston tells an interesting story of a ewe, bred in the
+neighbourhood of Sheep. Edinburgh who was driven into Perthshire, a
+distance of upwards of a hundred miles, to a place where she became the
+mother of a lamb. Not liking her new quarters, she evidently determined
+to revisit the old, and set off with that purpose, taking her lamb with
+her. Arrived at Stirling she found the place alive with the excitement
+of an annual fair. Not deeming it prudent to increase the excitement she
+rested on the north side of the town throughout the day, where she was
+noticed by many people, but molested by none. Early the following
+morning she crossed the town and proceeded on her journey. Arrived at
+the toll bar of St. Ninians, she was stopped by the toll keeper who
+supposed her to be a stray sheep. Unable to get through the gate, she
+turned back, made a circuitous detour and reached her old home after a
+journey of nine days. Her former owner rewarded her by repurchasing her
+and allowing her to remain on his farm until her death, which occurred
+at the mature age of seventeen years. The sense of locality noticed in
+the cat, the dog, the horse, and other animals is here seen to be
+characteristic of the sheep. Mr. Kingston tells another story of a ewe
+who, unable to extricate a lamb which had become entangled in a hedge,
+made her way through several hedges into a neighbouring field and
+fetched a ram to its assistance, thus effecting its liberation. Sheep
+have also been known to seek and secure the assistance of cattle when in
+difficulty.
+
+
+Sheep and Music.
+
+Haydn the composer tells a pretty story of the power of music over the
+mountain sheep in the neighbourhood of Lago Maggiore in Lombardy.
+"Having reached the middle of the ascent by daybreak," he says, "we
+stopped to contemplate the Borromean Isles, which were displayed under
+our feet, when we were surrounded by a flock of sheep, which were
+leaving their fold to go to pasture. One of our party, who was no bad
+performer on the flute, and who always carried the instrument with him,
+took it out of his pocket. 'I am going,' said he, 'to turn Corydon; let
+us see whether Virgil's sheep will recognise their pastor.' He began to
+play. The sheep and goats, which were following one another towards the
+mountain with their heads hanging down, raised them at the first sound
+of the flute, and all, with a general and hasty movement, turned to the
+side from whence the agreeable noise proceeded. They gradually flocked
+round the musician, and listened with motionless attention. He ceased
+playing, and the sheep did not stir. The shepherd with his staff now
+obliged them to move on; but no sooner did the fluter begin again than
+his innocent auditors again returned to him. The shepherd, out of
+patience, pelted them with clods of earth; but not one of them would
+move. The fluter played with additional skill; the shepherd fell into a
+passion, whistled, scolded, and pelted the poor creatures with stones.
+Such as were hit by them began to march, but the others still refused to
+stir. At last the shepherd was forced to entreat our Orpheus to stop his
+magic sounds; the sheep then moved off, but continued to stop at a
+distance as often as our friend resumed the agreeable instrument. As
+music was our continual employment, we were delighted with our
+adventure; we reasoned upon it the whole day, and concluded that
+physical pleasure is the basis of all interest in music."
+
+
+ORDER VIII.
+
+The Elephant.
+
+Of the elephant there is now but one genus and two species; respectively
+the Indian and the African varieties. At least fourteen species are
+known to be extinct.
+
+The elephant is the largest of the quadrupeds; his height is from eight
+to fourteen feet; his length is ten to fifteen feet. His form resembles
+that of a hog; his eyes are small and lively; his ears are broad, long,
+and pendulous. He has two large tusks, and a trunk or proboscis at the
+extremity of the nose, which he uses to take his food with, and, in case
+of necessity, for attack or defence. His legs are thick and long, and
+his feet are divided into five rounded toes. His colour is a dark ash
+brown. There are elephants, however, of a white or cream colour. The
+African is distinguished from the Indian variety by the size of its
+ears, which in the African species are very large. Dr. Livingstone gave
+the measurement of the ears of a female he killed, as four feet five
+inches in depth and four feet in horizontal breadth, and said he had
+seen a native creep under one so as to be completely covered from the
+rain. The ear of the Indian variety is not more than a third of this
+size. Generally the elephants of Africa and especially those of the
+south are larger than those of India. The most striking characteristic
+of the elephant is his trunk. "In this," says the Rev. J. G. Wood,
+"there are about forty thousand muscles, enabling the elephant to
+shorten, lengthen, coil up, or move in any direction this most
+extraordinary organ. The trunk is pierced throughout its length by two
+canals, through which liquids can be drawn by suction. If the elephant
+wishes to drink, after drawing the liquid into its trunk, it inserts the
+end of its proboscis into its mouth, and discharges the contents down
+its throat; but if it merely wishes to wash itself or play, it blows the
+contained liquid from the trunk with great violence. Through the trunk
+the curious trumpet-like voice of the elephant is produced. At the
+extremity is a finger-like appendage, with which it can pick up small
+objects." The elephant is thirty years old before he attains maturity.
+He lives on foliage, herbs, and fruits, having a special taste for those
+which are sweet.
+
+
+The Wild Elephant.
+
+The elephant is naturally a quiet and inoffensive animal, and being
+gifted with an unusually keen scent and sense of hearing, will usually
+decamp on the approach of danger. If wounded, however, he will
+sometimes turn upon his aggressor with terrible vengeance. Mr. Burchell,
+the South African traveller, gives a painful illustration of this. He
+says:--"Carl Krieger was a fearless hunter, and being an excellent
+marksman, often ventured into the most dangerous situations. One day
+having, with his party, pursued an elephant which he had wounded, the
+irritated animal suddenly turned round, and singling out from the rest
+the person by whom he had been injured, seized him with his trunk, and
+lifting his wretched victim high in the air, dashed him with dreadful
+force to the ground. His companions, struck with horror, fled
+precipitately from the fatal scene, unable to look back upon the rest of
+the dreadful tragedy; but on the following day they repaired to the
+spot, where they collected the few bones that could be found, and buried
+them. The enraged animal had not only literally trampled Krieger's body
+to pieces, but did not feel its vengeance satisfied till it had pounded
+the very flesh and bones into the dust, so that nothing of the
+unfortunate man remained excepting a few of the latter, which made most
+resistance from their size." Another elephant seized a soldier of the
+Royal African Corps, threw him down, brought his four feet together and
+stamped upon him until he was dead; then seizing the body with his
+trunk, threw it into the jungle.
+
+
+Elephant Herds.
+
+Major Skinner in a communication made to Sir E. Tennant gives the
+following graphic description of the actions of a herd of elephants he
+watched on one occasion in the north of Ceylon. Knowing that from the
+scarcety of water at that time and place a large herd of elephants which
+he knew to be in the neighbourhood must visit a certain pool during the
+night he made his preparations accordingly. He says:--"Having ordered
+the fires of my camp to be extinguished at an early hour, and all my
+followers to retire to rest, I took up my post of observation on an
+overhanging bough; but I had to remain for upwards of two hours before
+anything was to be seen or heard of the elephants, although I knew they
+were within 500 yards of me. At length, about the distance of 300 yards
+from the water, an unusually large elephant issued from the dense cover,
+and advanced cautiously across the open ground to within 100 yards of
+the tank, where he stood perfectly motionless. So quiet had the
+elephants become (although they had been roaring and breaking the jungle
+throughout the day and evening) that not a movement was now to be heard.
+The huge vidette remained in his position, still as a rock, for a few
+minutes, and then made three successive stealthy advances of several
+yards (halting for some minutes between each, with ears bent forward to
+catch the slightest sound), and in this way he moved slowly up to the
+water's edge. Still he did not venture to quench his thirst; for though
+his forefeet were partially in the tank, and his vast body was reflected
+clear in the water, he remained for some minutes listening in perfect
+stillness. Not a motion could be perceived in himself or his shadow. He
+returned cautiously and slowly to the position he had at first taken up
+on emerging from the forest. Here in a little while he was joined by
+five others, with which he again proceeded as cautiously but less slowly
+than before, to within a few yards of the tank, and then posted his
+patrols. He then re-entered the forest and collected around him the
+whole herd, which must have amounted to between eighty and a hundred
+individuals, led them across the open ground with the most extraordinary
+composure and quietness till he joined the advance guard, when he left
+them for a moment and repeated his former reconnaissance at the edge of
+the tank. After which and having apparently satisfied himself that all
+was safe, he returned and obviously gave the order to advance, for in a
+moment the whole herd rushed into the water with a degree of unreserved
+confidence, so opposite to the caution and timidity which had marked
+their previous movements, that nothing will ever persuade me that there
+was not rational and preconcerted co-operation throughout the whole
+party, and a degree of responsible authority exercised by the patriarch
+leader.
+
+"When the poor animals had gained possession of the tank (the leader
+being the last to enter), they seemed to abandon themselves to enjoyment
+without restraint or apprehension of danger. Such a mass of animal life
+I had never before seen huddled together in so narrow a space. It seemed
+to me as if they would have nearly drunk the tank dry. I watched them
+with great interest until they had satisfied themselves as well in
+bathing as in drinking, when I tried how small a noise would apprise
+them of the proximity of unwelcome neighbours. I had but to break a
+little twig, and the solid mass instantly took flight like a herd of
+frightened deer, each of the smaller calves being apparently shouldered
+and carried along between two of the older ones. In drinking, the
+elephant, like the camel, although preferring water pure, shows no
+decided aversion to it when discoloured with mud; and the eagerness with
+which he precipitates himself into the tanks and streams attests his
+exquisite enjoyment of the fresh coolness, which to him is the chief
+attraction. In crossing deep rivers, although his rotundity and buoyancy
+enable him to swim with a less immersion than other quadrupeds, he
+generally prefers to sink till no part of his huge body is visible
+except the lip of his trunk through which he breathes, moving beneath
+the surface, and only now and then raising his head to look that he is
+keeping the proper direction."
+
+
+Elephant Friendships.
+
+The affection shown by elephants for each other has often had pathetic
+illustration. Two elephants, male and female, which had been brought
+separately to Paris, were placed in adjoining apartments divided by a
+portcullis. The male soon discovered that this was fastened by a bolt
+well within his reach, and hastily withdrawing it rushed into the other
+apartment. The meeting is described as indescribable. Their cries of
+joy, says Mrs. Bowdich, shook the whole building, and they blew air from
+their trunks resembling the blasts from smiths' bellows. The female
+moved her ears with great rapidity, and entwined her trunk round the
+body of the male. The male encircled her with his trunk and shed tears.
+
+
+The Elephant's Sagacity.
+
+The sagacity of the elephant has been said sometimes to equal that of
+the dog. A striking illustration of it is related in Pettit's work on
+the Tinnevelly Missions. "While the large chapel at Nagercoil was
+building the missionaries obtained the loan of a trained elephant for
+drawing the larger timber used in its erection. The late Mrs. Mault
+kindly saw the animal regularly fed, lest the food should be stolen by
+the attendant. One day the allowance of rice seemed very deficient in
+quantity, and the good lady expostulated on the subject with the keeper.
+Raising his hands to heaven, the man loudly, and with great apparent
+earnestness and sincerity, repudiated the idea of his having taken any
+of the rice. 'Do you think, madam, that I would rob my child? No, never!
+no more than I would deprive my own children of their daily food.' While
+he was speaking and gesticulating, the intelligent creature, slyly
+extending his trunk, unfastened the man's waist-cloth, spilling the
+missing rice, which had been concealed in a corner of the cloth, and
+exposing the dishonesty of the attendant."
+
+
+A Centenarian Elephant.
+
+Some years ago there was an elephant who was known to be a hundred years
+old, named Soupramany, or Old Soup as he was called, who lived upon the
+banks of the Ganges near the city of Cawnpore. On one occasion Old Soup
+was engaged with a number of other elephants and a party of soldiers,
+under the direction of Major Daly, in loading a ship with bags of rice.
+While the work was proceeding one of the elephants began to throw the
+bags into the river, and it was found that the animal had gone mad.
+Having killed his keeper the elephant started in pursuit of the major's
+children who with their nurses had been watching the elephants at work.
+Old Soup seemed to realize the situation at once. He dashed in between
+the mad elephant and the children and engaged the infuriated beast in
+mortal combat. The fight lasted for an hour and a half and when the mad
+elephant lay dying on the ground it was found that Old Soup had many
+wounds to remind him of the fray, his ears were badly torn, his head was
+bruised, and one of his tusks was broken off short.
+
+
+An Elephant Nurse.
+
+Elephants are most affectionate animals and can be trusted even to take
+care of children. Old Soup whose gallant fight recorded above gained him
+great fame, became the daily guardian of Major Daly's children, whom he
+had so heroically rescued. He would accompany them down to the riverside
+when they went fishing, and could himself hold a rod and line, which the
+children baited for him, watching the float and landing the fish as
+skilfully as an accomplished angler.
+
+
+The Elephant's Intelligence.
+
+As we have seen in the case of a dog and that of a monkey, animals
+sometimes rise to the intelligence of willingly submitting to painful
+surgical treatment in view of cure. Mr. Kingston tells of an elephant,
+which had been severely wounded, and which used to go alone to the
+hospital and extend itself so that the surgeon could easily reach the
+injured part. Mr. Kingston says: "Though the pain the animal suffered,
+was so severe that he often uttered the most plaintive groans, he never
+interrupted the operation, but exhibited every token of submission to
+the surgeon till his cure was effected." Another instance given by Mr.
+Kingston is even more remarkable if only for its analogy to human
+conduct. A young elephant had a severe wound in its head, which it had
+gained on the battle-field. "Nothing could induce it to allow the injury
+to be attended to. At length by certain signs and words, the keeper
+explained to the mother what was wanted. The sagacious animal
+immediately seized the young one with her trunk, and though it groaned
+with agony, held it to the ground, while the surgeon was thus enabled to
+dress the wound. Day after day she continued to act in the same way till
+the wound was perfectly healed." There is surely no stronger proof of
+intelligence than that afforded when present suffering is willingly
+endured for the sake of future good.
+
+
+ORDER IX.
+
+The Coney.
+
+The Coney is a small animal, but it is an animal of distinction. It has
+been classed with the Rodents and with the Pachyderms but its
+characteristics are so unique that it is thought better to give it a
+separate order, and this is placed between the Elephants and the
+Rodents. The coney resembles the rabbit in size and general form,
+perhaps more than any other animal. There are a number of species
+belonging to one genus, the genus Hyrax: In Psalm CIV, 18, the writer
+says the rocks are a refuge for the conies, and Agur puts the coney with
+three other animals which are both little and wise. "The conies are but
+a feeble folk, yet they make their houses in the rocks (Proverbs XXX,
+26). This description applies to the Syrian Hyrax of our day as truly as
+it did to that of the Psalmists time. The coney is found all over
+Africa. According to Dr. Kirk it lives in colonies at Mozambique, where
+it is often trapped and eaten.
+
+
+ORDER X.
+
+The Rodents: Animals that Gnaw.
+
+The Rodents are more numerous and various than other class of mammals:
+There are said to be 800 or more varieties. These are divided into two
+sub-orders: I, The Simplicidentati and, II, the Duplicidentati. Those of
+the first sub-order have two incisor teeth in the upper jaw; those of
+the second have four. The Simplicidentati include mice, rats, jerboas,
+beavers, squirrels, chinchillas, porcupines, guinea pigs, &c.; the
+Duplicidentati includes the numerous varieties of hares and rabbits.
+
+
+Rats and Mice.
+
+There are more than 300 varieties of rats and mice, and they are found
+almost everywhere. The rat is an irrepressible stowaway, and following
+toothsome cargoes on board ship has made his way nearly all over the
+world. This may be said, in a less degree, of the mouse. The better
+known varieties of rats are the Brown Rat, the Black Rat, the Water Rat,
+the Beaver Rat, the Musk Rat, the Lemming, the Pouched Rat, &c., &c. The
+principal varieties of the mouse are, the House Mouse, the Fieldmouse,
+the Harvest Mouse, the African Mouse and the Dormouse.
+
+
+The Rat Family.
+
+The brown rat is the species common in England, and best known
+throughout the world. It is said to have travelled from Persia to
+England less than two hundred years ago and to have spread from thence
+to other countries visited by English ships. It measures about nine
+inches, and is of a light brown colour. It multiplies very fast and once
+colonised is very difficult of extermination. It is larger and stronger
+than the black rat which it found in England when it came and which it
+has almost entirely destroyed and replaced. The brown rat is often
+mistaken for the water rat as it will take to the water on occasion and
+is often found in ditches and watery places. The water rat is common to
+central and northern Europe and is well known in England and Scotland.
+It differs little from the brown rat in appearance, and inhabits the
+banks of rivers and ponds. The black rat is of a deep iron grey, or
+nearly black. It is about seven inches long and in other respects bears
+a close resemblance to the brown rat. The beaver rat is a native of
+America and measures about fourteen inches exclusive of tail. It
+resembles the beaver in form, is fond of the water and swims well. At
+the approach of winter it builds itself little dome-topped houses, in
+which it hibernates in families. In the spring its flesh is good eating,
+but later it acquires a musk-like flavour which is disagreeable. It is
+easily tamed when young. The Muskovy musk rat is about the size of the
+common rat; it has a long and slender nose; no external ears; and very
+small eyes; the tail is compressed sideways, and its hind feet are
+webbed; it is of a dusky colour; the belly is of a light ash. It is a
+native of Lapland and Russia, in the former of which countries it is
+called the Desman; it frequents the banks of rivers, and feeds on small
+fish. The Hudson's Bay lemming is covered by very fine soft and long
+hair of an ash colour. In winter it is white. The limbs are quite short
+and the fore feet being formed for burrowing, are very strong. The
+Lapland lemming resembles the preceding and is remarkable for its
+extensive migrations. When a severe winter is approaching, the lemmings
+migrate southward, and move in a straightforward direction with such
+inflexible regularity, that, sooner than deviate from it, they will
+perish in attempting to pass over any obstacle which they may find in
+their way. The pouched rat belongs to America and is found in Florida,
+Georgia, and Missouri. It is brown in colour and lives in burrows under
+ground. The cheek pouches are external and are said to be used for the
+purpose of carrying food and also of removing sand loosened in the
+process of burrowing.
+
+
+The Hamster.
+
+The hamster is a curious little rat-like animal of the thrifty kind,
+that lays up store in the summer for winter use. It lives in burrows
+which it connects with various apartments, used as storehouses for food.
+On the approach of the cold weather it closes the entrance to its
+burrow, and makes a nest of straw in which it sleeps; becoming torpid in
+extreme cold.
+
+
+Swarms of Rats.
+
+The rapidity with which rats multiply, makes them troublesome and
+unpleasant neighbours. In the vicinity of the horse slaughter-houses at
+Montfaucon, near Paris, some years ago, they had become so numerous that
+the proposal to remove the slaughter houses was opposed on the ground of
+the danger that would accrue to the inhabitants from the rats being
+deprived of their means of subsistence. It was said that the carcases
+of thirty-five horses, if left unprotected, would be eaten by these rats
+in one night, the bones being picked clean. On one occasion, the
+carcases of three horses were placed in a high walled enclosure, small
+holes having been made in the walls for the admission of the rats, and
+subsequently stopped up. Several men armed with torches and sticks, then
+entered the yard, which was so full of rats that they could strike right
+and left without aim and yet be sure of destroying them. Two thousand
+six hundred and fifty rats fell victims to this experiment in one night.
+At the end of a month, the experiment having been several times
+repeated, sixteen thousand and fifty rats had been killed. The danger
+accruing from the burrowing of such enormous quantities of rats is by no
+means slight.
+
+
+Invaded by Rats
+
+The story of Bishop Hatto and the invasion of the "MA¤usethurm" on the
+Rhine by rats, is well known if not entirely authentic. Some idea of
+what it would be to be invaded by rats, may be gathered from Mrs.
+Bowdich's graphic account of her own painful experiences. "When living
+in Cape Coast Castle, I used to see the rats come in troops past my
+door, walking over my black boys as they lay there, and who only turned
+themselves over to present the other sides of their faces and bodies
+when the rats returned, and thought it a good joke. The fiercest
+encounter which I ever had with them was during one of those terrific
+storms which are more furious between the tropics than elsewhere. I was
+then, however, under the Equator, in a native hut, and heard an
+exceeding rustling and movement all around me. To my terror I perceived
+that these proceeded from a number of rats running up and down the sides
+of the room in which I was to pass the night, and who shortly began to
+run over me, they being disturbed by the torrents of rain which were
+then falling. The only weapon I could find was a shoe, and curling
+myself into a large arm-chair taken out of a French vessel, and covered
+with blue satin damask, I sat prepared for my enemies, whom I dreaded
+much more than the lightning, which was flashing across the iron bars
+laid upon the floor. I felt that the silk of my place of refuge was some
+sort of protection against this; but my own arm could alone save me from
+my four-footed foes. Presently my husband came in, and saluted me with a
+shout of laughter, which, however, abated when he saw my antagonists.
+The storm lulled for a while, and the rats retreated. We then crept
+within the curtains of bamboo cloth which encircled a rude imitation of
+a fourpost bedstead, but I kept possession of my shoe. Weary with
+watching, I closed my eyes, but was awakened by a tremendous flash of
+lightning, immediately followed by awful thunder and a tumultuous rush
+of rats. Some of them scrambled up the outside of the curtains; but,
+arms in hand, I sat up, and directed by the noise, I hurled the invaders
+to the ground, till at length resistance and the passing away of the
+storm allowed me to sleep in peace." This was the brown rat so familiar
+all over the world.
+
+
+Migrations of Rats.
+
+The habit of rats to migrate in numbers, apparently well ordered, and
+under leadership, has often been noticed, and the way in which they will
+leave a burning house or a sinking ship has often been recorded. These
+companies will as a rule pass on their own way, and mind their own
+business if unmolested, but instances are recorded of their attacking
+and severely biting those who have opposed their progress. The Rev. Mr.
+Ferryman, who resided at Quorn in Leicestershire and who made somewhat
+of a study of rats, was walking in a meadow one evening when he observed
+a large number of rats in the act of migrating from one place to
+another. He stood perfectly still, and the whole assemblage passed close
+to him. His astonishment, however, was great when he saw amongst the
+number an old, blind rat, which held one end of a piece of stick in its
+mouth while another rat had hold of the other end of it, and thus
+conducted its blind companion.
+
+
+The Intelligence of Rats.
+
+Some remarkable illustrations of the intelligence of rats have been
+recorded from time to time. The following which occurred recently seems
+to show both thought and reason. A Burley rat found a dead hen in a
+field, one evening, and departed to inform his brethren of the
+discovery, when a gentleman, who afterwards reported the incident to the
+Leeds _Evening Post_--removed the prize, which the speedy return of
+half-a-dozen rats was too late to secure. The first rat plainly evinced
+his disappointment, but his friends suspected him of hoaxing them,
+turned upon him suddenly, and in a few moments he was as dead as the
+chicken which had disappeared, and was left lying on almost the same
+spot which it had occupied. Captain Brown tells the following story of
+the ingenuity of the rat in self-preservation. "During the great flood
+of September, the 4th, 1829, when the river Tyne was at its height, a
+number of people were assembled on its margin. A swan at last appeared,
+having a black spot on its plumage, which the spectators were surprised
+to find, on a nearer approach, was a live rat. It is probable it had
+been borne from its domicile on some hay rick, and, observing the swan,
+had made for it as an ark of safety. When the swan reached the land, the
+rat leapt from its back, and scampered away."
+
+
+Saved by a Rat.
+
+Perhaps no better example of the intelligence of the rat could be given
+than that afforded by the incident quoted by Jesse from Mr. Ferryman.
+Mr. Ferryman records that he had an old friend, a clergyman, of retired
+and studious habits. When sitting in his room one day, he saw an English
+rat come out of a hole at the bottom of the wainscot; and threw it a
+piece of bread. In process of time, he so familiarised the animal, that
+it became perfectly tame, ran about him, was his constant companion, and
+appeared much attached to him. He was in the habit of reading in bed at
+night; and was on one occasion awoke by feeling a sharp bite on his
+cheek, when he discovered the curtains of his bed to be on fire. He made
+his escape, but his house was burnt down, and he saw no more of his rat.
+He was, however, convinced, and remained so for the rest of his life,
+that his old companion had saved him from being burnt to death, by
+biting his cheek; and thus making him aware of his danger.
+
+
+The Mouse.
+
+The mouse is a much more popular animal than the rat, though taking its
+size and numbers into account it is scarcely less destructive. No one
+weeps when the rat suffers capital punishment, but many a tear has been
+shed over a "dear little mouse". The house mouse is too well known to
+need description. Like rats, mice appear to act in companies, either
+under leadership or by common consent. Mrs. Bowdich describes a number
+of mice which she observed during an illness frequently emerge from her
+bed-room closet and gravely form themselves into a circle and apparently
+hold a council. That they frequently combine to effect purposes which
+they are unable to accomplish singly is well known. Mrs. Bowdich
+describes an attempt made by a combined force of mice to get possession
+of the dainties provided for her as she approached convalescence. These
+were placed under tin covers upon a chest of drawers, and the mice were
+evidently of opinion that if they could only climb to the top of these
+covers they would find them open like a basin, and so effect an entry.
+Unable to gain a footing on the smooth metal sides, "they mounted upon
+each other's shoulders and so accomplished the feat", though like arctic
+explorers they failed to find an open sea and were compelled to return
+with disappointment. An organised attempt to remove a cover from the
+bottom, when, on one occasion, it had not been firmly set down, resulted
+in an accident similar to those incident to human engineering, for the
+cover slipped and many tiny hands were severely pinched. After this
+they abandoned their attempts though a single mouse would occasionally
+reconnoitre the scene, apparently unsatisfied with the defeat. Mice,
+like many other animals, are said to be much affected by music.
+
+
+The Harvest Mouse.
+
+The harvest mouse is a most interesting little creature; whose habits
+are thus described by White of Selborne:--"They build their nest amidst
+the straws of the corn above the ground, and sometimes in thistles. They
+breed as many as eight at a litter, in a little round nest composed of
+the blades of grass or wheat. One of these I procured this autumn, most
+artificially plaited, and composed of the blades of wheat, perfectly
+round, and about the size of a cricket ball, with the aperture so
+ingeniously closed that there is no discovering to what part it
+belonged. It was so compact and well filled that it would roll across
+the table without being discomposed, though it contained eight little
+mice that were naked and blind. As this nest was perfectly full, how
+could the dam come at her litter respectively so as to administer a teat
+to each? Perhaps she opens different places for that purpose, adjusting
+them again when the business is over; but she could not possibly be
+contained, herself, in the ball with her young, which moreover would be
+daily increasing in bulk. This procreant cradle--an elegant instance of
+the efforts of instinct--was found in a wheat field, suspended in the
+head of a thistle."
+
+
+The Field Mouse.
+
+There are two kinds of field mice, the long-tailed and the short-tailed
+varieties. The long-tailed field mouse is the mouse immortalised by
+Burns, and is found throughout Europe. The short-tailed variety occupies
+much the same geographical area, though it probably extends further. The
+latter are very destructive, and have sometimes increased to such an
+extent, that organised efforts have had to be made to exterminate it.
+
+
+The Dormouse.
+
+The common dormouse, and the greater dormouse are the principal
+varieties of this interesting little animal. They resemble the squirrel
+in appearance as well as in some of their habits. They live in trees,
+where they construct nests, on nuts, acorns, fruits, insects, birds and
+eggs, and squirrel-like rest upon their hindquarters when eating,
+holding their food between their forepaws. They lay up store for the
+winter and become torpid in the cold weather, rolling themselves into a
+ball, in which condition they may be handled without disturbance or
+injury. The common dormouse is found all over Europe, the greater
+dormouse occupying a still more extended area.
+
+
+The Jerboa.
+
+The Jerboa is a curious, little animal with the body of a mouse and hind
+legs which resemble those of the kangaroo in appearance. There are
+several varieties, one belonging to Southern Russia, one to the deserts
+of Egypt, Nubia, Arabia, Barbary and Tartary, and one to North America.
+They live in burrows which they construct with great care and industry.
+They are naturally timid and make for their holes on the slightest
+disturbance, leaping kangaroo fashion sometimes as high as five feet,
+and so swiftly as to be very difficult of capture. They have very long
+tails.
+
+
+The Beaver.
+
+There are two species of the beaver, the European beaver, and the
+American beaver. The former is most numerous in Siberia, Tartary, and
+the Caucasus but is also occasionally found in Central Europe. The
+American beaver is found throughout North America where it is eagerly
+hunted for the sake of its fur.
+
+
+The European Beaver.
+
+The following anonymous paragraph cut from a newspaper, but likely
+enough quoted from some standard Natural History, perhaps that of
+Messrs. Cassell and Co., throws some light upon the present condition of
+the European beaver.
+
+"There are still some naturalists who assert that the beaver has ceased
+to exist in France. This, however, is a mistake; an animal of that
+species was caught a short time ago in the HA(C)rault, and is now being
+exhibited at Montpelier. Beavers do not live in Europe in large
+companies or herds as they do in America, but only in solitude, and in
+this state they haunt secondary rivers, such as the Gard and the Gardon.
+There are a few on the banks and islands of the Rhone, but as these
+creatures are averse to noise, the splashing of the steamers plying to
+and fro has driven most of them away. They give a decided preference to
+such streams as are overshadowed by the willow, of the bark of which
+they are exceedingly fond. The beaver is also to be found as far north
+as the Saone, in those valleys where there is peat-ground. It lives in
+Spain, in Italy, and in Greece, but always solitary and fugitive. This
+curious animal is not only called _Castor Americanus_, but also _Castor
+Gallicus_, and not without reason, since the fossil remains of the genus
+are sufficient to attest their having been very numerous in France at
+some remote period. The little stream of the BiA"vre derives its name
+from its having been the habitat of these creatures; its resemblance to
+the English name beaver need hardly be alluded to. In Europe this
+amphibious animal does not build those substantial and commodious
+dwellings which have rendered it so celebrated, because the rapacity and
+spirit of destruction so common in man have made it suspicious and
+cautious."
+
+
+The American Beaver.
+
+Writing of the American Beaver Dr. Godman says:--"Beavers are not
+particular in the site they select for the establishment of their
+dwellings, but if in a lake or pond, where a dam is not required, they
+are careful to build where the water is sufficiently deep. In standing
+waters, however, they have not the advantage afforded by a current for
+the transportation of their supplies of wood, which, when they build on
+a running stream, is always cut higher up than the place of their
+residence, and floated down. The materials used for the construction of
+their dams are the trunks and branches of small birch, mulberry, willow,
+and poplar trees. They begin to cut down their timber for building
+early in the summer, but their edifices are not commenced until about
+the middle or latter part of August, and are not completed until the
+beginning of the cold season. The strength of their teeth, and their
+perseverance in this work, may be fairly estimated by the size of the
+trees they cut down. Dr. Best informs us, that he has seen a mulberry
+tree, eight inches in diameter, which had been gnawed down by the
+beaver. The figure of the dam varies according to circumstances. Should
+the current be very gentle, the dam is carried nearly straight across;
+but when the stream is swiftly flowing, it is uniformly made with a
+considerable curve, having the convex part opposed to the current. Along
+with the trunks and branches of trees they intermingle mud and stones,
+to give greater security; and when dams have been long undisturbed and
+frequently repaired, they acquire great solidity, and their power of
+resisting the pressure of water and ice is greatly increased by the
+trees occasionally taking root, and eventually growing up into something
+of a regular hedge.
+
+"The dwellings of the beaver are formed of the same materials as their
+dams, and are very rude, though strong, and adapted in size to the
+number of their inhabitants. These are seldom more than four old and six
+or eight young ones. Double that number have been occasionally found in
+one of the lodges, though this is by no means a very common
+circumstance. When building their houses, they place most of the wood
+crosswise, and nearly horizontally, observing no other order than that
+of leaving a cavity in the middle. Branches which project inward are cut
+off with their teeth, and thrown among the rest. The houses are by no
+means built of sticks first and then plastered, but all the materials,
+sticks, mud, and stones, if the latter can be procured, are mixed up
+together, and this composition is employed from the foundation to the
+summit. The mud is obtained from the adjacent banks or bottom of the
+stream or pond near the door of the hut. Mud and stones the beaver
+always carries by holding them between his fore paws and throat.
+
+"Their work is all performed at night, and with much expedition. As soon
+as any part of the material is placed where it is intended to remain,
+they turn round and give it a smart blow with the tail. The same sort of
+blow is struck by them upon the surface of the water when they are in
+the act of diving. The outside of the hut is covered or plastered with
+mud late in the autumn, and after frost has begun to appear. By freezing
+it soon becomes almost as hard as stone, and effectually excludes their
+great enemy, the wolverine, during the winter."
+
+
+The Squirrel.
+
+The family of the Squirrel is a very large one and with it are included
+the marmots, the prairie dogs, and the anomalures, the latter of which
+form a sub-family. The common squirrel, the variety familiar in England,
+is a pretty little creature with its bright piercing eyes, and knowing
+look, and its graceful bushy tail. It is one of the most agile of
+animals, ascending and descending trees with the rapidity of a flash and
+so sensitive, that it is said that if the tree upon which its nests is
+only touched at the bottom it takes alarm and seeks safety on another
+tree. It builds its nests in the forks of branches of trees,--of moss,
+twigs, and dried leaves,--and leaps great distances from tree to tree.
+The ground squirrel is characterised by fine longitudinal black bands on
+its back, which form a very pretty marking. It belongs chiefly to North
+America. "It lives in villages under ground," says an American writer,
+"and plunders the farmers worse than the gopher. Every two months the
+ground squirrel breeds and neither State premiums nor strychnine
+diminishes its numbers. It levies an assessment of thirty per cent. on
+the profits of a wheat crop in many sections."
+
+The flying squirrel, also common in the United States, has a membranous
+skin which extends from the fore limbs along the body to the hind limbs
+by which its body is buoyed up as it descends obliquely through the air
+from the tree to the ground, the tail operating as a rudder. One species
+of the flying squirrel is found in Europe and several in India.
+
+
+The Squirrel at Home.
+
+Mr. Head gives a graphic description of his experiences with a squirrel
+in the Canadian woods. He says:--"I was waiting the approach of a large
+flock of wild fowl, but a little villain of a squirrel on the bough of a
+tree close to me, seemed to have determined that even now I should not
+rest in quiet, for he sputtered and chattered with so much vehemence,
+that he attracted the attention of my dog, whom I could scarcely
+control. The vagrant inattention of my dog was truly mortifying; he kept
+his eyes fixed upon the squirrel, now so noisy as to be quite
+intolerable. With my hand, I made a motion to threaten him, but the
+little beast actually set up his back, and defied me, becoming even more
+passionate and noisy than before, till all of a sudden, as if absolutely
+on purpose to alarm the game, down he let himself drop, plump at once
+within a couple of yards of Rover's nose. This was too much for any
+four-footed animal to bear, so he gave a bounce and sprang at the
+impertinent squirrel, who, in one second, was safe out of his reach,
+cocking his tail, and showing his teeth on the identical bough where he
+had sat before. Away flew all the wild fowl, and my sport was completely
+marred. My gun went involuntarily to my shoulder to shoot the squirrel.
+At the same moment, I felt I was about to commit an act of sheer
+revenge, on a little courageous animal which deserved a better fate. As
+if aware of my hesitation, he nodded his head with rage, and stamped his
+fore paws on the tree: while in his chirruping, there was an intonation
+of sound, which seemed addressed to an enemy for whom he had an utter
+contempt. What business, I could fancy he said, had I there, trespassing
+on his domain, and frightening his wife and little family, for whom he
+was ready to lay down his life? There he would sit in spite of me, and
+make my ears ring with the sound of his war whoop, till the spring of
+life should cease to bubble in his little heart."
+
+
+Tame Squirrels.
+
+Captain Brown tells of a gentleman who had a tame squirrel, who used to
+run up his legs and enter his pocket when he saw him preparing to go
+out. From this safe retreat the squirrel often poked his head and peeped
+at the people as they passed, but never ventured to emerge until the
+crowded thoroughfares were passed. When they reached the outskirts of
+the city, however, the squirrel leaped to the ground, ran along the
+road, ascended trees and hedges, with the quickness of lightning, and
+nibbled at the leaves and bark. If the gentleman walked on, it would
+descend, scamper after him, and again enter his pocket. On hearing a
+carriage or cart, it became much alarmed, and always hid itself till it
+had passed by. This gentleman had a dog, between which and the squirrel
+a certain enmity existed. Whenever the dog lay asleep, the squirrel
+would show its teasing disposition, by rapidly descending from its box,
+scampering over the dog's body, and quickly mounting to its box again.
+Another squirrel who frequented his master's pocket, on one occasion
+rendered important service. One evening, as was his practice, when his
+master's coat was taken off and hung behind a door, the squirrel ran up
+the door and took up his quarters in the familiar pocket, carrying with
+him a supply of tow with which to make himself comfortable for the
+night. After all the family had retired to rest, a burglar made his
+appearance, effected an entrance, and proceeded to examine the pockets
+of the coat hanging to the door. Putting his hand rather unceremoniously
+into the squirrel's bedroom the robber received such a sharp and
+unexpected bite that he could not forbear to cry out and the master of
+the house, aroused by the unusual sound, entered the room, armed with a
+poker, just in time to secure the thief as he was escaping through the
+window.
+
+
+The Marmot. The Bobak. The Prairie Dog.
+
+Marmots are found in the northern parts of both the old and the new
+worlds. The Bobak belongs to southern Russia, the Prairie Dog to North
+America and the Woodchuck to Canada.
+
+The marmot is easily tamed and is familiar to many from being made the
+companion of itinerant Savoyards who exhibit them when asking alms. The
+Bobak is also readily amenable to kindness. All these animals live in
+burrows and are exceedingly interesting in their habits. The anomalure
+is a squirrel with a membranous skin resembling to some extent that of
+the flying squirrels and used by it for the same purpose. It belongs to
+Fernando Po.
+
+
+The Chinchilla.
+
+The Chinchilla is about nine inches long, its tail being about five
+inches. Its eyes are full, like those of the rabbit, its hind legs are
+long, its fore ones short. It sits upon its haunches, and takes its food
+in its fore paws. It is found in Chili and Peru, and inhabits the open
+country, living in burrows, and subsisting on the roots of bulbous
+plants, which are abundant in those regions. Great numbers of them are
+killed for their skins, which furnish the most delicate and beautiful of
+furs. The Alpine Viscacha and the Viscacha of the Pampas, are included
+in the same family.
+
+
+The Porcupine.
+
+The Porcupine is found throughout Africa and southern Asia and also in
+the south of Europe. "Less completely covered with weapons of defence
+than the hedgehog," says Captain Brown, "the porcupine possesses them in
+greater strength, for its formidable quills are capable of inflicting
+severe wounds. When irritated or in danger it raises its quills on its
+back; but it is though fretful, not fierce in disposition but easily
+tamed." When cornered the porcupine turns its back to its assailant, who
+usually wounds himself by coming in contact with the quills. The
+porcupine lives in burrows by itself; it is a lonely animal. The Cavies
+and the Agouti of America are classified with this family. Among the
+former is the Capybara, the largest of the rodents, an animal which
+attains to from three to four feet in length. It belongs to Brazil,
+Guinea, and Paraguay. The Canadian porcupine, and the Brazilian
+porcupine, are tree porcupines and are only found in America.
+
+
+The Guinea Pig.
+
+The Guinea Pig (_Cavia Cobaya_) is said to be the domestic form of the
+_Cavia Aperea_ of Brazil and Peru. It derives its name from its supposed
+place of origin, as it was said to have been first introduced into
+England from Guinea. It is tailless, but clean and neat in appearance,
+being marked with black, white, and orange colours. It is said to lack
+intelligence and to be destitute of attachment, suffering its young to
+be destroyed without resistance. Perhaps this is due to the fact that it
+has so many; it breeds at intervals of two months and produces from
+three to twelve young ones at a birth.
+
+
+Hares and Rabbits.
+
+We come now to the second sub-order of the Rodents or animals that gnaw,
+the _Duplicidentati_, the rodents having four incisor teeth in the upper
+jaw. This brings us to the Hares and Rabbits, of which there are
+numerous species, the Common Hare, the Irish or Mountain Hare and the
+Common Rabbit being the best known. The Irish or Mountain Hare is
+somewhat larger than the common hare and changes from brown to white in
+the winter. The Sardinian, the Egyptian, the Polar, and the Sage hares
+are other varieties.
+
+
+The Common Hare.
+
+The Common Hare is a familiar animal and needs no description. It is
+found throughout Europe and is well known in England. The hare hides
+during the day under cover of low foliage, ferns, and the undergrowth of
+preserves, in spots known as 'forms'. Its habit of making a definite
+track from its form to its feeding grounds and of always following its
+own track makes it an easy sacrifice to those who know its ways. It is
+exceedingly swift in its movements, and it is well that it is so, for
+its only safety is in flight and in the sagacity and cunning it shows
+in eluding its pursuers. Many illustrations of the latter have been
+recorded. Fouilloux mentions a hare which he saw start from its form at
+the sound of a hunter's horn, run towards a pool of water at a
+considerable distance, plunge in and swim to some rushes in the middle,
+and there lay down and conceal itself from the pursuit of the dogs.
+Another hare, when closely pressed passed under a gate, the dogs leaping
+over it. The hare quickly perceived the advantage it had gained by this,
+and so doubled, returning under the gate, the dogs following over it as
+before. This was repeated several times until taking advantage of the
+exhaustion of the dogs the hare escaped. The hare will often run
+perfectly straight while in view of the hounds, but immediately on
+gaining the slightest cover will double, and redouble with astonishing
+rapidity, apparently to confuse the scent.
+
+
+[Illustration: A Hare's-breadth Escape]
+
+The Intelligence of the Hare.
+
+The following anecdote seems to show remarkable intelligence on the part
+of a hare. It is from a statement made by Mr. Yarrell in the "Magazine
+of Natural History":--"A harbour of great extent on our southern coast
+has an island near the middle, of considerable size, the nearest point
+of which is a mile distant from the mainland at high water, and with
+which point there is frequent communication by a ferry. Early one
+morning in spring two hares were observed to come down from the hills of
+the mainland towards the seaside, one of which from time to time left
+its companion, and proceeding to the very edge of the water, stopped
+there a minute or two, and then returned to its mate. The tide was
+rising, and after waiting some time, one of them, exactly at high water,
+took to the sea, and swam rapidly over, in a straight line, to the
+opposite projecting point of land. The observer on this occasion, who
+was near the spot, but remained unperceived by the hares, had no doubt
+that they were of different sexes, and that it was the male--like
+another Leander--which swam across the water, as he had probably done
+many times before. It was remarkable that the hares had remained on the
+shore nearly half an hour, one of them occasionally examining, as it
+would seem, the state of the current, and ultimately taking to the sea
+at that precise period of the tide called slack water, when the passage
+across could be effected without being carried by the force of the
+stream either above or below the desired point of landing. The other
+hare then cantered back to the hills."
+
+
+A Hunted Hare.
+
+The following story of a hunted hare is from "The Annals of Sporting,"
+for May 1822:--"Two years ago, a doe hare produced two young ones in a
+field adjoining my cottage; and the three were occasionally seen, during
+the summer, near the same spot. But the leverets were, I have reason to
+believe, killed at the latter end of September of the same year; the old
+doe hare was also coursed, and making directly for my cottage, entered
+the garden, and there blinked the dogs. I repeatedly afterwards saw her
+sitting, sometimes in the garden, (which is one hundred and ten yards by
+forty-three,) but more frequently in the garden-hedge. She was
+repeatedly seen by greyhounds when she sat at some distance, but
+uniformly made for the garden, and never failed to find security. About
+the end of the following January, puss was no longer to be seen about
+the garden, as she had probably retired to some distance with a male
+companion. One day, in February, I heard the hounds, and shortly
+afterwards observed a hare making towards the garden, which it entered
+at a place well known, and left not the least doubt on my mind, that it
+was my old acquaintance, which, in my family, was distinguished by the
+name of Kitty. The harriers shortly afterwards came in sight, followed
+Kitty, and drove her from the garden. I became alarmed for the safety of
+my poor hare, and heartily wished the dogs might come to an
+irrecoverable fault. The hare burst away with the fleetness of the wind,
+and was followed breast high, by her fierce and eager pursuers. In
+about twenty minutes I observed Kitty return towards the garden,
+apparently much exhausted, and very dirty. She took shelter beneath a
+small heap of sticks, which lay at no great distance from the kitchen
+door. No time was to be lost, as, by the cry of the hounds, I was
+persuaded they were nearly in sight. I took a fishing-net, and, with the
+assistance of the servant, covered poor Kitty, caught her, and conveyed
+the little, panting, trembling creature into the house. The harriers
+were soon at the spot, but no hare was to be found. I am not aware that
+I ever felt greater pleasure than in thus saving poor Kitty from her
+merciless pursuers. Towards evening I gave Kitty her liberty; I turned
+her out in the garden, and saw her not again for some time. In the
+course of the following summer, however, I saw a hare several times,
+which I took to be my old friend; and, in the latter end of October,
+Kitty was again observed in the garden. Henceforward she was
+occasionally seen as on the preceding winter. One morning, in January,
+when I was absent, a gun was fired near my cottage; Kitty was heard to
+scream, but, nevertheless, entered the garden vigorously. The matter was
+related to me on my return home; and I was willing to hope that Kitty
+would survive. However, I had some doubt on the subject; and, the next
+morning, as soon as light permitted, I explored the garden, and found
+that my poor unfortunate favourite had expired; she was stretched
+beneath a large gooseberry tree; and I could not help very much
+regretting her death."
+
+
+Tame Hares.
+
+Though exceedingly timid creatures hares are readily tamed, and have
+often become as domesticated as cats and dogs. Cowper's experiments with
+hares will naturally occur to the reader, besides which there are cases
+recorded where tame hares have been associated in domesticity with cats
+and even sporting dogs. One possessed by Mr. A. S. Moffat was thus
+domiciled and would feed from the same plate with a cat and a dog. This
+hare would knock a book out of its master's hand to secure his
+attention.
+
+
+The Common Rabbit.
+
+The Common Rabbit is found all over the British Isles, as well as in
+France and Spain; and in the north of Africa where it is indigenous. It
+is smaller than the hare and lives in burrows, in large numbers,
+completely honey-combing sand hills which are covered with grass and
+vegetation. Before producing her young, the female forms a separate
+burrow where she conceals them after birth. This is done to protect them
+from the male who destroys, if he discovers them. The young are born
+blind and gain their sight after ten days. They are a month old before
+they are allowed to leave the burrow.
+
+
+ORDER XI.
+
+Toothless Animals.
+
+Curiously enough this order, though denominated toothless, includes
+several animals which have well developed dental arrangements. In these,
+however, the teeth are not found in the front of the jaw, and those
+which are found are elementary and simple. Several families are
+classified with this order, of which the Sloth, the Pangolin, the
+Armadillo, the Cape Ant-Bear, and the Ant-Eater are the best known
+representatives.
+
+
+The Sloth.
+
+The Sloth belongs to South America. "In its wild state," says Waterton,
+"the Sloth spends its whole life in the trees, and never leaves them but
+through force or accident, and, what is more extraordinary, not _upon_
+the branches, like the squirrel and monkey, but _under_ them. He _moves_
+suspended from the branch, he _rests_ suspended from the branch, and he
+_sleeps_ suspended from the branch." "In fact," says the Rev. J. G.
+Wood, "as Sydney Smith observes, he passes a life of suspense, like a
+curate distantly related to a Bishop. To render it fit for this singular
+mode of life, its long and powerful arms are furnished with strong
+curved claws, which hook round the branches, and keep the animal
+suspended without any effort. When on the ground, these claws are very
+inconvenient, and it can barely shuffle along; but when it is in its
+native element, it moves with exceeding rapidity, particularly in a gale
+of wind, when it passes from branch to branch, and from tree to tree,
+with an activity which its movements on the ground by no means portend."
+
+
+The Pangolin.
+
+There are two species of the Pangolin, or Manis, the long-tailed and the
+short-tailed, the former being a native of Africa and the latter of the
+East Indies. The long-tailed manis measures about five feet inclusive of
+the tail which is about three feet long, the short-tailed manis about
+four feet in all. All the upper parts of its body are closely covered
+with scales of different sizes, which, as they are attached to the skin
+only by the lower extremity, it can erect at pleasure, opposing to its
+adversary a formidable row of offensive weapons. They are sharp at the
+point, and so hard as, on collision, to strike fire like a flint. The
+moment it perceives the approach of an enemy, it rolls itself up like a
+hedgehog, by which means it covers all the weaker parts of its body. The
+Pangolins live on ants, which they catch by thrusting their long slender
+tongues into the midst of their prey, their tongues being covered by a
+gummy saliva to which the ants adhere.
+
+
+The Armadillo.
+
+The Armadillo is a native of South America, in which country there are
+several varieties. They are all covered with a strong crust or shell,
+resembling, as the Rev. J. G. Wood puts it, "the modified plate armour"
+worn by men in the 16th century. They eat vegetables and insects, and do
+good work as scavengers. They burrow with great rapidity and when rolled
+up, after the manner of the hedgehog, are invulnerable to their ordinary
+enemies.
+
+
+The Cape Ant-Bear.
+
+The Cape Ant-Bear belongs to the Cape of Good Hope. It differs from the
+ant-eaters of the western world in many ways, being a hairy animal
+without scales, its head resembling that of the deer kind, having long
+ears but no horns. The length of its body which is covered with
+bristles is about four feet, and its feet which are short, are furnished
+with strong claws which enable it to excavate the cavities in which it
+lives.
+
+
+The Ant-Eater.
+
+The true Ant-Eater is found in the South American tropics. The Great
+Ant-Eater belongs to La Plata, the Little Ant-Eater to the Brazils. The
+Great Ant-Eater is four feet in length, without its tail, which is two
+feet six inches long. The true ant-eater like the Pangolin already
+described inserts its long tongue into the nest of the ant, catching its
+little victims in large numbers by the sticky mucus which covers its
+tongue.
+
+
+ORDER XII.
+
+Pouched Animals.
+
+Of the several families classed in this order the opossums and the
+kangaroos are the most familiar. The Dasyures of Tasmania and the
+Bandicoots of Australia and New Guinea also belong to this order, as do
+the many varieties of the Phalanger of Australasia and those of the
+Wombat of Tasmania. The pouch is one of the most remarkable provisions
+of Nature, the young of the pouched animals being small and of imperfect
+form at birth and requiring the protection of the pouch for their
+sustenance and development.
+
+
+The Opossum.
+
+The common Opossum, which is a native of Virginia, is about the size of
+a badger. It is provided with a pouch, in which it carries its young,
+and into which they leap on the approach of danger. Its covering is a
+coat of long fur, of a dingy white colour. It feeds upon fish, birds,
+insects, and reptiles. Its tail is very muscular, and by this it hangs
+from the branches of trees and, watching its prey, lets itself fall upon
+its victims with great precision. Its hind feet are formed something
+like hands, by which it is enabled to climb with wonderful facility. The
+opossum when caught often simulates death so admirably that he deceives
+his captors and ultimately escapes them.
+
+
+The Kangaroo.
+
+The Kangaroo belongs to Australia and New Guinea. The length of its body
+is from four to five feet six inches; its fore legs are very short; its
+hind ones very long. Its tail is from three to four feet in length, and
+its strength is such, that a stroke of it will break a man's leg. The
+Kangaroo moves by great leaps or bounds of from twelve to twenty feet.
+It is covered with a short soft fur, of a reddish ash-colour. It feeds
+on vegetables, and has a pouch for its young, like the opossum. Mr.
+Cunningham says: "The Kangaroos make no use of the short fore legs,
+except in grazing. When chased, they hop upon their hind legs, bounding
+onward at a most amazing rate, the tail wagging up and down as they
+leap, and serving them for a balance. They will bound over gulleys and
+deep declivities, and fly right over the tops of low brush wood." There
+are several varieties of this animal; one of which, called the Rat
+Kangaroo, is only the size of a rabbit; another, called the Tree
+Kangaroo, can hop about on trees in an extraordinary manner and is
+furnished with curved claws, on its fore paws, similar to those of the
+sloth, by which he can lay hold of the branches.
+
+
+Kangaroo Hunting.
+
+Kangaroo hunting is a favourite Australian sport. It is not unattended
+with danger either to dogs or men, the sharp claws and powerful hind
+legs of the animal making it a formidable enemy at close quarters.
+Dawson in his "Present State of Australia" says: "A full-sized 'wool
+man' at bay always sits on his haunches, and when he rises to move
+forward, he stands four, or four and a half feet high. In this manner,
+he will, when pressed, meet a man, and hug and scratch him, if not to
+death, in such a way that he does not soon forget it. When hard pressed,
+and near to water, the kangaroo always takes it; if it be deep water,
+and the dogs follow him, one or the other is almost sure to be drowned.
+If a single dog, the kangaroo is nearly certain to come off victorious,
+by taking his assailant in his fore arms, and holding him under water
+till he is dead; but, if he has two dogs opposed to him, he is not left
+at liberty to hold either of his opponents long enough under water to
+drown him, and he generally himself falls a sacrifice, after a long and
+hard struggle. Notwithstanding the courage and ferocity of the kangaroo,
+when pressed, he is otherwise extremely timid, and more easily
+domesticated than any wild animal with which I am acquainted, The
+smaller ones are frequently quite as swift as a hare; and I have
+sometimes seen them outstrip the fleetest dogs." Young and inexperienced
+dogs are almost sure to fall victims to the sharp claw and powerful hind
+leg of the kangaroo, with one stroke of which he will rip the dog open
+and let his entrails out.
+
+
+ORDER XIII.
+
+Monotremata.
+
+The order Monotremata includes two families, the _OrnithorhynchidA|_ and
+the _EchidnidA|_, both of which belong to Australia. The Duck-billed
+Platypus belongs to the former, the Australian Hedgehog to the latter
+family.
+
+
+The Duck-billed Platypus.
+
+The Duck-billed Platypus is one of the most singular of animals. "When
+it was first introduced into Europe," says Mr. Wood, "it was fully
+believed to be the manufacture of some impostor, who with much ingenuity
+had fixed the beak of a duck into the head of some unknown animal. It
+will, however, be seen by examining the skull of the animal, that this
+duck-like beak is caused by a prolongation of some of the bones of the
+head." The Platypus lives on the banks of rivers in burrows which it
+forms, and feeds on water insects and small shell fish. It is web-footed
+but its feet are so constructed that it can fold back the web when it
+wants to burrow, and unfold it when it wants to swim. The hind feet of
+the male are armed with a sharp spur.
+
+
+The Australian Hedgehog.
+
+The Australian Hedgehog is about a foot long. It lives in burrows and
+feeds on insects, has a long tongue but no teeth. It has spines from
+which circumstance it is called a hedgehog after its English namesake,
+though its spines are almost hidden by its hair. It is said to be a
+dull, unintelligent animal.
+
+
+
+
+CLASS II--AVES.
+
+
+Classification.
+
+The Birds are distinguished from the Mammals by many obvious
+characteristics, chief among which are their bodily form, their feathery
+covering and their manner of producing their young by means of eggs. The
+Birds form the second class of the sub-kingdom Vertebrate and according
+to the classification followed in this work are divided into ten orders.
+These orders are, I Passeres: birds characterised by the habit of
+perching; II PicariA|: birds that climb, etc. Ill Psittacini: the
+Parrots; IV ColumbA|: the Doves; V GallinA|: the Fowls; VI Opisthocomi:
+the Hoazin of Brazil and Guinea; VII Accipitres: the Birds of Prey; VIII
+Grallatores: the birds that wade; IX Anseres: the Birds that swim; X
+Struthiones: the Ostrich, the Emu, etc., etc.
+
+
+ORDER I.
+
+Perching Birds.
+
+The species of this order are very numerous, and have been variously
+divided by different authorities. Mr. Wallace forms them into five
+groups, which classification we shall find it convenient to follow.
+These five groups are: I The Thrushes and Thrush-like perching birds; II
+The Tanagers and similar kinds; III The Starlings and allied species; IV
+The Ant-eaters, etc., and V The Lyre Birds, and the Scrub Birds of
+Australia. The first group includes many well known feathered
+favourites: the Thrush; the Blackbird; the Mocking Bird; the Tailor
+Bird; the Wren; the Robin; the Nightingale; the Titmouse; the Golden
+Oriole; the Jay; the Magpie; the Raven; the Rook; the Carrion Crow; the
+Jackdaw; the Chough; and the Bird of Paradise. The second group includes
+the Swallow; the Martin; the Goldfinch; the Linnet; the Canary; the
+Bullfinch; the Bunting and many others. The third group contains the
+Starlings; the Weaver Bird; the Lark; the Wagtail, and the Pipits; the
+fourth group, the King Bird of North America; the Manakins of Guinea;
+the Chatterers of South America; the Bell Bird of Brazil, and the
+Umbrella Bird of the Amazon. The fifth group contains the Lyre Birds and
+the Scrub Birds of Australia.
+
+
+The Thrush.
+
+The order of Thrush-like perching birds is a very large one, including
+nearly three thousand known varieties. Of these it will be impossible,
+within present limits, to even mention a very large number, and we shall
+content ourselves with dealing with a few of the better known species.
+
+
+The Common Thrush.
+
+The Thrush is one of the most popular of English native birds, as its
+song is one of the most beautiful of those of the bird kind. It is a
+herald of the English spring and summer, beginning to sing at the end of
+January and continuing until July. It builds its nest in a hedge or
+bush, and, as it breeds early in the year, lines it with a plaster of
+mud to protect its young from the cold winds. It is a bold bird and will
+vigorously defend its nest from the attacks of larger birds. It feeds on
+insects, snails and worms.
+
+"Watch an old thrush," says Dr. Stanley, "pounce down on a lawn,
+moistened with dew and rain. At first he stands motionless, apparently
+thinking of nothing at all, his eye vacant, or with an unmeaning gaze.
+Suddenly he cocks his ear on one side, makes a glancing sort of dart
+with his head and neck, gives perhaps one or two hops, and then stops,
+again listening attentively, and his eye glistening with attention and
+animation; his beak almost touches the ground,--he draws back his head
+as if to make a determined peck. Again he pauses; listens again; hops,
+perhaps once or twice, scarcely moving his position, and pecks smartly
+on the sod; then is once more motionless as a stuffed bird. But he knows
+well what he is about; for, after another moment's pause, having
+ascertained that all is right, he pecks away with might and main, and
+soon draws out a fine worm, which his fine sense of hearing had informed
+him was not far off, and which his hops and previous peckings had
+attracted to the surface, to escape the approach of what the poor worm
+thought might be his underground enemy, the mole."
+
+
+The Missel Thrush.
+
+The Missel Thrush, so called from its fondness for the mistletoe, is
+larger than the common or song thrush, less melodious and not so common
+in England, but well known upon the continent of Europe. Like the song
+thrush it finds a determined enemy in the magpie, against which it often
+defends itself with success. It is, however, unable to withstand a
+combined attack. Gilbert White says: "The Missel-thrush is, while
+breeding, fierce and pugnacious, driving such birds as approach its nest
+with great fury to a distance. The Welsh call it "pen y llwyn," the head
+or master of the coppice. He suffers no magpie, jay, or blackbird, to
+enter the garden where he haunts; and is, for the time, a good guard to
+the new-sown legumens. In general, he is very successful in the defence
+of his family; but once I observed in my garden, that several magpies
+came determined to storm the nest of a missel-thrush: the dams defended
+their mansion with great vigour, and fought resolutely _pro aris et
+focis_; but numbers at last prevailed, they tore the nest to pieces, and
+swallowed the young alive."
+
+
+The Blackbird.
+
+The Blackbird is another of the most cherished of English song birds. It
+is one of the earliest to wake the morning with a song. Its habits are
+similar to those of the Thrush; it builds its nest in bushes, in
+shrubberies and gardens, safe from the sight, but close to the haunts of
+man. It lines its nest with a plaster of mud which it covers over with
+dry grass, and is exemplary in the care of its young. It has a black
+coat as its name implies, and an orange tawny bill. The blackbird has to
+some extent the power of the mocking bird, of imitating the sounds it
+hears,--such as the chuckling of a hen, the song of the nightingale, the
+caw of the crow. In the "Magazine of Natural History" of September 1831,
+Mr. Bouchier of Wold Rectory, near Northampton, says: "Within half a
+mile of my residence there is a blackbird which crows constantly, and as
+accurately as the common cock, and nearly as loud; as it may, on a still
+day, be heard at the distance of several hundred yards. When first told
+of the circumstance, I conjectured that it must have been the work of a
+cock pheasant, concealed in a neighbouring brake; but, on the assurance
+that it was nothing more or less than a common blackbird, I determined
+to ascertain the fact with my own eyes and ears; and this day I had the
+gratification of getting close to it, seated on the top bough of an ash
+tree, and pursuing with unceasing zeal its unusual note. The resemblance
+to the crow of the domestic cock is so perfect, that more than one in
+the distance were answering it. It occasionally indulged in its usual
+song; but only for a second or two; resuming its more favourite note;
+and once or twice it commenced with crowing, and broke off in the middle
+into its natural whistle. In what way this bird has acquired its present
+propensity I am unable to say, except that as its usual haunt is near a
+mill where poultry are kept, it may have learned the note from the
+common fowl."
+
+The Blackbird of America resembles his English cousin in most
+particulars. He is often seen following the plough, looking for worms in
+the fresh furrows, and frequently, like the crow, stealing the planted
+maize or Indian corn from the hill. In the autumn the American
+Blackbirds gather in vast flocks, and sometimes produce a roar like the
+rush of a waterfall by their flight.
+
+
+The Mocking Bird.
+
+The Mocking Bird is a native of America and many stories are told of its
+wonderful powers of mimicry. The following description is furnished by
+Wilson: "The plumage of the Mocking Bird, though none of the homeliest,
+has nothing gaudy or brilliant in it, and, had he nothing else to
+recommend him, would scarcely entitle him to notice; but his figure is
+well proportioned, and even handsome. The ease, elegance, and rapidity
+of his movements, the animation of his eye, and the intelligence he
+displays in listening, and laying up lessons from almost every species
+of the feathered creation within his hearing, are really surprising, and
+mark the peculiarity of his genius. In his native groves, mounted upon
+the top of a tall bush or half grown tree, in the dawn of a dewy
+morning, while the woods are already vocal with a multitude of warblers,
+his admirable song rises pre-eminent over every competitor. The ear can
+listen to his music alone, to which that of all the others seems a mere
+accompaniment. Neither is this strain altogether imitative. His own
+native notes, which are easily distinguishable by such as are acquainted
+with those of our various song birds, are bold and full, and varied
+seemingly beyond all limits. They consist of short expressions of two,
+three, or at the most five or six syllables, generally interspersed with
+imitations, and all of them uttered with great emphasis and rapidity,
+and continued with undiminished ardour for half an hour, or an hour, at
+a time. His expanded wings and tail, glistening with white, and the
+buoyant gaiety of his action, arresting the eye, as his song most
+irresistibly does the ear, he sweeps round with enthusiastic ecstasy and
+mounts and descends as his song swells or dies away. 'He bounds aloft
+with the celerity of an arrow, as if to recover or recall his very soul,
+which expired in the last elevated strain.' He often deceives the
+sportsman, and sends him in search of birds that are not perhaps within
+miles of him, but whose notes he exactly imitates: even birds themselves
+are frequently imposed upon by this admirable mimic, and are decoyed by
+the fancied calls of their mates, or dive with precipitation into the
+depth of thickets at the scream of what they suppose to be the
+sparrow-hawk."
+
+
+The Tailor Bird.
+
+The Tailor Bird is a small bird of no very remarkable appearance, but it
+is singular from its habit of sewing leaves together in forming its
+nest. This it does by using its beak as a needle, and certain vegetable
+fibres as thread, and sewing the edges of leaves together in the form of
+a pocket, in which it deposits its eggs and rears its young.
+
+
+The Golden Crested Wren.
+
+The Golden Crested Wren is the smallest of British Birds, and it is one
+of the most beautiful, according to Mrs. Bowdich it only weighs eighty
+grains. It is peculiar among British birds for suspending its nest to
+the boughs of trees. Its nest is an elegant structure, sometimes open at
+the top, sometimes covered with a dome, having an entrance at the side.
+It is a tame bird, and often visits country gardens where it may be
+distinguished by its green and yellow coat with white facings, and its
+golden crest. Captain Brown says: "its song is weak and intermittent,
+yet sweet as that which fancy attributes to the fairy on the moonlight
+hill."
+
+
+The Migration of Birds.
+
+Captain Brown, quoting from "Selby's Ornithology", gives an interesting
+account of the way in which our native birds are reinforced from other
+countries.--"On the 24th and 25th of October, 1822," says Mr. Selby,
+"after a very severe gale, with thick fog, from the North East, (but
+veering, towards its conclusion, to the east and south of east,)
+thousands of these birds were seen to arrive upon the sea-shore and
+sand-banks of the Northumbrian coast; many of them so fatigued by the
+length of their flight, or perhaps by the unfavourable shift of wind, as
+to be unable to rise again from the ground, and great numbers were in
+consequence caught or destroyed. This flight must have been immensely
+numerous, as its extent was traced through the whole length of the
+coasts of Northumberland and Durham. There appears little doubt of this
+having been a migration from the more northern provinces of Europe
+(probably furnished by the pine forests of Norway, Sweden, &c.), from
+the circumstance of its arrival being simultaneous with that of large
+flights of the woodcock, fieldfare, and redwing. Although I had never
+before witnessed the actual arrival of the gold-crested regulus, I had
+long felt convinced, from the great and sudden increase of the species,
+during the autumnal and hyemal months that our indigenous birds must be
+augmented by a body of strangers making these shores their winter's
+resort.--A more extraordinary circumstance in the economy of this bird
+took place during the same winter, _viz._, the total disappearance of
+the whole, _natives_ as well as strangers, throughout Scotland and the
+north of England. This happened towards the conclusion of the month of
+January 1823, and a few days previous to the long-continued snow-storm
+so severely felt throughout the northern counties of England, and along
+the eastern parts of Scotland. The range and point of this migration are
+unascertained, but it must probably have been a distant one, from the
+fact of not a single pair having returned to breed, or pass the
+succeeding summer, in the situations they had been known always to
+frequent. Nor was one of the species to be seen till the following
+October, or about the usual time, as I have above stated, for our
+receiving an annual accession of strangers to our own indigenous birds."
+
+
+The Willow Wren.
+
+The Willow Wren is a summer visitor to the British Isles. He arrives
+about the end of March and leaves in the month of September. He is an
+active little bird, an expert fly-catcher and an agreeable singer. His
+coat is of a greenish yellow-brown, his waistcoat is white tinged with
+yellow.
+
+
+The Common Wren.
+
+The Common Wren is indigenous to Great Britain. It builds its nest under
+the shelter of thatched eaves, in out-of-the-way and unusual places. It
+is a plain homely looking little bird of a pale chestnut brown colour.
+Captain Brown gives the following interesting description of a wren's
+music lesson.
+
+
+A Wren's Music Lesson.
+
+"A pair of wrens," says Captain Brown, "built their nest in a box, so
+situated that the family on the grounds had an opportunity of observing
+the mother's care in instructing her young ones to sing. She seated
+herself on one side of the opening of the box, facing her young, and
+commenced by singing over all her notes very slowly and distinctly. One
+of the little ones then attempted to imitate her. After chirping rather
+inharmoniously a few notes, its pipe failed, and it went off the tune.
+The mother immediately took up the tune where the young one had failed,
+and distinctly finished the remaining part. The young one made a second
+attempt, commencing where it had left off, and continuing for a few
+notes with tolerable distinctness, when it again lost the notes; the
+mother began again where it ceased, and went through with the air. The
+young one again resumed the tune and completed it. When this was done,
+the mother again sung over the whole of her song with great precision;
+and then another of the young attempted to follow it, who likewise was
+incapable of going through with the tune, but the parent treated it as
+she had done the first bird; and so on with the third and fourth. It
+sometimes happened that the little one would lose the tune, even three
+or four times in making the attempt; in which case the mother uniformly
+commenced where it had ceased, and always sung to the end of the tune;
+and when each had completed the trial, she always sung over the whole
+song. Sometimes two of them commenced the strain together, in which case
+she pursued the same conduct towards them, as she had done when one
+sung. This was repeated at intervals every day, while they remained in
+their nest."
+
+
+The House Wren.
+
+The American House Wren is described by Audubon as a cheery familiar
+little bird, resembling the common wren in many of his habits, if not
+indeed identical with it.
+
+Wilson says, "in the month of June a mower hung up his coat, under a
+shed, near the barn, and two or three days elapsed before he had
+occasion to put it on again, when thrusting his arm up the sleeve, he
+found it completely filled with some rubbish, as he called it, and on
+extracting the whole mass, found it to be the nest of a wren completely
+finished, and lined with a large quantity of feathers. In his retreat,
+he was followed by the forlorn little proprietors, who scolded him with
+great vehemence for thus ruining the whole economy of their household
+affairs." Wilson also tells a very pretty story of a pair of wrens who
+built their nest upon a window sill, one of whom, the female, venturing
+to enter the room was devoured by a cat. The male bird showed much
+uneasiness when he missed his mate, but after a time disappeared for two
+days, returning with a new wife, and with her help removing the two eggs
+left by her predecessor to a new nest in a more secure position.
+
+
+The Nightingale.
+
+The Nightingale and the Sky-Lark, may perhaps be said to divide honours
+in the sphere of feathered song. Both have entranced innumerable
+auditors and both have won noble tributes from poets' pens. Both,
+moreover, are plain birds. The nightingale is of a tawny colour on the
+head and back, and of a greyish white on the throat and under parts. It
+has a full large eye of great brightness. It is one of the largest of
+the song birds, measuring seven inches in length. The nightingale is
+found in Yorkshire but not in Lancashire, also in Surrey, Sussex, Kent,
+Dorsetshire, Somersetshire and East Devonshire, but not in Cornwall. It
+belongs to France, Germany, Poland, Italy, and Palestine.
+
+
+The Nightingale's Song.
+
+"The Nightingale's song," says the author of "Tales of Animals," "unites
+strength and sweetness, in a most wonderful degree, as its notes may be
+heard on a calm evening at the distance of half a mile. The most
+consummate musician might listen with delight to its song, whatever
+might be his peculiar taste, as it can at one moment thrill the heart
+with joy and at another melt it to sober sadness, by the laughing and
+sighing modulations which follow each other in rapid succession through
+the melody, which is seldom interrupted by a pause. As if conscious of
+its unrivalled powers, it does not join the sometimes discordant concert
+of the other songsters, but waits on some solitary twig till the
+blackbird and thrush have uttered their evening call, till the stock and
+ring doves have lulled each other to rest, and then it displays at full
+its melodious fancies." The following is an attempt made by a well-known
+naturalist to reduce the song to writing:
+
+"Tiuu tiuu tiuu tiuu--Spe tiuu zqua--TiA tiA tiA tio tio tio tio
+tix--Qutio qutio qutio qutio--Zquo zquo zquo zquo--TzA1/4 tzA1/4 tzA1/4 tzA1/4 tzA1/4
+tzA1/4 tzA1/4 tzA1/4 tzA1/4 tzi--Quorror tin zqua
+pipiquisi--Zozozozozozozozozozozozo zirrhading!" &c. &c.
+
+Quaint old Izaac Walton says: "But the nightingale, another of my airy
+creatures, breathes such sweet, loud music out of her instrumental
+throat, that it might make mankind to think that miracles are not
+ceased. He that at midnight, when the very labourer sleeps securely,
+should hear, as I have very often, the clear airs, the sweet descents,
+the natural rising and falling, the doubling and redoubling of her
+voice, might well be lifted above earth, and say, '_Lord, what music
+hast thou provided for the saints in Heaven, when thou affordest bad men
+such music on earth!_'"
+
+
+The Robin Redbreast.
+
+The Robin Redbreast is a prime favourite in English cottage homes. Its
+appearance on the window sill at the approach of winter is an
+irresistible appeal to human sympathy and seldom fails of a hearty
+response. Captain Brown mentions a robin which, during a severe storm,
+came to the window of the room where his father sat, upon which his
+father opened the window, to give it some crumbs. "Instead of flying
+away, the robin hopped into the room, and picked the crumbs from the
+floor. His father, being very fond of animals, took great pleasure in
+taming this bird, and so completely succeeded, that it would pick small
+pieces of raw flesh and worms from his hand, sat on the table at which
+he wrote, and, when the day was very cold, perched upon the fender. When
+a stranger entered, it flew to the top of a door, where it perched every
+night. The window was frequently opened to admit air, but the robin
+never offered to go away. As the spring advanced, and the weather became
+fine, it flew away every morning, and returned every evening, till the
+time of incubation arrived, and it then flew away altogether. At the
+next fall of the year it again asked for admittance, and behaved exactly
+in the same manner as before. It did this a third time, but when it flew
+away the ensuing spring, it was never seen again." Robins have been
+known to build their nests in queer places. Mrs. Bowdich tells of one
+which attached its nest to the Bible of the parish church of Hampton,
+Warwickshire, and of others which built theirs on the reading desk of a
+church in Wiltshire and deposited six eggs in it.
+
+
+The Intelligence of the Robin.
+
+The Robin is an intelligent little bird and some pretty stories are told
+of its sagacity. Mrs. Bowdich mentions a gardener who was in the service
+of a friend of hers, who having made a pet of a robin, was one day much
+struck with the uneasiness of his little friend, and concluding that he
+wanted assistance followed him to his nest, which occupied a flower pot,
+when he discovered that a snake had coiled itself round the little home.
+Happily the gardener was in time to save the birds though at the snake's
+expense. In "The Gardener's Chronicle" there is a story, quoted by Mrs.
+Bowdich, of a robin which having been caught young and kept with a
+nightingale, learned the nightingale's song so perfectly as to be
+indistinguishable in performance.
+
+
+The Titmouse.
+
+There are several varieties of the Titmouse; the Blue Titmouse, the
+Great Titmouse, and the Long-tailed Titmouse are some of these. The Blue
+Titmouse, sometimes called a Tomtit, is a plucky little bird and resists
+capture with such vigour that according to the Rev. J. G. Wood it has
+become known to rustic boys by the name of "Billybiter." "The angry hiss
+of the female," says Mr. Wood, "has frequently caused an intruding hand
+to be rapidly withdrawn, for the sound is so exceedingly like the hiss
+of an irritated snake, and the little beak is so sharp, that few have
+the courage to proceed with their investigations. A pair of these birds
+built their nest in the coping of the Great Western Railway, at the
+Shrivenham station, not two feet from the fiery and noisy engines, which
+were constantly passing. The men respected the courage of the little
+birds, and the whole brood was hatched, and suffered to fly at liberty."
+
+The Great Titmouse is found in various parts of Europe. According to
+Mrs. Bowdich it is sufficiently pliable to roll itself up in a ball, and
+is strong enough to crack a hazel nut. She says, "It will plant itself
+at the door of a hive, and tap loudly on the edge; which signal is
+answered by a sentinel bee who is immediately snapped up, taken to the
+bough of a tree where he is beaten to death, and then loses his head and
+thorax; the rest of him being unworthy of the appetite of his captor."
+The Long-tailed Titmouse is famous for the beauty, security and warmth
+of its nest.
+
+
+The Golden Oriole.
+
+The Golden Oriole deserves mention if only for its beautiful name; it
+has, however, other claims to attention. It is found in Europe and
+Australia and visits England occasionally during the summer, but is not
+found in America. The male is a very handsome bird of a golden yellow
+colour, with wings and tail of black, the feathers of the latter ending
+in yellow. It lives on fruit and berries, and, failing these, insects,
+and inhabits thickets and wooded spots adjacent to orchards, upon which
+it commits serious depredations.
+
+
+The Shrike.
+
+There are several species of Shrikes, the Thick-headed Shrike, the Great
+Shrike, and the Red-backed Shrike being among these. The Great Shrike
+belongs to both Europe and America. In appearance it resembles the
+Mocking Bird for which it is sometimes mistaken. It preys upon mice,
+frogs, birds, grasshoppers and large insects, killing and then impaling
+them upon thorns until such time as it chooses to eat them. Its rapacity
+has earned for it the name of "the Butcher Bird." According to Mr. Bell
+these birds are kept tame in the houses in Russia. One in his possession
+was furnished with a sharply pointed stick for a perch, on the end of
+which it spitted any bird or animal it caught. The Shrike believes in a
+well filled larder, and does not proceed to eat his game until he has a
+good stock. He is also known as the "Nine-killer" in America, from his
+supposed preference for spitting that number at a forage.
+
+
+The Jay.
+
+We now come to the family of the CorvidA|, the crow family, which
+includes the Jays, the Magpies and the Choughs. The Common Jay is
+indigenous in England where it secludes itself in woody fastnesses,
+rarely exposing itself in open country. It is a handsome bird about
+thirteen inches long, with beautiful blue markings on its wings, but is
+so shy that it is difficult to get a sight of it when at liberty. Taken
+young it may be easily tamed, when it becomes an amusing, if mischievous
+pet. It has considerable powers of mimicry and can imitate the common
+sounds it hears with wonderful exactness. The bleat of the lamb, the mew
+of the cat, the neigh of the horse and the cries of other birds give
+exercise to this faculty, and Bewick says: "We have heard one imitate
+the sound made by the action of a saw, so exactly, that though it was on
+a Sunday, we could hardly be persuaded that the person who kept it had
+not a carpenter at work in the house." Like many other birds it becomes
+bold in the care and protection of its young. Knapp in his "Journals of
+a Naturalist" says:
+
+"This bird is always extremely timid, when its own interest or safety is
+solely concerned; but no sooner does its hungry brood clamour for
+supply, than it loses all its wary character, and becomes a bold and
+impudent thief. At this period it will visit our gardens, which it
+rarely approaches at other times, plunder them of every raspberry,
+cherry, or bean, that it can obtain, and will not cease from rapine as
+long as any of the brood or the crop remains. We see all the nestlings
+approach, and, settling near some meditated scene of plunder, quietly
+await a summons to commence. A parent bird from some tree, surveys the
+ground, then descends upon the cherry, or into the rows, immediately
+announces a discovery, by a low but particular call, and all the family
+flock into the banquet, which having finished by repeated visits, the
+old birds return to the woods, with all their chattering children, and
+become the same wild, cautious creatures they were before."
+
+
+The Blue Jay.
+
+Wilson gives the following description of the Blue Jay: "This elegant
+bird, peculiar to North America, is distinguished as a kind of beau
+among the feathered tenants of the woods, by the brilliancy of his
+dress; and like most other coxcombs, makes himself still more
+conspicuous by his loquacity, and the oddness of his tones and gestures.
+Of all birds he is the most bitter enemy to the owl. No sooner has he
+discovered the retreat of one of these, than he calls the whole
+feathered fraternity to his assistance, who surround the glimmering
+recluse, and attack him from all sides, raising such a shout as may be
+heard on a still day more than half a mile off. The owl at length,
+forced to betake himself to flight, is followed by his whole train of
+persecutors, until driven beyond the boundaries of their jurisdiction.
+But the blue jay himself is not guiltless of similar depredations as the
+owl and becomes in his turn the very tyrant he detested, and he is
+sometimes attacked with such spirit as to be under the necessity of
+making a speedy retreat. The blue jay is not only bold and vociferous,
+but possesses a considerable talent for mimicry, and seems to enjoy
+great satisfaction in mocking and teasing other birds, particularly the
+little hawk, imitating his cry whenever he sees him, and squeaking out
+as if caught; this soon brings a number of his own tribe around him, who
+all join in the frolic, darting about the hawk, and feigning the cries
+of a bird sorely wounded, and already in the clutches of its devourer;
+while others lie concealed in bushes, ready to second their associates
+in the attack. But this ludicrous farce often terminates tragically. The
+hawk, singling out one of the most insolent and provoking, swoops upon
+him in an unguarded moment, and offers him up a sacrifice to his hunger
+and resentment. In an instant the tune is changed, all their buffoonery
+vanishes, and loud and incessant screams proclaim their disaster.
+Whenever the jay has had the advantage of education from man, he has not
+only shown himself an apt scholar, but his suavity of manners seems
+equalled only by his art and contrivances, though it must be confessed
+that his itch for thieving keeps pace with all his other acquirements."
+
+
+The Magpie.
+
+The Magpie is an ancient bird and is mentioned by Plutarch and other
+early writers. It is indigenous in England and shows great industry and
+ingenuity in the construction of its nest, which it lines with mud
+plaster and covers with thorns, building upon high trees and in secluded
+spots. It feeds upon both animal and vegetable food, attacking birds,
+young ducks and chickens, as well as mice and even rats, and regaling
+itself on both fruit and grain. It attains to a length of about eighteen
+inches and is a handsome bird, though captivity does not improve its
+appearance.
+
+
+The Magpie's Mischief.
+
+The mischievous habits of the magpie have won for it the name of "the
+Monkey of the Birds," the Raven as Mr. Wood puts it being "the
+ornithological baboon." Its mischief is displayed in many ways; in the
+wanton destruction of articles and in their crafty secretion, as well as
+in the thievish appropriation of edible dainties. Mr. Wood tells of a
+Wiltshire magpie which "found a malicious enjoyment in pecking the
+unprotected ankles of little boys not yet arrived at manly habiliments,
+and was such a terror to the female servants that they were forced to
+pass his lurking-place armed with a broom. One of the servants having
+neglected this precaution, was actually found sitting down on the stones
+to protect her ankles, the magpie triumphantly pacing round her, until
+aid was brought, and the bird driven away." Mrs. Bowdich quotes the
+following from Mr. Ranson: "A magpie, kept by a branch of our family,
+was noted for his powers of imitation. He could whistle tunes, imitate
+hens and ducks, and speak very plainly. Seated upon a toll-bar gate, he
+would shout 'Gate, ahoy!' so distinctly, as to draw out the keeper, who
+was generally saluted by a loud laugh when he answered the call. When
+the keeper's wife was making pastry, he would practise the same
+manA"uvre, and if the trick were not detected, and the woman rushed out
+to open the gate, the magpie darted into the house, and speedily made
+his exit with his bill full of paste; and he, in great glee, would
+chatter about it for some time afterwards. He would perch upon the backs
+of chairs, say he was hungry, or inform the juniors of the family it was
+time to go to school. He was allowed to run about, but was never out of
+mischief, and had a constant propensity to pilfer and hide small
+articles." Of the serious consequences sometimes attending this habit of
+secreting things, the following story from Lady Morgan's "Italy" is a
+painful illustration.--"A noble lady of Florence, resided in a house
+which stands still opposite the lofty Doric column which was raised to
+commemorate the defeat of Pietro Strozzi, and the taking of Sienna, by
+the tyrannic conqueror of both. Cosmo, the First, lost a valuable pearl
+necklace, and one of her waiting-women, (a very young girl) was accused
+of the theft. Having solemnly denied the fact, she was put to the
+torture, which was then _a plaisir_ at Florence. Unable to support its
+terrible infliction, she acknowledged that 'she was guilty,' and,
+without further trial, was hung. Shortly after, Florence was visited by
+a tremendous storm; a thunder-bolt fell on the figure of Justice, and
+split the scales, one of which fell to the earth, and with it fell the
+ruins of a magpie's nest, containing the pearl necklace. Those scales
+are still the haunts of birds, and I never saw them hovering round them,
+without thinking of those 'good old times,' when innocent women could be
+first tortured, and then hung on suspicion."
+
+
+The Raven.
+
+The Raven is a large bird, indeed the largest of the British crows,
+attaining to a length of two feet two inches, and having a stretch of
+wing of four feet eight inches, in width. It is an historic bird, being
+mentioned by Pliny who records that a tame one kept in the Temple of
+Castor, was taught by a tailor whom it used to visit, to pronounce the
+name of the Emperor Tiberius and of the other members of the Royal
+family. The fame of the bird brought the tailor riches, but excited the
+jealousy of his neighbours, one of whom killed the bird. The record
+states that the offender was punished and the bird accorded a
+magnificent funeral. The Raven builds its nest in high trees and among
+inaccessible and precipitous rocks, especially in the Hebrides, and
+lives on carrion, not disdaining fruit and grain. Like many other birds
+who afterwards show little concern for their young the Raven is
+assiduous in its attentions during the period of incubation. The
+following is from White's "Natural History of Selborne":
+
+"In the centre of a grove near Selborne, there stood an oak, which
+though shapely and tall on the whole, bulged out into a large
+excrescence near the middle of the stem. On the tree a pair of ravens
+had fixed their residence for such a series of years, that the oak was
+distinguished by the name of the 'raven tree,' Many were the attempts
+of the neighbouring youths to get at this eyrie; the difficulty whetted
+their inclinations, and each was ambitious of surmounting the arduous
+task; but, when they arrived at the swelling, it jutted out so much in
+their way, and was so far beyond their grasp, that the boldest lads were
+deterred, and acknowledged the undertaking to be too hazardous. Thus the
+ravens continued to build nest after nest, in perfect security, till the
+fatal day arrived on which the wood was to be levelled. This was in the
+month of February, when these birds usually sit. The saw was applied to
+the trunk, the wedges were inserted in the opening, the woods echoed to
+the heavy blows of the beetle or mallet, the tree nodded to its fall;
+but the dam persisted to sit. At last, when it gave way, the bird was
+flung from her nest; and though her maternal affection deserved a better
+fate, was whipped down by the twigs, which brought her dead to the
+ground." Ravens are said to pair for life and to live for a hundred
+years.
+
+
+Unnatural Parents.
+
+Though models of conjugal fidelity, Ravens are said to be very unnatural
+parents, often showing not only indifference but cruelty to their young.
+Mr. Morris in his "Anecdotes of Natural History" tells an interesting
+story of a family of ravens whose mother came to an untimely death. "For
+a time the surviving parent hovered about the nest, uttering loud and
+menacing croakings whenever anybody approached. At length, however, he
+disappeared, and absented himself for two or three days, and then
+returned with another mate, when a strange scene occurred. The poor
+half-starved nestlings were attacked without mercy by the step-mother,
+who, after severely wounding, precipitated them from the nest; two,
+however, were found at the foot of the tree with signs of life, and with
+great care and attention reared at the rectory, about half a mile
+distant, and after being slightly pinioned, were allowed their liberty;
+but they seldom quitted the lawn or offices, roosting in a tree in the
+shrubbery. Here, however, they were soon discovered by their unnatural
+parents, who for a long time used to come at early dawn and pounce upon
+them with fierce cries." In this case it was the step-mother and not the
+mother that treated the young ravens so unkindly, and the father may be
+charitably credited with acting under the influence of his second wife.
+That the Raven drives its young out of its nest as soon as they are able
+to provide for themselves is true, but why they should pursue them after
+they have become independent is not clear. This habit of the ravens, as
+Mr. Morris points out, may be referred to in the following quotations:
+"He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry"
+(Psalm CXLVII. 9). "Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young
+ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat" (Job XXXVIII. 41).
+
+
+The Tame Raven.
+
+The Raven may be easily tamed, and in private life is always an
+amusement, if sometimes an annoyance. Like all birds which are capable
+of imitating sounds and which learn words and phrases it will often
+"speak its lines," with startling appropriateness as to time and place.
+Captain Brown tells a good story of a Raven which belonged to a
+gentleman who resided on the borders of the New Forest in Hampshire. On
+one occasion a traveller who was passing through the forest was startled
+by the frequent repetition of the words: "Fair play, gentlemen! fair
+play! for God's sake, gentlemen, fair play!" and upon tracing the source
+of the sound discovered the tame raven defending himself from the
+attacks of two of his own species. It is needless to say that the
+traveller rescued the "gentleman" from the two "ruffians" who molested
+him. Captain Brown also tells of a tame raven who was an expert
+rat-catcher and whose method was to place a meat bone in front of a rat
+hole and to stand on a ledge above the hole, pouncing on the rat as soon
+as he emerged from his retreat. In this way he captured as many as six
+in a fore-noon.
+
+
+The Raven and the Dog.
+
+Dr. Stanley tells the following story of a Raven and a Dog: "A strong
+attachment was once formed between a raven and a large otter-dog. The
+raven had been taken when young, and reared in a stable-yard, where the
+dog was kept chained up. A friendship soon commenced, which, increasing
+from little to more, in time ripened into a most extraordinary degree of
+intimacy. At first the bird was satisfied with hopping about in the
+vicinity of the kennel, and occasionally pecking a hasty morsel from the
+dog's feeding-pan when the latter had finished his meal. Finding,
+however, no interruption on the part of his friend, the raven soon
+became a constant attendant at meal times, and, taking up his position
+on the edge of the dish, acted the part of a regular guest and partaker
+of the dog's dinner, which consisted usually of meal and milk, with
+occasional scraps of offal meat, a piece of which the bird would often
+snatch up, almost from the very mouth of the dog, and hasten beyond the
+reach of his chain, as if to tantalise his four-footed friend; and then
+hopping towards him, would play about, and hang it close to his nose;
+and then as speedily, at the moment the dog was preparing to snap it up,
+would dart off beyond the reach of the chain. At other times he would
+hide the piece of meat under a stone, and then coming back, with a
+cunning look, would perch upon the dog's head. It was observed, however,
+that he always ended his pranks by either sharing or giving up the whole
+piece to his friend the dog. By some accident the raven had fallen into
+a tub of water, and, either weakened by struggling, or unable to get out
+owing to its feathers being soaked with water, it was nearly drowned.
+The dog (whether the same dog or another does not appear), chained at a
+short distance, saw the poor bird's danger, and dragging his heavy
+kennel towards it, reached his head over the side of the tub, and
+taking the drowning raven up in his mouth, laid him gently on the
+ground, when he soon recovered."
+
+
+The Rook.
+
+The Rook which is often confused with the Carrion Crow is found in many
+parts of Europe and is abundant in England, where it is common to see
+groups of trees near gentlemen's houses given up to their occupancy.
+Here they build their nests, rear their young, keep up an incessant
+cawing, quarrel and make peace as do all other large communities. If a
+new-comer appears among them, he is generally received in a very rough
+manner. At Newcastle, a pair of rooks attempted to introduce themselves
+into a rookery, but were so rudely treated, that, in high dudgeon, they
+ascended to the steeple of one of the public buildings, and built their
+nest on the vane. Here they lived for several successive seasons,
+turning about with every change of wind, and regardless of the busy
+scene in the town beneath. The rook is gregarious, in which particular
+it differs from the Carrion Crow which lives in pairs. Further
+differences are found in the feathering of the head and neck of these
+birds, that of the crow being much more completely covered than that of
+the rook. The croak of the crow is, moreover, much harsher than the caw
+of the rook. Like most, if not all other birds and animals, the rook
+serves a useful purpose in nature, in checking the multiplication of the
+worms and insects which prey upon the crops; and doubtless were he able
+to argue the question he would contend that helping the farmer to
+produce his harvest he has a right to a share in it. It is only when the
+rook in his turn gets too numerous that he needs a similar check.
+
+
+The Carrion Crow.
+
+The Carrion Crow resembles the raven in appearance, but is about one
+third smaller in size. It lives in pairs and is said to be a model of
+conjugal fidelity and parental care. Omnivorous in habit it appropriates
+all kinds of food: insects, grain, eggs, fruit, nuts, mice, ducklings
+and chickens, as well as such dead meat as may offer opportunitty.
+Captain Brown quoting from a Scotch newspaper tells of a crow which made
+an attempt to carry off one of a brood of fourteen chickens, but which
+on being disturbed, dropped its prey and made its escape, returning some
+time after with thirteen other crows and carrying off the whole brood.
+
+
+The Jackdaw.
+
+The Jackdaw, measures about fourteen inches, and is thus the smallest of
+the birds of its kind. It builds in old ruins, church towers, and rocky
+eminences, in which particular it differs from the rooks and the crows,
+who select the topmost branches of trees for this purpose. Like its near
+relatives with whom we have been dealing, it is thievish and secretive
+in its habits, showing a preference, in its appropriations, for bright
+objects such as silver spoons and gold rings. These habits and their
+terrible consequences have been immortalized by the history and fate of
+the "Jackdaw of Rheims."
+
+
+The Chough.
+
+The Chough frequents the western sea coasts of England, the north,
+south, and west of Ireland and the Isle of Man, and the borders of the
+snow line or Alpine ranges on the continent of Europe. It nests in the
+cavities of high cliffs and attains a length of seventeen inches; its
+beak and legs are of a brilliant red. When tamed it shows the same
+qualities of curiosity and secretiveness which characterise the other
+birds of its kind.
+
+
+The Bird of Paradise.
+
+The Bird of Paradise is one of the most beautiful of living birds. Mr.
+Wallace thus describes the _Paradisea apoda_ which is the largest
+species known: "The body, wings, and tail are of a rich coffee brown,
+which deepens on the breast to a blackish-violet or purple brown. The
+whole top of the head and neck is of an exceedingly delicate
+straw-yellow, the feathers being short and close set, so as to resemble
+plush or velvet; the lower part of the throat up to the eye is clothed
+with scaly feathers of an emerald green colour, and with a rich metallic
+gloss, and velvety plumes of a still deeper green, extend in a band
+across the forehead and chin as far as the eye, which is bright yellow.
+The beak is pale lead blue, and the feet which are rather large and very
+strong and well formed, are a pale ashy pink. The two middle feathers of
+the tail have no webs, except a very small one at the base and at the
+extreme tip, forming wire-like cirri, which spread out in an elegant
+double curve, and vary from twenty-four to thirty-four inches long. From
+each side of the body beneath the wings, springs a dense tuft of long
+and delicate plumes, sometimes two feet in length, of the most intense
+golden orange colour, and very glossy, but changing towards the tips
+into a pale brown. This tuft of plumage can be elevated and spread out
+at pleasure so as almost to conceal the body of the bird. These splendid
+ornaments are entirely confined to the male sex; the female is a very
+plain and ordinary looking bird. The male is generally seventeen or
+eighteen inches from the beak to the tip of the tail."
+
+
+Hunting the Bird of Paradise.
+
+In catching the Bird of Paradise, the natives take advantage of the
+apparent vanity of their victims. "In May when they are in full
+plumage," says Mr. Wallace, "the males assemble early in the morning to
+exhibit themselves in a most singular manner. This habit enables the
+natives to obtain specimens with comparative ease. As soon as they find
+that the birds have fixed upon a tree upon which to assemble, they build
+a little shelter of palm leaves in a convenient place among the
+branches, and the hunter ensconces himself in it before daylight, armed
+with his bow and a number of arrows terminating in a round nob. A boy
+waits at the foot of the tree, and when the birds come at sunrise, and a
+sufficient number have assembled, and have begun to dance, the hunter
+shoots with his blunt arrow so strongly as to stun the bird, which drops
+down, and is secured and killed by the boy, without its plumage being
+injured by a drop of blood. The rest take no notice, and fall one after
+another till some of them take the alarm." The Bird of Paradise is
+found in New Guinea and the Papuan Islands.
+
+
+The Tanagers.
+
+Following Mr. Wallace's order we come now to the second class of the
+perching birds, the Tanagroid perchers, with the more important species
+of which we will now proceed to deal.
+
+
+The Tanager.
+
+Tanagers are found in America and the West Indian Islands. Wilson, the
+American ornithologist, describing the scarlet Tanager, says: "Among all
+other birds that inhabit our woods, there is none that strikes the eye
+of the stranger or even a native with so much brilliancy as this. Seen
+among the green leaves, with the light falling strongly on his plumage,
+he really appears beautiful. If he has little melody in his notes to
+charm us, he has nothing in them to disgust. His manners are modest,
+easy and inoffensive; he commits no depredations on the property of the
+husbandman, but rather benefits him by the daily destruction in spring
+of many noxious insects; and when winter approaches he is no plundering
+dependant, but seeks in a distant country for that sustenance which the
+severity of the season denies to his industry in this. He is a striking
+ornament to our rural scenery and none of the meanest of our rural
+songsters." Its body is scarlet and its wings and tail are black. One
+species of the Tanager is known as the Organist Tanager from the
+richness of its tones.
+
+
+The Swallow.
+
+Though only a summer friend the swallow is among the most popular of
+birds in England. It arrives in April and is always sure of a hearty
+welcome, and when it leaves in September for its long journey across the
+sea no one would withhold from it a "God speed". The swallow builds
+under the eaves of houses, always selecting dry and sheltered spots. Its
+flight is very rapid, and is a pretty sight to watch as it skims over
+the surface of the water, sometimes striking it with its wings as it
+darts hither and thither, snapping at the flies and insects which come
+within its reach. The marvellous flights of these birds when they
+migrate are among the many wonderful things of nature. Humboldt states
+that he saw a swallow alight on the rigging of his vessel when it was
+one hundred and twenty miles from land. How such tiny creatures can
+sustain such extended flights it is difficult to understand.
+
+
+Swallows in Council.
+
+Swallows seem to understand the principle of co-operation and what the
+family is unable to do for itself the community seems always ready to
+undertake for it. Captain Brown tells of a pair of swallows who
+returning to their last year's nest found it occupied by a robust
+English sparrow. The sparrow declined to give up the nest and the
+swallows were not strong enough to eject it, whereupon a council was
+called, as a result of which a large army of swallows proceeded to close
+up the entrance to the nest with clay, "leaving the sparrow to perish in
+the garrison it had so gallantly defended." This happened at
+Strathendry, Bleachfield, in Fifeshire, on the banks of the Leven, and
+was witnessed by Mr. Gavan Inglis. But not only do the swallows
+co-operate for the purposes of war; Mr. Inglis was a witness of another
+effort of combination. It happened that a pair of swallows had built a
+nest in the corner of one of his windows, in which they had hatched five
+offspring. The parent birds fell victims to a sportsman's gun and Mr.
+Inglis contemplated an attempt to rear the family himself. This,
+however, proved unnecessary. In a very short time a number of swallows
+came and inspected the bereaved dwelling, apparently noting the
+condition of the house as well as the brood. A supply of food was
+immediately brought, and the next morning the kindly offices were
+renewed and thenceforward continued until the young were able to provide
+for themselves. Remarkable as these incidents are they are not singular,
+for both have been known to occur more than once.
+
+
+The House Martin.
+
+The House Martin is characterized by a white spot above his tail which
+adds to the prettiness of his appearance in flight. The summer
+residence of this agreeable bird is universally among the habitations of
+man, who, having no interest in its destruction, and deriving
+considerable advantage as well as amusement from its company, is
+generally its friend and protector.
+
+The Martin inhabits America as well as Europe, and is a particular
+favourite wherever it takes up his abode. "I never knew but one man,"
+says Wilson, "who disliked the Martins, and would not permit them to
+settle about his house: this was a penurious, close-fisted German, who
+hated them, because, as he said, 'they eat his _peas_.' I told him he
+certainly must be mistaken, as I never knew an instance of Martins
+eating peas; but he replied with coolness, 'that he had many times seen
+them himself _blaying_ near the hive, and going _schnip schnap_,' by
+which I understood that it was his bees that were the sufferers; and the
+charge could not be denied."
+
+
+The Sand Martin.
+
+The Sand Martin is the smallest of the British swallows and it is the
+first to arrive. It bores horizontal holes two or three feet deep into
+the sides of sand-pits, at the end of which it builds its nest of grass
+and feathers.
+
+
+The Chaffinch. The Goldfinch. The Greenfinch.
+
+The Finches are beautiful and interesting birds. The Chaffinch is famous
+for the vivacity of its song and the beauty of its nest. "The forks of a
+thorn, or wild crab tree," says Mr. Wood, "are favourite places for the
+nest, which is composed of mosses, hair, wool and feathers, covered on
+the exterior with lichens and mosses so exactly resembling the bough on
+which the nest is placed that the eye is often deceived by its
+appearance." The Goldfinch is a favourite pet, and is capable of being
+trained to perform tricks. It has been called the Thistlefinch from its
+use of the down of the thistle in the construction of its nest. It is
+bright of appearance, cheery of song, and affectionate of disposition.
+The Greenfinch has a coat of rich olive green, and a waistcoat of
+greyish-yellow.
+
+
+The Linnet.
+
+The Linnet is a homely looking little brown bird with a sweet melodious
+voice. It frequents commons and waste lands, where it builds its nest
+under the cover of friendly furze bushes, or nearer the habitations of
+man, in thick-set hedges. The Linnet is the natural laureate of the
+English cottage home.
+
+
+The Canary.
+
+The Canary, as its name implies, comes from the Canary Islands, but it
+has been so crossed in breeding that it differs very considerably from
+its original ancestors. Buffon says:--"If the nightingale is the
+chauntress of the woods, the canary is the musician of the chamber; the
+first owes all to nature, the second something to art. With less
+strength of organ, less compass of voice, and less variety of note, the
+canary has a better ear, greater facility of imitation, and a more
+retentive memory; and as the difference of genius, especially among the
+lower animals, depends in a great measure on the perfection of their
+senses, the canary, whose organ of hearing is more susceptible of
+receiving foreign impressions, becomes more social, tame, and familiar;
+is capable of gratitude and even attachment; its caresses are endearing,
+its little humours innocent, and its anger neither hurts nor offends.
+Its education is easy; we hear it with pleasure, because we are able to
+instruct it. It leaves the melody of its own natural note, to listen to
+the melody of our voices and instruments. It applauds, it accompanies
+us, and repays the pleasure it receives with interest; while the
+nightingale, more proud of its talent, seems desirous of preserving it
+in all its purity, at least it appears to attach very little value to
+ours and it is with great difficulty it can be taught any of our airs.
+The canary can speak and whistle; the nightingale despises our words, as
+well as our airs, and never fails to return to its own wild-wood notes.
+Its pipe is a masterpiece of nature, which human art can neither alter
+nor improve; while that of the canary is a model of more pliant
+materials, which we can mould at pleasure; and therefore it contributes
+in a much greater degree to the comforts of society. It sings at all
+seasons, cheers us in the dullest weather, and adds to our happiness, by
+amusing the young, and delighting the recluse, charming the tediousness
+of the cloister, and gladdening the soul of the innocent and captive."
+
+
+The Tame Canary.
+
+The canary is easily tamed, and has been taught to perform many little
+tricks, indeed groups of them have been trained to act little plays,
+firing cannons and driving coaches. The canary shows a humane
+disposition, has been known to foster the young of other birds, to make
+friends with other pets, even cats; to show great affection for its
+master and to die of grief on the loss of its mate. Dr. Darwin tells of
+"a canary bird which always fainted away when its cage was cleaned.
+Having desired to see the experiment," says Dr. Darwin, "the cage was
+taken from the ceiling, and the bottom drawn out. The bird began to
+tremble, and turned quite white about the root of the bill; he then
+opened his mouth as if for breath, and respired quickly; stood up
+straighter on his perch, hung his wing, spread his tail, closed his
+eyes, and appeared quite stiff for half an hour, till at length, with
+trembling and deep respirations, he came gradually to himself."
+
+
+The Crossbill.
+
+The Crossbill must be mentioned for the sake of the peculiarity
+indicated by its name. The points of the beak instead of being straight
+and meeting in a common point, "curve to the right and left and always
+in opposite directions." They therefore cross each other and present a
+unique appearance. It is found in the North of Europe, and in the great
+pine forests of Germany.
+
+
+The Bunting.
+
+There are several kinds of Bunting; the English Bunting common to
+wayside hedges, and familiar from its habit of flitting in front of the
+traveller, and the Snow Bunting of the northern regions, which turns
+white on the approach of snow.
+
+
+The Starlings.
+
+We come now to the third division of the _Passeres_ or perching birds,
+to which Mr. Wallace attaches the name of the starlings. "The starlings
+or _SturnidA|_," says Dr. Percival Wright, "are a well marked old-world
+group. No species of the family are found in Australia."
+
+
+The Common Starling.
+
+The Common Starling is a bird of passage, arriving in England about the
+beginning of March and leaving some time in October. Knapp says:--"There
+is something singularly curious and mysterious in the conduct of these
+birds previously to their nightly retirement, by the variety and
+intricacy of the evolutions they execute at that time. They will form
+themselves, perhaps, into a triangle, then shoot into a long,
+pear-shaped figure, expand like a sheet, wheel into a ball, as Pliny
+observes, each individual striving to get into the centre, etc., with a
+promptitude more like parade movements than the actions of birds. As the
+breeding season advances, these prodigious flights divide, and finally
+separate into pairs, and form their summer settlements." The Starling is
+a handsome bird and usually nests in old buildings, though it has a
+preference for a dove-cote if it can gain admission. It is a peaceable
+bird and for all its military evolutions does not seem to war with other
+species. Its domestic character is also good.
+
+
+The Weaver Bird.
+
+The Weaver birds which are included in this division, are a very
+interesting species. They belong to Africa, where they hang their nests
+upon trees, those of the sociable weaver birds giving the trees the
+appearance of partially thatched wall-less structures. Le Vaillant thus
+describes his experience of the sociable weaver bird: he says:--"I
+observed, on the way, a tree with an enormous nest of these birds, to
+which I have given the appellation of republicans; and as soon as I
+arrived at my camp, I dispatched a few men with a wagon to bring it to
+me, that I might open the hive and examine its structure in its minutest
+parts. When it arrived, I cut it to pieces with a hatchet and saw that
+the chief portion of the structure consisted of a mass of Buckmans
+grass, without any mixture, but so compactly and firmly basketed
+together, as to be impenetrable to the rain. This is the commencement of
+the structure; and each bird builds its particular nest under this
+canopy, the upper surface remaining void without, however, being
+useless; for, as it has a projecting rim and is a little inclined, it
+serves to let the rain water run off and preserve each little dwelling
+from the rain. Figure to yourself a huge, irregular, sloping roof, all
+the eaves of which are completely covered with nests crowded one against
+another, and you will have a tolerably accurate idea of these singular
+edifices. Each individual nest is three or four inches in diameter,
+which is sufficient for the bird. But as they are all in contact with
+one another around the eaves, they appear to the eye to form one
+building and are distinguishable from each other only by a little
+external aperture which serves as an entrance to the nest; and even this
+is sometimes common to three different nests, one of which is situated
+at the bottom and the other two at the sides." One of these structures
+examined by Patterson contained three hundred and twenty inhabited
+cells.
+
+
+The Lark.
+
+The skylark is common all over Europe and is an especial favourite in
+the British Isles, It builds its nest on the ground among growing corn
+or high grass, and shows especial care for its young. Its song is
+perhaps the most joyous and inspiriting of those of English birds.
+Captain Brown quotes the following interesting particulars of its song
+from a communication made by Mr. J. Main to the "Magazine of Natural
+History:" "His joyous matins and heavenward flight have been aptly
+compared to hymns and acts of adoration and praise. No bird sings with
+more method: there is an overture performed _vivace crescendo_, while
+the singer ascends; when at the full height, the song becomes
+_moderato_, and distinctly divided into short passages, each repeated
+three or four times over, like a _fantasia_, in the same key and time.
+If there be any wind, he rises perpendicularly by bounds, and afterwards
+poises himself with breast opposed to it. If calm, he ascends in spiral
+circles; in horizontal circles during the principal part of his song,
+and zigzagly downwards during the performance of the _finale_.
+Sometimes, after descending about half way, he ceases to sing, and drops
+with the velocity of an arrow to the ground. Those acquainted with the
+song of the skylark can tell without looking at them whether the birds
+be ascending or stationary in the air, or on their descent; so different
+is the style of the song in each case. In the first, there is an
+expression of ardent impatience; in the second, an _andante_ composure,
+in which rests of a bar at a time frequently occur; and in the last, a
+graduated sinking of the strains."
+
+
+The Maternal Instinct of the Lark.
+
+Mrs. Bowdich quoting from "The Naturalist" gives the following pretty
+story of the maternal instinct of the Lark:--"The other day, some mowers
+shaved off the upper part of the nest of a skylark, without injuring the
+female, who was sitting on her young: still she did not fly away; and
+the mowers levelled the grass all round her, without her taking any
+notice of their proceedings. The son of the owner of the crop witnessed
+this, and, about an hour afterwards, went to see if she were safe; when,
+to his great surprise, he found that she had actually constructed a dome
+of dry grass over the nest during the interval, leaving an aperture on
+one side for ingress and egress; thus endeavouring to secure a
+continuance of the shelter previously supplied by the long grass."
+Buffon tells a remarkable story of the self-sacrifice of a young lark
+who took upon itself the duties of a foster mother. He says:--"A young
+hen bird was brought to me in the month of May, which was not able to
+feed without assistance. I caused her to be educated, and she was hardly
+fledged when I received from another place a nest of three or four
+unfledged skylarks. She took a strong liking to these new-comers, which
+were scarcely younger than herself; she tended them night and day,
+cherished them beneath her wings, and fed them with her bill. Nothing
+could interrupt her tender offices. If the young ones were torn from
+her, she flew to them as soon as she was liberated, and would not think
+of effecting her own escape, which she might have done a hundred times.
+Her affection grew upon her; she neglected food and drink; she now
+required the same support as her adopted offspring, and expired at last
+consumed with maternal anxiety. None of the young ones survived her.
+They died one after another; so essential were her cares, which were
+equally tender and judicious."
+
+
+The Lark and the Hawk.
+
+The Lark when pursued by the Hawk has been known to seek refuge under
+the protection of man, as the following quoted by Captain Brown from
+Bell's "Weekly Messenger" will show. "On Wednesday, the 6th of October,
+1805, as a gentleman was sitting on the rocks at the end of Collercot's
+sands, near Tynemouth, Northumberland, dressing himself after bathing,
+he perceived a hawk in the air, in close pursuit of, and nearly within
+reach of a lark. To save the little fugitive, he shouted and clapped his
+hands, when immediately the lark descended, and alighted on his knee,
+nor did it offer to leave him, when taken into the hand, but seemed
+confident of that protection, which it found. The hawk sailed about for
+some time. The gentleman, after taking the lark nearly to Tynemouth,
+restored it to its former liberty."
+
+
+The Wagtails and Pipits.
+
+The Wagtails, of which family the Pied Wagtail is the most familiar,
+derives its name from its habit of wagging its tail. As Mr. Wood says,
+"it settles on the ground and wags its tail; it runs a few paces and
+wags its tail again; pecks an insect, and again its tail vibrates." It
+frequents sandbanks and the margins of rivers where it finds its food.
+It is found in England throughout the year, migrating to the southern
+counties in the early winter. The Pipits, of which "The Meadow Pipit"
+and the Tree Pipit are the best known varieties, are found all over the
+British Isles as well as in many parts of Europe.
+
+
+The Ant-Eaters.
+
+The fourth division of the perching birds designated by Mr. Wallace, the
+Ant-Eaters, includes a large number of American varieties, which space
+forbids us even to enumerate. One or two must suffice.
+
+
+The King Bird.
+
+The King Bird or Tyrant Fly-catcher of North America is small, but of a
+fearless disposition, attacking hawks, crows, and other larger birds,
+and generally having the best of the battle. The upper part of its body
+is black and the lower of a delicate white. Its song is a shrill
+twittering "resembling the jingling of a bunch of keys." It belongs to
+the family of the Tyrant Shrikes or _TyrannidA|_. It is during the time
+of incubation that it shows so much ferocity. Wilson says, "I have seen
+the red-headed woodpecker while clinging on a rail of the fence, amuse
+himself with the violence of the king bird, and play 'bo-peep' with him
+round the rail, while the latter, highly irritated, made every attempt,
+as he swept from side to side, to strike him, but in vain. All his
+turbulence subsides as soon as his young are able to shift for
+themselves, and he is then as mild and peaceable as any other bird."
+
+
+The Chatterers.
+
+The Chatterers, or _CotingidA|_ include among them, the Cock of the Rock,
+one of the most beautiful of South-American birds. Resembling a pigeon
+in size, its head is sufficiently like that of the farm-yard cock to
+account for its name, which is also made to indicate the nature of its
+haunts. Its coat is a warm saffron yellow and its crest resembles a fan.
+Sir Robert Schomburgh says: "While traversing the Kikiritze mountains in
+Guiana, we saw a number of that most beautiful bird, the
+cock-of-the-rock, or Rock Manakin (_rupicola elegans_), and I had an
+opportunity of witnessing an exhibition of some of its very singular
+antics, of which I had heard stories from the Indians, but had hitherto
+disbelieved them. Hearing the twittering noise so peculiar to the
+_Rupicola_, I cautiously stole near, with two of my guides, towards a
+spot secluded from the path from four to five feet in diameter, and
+which appeared to have been cleared of every blade of grass, and
+smoothed as by human hands. There we saw a cock-of-the-rock, capering to
+the apparent delight of several others, now spreading its wings,
+throwing up its head, or opening its tail like a fan; now strutting
+about, and scratching the ground, all accompanied by a hopping gait,
+until tired, when it gabbled some kind of note, and another relieved it.
+Thus three of them successively took the field, and then with
+self-approbation withdrew to rest on one of the low branches near the
+scene of action. We had counted ten cocks and two hens of the party,
+when the crackling of some wood, on which I had unfortunately placed my
+foot, alarmed and dispersed this dancing party." The Bell Bird of
+Brazil; the Umbrella Bird of the Amazons, the Broadbills, the Plant
+cutters, the Oven bird, and the Ant-Thrushes are all included in this
+group.
+
+
+The Lyre Bird.
+
+The Lyre Bird, which according to the classification we are following,
+with the scrub bird, forms the fifth group of the perching birds,
+belongs to Australia. The Lyre Bird has been so often depicted in
+illustrations that its form is familiar to most people. The tail of the
+male bird which is composed of three different kinds of feathers so
+beautifully resembles the Lyre that there could be no hesitation in
+giving the bird its name. Since its discovery this bird has been so
+hunted as to considerably reduce its numbers, and the tail feathers
+which at one time could be purchased at a low price, have become rare
+and costly.
+
+
+ORDER II.
+
+Climbers and Gapers.
+
+This order includes some widely different species and is made up of
+_Scansores_, Climbers and _Fissirostres_, Gapers. A few of the better
+known species are all that we can mention.
+
+
+The Woodpecker.
+
+The green Woodpecker is the variety best known in England, where it
+inhabits the woods and feeds upon the insects it finds in the bark of
+trees. Audubon writing of the "Ivory-billed" variety says:--"The birds
+pay great regard to the particular situation of the tree, and the
+inclination of its trunk; first, because they prefer retirement, and
+again, because they are anxious to secure the aperture against the
+access of water during beating rains. To prevent such a calamity the
+hole is generally dug immediately under the junction of a large branch
+with the trunk. It is first bored horizontally for a few inches, then
+directly downwards, and not in a spiral manner as some people have
+imagined. According to circumstances, this cavity is more or less deep,
+being sometimes more than ten inches, whilst at other times it reaches
+three feet downwards into the core of the tree. The average diameter of
+the different nests which I have examined was about seven inches within,
+although the entrance, which is perfectly round, is only just large
+enough to admit the bird." Wilson declares that during the excavation of
+its nest, which occupies several days, the woodpecker will often carry
+the chips and strew them at a distance to divert suspicion. Audubon
+describing the Red-headed Woodpecker says:--"With the exception of the
+mocking bird, I know no species so gay and frolicsome. Their whole life
+is one of pleasure."
+
+
+The Wryneck.
+
+This bird which was known to the Greeks, and described by Aristotle,
+forms with its allied species a connecting link between the Woodpecker
+and the Cuckoo. It feeds on caterpillars and insects which it catches
+with its long sticky tongue, with such rapidity of movement that the eye
+cannot follow it.
+
+
+The Cuckoo.
+
+The Cuckoo is always welcomed in England as the harbinger of Spring. Its
+cry is one of the most easily distinguished of bird songs, and is the
+nearest approach to a definite musical interval produced by any bird.
+The habit of the cuckoo of laying its eggs in the nests of other birds,
+has given rise to much speculation, ancient and modern, and now, though
+the fact remains, a sufficiently satisfactory reason seems as remote as
+ever. The nest of the Hedge-sparrow seems to be the one most often
+selected, though that of the wagtail is sometimes chosen. The
+consequences to the young of the native bird, are somewhat serious as
+the following will show.
+
+
+The Cuckoo and the Hedge-Sparrow.
+
+Dr. Jenner, the discoverer of vaccination says:--"On the 18th of June,
+1787, I examined the nest of a hedge-sparrow (_Accentor modularis_),
+which then contained a cuckoo and three hedge-sparrows' eggs. On
+inspecting it the day following, the bird had hatched; but the nest then
+contained only a young cuckoo and one hedge-sparrow. The nest was placed
+so near the extremity of a hedge, that I could distinctly see what was
+going forward in it; and, to my great astonishment, I saw the young
+cuckoo, though so lately hatched, in the act of turning out the young
+hedge-sparrow. The mode of accomplishing this was very curious; the
+little animal, with the assistance of its rump and wings, contrived to
+get the bird upon its back, and making a lodgment for its burthen by
+elevating its elbows, clambered backwards with it up the side of the
+nest till it reached the top, where, resting for a moment, it threw off
+its load with a jerk, and quite disengaged it from the nest. It remained
+in this situation for a short time, feeling about with the extremities
+of its wings, as if to be convinced whether the business was properly
+executed, and then dropped into the nest again. I afterwards put in an
+egg, and this, by a similar process, was conveyed to the edge of the
+nest and thrown out. These experiments I have since repeated several
+times, in different nests, and have always found the young cuckoo
+disposed to act in the same manner. "It sometimes happens that two
+cuckoos' eggs are deposited in the same nest, and then the young
+produced from one of them must inevitably perish. Two cuckoos and one
+hedge-sparrow were hatched in the same nest, and one hedge-sparrow's egg
+remained unhatched. In a few hours afterwards a contest began between
+the cuckoos for the possession of the nest, which continued undetermined
+till the next afternoon, when one of them, which was somewhat superior
+in size, turned out the other, together with the young hedge-sparrow and
+the unhatched egg. The combatants alternately appeared to have the
+advantage, as each carried the other several times to the top of the
+nest, and then sunk down again, oppressed by the weight of the burthen;
+till at length, after various efforts, the strongest prevailed, and was
+afterwards brought up by the hedge-sparrow." Jenner's experiences have
+been corroborated by repeated experiments since. Colonel Montague
+carried a hedge-sparrow's nest, so inhabited, into his house where he
+could watch it at leisure and where he saw the young cuckoo frequently
+oust the baby hedge-sparrow in the manner described. The cuckoo feeds on
+caterpillars, and insects. It may be tamed, but as a rule does not live
+long in confinement. Its note is heard from April to June.
+
+
+The Cuckoo and the Thrush.
+
+That the cuckoo is scarcely an amiable bird would appear from the
+following incident recorded by Dr. Stanley: "A young thrush, just able
+to feed itself, was placed in a cage. A short time after, a young
+cuckoo, which could not feed itself, was placed in the same cage, and
+fed by the owner. At length it was observed that the thrush fed it; the
+cuckoo opening its mouth, and sitting on the upper perch, and making the
+thrush hop down to fetch its food. One day, while thus expecting its
+supply, a worm was put into the cage, and the thrush could not resist
+the temptation of eating it, upon which the cuckoo descended, attacked
+the thrush with fury, and literally tore out one of its eyes, and then
+hopped back. Although so lacerated, the poor thrush meekly took up some
+food, and continued to do so till the cuckoo was full grown."
+
+
+The Trogons.
+
+The Trogons are among the most gorgeous of living birds; the brilliance
+of their plumage defying verbal description. Their main colour is "a
+metallic golden green, boldly contrasted with scarlet, black, and
+brown." "The Resplendent Trogon," says Mr. Wood, "is the most gorgeous
+of all this gorgeous family. Its long and gracefully curved tail is
+nearly three feet long, and the whole of the upper surface, and the
+throat, are a glowing green; the breast and under parts are bright
+crimson; the middle feathers of the tail black, and the outer feathers
+white." These birds are natives of Mexico.
+
+
+The Kingfisher.
+
+The Kingfishers are a wide-spread family, being found all over the
+world. There are numerous varieties, of which the Common Kingfisher and
+the Laughing Kingfisher are all that we can notice. The Common
+Kingfisher is indigenous in England where it usually lives on the banks
+of rivers and streams, feeding upon fish and insects. It makes burrows
+or holes in the banks, where it lays its eggs and rears its young;
+fishing from the low branches of trees which overspread the water. When
+the fish is caught it is beaten to death against some hard substance and
+then swallowed whole, head foremost. The Common Kingfisher is somewhat
+larger than the lark, and has a beautiful metallic coat which shimmers
+with a very pleasing effect as it darts among the greenery of the river
+bank or flies along the surface of the water. The Laughing Kingfisher
+belongs to Australia and is so named from its peculiar cry. It is one of
+the largest species of its kind. Other species belong to the Moluccas
+and New Guinea, and a few to America.
+
+
+The Hornbill.
+
+The Hornbill is famous for the size and shape of its bill, which is very
+large. There are several varieties, African and Indian. They live mostly
+on fruit, though some are said to eat reptiles. They have some very
+curious habits. Mr. Wallace describes the habit of the male Hornbill of
+shutting up the female during the period of incubation and feeding her
+through a small hole left open for the purpose.
+
+
+The Goat-Suckers.
+
+The goat-sucker is so called from the belief long entertained that it
+was in the habit of sucking the teat of the goat. There are several
+varieties and they are remarkable for the strangeness of their cries.
+The Goat-sucker has sometimes been called the Night-jar from its
+discordant note, it is also known as the Fern Owl. Mr. Wood says:--"It
+may be seen at the approach of evening silently wheeling round the
+trees, capturing the nocturnal moths and beetles; then occasionally
+settling and uttering its jarring cry. When flying the bird sometimes
+makes its wings meet over its back, and brings them together with a
+smart snap. It arrives in England in the beginning of May and leaves in
+December. The Whip-poor-will and the Chuck-will's-widow both belong to
+this family."
+
+
+The Whip-poor-Will.
+
+The Whip-poor-will, which is peculiar to America, is celebrated for its
+singular melody, which is heard in spring to issue at night from the
+woods and glens of all parts of the country. It is a rapid warbling
+repetition of the name given to the bird, and is so distinctly
+pronounced, as to seem like the voice of a human being. It is a solitary
+bird, remaining silent and sequestered during the day, but at night it
+often approaches a dwelling, and pours forth its song upon the
+door-step, or a neighbouring tree.
+
+
+Chuck-Will's-Widow.
+
+This bird, also peculiar to America, is about a foot in length,
+resembling in colour, form, and habits, the whip-poor-will. It is a
+solitary bird, frequenting glens and hollows, and seldom making its
+appearance during the day. Its song, which is uttered, like that of the
+whip-poor-will, at night, is a constant repetition of the sound,
+chuck-will's-widow, very distinctly articulated. It is common in
+Georgia, and is regarded by the Creek Indians with superstitious awe. It
+is very seldom seen in the Middle or Eastern States; "but I recollect
+once," says an American writer, "to have known a whole village in New
+England in terror and amazement at hearing one of them singing its
+strange song on the edge of a swamp. The superstitious part of the
+inhabitants considered it a prediction of some evil that was to befall a
+widow of the parish; but there was a diversity of opinion as to who the
+hapless Chuck-will's-widow might be."
+
+
+The Swift.
+
+The Swift, so called from the remarkable speed of his flight, is also
+known as "Jack screamer" from the shrillness of his voice. He winters in
+Africa and arrives in England about May, remaining until about the
+middle of August. He builds his nest under the eaves of houses and
+frequents steeples and other lofty edifices, forming his nest of grasses
+and feathers. The esculent swift, so called from the fact that its nests
+are edible, builds at the sides of almost inaccessible cliffs, a habit
+which renders the collection of these singular dainties very dangerous.
+The nests are formed of mucilaginous sea-weeds and have the appearance
+of isinglass. They are considered great delicacies in China, where they
+are found. They abound in Java. The swifts resemble the swallows in
+several particulars and have often been classed with them, there are,
+however, important differences which separate them.
+
+
+The Humming Bird.
+
+There are hundreds of kinds of Humming Birds, nearly all of them natives
+of America, where they frequent the gardens, and sip the honey from the
+honeysuckle and other plants, like the hive and humble bee. The humming
+bird is several times larger than the latter, but flies so swiftly as
+almost to elude the sight. Its wings, when it is balancing over the
+flower, produce a humming sound, from which it takes its name. It is the
+smallest of the feathered race, and is one of the most beautiful in the
+elegance of its form, and the glossy brilliancy of its delicate plumage.
+Small as it is, however, it is exceedingly courageous, and has violent
+passions. The length of this bird is three inches; it lives partly on
+honey obtained from flowers, but devours also great quantities of very
+small insects. The general colour is a rich golden green on the upper
+parts; the breast and neck are of a dusky white. Its nest is very small,
+and is elegantly lined with the down of the mullein. It is covered on
+the outside with moss, to imitate the colour of the limb on which it is
+built.
+
+
+ORDER III.
+
+The Parrots.
+
+The parrots never fail to interest, on account of their beauty of form
+and colour, and their aptitude for imitating common sounds. There are
+some hundreds of species, belonging to different parts of the world, the
+Cockatoos to Australia, the Macaws to America, and many varieties to
+Africa. The Macaws and some other kinds are among the most gorgeous of
+living birds and whether seen in their native wilds or in the aviaries
+of civilisation never fail to excite admiration. The Cockatoo is
+distinguished from the true parrot by its crest; other species are
+differentiated by habit, size, colour, and form. The better known of
+these are, the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, the Ground parrot, the Macaw,
+the Grey parrot, the Green parrot, the Parrakeets and the Love-birds.
+
+
+The Parrot's Intelligence.
+
+Many stories are told of the remarkable powers of individual parrots and
+the singular appropriateness of their remarks on particular occasions.
+These are often so startling as to arouse suspicion of their
+authenticity, and yet a moment's reflection will show that coincidence
+plays a large part in these demonstrations, and that many of the most
+astonishing examples of felicitous interjection, or repartee, are due to
+this, and not to any special gift of intelligence on the part of the
+bird. An ordinary parrot with half a dozen phrases which it is
+constantly repeating, will in the nature of things, often use them in
+singularly felicitous connection with current conversation. No notice is
+taken of the many instances in which the phrase is inappropriate and yet
+a few cases of remarkable fitness are held to demonstrate extraordinary
+intelligence. Teach a parrot such a simple rejoinder as "not I!" and
+the bird using it in answer to all sorts of questions, will often use it
+with apparent intelligence, but a doll might be made to show equal wit.
+That parrots are taught to give certain answers to certain questions is
+of course true, but in these cases the questions suggest the answers and
+all the intelligence is shown by the interrogator. Those birds which
+have lived many years and acquired many phrases, will naturally, from
+the extent of their repertoire, the more often surprise their hearers;
+but that they show any greater intelligence may perhaps be doubted. That
+some of the parrots, and especially the Love-birds, show great feeling
+for each other and attachment to their owners is well known, but the
+claim sometimes made that they show greater intelligence than any other
+birds may be very safely disputed. The term "parrot-like," as applied to
+the repetition of lessons by rote which are not understood by those
+repeating them, involves no injustice to the parrot.
+
+
+Famous Parrots.
+
+There have been many famous parrots who have played their part in
+history if they have not rivalled the geese that saved Rome. The Emperor
+Basilius Macedo was induced by a Parrot, who cast a gloom over the
+guests at a banquet by continually calling out, "Alas, alas! poor Prince
+Leo", to liberate his son whom he had confined on suspicion of treason.
+The Emperor observed the gloom of his guests and urged them to the
+pleasures of the table, when one of them is said to have responded, "How
+should we eat, Sire, when we are thus reproached by this bird of our
+want of duty to your family? The brute animal is mindful of its Lord;
+and we that have reason, have neglected to supplicate your Majesty in
+behalf of the prince, whom we all believe to be innocent, and to suffer
+under calumny." Whether the bird had been purposely taught this phrase,
+or had merely acquired it by hearing its frequent repetition does not
+appear. The following memorial which appeared in the London papers in
+October 1822 is quoted from the "Percy Anecdotes." "A few days ago,
+died, in Half Moon Street, Piccadilly, the celebrated parrot of Colonel
+O'Kelly. This singular bird sang a number of songs in perfect time and
+tune. She could express her wants articulately, and give her orders in a
+manner nearly approaching to rationality. Her age was not known; it was,
+however, more than thirty years, for previous to that period, Colonel
+O'Kelly bought her at Bristol for one hundred guineas. The Colonel was
+repeatedly offered five hundred guineas a year for the bird, by persons
+who wished to make a public exhibition of her; but this, out of
+tenderness to the favourite, he constantly refused. She could not only
+repeat a great number of sentences, but answer questions put to her.
+When singing, she beat time with all the appearance of science; and so
+accurate was her judgment that if by chance she mistook a note, she
+would revert to the bar where the mistake was made, correct herself, and
+still beating regular time, go through the whole with wonderful
+exactness." A Grey parrot is said to have been sold in 1500, for a
+hundred guineas, to a Lord High Cardinal at Rome, on account of its
+ability to repeat, without error, the Apostles' Creed.
+
+
+The Grey Parrot.
+
+The Grey Parrot though less attractive in colour than other species, is
+perhaps the most popular of the parrot family on account of its superior
+accomplishments as an imitator of familiar sounds. Mr. Jesse secured
+from a lady friend a description of the performances of a grey parrot
+which resided at Hampton Court, from which we quote the following: "Her
+laugh is quite extraordinary, and it is impossible not to help joining
+in it, more especially when in the midst of it she cries out, 'Don't
+make me laugh so; I shall die, I shall die!' and then continues laughing
+more violently than before. Her crying and sobbing are curious; and if
+you say, 'Poor Poll, what is the matter?' she says, 'So bad, so bad; got
+such a cold;' and after crying some time, will gradually cease, and
+making a noise like drawing a long breath, say, 'Better now,' and
+begins to laugh." "If any one happens to cough or sneeze, she says,
+'what a bad cold.' She calls the cat very plainly, saying, 'puss, puss,'
+and then answers 'mew'; but the most amusing part is, that whenever I
+want to make her call it, and to that purpose say, 'puss, puss', myself
+she always answers, 'mew', till I begin mewing; and then she begins
+calling 'puss', as quickly as possible. She imitates every kind of
+noise, and barks so naturally, that I have known her to set all the dogs
+on the parade of Hampton Court barking, and the consternation I have
+seen her cause in a party of cocks and hens, by her crowing and
+chuckling, has been the most ludicrous thing possible. She sings just
+like a child and I have more than once thought it was a human being; and
+it is most ludicrous to hear her make what one would call a false note
+and then say, 'oh la!' and burst out laughing at herself, beginning
+again in quite another key. She is very fond of singing 'Buy a Broom',
+which she says quite plainly, but if we say, with a view to make her
+repeat it, 'Buy a Broom', she always says 'Buy a _Brush_', and then
+laughs as a child might do when mischievous. She often performs a kind
+of exercise which I do not know how to describe, except by saying that
+it is like the lance exercise. She puts her claw behind her, first on
+one side and then on the other, then in front, and round over her head;
+and whilst doing so, keeps saying, 'Come on, come on!' and when finished
+she says 'Bravo, beautiful,' and draws herself up."
+
+
+Parrot Talk.
+
+To deny the parrot the understanding of what it says, is to relieve it
+of the responsibility of using bad language, and offering unsound
+advice, and this it surely needs. A gentleman who was in the habit of
+kissing his parrot and then kissing his wife, before leaving home in the
+morning, taught the bird to say, on being kissed, "Now kiss the missus,"
+with the result that most of the gentlemen visitors who took any notice
+of the parrot were recommended to salute the lady of the house. Another
+parrot whose cage occupied a window close to a fashionable church
+continually accosted the passers-by, by calling out "That's right! Go to
+church, keep up appearances." Such remarks must often be very
+embarrassing, as must have been the words and actions of a parrot who
+frequently called out "Who kissed the pretty girl?" and then gave a
+perfect imitation of the sound of several kisses in succession. Perhaps
+no more aggravating use was ever made of a parrot's powers than that
+witnessed by Buffon, who says, "I have seen a parrot very ridiculously
+employed, belonging to a distiller who had suffered pretty severely in
+his circumstances from an informer who lived opposite him. This bird was
+taught to pronounce the ninth commandment,--'Thou shalt not bear false
+witness against thy neighbour,' with a very clear, loud, articulate
+voice. The bird was generally placed in a cage over against the
+informer's house, and delighted the whole neighbourhood with its
+persevering exhortations."
+
+
+ORDER IV.
+
+Pigeons.
+
+There are many varieties of pigeons, some being peculiar to certain
+districts, and others covering a much more extended geographical area.
+Mr. Darwin divides the British varieties into four groups: I. The
+English carrier; the Runt, and the Barb. II. The Fantail; the African
+owl; the Short-faced Tumbler; the Indian Frill-back; and the Jacobin.
+III. The English Pouter, and IV. The Dove-cote pigeon; the Swallow; the
+Spot; the Nun; the English Frill-back; the Laugher, and the Trumpeter.
+The Passenger pigeon of America, the Nicobar pigeon of the Philippine
+Islands, the Great-crowned pigeon of New Guinea and the Hook-billed
+ground pigeon of Samoa are other important species.
+
+
+Carrier Pigeons.
+
+In the "Percy Anecdotes" there is a brief history of the use of carrier
+pigeons, which we quote as follows:--"The first mention we find made of
+the employment of pigeons as letter carriers is by Ovid, in his
+'Metamorphoses', who tells us that Taurosthenes, by a pigeon stained
+with purple, gave notice of his having been victor at the Olympic games
+on the very same day to his father at A†gina. Pliny informs us that
+during the siege of Modena by Marc Antony, pigeons were employed by
+Brutus to keep up a correspondence with the besieged. When the city of
+Ptolemais, in Syria, was invested by the French and Venetians, and it
+was ready to fall into their hands, they observed a pigeon flying over
+them, and immediately conjectured that it was charged with letters to
+the garrison. On this, the whole army raising a loud shout, so
+confounded the poor aA"rial post that it fell to the ground, and on being
+seized, a letter was found under its wings, from the sultan, in which he
+assured the garrison that 'he would be with them in three days, with an
+army sufficient to raise the siege.' For this letter the besiegers
+substituted another to this purpose, 'that the garrison must see to
+their own safety, for the sultan had such other affairs pressing him
+that it was impossible for him to come to their succour;' and with this
+false intelligence they let the pigeon free to pursue his course. The
+garrison, deprived by this decree of all hope of relief, immediately
+surrendered. The sultan appeared on the third day, as promised, with a
+powerful army, and was not a little mortified to find the city already
+in the hands of the Christians. Carrier pigeons were again employed, but
+with better success, at the siege of Leyden, in 1675. The garrison were,
+by means of the information thus conveyed to them, induced to stand out,
+till the enemy, despairing of reducing the place, withdrew. On the siege
+being raised, the Prince of Orange ordered that the pigeons who had
+rendered such essential service should be maintained at the public
+expense, and that at their death they should be embalmed and preserved
+in the town house, as a perpetual token of gratitude."
+
+
+Pigeons on the Wing.
+
+Pigeons are said to travel as fast as 2,200 yards per minute and to
+sustain flight for hundreds of miles at a stretch. The extraordinary
+manner in which they will find their way almost incredible distances has
+suggested all kinds of speculation as to the instinct or sense which
+guides them. A well known pigeon fancier, interviewed by a writer who
+published the results of the interview in "Chums" (Cassell & Co.) says,
+"The popular notion that carrier pigeons are guided by some 'direction
+sense,' or blind instinct, is quite as absurd as the French belief that
+they follow certain electrical currents. I have had to do with pigeons
+for over twenty years," he continued, "and I am open to demonstrate to
+anyone that in flight they are guided by sight alone. Of course, some
+pigeons are more sagacious, cleverer than others; but the fact remains,
+and everything tends to prove it. For example, no carrier-pigeon can
+find its way over a strange country: it often gets lost in a fog; and
+again, until taught by experience, it is often led astray by colours and
+objects which appear to be familiar. Quite recently, when I was trying
+some young birds, I had an instance of how easily they may be led
+astray. Close to my residence is a large red-brick building, which, to
+an old bird, would prove a good landmark miles away. In this case,
+however, the birds had not been tried before, although, of course, they
+had been let loose and had circled round the loft for several weeks. I
+took five birds with me some half-mile distant from home; and, letting
+them loose separately from the box, was rather surprised to see four out
+of the five, after circling round, fly off in an entirely opposite
+direction to that in which they should have gone. I soon solved the
+mystery, however, for, watching the birds, I saw they were making for
+another red-brick building, which showed up clearly in the sunlight.
+Arriving there, each one evidently discovered its mistake, and, after
+flying back to the starting-point, found their whereabouts, and made for
+home--not in a straight line, however, for young birds invariably take a
+crooked, tortuous path, as though feeling their way. If pigeons are let
+loose on water (from a boat in a lake or wide river), they always make
+for the nearest land first; then, circling round, widening their circle
+and rising higher at the same time, they keep the starting-point in view
+until they sight some familiar object, in which direction they travel.
+If a bird is dull, or 'stupid,' as we term it, and has been tried from
+various points of the compass, it often happens that, when taken to a
+distance (say thirty or forty miles), the time occupied in reaching the
+loft is three of four times longer than was expected; but, take it there
+next day, and the journey will be done quicker than a mile a minute. Why
+is that? Well, the birds get confused; some object which it may have
+seen on a former journey, may possibly stand out boldly; and, flying at
+once toward this, the bird may find itself just as far from finding the
+'lay of the land.' Thus it may go from one familiar point to another
+before 'striking' for home. That is the reason why, in training a bird
+for a match, we take it only in the direction from which it will have to
+fly, increase the distance gradually, until the bird is familiar with
+the path it must travel and recognises each landmark as soon as it comes
+in sight."
+
+
+ORDER V.
+
+Fowls.
+
+In this order (_GallinA|_) the Grouse, the Ptarmigan, the Quail, the
+Peacock, the Pheasant, the Jungle Fowl, the Guinea Fowl, and the Wild
+Turkey are included; as well as our Domestic Fowls to the forms of which
+they more or less closely approximate. The Black Grouse, and the Red
+Grouse are found throughout Great Britain; the Prairie Grouse in North
+America. The Ptarmigan is found in Scotland and in the North of the
+continent of Europe; it changes colour with the seasons, becoming
+snow-white in winter. The Quail is found in many parts of Europe, Asia,
+and Africa; it visits England in the early summer and leaves about
+October for Africa, where it winters.
+
+
+The Peacock.
+
+The Peacock has been famous in the East from before the days of Solomon
+and the Queen of Sheba, and has been much affected in England in more
+recent years, on account of its beauty, as an adornment of English
+lawns, and as a royal dainty upon the festive board. It may be said
+still to keep its place as an ornament of the park, but it is no longer
+the choice of the epicure and seldom appears at the feast. It is said to
+have come originally from Persia and has doubtless reached the west from
+India where it still abounds. Colonel Williamson says that he has seen,
+in the passes of the Jungletery district, as many as twelve or fifteen
+hundred pea-fowls of various sizes within sight of one spot. "The
+gorgeous plumes that adorn the Peacock," says Mr. Wood, "do not compose
+the tail, as many suppose, but are only the tail-coverts. The tail
+feathers themselves are short and rigid, and serve to keep the train
+spread, as may be seen when the bird walks about in all the majesty of
+his expanded plumage. Although pea-fowl seek their food on the ground,
+they invariably roost on some elevated situation, such as a high branch,
+or the roof of a barn or haystack." The peacock is swift of foot, but
+heavy on the wing, and remains ordinarily on the ground, where it finds
+its food. It has a harsh voice. The peahen is a plain, homely looking
+bird, lacking the gorgeous tail which adorns her lord and master.
+Guillim, an old writer quoted by Captain Brown, says: "The Peacock is so
+proud, that when he erecteth his fan of plumes, he admireth himself. He
+displayeth his plumes against the rays of the sun, that they may glister
+the more gloriously: and he loseth this beautiful train yearly with the
+fall of the leaf; at which time he becometh bashful, and seeketh
+corners, where he may be secret from the sight of men, until the spring
+of the year, when his train beginneth to be renewed. And such is the
+quality of many dames, who being painted and richly attired, cannot keep
+within doors; but being undressed, and in their own hue, they are loath
+any man should see them."
+
+
+The Pheasant.
+
+There are several varieties of the Pheasant, of which the Peacock
+Pheasant of Burmah, the Argus Pheasant of Malacca, the Golden Pheasant
+of China, and the Common Pheasant are the better known species. The
+Common Pheasant is a native of the British Isles, where it is cultivated
+and preserved. Under some circumstances the cock pheasant displays
+considerable pugnacity and a story is told of a young lady who when
+walking near Stirling was attacked by one which, "with spurs and beak
+began a furious assault. Seeing no escape from the enraged bird, she
+seized her adversary, and carried him home. He was, however, soon
+released, and when the door was opened, he went out without any sign of
+fear, and, with a deliberate step, paced backwards and forwards in front
+of the house, and manifested an inclination to join the fowls in the
+poultry yard. The only way to account for this assault is, that the lady
+wore a scarlet mantle, to which the pheasant may have had such an
+antipathy as the turkey cock manifests to that colour; an antipathy
+evinced by many other birds, and various quadrupeds; and the cause of
+which is to us a mystery."
+
+
+The Partridge.
+
+The partridge is an interesting bird and shows great intelligence in the
+care of its young. Mr. Jesse mentions an instance quoted by Mr. Wood. "A
+gentleman who was overlooking his ploughman, saw a partridge run from
+her nest, almost crushed by the horses' hoofs. Being certain that the
+next furrow must bury the eggs and nest, he watched for the return of
+the plough, when to his great astonishment, the nest, previously
+containing twenty-one eggs, was vacant. After a search, he found the
+bird sitting upon the eggs under a hedge, nearly forty yards from the
+nest, to which place she and her mate had removed the whole number in
+less than twenty minutes." Mr. Markwick relates, that "as he was once
+hunting with a young pointer, the dog ran on a brood of very small
+partridges. The old bird cried, fluttered, and ran trembling along just
+before the dog's nose, till she had drawn him to a considerable
+distance; when she took wing and flew farther off, but not out of the
+field. On this the dog returned nearly to the place where the young ones
+lay concealed in the grass; which the old bird no sooner perceived, than
+she flew back again, settled just before the dog's nose, and a second
+time acted the same part, rolling and tumbling about till she drew off
+his attention from the brood, and thus succeeded in preserving them."
+
+
+The Wild Turkey.
+
+The Wild Turkey was at one time common in all parts of America, but it
+is fast diminishing, and is now seldom found except in the western
+territories. It is often larger than the domestic turkey; it is
+gregarious and feeds on grain, seeds, and fruits. It is the original
+stock of the domestic turkey. Mr. Lucien Bonaparte has given a long and
+interesting account of this bird. He says they sometimes fly across
+broad rivers, ascending the tallest trees on one side, and the whole
+flock starting together. Some of the younger and weaker birds sometimes
+fall into the water and either paddle to the shore or are drowned.
+
+
+The Domestic Turkey.
+
+The Wild Turkey was first carried to Europe and other parts of the
+eastern continent and domesticated in the 16th century. It is now
+extensively diffused over the world, and its flesh is ranked among the
+most delicious poultry. The cock is a noisy fellow, strutting about, and
+displaying his plumage with great ostentation; he is also very
+quarrelsome. The hen seems to possess a more modest and retiring
+disposition, wandering about the fields with a melancholy and dejected
+air, occasionally uttering a short plaintive note. She is exceedingly
+attached to her young, but leads them away from danger without ever
+attempting to defend them by repelling an attack.
+
+
+The Sagacity of the Turkey.
+
+Of the sagacity of the Turkey Audubon says: "While at Henderson, on the
+Ohio, I had a fine male turkey, which had been reared from its earliest
+youth under my care. It became so tame that it would follow any person
+who called it, and was the favourite of the little village. Yet it would
+never roost with the tame turkeys; but regularly betook itself at night
+to the roof of the house, where it remained till dawn. When two years
+old it began to fly to the woods, where it remained for a considerable
+part of the day, and returned to the enclosure as night approached. It
+continued this practice until the following spring, when I saw it
+several times fly from its roosting-place to the top of a high
+cotton-tree on the bank of the Ohio, from which, after resting a little,
+it would sail to the opposite shore, the river being there nearly half a
+mile wide, and return towards night. One morning I saw it fly off, at a
+very early hour, to the woods in another direction, and took no
+particular notice of the circumstance. Several days elapsed, but the
+bird did not return. I was going towards some lakes near Green River, to
+shoot, when, having walked about five miles, I saw a fine large gobbler
+cross the path before me, moving leisurely along. Turkeys being then in
+prime condition for the table, I ordered my dog to chase it and put it
+up. The animal went off with great rapidity, and as it approached the
+turkey, I saw, with great surprise, that the latter paid little
+attention. Juno was on the point of seizing it, when she suddenly
+stopped, and turned her head towards me. I hastened to them; but you may
+easily conceive my surprise when I saw my own favourite bird, and
+discovered that it had recognised the dog, and would not fly from it,
+although the sight of a strange dog would have caused it to run off at
+once. A friend of mine, being in search of a wounded deer, took the bird
+on his saddle before him, and carried it home for me. The following
+spring it was accidentally shot, having been taken for a wild bird, and
+brought to me, on being recognised by the red ribband which it had round
+its neck."
+
+
+Sitting Turkey Cocks.
+
+The male Turkey is said to be but an indifferent father, but there are
+some curious illustrations on record of his displaying maternal
+instincts. Captain Brown tells of a cock Turkey near Abingdon who
+manifested a desire to sit and was allowed to experiment with thirteen
+eggs, from which in three weeks he hatched twelve fine chickens. A
+precisely similar incident occurred many years ago in Sweden, according
+to the same authority.
+
+
+Domestic Fowls.
+
+The Domestic Fowls are too well known to need description here. They are
+said to have descended from the Java species and have long been the
+subjects of systematic and careful culture. John Guillim who wrote in
+1677 and whose quaint description of the peacock we have already quoted,
+says: "As some account the eagle the queen, and the swallow or wagtail
+the lady, so may I term this (the cock) the knight amongst birds, being
+both of noble courage, and also prepared evermore to the battel, having
+his comb for an helmet, his sharp and hooked bill for a faulchion or
+court-lax, to slash and wound his enemy: and as a compleat soldier armed
+cap-a-pe, he hath his legs armed with spurs, giving example to the
+valiant soldier to expell danger by fight, and not by flight. The cock
+croweth when he is victor and giveth a testimony of his conquest. If he
+be vanquished, he shunneth the light, and society of men." The cock is a
+courageous bird and in fighting with his own kind or in the defence of
+his family will show great gallantry and endurance. Buffon thus
+describes an encounter of which he was an observer. He says: "I have
+just witnessed a curious scene. A sparrow hawk alighted in a populous
+court-yard; when a young cock, of this year's hatching, instantly darted
+at him, and threw him on his back. In this situation, the hawk defending
+himself with his talons and his bill, intimidated the hens and turkeys,
+which streamed tumultuously around him. After having a little recovered
+himself, he rose and was taking wing; when the cock rushed upon him a
+second time, upset him, and held him down so long, that he was easily
+caught by a person who witnessed the conflict." The cock is said to show
+many of the qualities which belong to knighthood. He is jealous, and
+has been known to kill a hen which has hatched a foreign brood; and he
+is chivalrous both in the treatment of his hens and in their defence
+against their enemies. He has a sense of justice too, which he does not
+hesitate to assert on occasion. Mrs. Bowdich says: "On one occasion I
+saw a cock pursue a hen round the poultry-yard; and, as she had a worm
+in her bill, I at first thought he was so acting from a greedy desire to
+have the delicious morsel; but when he at last caught her, he gave her a
+knock on the head with his beak, and, taking up the worm which she had
+dropped, brought it to another hen, who stood witnessing the affray in
+mute expectation. A further knowledge of the habits of these birds has
+made me feel sure she had purloined the worm from the other, and the
+cock had restored it to its rightful owner." Though natural fighters,
+cocks sometimes form friendships for each other, and Captain Brown
+records an instance of two game cocks, belonging to the same owner, who
+obstinately declined combat though all means were tried to excite mutual
+animosity. These same birds when placed in the ring with other cocks
+fought furiously, and in both cases destroyed their antagonists.
+
+
+The Common Hen.
+
+The hen gathering her chickens under her wings is a favourite type of
+motherhood, and it cannot be denied that in many ways the hen shows
+herself a model parent. The care she will expend upon her brood, or upon
+a brood of ducks which she may have hatched, is well known, and the
+courage she will show in their defence is well attested. The following
+from the "Percy Anecdotes" is an illustration of this: "In June, 1820, a
+contest of rather an unusual nature took place in the house of Mr.
+Collins, at Naul in Ireland. The parties concerned were, a hen of the
+game species, and a rat of the middle size. The hen, in an accidental
+perambulation round a spacious room, accompanied by an only chicken, the
+sole surviving offspring of a numerous brood, was roused to madness by
+an unprovoked attack made by a voracious rat, on her unsuspecting
+companion. The shrieks of the beloved captive, while dragged away by the
+enemy, excited every maternal feeling in the affectionate bosom of the
+feathered dame: she flew at the corner whence the alarm arose, seized
+the lurking enemy by the neck, writhed him about the room, put out one
+of his eyes in the engagement, and so fatigued her opponent by repeated
+attacks of spur and bill, that in the space of twelve minutes, during
+which time the conflict lasted, she put a final period to the invader's
+existence; nimbly turned round, in wild but triumphant distraction, to
+her palpitating nestling, and hugged it in her victorious bosom." In
+this same work there is a story of a hen, near Exeter, which devoted
+itself with much assiduity and success to catching mice. Hens often take
+to other animals and have been known to show great attachment to
+kittens, and to dogs, instances being recorded of hens living in dogs'
+kennels and laying their eggs there under canine protection. The concern
+shown by hens, when the ducks they may have hatched take to the water,
+is very amusing. Captain Brown gives an instance of a hen which had
+become used to this phenomena, from having been employed in hatching
+successive broods of ducks, and which showed equal concern when a brood
+of her own chickens avoided the watery element.
+
+
+ORDER VI.
+
+The Hoazin.
+
+The Hoazin is the only bird of this order. It belongs to Brazil and
+Guiana and is nearly as large as the peacock. It has been variously
+classified but, differing in important characteristics from any other
+bird, it is deemed best to place it in an order by itself.
+
+
+ORDER VII.
+
+Birds of Prey.
+
+This order includes the Vultures, Condors, Eagles, Kites, Falcons,
+Goshawks, Sparrowhawks, Buzzards, Kestrals, Owls, &c., &c. Interesting
+as many of these birds are the briefest possible mention is all that we
+can give of some of them.
+
+
+The Eagle.
+
+Whatever may be said of the claims of other birds, the Eagle is
+traditionally the king of the air, as the lion is king of the forest.
+There are a large number of species of which the Golden Eagle, the
+Spotted Eagle, the Imperial Eagle and the White-headed Sea Eagle are
+among the best known varieties. The Golden Eagle belongs to Europe and
+America, and is sometimes found in Scotland and Ireland. It lives upon
+smaller birds and animals: hares, young lambs and deer, grouse, plovers,
+&c., &c. Though the eagle has often attacked children the stories of its
+carrying them away are generally discredited. Eagles often hunt in pairs
+and show great ferocity and determination in attacking their prey.
+
+
+Eagle Shooting.
+
+Mr. St. John gives the following description of a shooting expedition in
+which he bagged a pair of splendid birds. "On a very dark morning I
+sallied out with Malcolm to take a shot at the eagles, and at last I was
+ensconced in a hiding-place (near the dead body of a sheep) which gave
+me hardly room to stand, sit, or lie. It was scarcely grey dawn when a
+bird with a slow, flapping flight passed, and alighted out of sight, but
+near, for I heard him strike the ground, and my heart beat faster. What
+was my disappointment, when his low, crowing croak announced a raven; he
+hopped and walked suspiciously round the sheep, till, supposing the
+coast clear, he hopped upon the carcase, and began with his cut and
+thrust beak to dig at the meat. Another raven soon joined him, and then
+two more, who, after a kind of parley, were admitted to their share of
+the banquet. They suddenly set up a croak of alarm, stopped feeding, and
+all turned their knowing eyes in one direction. At that moment I heard a
+sharp scream, but very distant. The black party heard it too, and
+instantly darted off, alighting again at a little distance. Next came a
+rushing noise, and the monarch of the clouds lighted at once on the
+sheep. He quietly folded up his wings, and, throwing back his
+magnificent head, looked round at the ravens, as if wondering at their
+impudence in approaching his breakfast; they kept a respectful silence,
+and hopped further away. The royal bird then turned his head in my
+direction, his bright eye that instant catching mine, as it glanced
+along the barrel of my gun. He rose, I drew the trigger, and he fell
+quite dead six yards from the sheep. As one eagle is always followed by
+a second, I remained quiet, in hopes that his mate was not within
+hearing of my shot. I had not waited many minutes when I saw the other
+eagle skimming low over the brow of the hill towards me. She did not
+alight at once, but her eye catching the dead body of her mate, she
+wheeled up into the air. I thought she was lost to me, when presently I
+heard her wings brush close over my head, and she wheeled round and
+round the dead bird, turning her head downwards to make out what had
+happened. At times she stooped so low that I could see the sparkle of
+her eye, and hear her low, complaining cry. I watched the time when she
+turned up her wing towards me, and dropped her actually on the body of
+the other. She rose to her feet, and stood gazing at me with a
+reproachful look, and would have done battle, but death was busy with
+her, and as I was loading in haste she reeled, and fell perfectly dead."
+
+
+The White-Headed Eagle.
+
+The white-headed or bald eagle, is a native of North America, and feeds
+equally on the produce of the sea and of the land, but is particularly
+fond of fish. "In procuring these," says Wilson, "he displays in a very
+singular manner the genius and energy of his character, which is fierce,
+contemplative, daring and tyrannical, attributes not exerted but on
+particular occasions, but when put forth overwhelming all opposition."
+"Elevated," says Wilson, in his "American Ornithology," "on the high
+dead limb of some gigantic tree, that commands a high view of the
+neighbouring shore and ocean, he seems calmly to contemplate the motions
+of the various feathered tribes that pursue their busy avocations
+below; the snow-white gulls, slowly winnowing the air; the busy tringA|,
+coursing along the sands; trains of ducks streaming over the surface;
+silent and watchful cranes, intent and wading; clamorous crows; and all
+the winged multitude that subsist by the bounty of this vast liquid
+magazine of nature. High over all these hovers one, whose action
+instantly arrests all attention. By his wide curvature of wing, and
+sudden suspension in the air, he knows him to be the fish-hawk, settling
+over some devoted victim of the deep. His eye kindles at the sight, and
+balancing himself with half-opened wings on the branch, he watches the
+result. Down, rapid as an arrow from heaven, descends the distant object
+of his attention, the roar of its wings reaching the ear as it
+disappears in the deep, making the surges foam around! At this moment
+the looks of the eagle are all ardour; and levelling his neck for
+flight, he sees the fish-hawk once more emerge, struggling with his
+prey, and mounting into the air with screams of exultation. This is the
+signal for the eagle, who, launching in the air, instantly gives chase,
+and soon gains on the fish-hawk; each exerts his utmost power to mount
+above the other, displaying in these rencontres the most elegant and
+sublime aA"rial evolutions. The unencumbered eagle rapidly advances, and
+is just on the point of reaching his opponent, when with a sudden
+scream, probably of despair and honest execration, the latter drops his
+fish; the eagle poising himself for a moment, as if to take a more
+certain aim, descends like a whirlwind, snatches it in his grasp ere it
+reaches the water, and bears his ill-gotten booty silently away into the
+woods."
+
+
+The Vulture.
+
+The Vultures have been sometimes called the HyA|nas of the feathered
+world, and judged by their habits, they certainly justify the term. As
+scavengers they serve a useful purpose in Eastern lands and deserve the
+protection they are said to receive from the natives. The Griffin
+Vulture of Europe, Turkey, Persia and Africa, the Egyptian Vulture of
+the Nile country, and the Condor, or American Vulture, are the best
+known varieties.
+
+
+The Condor.
+
+The American Condor is the largest of the birds of prey, and is said to
+partake of the ferocity of the Eagle and the filthiness of the Vulture.
+"Two of these birds, acting in concert," says an American writer, "will
+frequently attack a puma, a llama, a calf, or even a full-grown cow.
+They will pursue the poor animal with unwearied pertinacity, lacerating
+it incessantly with their beaks and talons, until it falls exhausted
+with fatigue and loss of blood. Then, having first seized upon its
+tongue, they proceed to tear out its eyes, and commence their feast with
+these favourite morsels. The intestines form the second course of their
+banquet, which is usually continued until the birds have gorged
+themselves so fully as to render themselves incapable of using their
+wings in flight." This bird is said to measure from three and a half to
+four feet from head to tail.
+
+
+The King of the Vultures.
+
+This bird which is the handsomest of its tribe is called the King of the
+vultures, because of the royal honours it receives from common vultures.
+Mr. Byam says in his "Central America," "One day, having lost a mule by
+death, he was dragged up to a small hill, not far off, where I knew, in
+an hour or two, he would be safely buried in vulture-sepulture. I was
+standing on a hillock, about a hundred yards off, with a gun in my hand,
+watching the surprising distance that a vulture descries his prey from,
+and the gathering of so many from all parts, up and down wind, where
+none had been seen before, and that in a very short space of time.
+Hearing a loud, whirring noise over my head, I looked up, and saw a fine
+large bird, with outstretched and seemingly motionless wings, sailing
+towards the carcase that had already been partially demolished. I would
+not fire at the bird; for I had a presentiment that it was his majesty
+of the vultures; but beckoned to an Indian to come up the hill--and,
+showing him the bird that had just alighted, he said, 'the King of the
+vultures; you will see how he is adored.' Directly the fine-looking bird
+approached the carcase, the _oi polloi_ of the vultures retired to a
+short distance; some flew off, and perched on some contiguous branch;
+while by far the greatest number remained, acting the courtier, by
+forming a most respectful and well-kept ring around him. His majesty,
+without any signs of acknowledgment for such great civility, proceeded
+to make a most gluttonous meal; but, during the whole time he was
+employed, not a single envious bird attempted to intrude upon him at his
+repast, until he had finished, and taken his departure with a heavier
+wing and slower flight than on his arrival; but when he had taken his
+perch on a high tree, not far off, his dirty, ravenous subjects,
+increased in number during his repast, ventured to discuss the somewhat
+diminished carcase; for the royal appetite was certainly very fine. I
+have since beheld the above scene acted many times, but always with
+great interest."
+
+
+A Feast of Vultures.
+
+Wilson gives the following account of the Black Vulture of America.
+"February 21st, 1809. Went out to Hampstead this forenoon. A horse had
+dropped down in the street, in convulsions; and dying, it was dragged
+out to Hampstead, and skinned. I ventured cautiously within thirty yards
+of the carcase, where three or four dogs, and twenty or thirty vultures,
+were busily tearing and devouring. Seeing them take no notice, I
+ventured nearer, till I was within ten yards, and sat down on the bank.
+Still they paid little attention to me. The dogs being sometimes
+accidentally flapped with the wings of the vultures, would growl and
+snap at them, which would occasion them to spring up for a moment, but
+they immediately gathered in again. I remarked the vultures frequently
+attack each other, fighting with their claws or heels, striking like a
+cock, with open wings, and fixing their claws in each other's heads. The
+females, and I believe the males likewise, made a hissing sound with
+open mouth, exactly resembling that produced by thrusting a red hot
+poker into water; and frequently a snuffing like a dog clearing his
+nostrils, as I suppose they were theirs. On observing that they did not
+heed me, I stole so close that my feet were within one yard of the
+horse's legs, and I again sat down. They all slid aloof a few feet; but
+seeing me quiet, they soon returned as before. As they were often
+disturbed by the dogs, I ordered the latter home: my voice gave no alarm
+to the vultures. As soon as the dogs departed, the vultures crowded in
+such numbers, that I counted at one time thirty-seven on and around the
+carcase, with several within; so that scarcely an inch of it was
+visible. Sometimes one would come out with a large piece of the
+entrails, which in a moment was surrounded by several others, who tore
+it in fragments, and it soon disappeared. They kept up the hissing
+occasionally. Some of them having their whole legs and heads covered
+with blood, presented a most savage aspect. Sometimes I observed them
+stretching their neck along the ground, as if to press the food
+downwards."
+
+
+The Secretary Bird.
+
+The Secretary Bird, so called from the possession of feathers thought to
+resemble pens behind the ear, feeds on snakes and other reptiles. Le
+Vaillant, who in dissecting one of these birds, found in his crop eleven
+large lizards, three serpents each a yard in length, eleven small
+tortoises and a great quantity of locusts and other insects, once
+witnessed a contest thus referred in the "Percy Anecdotes":
+
+"When the secretary approaches a serpent, it always carries the point of
+one of its wings forward, in order to parry off its venomous bites;
+sometimes it finds an opportunity of spurning and treading upon its
+antagonist; or else, of taking him upon its pinions, and throwing him
+into the air. When by this system it has, at length, wearied out its
+adversary, and rendered him almost senseless, it kills and swallows him
+at leisure. On the occasion which Vaillant mentions, the battle was
+obstinate, and conducted with equal address on both sides. The serpent,
+feeling at last his inferiority, endeavoured to regain his hole; while
+the bird apparently guessing his design, stopped him on a sudden, and
+cut off his retreat by placing herself before him at a single leap. On
+whatever side the reptile endeavoured to make his escape, the enemy
+still appeared before him. Rendered desperate, the serpent resolved on a
+last effort. He erected himself boldly to intimidate the bird, and
+hissing dreadfully, displayed his menacing throat, inflamed eyes, and a
+head swollen with rage and venom. The bird seemed intimidated for a
+moment, but soon returned to the charge; and covering her body with one
+of her wings as a buckler, struck her enemy with the bony protuberance
+of the other. M. Vaillant saw the serpent at last stagger and fall; the
+conqueror then fell upon him to despatch him, and with one stroke of her
+beak laid open his skull."
+
+
+The Kite. The Osprey. The Buzzard.
+
+The Kite is common in Europe and is sometimes seen in Scotland. It is a
+bird of the Hawk kind and may easily be distinguished from other birds
+of prey by its forked tail and the slow and circular eddies it describes
+in the air whenever it spies its prey. It measures about two feet in
+length. The Osprey is common in Europe and America. It feeds principally
+upon fish, in pursuit of which it frequents the sea coast and the
+borders of lakes and rivers. It is about two feet in length. The common
+Buzzard is rather smaller, measuring twenty or twenty-two inches. It
+nests on high trees and watches on overhanging branches for any prey
+that may pass beneath. The Marsh Harrier which measures twenty-one to
+twenty-three inches is a formidable foe to moles and mice, rabbits and
+reptiles.
+
+
+The Falcon.
+
+The Peregrine Falcon so famous in the days of Falconry is a fearless
+bird and does not hesitate to attack those of much larger size. For this
+reason it was often employed in hunting the Heron. "In this contest,"
+says Mr. Wood, "the Falcon was almost always victorious, and after it
+had attained a sufficient altitude, it swept, or 'stooped', as the
+phrase was, upon the Heron. When the Falcon had closed with its prey,
+they both came to the ground together. Sometimes, however, the wary
+Heron contrived to receive its enemy on the point of its sharp beak, and
+transfixed it by its own impetus." This bird is from fifteen to eighteen
+inches in length. Mr. Selby in his "Ornithology" says, "In daring
+disposition, this bird equals most of its congeners. I may be allowed to
+add the following instance, as having happened under my own observation,
+and as exemplifying not only its determined perseverance in pursuit of
+its prey, when under the pressure of hunger, but as arguing also an
+unexpected degree of foresight:--In exercising my dogs upon the moors,
+previous to the commencement of the shooting-season, I observed a large
+bird of the hawk genus, hovering at a distance, which, upon approaching,
+I knew to be a Peregrine Falcon. Its attention was now drawn towards the
+dogs, and it accompanied them, whilst they beat the surrounding ground.
+Upon their having found, and sprung a brood of grouse, the falcon
+immediately gave chase, and struck a young bird, before they had
+proceeded far upon wing. My shouts and rapid advance, prevented it from
+securing its prey. The issue of this attempt, however, did not deter the
+falcon from watching our subsequent movements, and another opportunity
+soon offering, it again gave chase, and struck down two birds, by two
+rapidly repeated blows, one of which it secured, and bore off in
+triumph."
+
+
+The Sparrow Hawk.
+
+The Sparrow-hawk which measures from twelve to fifteen inches long is a
+terror to smaller birds, showing great pertinacity in their pursuit. Mr.
+St. John says that one pursued a pigeon through his "drawing-room
+window, and out at the other end of the house through another window,
+and never slackened its pursuit, notwithstanding the clattering of the
+broken glass of the two windows as they passed through," and that on
+another occasion he found "a sparrow hawk deliberately standing on a
+very large pouter pigeon on the drawing-room floor, and plucking it,
+having entered in pursuit of the unfortunate bird through an open
+window, and killed him in the room." White says, in his "Natural History
+of Selborne," "About the tenth of July, a pair of sparrow-hawks bred in
+an old crow's nest on a low beech in Selborne-hanger; and as their
+brood, which was numerous, began to grow up, they became so daring and
+ravenous, that they were a terror to all the dames in the village that
+had chickens or ducklings under their care. A boy climbed the tree, and
+found the young so fledged that they all escaped from him; but
+discovered that a good house had been kept; the larder was well stored
+with provisions; for he brought down a young blackbird, jay, and house
+martin, all clean picked, and some half devoured. The old birds had been
+observed to make sad havoc for some days among the new flown swallows
+and martins, which, being but lately out of their nests, had not
+acquired those powers and command of wing that enable them when more
+mature to set enemies at defiance."
+
+
+The Owl.
+
+Great interest attaches to the owl from the singularity of its
+appearance and habits. There are many varieties, the Common Barn Owl;
+the Long-eared Owl; the Great Eagle Owl; and the American Horned Owl
+being some of these. The Barn Owl measures about twelve inches in
+length. This bird does great service in the destruction of mice, rats,
+and other vermin, and it is the nemesis of fate that it is destroyed by
+those it serves. Its movements are noiseless, the peculiar form of the
+feathers of its wings enabling it to fly without making any sound, and
+so surprise its prey. "Its method of devouring a mouse," says Mr. Wood,
+"is quite different from the mode in which it eats a bird. If a mouse is
+given to an owl, the bird seizes it across the back, and gives it one or
+two smart bites, much as a terrier handles a rat. The mouse is then
+jerked upwards, and caught again head downwards. A second jerk sends the
+mouse half down the owl's throat, while its tail remains sticking out of
+the side of its bill, where it is rolled about as if the owl were
+smoking. After some time has been spent in this amusement, another jerk
+causes the mouse to disappear altogether, and the owl looks very happy
+and contented. But if a small bird is presented to it, the owl tears it
+up and devours it piecemeal." The great Eagle Owl which measures two
+feet and upwards will attack hares, rabbits, and young fawns.
+
+
+ORDER VIII.
+
+Wading Birds.
+
+The order of wading birds includes many that we can do no more than
+mention:--the Moor Hen; the Woodcock; the Snipe; the Water pheasant; the
+Plover; the Lapwing; the Crane; the Heron; the Stork; and the Flamingo
+are the more familiar birds of the order, which however includes the
+Crakes; the Coots; the Curlews; the Bustards; the Sandpipers, and
+others.
+
+
+The Cranes.
+
+The Cranes belong to Africa and Southern Asia, but migrate from clime to
+clime as the seasons change. The flight of the Cranes, like that of some
+other birds, is a compact and well ordered progression. They fly high
+and commonly at night, apparently under the direction of a leader whose
+course they follow and whose calls they obey. There are several
+varieties, the Common Crane, the Numidian Crane, and the Balearic Crane
+being the better known of these.
+
+
+The Heron.
+
+The Heron is an expert fisherman and has all the necessary patience for
+the pursuit of his sport. He will stand motionless for hours at the
+water side, waiting his opportunity, and then dart with unerring aim at
+the unsuspecting fish and secure his meal. The bill of the heron is a
+powerful weapon, and as we remarked when dealing with the falcons,
+formerly used in hunting the heron, it will sometimes transfix the
+Falcon by throwing its head back and receiving its enemy on the point.
+Captain Brown gives an illustration which shows that the Heron's bill
+may be as effective in other cases. "A gentleman being on a shooting
+excursion, accompanied by a small spaniel, observed a heron wading a
+little above a waterfall. He fired--wounded it--and sent his dog into
+the stream to bring it to land. As soon as the dog had come within its
+reach, the heron drew back its head, and with all its force, struck him
+in the ribs with its bill. The gentleman again fired, and killed the
+heron; but it had well revenged itself: both dog and heron floated dead
+together, down the foaming waterfall." The Heron nests on the tops of
+high trees and lives in companies.
+
+
+The Bittern.
+
+The Bittern is remarkable for its loud booming cry which has some
+resemblance to the bellowing of a bull, and for its spiral flight which
+it pursues to a great altitude.
+
+
+The Stork.
+
+Storks are found in different parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. In
+Holland, and in some other countries, they live in a state of
+semi-domestication, encouraged by the people, and building nests upon
+the roofs of their houses. They feed on rats, mice, frogs, and other
+vermin, and render the Hollander good service by keeping down the
+numbers of such pests. In the East they act as scavengers, and for this
+reason are as much encouraged by the people. "A recent visitor to
+Constantinople," says Mr. Wood, "remarks that the very Storks seemed to
+have become Ottoman, for they sat on the tops of the houses, looking
+staid and solemn, as becomes the Oriental character, and managed their
+beaks just as if they were pipes. It is true that they wore no turbans,
+but each of them appeared to have left a turban of preposterous
+dimensions, _viz._, his nest, on the roof of a house close by." The
+Stork is easily tamed and sometimes shows considerable intelligence.
+
+
+The Jealousy of the Stork.
+
+The following illustration which we take from the "Percy Anecdotes"
+shows that the Stork shares with other birds the feeling of jealousy.
+"In Smyrna there are a great number of storks, who build their nests and
+hatch their young very regularly. The inhabitants, in order to divert
+themselves at the expense of these birds, and gratify a cruel
+disposition, sometimes convey hens' eggs into the stork's nest; and when
+the young are hatched, the cock on seeing them of a different form from
+his own species, makes a hideous noise, which brings a crowd of other
+storks about the nest, who to revenge the disgrace which they imagine
+the hen has brought upon her race, immediately peck her to death. The
+cock in the meantime makes the heaviest lamentation, as if bewailing his
+misfortune, which obliged him to have recourse to such extreme
+punishment."
+
+
+A Stork's Revenge.
+
+From the same work we quote the following, which shows that though
+ordinarily placid and placable the stork can cherish the feeling of
+revenge. "A wild stork was brought by a farmer in the neighbourhood of
+Hamburgh, into his poultry yard, to be the companion of a tame one,
+which he had long kept there; but the tame stork disliking a rival, fell
+upon the poor stranger, and beat him so unmercifully that he was
+compelled to take wing, and with some difficulty escaped. About four
+months afterwards, however, he returned to the poultry yard, recovered
+of his wounds, and attended by three other storks, who no sooner
+alighted, than they all together fell upon the tame stork, and killed
+it."
+
+
+ORDER IX.
+
+The Geese.
+
+This order includes the Goose, the Duck, the Swan, the Teal, the Gull,
+the Petrel, the Albatross, the Cormorant, the Pelican, the Penguin, the
+Grebe, the Great Auk, the Puffin and other birds. The first of these is
+found in all parts of the world, geese being especially cultivated in
+England for the sake of their quills and feathers, and for the purposes
+of food. The goose, far from being the foolish bird it is popularly
+esteemed, often shows considerable intelligence, as well as great
+affection for those who show it kindness.
+
+
+The Gratitude of the Goose.
+
+Many instances are recorded of gratitude shown by geese towards those
+who have befriended them. Buffon once rescued a young gander from an
+older and stronger bird, after which his young _protA(C)gA(C)_ would follow
+him on all his daily walks, never tiring of his company. "On one
+occasion," says Buffon, "he heard me talking in the rector's upper room,
+and as he found the front door open, climbed upstairs, and, marching
+into the room, gave a loud exclamation of joy, to the no small
+astonishment of the family."
+
+
+A Wild Goose Chase.
+
+Bishop Stanley, in his "Familiar History of Birds," says:--"An officer
+settled on a farm near the Missouri in North America, one day, when
+walking near the banks of the river, observed a large eagle frequently
+darting towards the water, and then rising again. On a near approach, he
+perceived that its object was to take a wild goose, which had alighted
+on the water, and which was diving to avoid so powerful an enemy. Its
+efforts, however, appeared to be in vain; and, after diving again and
+again, and as often rising to get breath, it became nearly exhausted,
+when, suddenly turning, it made for the shore with all speed towards the
+officer's house, where two men were at work, and as soon as it had
+landed walked leisurely up to them, permitting itself to be taken
+without attempting to escape. It was completely exhausted, but soon
+recovered, and within three days seemed quite contented, and confident
+of protection."
+
+
+Goose Friendships.
+
+There are some curious instances known of friendships formed by geese
+for both men and animals, apparently without any special reason. A goose
+in Cheshire once followed a farmer with so much persistency, at the
+plough, to the market, and in the house, that the farmer who had shown
+it no special kindness, superstitiously regarded it as a bird of ill
+omen and had it killed. A singular friendship grew up some years ago
+between a gander at York and an old man who lived near the farm to which
+the bird belonged. In this case the gander waddled off in the morning
+and spent the day with his human friend, returning at night to its home
+at the farm. One of the prettiest of these stories is that of a gander
+in Germany who used to lead a blind woman to church, taking the corner
+of her apron in his beak, and wait quietly in the churchyard until the
+service was over to conduct her home again. Another goose was known to
+have a great affection for soldiers and to regularly perform sentry
+duty, walking backwards and forwards for hours with his red-coated
+friends.
+
+
+The Goose and the Dog.
+
+A more singular friendship than any perhaps, was that existing between a
+goose and a dog, thus described in "The Philosophical Magazine":--
+
+"A species of goose, a native of Africa, belonging to a person in
+Scotland, was observed some time ago to pay particular attention to a
+dog which was chained up; a dog which had previously manifested a great
+dislike to poultry, never allowing them to come within reach of his
+chain. The goose, finding she had nothing to fear from her canine
+friend, would enter his kennel, in the centre of which, among the straw,
+she made her nest and deposited her eggs, which was not known till one
+of the family mentioned that the goose slept in the dog's bosom. The
+singularity of the circumstance led to an examination of the box, but
+not without the greatest reluctance on the part of the dog, who appeared
+determined to protect what was left to his charge. On removing the
+straw, five eggs were discovered in a fine bed of down and feathers. The
+dog was in the habit of going into his box with the greatest care, for
+fear of injuring the eggs."
+
+
+The Maternal Instinct of the Goose.
+
+The Rev. C. A. Bury gives a pathetic illustration of the maternal
+instinct of the goose:--
+
+"An old goose, that had been for a fortnight hatching in a farmer's
+kitchen was perceived on a sudden to be taken violently ill. She soon
+after left the nest, and repaired to an outhouse where there was a young
+goose of the first year, which she brought with her into the kitchen.
+The young one immediately scrambled into the old one's nest, sat,
+hatched, and afterwards brought up the brood. The old goose, as soon as
+the young one had taken her place, sat down by the side of the nest, and
+shortly after died. As the young goose had never been in the habit of
+entering the kitchen before, I know of no way of accounting for this
+fact than by supposing that the old one had some way of communicating
+her thoughts and anxieties, which the other was perfectly able to
+understand. A sister of mine, who witnessed the transaction, gave me the
+information in the evening of the very day it happened." The Rev. F. C.
+Morris tells of a goose which had a number of ducks' eggs placed with
+some of her own that she might hatch them, but which twice removed the
+ducks' eggs from the group, declining to sit on any but her own.
+
+
+The Duck.
+
+The many varieties of Ducks might well occupy much more space than we
+can spare for them. The better known of these are the Wild Duck, the
+Common Duck, the Eider Duck, the Long-tailed Duck, the King Duck, the
+Canvas-back Duck, the Mallard, the Teal, the Widgeon, the Mandarin, and
+the Common Shelldrake.
+
+An interesting illustration of the affection which ducks sometimes show
+towards each other is given by Dr. Stanley. He says:--"A pair of Muscovy
+Ducks were landed at Holyhead from a Liverpool vessel, returning from
+the coast of Africa. The male was conveyed to a gentleman's house, and
+put with other ducks, towards whom he evinced the utmost indifference:
+he evidently pined for the loss of his mate; but she was brought after a
+time, and let loose; he did not at first see her, but when, on turning
+his head, he caught a glimpse of her, he rushed towards her with a joy
+which was quite affecting. Nothing after that would induce him to quit
+her; he laid his beak upon hers, nestled his head under her wing, and
+often gazed at her with the greatest delight."
+
+
+The Swan.
+
+The Swan is one of the most graceful of the bird kind, the purity of its
+colour and the beauty of its form as it glides along the river making
+it one of the prettiest sights in nature. There are several varieties of
+the swan, of which the Whooping Swan and the Common Swan of Europe, the
+Black Swan of Australia, and the Black-necked Swan of South America are
+the most familiar.
+
+
+The Maternal Instinct of the Swan.
+
+The swan is assiduous in the care of her young, and shows great
+intelligence in providing for them as well as courage in their defence.
+She makes her nest in the grass among reeds; and in February begins to
+lay, depositing egg after egg, until there are six or eight. Dr. Latham
+mentions two females that for three or four years successively, agreed
+to associate, and had each a brood yearly, bringing up together about
+eleven young ones: they sat by turns, and never quarrelled. Captain
+Brown gives a remarkable illustration of the courage of a swan in
+defending her nest. He says:--"A female swan, while in the act of
+sitting, observed a fox swimming towards her from the opposite shore:
+She instantly darted into the water, and having kept him at bay for a
+considerable time with her wings, at last succeeded in drowning him;
+after which, in the sight of several persons, she returned in triumph.
+This circumstance took place at Pensy, in Buckinghamshire."
+
+
+The Swan's Intelligence.
+
+Mr. Yarrell, in his "British Birds," mentions a remarkable instance of
+the sagacity and intelligence of the swan: "A female swan was sitting on
+four or five eggs. One day she was observed to be very busy in
+collecting weeds, grasses, and sticks, to raise her nest above its usual
+level. A kind-hearted farming man threw her some handfuls of brushwood,
+with which she most industriously raised her nest, and soon placed the
+eggs about two feet and a half above the old level. That night there
+came down a tremendous fall of rain, which flooded all the fields and
+cellars, and did great damage in the village. Man made no
+preparation--the bird did; and instinct prevailed over reason! Her eggs
+were above, and only just above, the water."
+
+
+The Swan and the Fawn.
+
+Swans are said to be spiteful at times, and to show a savagery of temper
+on occasion, for which, as in the following case, it is difficult to
+account. "In the park of Lord Grantley at Wonersh, near Guildford, a
+fawn, drinking, was suddenly pounced upon by one of the swans, which
+pulled the animal into the water, and held it under until quite drowned.
+This action was observed by the other deer in the park, and did not long
+go unrevenged; for shortly after, this very swan, which had hitherto
+never been molested by the deer, was singled out when on land, and
+furiously attacked by a herd, which surrounded and killed it."
+
+
+The Common Sea-Gull.
+
+The Gulls are a numerous family, the Common Gull, the Herring Gull, the
+Great Black-Backed Gull and the Ivory Gull being well known species. The
+Common Gull is found everywhere. It frequents the coasts of continents
+and islands and feeds principally upon fish, though its voracity is very
+accommodating, and its taste not over fastidious.
+
+
+A Tame Sea-Gull
+
+Many years ago, Mr. Scot, of Benholm, near Montrose, caught a sea-gull,
+and having cut its wings put it into his garden. The bird remained in
+this situation for several years, and being kindly treated, became so
+familiar, as to come at call to be fed at the kitchen door and to answer
+to the name of Willie. It became so tame at last that no pains were
+thought necessary to circumscribe its liberty, and its wings having
+grown to full length, it flew away, joined the other gulls on the beach,
+and came back, from time to time, to pay a visit to the house. When its
+companions left the country at the usual season, Willie accompanied
+them, much to the regret of the family. To their great joy, however, it
+returned next season; and with its usual familiarity came to its old
+haunt, where it was welcomed and fed very liberally. In this way it went
+and returned for _forty years_, without intermission, and kept up its
+acquaintance with the family, for while in the country it visited them
+almost daily, answered to its name like any domestic animal, and ate
+almost out of the hand. One year, however, very near the period of its
+final disappearance, Willie did not pay his respects to the family for
+eight or ten days after the general flock of gulls were upon the coast,
+and great was their lamentation for his loss, as it was feared he was
+dead: but to the surprise and joy of the family, a servant one morning
+came running into the breakfast-room with delight, announcing that
+Willie was returned. The whole company rose from the table to welcome
+the bird. Food was supplied in abundance, and Willie with his usual
+frankness ate of it heartily, and was as tame as any barn-yard fowl
+about the house. In a year or two afterwards this grateful bird
+disappeared for ever.
+
+
+Mother Carey's Chicken.
+
+The Stormy Petrel or Mother Carey's Chicken, is a small black bird well
+known to mariners, and familiar to all at sea in stormy weather. It
+follows in the wake of ships and is regarded as a prophet of evil, at
+least in so far as stormy weather is concerned. It is seen in many parts
+of the ocean busily engaged in searching for food, braving the fury of
+the storm and skimming along the waves, sometimes above their tops, and
+sometimes screening itself from the blast by sinking down into the
+billows between them. It nests in all but inaccessible places, the
+Island of St. Kilda being the chief British breeding place of the Fulmar
+variety. These are of great importance to the natives who run great
+risks in searching for their eggs and who catch the birds for the
+purposes of food, and for the oil which they supply.
+
+
+Catching the Stormy Petrel.
+
+The danger attaching to the capture of the Petrel in its rocky haunts in
+the Hebrides is thus vividly described by Mr. Drosier. "As the stormy
+petrel, is scarcely ever to be seen near the land, except in very
+boisterous weather, one of the natives for a trifling remuneration,
+agreed to traverse the face of a rock, and take me some from out its
+fissures. Accordingly, accoutred with a rope of hemp and hogs' bristles
+coiled over his shoulders, he proceeded to the cliff. Having made one
+end fast by means of a stake, he threw the coil over the face of the
+rock, and gradually lowered himself down, but with the utmost caution
+and circumspection, carefully pressing his foot hard upon the narrow
+ridges before he at all loosened his firm grasp of the rope, which he
+never altogether abandoned. I had previously thrown myself upon my
+chest, to enable me to have a better view of him, by looking over the
+cliff; and, certainly, to see the dexterity and bravery with which he
+threw himself from one aperture to another, was truly grand. The
+tumbling roar of the Atlantic was foaming many hundreds of feet beneath,
+and dashing its curling cream-like surge against the dark base of the
+cliff, in sheets of the most beautiful white; while the herring and
+black-backed gulls, alternately sweeping past him so as to be almost in
+reach of his arm, threw a wildness into the scene, by the discordant
+scream of the former, and the laughing, oft-repeated bark of the latter.
+This, however, he appeared entirely to disregard; and continuing his
+search, returned in about half an hour, with seven or eight of the
+stormy petrels, tied up in an old stocking, and a pair of the Manks
+puffins, together with their eggs. The birds, he told me, he had no
+difficulty in capturing. The eggs of the stormy petrel are surprisingly
+large, considering the diminutive size of the bird, being as large as
+those of the thrush. The female lays two eggs, of a dirty or dingy
+white, encircled at the larger end by a ring of fine rust-coloured
+freckles. The birds merely collect a few pieces of dried grass, with a
+feather or two, barely sufficient to prevent the eggs from rolling or
+moving on the rock."
+
+
+The Cormorant.
+
+The Common Cormorant is familiar all round the coast of England, and
+will even sometimes venture inland or at any rate up the mouths of
+rivers. Captain Brown mentions one that, many years ago, was seen
+resting upon the vane of St. Martin's steeple, Ludgate Hill, London;
+and was shot in the presence of a large number of people. It is a
+voracious bird and shows great dexterity in the catching and swallowing
+of fish, turning them round so as to swallow them head foremost, in
+order to avoid the resistance of the fins and spines. Colonel Montague
+had one, caught in a tributary of the Bristol Channel, by a Newfoundland
+dog, which at first refused food but offered no resistance to being
+crammed. "The Colonel having retired to the library after seeing the
+bird fed," says Captain Brown, "was surprised in a few minutes to see it
+walk boldly into the room, unceremoniously place itself by him at the
+side of the fire, and begin to dress its feathers. This practice it
+continued till removed to an aquatic menagerie. Whenever it saw the
+water it became restless, and on being set at liberty, plunged into it,
+and incessantly dived for a considerable time in search of fish. After
+this, it seemed to be convinced that there were none to be found there,
+as it was not noticed to dive again for three days."
+
+
+The Albatross.
+
+The great Albatross is a large and powerful bird, measuring three feet
+in length and having a stretch of wing of from nine to twelve or
+fourteen feet. It is a heavy bird, and needs great strength to sustain
+its weight during its long and rapid flights. Mrs. Bowdich says, "One
+was known to follow a ship, which made two hundred miles a day, for
+forty-eight hours; and besides these miles, from its irregular flight,
+it must have passed over a much longer distance. The Albatross darts
+with unerring aim and great force on its prey, as it swims on the top of
+the waves. A man who fell overboard near the island of St. Paul's was
+killed by these birds; for, although the boat was lowered immediately,
+nothing was found of him except his hat, pierced through and through by
+the beaks of three albatrosses, who had marked him, pecked him on the
+head, and caused him to sink." Their flight is easy and apparently
+performed without effort and with an almost imperceptible movement of
+wing. The Albatross is easily caught from the stern of a ship with a
+hook. Mr. Wood says: "It seems rather remarkable that a bird that lives
+in or over the sea during its whole life, should prove a landsman when
+taken on board. Yet, when the Albatross is caught and placed on deck, it
+begins to stagger about, and soon becomes as thoroughly sea sick as the
+most inexperienced cockney." Mr. Earl thus describes the haunt of the
+Albatross in the heights of the Island of Tristan d'Acunha: "A
+death-like stillness prevailed in these high regions, and to my ear our
+voices had a strange unnatural echo, and I fancied our forms appeared
+gigantic, whilst the air was piercing cold. The prospect was altogether
+sublime, and filled the mind with awe. The huge Albatross here appeared
+to dread no interloper or enemy; for their young were on the ground
+completely uncovered, and the old ones were stalking around them."
+
+
+The Pelican.
+
+The Pelican is one of the largest of swimming birds. It is distinguished
+by the possession of a pouch which is capable of holding two gallons of
+water, and which it uses for the purposes of catching fish, and feeding
+its young. In this latter operation the bird presses its pouch which
+hangs beneath its beak, against its breast, and so disgorges its
+contents. This action is said to have given rise to the fable that
+pelicans pluck nourishment from their own breasts to feed their young.
+The Pelican belongs to the South and East of Europe and the North of
+Africa.
+
+
+A Tame Pelican.
+
+Mr. Hill, of St. Domingo, gives an interesting account of a tame pelican
+which is quoted by Mrs. Bowdich. He says:--"The facility with which the
+pelican resigns itself to fasting or feasting, was very interestingly
+exhibited to me in a bird I saw the other day at Passage Fort. It was a
+pelican of mature age; it flew backwards and forwards, visiting the wild
+flocks, and feeding with them in the harbour during the day, and
+withdrew from them to roost in its master's yard during the night. In
+that period of restraint, when it was necessary to observe the caution
+of drawing its quill feathers, to keep it within diminished capabilities
+of flight, until it became familiar and domesticated, it was wholly
+dependent on the fish provided for it by the fishermen of the beach.
+Sunday was no fishing day with these men; and this was, therefore, a day
+in which there were no supplies for the pelican. It became, in time, so
+conscious of the recurrence of this fast-day, that although, at all
+other times, it went daily down to the sea-side to wait the coming in of
+the canoes, on the seventh day it never stirred from the incumbent trunk
+of a tree, on which it roosted, within the yard. It had been found
+necessary to pluck its wings within the last two or three months, to
+restrain it within bounds, in consequence of its absence latterly with
+the wild birds, for several days in succession, and in this state it was
+reduced, as formerly, to depend on the fishermen for food. The old habit
+of abstinence and drowsy repose on the Sundays again recurred, and when
+I saw it, it was once more a tranquil observer of the rest, and with it
+the fast, of the Sabbath-day."
+
+
+The Penguin.
+
+The Penguin belongs to South America, Australia, New Zealand and the
+Cape of Good Hope. There are a number of species; the Jackass Penguin,
+so called from the peculiarity of its cry, the King Penguin of the South
+Pacific, and the Cape Penguin of Cape Horn, the largest of the penguins,
+being the principal varieties. Mr. Darwin in describing the Jackass
+penguin says:--"In diving, its little plumeless wings are used as fins,
+but on the land _as front legs_. When crawling (it may be said on four
+legs) through the tussocks, or on the side of a grassy cliff, it moved
+so very quickly that it might readily have been mistaken for a
+quadruped. When at sea and fishing, it comes to the surface, for the
+purpose of breathing, with such a spring, and dives again so
+instantaneously, that I defy any one at first sight to be sure that it
+is not a fish leaping for sport." The penguin is a courageous bird, and
+will not hesitate to attack a man. Mr. Darwin when on the Falkland
+Islands, placed himself between one of the Patagonian penguins and the
+water, and till it reached the sea, it regularly fought and drove him
+backwards. It stood close before him, erect and determined, and every
+inch gained it firmly kept. Nothing less than heavy blows would have
+stopped it.
+
+
+The Puffin.
+
+The Puffin is a bird of singular appearance and interesting habits. It
+is sometimes called the sea parrot from the resemblance of its head to
+that of the Parrot kind. The bird measures thirteen inches in length,
+and its bill is a formidable weapon. The Raven seems to be its natural
+enemy, and when they come to close quarters a great deal depends upon
+which succeeds in getting the first grip. Naturally each bird has the
+best chance in its own element. It is a bird of passage, visiting its
+customary breeding places in the summer and wintering in southern
+Europe. Mr. Rennie says, "In the breeding season, numerous troops of
+them visit several places on our coasts, particularly the small island
+of Priestholm, near Anglesey, which might well be called puffin land, as
+the whole surface appears literally covered with them. Soon after their
+arrival in May, they prepare for breeding, and it is said, the male,
+contrary to the usual economy of birds, undertakes the hardest part of
+the labour. He begins by scraping up a hole in the sand not far from the
+shore; and after having got some depth he throws himself on his back,
+and with his powerful bill as a digger and his broad feet to remove the
+rubbish, he excavates a burrow with several windings and turnings, from
+eight to ten feet deep. He prefers, where he can find a stone, to dig
+under it, in order that his retreat may be more securely fortified.
+Whilst thus employed, the birds are so intent upon their work that they
+are easily caught by the hand."
+
+
+ORDER X.
+
+The Ostriches.
+
+This order includes the Ostrich, the Rhea, the Cassowaries and the Emus.
+The Ostrich belongs to Africa, Australasia, and South America. It is the
+largest of the birds, attaining to a height of six feet, and a weight of
+three hundred pounds. It is hunted for the sake of its feathers, but
+being very swift of foot has to be circumvented by strategy. It is said
+to run in large curves, which habit gives the hunter the opportunity of
+riding straight and intercepting it. "A favourite method adopted by the
+wild Bushman for approaching the Ostrich and other varieties of game,"
+says Captain Gumming, "is to clothe himself in the skin of one of these
+birds, in which, taking care of the wind, he stalks about the plain,
+cunningly imitating the gait and motions of the Ostrich, until within
+range, when, with a well-directed poisoned arrow from his tiny bow, he
+can generally seal the fate of any of the ordinary varieties of game."
+The eggs of the Ostrich are also much prized. "The nest," says Captain
+Gumming, "is merely a hollow scooped in the sandy soil, generally
+amongst heath or other low bushes; its diameter is about seven feet; it
+is believed that two hens often lay in one nest. The hatching of the
+eggs is not left, as is generally believed, to the heat of the sun, but,
+on the contrary, the cock relieves the hen in the incubation. The eggs
+form a considerable item in the Bushman's cuisine, and the shells are
+converted into water flasks, cups, and dishes. I have often seen
+Bush-girls and Bakalahari women, who belong to the wandering Bechuana
+tribes of the Kalahari desert, come down to the fountains from their
+remote habitations, sometimes situated at an amazing distance, each
+carrying on her back a kaross, or a net-work containing from twelve to
+fifteen ostrich egg-shells, which had. been emptied by a small aperture
+at one end; these they fill with water."
+
+
+The Ostrich and its Young.
+
+The Ostrich shows the same affection for its mate, and the same devotion
+to the care of its young that we have noticed in other birds, and in
+animals. The female of a pair in Paris died through swallowing a
+three-cornered piece of glass which a glazier had dropped into their
+cage, after which the mate pined away and died in a few weeks. Of their
+care of their young Captain Cumming says:
+
+"I fell in with a troop of about twelve young ostriches, which were not
+much larger than Guinea-fowls. I was amused to see the mother endeavour
+to lead us away, exactly like a wild duck, spreading out and drooping
+her wings, and throwing herself down on the ground before us as if
+wounded, while the cock bird cunningly led the brood away in an opposite
+direction." Professor Thunberg once rode past the place where a hen
+Ostrich was sitting in her nest; when the bird sprang up, and pursued
+him, evidently with a view to prevent his noticing her eggs or young.
+Every time he turned his horse towards her she retreated ten or twelve
+paces; but as soon as he rode again she pursued him, till he had got to
+a considerable distance from the place where he had started her.
+
+
+The Rhea. The Cassowary. The Emu.
+
+The Rhea is a beautiful bird of the ostrich type belonging to South
+America. There are several species, known as the Common Rhea, the
+Great-billed Rhea, and Darwin's Rhea, the latter belonging to Patagonia.
+A Common Rhea bred some time ago in the Zoological gardens, when the
+male bird discharged the duties of incubation. The Cassowary and the Emu
+belong to Australia. The Cassowary resembles the ostrich in form, but is
+not so large. It stands about five feet. Like all these birds it is
+unable to fly, but is very swift of foot. It can kick too, with great
+violence, as dogs have sometimes found to their cost. The Emu is a very
+large bird and is said sometimes to exceed six feet in height.
+
+Mr. Bennett says:--"The length of its legs and the muscularity of its
+thighs enable it to run with great swiftness; and as it is exceedingly
+shy, it is not easily overtaken or brought within gun-shot. Captain
+Currie states that it affords excellent coursing, equalling if not
+surpassing the same sport with the hare in England; but Mr. Cunningham
+says that dogs will seldom attack it, both on account of some peculiar
+odour in its flesh which they dislike, and because the injuries
+inflicted upon them by striking out with its feet are frequently very
+severe. The settlers even assert that the Emu will break the small bone
+of a man's leg by this sort of kick; to avoid which, well-trained dogs
+run up abreast, and make a sudden spring at the neck, whereby the bird
+is quickly dispatched. Its flesh has been compared to coarse beef, which
+it resembles both in appearance and taste." Mr. Jesse says, "The only
+instance I have met with in which the hen bird has not the chief care in
+hatching and bringing up the young, is in the case of the Emus, at the
+farm belonging to the Zoological Society, near Kingston. A pair of these
+birds bred five young ones: the female, at different times, dropped nine
+eggs in various places in the pen in which she was confined. These were
+collected in one place by the male, who rolled them gently and carefully
+along with his beak. He then sat upon them himself, and continued to do
+so with the utmost assiduity, for nine weeks, during which time the
+female never took his place, nor was he ever observed to leave the nest.
+When the young were hatched, he alone took charge of them, the female
+not appearing to notice them in any way. On reading this anecdote, many
+persons may suppose that the female emu is not possessed of that natural
+affection for its young which other birds have. In order to rescue it
+from this supposition, I will mention that a female emu belonging to the
+Duke of Devonshire at Chiswick, laid some eggs; and as there was no male
+bird, she collected them together herself, and sat upon them." The
+Apteryx, the wingless bird of New Zealand, belongs to this order.
+
+
+
+
+CLASS III--REPTILIA.
+
+
+ORDER I.
+
+The Tortoise and The Turtle.
+
+This order introduces us to creatures differing very widely, in form and
+character, from those which we have been considering. There are more
+than two hundred species of the tortoise, and these are grouped into
+four families. The Common European tortoise is found in the South of
+France and Italy, as well as in Sicily and Greece. It feeds on
+vegetables, and under favourable circumstances lives a great number of
+years. It is slow in its movements but it burrows rapidly and is soon
+out of sight in the sandy soil it affects. Tortoises are commonly kept
+in a state of domestication in England, one known to the writer showing
+a great preference for pansies, eating the flowers and leaving the other
+parts of the plant. Mr. Wood describes the efforts made by a tortoise in
+his possession to attain the summit of a footstool, which shows that the
+reptile has some measure of intelligence. "Unfit as the form of the
+creature may seem for such a purpose," says Mr. Wood, "it did contrive
+to scramble upon a footstool which was placed by the fender. Its method
+of attaining this elevation was as follows:--First it reared up against
+the footstool in the angle formed by it and the fender, and after
+several ineffectual attempts, succeeded in hitching the claws of one of
+its hind feet into the open work of the fender. On this it raised
+itself, and held on to the top of the stool by its fore feet, while it
+gained another step on the fender, and so managed to raise itself to
+such a height, that it only had to fall flat on the top of the
+footstool. When once there, it could hardly be induced to leave the
+elevation which it had gained with such difficulty."
+
+
+The Elephant Tortoise.
+
+The gigantic tortoises of the Galapagos Islands came under the
+observation of Mr. Darwin, from whom we quote the following descriptive
+passages: "These animals are found, I believe, in all the Islands of the
+Galapagos Archipelago. They frequent in preference the high damp parts,
+but likewise inhabit the lower and arid districts. Some individuals grow
+to an immense size. Mr. Lawson told us that he had seen several so large
+that it required six or eight men to lift them from the ground, and that
+some had afforded as much as two hundred pounds of meat. This tortoise
+is very fond of water, drinking large quantities and wallowing in the
+mud. The larger islands alone possess springs, and these are always
+situated towards the central parts and at a considerable elevation. The
+tortoises, therefore, which frequent the lower districts, when thirsty
+have to travel from a long distance. Hence broad and well beaten paths
+radiate off in every direction from the wells, even down to the sea
+coasts, and the Spaniards by following them up first discovered the
+watering-places. Near the springs it was a curious spectacle to behold
+many of these great monsters; one set eagerly travelling onwards with
+outstretched necks, and another set returning, having drunk their fill.
+The tortoises when moving towards any definite point, travel by night
+and day, and arrive at their journey's end much sooner than would be
+expected. One large tortoise, which I watched, I found walked at the
+rate of sixty yards in ten minutes, that is three hundred and sixty in
+the hour, or four miles a day, allowing also a little time to eat on the
+road. During the breeding season, when the male and female are together,
+the male utters a hoarse roar or bellowing, which, it is said, can be
+heard at a distance of more than a hundred yards. The female never uses
+her voice and the male only at such times. They were at this season (the
+month of October) laying their eggs. The female, where the soil is
+sandy, deposits them together and covers them up with sand; but where
+the ground is rocky she drops them indiscriminately in any hollow. Mr.
+Bynoe found seven placed in a line on a fissure. The egg is white and
+spherical; one which I measured was seven inches and three-eighths in
+circumference. The inhabitants believe that these animals are absolutely
+deaf; certainly they do not overhear a person walking close behind them.
+I was always amused when overtaking one of these great monsters as it
+was quietly pacing along, to see how suddenly, the instant I paused, it
+would draw in its head and legs, and uttering a deep hiss, fall to the
+ground with a heavy sound as if struck dead. I frequently got on their
+backs, and then, upon giving a few raps on the hinder parts of the
+shell, they would rise up and walk away, but I found it very difficult
+to keep my balance. The flesh of these animals is largely employed, both
+fresh and salted; and a beautiful clear oil is prepared from the fat.
+When a tortoise is caught, the man makes a slit in the skin, near its
+tail, so as to see inside its body whether the fat under the dorsal
+plate is thick. If it is not, the animal is liberated; and is said to
+recover soon from this strange operation. In order to secure the
+tortoises it is not sufficient to turn them, like turtles, for they are
+often able to regain their upright position."
+
+
+The Turtle.
+
+The Green Turtle is the turtle of the famous soup. It is a large animal,
+measuring five or six feet in length and weighing from five hundred to
+six hundred pounds; it feeds on sea-weeds and is found in large numbers
+in the seas of warm latitudes. The species from which we get the horny
+substance known as tortoiseshell (_Chelonia Imbricata_) is sometimes
+called the Hawk's-bill turtle. It is a smaller variety, measuring about
+three feet and belonging to tropical seas. The Leathery Turtle is said
+to reach eight feet in length and a weight of a thousand pounds. The
+Loggerhead Turtle is even larger than this, and sometimes weighs as much
+as fifteen hundred pounds.
+
+
+[Illustration: Crocodile and Tiger Fight]
+
+ORDER II.
+
+The Crocodile.
+
+The Crocodile and the Alligator belong respectively to the Eastern and
+the Western Worlds. The former infests the rivers of Africa and Asia,
+one species at least belonging to Australia. Some of the best known
+varieties are those of the river Nile, the Gavial of the Ganges being
+also among the more familiar species. These formidable and unwieldy
+monsters grow to an immense size, sometimes attaining to a length of
+twenty-five feet. Their enormous jaws and innumerable sharp teeth (they
+sometimes number a hundred) give them a terrible appearance, while their
+hard scaly coats are invulnerable against ordinary attack. Their point
+of weakness is their unwieldy character, taking advantage of which the
+natives will dive beneath them and stab them with knives in vulnerable
+parts. The huntsman aims at their eyes as being the nearest approach to
+their brains. Mungo Park relates that one of his guides across the river
+Gambia was suddenly seized by a Crocodile and pulled under the water;
+upon which the negro thrust his fingers into the animal's eyes with such
+violence that it quitted its hold, but seizing him again, he resorted to
+the same expedient and with more success, as it again released him,
+appeared stupified, and then swam down the river. This man reached the
+bank bleeding very much, with long and deep wounds in his thighs, which
+incapacitated him for travel for six days. The crocodile lays an
+enormous number of eggs on the banks of its native rivers, but most of
+these are prevented from maturing by the birds and animals which prey
+upon them. Mrs. Bowdich tells an amusing story of a merchant who packed
+some crocodiles' eggs in sand for shipment to England and placed the
+barrel containing them with other goods in his warehouse. Strange and
+unaccountable noises, attracted attention to the spot, when it was
+discovered that the eggs had become hatched and the young crocodiles
+were quite ready to assume the responsibilities of life. The natives
+fled in terror, and the merchant had to take speedy measures for
+destroying his unexpected brood. Some species of the crocodile have been
+tamed or partially so, the sacred crocodiles being among these.
+Accustomed to be fed regularly by the same hands they gradually become
+familiar with their priestly attendants, and to some extent obedient to
+their commands. Mungo Park says:--"The crocodiles of the Congo appear to
+be of a smaller species, and not so numerous as those at Old Calabar,
+where they continually float past the shipping like large grey pieces of
+timber, and are so bold that they frequently seize people in the small
+canoes. In Old Calabar river, I once observed a crocodile swimming with
+a large cat-fish in its mouth to the opposite shore. It held the fish by
+the head, whilst the body was thrown into a perpendicular position. I
+watched it with the spy-glass until it had dragged the fish upon the mud
+bank, and commenced its meal."
+
+
+The Alligator.
+
+The Alligator of which there are some ten or twelve species known, is
+found exclusively in America. The Mississippi Alligator is one of the
+most familiar of these. The Alligator is smaller than the crocodile,
+which it much resembles in form and habit, though specimens have been
+met with which measure twenty-two feet in length. The Alligator is
+naturally most abundant in tropical regions. Captain Brown says: "In the
+height of the dry season in torrid regions all animated nature pants
+with consuming thirst. A party of wood cutters, English and Irish, went
+on one occasion to hunt in the neighbourhood of a lake called Pies Pond
+in Beef Island, one of the smaller islands of the Bay of Campeachy. To
+this pond the wild cattle repaired in herds to drink, and here the
+hunters lay in wait for them. The chase had been prosecuted with great
+success for a week, when an Irishman of the party going into the water
+during the day, stumbled upon an alligator, which seized him by the
+knee. His cries alarmed his companions, who fearing he had been seized
+by the Spaniards, to whom the island belonged, instead of affording
+assistance, fled from the huts which they had erected. The Irishman
+seeing no appearance of help, with happy presence of mind (a quality
+which the natives of that country possess in an eminent degree) quietly
+waited till the alligator loosened his teeth to take a new and surer
+hold; and when it did so, snatched away his knee, interposing the
+butt-end of his gun in its stead, which the animal seized so firmly that
+it was jerked out of the man's hand and carried off. He then crawled up
+a neighbouring tree, again shouting after his comrades, who now found
+courage to return." Mr. Waterton in his "Wanderings" says, "One Sunday
+evening, some years ago, as I was walking with Don Felipe de Ynciarte,
+governor of Augustura, on the bank of the OroA¶nque, 'Stop here a minute
+or two, Don Carlos,' said he to me, 'while I recount a sad accident. One
+fine evening last year, as the people of Augustura were sauntering up
+and down here, in the Alameda, I was within twenty yards of this place,
+when I saw a large Cayman rush out of the river, seize a man, and carry
+him down, before any one had power to assist him. The screams of the
+poor fellow were terrible as the Cayman was running off with him; he
+plunged in the river with his prey; we instantly lost sight of him, and
+never saw or heard him more.'"
+
+
+A Tame Alligator.
+
+That the Alligator is amenable to kindness is shown by the following
+account of a tame specimen, which we quote from Mr. Jesse. He says, "The
+most singular instance of attachment between two animals, whose nature
+and habits were most opposite, was related to me by a person on whose
+veracity I can place the greatest reliance. Before he took up his abode
+at Hampden-court, he had resided for nine years in the American States,
+where he superintended the execution of some extensive works for the
+American government. One of these works consisted in the erection of a
+beacon in a swamp in one of the rivers, where he caught a young
+alligator. This animal he made so perfectly tame, that it followed him
+about the house like a dog, scrambling up the stairs after him, and
+showing much affection and docility. Its great favourite, however, was a
+cat, and the friendship was mutual. When the cat was reposing herself
+before the fire, (this was at New York) the alligator would lay himself
+down, place his head upon the cat, and in this attitude go to sleep. If
+the cat was absent, the alligator was restless; but he always appeared
+happy when the cat was near him. The only instance in which he showed
+any ferocity was in attacking a fox, which was tied up in the yard.
+Probably, however, the fox resented some playful advances, which the
+other had made, and thus called forth the anger of the alligator. In
+attacking the fox he did not make use of his mouth, but beat him with so
+much severity with his tail, that had not the chain which confined the
+fox, broken, he would probable have killed him. The alligator was fed on
+raw flesh, and sometimes with milk, for which he showed great fondness.
+In cold weather he was shut up in a box, with wool in it; but having
+been forgotten one frosty night, he was found dead in the morning."
+
+
+ORDER III.
+
+Hatteria Punctata.
+
+Order III consists of a large reptile belonging to New Zealand which for
+anatomical reasons cannot be classed either with the Crocodiles or the
+Lizards. It is rare if not almost extinct, but a specimen may be seen in
+the Natural History Museum.
+
+
+ORDER IV.
+
+The Lizards.
+
+The lizards form an exceedingly numerous order. There are many hundreds
+of different species, large and small, of which we can only refer to the
+Chameleon, the Iguana, the Common Lizard, and the Monitor.
+
+
+The Chameleon.
+
+The Chameleon family belongs to Africa, the common variety being
+otherwise found in central Asia and Ceylon. There are several genera,
+and numerous species. They live on insects and possess tongues of
+unusual length, furnished with a sticky mucus, which they protrude and
+retract with such rapidity and certainty of aim that insects are caught,
+and conveyed to the mouth with a speed the eye cannot follow. The
+characteristic for which they are most famous is that of changing their
+colour, a power which has doubtless been much exaggerated but which no
+less surely exists. Mrs. Bowdich describes some she had in her
+possession; she says, "Mine became green and yellow, assumed lighter and
+brighter lines, but I could not see the bright blue or red substances on
+which I put them reflected in their skins." According to M.
+d'Obsonville, who is quoted by Mrs. Bowdich, the original colour is
+green, the shades of which vary according to circumstances. When at
+liberty, and in health, it assumes gradations of brown, red, or light
+grey; when well-fed and in the open air, if provoked, it becomes a
+blue-green; but when feeble, or deprived of free air, the prevailing
+tint is yellow-green. If surrounded and teased or if one of its own
+species comes near, it exhibits all three tints of green. If dying,
+especially of hunger, yellow first predominates; and when dead, it is
+the colour of dead leaves.
+
+
+The Iguana.
+
+The Common Iguana which sometimes attains to a length of five feet,
+belongs to South America. It is a singular looking animal but is much
+esteemed as an article of food, its flesh resembling that of chickens.
+When taken young it may be tamed by kindness but otherwise it is fierce
+when attacked and its bite is very severe. It is said that the natives
+of the Bahama Islands who subsist largely on the Iguana, sew up their
+mouths to prevent them biting when they wish to keep them alive for a
+time.
+
+
+The Common Lizard.
+
+The Common Lizard and the Sand Lizard are the varieties found in
+England. The Common Lizard is the smaller of the two, measuring about
+six inches, the Sand Lizard sometimes attaining to double that length.
+The former frequents green and sunny banks and is so rapid in its
+movements when disturbed that it is sometimes mistaken for a viper. The
+latter, which frequents sandy heaths and lives in burrows, assimilates
+to the colour of its surroundings.
+
+
+The Monitor.
+
+The Monitor is the largest of the Lizards, sometimes measuring as much
+as six feet in length. The largest of these frequents the Nile and is
+known as the Nile Monitor from the habit attributed to it of signalling
+the presence of crocodiles by a peculiar whistling sound. Dr. Abel Smith
+says, "It is usually met with in rocky precipices, or on low, stony
+hills, and when surprised, seeks concealment in the chinks of the
+former, or in the irregular cavities of the latter; and when any
+projections exist upon the surface of the rocks or stones, it clasps
+them so firmly with its toes, that it becomes a task of no small
+difficulty to dislodge it, even though it can be easily reached. Under
+such circumstances, the strength of no one man is able to withdraw a
+full-grown individual; and I have seen two persons required to pull a
+specimen out of a position it had attained, even with the assistance of
+a rope fixed in front of its hinder legs. The moment it was dislodged,
+it flew with fury at its enemies, who by flight only saved themselves
+from being bitten. After it was killed, it was discovered that the
+points of all the nails had been broken previously, or at the moment it
+lost its hold. It feeds upon frogs, crabs, and small quadrupeds, and,
+from its partiality to the two former, it is often found among rocks
+near to springs or running streams, which fact having been observed by
+the natives, has led them to regard it as sacred, and not to be injured
+without danger of drought."
+
+
+ORDER IV.
+
+Snakes.
+
+There are hundreds of species of snakes, distributed in different parts
+of the world, of which we can only select a few, of the better known,
+for present purposes. These are the Viper, the Rattlesnake, the Cobra,
+and the Boa Constrictor.
+
+
+The Viper.
+
+The Viper is found throughout Europe and is the only venomous reptile
+known in England. It feeds on frogs, lizards, mice, and other small
+animals, but like many of the snake kind often gorges itself and falls a
+victim to its own rapacity. A Viper mentioned in the "Magazine of
+Natural History" swallowed a lizard almost as large as itself, with the
+result that one of the lizard's legs protruded through its side. Another
+Viper came into the possession of Professor Bell, which had lost its
+life through attempting to swallow a mouse which was too big for it, the
+skin of its neck being so distended as to burst in several places. The
+sting of the Viper, though venomous, is not nearly so fatal as is
+commonly supposed. The simplest remedy is suction, fomentation, and the
+application of oil. Vipers are sometimes caught by the sudden seizure of
+the hand, at the neck, whereupon the creature opens its mouth to bite
+its captor who cuts off its fangs with a pair of scissors.
+
+
+The Viper and its Young.
+
+"On August 4th, 1776," says Gilbert White, "we surprised a large viper,
+which seemed very heavy and bloated, as it lay in the grass basking in
+the sun. When we came to cut it up, we found that the abdomen was
+crowded with young, fifteen in number; the shortest of which measured
+full seven inches, and were about the size of full-grown earth-worms.
+This little fry issued into the world with the true viper-spirit about
+them, showing great alertness as soon as disengaged from the belly of
+the dam; they twisted and wriggled about, and set themselves up, and
+gaped very wide when touched with a stick, showing manifest tokens of
+menace and defiance, though as yet they had no manner of fangs that we
+could find, even with the help of our glasses. To a thinking mind
+nothing is more wonderful than that early instinct which impresses young
+animals with a notion of the situation of their natural weapons, and of
+using them properly in their own defence, even before those weapons
+subsist or are formed. Thus a young cock will spar at his adversary
+before his spurs are grown; and a calf or a lamb will push with their
+heads before their horns are sprouted."
+
+
+The Rattlesnake.
+
+The Rattlesnake belongs to America, and many exaggerated stories are
+current concerning it. At certain seasons it is very fierce and its bite
+is at all times very dangerous, but in the ordinary way it will not
+attack anything but the animals it feeds upon, unless molested. It has
+been tamed and kept in cages, one in the possession of Mr. Pierce making
+friends with a toad which was introduced to its cage for the purposes of
+food, and allowing it to take many liberties.
+
+
+The Sting of the Rattlesnake.
+
+"After the death of this snake," says Mr. Pierce, "I examined his fangs;
+they were sharp like a sickle; a duct led from the reservoir of poison
+at the bottom of the tooth quite through its whole length, and
+terminated just by the point, which was exceedingly sharp. Thus, when
+the fang is darted out it makes the puncture, and simultaneously the
+poison flows through the duct, and is deposited in the very bottom of
+the wound. As this rarely fails to touch a blood-vessel, the venom is
+thus instantly issued into the system, and without delay, commences the
+march of death through every vein and artery." Mr. Smith in the
+"Philosophical Transactions" says:--"If a venomous serpent be made
+repeatedly to inflict wounds, without allowing sufficiently long
+intervals for it to recover its powers, each successive bite becomes
+less and less effective. A gentleman who had a rattlesnake in a cage,
+put a rat in with it; it immediately struck the rat, which died in two
+minutes. Another rat was then introduced, which ran as far as it could
+from the snake, with cries of distress. In half an hour, during which
+time the snake showed no hostility, on being irritated, it struck the
+rat, which died in twenty minutes. A third, and remarkably large rat,
+was then thrust into the cage, which showed no terror of the snake, and
+the snake took no notice of the rat; the gentleman, after watching them
+for the whole evening, went to bed, and when he inspected the cage the
+next morning, the snake was dead, and the muscular part of its back
+eaten by the rat."
+
+The rattle consists of a number of horny joints which when shaken
+produce the sound by which it is known, and which gives notice of the
+proximity of the snake.
+
+
+The Black Snake and the Rattlesnake.
+
+"The black snake of Central America," says Mr. Byam, "is a deadly enemy
+to the rattlesnake; it is next in size to the boa, but much more agile;
+very vicious and ill-tempered, but not poisonous; it measures from nine
+to ten feet, and whenever they meet a pitched battle ensues, which, if
+tolerably equal in size, ends in favour of the black snake. It is not
+known whether they bite each other, but, at all events, the poison of
+the venomous serpent has no effect upon his adversary, although a
+rattlesnake bit itself one day, and died of the wound. A black and a
+rattlesnake were each descending opposite banks to drink at a stream a
+yard broad; the black fellow sprang over the stream, and they instantly
+joined in conflict. They twined together, and the black snake had
+evidently most muscular power, so that in half an hour the rattlesnake
+was dead, and the black snake swallowed him, gliding into the thicket,
+double the size he was when he came out of it."
+
+
+The Cobra.
+
+The Cobra is one of the most venomous of the snakes of the East. It is
+common all over India and Ceylon and the Islands of the Archipelago. It
+attains to a length of five or six feet, and feeds on birds, small
+animals, lizards, frogs, toads, and fishes, in the pursuit of which it
+will ascend trees and swim the sea. Notwithstanding its dangerous
+character, the Cobra is the chosen subject of the Indian snake charmer,
+who keeps it in a basket, until the time for the performance and then
+allows it to creep out to the sounds of a native fife, upon hearing
+which the Cobra immediately expands its beautiful though threatening
+hood, erects its neck, and commences a series of undulating movements,
+which are continued until the sound of the fife ceases, when the snake
+instantly drops, and is replaced in its basket by its master.
+
+
+Snake Charming.
+
+"One morning, as I sat at breakfast," says a writer in the Penny
+Magazine, "I heard a loud noise and shouting among my palankeen bearers.
+On enquiry, I learned that they had seen a large hooded snake, and were
+trying to kill it. I immediately went out, and saw the snake creeping up
+a very high green mound, whence it escaped into a hole, in an old wall
+of an ancient fortification; the men were armed with their sticks, which
+they always carry in their hands, and had attempted in vain to kill the
+reptile, which had eluded their pursuit, and in his hole had coiled
+himself up securely, whilst we could see his bright eyes shining. I had
+often desired to ascertain the truth of the report, as to the effect of
+music upon snakes. I therefore enquired for a snake-catcher. There was
+one about three miles off, and I accordingly sent for him, keeping a
+strict watch over the snake, which never attempted to escape, whilst we,
+his enemies, were in sight. About an hour elapsed, when my messengers
+returned, bringing a snake-catcher. This man wore no covering on his
+head, nor any on his person, excepting a small piece of cloth round his
+loins; he had in his hands two baskets, one containing tame snakes, the
+other empty; these, and his musical pipe, were the only things he had
+with him. I made the snake-catcher leave his two baskets on the ground,
+at some distance, while he ascended the mound with his pipe alone. He
+began to play: at the sound of music the snake came gradually and slowly
+out of his hole. When he was entirely within reach, the snake-catcher
+seized him dexterously by the tail, and held him thus at arm's length,
+while the snake, enraged, darted his head in all directions, but in
+vain; thus suspended, he has not the power to round himself, so as to
+seize hold of his tormentor. He exhausted himself in vain exertions;
+when the snake-catcher descended the bank, dropped him into the empty
+basket, and closed the lid, he then began to play, and after a short
+time raising the lid of the basket, the snake darted about wildly, and
+attempted to escape; the lid was shut down again quickly, the music
+always playing. This was repeated two or three times; and, in a very
+short interval, the lid being again raised, the snake sat on his tail,
+opened his hood, and danced quite as quietly as the tame snakes in the
+other basket, nor did he again attempt to escape."
+
+
+The Cobra as Companion of the Bath.
+
+A gentleman in India once visited a neighbouring station for the purpose
+of taking part in a cricket match, and was hospitably entertained. He
+was put up in a large tent, accompanied by his wife. After the day's
+play, at dusk, he went between the canvas walls of the tent where his
+bath was ready. Touching the bath-tub, were placed two large earthenware
+jars, full of cold water, and next to them was a brass basin, also
+containing water, on a stand; the light was burning in the centre of the
+tent so that between the canvas walls was darkness. He stepped into the
+tub, and finding the water too hot, bent down to take up one of the cold
+water jars, but something induced him instinctively to refrain. He
+stayed his hand, at the same time calling out to his wife to bring a
+light, which she did when, to his horror, he saw a large cobra coiled
+round the mouth of the jar, within a foot of his naked legs. The
+sensation can be imagined. To move was probably death, to stand still
+required nerve. Experience and courage decided the point, and fixing his
+eye on the reptile, he quietly told his wife to put down the light on
+the ground and get him a stick. The wife, a sensible creature, obeyed,
+leaving her lord in the agonies of suspense as to what the snake's next
+move would be. This was soon settled by the reptile uncoiling itself and
+gliding up the chillumchee stand on to the basin, from which it
+commenced drinking. By this time the stick was gently put into the
+bather's hand, who with a well-directed blow cut the snake in half
+against the edge of the copper basin, thus putting a full stop to a
+thrilling period.
+
+
+A Night with a Cobra.
+
+"I was on a visit during the rainy season, a few years ago," says a
+recent writer, "when I slept upon an iron bedstead which had two lots of
+bedding on it. The first night I awoke, as I thought with a horrible
+nightmare, feeling the cold slimy body of a snake gliding over my
+person, and imagining myself in the regions described in Milton's
+_Paradise Lost_, and so wondrously drawn by DorA(C). I was bathed in
+perspiration, and trembled all over till daylight brought relief, and I
+convinced myself it must have been merely a nightmare. But the next
+night I again awoke in terror, feeling the same awful sensation of a
+cold, clammy body gliding gently along my side, and passing with a
+wriggle over my body; terror preventing me moving. Whether I fainted or
+again fell asleep I have never been able to decide, but at daylight I
+fled from the room and sat cowering in the verandah, in a state of mind
+bordering on insanity. My hostess was informed of my state, and got me
+round with a glass of wine. Nothing would induce me to re-enter my
+bedroom. The bearer and other domestics were sent for, and headed by the
+mistress of the house, inspected the bed by removing the sheets. Nothing
+was to be seen till one of the servants brushed his leg against
+something soft and cold, and looked down at the junction of the two
+beddings; he saw the end of a dark-coloured tail. A howl from him
+scattered the servants and made me imagine the snake was about to attack
+me. The valiant servants again assembled, and with sticks entered the
+bedroom and poked off the upper bedding, revealing a large hooded cobra
+coiled in the centre, which was eventually despatched by blows."
+
+
+An Unpleasant Bedfellow.
+
+A soldier in a regiment stationed at C---- was, for disorderly conduct,
+condemned to pass the night in one of the cells. Just as he was going to
+sleep he was startled by hearing a noise, which he knew could only be
+occasioned by a snake. Instead of jumping up and calling to the sentinel
+for help, and perhaps treading on the snake and being bitten by it, he
+lay perfectly still, knowing that unless disturbed the snake would not
+hurt him. Presently the snake drew its cold slimy body over his bare
+feet. There are few persons who, in a similar condition, would not have
+drawn up their legs with a start, but our hero did not even move. Soon
+the snake began to crawl over his body and even passed over his face.
+The poor soldier hardly dared to breathe. At last the reptile coiled
+itself under his pillow, and when day broke our soldier, seizing the
+stone with which he ought to have blocked up the hole by which the snake
+entered, crushed it to death. On being examined, the reptile proved to
+be of a kind whose bite is almost invariably fatal.
+
+
+The Boa Constrictor.
+
+The Boa Constrictor is one of the largest of the snake kind. It is not
+venomous, but is possessed of enormous strength which it shows by
+coiling itself round the object of its attack and crushing it into a
+shapeless mass. It belongs to tropical America and feeds on birds, and
+animals of all kinds, not hesitating to attack even the larger
+quadrupeds. The following account from the pen of Mr. Byam will give an
+idea of the way in which these monsters dispose of their prey.
+
+
+The Boa and its Prey.
+
+An Englishman and an Indian, travelling together through a thick forest,
+heard a noise like the cry of a child in great pain. Pulling out their
+pistols, and tying up their horses, they proceeded to the spot, and
+there saw a boa crushing a young roebuck with short horns. It had wound
+itself twice round its prey, just behind the shoulders, one coil lying
+on the other to increase the weight, and its teeth were fastened on the
+back of the deer's head. The tail was twisted twice round a young tree
+close by. It was too busy to observe the strangers; and the Englishman
+wished to attack it, and save the deer; but the Indian walked off very
+gently, and made signs to him to follow. When they had regained their
+horses, the Indian said it would have been madness to have fought with
+the irritated animal, and they went their way. This was seven in the
+morning, and they marked the spot by notching the trees. At four in the
+afternoon they again passed that way, and found the boa lying straight
+upon the ground; one of the horns of the roebuck sticking out of a
+corner of the mouth, and the other looking as if it would perforate the
+neck of the snake; the tail was still coiled round the tree, and the
+middle of the body looked like a nine-gallon cask. A few blows of the
+hunting sword about the tail finished the monster; but when attacked, it
+tried to throw up the deer." The boa has been known to measure upwards
+of twenty-five feet, though commonly not exceeding eighteen feet.
+
+
+The Boa's Appetite.
+
+Captain Heyland thus describes a boa which was in his possession for
+some time:--"The animal was brought to me early in January, and did not
+taste food from that time until the July following. During this period
+he generally drank a quart of water daily. The man who brought him
+stated, that he had been seen to eat a hog deer the day before he was
+taken. He was allowed to be at liberty in the grounds about my house.
+One evening early in July, hearing a noise, I went out, and discovered
+that the snake had left his harbour, under the boards of a stable where
+he generally lay; and having entered a small shed in which some fowls
+were roosting, had swept eleven from the perch, and destroyed them by
+pressing them between his folds. Then taking them one by one, head
+foremost into his mouth, swallowed the whole down in twenty minutes. The
+largest animal that he ate while in my possession was a calf, which he
+killed and gorged in two hours and twenty minutes. He never attacked
+dogs, cats, or pigs. Of these last, indeed, he seemed to be in dread,
+for, whenever one was presented to him, he retired to a corner, and
+coiled himself up, with his head undermost. If fed with animals not
+larger than a duck, he ate readily every day; but after the meal of a
+goat, refused food for a month."
+
+
+A Terrible Boa.
+
+Not many years ago, says a writer in "Chums," a boa escaped from a
+menagerie at Grenoble, and disappeared without leaving a trace. A few
+days afterwards a certain Monsieur Flisson went on a visit to Beauregard
+along with a friend, who accompanied him on an excursion among the
+romantic hills and rocks in that part of the country. At a particularly
+interesting spot he tarried behind his friend, and, in order to enjoy
+the glorious prospect, sat down on what appeared to be a stone covered
+with soft moss. It was eight o'clock in the evening, and M. Flisson,
+though shortsighted, was a man of prodigious strength. This was lucky
+for him, for the stone now began to move under him, stretched itself out
+with the elasticity of a spring, and lifted him several feet from the
+ground. M. Flisson had sat down on the boa. Before he had time to
+recover his presence of mind, he felt himself rolling downwards. The
+serpent had curled his tail round a tree-trunk, and Flisson held its
+head firmly grasped between his hands. A strange and terrible struggle
+ensued. The boa, securely fastened to the tree, pulled upwards, and
+Flisson, still clinging with herculean strength to the head of the
+creature, found himself at last swinging over a precipice or about
+seventy feet in depth, as though suspended by a rope. In this terrible
+situation he remained ten minutes, until his friend, with the assistance
+of a few countrymen, came to his relief.
+
+
+A Narrow Escape.
+
+Mr. Byam's book contains many interesting anecdotes of the experiences
+of travellers, of which the following snake story is one.
+
+"Two travellers passed a hillock in a marsh, and heard some groans
+proceeding from a man on the top of it. Earnestly beckoned to approach,
+they at first hesitated, thinking it might be a contrivance to entice
+them into danger. They, however, went near, and the man told them that,
+while asleep, a snake had crept up his loose drawers, and was then lying
+on his stomach, and from what he had seen of it, he believed it to be a
+Coral-snake, one of the deadliest of the western serpents. He had
+nothing on but his drawers and a short cloak. The travellers saw the
+form of the snake under the drawers; they dismounted, put on thick
+gloves, took a pair of scissors, cut very carefully through the drawers
+till they came to the head of the animal, still fast asleep, and then
+one of them seized it by the neck, and so released the poor man. It was
+nearly three feet long, as thick as a walking-stick, coral-red in
+colour, with yellow rings. The poor man said he had passed two or three
+hours in that dangerous situation, which appeared as long as weeks, and
+had called to two or three passers-by, who had all avoided him, from the
+supposition that it was the decoy of a marauding Indian. He was
+completely unmanned, and his strength was prostrated by his
+apprehensions."
+
+
+
+
+CLASS IV--BATRACHIA.
+
+
+The Batrachia.
+
+Class IV of the Vertebrata comprises the Batrachia. Batrachia, which are
+divided into three orders: I Pseudophidia, II Urodela, III Anura. The
+first order comprises the limbless worm-like reptiles of the genus
+CA|cilia of Africa and South America; the second includes the Newts, the
+Salamanders, etc., etc.; the third the Frogs and the Toads. Leaving the
+first two orders, we devote a few lines to the third, dealing with the
+Toad, the Common Frog and the Tree Frog. The members of this order are
+singular for the extraordinary changes through which they pass between
+birth and maturity. As Tadpoles, in which form they first reach life,
+they have thick black legless bodies ending in tapering tails, and are
+provided with the fishlike anatomy necessary to an aquatic existence. In
+the process of development they completely change both in internal
+arrangement and external appearance. The gills are exchanged for lungs,
+the legs supersede the tail and the internal system undergoes
+corresponding change. In the end the animal becomes semi-aquatic,
+capable of living under water for some time, but compelled to come to
+the surface for air at intervals; and also of living out of the water
+altogether in such places as afford sufficient moisture, damp being as
+necessary to their comfort as food and air. They hybernate in the winter
+and propagate in the spring; and in times of drought burrow into the
+earth and remain lethargic until rain falls. They feed on insects and
+slugs for which they have a voracious appetite. Their tongues, which
+like those of the chameleon and other insect eaters, are furnished with
+a sticky mucus to which insects adhere,--when in repose, turn inwards
+towards the throat, and the act of catching flies and other insects is
+simply that of flapping the tongue out and in again, an act performed
+with such rapidity as to almost escape observation.
+
+
+The Common Toad.
+
+The toad is found in all temperate and torrid climes. It hides in damp
+secluded places during the day emerging in search of food at night, or
+after the fall of rain. Though voracious in its appetite, it can
+accommodate itself to circumstances, and can subsist with little food,
+if its abode be damp. Failing food and damp, it has yet another
+resource, namely that of sleep, or torpor, in which condition it can lay
+by and wait for better times. Under such circumstances, the toad
+naturally lives a long life, and survives conditions usually fatal. The
+voracity of the toad is attested by the following incident, furnished by
+Captain Brown. "A gentleman who resides at Keswick, Cumberland, one
+evening in the latter end of July, observed a rustling among the
+strawberries in his garden, and on examining what it was, found that a
+toad had just seized a field-mouse, which had got on the toad's back,
+scratching and biting to get released, but in vain. The toad kept his
+hold, and as the strength of the mouse failed, he gradually drew the
+unfortunate little animal into his mouth, and gorged him."
+
+
+Tame Toads.
+
+The toad may be easily tamed. Mr. Wood tells of one which lived with a
+family for years and was in the habit of supping on a piece of sugar.
+The story of the Duke of Wellington and the tame toad deserves telling
+in this connection. The Duke of Wellington was one day taking his usual
+country walk, when he heard a cry of distress. He walked to the spot,
+and found a chubby, rosyfaced boy lying on the ground, and bending his
+head over a tame toad, and crying as if his little heart would break.
+Enquiry elicited the fact that the boy was about to be sent to boarding
+school and that he was afraid the toad, lacking his attention, would die
+in his absence. The duke promised to look after the toad, and apprise
+the boy, from time to time, of its condition. During the time the boy
+was at school he received five letters couched in the following
+terms:--_Strathfieldsaye, July 27, 1837_. "Field Marshal the Duke of
+Wellington is happy to inform William Harries that his toad is alive and
+well." When the boy returned for his Christmas holidays, the toad was,
+as the duke said, "Alive and well," but, in accordance with the usual
+habits of these animals, he was in his winter's sleep, in which he
+remained until spring and genial weather brought him from his
+well-guarded hole in the ground.
+
+
+The Common Frog.
+
+The Common Frog (_Rana Temporaria_) is now found all over the British
+Isles. Formerly unknown in Ireland it was introduced there about the
+year 1700 and has since spread all over the country. The frog is more
+sociable than the toad, and is often seen, and heard in large numbers;
+his habits, however, are very similar, and his mode of seizing his prey
+the same. The Edible Frog belongs to Europe, where it is used as an
+article of food, and is not found in England. The Bull Frog is an Indian
+Variety and attains to a great size. The American Bull Frog is also an
+interesting species.
+
+
+The Ingenuity of the Frog.
+
+Mr. Jesse gives the following illustration of the ingenuity of the Frog:
+"I may mention a curious observation made in regard to some frogs that
+had fallen down a small area, which gave light to one of the windows of
+my house. The top of the area being on a level with the ground, was
+covered with some iron bars, through which the frogs fell. During dry
+and warm weather, when they could not absorb much moisture, I observed
+them to appear almost torpid; but when it rained they became impatient
+of their confinement, and endeavoured to make their escape, which they
+did in the following manner. The wall of the area was about five feet in
+height, and plastered and whitewashed, as smooth as the ceiling of a
+room. Upon this surface the frogs soon found that their claws would
+render them little or no assistance; they therefore contracted their
+large feet, so as to make a hollow in the centre, and by means of the
+moisture which they had imbibed in consequence of the rain, they
+contrived to produce a vacuum, so that by the pressure of the air on the
+extended feet (in the same way that we see boys take up a stone by means
+of a piece of wet leather fastened to a string), they ascended the wall
+and made their escape. This happened constantly in the course of three
+years."
+
+
+The Tree Frog.
+
+The Tree Frog, of which there are numerous varieties, belongs to both
+East and West occurring in China and Japan or well as in North and South
+America. It is not found in England. Mr. Gosse says: "They are very
+numerous in the damp woods of tropical America, and reside by day in the
+tufts of those parasitical plants, which form reservoirs for rain-water.
+The under-surface of their bodies is very different to that of the
+terrestrial species; for the skin, instead of being smooth, is covered
+with granular glands, pierced by numerous pores, through which the dew
+or rain, spread on the surface of the leaves, is rapidly absorbed into
+the system, and reserved to supply the moisture needful for cutaneous
+respiration. The males make the woods resound throughout the night with
+their various cries, and, mingled with the shrill chirping of insects,
+quite banish sleep from the stranger's eyes."
+
+
+
+
+CLASS V--PISCES.
+
+
+Fishes.
+
+We come now to the fifth and last class of the Vertebrata, a class so
+large that it is impossible to deal adequately with it in a single
+volume of ordinary size, much less in a single section of one treating
+of the whole of the vertebrates. There are said to be 10,000 species, so
+that a book which devoted one page to each would make an enormous
+volume. All that can be done here is to deal with a few of the better
+known species, as far as possible selecting types of orders-without
+attempting to follow closely any classification. GA1/4nther divides the
+Fishes into six sub-classes, which are further arranged in thirteen
+orders. The first of these orders includes the Sticklebacks, the
+Perches, the Mullets, the Gurnards, the Mackerel and the Sword-fish
+besides others. Of these we can deal with but two or three.
+
+
+The Stickleback.
+
+The Stickleback associated with the earliest efforts of the youthful
+angler, and most of us can remember capturing specimens of some fresh
+water variety, in the days of childhood, and carrying them home in
+triumph, in a bottle. There are a number of species of the stickleback,
+some living in fresh water and some being marine. They are extremely
+voracious and it is a good job for a large number of other living things
+that they are no bigger than they are. They are also very pugnacious,
+and fight among themselves with great determination. The Stickleback is
+about an inch and a half in length and is furnished with spines, which
+it uses with great effect when fighting with its enemies.
+
+
+The Stickleback and the Leech.
+
+Mr. John Stark who experimented with some sticklebacks and leeches some
+years ago, gives the following description of his experiences.
+
+"On putting the leeches into the water, the stickleback darted round the
+tumbler with lively motions till it found a leech detached, and in a
+proper situation for being seized. When the leech was very small, say
+about half an inch in length, it was often swallowed at once before it
+reached the bottom of the vessel, but when a larger one, about an inch,
+or an inch and a half in length in its expanded state, was put in, and
+had fastened itself by its mouth to the glass, the efforts of the
+stickleback to seize and tear it from its hold, were incessant, and
+never failed to succeed. It darted at the loose extremity, or, when both
+ends were fastened, at the curve in its middle, seized it in its mouth,
+rose to near the surface, and after a hearty shake (such as a dog would
+give a rat) let it drop. The leech, who evidently wished to avoid its
+enemy upon its release, again attached itself by its mouth to the glass;
+but again and again the attack was repeated, till the poor leech became
+exhausted, and ceased to attempt holding itself by its disc. The
+stickleback then seized it by the head in a proper position for
+swallowing, and after a few gulps the leech disappeared. The flattened
+leech being of an oval form, and having a hard skin, was not attacked,
+unless when very young, and small; and leeches of the other species when
+pretty well grown, or larger than himself when expanded, were killed in
+the manner above mentioned, but not swallowed. In one of his attempts to
+seize a leech, the stickleback having got it by the tail, the animal
+curled back and fixed its disc upon his snout. The efforts of the
+stickleback to rid himself of this encumbrance were amusing. He let go
+his hold of the leech, which then hung over his mouth, and darting at
+the bottom and sides of the glass with all his strength, endeavoured to
+rub off this tantalizing morsel. This lasted for nearly a minute, when
+at last he got rid of the leech by rubbing his back upon the bottom of
+the vessel. The leech, perfectly aware of the company he was in, no
+sooner loosed his hold, than he attempted to wriggle away from his
+devourer; but before he had reached mid-way up the tumbler, the
+stickleback had turned and finished the contest by swallowing him up."
+
+
+The Mackerel.
+
+The Mackerel is one of the most useful as well as one of the most
+beautiful of familiar fishes. It measures from twelve to twenty inches
+and weighs from one and a half to two or three pounds. It is elegant of
+form and brilliant of colour, as well as agreeable as an article of
+food. Mackerel visit the coast of England in vast shoals at certain
+seasons, but retire to deep seas for the winter. They are exceedingly
+voracious, and prey upon the herrings; Captain Brown tells a story of a
+number of mackerel fastening on to a sailor who had plunged into their
+midst for a bath. The man was rescued by his comrades, but he died soon
+after from loss of blood.
+
+
+The Sword-fish.
+
+The Sword-fish is a formidable member of this order. It is found in the
+Mediterranean, and the Atlantic, and sometimes visits the English coast.
+It has been known to measure ten feet or more without the sword, with
+which it attains even to a length of fifteen feet. It attacks other
+large fish and is a great enemy to the whale, which it charges with
+great force and destructive effect. It is said sometimes to mistake the
+hull of a ship for the body of a whale and to charge it accordingly,
+with the result that it leaves its sword fixed in the ship's timbers as
+the bee leaves its sting in human flesh. The sword of this fish is
+formed by the elongation of its upper jaw, and some idea of the force
+with which it can be used may be gained from the fact that one found in
+the hull of a ship at Liverpool and described by Scoresby had
+penetrated a sheet of copper, an oak plank two and a half inches in
+thickness, a solid oak timber of seven and a half inches, and another
+plank also of two inches. "The position of the bone was at the distance
+of four feet horizontally from the stern, and two feet below the surface
+of the water when the vessel was afloat. Hence, it appeared, that when
+the ship had been in rapid progress through the water, she had been met
+with and struck by a sword-fish advancing in an opposite direction, by
+the shock of which, or by the action of the water forced past the body
+of the animal by the vessel's progress, the snout had been broken off
+and detached. The blow, though it must have been singularly forcible,
+was not observed by any person in the ship. Had the bone been withdrawn,
+the vessel would probably have foundered." Mr. Wood says in one
+instance, a Sword-fish attacking a whaling-ship, drove its weapon
+"through the copper sheathing, an inch board sheathing, a three-inch
+plank of hard wood, the solid white oak timber of the ship twelve inches
+thick, through another two-and-a-half inch hard oak ceiling plank, and
+lastly, perforated the head of an oil-cask, where it still remained
+immovably fixed, so that not a single drop of oil escaped."
+
+
+The Cod.
+
+The third order of Dr. GA1/4nther's classification includes many of the
+more familiar fishes. Here we find the Cod, the Haddock, the Plaice, the
+Flounder, the Halibut, the Turbot, the Brill, and the Sole. Of these we
+will take the Cod as representative. The Cod is one of the most prolific
+of fish. Enormous quantities are caught and consumed every year, and yet
+the number seems to increase rather than decrease. This is accounted for
+by the fact, that the spawn of one fish will sometimes contain nine
+millions of eggs. The Cod frequents the deep seas of the temperate and
+colder climes, not being found in any quantities north of Iceland, or
+South of Gibraltar. They are found chiefly in the Northern Atlantic
+where extensive fisheries are carried on, but they are also caught in
+the Firth of Forth at the mouth of which some of the best are taken. The
+Cod grows very rapidly and often to a great size. One is said to have
+been caught off Scarborough many years ago which weighed seventy-eight
+pounds and measured five feet eight inches in length. They feed on
+herrings, sprats, mollusca, worms, and small shell-fish, are very
+voracious, and have excellent digestions. Captain Brown killed one at
+Killough, Co. Down, Ireland in which he found upwards of fifty small
+crabs, and other testaceous and crustaceous animals. The Cod fisheries
+find employment for a large number of people and are a great source of
+profit. The flesh is highly valued as an article of diet, and the liver
+for the properties of the oil which it produces, while other parts are
+used for various purposes.
+
+
+The Salmon.
+
+In the Fourth order of Dr. GA1/4nther's classification we find the Salmon,
+the Trout, the Pike, the Flying Fish, the Carp, the Roach, the Chub, the
+Herring, the Sardine, the Anchovy, the Gymnotus and the Eel, besides
+other fish. Of these the Salmon takes easy precedence. Izaak Walton
+called it "the King of fresh water fish," and many have accorded it the
+first place among its kind for the delicacy of its flavour. It is of
+migratory habits, leaving the sea in the autumn and ascending rivers for
+the purpose of depositing its spawn, and returning to the sea in the
+spring. In seeking suitable places for its purpose the salmon brooks no
+obstacle, leaping with great vigour the rapids and falls that impede its
+course even though they may sometimes exceed eight or ten feet in
+height. Curving the body until it forms a circular spring, it strikes
+the water with great force throwing itself forward and thus lifting
+itself over rocks and weirs. In the shallow gravelly pools which they
+find towards the source of rivers, Salmon form hollows in which they
+spawn, covering up their eggs with the loose sand they excavate in the
+process. The eggs deposited in the later months of the autumn are
+hatched in the earlier months of Spring and by the end of May the whole
+of the young fish have followed their parents to the sea.
+
+
+The Pike.
+
+The Pike,--fierce, strong, and voracious,--holds his own in the rivers
+of both the old and the new Worlds. It has been known to attack a man
+when its retreat has been cut off; to bite the legs of bathers, and to
+snap at the fingers of persons cooling their hands in the water; and
+when pressed with hunger, to fight an otter for the possession of a
+carp, which the latter had caught. Its strength and endurance have often
+been demonstrated in the destruction of strong tackle and in its power
+to survive, without apparent inconvenience, with hooks and wires
+mingling with its anatomy. Captain Brown gives an instance of a pike
+being caught, which had a strong piece of twisted wire projecting from
+its side. It was in excellent condition, and on being opened, discovered
+in its stomach a double eel hook, much corroded, and attached to the
+protruding wire. Another pike when caught, in the river Ouse, was found
+in possession of a watch with a black ribbon and seals attached;
+property which it was afterwards discovered had belonged to a
+gentleman's servant who had been drowned. The pike has often been caught
+with portions of tackle broken from the line in former engagements
+hanging from the mouth. Its rapacity is extraordinary. Eight-hundred
+gudgeon are said to have been consumed in three weeks by eight pike of
+not more than five pounds weight each. "The appetite of one of my pike,"
+says Mr. Jesse, "was almost insatiable. One morning I threw to him one
+after the other, five roach, each about four inches in length. He
+swallowed four of them, and kept the fifth in his mouth for about a
+quarter of an hour, when it also disappeared." The pike attains to large
+proportions and to a great age. When less than two pounds weight, it is
+called a jack, but it has been known to attain to sixty or seventy
+pounds weight, and if all records be true, to more than a hundred years
+of age. Gesner mentions a pike caught in standing water at Heilbroon,
+in Suabia in 1497 which had a ring round its head with an inscription in
+Greek which ran somewhat as follows; I am the first fish that was
+launched into this pond, and was thrown in by Frederick the Second,
+emperor of the Romans, on the fifth of October, 1230." If this be true,
+the pike was two hundred and fifty-seven years old at the time of its
+capture, when it is said to have weighed three hundred and fifty pounds.
+
+
+The Herring.
+
+Probably no living thing of its size is equal to the herring in its
+value to man. It visits the northern coasts of England and Scotland in
+vast shoals, of several miles in extent, in the autumn of the year,
+heralded by seagulls and followed by dog-fish, both of whom take toll as
+it proceeds. The annual produce of these little fish is beyond all
+calculation. The Scotch fisheries are credited with the capture of over
+four hundred millions a year, while those of Norway can scarcely be much
+less successful. The Swedish fisheries are said to capture nearly double
+that number, to which must be added those taken by the English, Irish,
+Dutch, French, and German fisheries before the grand total can be
+reached. The enormous number of hands employed in these various
+fisheries, to say nothing of the capital invested in them, marks them
+out as one of the most important of European enterprises.
+
+
+The Flying Fish.
+
+The Flying fish is about the size of a herring, and is furnished with
+strong pectoral fins, almost the length of its body, by which it is able
+to spring out of the water and sustain itself for a time in the air. It
+has apparently no power of guiding itself, or of varying its altitude
+while in the lighter element, both the height and the course of its
+flight being determined by the direction and the force of its spring.
+Its ordinary flight is about three feet above the surface of the water,
+and of no very great distance or duration, but it has been known to fly
+as high as fourteen or fifteen feet, and even higher, and a distance of
+over two hundred yards. Flying fish often fall upon the decks of ships,
+where they are welcomed as affording a pleasant variety to the sailors'
+menu. They frequent warmer latitudes, but are sometimes seen off the
+English coast. They leave the sea to escape the larger fish which prey
+upon them, only too often to fall a prey to the fowls of the air.
+
+
+The Eel.
+
+The Eel from its general resemblance to the snake is not usually a
+favourite when alive, however popular it may be with the palate, when
+served up with suitable accessories at table. It is, however, full of
+interest as a study, and shows many remarkable characteristics and
+traits. It migrates from the river to the sea in the autumn to produce
+its young, thus reversing the order of procedure of the salmon. Mr.
+Jesse, writing of these migrations as observed by him in the Thames many
+years ago, says, "An annual migration of young eels takes place in the
+river Thames in the month of May, and they have generally made their
+appearance at Kingston, in their way upwards, about the second week in
+that month. These young eels are about two inches in length, and they
+make their approach in one regular and undeviating column of about five
+inches in breadth, and as thick together as it is possible for them to
+be. As the procession generally lasts two or three days, and as they
+appear to move at the rate of nearly two miles and a half an hour, some
+idea may be formed of their enormous number. Sir Humphrey Davy says, in
+his "Salmonia,"--"There are two migrations of eels, one _from_ and the
+other _to_ the sea; the first in spring and summer, and the second in
+autumn, or early in winter. The first of very small eels, which are
+sometimes not more than two and a half inches long; the second of large
+eels, which sometimes are three or four feet long, and weigh from
+fifteen to twenty pounds. There is great reason to believe, that all
+eels found in fresh water are the results of the first migration; they
+appear in millions in April and May, and sometimes continue to rise as
+late as July, and the beginning of August. They feed, grow, and fatten
+in fresh water. In small rivers, they are seldom very large; but, in
+large deep lakes, they become as thick as a man's arm, or even leg; and
+all those of a considerable size attempt to return to the sea in October
+or November, probably when they experience the cold of the first
+autumnal rains." Mr. St. John thus describes some young Eels which he
+saw ascending the river Findhorn "When they came to a fall, which they
+could not possibly ascend, they wriggled out of the water, and gliding
+along the rock, close to the edge, where the stone was constantly wet
+from the splashing and spray of the fall, they made their way up till
+they got above the difficulty, and then again slipping into the water,
+continued their course." The eel is voracious, and will leave the water
+in search of frogs, and other food. It will attack, and appropriate,
+young ducks, and one is said to have been caught near Bootle with two
+rats in its stomach. The Conger Eel grows to a great size and attains
+great weight. It is said sometimes to measure eight or even ten feet,
+and to weigh a hundred pounds or even more. It is plentiful in the
+English Channel, and on the coast of Cornwall.
+
+
+The Gymnotus.
+
+The Gymnotus is the famous electric eel, and like the Torpedo of the
+English Channel and the Mediterranean, has the power of communicating a
+violent electric shock. It belongs to the Amazon and other South
+American rivers and their tributaries, and is well known to American
+Indians. Humbolt describes the shock produced by this creature, as
+exceeding in strength that of a large Leyden jar. Having imprudently
+placed his foot on one just taken from the water he received such a
+shock that, he says, "I was affected the rest of the day with violent
+pains in the knees, and in almost every joint."
+
+
+Catching the Gymnotus.
+
+The following vivid description of a Gymnotus hunt is given by Humbolt:
+"We at first wished to make our experiments in the house we inhabited at
+Calabozo; but the dread of the electrical shocks of the gymnoti is so
+exaggerated among the vulgar, that during three days we could not obtain
+one, thought they are easily caught, and though we had promised the
+Indians two piastres for every strong and vigorous fish.
+
+"Impatient of waiting, and having obtained very uncertain results from
+an electrical eel that had been brought to us alive, but much enfeebled,
+we repaired to the Cano de Bera, to make our experiments in the open
+air, on the borders of the water itself. We set off on the 19th of March
+for the village of Rastro de Abaxo, thence we were conducted to a
+stream, which, in the time of drought, forms a basin of muddy water,
+surrounded by fine trees. To catch the gymnoti with nets is very
+difficult, on account of the extreme agility of the fish, which bury
+themselves in the mud like serpents. We would not employ the _barbasco_,
+that is to say, the roots of Piscidea erithryna and Jacquinia
+armillaris, which, when thrown into the pool, intoxicate or benumb these
+animals. These means would have enfeebled the gymnoti; the Indians
+therefore told us, that they would 'fish with horses.' We found it
+difficult to form an idea of this extraordinary manner of fishing; but
+we soon saw our guides return from the Savannah, which they had been
+scouring for wild horses and mules. They brought about thirty with them,
+which they forced to enter the pool.
+
+"The extraordinary noise caused by the horses' hoofs makes the fish
+issue from the mud, and excites them to combat. These yellowish and
+livid eels resemble large aquatic serpents, swim on the surface of the
+water, and crowd under the bellies of the horses and mules. A contest
+between animals of so different an organization furnishes a very
+striking spectacle. The Indians, provided with harpoons and long slender
+reeds, surround the pool closely; and some climb upon the trees, the
+branches of which extend horizontally over the surface of the water. By
+their wild cries, and the length of their reeds, they prevent the
+horses from running away and reaching the bank of the pool. The eels,
+stunned by the noise, defend themselves by the repeated discharge of
+their electric batteries. During a long time they seem to prove
+victorious. Several horses sink beneath the violence of the invisible
+strokes which they receive from all sides, in organs the most essential
+to life; and stunned by the force and frequency of the shocks, disappear
+under the water. Others, panting, with their mane standing erect, and
+wild looks, expressing anguish, raise themselves and endeavour to flee
+from the storms by which they are overtaken. They are driven back by the
+Indians into the middle of the water; but a small number succeeds in
+eluding the active vigilance of the fishermen. These regain the shore,
+stumbling at every step, and stretch themselves on the sand, exhausted
+with fatigue, and their limbs benumbed by the electric shock of the
+gymnoti.
+
+"In less than five minutes two horses were drowned. The eel, being five
+feet long, and pressing itself against the belly of the horses, makes a
+discharge along the whole extent of its electric organs. It attacks at
+once the heart, the intestines, and the _plexus cA|liacus_ of the
+abdominal nerves. It is natural, that the effect felt by the horses
+should be more powerful than that produced upon men by the touch of the
+same fish at any one of his extremities. The horses are probably not
+killed, but only stunned. They are drowned from the impossibility of
+rising from amid the prolonged struggle between the other horses and the
+eels.
+
+"We had little doubt, that the fishing would terminate by killing
+successively all the animals engaged; but by degrees the impetuosity of
+this unequal combat diminished, and the wearied gymnoti dispersed. They
+require a long rest, and abundant nourishment, to repair what they have
+lost of galvanic force. The mules and horses appear less frightened;
+their manes are no longer bristled, and their eyes express less dread.
+The Indians assured us, that when the horses are made to run two days
+successively into the same pool, none are killed the second day. The
+gymnoti approach timidly the edge of the marsh, when they are taken by
+means of small harpoons fastened to long cords. When the cords are very
+dry, the Indians feel no shock in raising the fish into the air. In a
+few minutes we observed five eels, the greater part of which were but
+slightly wounded. Some were taken by the same means towards the evening.
+
+"The temperature of the water in which the gymnoti habitually live is
+about 86 degrees of Fahrenheit. Their electric force, it is said,
+diminishes in colder waters. The gymnotus is the largest of electrical
+fishes. I measured some that were from four feet to five feet three
+inches long; and the Indians assert, that they have seen them still
+larger. We found that a fish of three feet ten inches long weighed
+twelve pounds. The transverse diameter of the body was three inches five
+lines. The gymnoti of _Cano de Bera_ are of a fine olive-green colour.
+The under part of the head is yellow, mingled with red. Two rows of
+small yellow spots are placed symmetrically along the back, from the
+head to the end of the tail. Every spot contains an excretory aperture.
+In consequence the skin of the animal is constantly covered with a
+mucous matter, which, as Volta has proved, conducts electricity twenty
+or thirty times better than pure water. It is somewhat remarkable, that
+no electrical fish yet discovered in the different parts of the world,
+is covered with scales.
+
+"It would be rashness to expose ourselves to the first shocks of a very
+large and strongly irritated gymnotus. If by chance you receive a stroke
+before the fish is wounded, or wearied by a long pursuit, the pain and
+numbness are so violent, that it is impossible to describe the nature of
+the feeling they excite. I do not remember having ever received from the
+discharge of a large Leyden jar, a more dreadful shock than that which I
+experienced by imprudently placing both my feet on a gymnotus just
+taken out of the water."
+
+
+The Torpedo.
+
+It would be difficult to name two fish more dissimilar in outward
+appearance than the Gymnotus and the Torpedo, and yet they enjoy in
+common the unique power of communicating electric shocks. The Gymnotus
+is a long eel-like fish, the Torpedo is round and flat. The Torpedo
+belongs to the family of the Rays and sometimes reaches a large size. It
+is common in the Mediterranean and is sometimes found on the southern
+coasts of the British Isles.
+
+"Although it has once or twice been caught on our coasts," says Mr.
+Wood, "it is usually found in the Mediterranean, where its powers are
+well known, and held in some awe. The shock that the Torpedo gives, of
+course, varies according to the size of the fish and its state of
+health, but a tolerably large fish in good health can, for the time,
+disable a strong man. From the effects of its shock, it is in some parts
+called the Cramp-fish. It has been known to weigh from seventy to a
+hundred pounds.
+
+
+The Shark.
+
+The Shark, whose name instinctively suggests a shudder, is the largest
+of the fishes and one of the largest of marine animals. There are many
+varieties, and they are found in all seas; some measuring no more than a
+few feet, others attaining to very large proportions. The Blue Shark of
+the Mediterranean which measures about eleven feet sometimes approaches
+the south coast of England and Ireland, as does the Hammer-headed Shark
+of the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean a shark of twelve feet in length.
+The Tope, a smaller variety, is often seen in the English channel, as
+are also several others of the smaller Sharks. The Great Basking Shark
+which often measures thirty feet in the length is the largest of those
+which visit the English coast, but like the largest of all the sharks
+(_Rhinodon Typicus_), which sometimes exceeds fifty feet in length, is
+herbivorous, and therefore not bloodthirsty.
+
+
+The White Shark.
+
+The Shark known to sailors as the White Shark is a fierce and sanguinary
+creature. It frequents the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea,
+where it follows ships for days for the sake of the refuse, which is
+thrown overboard. This creature has been known to swallow a man entire,
+and commonly to devour one in two or three portions. Sailors get no
+mercy from the shark, and consequently show him none. There is a story
+told of a negro cook who seeing a shark follow in the wake of a ship
+made a brick hot in the stove, and then threw it to the monster who
+probably never had a warmer or more indigestible meal. This shark
+suffered great agony if its contortions may be taken as evidence, and,
+after exhausting itself with its fury, allowed itself to drift away with
+the tide. Expert swimmers, armed with long sharp knives have sometimes
+engaged the shark single-handed, diving underneath it, and stabbing it
+before it discovered their whereabouts. The Negroes of the West Indies
+are credited with this hardihood, and are said to be frequently
+successful.
+
+
+Sharks in the South Seas.
+
+"The amphibious South Sea Islanders," says Mr. Wood, "stand in great
+dread of the Shark, and with good reason, for not a year elapses without
+several victims falling to the rapacity of this terrific animal. Nearly
+thirty of the natives of the Society Islands were destroyed at one time
+by the sharks. A storm had so injured the canoe in which they were
+passing from one island to another, that they were forced to take refuge
+on a raft hastily formed of the fragments of their canoe. Their weight
+sunk the raft a foot or two below the surface of the water, and,
+dreadful to say, the sharks surrounded them and dragged them off the
+raft one by one, until the lightened raft rose above the water and
+preserved the few survivors." Mrs. Bowdich who was an eye-witness of the
+tragic circumstances she describes, says:--"Sharks abounded at Cape
+Boast, and one day, as I stood at a window commanding a view of the
+sea, I saw some of the inhabitants of the town bathing, and the sharks
+hastening to seize upon them,--they being visible from always swimming
+with part of their dorsal fin out of water. I sent to warn the men of
+their danger, and all came ashore except one, who laughed at the caution
+of his companions. A huge shark was rapidly approaching, and I sent my
+servant again, and this time armed with half a bottle of rum, to bribe
+the man to save himself. It was too late, the murderous creature had
+seized him, and the water around was dyed with his blood. A canoe was
+dispatched to bring him ashore, but a wave threw him on to the beach;
+and it was found that the shark had taken the thigh bone completely out
+of the socket. The man, of course, expired in a very few minutes.
+Accidents were often happening, and always fatal, and yet the negroes,
+who seldom think beyond the present moment, could not be dissuaded from
+bathing. A man walking in the sea, up to knees, was dragged away by one,
+almost before my eyes."
+
+
+The Rays.
+
+The Rays are large flat fish of which there are numerous species, the
+Thornback and the Common Skate being the best known. They have large
+pectoral fins, and some species grow to an enormous size. The Skate has
+been known to measure six or seven feet. Other species are the Homelyn
+Ray and the Sandy Ray which like the Thornback and the Skate are found
+in British waters. The Sting Ray and the Eagle Ray cover wider areas and
+grow to a gigantic size in tropic seas. It is a large species of the
+Eagle Ray that is known as the Sea Devil of the tropics. These fish,
+though very large, display no great antipathy to man, though from their
+enormous size and strength they are a source of danger to small craft.
+Mr. Swinburne Ward in a letter to Colonel Playfair, quoted in Dr.
+Percival Wright's "Concise Natural History", thus describes the capture
+of one of these monsters off the Seychelles.
+
+"Coming home we passed close to an enormous 'diable-de-mer' floating
+quietly about. We changed from the pirogue to the Whale-boat, which I
+had scientifically fitted up for the _gros poissons_, and went alongside
+of him, driving a regular whale harpoon right through his body. The way
+he towed the water was beautiful, but we would not give him an inch of
+line and he also had to succumb to a rather protracted lancing. His size
+will give you an idea of his strength in the water--forty-two feet in
+circumference! We got him awash on the beach, but the united strength of
+ten men could not get him an inch further, so we were obliged to leave
+him there. By this time the sharks will not have left much of him; they
+have not had such a meal as that for a long time. The fishermen say that
+when alive the sharks do not molest the 'diable-de-mer', whose offensive
+weapons consist of those enormous flexible sides (one can hardly call
+them fins) with which they can beat almost any shark to death. As a rule
+when harpooned, they endeavour, like other rays, to bury themselves in
+the sand, and if they succeed in doing this, no line can ever haul them
+out of it--their flat bodies act on the principle of an enormous sucker.
+Another curious fact about them is that when harpooned they swim
+sideways, edge on, in order to avoid exposing too broad a surface to
+their enemy. They never do this unless harpooned."
+
+
+Ray Catching.
+
+Lieutenant Lament gave the following graphic description of a Ray
+fishing expedition in which he took part near Port Royal, Jamaica, in
+1824, to Professor Jameson.
+
+"The first appearance of an animal of this species, since I have been
+here, (about eighteen months,) was about two months ago, when I was
+called out to the beach by some of the inhabitants, whom I found, on
+going there, to be assembled in great numbers, to see what they called
+the _Sea Devil_. I confess my curiosity was not less excited than
+theirs, when I saw floating close to the surface of the water, about
+twenty yards from me, a large mass of living substance of a dark
+colour, but of the shape and size of which I could not, at the time,
+form any proper idea, it being so very different from what I had ever
+before seen or heard of, farther than that I supposed it to have been
+many times the size of what I now believe it was. No time was lost in
+setting out in pursuit of him, with harpoons, &c.; and it was not long
+before he was come up with, and struck with one of the harpoons, when he
+made off with great velocity, towing the boat after him. As he seemed to
+incline chiefly to the surface of the water, six or seven more harpoons
+were (with the assistance of several canoes that had come up)
+successively plunged into him, and all the boats made fast to each
+other, which he was obliged to pull after him, with several people in
+each. Such, however, was the great strength of the animal, that, after
+being fast in the manner I have described, for upwards of four hours,
+and taking the boats out to sea attached to him to a distance of about
+ten miles from the harbour, and having been pierced with so many wounds,
+he was still able to defy every effort to bring him in. It had now got
+late, and was dark, and an attempt was made to force him up near enough
+to get another large harpoon into him, this was no sooner done, than he
+darted off; and by an almost unaccountable and seemingly convulsive
+effort, in a moment broke loose from all fetters, carrying away with him
+eight or ten harpoons and pikes, and leaving every one staring at his
+neighbour in speechless astonishment, confounded at the power of the
+animal which could thus snatch himself from them at a time when they
+conceived him almost completely in their power.
+
+"Since then some of these animals have occasionally been heard of at a
+distance from the harbour; and a few days ago, in coming over from Port
+Augusta with another gentleman, we fell in with one of them, which
+allowed us to get so near him, that it was determined to set out the
+next morning to look for him. We did so; and took with us several large
+harpoons, muskets, pikes, &c., determined, if it were possible, to
+bring him in. He was descried about eight o'clock near Greenwich,
+towards the top of the harbour, as usual floating near the surface, and
+moving slowly about. Having allowed the boat to get very close to him,
+he was struck with a harpoon, which was thrown at him in a most
+dexterous manner by Lieutenant St. John, of the royal artillery. He
+immediately set out towards the mouth of the harbour, towing the boat
+after him with such velocity, that it could not be overtaken by any of
+the others. After going on this way for near an hour he turned back,
+which enabled the other boats to lay hold; and four of them were tied,
+one after the other, to the one in which he was harpooned, with four of
+five people in each of them. By this means we hoped to tire him out the
+sooner. In about an hour and a half after he was first struck, a
+favourable opportunity offering, a large five-pointed harpoon, made fast
+to a very heavy staff, was thrown at him with such an elevation, that it
+should fall upon him with the whole weight of the weapon--this having
+been as well directed as the first, was lodged nearly in the middle of
+his back. The struggle he made at this time to get away was truly
+tremendous,--plunging in the midst of the boats,--darting from the
+bottom to the surface alternately,--dashing the water and foam on every
+side of him,--and rolling round and round to extricate himself from the
+pole. This might be considered as having given him the _coup de grace_,
+although, at short intervals afterwards, he was struck with two more
+harpoons, and several musket balls were fired into him. Still he was
+able to set out again, taking the four boats after him, which he carried
+along with the greatest ease. Having gone in this way for some time he
+came to a stop, and laid himself to the bottom, when, with all the lines
+that were attached to him, it was quite impossible to move him. All
+expedients were nearly beginning to fail, when it was proposed to
+slacken the lines, which being done had the desired effect, and he
+again set out. Having thus got him from the ground, inch by inch was
+gained upon him, till he was got near the surface, when he was struck
+with two large pikes. He now got rather faint; and the boats closing on
+him on every side, the combat became general with pikes, muskets, and
+every weapon we had. In fact, to such a pitch were all excited on the
+occasion, that, had a cool spectator seen the affray, he would
+undoubtedly have imagined that it was his _sable majesty_ himself that
+we had got amongst us. He was now towed ashore, being about five hours
+since he was first struck. This it required all the boats to do, and
+then but very slowly. His appearance now showed the extraordinary
+tenacity of life of which this animal must be possessed, as his whole
+body was literally a heap of wounds, many of which were through and
+through, and he was not yet quite dead. This circumstance, with his
+great strength, is the cause of the name which has been given him by the
+fishermen here, as they have never been able to succeed in taking one of
+them, and were firmly of opinion it was impossible to do so.
+
+"On measurement, it was found to be in length and breadth much the same,
+about fifteen feet, and in depth from three to four feet. It had the
+appearance of having no head, as there was no prominence at its mouth;
+on the contrary, its exterior margin formed, as it were, the segment of
+a circle, with its arc towards the animal's body, and opening into a
+large cavity of about two feet and a half in width, without teeth, into
+which a man went with so much ease, that I do not exaggerate when I say,
+that another might have done so at the same time. On each side of the
+mouth projected a mass of cartilaginous substance like horns, about a
+foot and a half long, and capable of meeting before the mouth. These
+feelers moved about a great deal in swimming, and are probably of use in
+feeding. On looking on this animal as it lay on the ground with its back
+upwards, it might be said to be nearly equal in dimensions on every
+side, with the exception of the two lateral extremities, extending to a
+point about four feet from the body, and a tail about five feet long,
+four and a half inches diameter at the root, and tapering to a point.
+Above the root of the tail was the dorsal fin, and on each side of it a
+flat and flabby substance close to the body, of the appearance of fins.
+There were no other distinct fins, and its sole propelling power seemed
+to be its two lateral extremities, which became very flat and thin
+towards the point. As it shows these much in swimming, it gives a
+spectator an extraordinary idea of its size, as, to him imperfectly
+seen, the conclusion naturally is, if the breadth is so great, how much
+greater must the length be. This animal was a female, and was
+viviparous. On opening it, a young one, about twenty pounds weight, was
+taken out, perfectly formed, and which had been preserved. Wishing to
+know what it fed upon, I saw the stomach opened, which was round, about
+eight inches in diameter, and quite empty. It was closely studded over
+with circular spots of a muscular substance. Under the stomach was a
+long bag, with transverse muscular layers from end to end, and which
+contained nothing but some slime and gravel. This muscular appearance of
+the digestive organs would lead one to suppose that it fed upon other
+fish, as is the general opinion here, though its having no teeth does
+not support that idea. Its weight was so great that it was impossible to
+ascertain it at the time; but some idea may be formed of it when I
+assure you that it was with difficulty that forty men, with two lines
+attached to it, could drag it along the ground. Its bones were soft,
+and, with the exception of the jaw-bones, could be cut with a knife. One
+ridge of bone ran from the mouth to the middle of the back, where it was
+met by another running transversely, from the extremities of which there
+were two larger ones converging towards the tail."
+
+
+
+
+INDEX.
+
+
+A.
+
+Aardwolf, 80
+
+_Accentor modidaris_, 285
+
+_Accipitres_, 250
+
+Addax, 216
+
+_A†lurus fulgens_, 145
+
+African mouse, 227
+
+African owl [pigeon], 294
+
+Agouti, 240
+
+Aguara, 93, 94
+
+Albatross, 316, 324
+
+_AlcephalinA|_, 207
+
+Alligator, 334, 335-337
+
+Alpaca, 198
+
+American blackbird, 253
+
+American bull frog, 352
+
+American horned owl, 313
+
+American house wren, 257
+
+American leopard, 64-67
+
+American lion, 43, 67-69
+
+American monkey, 30-32
+
+American sable, 140
+
+American vulture, 308
+
+Anchovy, 358
+
+Angola _or_ Angora cat, 71
+
+Anomalure, 237, 240
+
+_Anseres_, 250
+
+Ant-eater, 245, 247
+
+Ant-eater [bird], 250, 282
+
+Ant-thrush, 283
+
+Antelope, 206, 216
+
+_AntilocaprinA|_, 207
+
+Anubis, 20
+
+_Anura_, 350
+
+Ape, 3, 18, 29
+
+Apteryx, 330
+
+Arabian baboon, 2O
+
+Arabian horse, 163-166
+
+Arctic fox, 86, 93
+
+Argus pheasant, 299
+
+Armadillo, 245, 246
+
+_Artiodactyla_, 162, 188
+
+Ass, 162, 178-183
+
+_Ateles_, 30
+
+Australian hedgehog, 249
+
+Aye-aye, 33, 34
+
+
+B.
+
+Babiroussa, 192
+
+Baboon, 15, 19-25
+
+Babouin, 20
+
+Bactrian camel, 193
+
+Badger, 140, 142
+
+Bald eagle, 306
+
+Balearic crane, 314
+
+Bandicoot, 247
+
+Barb [pigeon], 294
+
+Barbary ape, 25
+
+Barbel [sporting dog], 95
+
+Barn owl, 313
+
+Bat, 34-39
+
+Bay antelope, 216
+
+Beagle, 95, 129
+
+Bear, 43, 145-151
+
+Bearded saki, 31
+
+Beaver, 226, 234-237
+
+Beaver rat, 227
+
+Bell bird, 251, 283
+
+_Beluga catodon_, 160
+
+"Billybiter," 261
+
+Bird of Paradise, 251, 271-273
+
+Bison, 162, 207, 211, 212
+
+Bittern, 315
+
+Black bear, 146, 147-149
+
+Black grouse, 297
+
+Black howler, 31
+
+Black rat, 227
+
+Black snake, 342
+
+Black swan, 320
+
+Black vulture, 309
+
+Black-necked swan, 320
+
+Blackbird, 250, 252
+
+Bladder-nose hooded seal, 155
+
+Blenheim spaniel, 134, 135
+
+Blood-hound, 95, 125-127
+
+Blue jay, 263
+
+Blue shark, 366
+
+Blue titmouse, 261
+
+Boa constrictor, 340, 346-348
+
+Boar, 162, 190
+
+Bobak, 240
+
+Bonnet monkey, 25
+
+BorA"lA(C), 184, 186
+
+Bosch-bok, 216
+
+_BovidA|_, 206
+
+_BovinA|_, 207
+
+Brahmin bull, 209
+
+Brazilian porcupine, 241
+
+Brill, 357
+
+Broadbill, 283
+
+Brown bear, 146, 151
+
+Brown capuchin, 30
+
+Brown rat, 227
+
+_BudorcinA|_, 207
+
+Buffalo, 207, 213-216
+
+Bull, 207, 208, 209
+
+Bull frog, 352
+
+Bull terrier, 136
+
+Bull-dog, 95, 138
+
+Bullfinch, 251
+
+Bunting, 251, 277
+
+Bustard, 314
+
+"Butcher bird", 262
+
+Buzzard, 304, 311
+
+
+C.
+
+_CA|cilia_, 350
+
+Camel, 192-197
+
+_Camelopordalis giraffa_, 205
+
+Canadian porcupine, 241
+
+Canary, 251, 276, 277
+
+_Canis anglicus_, 138
+
+_Canis avicularis_, 130
+
+_Canis domesticus_, 114
+
+_Canis index_, 132
+
+_Canis sanguinarius_, 125
+
+_Canis scoticus_, 123
+
+Canvas-back duck, 319
+
+Cape ant-bear, 245, 246
+
+Cape buffalo, 214, 215
+
+Cape penguin, 326
+
+_CaprinA|_, 207
+
+Capuchin, 30
+
+Capybara, 241
+
+Caribou, 201-204
+
+_Carnivora_, 43
+
+Carp, 358
+
+Carrier pigeon, 294, 295
+
+Carrion crow, 251, 270
+
+Cashmir goat, 217
+
+Cassowary, 328, 329
+
+_Castor americanus_, 235
+
+_Castor gallicus_, 235
+
+Cat, 43, 44, 71-76, 337
+
+Catamountain, 43
+
+_Cavia aperea_, 241
+
+_Cavia cobaya_, 241
+
+Cavy, 240
+
+Cayman, 336
+
+_CebidA|_, 3, 30-32
+
+_CephalophinA|_, 207
+
+_Cercoleptes caudivolvulus_, 145
+
+_CervicaprinA|_, 207
+
+_Cervus_, 199
+
+_Cervus elaphus_, 199
+
+Chackma, 20, 21
+
+Chaffinch, 275
+
+Chameleon, 337
+
+Chamois, 216
+
+Chatterer, 251, 282
+
+Cheek-pouched monkey, 19
+
+_CheiromyidA|_, 33
+
+_Cheiromys madagascariensis_, 33
+
+_Cheiroptera_, 34
+
+_Chelonia imbricata_, 333
+
+Chetah, 77, 78
+
+Chevrotain, 198
+
+Chimpanzee, 3, 4, 11, 12
+
+Chinchilla, 226, 240
+
+Chough, 251, 262
+
+Chub, 358
+
+Chuck-Will's-widow, 288
+
+Civet, 79
+
+Classical dolphin, 160
+
+Clouded tiger, 70
+
+Coach-dog, 95, 98
+
+Coati, 145
+
+Cobra, 340, 342-346
+
+Cock of the rock, 282
+
+Cockatoo, 290
+
+Cod, 357
+
+Colugo, 39
+
+_ColumbA|_, 250
+
+Common barn owl, 313
+
+Common crane, 314
+
+Common duck, 319
+
+Common fin whale, 159
+
+Common frog, 350, 352, 353
+
+Common gull, 321
+
+Common hare, 241
+
+Common iguana, 338
+
+Common jay, 262
+
+Common kingfisher, 287
+
+Common lizard, 337, 338
+
+Common pheasant, 299
+
+Common porpoise, 160, 161
+
+Common rabbit, 241, 245
+
+Common rhea, 329
+
+Common seal, 155
+
+Common skate, 368
+
+Common starling, 278
+
+Common swan, 320
+
+Common thrush, 251
+
+Common toad, 351
+
+Common wren, 256, 257
+
+Condor, 304, 308
+
+Coney, 226
+
+Conger eel, 362
+
+Coot, 314
+
+Coral snake, 349
+
+Cormorant, 316, 323
+
+_Corvidae_, 262
+
+_Cotingidae_, 282
+
+Couguar, 43, 67
+
+Cow, 207, 210
+
+Crake, 314
+
+Cramp-fish, 366
+
+Crane, 314
+
+Crocodile, 14, 334
+
+Crossbill, 277
+
+Crow, 262
+
+Cuckoo, 284-286
+
+Curlew, 314
+
+_CynA|lurus_, 77
+
+_Cynocephalus_, 19
+
+
+D.
+
+Dalmatian, 95, 98, 130
+
+_Dama vulgaris_, 204
+
+Darwin's rhea, 329
+
+Dasyure, 247
+
+Deer, 27, 198-205
+
+_Delphinus delphis_, 160
+
+Desman, 228
+
+Dhole, 93, 94
+
+_Diable-de-mer_, 369
+
+Diana monkey, 19
+
+Dingo, 93, 94
+
+Dog, 43, 84, 94-139
+
+Dolphin, 158, 159, 160
+
+Domestic fowl, 297, 302-304
+
+Domestic turkey, 300-302
+
+Dormouse, 227, 233
+
+Douroucouli, 32
+
+Dove, 250
+
+Dove-cot pigeon, 294
+
+Drill, 20
+
+Dromedary, 192, 193, 194
+
+Duck, 316, 319
+
+Duck-billed platypus, 249
+
+Dugong, 162
+
+_Duplicidentati_, 226, 241
+
+
+E.
+
+Eagle, 304, 305-307
+
+Eagle ray, 368
+
+Eared seal, 152
+
+Eastern bison, 212
+
+_EchidnidA|_, 249
+
+Edible frog, 352
+
+Eel, 358, 361
+
+Egyptian fox, 85
+
+Egyptian hare, 241
+
+Egyptian vulture, 308
+
+Eider duck, 319
+
+Eland, 216
+
+Electric eel, 362-366
+
+Elephant, 27, 219-226
+
+Elephant tortoise, 332
+
+Elk, 199, 204
+
+_EmballonuridA|_, 36
+
+Emu, 250, 328, 329, 330
+
+English bunting, 277
+
+English carrier, 294
+
+English frill-back, 294
+
+English pouter, 294
+
+English terrier, 136
+
+Entellus, 19
+
+Equine antelope, 216
+
+Ermine, 140
+
+Esculent swift, 289
+
+Eskimo dog, 104-107
+
+
+F.
+
+Falcon, 304, 311
+
+Fallow deer, 199, 204
+
+Fantail, 294
+
+Fawn, 321
+
+_Feneca zaarensis_, 85
+
+Fennec, 85
+
+Fern owl, 288
+
+Ferret, 140
+
+Fieldmouse, 227, 233
+
+Finch, 275
+
+Fish-hawk, 307
+
+_Fissipedia_, 43
+
+_Fissirostres_, 283
+
+Flamingo, 314
+
+Flounder, 357
+
+Flying dog, 37
+
+Flying fish, 358, 360
+
+Flying fox, 35
+
+Flying squirrel, 237
+
+Four-horned antelope, 216
+
+Fowl, 250, 297
+
+Fox, 84, 85, 90-93, 337
+
+Fox terrier, 136
+
+Foxhound, 95, 128, 129
+
+Frog, 350.
+
+
+G.
+
+Galago, 33
+
+_GallinA|_, 250, 297
+
+Gavial, 334
+
+Gazelle, 217
+
+_GazellinA|_, 207
+
+Genet, 79
+
+Gibbon, 3, 17, 18
+
+Giraffe, 205, 206
+
+Glutton, 140
+
+Gnu, 216
+
+Goat, 206, 217
+
+Goatsucker, 288
+
+Golden eagle, 305
+
+Golden howler, 31
+
+Golden oriole, 251, 261
+
+Golden pheasant, 299
+
+Golden-crested wren, 255, 256
+
+Goldfinch, 251, 275
+
+Goose, 316-319
+
+Gorilla, 3-11
+
+Goshawk, 304
+
+_Grallatores_, 250
+
+Grampus, 160, 161
+
+Great albatross, 324
+
+Great ant-eater, 247
+
+Great auk, 316
+
+Great basking shark, 366
+
+Great black-backed gull, 321, 323
+
+Great eagle owl, 313, 314
+
+Great shrike, 262
+
+Great titmouse, 261
+
+Great-billed rhea, 329
+
+Great-crowned pigeon, 294
+
+Grebe, 316
+
+Green monkey, 19
+
+Green parrot, 290
+
+Green turtle, 333
+
+Green woodpecker, 284
+
+Greenfinch, 275
+
+Grey fox, 86
+
+Grey parrot, 290, 292
+
+Grey seal, 155
+
+Greyhound, 95, 122-124, 177
+
+Griffin vulture, 307
+
+Grivet, 19
+
+Grizzly bear, 146, 149-51
+
+Ground parrot, 290
+
+Grouse, 297
+
+Guinea fowl, 297
+
+Guinea-pig, 226, 241
+
+Gull, 316, 321
+
+_Gulo luscus_, 140
+
+Gurnard, 354
+
+Gymnotus, 358, 362-366
+
+
+H.
+
+Haddock, 357
+
+Halibut, 357
+
+_Halicore dugong_, 162
+
+Hammer-headed shark, 366
+
+Hamster, 228
+
+_Hapale_, 32
+
+Hare, 226, 241-244
+
+Harnessed antelope, 216
+
+Harp seal, 155, 156
+
+Harrier, 95, 129
+
+Harvest mouse, 227, 233
+
+_Hatteria punctata_, 337
+
+Hawk, 73
+
+Hawk's-bill turtle, 333
+
+Hedge-sparrow, 285
+
+Hedgehog, 39
+
+Hen, 176
+
+Heron, 312, 314, 315
+
+Herring, 358, 360
+
+Herring gull, 321, 323
+
+Hinny, 183
+
+Hippopotamus, 162, 188-190
+
+_HippotraginA|_, 207
+
+Hoazin, 250, 304
+
+Hog, 27, 28, 190, 191
+
+Homelyn ray, 368
+
+Honey bear, 146
+
+Hook-billed ground pigeon, 294
+
+Hoolock, 17, 18
+
+Hornbill, 287
+
+Horse, 162-178
+
+Horseshoe bat, 36
+
+House martin, 274
+
+House mouse, 227, 232
+
+Howling monkey, 31
+
+Humming bird, 289
+
+Humpback whale, 159
+
+Hunting leopard, 77, 78
+
+Hunting tiger, 201
+
+HyA|na, 43, 80-84
+
+_HyA|nidA|_, 80
+
+_Hylobates_, 17
+
+_Hyrax_, 226
+
+
+I.
+
+Ibex, 218
+
+Ichneumon, 79, 80
+
+Iguana, 337, 338
+
+Imperial eagle, 305
+
+Indian buffalo, 213
+
+Indian frill-back, 294
+
+Indian monkey, 25-29
+
+Indian rhinoceros, 184
+
+Indian tapir, 184
+
+Indri, 33
+
+_Insectivora_, 39
+
+Irish hare, 241
+
+Ivory gull, 321
+
+Ivory-billed woodpecker, 284
+
+Izard, 216
+
+
+J.
+
+Jack, 359
+
+Jack screamer, 289
+
+Jackal, 27, 28, 84, 86
+
+Jackass penguin, 326
+
+Jackdaw, 251, 271
+
+Jacobin, 294
+
+Jaguar, 43, 64-67
+
+Jay, 251, 262
+
+Jerboa, 226, 234
+
+Jungle fowl, 297
+
+
+K.
+
+Kahau, 19
+
+Kangaroo, 247, 248
+
+Keitloa, 184
+
+Kestrel, 304
+
+King bird, 251, 282
+
+King Charles spaniel, 120, 134, 135
+
+King duck, 319
+
+King of the vultures, 308
+
+King penguin, 326
+
+Kingfisher, 287
+
+Kinkajou, 145
+
+Kit fox, 86
+
+Kite, 304, 311
+
+Kobaoba, 184
+
+
+L.
+
+Labrador dog, 107
+
+Land bear, 146
+
+Lapwing 314
+
+Lark, 251, 258, 279-281
+
+Laugher, 294
+
+Laughing kingfisher, 287
+
+Leathery turtle, 334
+
+Leech, 355
+
+Lemming, 227, 228
+
+Lemur, 3, 32, 33
+
+_LemuridA|_, 32, 33
+
+Leopard, 43, 61-64
+
+Lesser fin whale, 159
+
+_Leucocyon lagopus_, 86
+
+Leucoryx, 216
+
+Linnet, 251, 276
+
+Lion, 43, 44-57
+
+Little ant-eater, 247
+
+Lizard, 337
+
+Llama, 198
+
+Llama _pacos_, 198
+
+Llama _peruana_, 198
+
+Llama _vicugna_, 198
+
+Loggerhead turtle, 334
+
+Long-eared owl, 313
+
+Long-nosed dolphin, 160
+
+Long-nosed monkey, 19
+
+Long-tailed duck, 319
+
+Long-tailed manis, 246
+
+Long-tailed sheep, 217
+
+Long-tailed titmouse, 261
+
+Love bird, 290
+
+Lurcher, 124
+
+_Lutra vulgaris_, 141
+
+Lynx, 44, 76, 77
+
+Lyre bird, 250, 251, 283
+
+
+M.
+
+_Macacus_, 25
+
+Macaque, 25
+
+Macaw, 290
+
+Mackerel, 354, 356
+
+Magot, 25
+
+Magpie, 251, 262, 264-266
+
+Mahoohoo, 184
+
+Malayan bear, 146, 151
+
+Malbrouck monkey, 19
+
+Mallard, 319
+
+Maltese spaniel, 134, 135
+
+Manakin, 251
+
+_ManatidA|_, 162
+
+Mandarin, 319
+
+Mandrill, 20
+
+Manis, 246
+
+Manx cat, 71
+
+Marmoset, 3, 32
+
+Marmot, 237, 240
+
+Marsh harrier, 311
+
+Martin, 251, 274, 275
+
+Mastiff, 95, 109, 136-138
+
+Meadow pipit, 282
+
+_Megaderma lyra_, 36, 38
+
+_Meles taxus_, 142
+
+_Mellivora capensis_, 143
+
+Merino, 217
+
+Mias, 3, 13, 14
+
+_Midas_, 32
+
+Missel thrush, 252
+
+Mississippi alligator, 335
+
+Mocking bird, 250, 254
+
+Mole, 39-42
+
+Mona, 19
+
+Monitor, 337, 339
+
+Monkey, 3, 15, 18-32
+
+_Monodon monoceros_, 160
+
+_Monotremata_, 249
+
+Moor hen, 314
+
+Moose, 199, 204, 227
+
+Mother Carey's chicken, 322
+
+Mountain hare, 241
+
+Mouse, 226, 227, 232, 233
+
+Mouse deer, 198
+
+Muchocho, 184
+
+Mule, 183
+
+Mullet, 354
+
+Muscovy duck, 319
+
+Musk rat, 227
+
+Musk sheep, _or_ ox, 217
+
+_MustelidA|_, 140
+
+_Mycetes_, 31
+
+
+N.
+
+Narwhal, 160
+
+_Nasua narica_, 145
+
+_NemorhedinA|_, 207
+
+Newfoundland dog, 95, 97, 98, 101, 107-114, 177
+
+Newt, 350
+
+Nicobar pigeon, 294
+
+Night-jar, 288
+
+Nightingale, 250, 258, 259
+
+Nile monitor, 339
+
+Nine-killer, 262
+
+Northern sea bear, 152, 154
+
+Northern sea lion, 152
+
+Numidian crane, 314
+
+Nun, 294
+
+_NycteridA|_, 36
+
+_Nycticebus tardigradus_, 33
+
+_Nyctipithecus felinus_, 32
+
+Nylghau, 216
+
+
+O.
+
+Ocelot, 69
+
+_Opisthocomi_, 250
+
+Opossum, 247
+
+Orang-utan, 3, 12-17
+
+_Orca gladiator_, 161
+
+Organist tanager, 273
+
+_OrnithorhynchidA|_, 249
+
+_OryginA|_, 207
+
+Osprey, 311
+
+Ostrich, 250, 328, 329
+
+_OtaridA|_, 152
+
+Otter, 140, 141, 142
+
+Ounce, 43, 201
+
+Oven bird, 283
+
+Owl, 304, 313
+
+Ox, 162, 206, 207, 209
+
+
+P.
+
+Pallah, 216
+
+Panda, 145
+
+Pangolin, 245, 246
+
+Panther, 43, 61-64, 67
+
+_Paradisea apoda_, 271-273
+
+Paradoxure, 79
+
+Parrakeet, 290
+
+Parrot, 250, 290-294
+
+Partridge, 299
+
+Passenger pigeon, 294
+
+_Passeres_, 250
+
+Patas, 19
+
+Pea-fowl, 298
+
+Peacock, 297, 298
+
+Peacock pheasant, 298
+
+Peahen, 298
+
+Peccary, 190, 192
+
+Pelican, 316, 325
+
+Penguin, 316, 326
+
+Perch, 354
+
+Peregrine falcon, 311
+
+_Perissodactyla_, 162
+
+Persian cat, 71
+
+Persian lynx, 44
+
+Petrel, 316
+
+Pheasant, 297, 298
+
+Philander, 247
+
+_PhyllostomidA|_, 36
+
+_PicariA|_, 250
+
+Pied wagtail, 281
+
+Pig, 190
+
+Pigeon, 294-297
+
+Pike, 358, 359
+
+Pine marten, 140
+
+_Pinnipedia_, 43, 151
+
+Pipistrelle, 36
+
+Pipit, 251, 281
+
+_Pithecia_, 31
+
+Plaice, 357
+
+Plantcutter, 283
+
+Platypus, 249
+
+_Plecotus auritus_, 36
+
+Plover, 314
+
+Pointer, 95, 130-132
+
+Polar bear, 146, 157
+
+Polar hare, 241
+
+Polecat, 140
+
+Poodle, 101, 139
+
+Porcupine, 226, 240, 241
+
+Porpoise, 161
+
+Pouched rat, 227, 228
+
+Prairie dog, 237, 240
+
+Prairie grouse, 297
+
+_ProcyonidA|_, 145
+
+Prong-horned antelope, 216
+
+_ProtelidA|_, 80
+
+_Pseudophidia_, 350
+
+_Psittacini_, 250
+
+Ptarmigan, 297
+
+Puffin, 316, 323, 327
+
+Puma, 43, 67-69
+
+Python, 14
+
+
+Q.
+
+Quagga, 183
+
+Quail, 297
+
+
+R.
+
+Rabbit, 226, 241, 245
+
+Raccoon, 145
+
+_Rana temporaria_, 352
+
+Rat, 226, 227-232, 303
+
+Rat kangaroo, 246
+
+Ratel, 143
+
+Rattlesnake, 340, 341, 342
+
+Raven, 251, 264, 266-269
+
+Ray, 366, 368-373
+
+Red deer, 199, 201
+
+Red fox, 86
+
+Red grouse, 297
+
+Red-backed shrike, 262
+
+Red-headed woodpecker, 284
+
+Reindeer, 199, 201-204
+
+Resplendent trogon, 287
+
+Rhea, 328, 329
+
+Rhesus monkey, 25
+
+Rhinoceros, 162, 184-188
+
+Rhinoceros bird, 190
+
+_Rhin don typicus_, 366
+
+Right whale, 158
+
+Ringed seal, 155
+
+Roach, 358
+
+Robin, 250, 259, 260
+
+Rock manakin, 282
+
+Rodents, 226
+
+Roebuck, 199, 204
+
+Rook, 251, 270
+
+Runt, 294
+
+_RupicaprinA|_, 207
+
+_Rupicola elegans_, 282
+
+
+S.
+
+Sable, 140
+
+Sacred monkey, 18
+
+Sage hare, 241
+
+St. Bernard dog, 119-122
+
+Salamander, 350
+
+Salmon, 358
+
+Sand lizard, 338
+
+Sandmartin, 275
+
+Sandpiper, 314
+
+Sandy ray, 368
+
+Sardine, 358
+
+Sardinian hare, 241
+
+_Scansores_, 283
+
+Scarlet tanager, 273
+
+Scotch greyhound, 123
+
+Scxpotch terrier, 136
+
+Scrub bird, 250, 251, 283
+
+Sea bear, 145
+
+Sea canary, 160
+
+Sea cow, 162
+
+Sea devil, 368-373
+
+Sea elephant, 155, 156
+
+Sea leopard, 155
+
+Sea lion, 43, 152
+
+Sea pig, 160
+
+Sea-gull, 321
+
+Seal, 43, 151-158
+
+Secretary bird, 310
+
+_Semnopithecus_, 18, 19
+
+Serval, 44, 70
+
+Setter, 95, 132-134
+
+Shark, 366-368
+
+Sheep, 162, 206, 217-219
+
+Sheldrake, 319
+
+Shepherd's dog, 95, 99, 114-119
+
+Short-faced tumbler, 294
+
+Short-tailed manis, 246
+
+Shrew, 39, 42, 43
+
+Shrike, 262, 282
+
+Siamang, 3, 17, 18
+
+Siberian dog, 107
+
+Silver fox, 86
+
+_Simia_, 12
+
+_Simplicidentati_, 226
+
+Skate, 368
+
+Skunk, 143-145
+
+Skye terrier, 136
+
+Sky-lark, 258, 279-281
+
+Sleuth-hound, 125
+
+Sloth, 245
+
+Sloth bear, 151
+
+Slow lemur, 33
+
+Snakes, 339-349
+
+Snipe, 314
+
+Snow bunting, 277
+
+Sociable weaver-bird, 278
+
+Sole, 357
+
+_Sorex vulgaris_, 42
+
+Spaniel, 95, 98, 101, 134-136
+
+Sparrow-hawk, 302, 304, 312
+
+Spectacled bear, 151
+
+Sperm whale, 159
+
+Sphinx, 20
+
+Spider monkey, 30
+
+Spot, 294
+
+Spotted eagle, 305
+
+Spotted hyA|na, 82, 83
+
+Squirrel, 226, 237-239
+
+Stag, 199-201
+
+Staghound, 127
+
+Starling, 250, 251, 278
+
+Stickleback, 354-356
+
+Sting ray, 368
+
+Stoat, 140
+
+Stork, 314, 315, 316
+
+Stormy petrel, 322, 323
+
+Striped hyA|na, 82
+
+_Struthiones_, 250
+
+_SturmidA|_, 278
+
+Sulphur-crested cockatoo, 290
+
+Swallow, 251, 273, 274
+
+Swallow [pigeon], 294
+
+Swan, 316, 319-321
+
+Swift, 289
+
+Sword-fish, 354, 356
+
+Syrian bear, 151
+
+
+T.
+
+Tadpole, 350
+
+Tahaleb, 85
+
+Tailor bird, 250, 255
+
+Tanager, 250, 273
+
+Talapoin, 19
+
+_TalpidA|_, 40
+
+Tapir, 183
+
+_TapiridA|_, 183
+
+_TarsidA|_, 33
+
+Tarsier, 33
+
+_Tarsius spectrum_, 33
+
+Teal, 316, 319
+
+Terrier, 95, 96, 136
+
+Thick-headed shrike, 262
+
+Thistlefinch, 275
+
+Thornback, 368
+
+Thrush, 250, 251, 286
+
+Tiger, 43, 57-61
+
+Tiger-cat, 43
+
+Titmouse, 250, 260
+
+Toad, 350-352
+
+Tomtit, 261
+
+Tope, 365
+
+Torpedo, 366
+
+Tortoise, 331
+
+_TragelaphinA|_, 207
+
+_Tragulus_, 198
+
+_Tragulus meminna_, 198
+
+Tree frog, 350, 353
+
+Tree kangaroo, 248
+
+Tree pipit, 282
+
+Tree porcupine, 241
+
+_Trichechus rosmarus_, 154
+
+_Troglodytes_, 4
+
+Trogon, 287
+
+Trout, 358
+
+Trumpeter, 294
+
+Turbot, 357
+
+Turkey, 300-302
+
+Turnspit, 130
+
+Turtle, 65, 331, 333
+
+_TyrannidA|_, 282
+
+Tyrant fly-catcher, 282
+
+Tyrant shrike, 282
+
+
+U.
+
+Umbrella bird, 251, 283
+
+Unicorn, 185
+
+_Urodela_, 350
+
+_Ursus americanus_, 147
+
+_Ursus arctos_, 151
+
+
+V.
+
+Vampire bat, 36-39
+
+Vervet monkey, 19
+
+_VespertilionidA|_, 36, 38
+
+Viper, 340
+
+Viscacha, 240
+
+_ViverridA|_, 79
+
+_Vulpes vulgaris_, 85
+
+Vulture, 304, 307-310
+
+
+W.
+
+Wagtail, 253, 281
+
+Wallachian sheep, 217
+
+Walrus, 43, 151, 154
+
+Wanderoo, 25
+
+Water rat, 227
+
+Water shrew, 42
+
+Water spaniel, 134, 135
+
+Water-pheasant, 314
+
+Weasel, 43, 140
+
+Weaver bird, 251, 278
+
+Weeper capuchin, 30
+
+Whale, 158, 159
+
+Whip-poor-Will, 288
+
+White shark, 367
+
+White whale, 160
+
+White-headed sea eagle, 305, 306
+
+White-nosed monkey, 19
+
+White-throated capuchin, 30
+
+Whooping swan, 320
+
+Widgeon, 319
+
+Wild boar, 190
+
+Wild cat, 70, 71
+
+Wild dog, 93
+
+Wild goose, 317
+
+Wild turkey, 297, 300
+
+Wild-duck, 319
+
+Wildebeest, 216
+
+Willow wren, 256
+
+Wolf, 43, 84, 85, 86-90
+
+Wombat, 247
+
+Woodchuck, 240
+
+Woodcock, 314
+
+Woodpecker, 282, 284
+
+"Wool man", 248
+
+Wren, 250, 255-258
+
+Wryneck, 284
+
+
+Y.
+
+Yak, 216
+
+
+Z.
+
+Zebra, 183
+
+Zebu, 216
+
+
+
+
+_NEARLY =300,000= OF THIS SERIES HAVE BEEN SOLD_
+
+NEW GIFT BOOKS
+
+ "Such Volumes are invaluable for our young people, and all thanks
+ are due to those who have brought them within easy reach of every
+ child in the three kingdoms."--GUARDIAN.
+
+The Fifty-two Series of Stories for Boys and Girls
+
+Edited by ALFRED H. MILES.
+
+_Each in large cr. 8vo, 400-500 pp., bound in cloth, richly gilt,
+bevelled boards, gilt edges, with illustrations.
+Price =5s.= each._
+
+
+=Among the Contributors to the Series are:--=
+
+G. A. Henty
+R. M. Ballantyne
+George Manville Fenn
+W. Clark Russell
+W. H. G. Kingston
+Captain Mayne Reid
+Gordon Stables
+Ascott R. Hope
+David Ker
+W. M. Thackeray
+Robert Chambers
+Lord Macaulay
+Sir Edward Creasey
+L. T. Meade
+Sarah Doudney
+Harriet B. Stowe
+Grace Stebbing
+Mary E. Wilkins
+Darley Dale
+Susan Coolidge
+F. R. Stockton
+Mrs. Coulston Kernahan
+Frances Gerard
+Lucy Hardy
+W. P. Frith, R.A.
+Washington Irving
+Alphonse Daudet
+
+=AND MANY OTHERS=
+
+_For List of Volumes see over._
+
+=London: HUTCHINSON & CO., Paternoster Row=
+
+
+
+
+The Fifty-two Series of Stories for Boys and Girls
+
+1. =Fifty-two Stories for Boys.=
+2. =Fifty-two Stories for Girls.=
+3. =Fifty-two More Stories for Boys.=
+4. =Fifty-two More Stories for Girls.=
+5. =Fifty-two Further Stories for Boys.=
+6. =Fifty-two Further Stories for Girls.=
+7. =Fifty-two Other Stories for Boys.=
+8. =Fifty-two Other Stories for Girls.=
+9. =Fifty-two Fairy Tales.=
+10. =Fifty-two Stories for Boyhood and Youth.=
+11. =Fifty-two Stories for Girlhood and Youth.=
+12. =Fifty-two Stories for Children.=
+13. =Fifty-two Stories of Boy Life at Home and Abroad.=
+14. =Fifty-two Stories of Girl Life at Home and Abroad.=
+15. =Fifty-two Stories of Life and Adventure for Boys.=
+16. =Fifty-two Stories of Life and Adventure for Girls.=
+17. =Fifty-two Stories of the Indian Mutiny and the Men who saved India.=
+18. =Fifty-two Stories of Pluck and Peril for Boys.=
+19. =Fifty-two Stories of Pluck, Peril and Romance for Girls.=
+20. =Fifty-two Stories of the British Navy.=
+21. =Fifty-two Stores of Duty and Daring for Boys.=
+22. =Fifty-two Stories of Duty and Daring for Girls.=
+23. =Fifty-two Stories of the British Army.=
+24. =Fifty-two Holiday Stories for Boys.=
+25. =Fifty-two Holiday Stories for Girls.=
+26. =Fifty-two Sunday Stories for Boys and Girls.=
+27. =Fifty-two Stories of Heroism in Life and Action for Boys.=
+28. =Fifty-two Stories of Heroism in Life and Action for Girls.=
+29. =Fifty-two Stories of the Wide, Wide World.=
+30. =Fifty-two Stirring Stories for Boys.=
+31. =Fifty-two Stirring Stories for Girls.=
+32. =Fifty-two Stories of the British Empire.=
+33. =Fifty-two Stories of Courage and Endeavour for Boys.=
+34. =Fifty-two Stories of Courage and Endeavour for Girls.=
+35. =Fifty-two Stories of Greater Britain.=
+36. =Fifty-two Stories of the Brave and True for Boys.=
+37. =Fifty-two Stories of the Brave and True for Girls.=
+38. =Eifty-two Stories for the Little Ones.=
+39. =Fifty-two Stories of School Life and After for Boys.=
+40. =Fifty-two Stories of School Life and After for Girls.=
+41. =Fifty-two Stories of Animal Life and Adventure.=
+
+London: HUTCHINSON & CO., Paternoster Row
+
+
+
+
+HUTCHINSON'S NEW 1s. 6d. Series
+
+(INCLUDING COPYRIGHT BOOKS)
+
+OF POPULAR STORIES
+
+ENTIRELY RESET FROM NEW TYPE.
+
+_Each Volume in large crown 8vo, handsome cloth gilt._
+
+With Illustrations on Art Paper.
+
+
+1. =GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES.= By the Brothers Grimm.
+
+2. =ANDERSON'S FAIRY TALES.= By Hans Christian Anderson.
+
+3. =UNCLE TOM'S CABIN.= Mrs. H. B. Stowe.
+
+4. =THE WIDE, WIDE WORLD.= Elizabeth Wetherell.
+
+5. =NATURAL HISTORY IN ANECDOTE.= Edited by Alfred H. Miles.
+
+6. =LITTLE WOMEN.= Miss L. M. Alcott.
+
+7. =GOOD WIVES.= Miss L. M. Alcott.
+
+8. =LOG LEAVES AND SAILING ORDERS=--True stories of Naval Life and
+ Adventure. Edited by Alfred H. Miles.
+
+9. =WITH FIFE AND DRUM=--True Stories of Military Life and Adventure.
+ Edited by Alfred H. Miles.
+
+10. =MELBOURNE HOUSE.= Elizabeth Wetherell.
+
+11. =FAIRY TALES FROM AFAR.= From the Danish, translated by Jane
+ Mulley.
+
+12. =OPENING A CHESTNUT BURR.= E. P. Roe.
+
+13. =STEPPING HEAVENWARD.= Mrs. E. Prentiss.
+
+14. =HELEN'S BABIES AND SEQUEL.= J. K. Habberton.
+
+15. =ROBINSON CRUSOE.= Daniel Defoe.
+
+16. =THE LAMPLIGHTER.= M. S. Cummins.
+
+17. =ROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS.= Jules Verne.
+
+18. =ADVENTURES IN SOUTH AFRICA.= Jules Verne.
+
+
+Messrs. HUTCHINSON & CO., LONDON.
+
+
+
+
+The "Victory" Series
+
+OF GIFT AND PRIZE BOOKS
+
+_In large crown 8vo, handsome cloth gilt, and full gilt edges._
+
+With Illustrations printed on plate paper, =5s.=
+
+
+1. =From Middy to Admiral of the Fleet.= Being the Story of Commodore
+ Anson. By DR. MACAULAY.
+
+2. =From Poverty to the Presidency.= Being the Story of General Andrew
+ Jackson. By OLIVER DYER.
+
+3. =The Adventures of Leonard Vane.= An African Story. By E. J. BOWEN.
+
+4. =The Emperor's Englishman.= By FRED WISHAW.
+
+5. =King for a Summer.= By EDGAR PICKERING.
+
+6. =Golden Gwendolyn.= By EVELYN EVERETT-GREEN.
+
+7. =Through Pain to Peace.= By SARAH DOUDNEY.
+
+8. =Namesakes.= By EVELYN EVERETT-GREEN.
+
+9. =Where Two Ways Meet.= By SARAH DOUDNEY.
+
+10. =Godiva Durleigh.= By SARAH DOUDNEY.
+
+11. =Dare Lorimer's Heritage.= By EVELYN EVERETT-GREEN.
+
+12. =The House of Elmore.= By F. W. ROBINSON.
+
+13. =Hooks of Steel.= By HELEN PROTHEROE LEWIS.
+
+14. =Miss Marjorie of Silvermead.= By EVELYN EVERETT-GREEN.
+
+15. =Olivia's Experiment.= By EVELYN EVERETT-GREEN.
+
+16. =Owen, a Waif.= By F. W. ROBINSON.
+
+
+Messrs. HUTCHINSON & CO., LONDON.
+
+
+
+
+The Boys' Golden Library
+
+_In crown 8vo, very handsomely bound in cloth, bevelled boards, richly
+gilt, and full gilt edges._
+
+With Illustrations printed on Plate Paper, =3s. 6d.=
+
+
+1. =The Desert Ship.= By J. BLONNDELLE BURTON.
+
+2. =The Little Marine; or the Land of the Rising Sun.= By FLORENCE
+ MARRYAT.
+
+3. =The Warriors of the Crescent.= By W. H. DAVENPORT ADAMS.
+
+4. =Pictures from Roman Life and Story.= By Professor A. J. CHURCH.
+
+5. =Up North in a Whaler.= By EDWARD A. RAND.
+
+6. =Pictures from Greek Life and Story.= By Professor A. J. CHURCH.
+
+7. =Robinson Crusoe.= By DANIEL DEFOE.
+
+8. =Our Clerk from Barkton.= By EDWARD A. RAND.
+
+9. =After Sedgemoor.= By EDGAR PICKERING.
+
+10. =The Cruise of the Crystal Boat.= By DR. GORDON STABLES, R.N.
+
+11. =The Oracle of Baal.= By A. PROVAND WEBSTER.
+
+
+Messrs. HUTCHINSON & CO., LONDON.
+
+
+
+
+The Girls' Golden Library
+
+_In crown 8vo, very handsomely bound in cloth, bevelled boards, richly
+gilt, and full gilt edges._
+
+With Illustrations printed on Plate Paper, =3s. 6d.=
+
+
+1. =A SINGER FROM THE SEA.= By Amelia E. Barr.
+2. =THE FAMILY DIFFICULTY.= By Sarah Doudney.
+3. =WINNIE TRAVERS.= By Anna E. Lisle.
+4. =THE MAID OF ORLEANS.= By W. H. Davenport Adams.
+5. =AMONG THE WELSH HILLS.= By M. C. Halifax.
+6. =SELF AND SELF-SACRIFICE.= By Anna E. Lisle.
+7. =A CHILD OF THE PRECINCT.= By Sarah Doudney.
+8. =THE WIDE, WIDE WORLD.= By E. Wetherell.
+9. =THE CLEVER MISS JANCY.= By Margaret Haycraft.
+10. =MISS PRINGLE'S PEARLS.= By Mrs. G. LinnA|us Banks.
+11. =THE LAMPLIGHTER.= By Maria S. Cummins.
+12. =NO HUMDRUM LIFE FOR ME.= By Mrs. J. Kent Spender.
+13. =A BUBBLE FORTUNE.= By Sarah Tytler.
+14. =LOVE FOR AN HOUR IS LOVE FOR EVER.= By Amelia E. Barr.
+15. =MY COUSIN FROM AUSTRALIA.= By Evelyn Everett-Green.
+16. =A STEPMOTHER'S TRAGEDY.= By Evelyn Everett-Green.
+17. =LITTLE CAMP ON EAGLE HILL, &c.= By E. Wetherell.
+18. =THREE COMELY MAIDS.= By M. L. Pendered.
+19. =A KNIGHT OF THE NETS.= By Amelia E. Barr.
+
+
+Messrs. HUTCHINSON & CO., LONDON.
+
+
+
+
+SOME CHARMING 'FAIRY' BOOKS
+
+By HELEN BROADBENT
+
+
+With 72 Beautiful Illustrations by W. T. WHITEHEAD
+
+The Dew Babies
+
+_In cloth, richly gilt, and gilt edges, =6s.=_
+
+ "One of the best modern fairy tales we have met for a long
+ time."--_Church Times._
+
+ "Not only has Miss Broadbent told the most enchanting of stories,
+ but W. T. Whitehead has embellished them with a host of such
+ pictures that merely seeing them compels one to read the
+ tale."--_Liverpool Post._
+
+
+With 78 Beautiful Illustrations by H. R. MILLAR
+
+The Ruby Fairy Book
+
+_A large handsome volume, richly cloth gilt and gilt edges, =6s.=_
+
+The Fairy Tales included in this Volume comprise Stories by--
+
+JULES LE MAITRE
+J. WENZIG
+F. C. YOUNGER
+CANNING WILLIAMS
+T. R. EDWARDS
+FLORA SCHMALS
+LUIGI CAPUANI
+JOHN C. WINDER
+DANIEL RICHE, ETC.
+
+
+With 83 Original Illustrations by H. R. MILLAR
+
+The Diamond Fairy Book
+
+_In handsome cloth gilt and gilt edges, =6s.=_
+
+ "'The Diamond Fairy Book' is the daintiest and most fascinating of
+ its kind we have seen for a very long time."--_The Lady._
+
+
+London: HUTCHINSON & CO., Paternoster Row
+
+
+_SOME CHARMING "FAIRY" BOOKS--contd._
+
+
+With 84 Original Illustrations by H. R. MILLAR
+
+The Silver Fairy Book
+
+_In handsome cloth binding, silver edges, =6s.=_
+
+ "'The Silver Fairy Book' is, both from the interesting nature of
+ the stories and the excellence of the illustrations, likely to be
+ one of the most popular among young people, and indeed, among all
+ who still retain a fondness for fairy stories. The greater portion
+ of them will be entirely new to English readers, and may be said to
+ depart altogether from beaten paths."--_Standard._
+
+
+With 111 Original Illustrations by H. R. MILLAR
+
+The Golden Fairy Book
+
+_In handsome cloth gilt, gilt edges, =6s.=_
+
+ "An excellent collection of charming tales by famous authors. The
+ volume is prettily bound, and excellently printed with a profusion
+ of illustrations."--_Times._
+
+
+An Important and Unique Work
+
+Edited by ROGER INGPEN
+
+One Thousand Poems for Children
+
+A COLLECTION OF THE BEST VERSES OLD & NEW
+
+_In crown 8vo, cloth gilt, =6s.=_
+
+_With Illustrations printed on Plate Paper_
+
+
+London: HUTCHINSON & CO., Paternoster Row
+
+
+
+
+ Transcriber's Notes
+
+ Italicised text is surrounded by _underscores_.
+
+ Bold text is surrounded by =equals= signs.
+
+ Both M. d'Obsonville and M. D'Obsonville occur on page 99.
+
+ A number of typographical errors were corrected in the text.
+
+ +----+-------------+------------+--------------------------------+
+ |Page| Original |Corrected to| Context |
+ +----+-------------+------------+--------------------------------+
+ | 34|appearence |appearance |of singular appearance |
+ | 42|mammel |mammal |the smallest living mammal |
+ | 46|suddently |suddenly |he came suddenly on a lion |
+ | 71|desease |disease |specific against cattle disease |
+ | 74|stic her dome|her domestic|warmth of her domestic hearth |
+ | 79|is |its |In its pure state |
+ | 79|its |is |perfume is agreeable |
+ | 87|inhabitated |inhabited |proximity to inhabited dwellings|
+ | 114|canis |Canis |Canis domesticus |
+ | 125|formally |formerly |less needed now than formerly |
+ | 188|Hippotamus |Hippopotamus|The Hippopotamus is gregarious |
+ | 249|if |of |one of the most |
+ | 255|acccording |according |according to Mrs. Bowdich |
+ | 354|vocacious |voracious |They are extremely voracious |
+ | 362|appropiate |appropriate |It will attack, and appropriate |
+ +----+-------------+------------+--------------------------------+
+
+
+ Some words occur with and without hyphenation in the text.
+
+ +--------------+---------+-------------+---------+
+ | Hyphenated |Instances|Unhyphenated |Instances|
+ +--------------+---------+-------------+---------+
+ |bed-room | 1 |bedroom | 5 |
+ |blood-hound | 1 |bloodhound | 3 |
+ |Blood-hound | 1 |Bloodhound | 6 |
+ |cat-like | 2 |catlike | 2 |
+ |eye-witness | 2 |eyewitness | 1 |
+ |farm-house | 1 |farmhouse | 1 |
+ |fore-feet | 2 |forefeet | 1 |
+ |fore-noon | 1 |forenoon | 2 |
+ |fore-paw | 1 |forepaw | 1 |
+ |fore-paws | 2 |forepaws | 1 |
+ |Fox-hound | 3 |Foxhound | 1 |
+ |fox-hound | 2 |foxhound | 1 |
+ |Goat-sucker | 1 |Goatsucker | 1 |
+ |gun-shot | 1 |gunshot | 1 |
+ |hedge-hog | 1 |hedgehog | 9 |
+ |hind-quarters | 1 |hindquarters | 1 |
+ |mid-day | 2 |midday | 1 |
+ |off-spring | 1 |offspring | 10 |
+ |re-discovered | 1 |rediscovered | 1 |
+ |road-side | 2 |roadside | 2 |
+ |sand-banks | 1 |sandbanks | 1 |
+ |sea-side | 1 |seaside | 1 |
+ |tortoise-shell| 1 |tortoiseshell| 1 |
+ +--------------+---------+-------------+---------+
+
+
+ Some words occur with and without ligatures in the text.
+
+ +----------+---------+-----------+---------+
+ | Ligature |Instances|No Ligature|Instances|
+ +----------+---------+-----------+---------+
+ |Cebidae | 1 |CebidA| | 7 |
+ |Corvidae | 1 |CorvidA| | 1 |
+ |Cotingidae| 1 |CotingidA| | 1 |
+ +----------+---------+-----------+---------+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Natural History in Anecdote, by Various
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NATURAL HISTORY IN ANECDOTE ***
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