• FfJ
Mammalia
THEIR VARIOUS FORMS AND HABITS.
POPULARLY ILLUSTRATED BY TYPICAL SPECIES.
ADAPTED FROM THE TEXT OF
LOUIS FIGUIER, ^
BY
E. PERCEVAL WRIGHT, M.D., F.L.S.
M.R.I.A., F.R.C.S.I., F.L.S., COR. M.Z.S. LONDON, ETC. ETC.;
Professor of Botany in the University of Dublin,
i[it^ jtptmtrtt$ xif 260 ^ttgrnumj^.
THIRD EDITION.
Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co.
LONDON, PARIS &- NEW YORK.
1883.
BOSTON COLLEGE tlBRMfClf
CHESTNUT HiLU MAJ»Sw
57719
PREFACE,
In the present Revised Edition of the English translation of
M. Figuier's Popular History of Mammals all the footnotes
of the previous edition have been incorporated, and, where
necessary, the text has been altered so as to make it har-
monise with these notes, some few of which, there is reason
to believe, were written by the late well-known zoologist,
E. Blyth. I have also not hesitated to omit some sentences
that conveyed ideas now known to be inaccurate.
The Work being a compilation from many sources, could
scarcely fail to exhibit originally rather a patchwork ap-
pearance. I have endeavoured to blend it somewhat more
thoroughly than was done in the First Edition, but in
many instances have found it difficult to satisfactorily attain
the end I aimed at.
If the portions of this Work treating of our Domesticated
Mammals appear to give considerable prominence to foreign
breeds and customs, it will be remembered that the Work
is that of a French author, who naturally has regarded these
subjects from a continental point of view.
E. P. W.
Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive
in 2010 witii funding from
Boston Library Consortium IVIember Libraries
http://www.archive.org/details/mammaliatheirvarOOfigu
CONTENTS.
PAGE
FACll
Introductory • «
I
Pachydermata.
Elephas .
. 112
MONOTREMATA.
Mastodon .
. 130
Ornithorhynchus , ^
, lO
Hippopotamus .
. 130
Echidna . . «
. 12
Rhinoceros .
• 135
Rhinaster • •
. 152
Marsupialia.
Hyrax.
. . 156
Phascolomys •
. 18
Tapirus • •
. . 158
Macropus. . *
. 18
Sus . . • .
. 160
Hypsiprymnus •
22
Dicotyles ,
. 176
Dendrolagus .
• 22
Phacochaerus
. 176
Phalangista . • ,
. 23
Equus . •
. 17V
Phascolarctus . .
. 23
Ruminantia.
Cuscus . . . .
. 24
Camelus , •
. 226
Perameles . . .
Didelphys . ,
Cheironectes . .
Thylacinus . . ,
. 25
. 25
. 25
. 27
Auchenia .
Camelopardalis .
Rupicapra .
Gazella
. 232
. 239
. 248
. 251
. 256
Dasyurus . .
Myrmecobius . ,
. . 28
. . 29
Saiga .
Boselaphus . .
Cetacea.
Balasna
' ' H
Catoblepas .
Capra .
Ovis . . .
. . 257
. 259
. 26^
Balaenoptera
. . 58
Bison .
. 281
Physeter .
' • P^
Ovibos .
. 282
Delphinus .
. 68
Bos .
. . 285
. 300
• 305
Phocaena .
Monodon , .
. 73
. 75
Rangifer
Alces .
Beluga
• . 81
Cervus
. 308
Megaptera .
. 88
Dama .
. 314
Siren lA.
Capreolus .
Moschus . . 1
. 314
. 117
Manatus • • .
. 92
♦J /
Halicore
• 93
Edentata.
Rhytina
. 94
Bradypus .
. . 322
Choloepus .
. 324
PiNNIPEDIA.
Dasypus
. 324
Trichechus .
. 99
Orycteropus
. . 326
Phoca.
. 104
Chlamydophorus .
. . 327
Cystophora .
. Ill
Myrmecophaga ,
. . 327
Otaria.
. Ill
Manis . . •
. . 328
VI
CONTENTS.
PAGE
1
PAGE
Carnivora.
RODENTIA.
Mustelida,
Lutra .
Psammorydida.
. . 333
Ctenomys .
. 461
Enhydra . ,
■H /r . 1
. 334
Capromys .
. 461
Musteia
Martes
: : ii
Aulacodus .
. 461
Gulo .
Hystricidce.
Mephitis
Meles .
. 340
. 342
• 343
Hystrix
Atherura .
. 461
. 463
Mellivora .
Cercolabes .
. 464
HycsnidcB.
Erethizon .
. 464
Hyena
• 343
Cavidce.
Proteles
• 347
Hydrochserus , .
. 465
Felidce.
Cavia.
. 466
Felis .
. . 348
Caelogenys .
468
CanidcB.
Dasyprocta . . ,
. 469
Canis . . ,
• 393
Castoridce.
Viverridce,
Castor
. 470
Herpestes . ,
. 422
Myopotamus . .
. 477
Galidia . .
• 423
Sduridcz.
Viverra
. 423
Sciurus , , . ,
. 477
Genetta . ,
, 424
Pteromys .
. 481
Paradoxurus
. 425
Anomalurus
. 482
Cynogale .
. 425
Tamias
. 483
Ursida.
Spermophilus
. 483
Nasua
. 426
Arctomys . . .
. 483
Procyon
. 427
LeporidcB.
Cercoleptes .
. . 428
Lepus
. 487
Ursus .
. 430
Lagomys ,
498
K-ODENTIA.
Muridce.
Insectivora.
Mus .
. 4'^Q
Talpa . . .
. 501
Arvicola
. 444
. 447
• • 449
Condylura . . .
. 507
Myodes
Scalops
507
Fiber .
Chrysochloris
507
Cricetus ,
• 450
. 452
• 454
• 454
Sorex.
508
Myoxus , ,
Meriones .
Solenodon . . ,
Macroscelides
510
510
Spalax
Rhynchocyon
511
Bathyergus .
. 455
Myogale . . . .
511
Rhizomys .
Dipus .
. 455
. 455
. 456
• 457
Erinaceus .
Centetes . . .
5"
515
Pedetes
Gymnura .
516
Saccomys .
Cladobates .
. 516
Geomys
• 457
Chinchillidce,
Cheiroptera.
Chinchilla .
• 457
Insectivora,
Lagotis
. 459
Vespertilio . . . .
522
Lagostomus
- 459
Dysopes
522
CONTENTS,
VU
PAGE
PAGE
Cheiroptera.
New World Monkeys, with Pre-
InsectivoTct.
hensile Tails.
Taphozous .
Noctilio
Rhinolophus
Nycteris
Megaderma
Rhinopoma
Phyllostoma
GJossophaga
. 523
. . 523
. 523
. 523
. 524
. 524
• 524
. 529
Mycetes
Lagothrix .
Eriodes
Ateles
Cebus
Callithrix .
Chrysothrix
Nyctipithecus
Pithecus
. 548
• 550
. 550
. 550
. 556
. 557
• 557
Friigivora.
Brachyurus .
• 559
Pteropus .
. 529
Old World Monkeys, with Non-
QUADRUMANA.
prehensile Tails.
Galeopithecus . c
- 533
Cynocephalus
. 560
Chiromys .
. 535
Inuus .
. . 567
Lemur . , ,
. 537
Macacus . ,
. 570
Propithecus
. 539
Cercocebus
. 571
Tarsius
. 540
Cercopithecus
. 571
Galago
• 541
Semnopithecus .
. . 574
Perodicticus
. 542
Hylobates . .
. 578
Stenops
. 543
Simla .
. . 581
Hapale
. 543
Troglodytes , ■
. 585
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
White Bears . . Frontispiece.
FIG.
PAGE
FIG.
PAGE
35-
Indian Rhinoceros
137
I. Duckbill
. II
36.
Two-homed African Rhino
2. Porcupine Ant-eater .
• 13
ceros
141
3. Common Wombat
• 17
37-
American Tapir .
157
4. Giant Kangaroo .
. 19
38-
Wild Boar .
161
5. Skeleton of the Sooty Kan
39-
Wild Boar at Bay
163
garoo
. 20
40.
Pigs eating Acorns
165
6. Kangaroo Rat, or Potoroo
. 22
41.
Craonnese Race .
169
7. Koala ....
• 23
42.
Perigord Race
170
8. Sooty Phalanger .
. 24
43-
Bressane Race
. 171
9. Female of Virginian Opos
44.
Berkshire Race .
172
sum, with her Young
. 26
45-
White-hpped Peccary .
176
10. Thylacin
27
46.
The Different Parts of the
II. Spotted Dasyure .
. 28
Body of the Horse .
183
12. Right Whale
33
47.
Dentition of the Adult Horse
185
13. Harpooning the Whale
• 45
48.
Dentition of the Horse at
14. Harpoon
• 47
„ „ „ 18 days
187
15. Devisme's Balle Foudroyantc
' 51
49.
M *> *, 3 years
187
16. American Harpoon Ball
• 51
50.
»» j> »> " »j
187
17. Fishing for the Whale wit!
1
51-
)> )> )> 9 f>
187
the Explosible Poisoned Bal
t 53
52.
>j j> »j 15 >>
188
18. Rorqual
58
SZ-
j> jj 55 3*^ »»
188
19. Cachalot
. 65
54-
Arab Horses
189
20. Dolphins
69
55-
English Race-horses
193
21. Porpoise
• 74
56.
Norman Horse .
197
22. Icelanders Fishing for Nar
57-
Breton Horse
199
whals
77
58.
Pyreneean Horse .
201
23. Manatee
93
59-
Russian Horse
203
24. Morses, or Walruses .
97
60.
German Horses .
205
25. A Massacre of Walruses
lOI
61.
Boulonais Horses .
206
26. Chasing Walruses
102
62.
Percheron Horses
207
27. Seals ....
105
63-
Shetland Ponies .
209
28. Seal Hunt .
107
64.
Domestic Ass
211
29. Esquimaux Watching for a
65.
Male and Female Ass .
215
Seal.
109
66.
Mules . .
216
30. Asiatic Elephants
117
67.
Equus hemionus .
217
31. Head of Asiatic Elephant
123
68.
Zebra
221
32. Head of the African Elephant
127
69.
Dauw, or Peetsi .
223
33. Mammoth .
130
70.
Four Stomachs of a Sheep .
225
34. Male and Female Hippopo-
71-
Camel's Head
226
tamus ....
131
72.
>> >» . . .
227
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIC\^.
IX
FIG.
PAGE
FIG.
73-
Algerian Camel .
. 229
121.
Roe Hunting
74.
A Caravan in the Desert of
122.
Napu, or Pigmy Musk Deer .
Sahara
• 233
123.
Sloth, or Ai . . .
75-
Camel Drivers of Sahara . 235
124.
Armadillos . . . .
76.
Camel of Touareg equipped
125.
Great Ant-eater, or Ant Bear
for War .
• 237
126.
Short-tailed Pangolin .
77-
Llama .
. 239
127.
European Otter .
78.
Paca .
. 240
128.
Polecats . . . .
79.
Vacuna attacked by a Cougar 241
129.
Ermines . . . .
80.
Giraffe, or Camelopard
• 243
130.
Ferret
81.
Chamois
. 247
131-
Beech, or Stone Marten
82.
Hunting the Gazelle ,
. 249
132.
Wolverine, or Glutton .
83.
Tartary Saiga
. 252
133-
Common Badger .
84.
Koodoo
. 253
134-
Hyenas in a Graveyard
85.
Nyl-ghaie
. .256
135-
The Lion . . . .
86.
Gnu .
. 257
136.
Dr. Livingstone .
87.
Bubale
. . 258
137-
Persian, or Arabian Lion
88.
Common Ibex
. . 259
138.
Royal Tiger
89.
Common Goat
. 260
139-
Leopard . . . .
90.
Cashmere Goat .
. 261
140.
Mons. Bombonnel
91.
Angora Goats •
. 262
141.
A Midnight Duel .
92.
Thibet Argali
. 263
142.
Ounce
93.
Kebsch
. 264
143-
Wildcat . . . .
94.
A Flock of Sheep
. 267
144.
Domestic Cat
95-
Leicester Race
. 270
145-
Juguar
96.
Cotswold Breed .
. 271
146.
Puma
97-
Welsh Breed
. 271
147.
European Lynx . ' .
98.
Touareg Breed
. 272
148.
Cara9al . . . .
99.
Southdown Sheep
. 273
149.
Common Fox
100.
Merino Sheep of Rambc
millet 273
150.
Jackals . . . . .
lOI.
Merino Breed of Mauch
amp . 276
151-
Wolves and Young
102.
Black Breed of the Lan
des . 276
152.
Wolf carrying off Sheep
103.
Breed of Larzac .
. 277
153-
Danish Dogs
104.
American Bison .
. 278
154-
Greyhound . . . .
105.
Musk Ox .
• 279
155-
Pyrenean Shepherd's Dog .
106.
Buffaloes pursuing the N
atives
156.
Esquimaux Dogs .
in a Forest of Central 1
\friea 283
157-
Land Spaniels
107.
Draught Oxen
.287
158.
Poodle
108.
Cows and Calf
. 291
159-
Havanese Dogs .
109.
Norman Bull
• 295
160.
Turnspits . . . .
no.
Breton Bull .
. 295
i6i.
Large French Water Spaniel .
III.
Bull of La Garonne
. 296
162.
Newfoundland Dogs
112.
Cow of Beam
. 296
163.
Gascony Hounds .
113-
,, Bazadois .
. 297
164.
Pointer
114.
Hungarian Oxen .
. 298
165.
Bull Dogs .
115-
Charolaise Bull • ,
. 298
166.
Bull Terriers
116.
Reindeer
. 301
167.
African Civet
117.
Elk, or Moose .
. 307
168.
Genet .
118.
Stag Hunt .
. 311
169.
Paradoxure .
119.
Sambur
' 315
170.
Coati-mondi .
120.
Fallow Deer
.316
171.
Common Racoon
A*
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS,
FIG.
172. Brown Bear .
PAGE
FIG. I
218. Common Mole .
173. Grizzly Bear .
434
219. Section of interior of a Mole-
174. White, or Polar Bear, at-
hill
tacking Seamen
435
220 Moletraps .
175. Malay Bear .
437
221. Water Shrew
1 76. Black Rat .
442
222. Elephant Shrew .
1 77. Brown, or Norway Rat
443
223. Pyrenean Desman
178. Common Mouse .
444
224. Hedgehog .
179. Harvest Mouse
445
225. Gymnure
180. Campagnol, or Short-tailec
226. Flying Foxes in a state of rest
Field Mouse
446
227. Head of a Long-eared Bat .
181. Lemming . . .
448
228. Vampires attacking Travellers
182. Musk Rat .
449
229. Spectre Vampire .
183. Hamster
451
230. Javelin Vampire .
184. Garden Dormouse
452
231. Flying Fox .
185. Jerboa Rat .
453
232. Colugo
186. Mole Rat .
454
233. Aye-Aye
187. Jerboa ....
455
234. Ring- tailed Lemur
188. Pouched Rat
457
235. White-footed Lemur
189. Chinchilla . . . .
458
236. Propithecus laniger
190. Lagotis . , . .
459
237. Propithecus diadema
191. Viscacha
460
238. Tarsier
192. Ctenomys Brasiliensis .
461
239. Moholi
193. Ground Pig .
462
240. Perodicticus potto
194. Porcupine
463
241. Common Marmoset
195. Brush-tailed Porcupine
464
242. Ursine Howlers .
196. Canadian Porcupine
465
243. Group of Spider Monkeys .
197. Capybara . . . .
466
244. A Descent upon a Plantation
198. Guinea Pigs .
467
245. The Sai ....
199. Sooty Paca .
468
246. Collared Squirrel Monkey .
100. Agouti ....
469
247. Bearded Saki
201. Beaver ....
471
248. Brachyurus ....
202. Beaver and its House .
474
249. A Mountain of Baboons
203. Coypou
476
250. Mandrills ....
204. European Squirrel
478
251. Baboon . . . .
205. American Flying Squirrel
480
252. Guinea Baboon .
206. Taguan
481
253. Magots . . . .
207. Anomalurus Frazeri
482
254. Rhesus
208. Striped, or Hood's Spermo
255. Bonnet Macaques .
philus
484
256. White-nosed Monkeys .
209. Common Marmot
485
257. Grivet
210. Hare ....
488
258. Probosis Monkey .
211. French Hare-hunting .
. 489
259. Crested, Golden, and Mitred
212. Hare-shooting in France
• 490
Semnopitheci .
213. Wild Rabbits
493
260. Entellus . .
214. Wild Rabbits and Young
• 494
261. Hoolocks . '. . .
215. Warren Rabbits .
. 496
262. Gorilla . .
216. Tame Rabbits
• 497
263. Gorilla attacking a Hunter .
217. Ferreting Rabbits in France
• 499
264. Chimpanzee .
•
Mammalia. o^m^lJ^^
INTRODUCTION.
The Mammalia constitute the highest and most important class of
those animals provided with an internal skeleton (Vertebrata).
They interest us more than the other classes, because they furnish us
not only with those animals which are most useful in supplying us with
food, but also with those which aid us in our labours, and provide us
with the raw material required for so many of our manufactures. A
land-inhabiting animal of this class is recognised at the first glance ;
for its characteristic marks are numerous. The marine groups of
Cetacea and Sirenia, however, supply rather marked exceptions, con-
sequent upon the adaptation of their form to exclusively aquatic habits.
Among the Vertebrata, these animals alone have, as their name
imports {mamfnce), teats, which are situated either on the breast, or
on the belly, or on both, and by means of which they suckle their
young. The number of teats, in some measure, corresponds with the
number of young which each animal bears.
The majority of the Mammalia are covered with hair. Some,
however, have smooth skins : as, for instance, the Whale and
Porpoise ', others, as the Pangolins {Manis\ are clad all over with
dermal scales, greatly larger but akin to those to be found on the tail
of the Common Rat or Beaver.
The size of the MammaHa varies extremely : the scale extending
from the Whale and the Elephant to the Mouse, and to the most
diminutive of the Shrews, which are considerably less than the very
smallest of Mice.
Although less brilliant than the feathers of Birds and the scales of
Fishes, the coats of the Mammalia offer to the eye very agreeable
shades of colour. But nothing varies more than the peculiar nature
of this coat. It is enough for us to remember, as a type of these
differences, the hair of Fallow Deer, the bristles of the wild Boar, the
prickles of Hedgehogs, the quills of Porcupines, the wool of the
domestic Sheep, and of the equally domestic Alpaca.
The colour of this same coat varies much less. The changes are
Dearly always from white to black, from reddish-brown to yellowish.
The brightest hues are found amongst the Monkeys and the Bats.
2 MAMMALIA.
As a general rule, the hair of the MammaUa falls off about spring
or autumn, and is then replaced by new hair ; this is what is called
the shedding of the coat, which in some species takes place twice in
the year. The scales, nails, horns, flakes of baleen (or so-called
whalebone), which certain Mammalia have, may be regarded as so
many different forms of tegumentary appendages of the same nature
as hair.
The general form of the body of Mammalia is determined by the
shape of their bony skeleton.
The form of the skull varies exceedingly among the Mammalia.
Some have on the head or on the nose certain horn-like
appendages. These appendages are sometimes merely the result
of a very close conjunction of the roots of the hair, and are thus
appendages to the skin ; such is the case with the horn or horns upon
the face of the Rhinoceros. In other cases, the horns are placed on
the skull itself, and are appendages to the skeleton, though covered
by the skin. All the animals provided with true horns are comprised
in the natural order of Ruminantia.
When these appendages fall off every year, and are then renewed,
they are called antlers, as in the case of the Stag. When they are
hollow, investing a bony core, and are never renewed, they are called
horns. These are found on the Ox, the Sheep, the Goat, &c.
Both horns and antlers vary a great deal in their shape.
Some Mammals present a singular anomaly in the development of
the nose. In the Elephant we find this organ considerably elongated,
and forming a trunk, which is used for prehension. At other times,
this organ is partly prehensile though less elongated, as in the case
of the Tapir and of many insectivorous animals, some of which are
obliged to root up the earth in search of their food.
The limbs of the Mammalia vary in their forms according to
the uses which the animals have to make of them. Nearly all of
the Mammalia have four limbs. The Cetacea have no abdominal
limbs, and their anterior limbs are formed like fins or paddles for
swimming.
The organs of sense are generally well developed in this class of
animals. The sense of touch, which is almost wanting in some — as
the Horse and the Ox — because their extremities are covered by
hoofs, is very highly developed in Monkeys. With these animals
the arm is terminated by the hand, an organ of prehension, which
can, in a manner, mould itself on the objects it takes hold of, and
which imparts to the sense of touch an enhanced delicacy.
The organs of vision are, in general, more developed ni the
INTRODUCTION. ^
Mammalia that prowl by night, than in those which seek their
food by day. Some which, Hke the Moles, live underground, have
excessively small eyes, over which the skin is merely attenuated, there
being in certain species of Mole no visual aperture whatever.
Though very highly developed in carnivorous animals, the sense
of smell is generally less developed than in the other classes of
Mammalia. It is also acute in the Ruminantia and in the Solipedes.
The more timid and the weaker the animal the finer is its sense
of hearing. This sense, moreover, undergoes great variations in
the Mammalia. In aquatic Mammalia it is comparatively dull,
with some exceptions.
The sense of taste differs much, according as the Mammalia are
herbivorous, insectivorous, or carnivorous.
The muscular system is modified so as to suit the wants and
necessities of the animal.
The nervous system among the animals of this class only differs
by having certain of its anatomical elements more or less developed.
In general, the brain is voluminous, and increases in size in proportion
as the animal rises in the Mammalian scale.
The functions of nutrition are performed in the same manner in
nearly all the Mammalia j but the digestive organs vary a good deal
in the individuals forming the principal orders.
The upper orifice of the digestive tube, or the mouthy is mostly
provided with teeth, the form of which depends on the food upon
which the animal lives. The teeth are divided into incisors, cajiines^
and molars. The last-mentioned are the most useful. In the Carni-
vora, they are sharp, and arranged in such a manner as to act like
the blades of a pair of scissors. In the Herbivora, they are flat and
rough ish. In the Insectivora, they are armed with little points,
which fit into each other. The canine teeth, indispensable to the
Carnivora for tearing up their prey, assume sometimes a considerable
development, and form what are called tusks, as in the wild Boar
and some other animals. The tusks of the Elephant are nothing
else but the prolongation of the canine teeth, projecting from the
mouth. In some of the Whales the teeth are replaced by flexible
blades, furnished with hair, and fixed firmly to the jaw : these are
called the whalebone plates or baleen. Certain genera of Edentata
are almost toothless, as the Ant-eaters and the Pangolins, and some of
the Monotremata.
The upper maxillary bone, which forms the jaw, is immovable in
the Mammalia.
Whilst the aliments are undergoing mastication they are saturated
4 MAMMALIA,
with a liquid called saliva. The apparatus which furnishes this
liquid is composed of three ^2inA^— parotid, sub-lingual, and sub-
maxillary. The saliva varies in its amount according to the kind
of food which is taken. It is very little developed in the aquatic
Mammalia.
The deglutition is effected by the pharynx, and the oesophagus
serves as a conduit for conveying the food into the stomach.
Nearly all the Mammalia have but one stomach, but the
Ruminantia have four. In these latter the first and largest is called
the paunch; it occupies a great part of the abdomen. The food
stays there but a short time, passing thence into the bonnet (honey-
comb bag), or second stomach. This second stomach of the
Ruminantia is a Uttle cavity which is in front of the paunch, and
which receives from that reservoir the alimentary matter. After
being here mixed with the macerating juices, it is sent back again to
the oesophagus, and thence to the mouth, in order that it may undergo
a second mastication. The food now descends into the third
stomach, which has received the name oi feuillet, or /(?^/ (many-pHes),
on account of the broad longitudinal folds with which itis lined in the
interior, and then into the fourth cavity, which is the true stomach,
which has received the name of caillette, or rennet-bag, because
it has the property (on account of the gastric juice which its surface
secretes) of causing milk to coagulate. The first three stomachs, the
paunch, the honeycomb bag, and the many-plies, communicate with
the oesophagus, so as to allow the aliment to return easily into the
mouth.
From the rennet-bag the food, going through an opening called
the pylorus, passes into the intestines. There the alimentary mass
yields all its nutritious elements, and is then evacuated.
The length of the intestines varies in the Mammalia according to
the kind of food they eat. Thus, in the Carnivora, their length is
only three or four times as much as the length of the animal's body;
while in the Herbivora the intestines are from twelve to twenty-eight
times its length. In the domestic Cat the intestines are propor-
tionately longer than in any of its wild congeners, having thus
gradually become adapted (in a long series of generations) to a less
exclusively carnivorous regimen.
The apparatus for the circulation of the blood has for its central
organ the heart — a hollow muscle, composed of four cavities : two
auricles and two ventricles. In all Mammalia there is a double
circulation of the blood ; there exists a great and a little circula-
tion. The venous blood which comes from all parts of the body
INTRODUCTION. 5
into the right auricle of the heart, conveyed by the hollow veins,
passes first into the right ventricle, which sends it through the pul-
monary artery to the lungs. There it is transformed into arterial
blood — that is to say, it absorbs the oxygen of the air, and then it
returns to the left auricle by the pulmonary veins. Thence it passes
into the left ventricle of the heart, and discharges itself into the
artery called the aorta, and thence into the other arteries, which dis-
tribute it throughout the whole body. The blood then comes back
from all parts of the animal's body into the right auricle of the heart
by the veins — consequent upon the general capillary communication
which is estabhshed between the veins and arteries in the immediate
vicinity of the tissues.
The respiratory apparatus occupies, in Mammalia, the upper part
of the bony framework formed by the ribs and the steimum — or breast-
bone— i.e., the thorax. This apparatus is composed of lungs — double
organs suspended to the two sides of the chest — and of the tube
called the windpipe, which puts the lungs in communication with
the external air. The windpipe is a cylindrical membranous tube,
at first single, and which then separates into two parts, called the
bronchial tubes, which soon lose themselves in an infinite number of
little ramifications in the midst of the substance of the lung. The
ramifications of the bronchial tubes may be compared, in their form,
to the roots of a tree. The lining of the ramifications of the bronchial
tubes is formed of a membrane of a loose texture, permeable to the
air, and which allows it to pass freely into all the cells of the pul-
monary tissue. It is in this tissue that the capillary vessels, which
are to extend as far as the pulmonary veins, come and are lost ; aiid
it is here that the venous blood finds itself exposed to the action of
the oxygen, which modifies its nature, and transforms it into
arterial blood.
The mechanism of respiration is in great measure effected by the
alternate movements of the diaphragm, and of the walls of the thoracic
cavity.
The diaphragm is a flat muscle, which separates the cavity of the
abdomen from that of the chest. It is fixed, on one side, to the
vertebral column, and on the other, to the base of the bony frame-
work formed by the sternum and the ribs. When it contracts, it
diminishes the transverse diameter of the chest, by increasing its
antero-posterior diameter ; then, and by the effect of the atmospheric
pressure, the air precipitates itself into the lungs by the mouth or
by the nostrils, and by following the course of the bronchial tubes
penetrates into the pulmonary cells.. Such, is the phenomenon of
6 MAMMALIA.
inspiration. Then the diaphragm becomes relaxed, the ribs and the
pulmonary cells, by their own elasticity, return to their original
positions, and drive out the gas with which they were filled. This
phenomenon is called expiration. During the sojourn of the air in
the ramifications of the lung, the oxygen of the air inspired is com-
bined with the elements of the blood, in such a manner that the
composition of the air which issues from the lungs is very different
from that of the air inspired. The air driven out of the lungs during
the expiration contains less oxygen, and is loaded with a consider-
able quantity of carbonic acid gas, the oxygen of the air combining
with the rejected carbon which is conveyed by the venous blood into
the lungs.
The respiratory movements vary much in their frequency according
to the medium in which the Mammalia live, and according to their
size and strength.
Of all animals, the Mammalia are those which show the greatest
intelligence ; but this intelligence varies much in different animals.
It is, above all, manifested by them in their efforts for self-pre-
servation, in the search for food, and in the reproduction of their
species. This faculty shows itself equally in many other instances,
which we shall have to point out in detail in the sequel of this
volume.
Nature has provided with admirable care and in an infinite
number of ways for ''.U the wants of the Mammalia. To the animal
of a mild and peaceable character, to which fighting and struggling
against too redoubtable adversaries is forbidden, she has provided the
means of avoiding and escaping from its enemies. Some are marvel-
lously organised for running, as the Hare and the Gazelle. Others
hide themselves in subterranean retreats, which serve them at the
same time as barns, in which to preserve their provisions against the
winter : such are the Rat, the Marmot, &c. Others, like the Arma-
dillo, present to their adversaries an invulnerable cuirass. Some,
erecting their bristles, as the Porcupine, present to the enemy a forest
of spikes. There is not one animal, however weak it may be, which
has not its artifices and means of defence against its most terrible
enemies. If it were otherwise, all of the more feeble creatures would
have been long since exterminated.
Man has reduced to a state of domestication, and has subjugated
to his will, so as to make of them useful assistants to his labours,
sundry races of Mammalia. In the state of domesticity the animal
undergoes a physical transformation, and its descendants become
still more modified. We shall have to note particularly both the
INTRODUCTION. ^
manners and habits of domestic animals. The classification of
the Mammalia which will be followed in this work is based on that
of Cuvier, modified by the discoveries and observations of subsequent
naturaHsts.
We shall begin with those singular beings which hold the lowest
rank among the Mammalia, which De Blainville rightly made a
separate order, under the name of Monotremata. We shall then
study the Marsupials, whose young, instead of being born in the
perfect state, as with the rest of the MammaHa, come into the
world, if we may use the expression, unfinished, and are kept by the
mother in a special pouch, or marsupium, until their more complete
development is attained ; an anomaly of organisation which is quite
peculiar to them.
After this order of Mammalia will come orders which also pre-
sent considerable anomalies of organisation — we mean the marine
Mammalia, or Cetacea and Sirenia. The Cetacea are different from
the majority of the Mammalia, in that they are nearly all aquatic, and
that in the Whale, the Cachalot {Fhyseter), &c., the upper and lower
limbs are modified in such a manner as to remind one in no
respect of the disposition of these members in other MammaHa. All
of these singularities of structure justify us in giving them the place
we do in the order of distribution, which is founded on the increasing
state of perfection of their organisation.
After the marine Mammalia we place the Pinnipedia, then the
Pachydermata and Ruminantia, Mammalia of a more regular organisa-
tion, but which are yet far from realising all the peculiarities of the
structure of the superior Mammalia : as they are so far wanting in
the sense of touch, that the principal organ of this sense, that is to
say the extremity of the limbs, is often partly enclosed in a horny
casing, called the hoof.
With the Pachydermata and the Ruminantia we enter into a plan
of organic structure already brought to a state of high perfection, and
this character is still more marked as we advance in the study of the
rest of the Mammalia. The Edentata are those singular creatures
designated by the name of Sloths {Bradypus) and Armadillos (Dasy-
piis), whose characteristic is the absence of the incisor teeth, and
which sometimes have their bodies covered with scaly plates. And
these are followed by the Carnivora, ' the Rodentia, the Insectivora,
and the Cheiroptera.
The last order of Mammalia, the Quadrumana, contains creatures
superior, by their organisation, to the rest of the animals which we
have just passed in review. They are provided, indeed, for the most
8 MAMMALIA,
part, with an organ of prehension and of touch, which is wanting in
other animals ; they have a hand, and this character accompanies a
degree of intelHgence higher than is generally found in the other
orders of Mammalia.
The Quadrumana constitute the last step on the ladder of the
animal series. With them the animals culminate, and after them, in
the order of creation, comes man alone, a superior being whom we
nevertheless must physically compare with the rest of the animal
creation.
The following table sums up the classification of the Mammalia
which will be followed in this work : —
1st Order, Monotremata.
2nd
t)
Marsupialia.
3rd
>»
Cetacea.
4th
SiRENIA.
5th
j>
PiNNIPEDIA.
6ih
a
Pachyderm ATA.
7th
RUMINANTIA.
8th
?j
Edentata.
9rh
>>
Carnivora.
loth
j>
RODENTIA.
nth
))
Insectivora.
1 2th
ft
Cheiroptera.
13th
9>
Quadrumana.
^ ORDER OF MONOTREMATA.
'* Natura non facit saltum " was a dictum of Linngeus, which means
that there exist between all living beings gradations and transitions,
which render a rigorously exact classification very difficult, and some-
times impossible. It has been said that " Nature makes transitions,
Naturalists make divisions.'' For, in fact, there do not exist in
organised beings such accurately-marked divisions as naturalists have
invented for facilitating their studies. All is connected and linked
together in creation. Creatures pass insensibly, without fits or
starts, from the simplest to the most complex organisation ; from the
rudest to the most advanced. Nature arranges these transitions
with infinite art ; she softens down, by intermediate tints, the crudity
which might result from the contrast of very different colours. All
the parts of the grand work are thus blended together with a sublime
harmony, which fills the soul of the observer with a well-merited
admiration. It would be very wrong to suppose, however, that in
the existent condition of the animal kingdom there is a complete
gradation of all forms of life. Many indeed are the missing links.
In the Monotremata, as in birds, the secretion of the kidneys and
the residuum of the food after digestion are discharged into the
same orifice. The name Monotremata, given them by M. Geoffroy
Saint-Hilaire, well expresses this pecuHarity of their organisation :
it signifies one single orifice (/wdvos, "single," "alone;" 'rp^\^la, "an
orifice").
The Ornithorhynchus, one of the Monotremata, resembles a bird
again in the shape of its mouth, which terminates in a sort of horny
beak, of a rather singular form. It has, moreover, a distinct furcular
bone in addition to gi'eatly developed coracoid bones and its sternal
ribs are ossified.
They are, however, true Mammalia. They have mamm^ (very
rudimentary) indeed which secrete a milky fluid, destined to nourish
their young. These glands do not form externally visible udders,
and are consequently scarcely noticeable, which explains how,
for a long time, there were some who denied their existence. The
Monotremata are provided with four unguiculate4- limbs ; their bodies^
lO MAMMALIA.
are covered with hair, and they have marsupial bones, like the aniraals
which compose the second order of MammaHa, although these bones,
in their case, do not support the pouch which is the distinguishing
feature of the latter.
Much discussion has taken place on the question as to whether
the Monotremata are oviparous or viviparous. It has been well
proved now that they give birth to their young alive ; but it cannot
be doubted that their mode of gestation differs greatly from that of
the ordinary viviparous animals. Most naturalists agree in thinking
that in this respect they must resemble the ovo-viviparous Vertebrata,
that is to say, those in which the ovum is hatched in the mother's
body, by interior and direct incubation. Such are the Viper among
reptiles, and among fishes some of the Ray and Shark tribe.
Only two genera of Monotremata are at present known : viz., the
Duckbill {Ornithorhynchiis) and the Porcupine Ant-eater {Echidna).
The discovery of these strange animals dates back only as far as
the year 1722. The Ornithorhynchus and the Echidna inhabit
exclusively Tasmania (or Van Diemen's Land) and AustraHa, that
country so remarkable for the singularity of its fauna, and in which
seem to be preserved the botanical and zoological types and creations
belonging to very ancient periods of our globe.
Ornithorhynchus. — The Ornithorhynchus (" bird's beak," from
tpvis, "a bird,"and ptyxo^' "beak") is an animal organised for aquatic life.
Its feet have each five toes, terminated by stout nails. The front feet
are completely palmated or webbed, and the interdigital membrane is
very highly developed, for it extends beyond the nails. The tail is
broad, of middling length, and flattened on its lower surface, to
facilitate swimming. The beak is flattened, and is not much unlike
that of a Swan or Duck. Two great horny excrescences, placed on
each jaw, represent the molar teeth. The coat is pretty thick, and is
of a brown colour, more or less tinged with russet.
In the males, the heels of the posterior limbs are each armed
with a spur or claw, pierced with a hole at its extremity. Through
this spur can be discharged, at the will of the animal, a liquid, secreted
by a gland which is situated on the inner side of the thigh, and with
which the spur communicates by a broad subcutaneous conduit.
Various conjectures have been made as to the part that this spur and
the liquid with which it is furnished have to play. It was thought for
a long time that they constituted their offensive and defensive weapons,
and that the secretion was venemous, like that of the fangs of certain
Snakes. What apparently gave rise to this idea, was the story of an
THE DUCKBILL.
II
accident which had happened to a sportsman who was pricked by the
spur of an Ornithorhynchus, a story which was transmitted in 1817
to the Linnsean Society of London, by Sir John Jameson, then
residing in Austraha. It was said that the hunter's arm swelled up
immediately after he had received the wound, and that all the
Fig. I. — Duckbill {Ornithorhynchus paradoxus).
symptoms of poisoning by a venom analogous to that of Snakes
showed themselves. The evil at last yielded to external applications
of oil, and to the internal use of ammonia ; but it was more than
a month before the man recovered the entire use of his limbs. Many
modern travellers deny that the spur of the Ornithorhynchus is a
dangerous weapon ; some even affirm that the animal never uses it in
its defence. What M. J. Verreaux states is no doubt true. According
to that naturalist, the liquid secreted by the gland communicating
12 MAMMALIA,
with the spur has nothing venomous about it. The organ in question,
very much developed in the males, is quite rudimentary in the
females, and, in them, disappears entirely with age.
The Duckbill (Fig. i) inhabits the sides of the lakes and the banks
of the rivers of New Holland and Van Diemen's Land. They dig
burrows for themselves, and never leave them during the day. They
are not, however, absolutely nocturnal. When they have a family to
bring up — their increasing wants giving them fresh energy — they
bravely face the light of the sun. They swim almost as rapidly as a fish,
and run on land with no less facility ; only they are obliged to come
frequently to the surface of the water to breathe. They feed on
aquatic grubs, on mollusks, and on worms ; it is said that the mud
even can serve for their sustentation in default of other aliment. If
one tries to catch them, they endeavour to bite ; but their beak is too
weak to do one any harm. It is at the bottom of their burrow, in a
sort of nest formed of interlaced roots, that the females deposit their
little ones. M. J. Verreaux was the first who described the following
mode of suckling their young. It appears that the mother makes her
young ones follow her into the water, and that she diftuses her milk
around her; this liquid floats to the top of the water, and is
immediately sucked up by her young. This manner of proceeding,
which has no analogy in any other order of Mammalia, would suffice
in itself alone to make the Duckbill one of the most astonishing of
animals ; but from the structure of the mouth of the young Duckbill
it may be fairly conjectured that their nourishment is often also
imbibed after a more normal type.
This creature seems to accommodate itself to bondage very badly.
Mr. Bennett possessed two young ones, which he had taken himself
in a burrow; and although he had not removed them from their
native country, and bestowed upon them the most assiduous atten-
tions, he could not keep them alive : they died after five weeks of
captivity. "They were," says Mr. Bennett, "very froHcsome little
things, and played like kittens. They were very fond of dabbling
about in a dish filled with water and furnished with a tuft of grass ;
they slept a great deal, especially during the day. Their food
consisted of bread sopped in water, of hard-boiled eggs, and meat
chopped very fine."
Up to the present time only one species of Duckbill is known
— the Ornithorhynchus paradoxus — an animal of about the size of
a small Otter, which is called by the Australian colonists "the
River Mole." No living specimen has ever been brought to Europe.
Echidna. — The Porcupine Ant-eaters have squat, thick-set bodies,
THE PORCUPINE,
13
with short legs, the tail very short, the beak and tongue narrow and
elongated, the toes armed with nails for digging, the back covered
with prickles much thicker than those of the Hedgehog, intermingled
with bristly hairs (Fig. 2). The males have a spur, as in the Duckbill.
They inhabit sandy places, dig themselves burrows in the sand, and
Fig. 2. — Porcupine Knt-&3X&r: (^Echidna aacleata).
live on Ants, which they catch by projecting their tongue, covered
with a viscous fluid, into the dwellings of those insects. Hence
the name of Myrmecophaga (eaters of Ants), which was formerly
given to them before their structure was known, but which is now
restricted to the Ant-eaters proper of South America.
We possess but litde information respecting the habits of the
Echidna. Some of these animals have lived m captivity. They
remained during the greatest part <)f the time plunged in a sort of
14 MAMMALIA.
torpor, rolled up into a ball like the Hedgehog. They were not fierce,
and seemed to take a pleasure in being caressed. Messrs. Quoy and
Gaimard, who brought one of these animals over in their ship, the
Astrolabe, fed it on sugared liquids. One lived for about three years
in the London Zoological Gardens.
The Echidna aculeata is two or three times as large as the Euro-
pean Hedgehog. It is found on the mainland of Australia ; being
replaced in the island of Tasmania by a variety, the E. setosa, which
has comparatively few prickles and much close fur between them.
Some bones of a much larger extinct species have been discovered on
the mainland of South Australia.
"£^C-t-/' *^^ \^r.^'' tA-
ORDER OF MARSUPIALIA.
The Marsupials, called also Didelphes in Blainville's classification,
are characterised by the existence, on the anterior portion of the
pelvis, of two long, narrow, articulated, and movable bones, which
serve in the females, at least in the majority of the species, to support
a pouch, situated upon the abdomen, and called the marsupium, or
purse. These bones, which have taken the name of marsupial bones,
are not peculiar to the females ; they occur also in the males. The
animals which are provided with them constitute, therefore, a very
peculiar group among the Mammalia, especially as this modification
of the skeleton is connected in this order with a very peculiar mode
of generation.
In the Marsupials, the young, when they leave the uterus, are
not perfectly formed, as is the case with the rest of the MammaHa; but
they are prematurely expelled from thence, and attain their full develop-
ment in the abdominal pouch. Accordingly, there are two phases in
the gestation — the uterine gestation and the marsupial gestation; the
first relatively short, the second much longer. We thus find that
these animals have, as we may say, two births : the one coinciding
with their arrival in the marsupium ; the other with their departure
from this natural cradle, and their leaping into the outer world. The
duration of the gestation, considered in its two elements, varies
according to the species. In the larger Kangaroos the foetus is
introduced into the pouch on or about the thirty-eighth day after
fecundation, and it remains there for eight months.
From the experiments of the learned English anatomist, Professor
Owen, it appears that the mother herself places the young animal
in the pouch. She performs this operation in the following manner :
applying her two fore-paws with force to the sides of the pouch, she
drags these sides in opposite directions, so as to distend them and
enlarge the opening, as we do when we untie a small bag. She then
introduces her muzzle into the pouch, and lying on the ground, so as
to be in the most favourable position, she seizes the tiny cieature
with her lips, which thus passes through the first stage of its existence.
Then, without its ever using its limbs, she places it over one of her
l6 MAMMALIA,
mammae, which it would be powerless of itself to reach, and holds it
there till it has seized the teat. Arrived at this stage, the young one
has no further need of its mother's assistance ; it adheres firmly to the
teat, and cannot be separated from it unless some violence is used.
Nevertheless, its strength is not yet sufficient to render it capable of
self-sustentation ; that is to say, it is as yet incapable of sucking in the
milk by which it is to be nourished. To prevent the young one
wasting away and dying of starvation, the female mammae are provided
with a muscle, which, by contracting round the teat, causes the milk
to be injected into the young one's mouth. From what is stated
above, we see that an essential difference between the Marsupials and
the other Mammalia consists in the young of the former being sup-
ported by suckling at a much earlier period of their development than
is the case with the latter. The marsupial bones, and the marsupium
supported by these bones, are the consequences of this necessity.
During the second period of gestation the organisation of the
young animal is completed, and the new creature approaches more and
more to its perfect form and final state of development. In the
larger Kangaroos, the hair appears in the sixth month. From the
beginning of the eighth month the young Kangaroo puts its nose
frequently out of doors, that is to say, protrudes its head from the
marsupium, and, as a prelude to its approaching independent existence,
continues to nibble here and there the tender grass. At last it makes
its entrance into the world, and ventures a few timid jumps as it
follows its mother. It begins now to live on its own responsibility ;
but for some time it will return to its former hiding-place, either to
find there a place of refuge in case of danger, or by its mother's milk
to make up for the insufficiency of the nourishment which its weak
state has allowed it to secure. So one may see sucking at the same
time great young ones almost emancipated, and weak creatures the
produce of more recent litters, adhering to their respective mammae.
The female Marsupials always possess more mammae than the
number of young produced at each litter.
Nearly all the Marsupials belong exclusively to the Australian
region, where, moreover, very few other kinds of Mammalia are found.
A single genus, that of the true Opossums {Didelphis), inhabits America.
We may be said to find in this order a series of groups somewhat
parallel to those of the rest of the ordinary Mammalia — Insecti-
vora, Rodentia, Carnivora, Ruminantia, Quadrumana. Cuvier was not
mistaken, therefore, when he wrote, in 1829, in his "Regne Animal,"
" One should say that the Marsupials form a class apart, parallel to
that of the ordinary quadrupeds, and divisible into like orders.''
THE COMMON WOMBAT.
17
This opinion has been still further confirmed by the discovery of
fossil remains belonging to some species of great size, which must
have corresponded with our Pachydermata. Professor Owen and
others have made out some fossiUsed species of this order which were
considerably larger than a Horse.
Fig. 3. — Common Wombat {Phascolomys wombat).
The remains of Marsupials have been collected in the gypsum
strata near Paris, in Auvergne, and in England, so that in geological
times Europe also possessed Marsupial animals, and, perhaps, in
a very remote age, the Marsupials composed a very much more
numerous group than at present.
The most ancient of known Mammalia occur in the triassic forma-
tion ; others in the " dirt-bed " which underlies the lias. The Insecti-
vora, as well as the Marsupialia appear to have had representatives
1 8 MAMMALIA,
Sit those exceedingly remote geological eras. All hitherto discovered
were of diminutive size.
The order of Marsupialia is divided into five families, viz. : —
Rhizophaga, Poephaga, Carpophaga, Entomophaga, and Creatophaga.
Rhizophaga. — This family is represented by the genus Phas-
colomys. The Wombats are the representatives of the Rodentia
among the Marsupials. Like them, they are characterised by the
absence of the canine teeth, and the existence of an unoccupied space
between the incisors and the molars. Their toes, to the number of
five to the extremity of each limb, are provided with nails, suited
for digging.
There is only one genus in this family, and it contains three well-
determined species — the Common Wombat {Phascoloi7iys wombat^
Fig. 3), the Flat-nosed Wombat {P. platyrhinus), and the Broad-
fronted Wombat {P. latifrons). The bones of an extinct species
{P. magnus) have also been satisfactorily determined.
The Wombat is a thick-set dumpy animal, with no tail, broad
head, thick coat, and is a flat-footed walker. It has short ears and
middling-sized eyes. It burrows in the ground, and lives on vegetable
substances, especially roots. Of a mild but stupid character, it can
be easily tamed, and might be made very profitable, for its flesh is
good, and its fur, though coarse, might be turned to some account.
It would be worth while, then, to endeavour to acclimatise these
animals in Europe. They inhabit New Holland and Tasmania.
Their size is that of an ordinary Dog.
Poephaga are also called Syndactyla {aiv, " with " or " together,'*
Sa/cTuAos, "a finger or toe"), because they have the second and third
toes of the posterior members joined together under a common
skin as far as the nail. The number of toes varies, however, ac-
cording to the genera. The Syndactyles live on the ground or on
trees; the majority are herbivorous or frugivorous ; some feed on
insects. This family contain the genera : Macropus, Dendrolagus,
and Hypsiprymnus.
Macropus. — The most prominent characteristic of the Kangaroos
is the relative disproportion of their anterior and posterior limbs.
Whilst the former are short and weak, the latter are singularly long,
thick, and strong. Thence the name of Macropus ("large foot"), which
is given to this section of the Poephaga. The tail is long and
powerful, and constitutes a sort of fifth member, destined to facilitate
in the Kangaroos that mode of progression which is peculiar to them.
THE KANGAROO.
19
Fig. 5 very clearly exhibits the structure of the solid framework of
the ordinary Kangaroo ; it shows the disproportion which exists
between its anterior and posterior limbs, also the two bones called
marsupial. Very curiously, however, in one of the arboreal Kan-
garoos {Dendi'olagus ursimis) of New Guinea, the anterior limbs are
Fig. 4. — Giant Kangaroo [Mncrojl>us giganteiis).
even larger than the posterior ; and in another species {D. mustns),
inhabiting the same country, the fore and hind limbs are about equal ;
while in a third New Guinea species {Macroptis B7'imi) the fore
limbs are unusually large for an animal of this group.
According to circumstances, these animals walk or leap, and their
tail plays a great part in either case. In walking they first place their
four feet on the ground ; then, leaning on those which are in front
and on their tail, stretched out like a rigid bar, they raise their hinder
20
MAMMALIA.
parts, bringing up at the same time their two posterior close to their
two anterior legs, and moving the latter forward to begin again the same
manoeuvre, and so on repeatedly. One can understand that they
cannot move very quickly in this way, and so they have recourse to
another expedient when they are
pursued, or when the)^ want to leap
over any obstacle they find in their
road. The fore legs then remain
unemployed ; they hang idly along
the body. Squatting on its hind
legs, the tail stiff and leaning on
the ground like a prop, as it does
when the animal is walking, the
Kangaroo bounds, as if it were pro-
pelled forwards by a spring, and
alights a little farther on, where it
begins the same exercise over again,
and thus on, indefinitely, till it
chooses to stop. The larger species
of Kangaroo clear as much as ten
metres in length'' in a single bound,
and can jump from two to three
metres in height. Nothing is more
curious than to see them thus tra-
versing space with almost the rapidity
of arrows, and, like the giants we
read of in mytliology, receiving fresh
vigour every
time they
touch the
ground.
To com-
plete the
picture of
the Giant
Kangaroo,
we must add that its muzzle is long and slender -, its ears large and
straight ; its body thin in front, very massive on the contrary,
behind; that it possesses only four toes on the posterior extremities,
and that one of these toes is provided with a most tremendous nailj
5.— Skeleton of the Sooty Kangaroo.
The metre = 39 '37,079 inches.
772^^ KANGAROO. 2T
that its coat is composed of silky hair on the head, the limbs, and
the tail, and of woolly hair on the rest of the body ; lastly, that in
its diet it is essentially herbivorous.
The Kangaroos inhabit Australia and Van Diemen's Land ; three
species so far have been found in New Guinea. They live in
little troops, placed under the direction of old males, and keep by
preference to woody places. The females have one, or at most two,
young ones at a litter. Their flesh is excellent \ they are accordingly
keenly pursued by sportsmen, with Dogs trained especially for the
purpose — a breed between the Mastiff and the Greyhound.
The tail of these animals is not only an apparatus of propulsion, it
serves them also as a weapon of defence. Many a time have Kan-
garoos, pursued by Dogs, been seen to strike them heavy blows with
their tails. But that which protects them more efficaciously than even
this organ against the attacks of enemies is the powerful nail which
terminates the fourth toe of their hind leg. Isidore Geoffiroy Saint-
Hilaire states that, to make use of it, the Kangaroo stands erect against
a tree ; leaning on this with its fore paws, it supports itself with its
tail. A tree, or some other obstacle high enough for the purpose, is
absolutely necessary to it, since, as it always moves its two hind Hmbs
at the same time, it cannot lean on one and employ the other in
fighting.
When a combat takes place between two Kangaroos matters are
arranged in a much simpler manner. The adversaries stand up face
to face against each other, and tear each other to pieces, as a couple
of Japanese might do. The males alone fight in this manner amongst
themselves.
Kangaroos easily accommodate themselves to captivity. They bear
the climate of Europe very well, and breed freely in our menageries.
It would therefore be very desirable to encourage, by all means in
our power, their multiplication in Europe, as they have begun to
do in England ; especially as M. Florent-Prevost reminds us they are
remarkable for a great development of those parts of which the meat
is most esteemed, such as the loins, the buttocks, and the thighs.
Certain species, moreover, have excellent and very choice fur. One
might domesticate them, and let them at the same time live freely
wild with Hares, Rabbits, and other game. Several species are to
be seen in the most perfect health in the Kangaroo Sheds, near the
Reptile House in the London Zoological Gardens.
About thirty species of Kangaroo (Macropus) are already known,
varying extremely in size. Some are more than one and a half metre
in length — for instance, the Giant Kangaroo Fig. 4 (M. giganteus).
22
MAMMALIA,
Others, and these are the greatest in number, do not exceed a
metre. The Kangaroo Rats (Fig. 6) form a separate genus, Hypsip-
rym?ius. They "are generally of small size. Nearly a dozen species
have been described, and they are met with in Australia and
Tasmania. Another division has lately been estabhshed among the
Kangaroos for the Tree Kangaroos {Dendrolagus\ which have been
Fig. 6. — Kangaroo Rat, or Potoroo.
already referred to as inhabiting New Guinea. These would appear
to pass their lives chiefly in the mangrove swamps that fringe the
shores of parts of that great island, which are under water at high
tide, the Tree Kangaroos traversing the branches of the mangrove
trees with facility and speed.
Certain fossil animals, of enormous size, have been discovered in
the bone-caves, &c., of Australia, which are proved to have been
gigantic Marsupials. Among them the Diprotodon Australis must
THE TARSIPEDE.
n
have been even larger than a Rhinoceros, although akin to the
Kangaroos. The Nototherium inerme and N. Mitchelli were equally
stupendous marsupial animals, which were probably allied to the
Xoala, or perhaps to the Wombats. The Thylacotheriitm is supposed
to have been a huge marsupial carnivore, but opinions are at
Fig. 7.— Koala {Phascolarchcs cmeretcs).
present divided as to the exact affinity of this great fossil beast,
which has become exterminated within comparatively recent times,
and which probably is best placed near the genus My7inecobius
Carpophaga.
In this family we place the genera Phascolardtis, Phalangista,
and Fetauriis. The Phascolardus cinei^ais^ or Koala, is a remarkable
little animal, with large bushy ears, and deprived of a tail. Only
one species is known ; it is a native of New South Wales. It is
often designated by the colonists the native Bear, and is said to
24
MAMMALIA,
feed exclusively on green foliage, though probably also on fruits.
All efforts to bring it alive to Europe have failed hitherto (Fig. 7).
In their general form, and in their mode of life, the creatures
belonging to the genus Fhala7igista bear a certain resemblance to
Monkeys and Lemurs. They have the great toe of their posterior
members opposable to their other toes, and without any nail. In
■^^'■7 y^..^^^^^
Fig, 8.— Sooty Ph^langer 'Phalanghfn vulfina, Var).
the majority of these animals the tail is prehensile, as in some of
the Monkeys of America. They inhabit forests, climb l.rees with
moderate agility, and feed on fruits, to which they sometimes add
birds' eggs and insects. They are hunted and eaten, although they
diffuse an unpleasant odour. The true Phalangers have the tail
prehensile. Some of them are referred to a sub-genus Cuscus.
These inhabit the islands of the Indian Archipelago. Those in-
habiting New Holland and Tasmania belong to the sub-genus
THE OPOSSUM. 25
Trichosurus, to which belong the Sooty Phalanger (Fig. 8) Phalangisla
Vulpina.
Lastly, we have the Petaurus, to which belong the Flying
Phalangers. These are provided with a parachute membrane
between their flanks, and support themselves in the air after the
manner of the Flying Squirrels. The species differ much in size.
They are to be met with in New Guinea and New Holland.
Entomophaga. — To this family belong the genera Tarsipes^
Cheironectes, Didelphys^ Perameles, and Choeropiis. There is little to
be said about the Tarsipedes and Bandacoots. They are small
marsupial animals, which have, especially the first, much analogy to
the Phalangers.
The Tarsipede (T. rostratus) is a pretty animal, hardly so large as
a mouse. Its muzzle is elongated, and in form like a beak ; and it
feeds not only on insects, but also on the nectar of flowers.
The Bandacoots (Fe?'ameles) do not live on trees ; they have
strong nails, and dig themselves galleries, into which they retire.
Insects and roots form the staple of their food. The great toe of
their hind foot is not opposable. The finest species of Bandacoot
{Peranieles lagotis) is about the size of a wild Rabbit, and bears the
name of " native Rabbit " amongst the colonists. There are seven
or eight others, one of which {P. doreyaims) inhabits New Guinea.
Alhed to them is a curious little animal of South Australia, known as
the Pigfoot {Chceropus ecatidatus Og).
Didelphys. — Some zoologists make of this genus a separate family.
The Opossums were the first-known species of Marsupials. They
belong almost exclusively to the New World, where they are very
commonly met with, from the more southern of the United States
right away to Patagonia. They are climbing animals, in their
appearance and diet resembling Carnivora \ in size they do not
exceed that of our domestic Cat. Many of them are, indeed, much
smaller. They have the thumbs opposable and nailless, the tail
generally bare and prehensile for its terminal half, or more. Their
mouth is provided with eight incisors in the lower jaw and ten in the
upper, the total number of teeth being fifty, perfectly organised
for dismembering a living prey. They sally out at twilight or at
night ; during the day they lie hid in the midst of bushes, in hollow
trees, or on branches. They feed on small quadrupeds, birds, eggs,
insects, molluscs, and even fruits or young vegetable shoots, from
which they suck the sap. The females are remarkably prolific ; they
have from ten to fifteen young at a litter, and nurse their progeny
with that tender solicitude which Florian has so well described in his
26
MAMMALIA.
pretty fable of '• La Sarigue et ses Petits/' One of the largest
species is the Virginian Opossum (Fig. 9). This animal is parti-
cularly, fond of the eggs of the wild Turkey, and it seeks for them with
avidity. They sometimes make incursions upon poultry-yards, and
then the carnage which they perpetrate is something fearful. If
- o>
vrk/v. ':'"'^'^^5l
ig. 9. — Female of Virginian Opossum, with her Young [Didelphys Virghiiand).
the Opossum is surprised by the farmer ^'fla^^^rante delicto,'' \t hes down on
the ground, counterfeits death, and takes any amount of beating without
v\dncing; but as soon as the man, thinking that he has killed it, turns
his back, the rogue decamps as fast as he can, and regains the forest.
Many animals, of various classes, do the same ; the examples among
Insects of feigning death are very numerous. A Fox has been seen
to counterfeit death ; and Mr. Blyth has witnessed a most extra-
ordinary case of the kind in the instance of a Jackal wonied by
THE THYLACIN.
27
Dogs, in India. The Opossum is ferocious, and will not allow itself
to be' tamed. The Crab-eating Opossum {D. cancrivord) is a species
of about the same size as the preceding. It owes its name to its
peculiar diet. Living on the sea-shore, it feeds principally on crabs,
which it captures very adroitly. It is found in the Brazils and in
Fig. 10.— Thylachi {Thylacinus cynocephalus) .
Guiana. More than twenty other species are known to naturalists,
aU of them being peculiar to South America, with the exception of the
Virginian Opossum. It is remarkable that there are not any m the
Antilles or West Indian Islands. . ^,
Buffon describes, under the name of the " Small Otter of Guiana,
a species of Opossum, hardly as large as the Brown Rat, and which
has its hind feet webbed, giving it powers of swimming like the Otter.
It is the Yapock {Chironedes variegatus) of modern naturalists, who
26 MAMMALIA.
have raised it to the dignity of a genus, chiefly on account of this
pecuHarity.
It may be worth noting that in the AustraHan colonies the names
of famihar animals inhabiting other parts of the world are transferred,
and are misapplied to the indigenous Marsupials. Thus, the Thylacin
is known as the native Wolf, Tiger, and Hyena ; the Dasyures are
■Spotted Dasyure {Dasyurzis viverrinus).
Styled native Cats, the Koala is the native Bear, the Wombat the
native Badger, the Long-eared Bandacoot is the native Rabbit, and
the Phalangers and Petaurists are native Squirrels and Flying Squir-
rels. Again, the monotrematous Echidna is the native Porcupine,
and the Duckbill is the Water Mole.
Creatophaga. — This family contains the true Carnivores of the
Marsupial order; animals living by slaughter and pillage. The
teeth of the species of this family are usually forty-six in number, and
THE BANDED MYRMECOBR. 2()
agree in their arrangement with those of the preceding family, except
that there are only eight incisors in the upper, and six in the lower
jaw. The big toe is generally absent or rudimentary on the hind feet,
the nails sharp, the tail long and well covered with hair, but never
prehensile. They are more or less nocturnal in their habits. Some
attain to a rather large size, and are much dreaded by the Austra-
lian colonists, who rank them as their enemies. The family contains
the genera Myrmecobius^ Fhascogale, Dasyurus, and Thylaci?ius.
Thylacinus cynocephalus is the only species of the genus (Fig. lo).
It is the strongest and fiercest of all the Marsupials. It was formerly
common in Tasmania, where it has often been compared to the
Wolf, as it is about the same size, and has the same sanguinary
appetite as that animal. Like the Wolf, it frequently falls upon
flocks of Sheep, which offer it an easy prey. Very common along
the coast, it lives principally, it is said, on animal remains thrown up
by the sea on to the shore ; it also eats crabs.
Although smaller than the above, the species of the genus
Dasyurus have the same spirit of destruction, the same taste for
flesh : indeed they subsist on nothing else. Of this genus there
exist several species. Dasyurus ursinus inhabits Tasmania, and
the English colonists in that country call it Devil. This animal is of
unparalleled ferocity and stupidity ; it would be in vain to attempt
to tame it. It is short and thick-set, strong, of about the same size
as a Badger, and is a great ravager of poultry-yards ; it even attacks
small domestic quadrupeds. In their proportions and in all their
habits, the Dasyures properly so called (Fig. ii), remind one of
such animals as the Marten, the Polecat, the Genet, &c. Their
coat is soft, thick, and generally spotted. They live on small
MammaUa and Birds, which they seize in their nests.
The Marsupials of the genus Phascologale are all of very diminu-
tive size, and are rather Insectivorous than Carnivorous. They live
almost entirely on trees, and it is there that they seek food. They
vary in size, from one that is smaller than the Mouse to one the size
of the Brown Rat.
The Banded Myrmecobe (Myrmecobius fasdatus) is a beautiful
little animal, of the size of the Common Squirrel, which is distinguished
from all other Marsupials by its having as many as fifty-two teeth. It
has a handsome brush tail, and transverse stripes upon its back,
somewhat as in the Thylacin. It inhabits the western portion of
Australia.
ORDER OF CETACEA.
The Cetacea are essentially aquatic animals, externally resembling
Fishes, but belonging really, by their whole structure, to the class of
Mammalia, They have mammae with which to suckle their young,
they breathe not by gills, but by lungs, and they have a heart
pro^dded with two ventricles and two auricles.
The Cetacea, then, are Mammalia. Only, instead of being
organised for living on land, they are admirably suited for the water ;
some of them acquire enormous dimensions, and are the giants of
the animal kingdom.
Their body, more or less spindle-shaped, is terminated behind in
a tail, which becomes so broad as to form a fin ; this fin is transversal,
not vertical as in fishes. The tail is the principal agent in locomotion.
On the back of most of the Cetacea there exists a dorsal fin,
which is merely a modification of the skin.
The Cetacea have no posterior limbs. Their anterior limbs are
transformed into swimming paddles, which are of comparatively little
use for locomotion through the water, and of which the principal use,
no doubt, is to balance their movements. These anterior limbs, thus
changed into flippers, present essentially the same structure as do the
corresponding limbs in other Mammalia — the paw of the Dog, the
wing of the Bat, &c. Their nostrils open, in general, upon the upper
part of the head. Owing to this position of the nostrils, which are
placed higher than the mouth, these animals can breathe the air
without raising the head much out of the water.
The skin of Cetacea is generally quite hairless, which is very
rarely the case in other Mammalia. Their teeth, when present, are
mostly conical, uniform, and are sometimes numerous. All their
tissues, but especially their subcutaneous cellular tissue, are im-
pregnated with oily fat. Their blood is warm. Their cerebral
hemispheres are highly developed, and folded into numerous circum-
volutions.
Such are the principal characteristic features of the Mammalia
which compose the order of Cetacea.
The largest of other animals are small when compared with many
THE WHALE. 3 1
of the Cetacea ; these colossal creatures, however, swim with more or
less rapidity. In consequence of the air contained in their chest, the
great quantity of oil with which their tissues are charged, and the
vigour of their caudal fins, they move easily through the waves, look-
ing with voracity for fish, molluscs, and Crustacea, of which they
consume an enormous quantity.
The capture of these great Cetacea necessitates the fitting out of
very important nautical expeditions, and we are thereby furnished
with the raw material for the manufacture of animal oils.
This order is divided into two principal sections, which are dis-
tinguished by the food they eat, by their teeth, and, above all, by the
position of their nostrils. These are the ordinary or blowing Cetacea
{Cetacea proper) and the herbivorus Cetacea (Sirenia), These two
groups comprise a very great number of species, nearly all of which
are marine. Professor Owen thinks that the so-called herbivorous
Cetacea are more nearly related to the order Fachydermata, but most
naturalists now regard them as constituting a peculiar order, which
was named Sirenia by the late Professor de Blainville.
The Blowing, or Spouting Cetacea. — The blowing Cetacea
have their nostrils on the upper surface of the head, and their nasal
cavities present a peculiar arrangement, which allows these animals
to appear to throw up a column of water above their head. The
narrow opening of the blowing Cetacea has the name of spiracle or
blow-hole. Their mammse are placed near the termination of their
bodies. Their teeth, when they have any, are pointed ; but in some
cases the teeth are replaced by a peculiar apparatus, of which we
shall speak presently. These animals are carnivorous.
The blowing Cetacea, or ordinary Cetacea, may be divided into
three families — the Balaenidse, or true Whales, in which the teeth are
deficient and the mouth is furnished with whalebone ; the Physete-
ridse, or Sperm Whales — the head is of enormous size, forming about
one-third of the entire length of the animal, and there are from forty
to fifty conical teeth in the lower jaw ; the Delphinidae, or Dolphins,
in which the head is more in proportion to the size of the body, and
both jaws are for the most part armed with numerous conical teeth.
Balcenidce. — The Right Whale (Balcefia mysticetiis) is the especial
object of desire of whalers in both hemispheres. It resists the attacks
of man less than the others, and for a long time has yielded very
abundant products. What we are going to say on Whales will, then,
apply more particularly to the Right Whale of the Arctic Regions.
The Right Whale is not, as commonly supposed, the largest of
32 ' MAMMALIA,
marine animals, and indeed of all animals whatever, existent or
extinct, for they do not attain such enormous dimensions as some of
the Rorquals. According to Scoresby, the Greenland Whale does
not exceed seventy feet in length, and its geographical range is con-
fined within the limits of the Arctic Circle. But the Right Whales
are considerably the most bulky in proportion to their length.
Whales are by most people considered as shapeless masses, as if
these creatures, which far exceed all others in length and bulk,
differed from them also by being wanting in those proportions which
we consider as allied to beauty. Let us examine, however, this mass,
shapeless in appearance, and let us see if it does not, on the contrary,
present a well-arranged whole.
The body of the Right Whale (Fig. 12) has the form of an
immense and irregular cylinder, the diameter of which is about a
third of its length. The anterior portion of this enormous cylinder
is the head, of which the size is a third of the whole animal. Convex
above, the head represents very nearly a portion of a sphere. Slightly
behind the middle of this sphere rises an eminence, in which are
pierced the orifices of the two spiracles or blow-holes. The mouth is
enormous ; it is prolonged to a point beneath the upper orifices of
the blow-holes, and extends almost as far as the base of the flipper.
The interior of this mouth is so vast that, in a Whale which did not
quite measure twenty-four metres in length, two men could stand
upright.
This mouth, the interior of which sometimes attains to three
metres in breadth and four in height, has no teeth. It has on the
upper jaw long, narrow blades, which are called flakes or plates
of baleen (whalebone).
Each blade is flattened, and rather resembles, in its curve, the
blade of a scythe. It is inflected in the direction of its length,
diminishing gradually in height and thickness, and terminating in a
point. Its concave side is shaped like the edge of a scythe, and is
split into hairs, which form a long and tufted sort of fringe.
The whalebone plates are generally black, streaked with colours
of a lighter tint. It is not rare to find plates of whalebone five metres
long, and the mouth of the Whale generally contains seven hundred
of these plates. What is called in the trade whalebone is nothing but
one of these flakes. The value of the whalebone furnished by each
Whale is sometimes from ;£i6o to ;£^2oo.
This gigantic mouth — toothless, but richly provided with organs
that replace them — contains an enormous tongue, which is sometimes
as much as eight metres in length and four metres in breadth.
THE WHALE, 35
The eye of the animal is placed immediately above the com-
missure, or point of union, of the lips, and, consequently, very near
the shoulder. There is a very gi'eat space between the two eyes, so
that either eye can only see the objects on its own side of the animal.
This organ is, however, set in a kind of small convexity, which,
rising above the surface of the lips, allows the animal to see with both
of its eyes an object at a little distance.
But what is strange is the smallness of this eye, which it is often
almost difficult to discover. It is provided with eyelids, like the eyes
of other Mammalia. These eyelids are unprovided with eyelashes.
From the structure of this eye, Lacepede has concluded that it is
perfectly adapted for aquatic media. According to this naturalist,
Whales have excellent eyesight.
We must add, that this great Cetacean has the sense of smell and
hearing so acute that it is warned from afar of the presence of any
odorous bodies, and that it hears at a very great distance sounds or
even slight noises.
The Whale has two anterior limbs, or flippers, of about three
metres in length and two metres in breadth. The body is dis-
tinguished from the head by being slightly depressed. To the body,
properly so called, is applied the base of the tail, which is conical,
composed of vigorous muscles, and terminating in a large horizontal
fin. This fin, triangular in form, is not less than from six to seven
metres in breadth.
The tail fin of the Whale constitutes its most powerful instrument
of locomotion ; but we must not forget its arms, or flippers, which, on
account of their form and dimensions, can also play the part of oars.
The skin of the Whale is strong, more than two decimetres in
thickness, and is perforated with great pores ; but it is not covered
with hair, as is the case with most of the Mammalia. The epidermis
which covers it is smooth, glossy, oily, and so bright that the animal,
when exposed to the rays of the sun, shines like polished leather.
The Whale is generally black in colour. It is sometimes, how-
ever, black tinged with grey. The under part of the head and belly
are often white.
After this glance at the exterior conformation of this huge Ceta-
cean, let us see what are its habits — its mode of existence.
We shall speak first of its movements, taking as our guide the
interesting work published by Dr. Thiercelin, under the title, "Journal
of a Whaler."*
*" Journal cfun BaUinier,^^ tome i., pp. 227 — 23I.
36 MAMMALIA,
The Whale passes a part of its tmie at the surface of the water,
and the other part m the bosom of the ocean, at a depth of from two
to three hundred fathoms. When it is preparing to leave those depths,
a broad sort of whirlpool shows itself on the surface of the water, and
announces its arrival. First one sees a black point emerge ; this is
the end of its muzzle. Very soon the blow-holes appear; then a
part, more or less long, of the surface of its back, till the tail in its
turn appears.
At the same time that the blow-holes arrive at the surface of the
water, a double column of white vapour, more or less thick, rises in
the form of a V to many metres in height.
After this blowing, the vents or blow-holes are again emerged ; and,
during thirty or forty seconds, the animal glides along level with the
water, in such a manner that the spectator can perceive through the
water which covers it the bluish tint of its body. A minute afterwards,
the black point reappears, then the blow-holes, then the blowing
or spouting.
This alternation of respiration and of progression at the surface of
the water goes on for eight or ten minutes. During this time there
have been seven or eight jets of liquid. The first is denser than the
following ones ; the last, which is as dense, and which lasts as long
as the first, announces that the Whale is going to dive again. It does,
in fact, rise a little higher out of the water this time than at the
preceding blowings, and at last has only its tail under the water : it
balances this many times backwards and forwards, and then de-
scends into the depths of the sea. These are what are called /es
sondes — the soundings or diggings of the Whale. It remains below
for thirty or forty minutes, and sometimes for more. It then returns
to the surface and reproduces its irregular and periodical spoutings.
It is thus, says M. Thiercelin, that Whales pass their lives; some-
times on the surface of the water, sometimes below, day and night, in
fair weather or in foul weather, at all seasons. For this reason, some
people have said that it never sleeps. If the Whale sleeps — which it
is certain that it does — these alternate movements are made during
its sleep, necessitated by the wants of respiration, and must therefore
be automatic, like the respiratory movements.
When the Whale breathes, the noise of its breathing can be heard
at some hundreds of metres only, if it is in a calm state ; but when it
is agitated by fear or by anger, the noise of its breathing can be heard
at a distance of some kilometres.* Dr. Thiercelin compares it to the
* I kilometre = 3280-8992 English feet.
THE WHALE. 37
noise of a strong column of air driven by a very large pair of smiths'
bellows into a great tube of copper or brass ; it is a very deep and
very loud sound, sustained during eight or ten seconds.
According to the same observer, the spout is not formed of any
liquid water : it is composed at one and the same time of hot air
issuing from the chest, of a certain quantity of vapour of water mixed
with this air, and of greasy particles. So, when the temperature is
rather high, the sea calm, and, above all, when the sun is near the
zenith, this blowing, or spouting, is invisible. When the vapour from
this blow-spout is disseminated into the air, it dissolves — all dis-
appears : there falls nothing but a few little drops of greasy matter.
These drops, diffused over the surface of the water, and joined to the
exhalations of the skin, leave on the surface of the sea long trails of
oily spots, which show the way by which the Whale has passed. At
all events, there is always a certain quantity of water, which has pene-
trated into the air-tubes which terminate in the blow-hole, and this
water is mixed in a state of minute subdivision with the respired air,
and disseminates itself in the atmosphere, like the pulmonary moisture.
In speaking above of the habits of the Whale, we only pointed out,
with Dr. Thiercelin, that it was continually " moving on.'' But at
what rate does it proceed when it is travelling along? Lacepede
affirms that it travels over 660 metres a minute : that it goes quicker
than the trade winds. If it went twice as fast as it actually does, then
it would beat the most impetuous winds ; if thirty times, it would
traverse space as quickly as sound.
Starting from this hypothesis, Lacepede makes another curious
calculation. Supposing that twelve hours of repose a day is sufficient
for the Whale, it would take only forty-seven days in going round the
world, following the equator, and twenty-four days in going from one
pole to the other, along a meridian line. These calculations of the
illustrious French naturalist are based upon a rather exaggerated
estimate of the animal's speed. On the other hand, certain authors,
keeping no doubt within the truth, have affirmed that the Whale
travels over only three marine leagues an hour. This is the opinion
of the ingenious Boitard, of Le Jardin des Plantes, Paris. The fact
is, that the higher rate of speed denotes the pace of the Rorquals,
and the lower rate of speed that of the Right Whales. The former
are conspicuously fast-built, the latter slow and barge-like.
To keep up life in the whole of the immense organisation of the
Whale, to give it strength for its continual motion, to keep up the
breath which gives it life,, what quantity of aliment,^ what peculiar
food is necessary ?
38 MAMMALIA.
Its food is composed of but very small creatures. Lacepede says
the Whale feeds chiefly on molluscs and crabs. The number of
these animals swallowed by the huge Cetacean compensates for their
smallness of size.
According to Dr. Thiercelin, in the whaling-grounds in spring,
and still more in summer, the sea is in places of a brown colour.
This colour is due to small crustaceans, of which the greatest diameter
does not exceed two millimetres.* These crustaceans form banks of
animal matter, which the whalers call bo'ete^ and which are ten, fifteen,
or twenty leagues in length, by some leagues in breadth, and are three
or four metres in thickness. Here is a banquet well served, if not for
the size of the prey, at any rate, as far as the mass which constitute
it is concerned 1 The Whale wanders up and down these rich banks,
and browses, as we may say, off this immense and fertile pasturage.
Dr. Thiercelin gives some details as to the manner in which the
Whale seizes its food : — -
It lowers its under jaw, spreads its tongue out well on the lower
maxillary plate, and advances gently into the midst of this swarm of
minute creatures, which it is about to swallow. The mouth, if such
an enormous opening can be called a mouth, then presents an anterior
aperture, in shape that of an irregular triangle, the span of which is
from six to seven metres. As the Whale advances, the water which
it passes through, and which enters into its mouth, escapes laterally
by the intervals which separate the whalebone plates, whilst the boete
adheres to the hairs of the whalebone plates, and adheres to the
palate. When it has thus passed over a space of from forty to fifty
metres it slackens its pace, raises its lower jaw, applies its lips to the
whalebone plates, and distends its tongue in such a way that it
occupies the whole of its mouth, now closed. The water escapes
through the interstices of the whalebone plates; the point of the
tongue gathers together by a rotatory movement all the animalculae
caught on the interior hairs, makes them up into an alimentary bolus,
and conveys them to the entrance of the oesophagus, and thence into
the stomach. This done, the Whale then lowers its jaw again, an(i
recommences its easy mode of feeding.
At the beginning of spring one sees the males going about by
themselves in search of the females. We soon meet with groups of
six or eight Whales, seldom more. When a male and female have
paired for the season, the happy couple isolate themselves from the
little group, and set out, side by side, on their nuptial tour. They
.* }. millimetre= '0393707904 English inches^
THE WHALE. 39
travel, they play, they feed together. On these occasions they make
gigantic leaps ; they turn over and over many times \ the water is
agitated, and boils around them for a very great distance.
The males now go in advance to choose the maritime creeks in
which the females may give birth to their young. After having
inspected these places^ they return. The females then come and
install themselves in a well-sheltered bay, over a deep layer of sand.
They bring forth their young in the middle of autumn.
Scarcely is the young Whale born before it turns over and swims
round its mother. She now places herself on her side to suckle it in such
a manner that the young one's nose may be on a level with the surface
of the water. After a great many useless attempts, the young one
takes the teat, between its lips, and by the action of these and its
tongue, which is already much developed, sucks in its mother's milk.
What a nurse, and what a nursling !
But the young Whale is soon weaned. At the end of six weeks
or two months its whalebone plates have grown, and it can catch its
own food itself in the bosom of its great nurse, the Ocean! Its
mother has for it an ardent and excessive love. She watches over,
she guides, she defends it j to save its life she has been known to
sacrifice her own.
When a whaler is near a mother and her young one, he begins by
attacking the young Whale, which is less strong, less active, and less
experienced than its mother. But the mother places herself between
her nursling and its aggressor. She pushes the little one with her
flippers and her body, so as to accelerate its escape. If, in spite of
these encouragements, it cannot swim fast enough to escape from the
danger, she is said to pass one of her flippers under its belly \ she
raises it, and, holding it thus firmly fixed against her neck and back,
she escapes with it. Admirable and touching sight, which shows us,
in the depths of the ocean, and in the hearts of the most gigantic
creatures, the wondrous sentiment of maternity !
Let the tender-hearted reader rejoice ! The Whale-mother some-
times succeeds in carrying off its little one safe and sound. But her
vigilance and activity are often baffled by the terrible arms of man.
She then shows her pain by the vivacity and irregularity of her move-
ments. She does not give up the task of saving her dear little
wounded one. Forgetful of her own safety, she resolutely seizes
hold of it again at the risk of perishing with it, and she receives a
mortal wound rather than abandon her young, which she has
in vain defended.
This, however, is the only phase in its ,life yi which the Whale
40 MAMMALIA.
shows any courage and resists its enemies. When it is not a mother
it is extremely timid.
The male shows great devotion for his female. When she is
attacked he makes repeated efforts to save her. He passes and
repasses round her ; he tries to set her free from the weapon that
has wounded her, and if he does not attack her aggressors, neither
does he abandon his companion, and often ends by perishing with
her, a victim to his devotion.
This giant ot the seas has other enemies besides man : the most
dangerous, the most cruel, after him, is said to be the Narwhal
{Monodo7i 7noiioceros). According to Lacep^de, these Narwhals,
assembling in a troop, advance in line of battle against the Whale,
attack it on all sides, bite it, harass it, fatigue it, force it to open its
mouth, and then they devour its tongue.
Lacepede goes on to say that the Narwhals, and also the Sword-
fish, stab it with their long weapons, and that Sharks, burying in its
belly their five rows of pointed and jagged teeth, tear from it with
these terrible pincers enormous pieces of integument and muscles.
According to the same author, the wounded Whale, having lost a
quantity of blood, worn out with fatigue, can now be attacked by
White Bears — voracious and formidable animals, which hunger
renders still more daring. When the Whale is dead its immense
floating carcass becomes an easy prey to the Dog-fish, the sea-birds,
and the White or Polar Bears.
We must further mention that the Whale has, as parasites,
certain molluscs and crustaceans, which adhere to its skin and
multiply on it as on a rock. Thus fixed on the back of the Whale
these Httle animals become the prey of sea-birds, which come and
satisfy their taste or their hunger on the back of the gigantic Cetacean,
which is of advantage to it, however, in disembarrassing it of such hosts.
Whales frequent only the cold seas. It has been affirmed that
they have never been met with in the torrid zone, and that the
equator is for them an impassable barrier.
The principal points in which the B. mysticetus is met with in the
north is Greenland, Spitzbergen, Davis's Straits, Behring's Straits, &c.
In the southern hemisphere B. Aiistralis is found in all latitudes, from
the thirty-fourth or thirty-fifth degree to the polar circle. We shall
mention as the principal points the western and southern coasts of
Africa, the Islands of Tristan d'Acunha, the Cape of Good Hope,
the islands Mauritius, Madagascar, St. Paul, Amsterdam ; Australia,
New Zealand, Chili, Cape Horn, the Falkland Islands, the coast of
Brazil, &c.
THE WHALE, 4 1
It is impossible, however, to point out exactly the principal points
where, at any given time, Whales are sure to be found. For reasons
which are unknown, or only guessed at, it emigrates suddenly from
one of the maritime regions where it had been up to that time.
They call by the name oi fishing-grounds those latitudes in which, at
certain periods of the year, the Whale is to be met with in greater or
less numbers. These periods are called the fishing seasons. They
are determined by the temperature and by the presence of the
Whale's food, of that boete which we spoke about before.
In a given latitude a distinction is made, according to the habits
of the Whale, between the open-sea season, that is to say the season
in which the Whale keeps at twenty, thirty, or forty leagues from
land, and the bay season, a period at which the Whale comes near
the land, and confines itself to places where the water is shallow,
sheltered from the wind, in a bay, or a creek, near the coast. The
open-sea season is in the spring and summer, the bay season in the
autumn and winter. No cetacea are to be found in the fishing-
grounds out of those two seasons.
Though always obedient to the seasons, these animals never-
theless leave their habitual places of abode, or cease to return to
them, when they have been pursued there during many years by
numerous whalers ; or else when, for some mysterious reason, their
food has become less abundant there. It is not known, however,
whither they go when they leave those latitudes.
In proceeding to describe the Whale fishery, as it is inappro-
priately styled, and the weapons and processes at present made use
of in it, we shall glance at the history of this branch of marine
industry.
Who can tell now where the first Whale was killed? One can
only make conjectures on this point. It was, without doubt, in the
northern regions that the courageous idea of attacking this colossus
of the sea was first conceived. The inhabitants of these countries
were the more incited to this enterprise as they saw in these mon-
strous creatures an immense reservoir of oil, a matter of which they
stood so much in need ; a provision of meat which, when frozen,
kept through the whole winter ; bones suitable for the framework of
their dwelling-places, and diverse other useful products, furnished by
the intestines and the tendons of this gigantic object of pursuit.
Most extravagant tales have been told about the primitive hunting
of the Whale. It is said that when the savages of Florida perceived
a Whale, one of them got on its back, drove a plug into one of its
blow-holes, followed it to the bottom of the sea, came up again with
42 MAMMALIA.
it to the surface, closed the other blow-hole with a second plug, and
so caused it to die of suffocation. This is simply impossible.
The ancient Esquimaux employed in attacking the Whale a very
ingenious system, which it is said they still put in practice at the
present day. They surround the Whale they want to take in little
canoes. Those who man these canoes, throw at it arrows or har-
poons, attached to hoUow balls of large dimensions, and which are
made of Seal-skin, of the intestines of Cetacea, &c. When the
animal wishes to plunge it cannot manage it, for these balls buoy it
up, and it is obliged to remain near the surface of the water. It
then advances very gently in this position, so that it cannot escape
from the blows of its enemies, who thus slowly but surely kill it.
We now arrive at the period when whaling was practised, not by
the savage inhabitants of Northern Europe and America, but by
civiHsed people.
It is in a book which dates back as far as the year 875, Miracles
de Saint JVaasf, that we find the first mention made of the systematic
pursuit of Whales. The people of Biscay were those who were
engaged in it.
Nearly about the same time, Otherus, a German navigator, visited
the coasts of Norway, to the North Cape, and pushed on as far as
the entrance into the White Sea. He met in these northern seas
quantities of fishermen, and saw more than two hundred Whales
taken in two days.
From the eleventh to the twelfth century this branch of industry
took root in Flanders and in Normandy, and the principal whaling
ships were fitted up in the ports of these countries. The author of a
" Life of St. Arnould," Bishop of Soissons, describes the form of the
harpoons, the way in which they were used, and enumerates the tithes
paid by the whalers to the ecclesiastics of the canton. In the twelfth
century the Norwegian sailors carried on the pursuit of Whales with
great activity.
In the fourteenth century the sailors of Biscay began to under-
take regular expeditions to the northern seas ; their ships were fitted
out in the different harbours along the French sea-shore. Their
expeditions were always crowned with success, for they came back
each year with a full cargo. It was then that the classic process of
hunting was estabhshed and regulated, of which we shall soon have
to treat.
From the year 1372 whalers from Biscay arrived at the great bank
of Newfoundland, whence they pushed on so far as the Gulf of St.
.Lawi-enc€ and the coasts of Labrador. In the fourteenth century
THE WHALE. 43
whaling vessels were fitted out at Bordeaux for the Arctic Seas, which
went up as far as Greenland, and even to Spitzbergen.
The success of the people of Biscay excited the jealousy and the
cupidity of other nations. As they were not protected by the national
flag, they were interfered with, and were at last excluded from the
whaling-grounds, either by force or by heavy contributions being
levied on them ; and so, from the commencement of the seventeenth
century, their trade began to decline. It was definitely lost for them
and for France, when, in 1636, the Spaniards seized upon fourteen
large ships manned by Biscayans, which had just returned from
Greenland, with rich cargoes of blubber and whalebone.
The Biscayan whalers now decided to play only a secondary part.
They found themselves reduced to act as guides to their powerful
rivals ; they taught the art of whaling to the Dutch, and even to the
English. With the Dutch the pursuit and capture of Whales became
rapidly of very great importance. Supported by rich companies, this
new field of enterprise became a source of great prosperity for
Holland until the beginning of the eighteenth century. But at this
period it was paralysed by the maritime war \ and after the peace it
was never again staited on the same scale.
Whilst the whaling was giving to the Dutch such splendid results
it did not prosper in the hands of English outfitters and sailors. But
this persevering and active nation redoubled its efforts so as to insure
success. In 1732 England granted rich prizes to all whaling ships,
and even went so far as to double those prizes in 1749. From that
time forwards this branch of maritime industry increased rapidly in
England.
Pursued in their native habitats by a merciless war, the Whales
gradually took their departure, going more and still farther north.
Till towards the fifteenth century the whaling went on along the
French coasts of the ocean, that is to say, in the Gulf of Gascony
(but this must have been for Rorquals). It vas, as we have said, the
privilege of the Biscayans. But from the sixteenth century the
Whales, having become more timid, took refuge in the seas of
Greenland and of Spitzbergen. They were then very numerous near
the coasts and creeks or coves. The whalers very quickly got full
cargoes when they remained near the land. Troops of Whales swam
with confidence along the coasts and bays in the immediate vicinity
of Greenland and Spitzbergen. They did not flee from the ships,
and surrendered themselves without offering any defence to the
avidity of the whalers. The Dutch had even built, in the island of
Amsterdam, the viUage of Smeerenbourg (village of grease). They
44 MAMMALIA.
here established warehouses and suppHes of different sorts of goods.
In the wake of their fleets of whahng ships they sent out other
vessels, laden with wine, brandy, tobacco, and eatables. In these
establishments they melted down the fat of the Whales they had
brought there dead, and then brought the oil to Europe.
But very soon the Whales became timid and altogether shy.
They emigrated gradually and slowly, as if they quitted with regret
the coasts and the bays where they were born, where, free and happy,
they had lived and multiplied.
They gained the regions of moving ice, whither the whalers pur-
sued them. They then went and hid themselves under the fixed ice ;
and, as their principal place of refuge, they chose the immense crust
of ice which the Dutch have named Wesf-ys (the western ice). The
whalers invaded this motionless ice. Pushing their boats on to the
very edge of it, they looked out for the moment when the Whales
were forced to quit this protecting vault, to come and breathe above
the water.
Thus it was that the whalers were obliged to abandon the waters
of Spitzbergen, to go towards the great bank of ice which bounds, on
the north-west, the Sea of Greenland.
It is principally in these latitudes, that is to say, towards 78^ or
81"^ north latitude, or in Davis's Straits, near the Isle of Disco, that
whaling has been pursued with the greatest activity since the middle
of the seventeenth century. But these last-named seas have been
deserted in their turn, so that the English whalers are obliged now to
pass over the ice in Baffin's Bay, as far as the straits of Lancaster,
and even as far as Melville Bay. If it be true that there exists round
the North Pole a sea free of ice during the summer season, as the
hardy pioneers who are starting at this very moment to discover this
Arctic sea assert, it is probable that very numerous Whales will be
found which have taken refuge in those latitudes as yet unknown to
man.
It is not only towards the Arctic seas that the whalers have
pushed their courageous expeditions. The antarctic regions have
been equally explored. At the beginning of the eighteenth century
whalers from Massachusets (America) began to take the direction of
the South Pole. They sailed along by Cape Verd, the south-west
coast of Africa, Brazil, and Paraguay, to the Falkland Isles. Since
then the English have also gone whahng in the south, and the ships
of these two nations have ploughed up, not only the southern parts
of the Atlantic Ocean, but the whole extent of the Great Ocean.
The Americans have now more than 300 whaling ships, all of which
THE WHALE. 45
bring in large profits. Some, but a very few, French ships have
explored the same latitudes.
The west coast of Africa, the Bay of Lagos, the mouth of La
Plata, the coasts of Patagonia, New Holland, Tasmania, New
Zealand, and the Sandwich Islands are the principal regions fre-
quented by the whalers of the two worlds. As for the ancient
hunting-grounds, we have already said that they are unstocked.
The appearance of a Whale in the Gulf of Gascony is now an un-
heard-of event, though Rorquals of at least three species are still
occasionally cast ashore on the French and British coasts. The
coast of Greenland, which was an excellent station, is now deserted.
Harpooning the Whale.
Baffin's Bay has been exhausted by the English ; and Davis's
Straits, which was visited at the beginning of our century by
more than a hundred whaling ships, belonging to different nations,
counts only six or seven, which are not even sure of bringing home
cargoes.
We must not omit to mention here a remark made by the
late M. Paul Gervais. This naturalist is disposed to think that the
Whales which were formerly pursued so near to the French shores
were rather Rorquals than Right Whales. The chroniclers of the
middle ages, who in their descriptions are wanting in that precision
which is so desirable, may even have confounded, under the name of
Whales, other large Cetaceans which differ from the Right Whale
more than do the Rorquals, and which also yield great quantities of
4-6 MAMMALIA.
oil. It is probably thus that we must explain, according to M.
Gervais, the assertions borrowed from the chroniclers of that period,
that they consumed Whale oil in the monasteries on the French coast;
that the churches of St. Bertin and of St. Omer levied a contribution
on each Whale ; that the Abbey of Caen laid a tithe on all the
Whales caught at Dives ; and the Church of Coutances on all the
Whale-boats brought into Merri.
After this historical account we shall describe the Whale fishery —
a so-called fishery, so different from all others ; for an immense gain
is at stake and an immense risk is run. We shall begin by describing
the most anciently employed process, and, as we may call it, the
classical process ; we shall then point out a new method which appears
perfectly to answer the exigencies of the present day.
The whaling ships which belong to France, to Scotland, to the
United States, &c., are each of them always accompanied by five or
six boats. The boats are generally four-oared, and carry besides the
four rowers a harpooner and an officer.
When they have arrived in those latitudes where they hope to
find Whales, a man is posted on the look-out on some high part of
the ship, from which he can see to a long distance. The moment
he perceives a Whale he gives the signal agreed upon beforehand,
and the boats are launched. In the bows of each of them stands the
harpooner ; at the stern is the ofificer. Both, with fixed eye and out-
stretched neck, watch for the approach of the gigantic quarry. This
is indicated by an eddy, a submarine vibration, and a roaring analo-
gous to the suppressed noise of distant thunder.
The animal has at last shown the extremity of his black muzzle
above the water. We know already, from what Dr. Thiercelin has
told us, by what alternations of blowings and soimdings the creature
makes its evolutions in the liquid medium. The whaler notices in
what manner the Whale inclined its tail to guess the direction which
it has taken, and he notices the presence of boete on the surface and
at the bottom of the sea, so as to ascertain whether its soundings will
be long or short, and then changes his direction according to the
requirements of the moment. It is the exact knowledge of these
details which makes the expert whaler. So the manoeuvres of the
boat vary considerably, according to circumstances.
It is easy enough to approach within fifteen or twenty fathoms
of the Whale. But the difficulty is to arrive sufficiently near it to
allow of a successful attack being made upon it ; that is to say, to
within two or three fathoms' distance. Blows from the tail and the
flippers are now to be feared. When the boat is sufficiently near, the
THE WHALE, 47
harpooner prepares to cast the harpoon at the Whale (Fig. 13). 1
This is the place to say something about the instrument. i V
It consists of two parts : the iron and the handle (Fig. 14). Jii l|^
The iron is a metal tube, funnel-shaped at one end and
terminated at the other in a sort of reversed V. The ex-
terior edges of this V are sharp, whilst the interior edges
are thick and straight, in such a manner that when once
in the flesh the iron, retained there by the two points,
cannot be torn out. The edges can also be barbed. This
dart is more than a metre in length. It is fixed into a
handle, which is pierced with a hole, in which is fixed a
cord of about four hundred metres long.
The harpooner stands, his thigh fitting into a hollow of
the boat, holding his weapon with both hands. When the
officer considers that the favourable moment has arrived, he
cries out " Strike ! " We shall here let Dr. Thiercelin, an
historian of, and an actor in, these exciting combats, speak
for himself: — '"The harpoon vibrates," says he, "traverses
space, penetrates into the blubber, plunges and fixes itself
into the fleshy and tendinous or sinewy parts. And here
I ought to remark how few harpoons penetrate to the desired
depth : out of five or six Whales struck by the harpoon,
it often happens that one only is made well fast. When,
from a false calculation as to the distance, awkwardness, or
fear, the harpooner has thrown his weapon badly, the Whale
promptly frees itself from the instrument which has wounded
it, by a sharp contraction of its muscles. As soon as it is
free, the animal starts off", and it is then useless to attempt
to follow it ; it is lost sight of after fifteen or twenty
minutes. In most cases its companions accompany it, and
are for the future more difficult to approach than they were
formerly. If, on the contrary, it is made fast to the boat, it
quivers and seems to shrink under the blow; excited by
the pain, it prepares to make its escape ; hindered in doing
this by the dart it carries in its flesh, it at first hesitates, so
that any ordinarily skilful harpooner is able to send a second |1
harpoon into it ; at any rate in a few minutes it dives. The
officer then changes his place, and proceeds to take his post nSpJoA.
of action. Up to this time he has directed the manoeuvres ;
now he is going to act himself ; to kill the animal is his right and his
duty. More than two hundred fathoms of the line are already in the
sea and the animal is still diving. The force of plunging is so great
48 MAMMALIA.
that if there were anything in the way of the rope it would make the
boat capsize. The line has been known, as it was unrolling itself, to
catch a man by an arm, a leg, or even by the body, and drag him
down into the sea, from which he did not rise again till the part
caught hold of had been cut through by the friction. It is difficult
to form an idea of the coolness required in these prehminary
manoeuvres : it is necessary to have at the same time great resolution,
extreme promptitude, and the utmost prudence. If the first oppor-
tunity is missed all chance may disappear, and the fruit of long
labour is lost. To judge from the uneasy air of certain officers, one
would say that they were afraid, so anxiously do they look all round,
and watch every little thing ; but by the direction of the line they
know whether the Whale is diving perpendicularly down, swimming
along under the water, or mounting to the surface, and they manoeuvre
accordingly. It is now above all that the crew must bHndly obey its
officer ; the boat must be nothing but a rowing and back-watering
machine, for all of their lives depend on this. In these solemn
moments fear takes possession of some sailors. As soon as the
Whale is made fast they become of a livid paleness ; they lose their
heads; they see nothing, hear nothing, and can no longer obey a
single command. It is very remarkable that old sailors are more
exposed than young ones to this excessive panic. When men are
not soon cured of this unfortunate impressionability they cease to
make part of the crew of the whale-boat, where their presence could
only be demoraHsing to the others. Harpooners, too, until then
intrepid, have been known to become all of a sudden, and without
any apparent cause incapable of throwing a harpoon with force and
accuracy. The simple fact of the Whale being close at hand strikes
them with terror ; their arms, paralysed by fear, suffer the weapon to
fall flat and harmless on the Cetacean, which, warned by the simple
touch, escapes as fast as possible. The true whaler knows no fear :
he braves death, but is prudent. When the animal rises from its
first dive he draws the line taut, approaches the beast cautiously, not
precipitately, but rather slowly. He knows that he must avoid the
tail and the flippers ; he knows that the head is invulnerable, that a
wound in the abdomen is never immediately mortal, and that he
ought to be quick and to get a fair aim so as to strike some vital
Dart. What difficulties, and how long it sometimes is before the first
lance can be cast ! And yet it is not one that is sufficient to cause
the Whale's death, but ten, twenty, and even more than that ; and
even then they must have been planted in the proper parts of its
body, or they will not produce the required effect. If a mortal
THE WHALE. 49
wound is not inflicted in the first quarter of an hour the Whale
recovers from its alarm, regains its senses, and takes to flight, dragging
its enemy after it ; then there are the alternations of prolonged
divings and rapid runnings in or towards the wind. The whale-boat,
carried away with the swiftness of an arrow, rushes through the
waves, and seems to leave on each side of it a wall of vapour. In
vain do two or three of the boats, throwing their painters to the one
which is made fast to the Whale, come and get themselves towed
and increase the weight the Whale has to drag along with it : the
speed of the animal is not perceptibly diminished.
" This phase of the combat necessitates a fresh device, more diffi-
cult and more dangerous to execute than those which preceded it.
Armed with a mattock or sharp blade, the thrower waits till the
Whale has raised its tail some metres out of the water, and hauling
himself just under this formidable weapon, he throws his mattock on
a level with the last caudal vertebra. If he divides the artery and
the tendons, the blood gushes out in floods, and the pace slackens
to a great extent. Owing also to this attack in the rear the Whale
often changes its route; the boat is now on the side instead of
being behind, and the harpoon can again be used. It would be
impossible for me to describe all the devices, all the false attacks,
all the escapes, all the desperate attacks of man upon this
living mass, which, with one blow of its tail-flukes, could smash
to atoms all the boats belonging to a ship. Fortunately the
animal does not know how formidable it really is ; it is only when
it tries to escape that it causes disasters. When it is possible to
do so, another boat makes itself fast to the Whale, so as to make
its chance of escape still less, and thus to come to the final result
sooner. At each blow the animal makes hoarse and metallic
roarings, which can be heard for a distance of miles ; the blow, or
what it spouts forth, is white, thick, and rises to a great height,
until, after a lucky hit has been made, two columns of blood
escaping from the spiracles or blow-holes rise into the air, and in
their fall redden the sea for a great way round. From this moment
the Whale is considered as good as dead. And in fact, after
some additional fresh wounds, the spouts do not rise to such a
height, the blood is thicker, the divings are less prolonged, the
strength of the creature is becoming exhausted, and the fishermen
cease to contend with it. Sometimes death comes immediately
after the appearance of blood in the spout, but hfe is generally pro-
longed for one or two hours more. This circumstance is regarded
as favourable, inasmuch as the great loss of blood leaves the body
50 MAMMALIA.
specifically lighter, and therefore better able to float. However,
the animal may still be lost ; the distance, the night, or the state of
the sea does not allow of the vessel following it. On the approach
of its death the poor Whale collects all its remaining strength, and
in a disorderly flight, without any aim, without any consciousness
of danger, without hope of saving its life, it swims along, overturning
everything which it meets with on its way. It sees nothing, throws
itself at random on the boats, on a rock, or on the shore.
" Very soon a general shiver runs through its whole body ; its
convulsions make the sea froth and boil. At last it raises its head
for the last time ; for the last time it looks for the light, and dies.
Having now become an inert body, it turns over and floats with its
back downward, the belly on the surface of the water, the head
hanging a little down under water, on account of the different
weight of the different parts. Its death sometimes takes place
during a dive; the carcass then comes to the surface, and floats
without our being able to observe the phenomena which accompany
its death-struggle." '''
Dr. Thiercelin, an eye-witness, has thus related to us the terrible
vicissitudes in this bloody struggle between man and the Whale.
This curious picture has no doubt been contemplated with interest;
and much admiration has been felt for the courage of the man,
and a feeling of pity for the terrors and the pain suffered by his
gigantic victim. Excited by the struggle, the crew of the whaling
ship is, however, very far from being accessible to such tender-
hearted feelings as these : it abandons itself to transports of joy
caused by its victory.
But this triumphant joy gives place sometimes to profound con-
sternation. The Whale is dead, it floats on the water, and belongs
to the crew ; when lo ! all of a sudden it begins sinking gently, head-
foremost, and disappears. What trouble has been taken, what dangers
run, all to no purpose. The Whale has gone to the bottom !
Just as it is sinking numerous air-bubbles come to the surface
of the water, burst, and produce a sort of ebullition, which lasts
about a minute. This accident may happen under several different
circumstances. It has been observed, however, that it was more
frequent-- 1 St, when the Whale is relatively thin ; 2nd, when it is
dead without having spouted blood, or, as it is called, being sicffocaied
{etoiiffie) ; 3rd, when it has had its abdomen cut up with w^ounds
from the harpoon. If, through any circumstance, in consequence of
♦ '"'■ Journal dhin Baleinier," tome i.
THE WHALE,
51
a wound for example, the water penetrates into its bronchial tubes,
it drives the air out of them, renders the whole body heavier, and the
animal sinks to the bottom quicker and quicker in proportion as the
air is driven out of the bronchial tubes and replaced by water.
We have just described the process, which we cah classical, em-
ployed in capturing the Whale. This process is insufficient now,
Fig. 15. — Devisme's Balle
Foudroyante.
Fig. 16.— American Harpoon Ball.
because the Whales have become timid, and knowing their danger,
flee before their pursuers at the moment when the latter flatter
themselves that they are about to catch them. A French gun-rnaker,
M. Devisme, invented for whaHng an explosive projectile. The
balle foiidi'oyante or a percussion of M. Devisme has two little wings,
which, opening at the moment of the explosion in the body of the
animal, form a sort of harpoon. The balle fciidroyanie proposed by
M. Devisme for hunting dangerous animals, which should be killed
at the first shot, such as Lions, Tigers, or Elephants, and which he
considers equally suited for attacking great spouting Whales, is
nothing but a kind of howitzer shell, reduced to dimensions small
enough to allow of its being fired from an ordinary rifled carbine.
52 MAMMALIA.
This ball contains a certain quantity of powder, which can be ignited
by the percussion of a fulminating capsule contained in its interior.
This balk foudroy ante (Fig. 15) is cylindrical and eight centi-
metres ^ in length ; it is formed of a copper tube, covered at its
base with a coating of lead for about the length of two centi-
metres. This plate of lead forces itself, at the moment the gun is
fired, into the grooves of the barrel of the carbine, the calibre of
which is the same as that of the Vincennes carbine. The upper
part of this ball is a copper cone, screwing on to the tube. This
cone is armed with a piston, at the lower extremity of which is
placed an ordinary cap, which rests upon a steel cross-piece. When
the projectile has hit the object shot at, this steel cross-piece crushes
the fulminating capsule, and the six grains of powder contained
in the ball ignite and send the whole projectile flying about in death-
bearing splinters.
Of all the means tried until now to strike and kill the Whale from
a distance, the only one which has, as yet at least, been actually
employed is an American projectile, which has received the name
of bovib-Iance. This engine (Fig. 16) is composed of a cast-iron
tube, of from thirty to forty centimetres in length by two to three
in diameter. This tube is filled with about a hundred grains of
gunpowder. It terminates above in a triangular pyramid, with
hollow surfaces^ having the angle and points very acute ; the
bottom of this tube is joined, by means of a screw, to a narrower
screw containing a match. This projectile can be fired with the
charge of a heavy gun, which, when well shouldered, carries as far
as fifteen, twenty, and even thirty fathoms. When the gun has
been fired, the bomb which forms the projectile penetrates into the
fleshy parts of the animal with the match, which was lighted by the
explosion that took place when the gun went off. A few seconds
later a dull hollow sound is heard — it is the bomb bursting inside the
animal. The Whale makes a violent somersault, and if the explosion
has taken place in the lung it may die almost instantaneously. The
employment of the bomb-lance is combined equally with that of the
harpoon. When a Whale has been seized and made fast by the
harpoon thrown by the hand, they replace the lance for killing the
animal by the explosible projectile.
Dr. Thiercelin proposed to render the bomb-lance still more
murderous by adding to it a very powerful poison — strychnine mixed
with curare.
* I centimetre = '393707904 English inches
THE WHALE. 55
After numerous experiments Dr. Thiercelin came to the conclu-
sion that a mixture composed of a very sokible salt of strychnine
and a twentieth part of curare is sufficient to put to death one of
these animals, when it is administered in doses of half a milli-
gramme for every kilogramme* of the animal's weight. He then
made cartouches, thirty grains in weighty containing this poisonous
mixture. One of these cartouches alone is enough to kill a Whale
of 60,000 kilogrammes in weight ; two would be more than sufficient
for the largest Whales of the North Pole, the weight of which perhaps
exceeds 100,000 kilogrammes.
Dr. Thiercelin encloses each cartouche in the projectile, called a
ball-harpoon, better known in America under the name of bomb-lance,
and which we have just described. This projectile, fired into the
sides of the animal, bursts and projects the poisonous mixture into it.
In his first journey to Newfoundland Dr. Thiercelin caused his
poisonous bombs to be fired at ten Whales of diff'erent sizes. The
result was very satisfactory. The ten Whales died in a space of
time varying from four to eighteen minutes. Six of these furnished
them with their oil and whalebone. Their flesh was not in the least
impregnated with the poisonous matter, for their carcasses were
handled by men who had excoriations, and even recent wounds, on
their hands, without a single one having suffered the least harm.
Four of these Cetacea, as they belonged to species of which the
whalers do not generahy take notice, were lost from circumstances
independent of the new method.
The results of this campaign set at rest all doubts as to the future
in store for Dr. ThierceHn's idea. Henceforth there will be no more
fear when a Whale is attacked of seeing it escape, pierced all over
with many blows. Every Whale hit will be, as it were, already killed.
Its capture will be almost certain. There is here, then, the germ of
a revolution in whaling.
This system of attack has the advantage of paralysing in a few
instants the movements of the animal. Six or eight minutes after
the wound has been inflicted, the fisher can approach the Whale and
strike it with his lance to make it bleed, rendering it thus lighter, and
preventing it from sinking to the bottom.
There cannot be the least doubt of the terrible efficacy of Dr.
Thiercelin's system. It may even now be feared that, at some not
very distant period, the very extraordinary and innocent creatures
* I milligramme = -01543234 grains Troy, or '00000220462 lbs. avoirdupois.
I kilogramme = 15432-34 grains Troy, or 2-20462 lbs, avoirdupois.
56 MAMMALIA,
forming this order of marine Mammalia will be totally destroyed by
this mode of attack.
To complete our account of the whaling fishery we must say
something about the cutting up of the animal, and of the melting
down of the blubber into oil.
When the Whale is dead it is made fast alongside of the ship, belly
upwards, its tail forwards and its nose level with the stern of the
vessel. It is not without great difficulty that this enormous mass,
which just now traversed the sea with such facility, can be towed so
as to be landed on the shore.
In olden times the fishermen of the north of Europe used to cut
up the Whale by going upon its carcass, provided with boots furnished
with cramp-irons. They thus stripped off bands of blubber along the
whole length of the animal, from head to tail. But this way of cutting
up the Whale was long, difficult, and even dangerous.
The whalers in the Southern Ocean have a better way of pro-
ceeding : this consists in cutting out, along the whole length of the
animal's body, a broad continuous band shaped like a screw, begin-
ning at the head and only finishing at the tail, very nearly in the same
way in which children proceed when they are taking off the peel of an
orange.
Dr. Thiercelin relates in great detail the operation of cutting up,
upon which we are unable to dwell longer here. Suffice it to say
that they cut out, by means of sharp spades, one side of the under
lip, and that they take away this part ; that they then detach the
tongue, which weighs many thousands of kilogrammes; then the
other half of the lip ; next the upper jaw, with its whalebone plates,
which are becoming more and more sought after in commerce every
day. Then they begin to cut a thick band of grease and skin,
which they keep on detaching, hawling up on board, and stowing
away. It is thus that they unwind, as we may say, the Whale,
making its body turn round on itself. In the background of Fig. 17,
which represents the pursuit of the Whale, we see the operation
01 cutting it up going on on board of another ship.
In the southern seas the carcass is no sooner cast off and set
adrift from the ship than it is literally covered with birds, parti-
cularly Petrels and Albatrosses. The Sharks come also and take
their share of the feast. The bones, rolled about and heaped up in
the creeks, are then carried away by the tides.
Before being stored in the hold of the ship as cargo to be taken
home, the parts stripped off the Whale have to undergo various
preparations.
THE WHALE, 57
Each piece of blubber is divided by a machine into sUces of one
centimetre in thickness; they then proceed to the mehing down,
which has for its object the separation of the oil from this enormous
greasy rind.
The operation of melting is effected on the deck of the ship by
means of a furnace, of which the fire is kept up with scratchings^ that
is to say, the fragments of cellular tissue which float on the surface
of the oil when the blubber is melted. An ordinary Whale yields a
quantity of these, sufficient not only for melting down its own blubber,
but also sufficient for melting down a part of the blubber of another
Whale. The base of the furnace does not rest directly on the deck ;
it is separated from it by a free space, in which cold water is always
circulating, which reduces the adjacent parts of the deck of the ship
to a temperature below ioo°. Without this precaution there would
be a constant risk of fire. The quantity of oil supplied by a single
Right Whale may be as much as from twenty-five to thirty hectolitres.*
The operations, of which we have given a rapid sketch, make a
whale-ship very unsavoury quarters. To give an idea of it, we shall
again borrow a few lines from the work of Dr. Thiercelin : —
" I remember," says the author, " one evening in December, 1838,
I was on board the Ville-de- Bordeaux. We had killed four Whales
that day. We had been able to turn one of our four victims over ;
the second lay along the ship to starboard ; and the two others were
riding on the waves fastened to the ship by cables. The deck,
running with oil, was encumbered with empty barrels, with whale-
bone, and flippers partly stripped of their fat. The blubber-room
was crammed full, and two smoky lamps showed two or three novices,
all covered with grease, employed in cutting up the small pieces.
What a charnel-house was this room ! " t
Dr. Gray, of the British Museum, distinguishes four species of
Right Whales. These Whales, properly so called, have the head very
large, about one-third of the entire length of the animal, and con-
siderably arched, the back unprovided with a fin, and the lower parts
of the body smooth or unwrinkled — viz., the Northern Whale {Bal(zna
mysticetus), the Western Australian Whale (B. marginata), the Cape
Whale {B. Atistralzs), and the Japanese Whale {B. Japonica).
The Rorquals {BalcBnoptera) have a soft dorsal fin, and longitu-
dinal wrinkles on the under surface of the body. Fig. 18 repre-
sents a species of Rorqual, whose skin, perfectly preserved under a
* I litre = 0-2200967 British imperial gallons. 100 litres = i hectolitre =
0-3439009 British imperial quarters, or nearly 2| imperial bushels,
t " Journal d^un Baleifut*y tome i.
58
MAMMALIA.
roof, and protected by railings, occupies a large yard in the Jardin
des Plantes at Paris.
Dr. Gray divides the Rorquals — which have a prominent and
conspicuous fin upon the back, the plates of balleen or whalebone
short and broad, and the belly longitudinally plaited — into the genera
Megaptera, with the flippers elongated and dorsal fin low; Balceii-
optei^a^ with flippers of moderate length, the dorsal fin falcate, and
situate two-thirds of the length of the animal backwards, vertebrae
forty- six or forty-eight; and Physalus^ with flippers of moderate size,
the dorsal fin falcate, and situate further backwards, or at three-fourths
Fig. i8. — Rorqual (^Balcznoptera rostrata).
of the entire length of the animal, the vertebrae numbering from fifty-
four to sixty-four. Even further divisions have since been proposed,
as additional species have been distinguished ; for it now appears
that there are really very many species of these enormous Cetaceans
which are only beginning to be understood by naturaHsts who make
a special study of them.
Some of the Rorquals are the longest of all known animals,
attaining to miore than a hundred feet in length. One of the most
gigantic species (Physalus Indica) inhabits the Indian Ocean, and
there is a very early notice of this animal as observed at the northern
extremity of the Arabian Sea, in the narrative of the famous voyage
of Nearchus, the commander of Alexander's fleet, which sailed from
the Indus to the Persian Gulf, 327 B.C. Not only did the ancient
navigator encounter a troop of tb^^se huge animals, but it would appear
THE RORQUAL. 59
that they were at that time not imfreqi^ently stranded on the coast of
Mekrau, where the Icthyophagi of th/it woodless region used their
bones for building purposes. '' The generality of the people (as we
are told by Arrian) live in cabins, s/^nall and stifling : the better sort
only have houses constructed with the bones of Whales ; for Whales
are frequently thrown up on the coast, and when the flesh is rotted
off they take the bones, making planks and doors of such as are flat,
and beams or rafters of the ribs or jaw-bones ; and many of these
monsters are found fifty yards (?) in length. Strabo confirms this
report of Arrian ; and adds, that the vertebrae or socket-bones of the
back are formed into mortars, in which they pound their fish, and
mix it up into a paste, with the addition of a little meal."* In more
recent times the bones of Whales have been used for building pur-
poses on the shores of the Polar Sea, at the north-eastern extremity
of Siberia. Thus Admiral Von Wrangell remarks that — "At many
places along this coast we saw the bones of Whales stuck upright in
the ground ; our interpreter, and subsequently the Tschuktschi whom
we met, said that they were the remains of the former dwellings of a
stationary tribe. They appeared to have been of a better and more
solid kind than are now used, and to have been partly sunk in the
ground." And again : — " There are traditions which relate that two
centuries ago the Onkilon occupied the whole of the coast from Cape
Schelogskoi to Behring's Straits ; and it is true that there are every-
where along this tract the remains of huts constructed of earth and
Whale bones, and quite different from the present dwellings of the
Tschuktschi." t
Returning to the account given by Arrian of the great Indian
Rorqual. He informs us that when, in the morning, Nearchus was
off Kyiza or Guttar, his people were surprised by observing the sea
thrown up to a great height in the air, as if it were carried up by a
whirlwind. The people were alarmed, and inquired of their pilot
what might be the cause of the phenomenon. He informed them that
it proceeded from the blowing of the Whale, and that it was the
practice of the creature as he sported in the sea. His report by no
means quieted their alarm ; they stopped rowing from astonishment,
and the oars fell from their hands. Nearchus encouraged them,
and recalled them to their duty, ordering the heads of the vessels
to be pointed at the several creatures as they approached, and to
attack them as they would the vessels of an enemy in battle. The fleet
* Vincent's "Voyage of Nearchus," p. 267.
t Von Wrangell's "Narrative of an Expedition to the Polar Sea" (Sabine's
traoslation), 1840, pp. 360, 372.
60 MAMMALIA,
immediately formed as if going to engage, and advanced by a signal
given ; when, shouting altogether, and dashing the water with their
oars, with the trumpets sounding at the same time, they had the satis-
faction to see the enemy give way; for upon the approach of the vessels
the monsters ahead sunk before them, and rose again astern, where
they continued their blowing without exciting any further alarm. All
the credit of the victory fell to the share of Nearchus, and the accla-
mations of the people expressed their acknowledgment, both to his
judgment and fortitude, employed in their unexpected delivery.
" The simphcity of the foregoing narrative," continues the trans-
lator, Mr. Vincent, " bespeaks its truth ; the circumstances being
such as would naturally occur to men who had seen animals of this
magnitude for the first time ; and the better knowledge which our
navigators are possessed of, who pursue the Whale in its Polar
retreats, show that he is sometimes as dangerous an enemy as he
appeared to the followers of Nearchus."
This is the first distinct account of a great Cetacean of which
we have any knowledge ; and yet, singular to remark, the particular
species appears to have been quite overlooked by modern naturalists
until the year 1859, when some account of it appeared in the
" Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal." It is, nevertheless, so
far from being rare, indeed the sight of a shoal of these huge animals
is so familiar a spectacle to mariners in the Indian Ocean, that to this
very circumstance, combined with the fact of their not being of much
commercial value, may be attributed the extraordinary absence of
such memorial. Had the appearance of a shoal {schule or school in
nautical language) of enormous Whales in the Arabian Sea or Persian
Gulf been a phenomenon of unusual occurrence, it would unquestion-
ably have been recorded from time to time. The great Indian
Rorqual is, indeed, very common still in the seas where it was ob-
served by Nearchus and his companions, off the coasts of Arabia and
of Mekran, Sindh, the peninsula of Cutch, and again further south-
ward, off the Malabar coast. One cast up dead upon Amherst Islet,
near Ramri Island, on the Arakan coast, in the Bay of Bengal, during
the rainy season of 185 1, measured eighty-four feet in length, of
which the rami of the lower jaw were twenty-one feet, or exactly
one-quarter of the total length. Another, stated to be ninety feet
long, and about forty-two feet in circumference, was cast upon the
Chittagong coast in 1842 (in about lat. 21^ N.). It appears that
early on the 15 th August the attention of the inhabitants of that
coast was attracted by something in appearance like the capsized
hull of a large vessel, floating on the surface of the sea, and coming
towards the mouth of the Muskal River. When it approached near
THE RORQUAL, 6 1
the land they perceived that it was a living creature, by its continually
spouting up water into the air, and by the middle of the day it cast
itself on the shore of Muskal Island. By the assistance of the flood
and the surf of the sea it was brought completely on shore, where,
as soon as it was landed, it appeared to be in great distress, for
it roared very loudly, similar to the roar of an Elephant.
An excellent observer remarks that "these Rorquals are very
common on the Malabar coast. American ships, and occasionally
a Swedish one, call at Cochin for stores during their cruises for
them; but no English whalers ever come here. One, said to be
100 feet long, was stranded on the coast. I saw seven of its vertebrae
and ribs. Another, ninety feet long, got among the reefs of Qui] on,
and was murdered by some hundreds of natives, with guns, spears,
axes, &c., and was cut up and eaten (salted and dried as well as
fresh). The Roman Catholic fishermen of the coast pronounced it
first-rate beef. The Maldives and Seychelles are said to be the
head-quarters of the whalers who pursue these gigantic Cetaceans."
A species much better known to naturaHsts is the Great Northern
Rorqual {Balcenoptera hoops)^ which attains to as huge a magnitude as
the one already noticed. A specimen of it was found floating on the
sea in a decomposed state on the 20th October, 1831, in Plymouth
Sound, which is stated to have been 102 feet long, and 75 feet in
circumference, but most likely (remarks Dr. Gray) the abdominal
cavity was distended by internal decomposition, which the great
longitudinal plaits of the skin of the lower parts would permit to a
considerable extent. Two others have been observed, which
measured 105 feet each. One of them was found dead, as mentioned
by Scoresby, in Davis's Straits ; and Captain Clarke measured the
skeleton of the other near the Columbia River, which extended to that
length.* This animal is the Razor-back of the whalers ; and though
occasionally observed in temperate latitudes, they are much more
common further north, occurring in great numbers in the Arctic Seas,
especially along the edge of the ice between Cherie Island and Nova
Zembla, and also near the island of Jan Meyen. It is seldom seen
amongst much ice, and seems to be avoided by the Greenland or
Right Whale ; and the whalers therefore view its appearance with
concern. In the Spitzbergen quarter it inhabits most generally the
parallel of from 70° to 76°; but in summer, when the sea is open,
It advances to the northward as high as 80° of latitude.
The Northern Rorqual swims with a velocity at the greatest of
* "Travels to the Missouri," by Captains Lewis and Clark, p. 422^
62 MAMMALIA.
about twelve miles an hour. It is by no means a timid animal,
and usually does not appear to be mischievously disposed. When
closely pursued by boats it manifests little fear, and does not attempt
to outstrip them in the race, but merely endeavours to avoid them
by diving and changing its direction. If harpooned, or otherwise
wounded, it then exerts all its energies, and escapes with increased
velocity, so that it is much more difficult to capture than the Right
Whale, being also more dangerous to attack, and much less valuable
when killed, as it yields a comparatively small supply of oil.
But though the regular whalers usually decline all encounter
with the Great Northern Rorqual, yet it is not so with the natives of
the Polar regions, whose wants compel them to make every exertion
which promises the least success, and where circumstances are
frequently pecuHarly favourable. In Lapland these animals some-
times yield fifteen tons of oil, and the worth of one is about £,\^o.
Two other species of Rorqual of smaller dimensions have been
cast ashore on the British coasts, the Physalus boops, and the
P. Sibbaldii, and the Small Rorqual, Bal(2noptei'a rvstrata, more
commonly. This is the smallest, or, should we not rather say the
least gigantic, of the group, and indeed of all the true Whales, rarely,
if ever, exceeding twenty-four, or at most thirty, feet in length. It
is easily known by the white spot at the base of the upper side of its
flipper. Other Whales again, of the same Rorqual series, are known
to mariners as Humpbacks ; such are the Megaptera longimana of
the Greenland seas, the M. Amej-icaiia^ stated to be common at the
Bermudas, and the M. Foeskop of the Southern Ocean ; which latter
must again be different from the BalcEiioptej'a Australis of Lesson,
as this is described as having a long dorsal fin, which, instead of
being placed far backwards as usual, is situated immediately over
the flippers. This southern Rorqual but rarely approaches the
coasts of South Africa, at least it is stated that only two or three are
observed at the Cape in the course of a year \ nor does any one
think of pursuing it, since its great power and velocity make it
difhcult and dangerous of capture, and the products by no means
repay the risk and labour incurred.
The remains of great Whales, referable to existing species or
genera, have been found in Britain and other countries, in gravel-
beds adjacent to estuaries or large rivers, in marine drift or sliingle,
as the " elephant bed " near Brighton, and in clay-beds of moderate
geological antiquity; the situations of these fossils generally
indicating a gain of dry land from the sea. Thus the skeleton
of one Ror(^ual, seventy-two feet in length, found embedded in
THE CACHALOT. 63
clay on the banks of the Forth, was more than twenty feet above the
rise of the highest tide. Several bones of a Whale discovered at
Dunmore Rock, Stirlingshire, were nearly forty feet above the present
level of the sea. Sir Ge;.rge Mackenzie has recorded the discovery
of Whale vertebrae in a bed of bluish clay, near Dingwall, which
contains many sea-shells, and is evidently a marine deposit ; but the
spot where the vertebrae were found is three miles distant from the
high-water mark, and twelve feet in height above the present level of
the sea.* Many other instances might be mentioned, and the petro-
tympanic, or ear-bones, of Whales and Cachalots, which are not
unfrequently met with, have received the appellation of cetolitcs.
Physeteridce. — The Cachalots, or Sperm Whales, are altogether
distinct from the true Balcenidce^ and are best classed as a distinct
family. Their affinity is indeed much nearer to the Dolphins and
Porpoises, so much so that they range quite naturally as abnormal
members of the extensive family of DelphinidcB. Indeed, in one
southern species, known as the Kogia or Euphysetes Grayi, not only
is the size considerably reduced, but also the proportionate dimensions
of the head, bringing it nearer to the ordinary forms of DelphinidcE.
The Cachalot {Fhyseter macro cephalus) is of a considerable size.
In this respect certain Whales alone surpass it. It attains to from
twenty-four or twenty-six metres t in length, and to seventeen metres
in circumference.
Its head is about one- third of the length of its whole body; it is of
a cylindrical shape, slightly compressed and truncated in front. It
forms an enormous cubic mass, of eight, ten, or twelve metres in
length, by four or five metres in breadth. When a hfeless Cachalot
is floating alongside of a ship it wants some reflection to discover its
head : one would at first be tempted to take this mass for a half-
submerged ship.
The mouth opens on a level with the lower surface of this
immense mass. The lower jaw is provided with large conical teeth,
all similar to each other, the number of which sometimes amounts
to fifty-four. Corresponding with each tooth there is in the upper
jaw a cavity adapted to receive it when the mouth is shut. Behind
and above the cleft of the mouth, or point of union of the lips, is the
eye, placed in a manner to enable it to see obhquely on each side,
in an angle of forty to fifty degrees with regard to the axis of its
* Owen's *' British Fossil Mammals and Birds," p. 562.
t 1 metre = 39 "3707904 English inches = 3 -2808992 English feet = i '093633
English yards.
64 MAMMALIA,
body. This eye is small and black. Behind the eye comes the
orifice of the ear, which is hardly visible, and, farther on, the flipper,
which is very small. At the extremity of the upper surface is to be
seen the spiracle, or sole orifice of the nasal cavities. There issue
from this orifice Httle greyish intermittent clouds of steam.
The enormous head of the Cachalot joins, without any appear-
ance of a neck, on to a massive conical body, terminating in a large
pair of caudal lobes, each of which is hollowed out in the shape of a
scythe. The end of one of these is often nearly five metres distant
from the extremity of the other. The animal's back is black, or
blackish ; sometimes it is shot with greenish or grey tints. The belly
is whitish ; the skin is smooth, and as soft as silk. When one con-
siders the resistance which the great vertical surface of this animal's
muzzle must oppose to its movements, one cannot at once explain
the rapidity of its evolutions, and the quickness of the rate at which
it travels. The fact is, in spite of its enormous mass, the Cachalot
goes at about two leagues an hour, but it can double this pace. One
then sees it raising and lowering its immense tail ; the body follows
this movement ; it alternately uncovers itself, and then plunges into
the sea. At each spring it raises itself thus from eight to ten metres
above the water, and sometimes it even throws itself entirely above
the surface of the water. According to Dr. Thiercelin, the Cachalot
can remain for a long while in the depths of the ocean. It is some-
times forty or fifty minutes, and even an hour before it reappears. It
comes near shore and into shallow places near islands at the full and
new moons ; it regains the open seas at the moment of the neap-
tides. According to Dr. Thiercelin, it lives almost entirely on Cuttles
and other Cephalopods, which, floating in the water, fall easy prey to
such a voracious enemy. According to Lacepede, on the contrary,
the Cachalot greedily devours fish, and it pursues also Sharks, Seals,
and Dolphins. Furthermore, it never travels alone. Bands of from
two to three hundred Cachalots have been met with — wandering
hordes, each under the guidance of a chief that swims in front of the
rest, and is ready to give, by a peculiar cry, the signal for a combat,
or for a retreat.
The mothers are very much attached to their young. On the
least sign of danger they carry them off, and if they are attacked
they defend them to the death. If one of ihem has run aground and
been stranded, the mother, quite taken up with her efforts to save it,
is not long in sharing its lot.
The Cachalot (Fig. 19) is found in a great many diff"erent seas.
For instance, in the latitudes of Spitzbergen, near the North Cape
THE CACHALOT, 6/
and the coasts of Finnmark ; the seas of Greenland \ the greatest
part of the South Atlantic Ocean; the Britannic Gulf (in 1720, one
of these animals, driven by a storm, was stranded near the mouth
of the Elbe) ; the banks of Newfoundland j the Gulf of Gascony,
&c. We hear from time to time, at long intervals, of a solitary
example of this creature being seen on the French shores. In
1784 thirty-two Cachalots were stranded on the coast of Audierne
(Brittany). They had been preceded by a multitude of fish and of
Porpoises, and their bellowings or roarings were heard for more than
four kilometres inland. They remained alive on the sand for about
twenty-four hours. In 1767 a Cachalot was taken in the bay of the
Somme, near St. Valery. Another ran ashore, in 1741, at the mouth
of the Avons, on the coast of Bayonne.
It is in the seas of India, the Moluccas, Japan, and the Corea,
that the Americans and the English pursue the Cachalot — a dangerous
undertaking, on account of the agility, the suddenness of the
movements, and the power of this animal. An expedition generally
lasts from three to four years, and it is full of hazard — of perils
without equal in other maritime enterprises. The Cachalot does not
flee from the enemy as does the Whale ; it makes a great fight for its
life. With its enormous head, a sort of gigantic battering-ram, it
strikes and smashes the boats. With one blow of its powerful tail
it sweeps away and casts into the air everything it finds in its way.
Tiic taking of Cachalots is very important in a commercial point of
view. One of these animals can furnish a hundred tons of oil. The
price per ton being two hundred and fifty francs (;£"io) ; the total
value of the oil supplied by one of these creatures is twenty-five
thousand francs (;£i,ooo). Commerce and the arts derive from the
Cachalot other articles besides oil ; for instance, ivory, ambergris, and
spermaceti.
The teeth furnish a sort of ivory, but this is of inferior quality.
The ambergris is only a kind of intestinal product, or rather a
part of the Cachalot's food, incompletely digested. The ordure of
the Cachalot, altered, modified, coagulated, and consolidated, be-
comes ambergris.
Lacepede, indeed, has observed that the excrements of many
Mammalia, such as those of Oxen and of Pigs, diffuse, when kept
for some time, an odour analogous to that of ambergris, and he
reminds us that some MoUusks, on which the Cachalot feeds, exhale,
during their lives, and even after they have been dried, an odour
differing very little from that of ambergris.
The ambergris is found in the intestinal canal of the Cachalot, in
68 MAMMALIA.
the form of balls or irregular lumps from four to five in number. It
is generally hard enough to allow of its being broken ; it adheres like
wax to the blade of the knife with which it is scraped ; it softens
and becomes unctuous under the influence of a gentle heat. Its
odour increases under friction, or when it is exposed to heat; its
density is so slight that it floats on water. For this reason masses of
ambergris are often picked up on the shore, or are found on the
surface of the water. The ambergris taken from the intestines of a
single Cachalot weighs 500 grains. But it sometimes weighs from
five to ten kilogrammes. Large quantities of this sweet-scented and
pungent matter are used in perfumery.
Spermaceti is a concrete oil, which is fluid when the animal is
alive. It hardens when exposed to the cold. It is white, bright,
pearly, soft to the touch, and easily comes off in flakes. It is em-
ployed in the manufacture of wax candles, and in diverse prepara-
tions for perfumery and pharmacy. A Cachalot of nineteen metres in
length has been known to furnish as many as three thousand kilo-
grammes of spermaceti.
This natural product is contained in a sort of elongated canal,
formed by the junction of the brain case with the facial bones.
This reservoir is not less than two metres in depth. It is,
however, very distinct from the cavity which contains the brain, a
cavity which is itself very small.
The fatty, and, consequently, light matter, which is found in the
head of the Cachalot, seems to be a provision of nature. The
enormous head, which the animal would have had such difficulty in
raising, which would have so much increased the weight of its body
and clogged its movements, becomes, in consequence of the oil
with which it is filled, a sort of floating apparatus, of which this
marine animal can, with the slightest effort, project into the air the
blowing or spouting orifice placed on the summit of its enormous
head.
DelphinidcB. — In this third family we have the Genera Delphiniis^
Phoccena^ Monodon, Jxia, and others. The common Dolphin [Del-
phinus delphis) is more prettily shaped than most of the other
Cetaceans. The head forms the extremity of an anterior cone, and
joins on insensibly to the body. It terminates in a muzzle, very
distinct from the skull ; it is flat from top to bottom, and rounded
in its contour. It has been compared to an enormous Swan's
bill ; the sailors often call its head the Sea-goose. The mouth
measures one-eighth of the total length of the animal. It is, for the
rest, well armed, as it contains on each side of its iwo jaws from
THE DOLPHIN. /I
forty-two to forty-five teeth, sharp, conical and pointed, which make
from 1 68 to i8o teeth in all.
The spiracles, or blow-holes, join together and form one single
opening, situated a little above the eyes. The ear is very well
organised ; and therefore the Dolphin can hear from a very long way
off the low groanings of its fellows. Its back is blackish, its sides
rather grey, its belly white. It has a dorsal fin, pointed, and standing
up on its back ; flippers, in shape like scythes ; the caudal fin is
crescent-shaped, hollow in the middle, and ending each way in sharp
horns or points. This fin, and the tail itself, can be moved with so
much the more vigour as the powerful muscles which make it act are
attached to the high protuberances of the lumbar vertebrae.
People have always had such a great idea of the strength of the
Dolphin that, in the time of Rondelet, it was said of those who
attempted to perform impossibilities, that they "wanted to tie a
Dolphin by the tail" {veulejit Her un Dauphin par la queue).
It is principally with the assistance of this powerful tail that the
Dolphin swims with such rapidity, and that it has gained for itself
the title of " sea-arrow " {fieche de la mer).
When these Cetaceans — which go in numerous troops, and in a
certain order — meet with a ship, they follow it, so as to catch the
fish which the refuse thrown from the ship attracts in quantities.
At whatever speed the ship may be either sailing or steaming, they
keep up with it, and play about among the waves, bounding, turning
over and over, and never tiring of frisking and tumbling, affording
continual amusement to the crew. Their leaps, their circumvolutions,
their light manoeuvres, the prettiness of their form and colour, afford
a recreation to navigators fatigued by the monotony of a long sea
voyage. Fig. 20 is a representation of a number of Dolphins pursuing
a boat.
Many authors have said that the Dolphin leaps sometimes high
enough above the surface of the water to jump on board small vessels.
They say that in this case the animal curves its body round with force,
bends its tail like a bow, and then unbends it, in such a manner as
to fly like an arrow from a bow.
When they saw these animals following their ships, the^ sailors
imagined that they were accompanying them from an instinct of
sociability ; they have even gone so far as to say that these animals
had a sort of affection for seamen. Of course, these ideas are un-
founded.
One may read in the ^^Traitk de la Navigation^' by P. Fournier, a
curious anecdote respecting the Dolphin. On the ist of September,
72 MAMMALIA
1638, fifteen French galleys were preparing to engage in action with
as many Spanish and SiciHan vessels, which had on board, besides
the ordinary complement of rowers and sailors, 3,500 foot soldiers.
"The orders received," says P. Fournier, "each one took his
post, and the captain of the enemy was already in the midst of his
fourteen galleys, when, behold, suddenly eighty or a hundred dolphins
appeared on the water, and grouped themselves round the French
captain, bounding on the waves, gliding from bow to stern, leaping
towards the enemy, and playing a thousand antics which made all
the crew break out incontinently into these joyous words — ' Vive le
rot! nous aurons dii Dauphin!' — taking this sudden and unexpected
meeting with the king of fish, who ranged himself on their side, not
only as foretelling an approaching victory, but also as a certain omen
that the queen would be happily delivered of a dauphin, which was
true ; for four days afterwards the dauphin was born.'^
This dauphin, whose entrance into the world was so strangely
announced, according to the saying of the sailors, during the preludes
of a naval battle, was the future Louis XIV.
The ancients have singularly loaded with fables the history of
the Dolphin. According to them, it was a mild, familiar animal,
sensible to music. It had assisted Neptune in finding his Amphitrite.
Philantes, after being shipwrecked on the coast of Italy, had been
saved by a Dolphin. Arion, threatened with death by the sailors of
the ship of which he was on board, having thrown himself into the
sea, was picked up by a Dolphin, attracted by the sweet notes of his
lyre, and conveyed safely into harbour on the animal's back. Apollo
took the form of a Dolphin when he conducted his colony to the
Delphian shores. Neptune changed himself into a Dolphin when
he carried off Melanthus, &c. And so this marvellous creature was,
among the ancients, the object of religious worship. Neptune was
adored at Sunium, under the form of the Cetacean dear to his lover ;
and the Delphian Apollo, honoured at Delphi, had Dolphins as his
symbol.
As the figures which adorned this temple dated from the most
distant period, they were coarsely executed and inexact. When art
had made some progress, the Grecian artists employed to reproduce
these same images did not like to make any change in the drawings,
which had been consecrated by tradition, and the image of the
Delphian Dolphins was perpetuated in painting and sculpture. It is
for this reason that modern painters and sculptors represent the
Dolphin still as did the Greek artists of the time of Homer — that is to
say, with the tail elevated, the head large, the mouth enormous, &c.
THE PORPOISE. 73
These fables, and these superstitions, inherited from antiquity,
have been preserved in the different countries which border on the
Mediterranean Sea. Among many peoples the Dolphin has re-
mained, as Lacepede tells us, a symbol of the sea.
" Twisted round a tridejit," adds this naturalist, " it represented
the liberty of commerce \ placed round a tripod, it signified the
college of fifteen priests who performed service at Rome in the
temple of Apollo ; caressed by Neptune, it was the sign of a calm
sea and the safety of sailors ; arranged round an anchor, or placed
above an ox with a human face, it indicated that mixture of quick-
ness and slowness which is expressed by prudence."
The figure of the Dolphin is seen on the ancient medals of
Tarentum and those of Psestum ; on the medals of Corinth, which
give to its head its true features ; on those of ^Egium, in Achaia, of
Euboea, of Byzantium, Brindisi, Larinum, Lipari, Syracuse, Thera,
and Velia, as also on those of the emperors Nero, Vitellius,
Vespasian, Titus, &c.
As the common Dolphin is very frequently met with at the present
day in the Mediterranean and Atlantic Ocean, it is probable that it is
to this species that all the sayings of the ancients refer. We must,
however, mention that certain naturalists — having found that the
descriptions left by the Greeks correspond only imperfectly with the
common Dolphin, that the representations are often unlike, and
generally inexact — have thought that they ought to come to the con-
clusion that the marvellous animal so much spoken of by the ancients
was a creation of the fancy. But this opinion cannot be admitted,
after the explanation given by Lacepede, from which it results
that the want of accuracy in the representations of the Dolphin
arose from the respect which the painters and sculptors of Greece
showed to the traditional image of the Dolphin which was handed
down to them from their own ancient artists, the contemporaries of
Homer.
The species of Dolphins are extremely numerous.
Porpoises differ from Dolphins in having the muzzle short,
uniformly rounded, and not having the form of a beak. The com-
mon Porpoise, Phoccena communis (Fig. 21), is one of the smallest
of the Cetaceans : it is only one metre twenty-five centimetres in
length. It lives in numerous troops, and attracts attention by its
merry gambols amongst the waves. The Mackerel, the Herring, and
the Salmon tlee before these turbulent troops of Porpoises. These
troops are sometimes so numerous that, at the moment when the
individual creatures composing them ccme to the surface to breathe,
74 MAMMALIA.
they darken the surface of the ocean. One then sees their oily
blackish bodies shining on all sides.
Porpoises make desperate war on the fish we have just mentioned,
and particularly on Salmon. These try in vain to escape from their
enemy ; their manoeuvres are generally defeated with marvellous
address. Those who have witnessed the pursuit of the Salmon by
the Porpoise say that it is a very curious and amusing sight.
The Porpoise abounds on the French coasts ; it even comes up
the rivers, and has been sometimes seen at Rouen, and even as far
Porpoise {PJioccena communis).
as Paris. In the middle ages Porpoise hunting was of a certain
importance to the European nations ; for its flesh was then much
sought after by all classes of society. The pursuit of them is still
carried on in the north, either for their flesh, which is eaten by the
Laplanders and Greenland ers, or for their fat, which is sent into
Europe.
The common Porpoise is one of the smallest of the animals of this
family ; the Grampus, or the Gladiator Dolphin {PhoccBua Oreo), is,
on the other hand, one of the largest animals of its group, attaining
to eight metres in length. The Grampus is common in northern
seas. It is a very strong and excessively voracious animal. Sir
Joseph Banks says that a Grampus, which had been struck with
THE NARWHAL.
75
harpoons and made fast to a boat, towed it with four people in it, in
spite of a strong tide which was running eight miles an hour, from
Blackwall to Greenwich, and then on to Deptford.
This animal is celebrated for the combats in which it is said it
engages with the giant of the seas — the Whale. Grampuses go in
troops, and if they meet with a Whale they rush upon it, hustle and
worry it ; and then, when overcome with fatigue, it opens its mouth,
they devour its tongue.
Narwhals {Mofiodon) differ very little from Porpoises in their
general form and the colour of their bodies -, but at the first glance
they are easily to be distinguished from all other Cetaceans by the
singular tusk with which nature has provided them. Of the two
incisive teeth implanted in the upper jaw of the Narwhal, one is
almost entirely aborted, whilst the other is prodigiously elongated in
a straight line, and is simply an enormous stiletto, which is rounded
with a spiral fluting, a sharp point at the extremity, and which is of
one-third or half the length of the animal. This strange creature has
then but one tooth — and what a tooth ! It is, in fact, a sword of
ivory. In the Museum of Natural History at Amsterdam and other
collections, there is a Narwhal skull with two fully developed tusks.
There have been, both among the ancients and the moderns,
many stories about the Narwhal's tooth. It was formerly considered
to be like the horn of the Unicorn, which was situated on the middle
of the forehead. This fabulous being resembled, they said, the
Horse and the Stag. Aristotle and Phny have described it, and it is
represented on many ancient monuments. It was adopted by the
chivalry of the middle ages, and has often decorated the trophies in
military fetes.
Our ancestors attributed to the tooth of the Narwhal, which they
called the tooth of the Unicorn, marvellous medicinal virtues. They
considered it an infallible antidote to all poisonous substances ; they
were persuaded that it counteracted all the hurtful properties of
venomous substances. Charles IX., dreading lest he should be
poisoned, was very careful to put into his cup of wine a piece of the
Sea Unicorn's tooth. Ambroise Pare was the first who dared to lift
up his voice against such errors.
Very soon after the Unicorn ceased to be an object of exorbitant
price on account of its rarity and its supposed virtues. It then
passed from the apothecary's laboratory to the naturalist's collection,
where it was long preserved under the name of horn or tusk of the
Unicom.
In the fable of " Les oreilles du Lievres," La Fontaine alludes
76 MAMMALIA,
to these superstitious notions. A Lion, wounded by a horned
animal, issues a decree that every animal having horns be banished
from his domain. A Hare perceiving the shadow of its own ears,
and fearing that they would be taken for horns, is preparing to go
into banishment,
" Adieux, voisin Grillon," dit-il ; *' je pars d'ici !
Mes oreilles enfin seraient cornes aussi ;
Et quand je les aurais plus courtes qu'une Autruclic, \
Je craindrais meme encoi-e." Le Grillon repartit —
" Cornes cela ! Vous me prenez pour cruche !
Ce sont oreilles que Dieu fit."
" On les fera passer pour cornes,"
Dit I'animal craintif, '^ et cornes de Licornes ! " *
The true nature of this horn was shown for the first time by a
naturalist of the Renaissance, one Wormius, who had found it affixed
in its socket in a skull similar to that of a Whale. But it was not till
1 67 1 that Frederick Martens gave a tolerably correct description of
the Narwhal. These Narwhal live in the neighbourhood of Iceland,
and in the seas which wash the shores of Greenland. They gather to-
gether in the creeks of the ice islands, and travel in bands. It would
be very difficult to take them if they did not live in troops ; for, when
isolated, they swim with such rapidity as to escape from all pursuit.
But when they are near together they mutually embrace each
other, and are easily caught. When the fishing-boats glide cautiously
in between their long files they close their ranks, and press against
each other so much that they paralyse each other's movements ;
they become entangled in the tusks of those near them, or else, lifting
their heads in the air, they rest their tusks on the backs of those
which are in front of them. They can from that minute neither
retreat, nor advance, nor fight, and they fall under the blows of the
sailors, who are in the boats (Fig. 22).
The Icelanders manufacture with the Narwhal's tusks their arrows
for the chase, and the poles which they use in the construction of
their huts ; but they do not eat its fiesh, because they beheve it to
be venomous. The name this animal bears was given to it by the
* " Adieu, neighbour Cricket," said he ; "I depart hence !
My ears at last will be horns also ;
And even if they were shorter than those of an Ostrich,
I should still be afraid." The Cricket answered —
" Those horns ! You must take me for a fool!
Those are ears which God has given you."
*' They will make them pass for horns,"
Said the timid creature ; " OiXidfor Unicorn'' s horns too ! "
THE NARWHAL. 79
Icelanders. The meaning of the word is, " Whale that feeds on dead
bodies ; " for the word nar in their language means dead body or
carcass, and the word Whal, Whale, This is not the case, however,
with the Greenlanders, and other inhabitants of the north, who
esteem it excellent. They dry it by exposing it to smoke. The oil
furnished by the Narwhal is, it is said, preferable to that of the
Whale.
Naturalists are not agreed as to the lise of the Narwhal's formidable
weapon. They say that they use it in their attacks on the Whale,
and that they kill this monster by running their swords into its belly.
Lacepede says that their tusks have been found deeply implanted in
the bodies of Whales ; but other authors formally deny that battles
ever take place between these two terrible combatants.
Narwlials sometimes rush with prodigious speed and force against
vessels, which they no doubt take for some gigantic prey. If the
animal attack the ship on the side as it is sailing, the tooth, imbedded
in the wood, breaks off; but if it attack it from behind, the Narwhal
remains fixed to the ship ; it is then dragged along and towed till
it dies.
Certain naturalists, relying on the fact that the Narwhal's tusk is
smooth towards the end, which is sometimes rounded, and, as it were,
worn away, have concluded that the animal uses its horn for piercing
the ice, when it wants to come up and breathe, and to save itself a
long journey to the open water. Others have thought that these
traces of wear and tear of its weapon arise from the friction of it in
sand or against rocks, when the animal is looking there for its food,
which consists of Cuttle-fish, flat fish. Cod, Ray, Oysters, and other
Mollusks. And, lastly, it has been stated that the Narwhal uses its
natural lance for attacking its prey, for killing it, and perhaps also
for tearing it up before it devours it. Thus the Narwhal's tooth would
seem to be at the same time an instrument which serves to satisfy the
wants of the ordinary life of the animal, useful to it for its respiration,
its nutrition, and, at the same time, an offensive and defensive
weapon.
Narwhals are not always brutal and warlike. Scoresby saw some
very merry bands of these marine animals ; they raised their horns
and crossed them, as if they were going to fence, and they followed
the ship with a sort of wild curiosity.
The ivory of the Narwhal's tusk is an object of value ; it is more
compact, harder, and susceptible of a finer pohsh than that of the
Elephant. It is on this account that visitors to the library of Ver-
sailles are shown a walking-stick made of Narwhal ivory inlaid with
80 MAMMALIA,
mother-of-pearl. Of this ivory is made an ancient throne of the
kings of Denmark, which is to be seen in the Castle of Rosenberg.
A most excellent observer, Dr. R. Brown, remarks that "the
Narwhal is gregarious, generally travelling in great herds. I have
seen," he relates, " a herd of many thousands travelling north in their
summer migrations, tusk to tusk and tail to tail, like a regiment of
cavalry, so regularly did they seem to rise and sink into the water in
their undulatory movements in swimming. It is very active, and will
often dive with the rapidity of the Right Whale, taking out thirty or
forty fathoms of line." These " schules " are not all of one sex, as
stated by Scoresby, but consist of males and females mixed. The use
of the tusk has long been a matter of dispute : it has been supposed
to use it to stir up its food from the bottom ; but if such were the case
the females would be sadly at a loss. They seem to fight with them;
for it is rarely that an unbroken one is obtained, and occasionally one
may be found with the point of another jammed into the broken place,
where the tusk is young enough to be hollow, or entirely lost close to
the skull. Fabricus thought that these horns were to keep the
holes open in the ice during the winter ; and the following occurrence
seems to support his view : — In April, i860, a Greenlander was travel-
ling along the ice in the vicinity of Christianshaab, and discovered
one of those open places in the ice which, even in the most severe
winters, remain free of ice. In this hole hundreds of Narwhals and
Belugas were protruding their heads to breathe, no other open spot
presenting itself for miles around. It was described to Dr. Brown as
akin to an Arctic Black Hole in Calcutta, from the crowding of the
Narwhals in their eagerness to keep to the place. " Hundreds of
Eskimo and Danes resorted thither with their Dogs and sledges
and while one shot the animal another harpooned it, to prevent its
being pushed aside by the anxious crowd of brethren. Dozens of
both Narwhals and Belugas were killed, but many were lost before
they were brought home, the ice breaking up soon after. In the
ensuing summer the natives found many dead washed up in the bays
and inlets around. Neither the Narwhal nor the Beluga are timid
animals, but will approach close to, and gambol for hours in the im-
mediate vicinity of a ship."
In the female of the Narwhal the tusks are rudimentary, but exist
within the intermaxillary bone, each about ten inches long, rough, and
with no inclination to spire; "in fact," remarks Mr. Brown, "not
unlike a miniature piece of pig-iron. On the other hand, the unde-
veloped tusk in the male is smooth and tapering, and wrinkled longi-
tudinally. Double-tusked Narwhals are not unconunon. I have
THE WHALE. 8 1
seen them swimming about among the herd, and several such skulls
have been preserved. The colour of the animal is greyish, or velvet-
black, with white spots, sometimes roundish, but more frequently
irregular blotches of no certain outline, running into one another.
There are no spots on the tail or flippers, but waxy-like streaks shade
off on each side at the junction of the tail, which is white at the line of
indentation. The female is more spotted than the male. The young
is, again, much darker ; and individuals have been seen which were
almost white, like the one Anderson describes as having come ashore
at the mouth of the Elbe. In a female, killed at Pond's Bay, in
August, 1 86 1, the stomach was corrugated in complicated folds, as
were also the small intestines. It contained Crustaceans, bones of
Fishes, and an immense quantity of the horny mandibles of some
species of Cuttle (probably Sepia loligo) firmly packed one within the
other." * The Narwhal is chiefly an inhabitant of the Polar regions,
and very rarely strays to temperate latitudes ; still fossil remains of
it have been found both in England and France. A male taken
entangled among the rocks at the entrance to the sound of Weesdale,
in Zetland, on the 27th of September, 1808, measured twelve feet,
exclusive of the tusk.
The Beluga (^Beluga catodon)^ or "White Whale " of British seamen,
is an animal nearly akin to the Narwhal, but it is not provided with
a tusk, and it has some teeth situated in the front half only of the
jaws, which are conical, oblique, often truncated from attrition, and
in the upper jaw not unfrequently disappearing. These teeth vary in
number, but there is usually a row of nine above and eight below,
occasionally one more or less. The colour of the Beluga is
wholly white, but the young are black. In length it rarely exceeds
fifteen feet. According to Dr. R. Brown, this animal "is, beyond all
comparison, so far as its importance to the Greenland er and Eskimo
is concerned, the Whale of Greenland. Like the Narwhal, it is
there indigenous ; but it is only seen on the coast of Danish Greenland
during the winter months, leaving the coast south of 72° N. lat.,in June,
and roaming about at the head of Baffin's Bay and the western shore
of Davis Strait during the summer. In October it is seen to go
west, not south j but in winter it can be observed, in company with
the Narwhal, at the broken places in the ice. Its range may be said
to be the same as that of the Narwhals ; and during the summer
months corresponds with that of the Right Whale, of which it is con-
sidered the precursor. It, however, wanders farther south than the
* Brown : "Proceedings of the Zoological Society*" 1868,. p» 552.
82 MAMMALIA^
Narwhal, being found as a regular denizen as far south as 62^"^ N. lat,
on the European coast, though on the opposite or American side of
the Atlantic it reaches much farther south, being quite common in
the St. Lawrence river. The Greenlanders, during the summer, kill
great numbers of them, and preserve their oil, and dry their flesh for
winter use. Of this animal and the Narwhal about 500 are yearly
caught by the Greenlanders ; but the majority of this number are
Belugas. It feeds on Crustaceans, Fishes, and Cuttles, and in the
stomach is generally found sand. The Greenlanders often jocularly
remark, in reference to this, that the Kehlluak takes in ballast. Great
numbers are captured by means of nets at the entrance of fjords and
inlets, or in the sounds between islands. The young are darker
coloured than the adult, and can at once be distinguished among the
herds of the adults, which are of a pinky-white colour. It is said to
be rarely seen far from land. The males and females go together in
the herd, and do not separate, as has been stated. Their blast is not
unmusical ; and when under the water they emit a peculiar whistling
sound, which might be mistaken for the call of a bird ; on this account
the seamen often term them Sea-canm-ies 1 It is rarely that the re-
gular whalers kill a Beluga, their swiftness and activity giving them
more trouble than the oil is worth. I did hear, however, of one
whaler that killed several hundreds in the course of a summer ; but
this is also an isolated case." * According to Professor Eschricht, the
Beluga devours enormous quantities of Cuttle {Sepia loligo), Haddock
Gadus oeglifinus), and large Prawns. In August, 1 793, two males were
cast ashore on the beach of the Pentland Frith, some miles east of
Thurso j and one was killed on the eastern Scotch coast in JunC;
18 1 5. A very few other instances are on record of the Beluga visiting
the British Islands.
An animal of this species was kept for some time alive in a tank
in North America.t It was sufficiently well trained during the time
that it was in confinement to allow itself to be harnessed to a
car, in which it drew a young lady round the tank. It learned to
recognise its keeper, and would allow itself to be handled by him,
and at the proper time would come and put its head out of the
water to receive the harness or take its food. This one was less
docile, however, than an example of Delphinus tiirsio, which was for
a time with it in the same tank.J A second species of Beluga
* Brown : "Proceedings of the Zoological Society,*' 1868, p. 551,
t At Barnum's Museum, Nev,' York.
X " Boston Journal of Natural History," 1863, p. 330*
THE WHALE^ 83
{B. Kingii) has been obtained off the coasts of Australia, but not
much is known of it.
In the second edition of the British Museum " Catalogue of Seals
and Whales," by Dr. J. E. Gray, published in 1866, the Cetacea are
divided into two sub-orders, Cete and Sirenia; and the Cete into two
sections, Mysticete and Denticete. The Mysticete consist of the Tooth-
less Whales and Rorquals, and the Denticete of the Cachalots,
Dolphins, and other genera that have teeth. Two famihes are recog-
nised of the Mysticete^ viz., Balcenidce (the Whales), and Balcenopteridce
(the Rorquals), &c. ; and the Balcenopteridce are arranged into three
sub-families, viz., Megapterince, (the Hunchback), F/iysalince, and Balce-
nopterince. Of a fossil species, Palceocetics Sedgewickii, however, some
remains of which have been found in the Norfolk " crag '' deposit,
Dr. Gray remarks that " probably when it is better known it will
form a family {FalcBocetidcB), to be placed between BalcB?tid(B and
Balcenopteridce'' Of Balcenidcs he recognises five genera, viz., Balcetia,
Eiibalcena^ Hunterius, Caperia, and Macieayius. In Balcena the
flakes of baleen are thin and polished, with a thick enamel coat and
a fine fringe ; in the others the baleen is thick and not poHshed, and
has a thin enamel coat and a coarse thick fringe. Of Balcena three
species are recognised, and a fourth admitted dubiously. These are
— I. B. mysticetus, the Arctic Right Whale ; 2, B. biscayensis, which
is accepted as extinct by Professors Eschriclit and Van Beneden, and
of which there is a skeleton in the Museum of Pampeluna; 3. B,
marginata, the Western Australian Right Whale, which, according to
Dr. Gray, "is undoubtedly a very distinct species 3" 4. (?) B. gibbosa,
the alleged Scrag Whale of the Atlantic, which is thus described by
Dudley in the " Philosophical Transations " for 1725 : " Nearly akin
to the Fin-back, but instead of a fin upon its back, the ridge of the
after-part of its back is scragged with half a dozen knobs or knuckles.
He is nearest the Right Whale {B. mysticetus) in figure and quantity
of oil. His bone (whalebone) is white, but won't split." Cuvier
supposed that this Scrag Whale was merely a Rorqual that had been
mutilated; but Dr. Gray suspects, "from Dudley's account of the
former, that it must be a Balcena^ probably well-known formerly.
Indeed, Beale, in his ' History of the Sperm Whale,' speaks of it as
recognised by the whalers now; but (according to Dieffenbach)
' Scrags ' is the whalers' name for the young of the Right Whale." Our
latest authority. Dr. R. Brown, in his very excellent paper " On the
Cetaceans of the Greenland Seas,"* remarks, "What the Scrag Whale
* Brown : " Proceedings of the Zoological Society," 1868, p. 533.
84 MAMMALIA,
of Dudley is I cannot imagine. It is not now known to the whalers.**
He also remarks that " Professors Eschricht and Reinhardt consider
that there is a second species of Right Whale found in the Greenland
and northern seas, the ' Nord-caper ' (Ba/csna nord-caper of Bonaterre
B. islandica of Brisson, &c.), the 'Sletbag' of the Icelanders, and
that the following facts have been ascertained regarding it : — ist,
that it is much more active than the Greenland Whale, much quickei
and more violent in its movements, and, accordingly, both more
difficult and dangerous to capture \ 2nd, that it is smaller (it being,
however, impossible to give an exact statement of its length), and
has much less blubber ; 3rd, that its head is shorter, and that its
whalebone is comparatively small, and scarcely more than half the
length of that of the B. mysticetus; 4th, that it is regularly infested
with a parasite belonging to the genus Coronula, and that it belongs
to the temperate North Atlantic as exclusively as the B. mysticetus
belongs to the icy sea, so that it must be considered exceptional when
either of them strays into the range of the other. Moreover, they
consider that in its native seas it was to be found farther towards the
south in the winter (viz., in the Bay of Biscay, and near the coast of
North America down to Cape Cod), while in the summer it roamed
about around Iceland, and between this island and the most northerly
part of Norway. Dr. Eschricht considers that this was the Whale
captured by the Basque whalers in the seventeenth century ; hence
he has called it B. Biscayensis" As regards the colour of the baleen,
Dr. Brown informs us that it is variable. " In the young the laminae
are frequently striped green and black, but on the old animal they are
oocasionally altogether black ; often some of the laminae are striped
with alternate streaks of black and white, whilst others want this
variegation. Whalebone is said to be occasionally found white
without the animal differing in the slightest degree ; " and'- accord-
ingly, this character loses its supposed inportance as being a
pecuHarity of the exceedingly dubious Scrag Whale indicated by
Dudley.
It appears that the Balceiia inysticetus occasionally attains to a
length of sixty-five feet ; and Dr. Brown remarks of it, " Though
per se, the tail has no power, yet, as the instrument through which
the lumbar muscles (the tendinous attachments of which seem to be
prolonged into the cartilaginous substance of the tail) work, it exerts
enormous force. The figure usually engraved in boys' books of sea
adventures, and copies from Scoresby's 'Account of the Arctic
Regions,' of a Whale tossing a boat and its crew up into the air, is
generally looked upon by all the whalers to whom I have shown it
THE WHALE. 85
as an artistic exaggeration. Accidents of this nature are very rare,
and never proceed to such an extent ; and I have no doubt that Dr.
Scoresby's artist has taken liberties with his description, that worthy
navigator being himself above any suspicion of exaggeration for the
sake of effect. Captain Alexander Deuchars, who has now made
upwards of fifty voyages into the Arctic regions, informed me that he
had known a Whale toss a boat nearly three feet into the air, and
itself rise so high out of the water that you could see beneath it, but
that, if Scoresby's figure were correct, the Whale must have tossed the
boat very many feet into the air — a feat which he did not think was
within the bounds of, if not possibility, yet of probability." Yet Mr.
Blyth assures us that in the South Atlantic Ocean, near the island of
Tristan d'Acunha, the evening previous to a gale of wind, he has seen
several large Whales repeatedly jump clear of the water.
With respect to the Whale "spouting," as it is commonly styled,
Dr. Brown remarks, that "most of the slimy-looking substances
found floating in the Arctic seas are generally masses of DtatomaccB
combined with Protozoa, &c. ; but in some cases it is the mucous
lining of the bronchial passages which has been discharged when
the animal was 'blowing.' This 'blowing,' so familiar a feature
in the Cetaceans, but especially in the Right Whales, is quite
analogous to the breathing of the higher mammals, and the ' blow-
holes ' are the perfect analogues of the nostrils. It is most erro-
neously stated that the Whale ejects water from the 'blow-holes.' I
have been many times only a few feet from the Whale when
* blowing,' and, though purposely observing it, could never see that
it ejected from its nostrils anything but the ordinary breath, a fact
which might have almost been deduced from analogy. In the cold
Arctic air this breath is generally condensed, and falls upon those
close at hand in the form of a dense spray, which may have led
seamen to suppose that this vapour was originally ejected in the
form of water. Occasionally when the Whale blows, just as it is
rising out of, or sinking in, the sea, a little of the superincumbent
water may be ejected upwards by the column of breath. When the
Whale is wounded in the lungs, or in any of the blood-vessels
supplying them, blood, as might be expected, is ejected in the
death-throes along with the breath. When the whaler sees his prey
* spouting red,' he concludes that its end is not far distant ; for it is
then mortally wounded."
" After man, the chief enemy of the Whale is Orca gladiator, the
most savage of all the Cetaceans, and the only one which feeds
upon other anunals belonging to the order. The Thresher Shark
S6 MAMMALIA,
{Alopias vulpes)^ the very existence of which Scoresby seemed to
doubt, but which is now so comparatively well-known to naturalists
and seamen, is also an enemy of the Whale. It is doubtful, however,
whether it attacks it in life, or only preys upon it after death. The
Advice (Captain A. Deuchars) once took a dead Whale alongside,
which this Shark was attacking in dozens, the belly being perfectly
riddled by them.* The Greenland Shark {Scymnus borealis), though
it gorges itself with the dead Whale, does not appear to trouble it
during life. Martens's most circumstantial account of the fight
between the Whale and Sword-fish seems to have originated in a
misconception, this name being apphed by seamen not only to the
scomberoid fish {Xiphias), but also to the Gladiator Dolphin, which,
it is well known, fights furiously with the Right Whale. The Whale
must attain a great age, nor does it seem to be troubled with many
diseases. Whales which are seen floating dead are almost always
found to have been wounded. They are often killed with harpoon-
blades embedded deep in the blubber ; and some of these, from the
marks on them, have been proved to be the remains of fights of a
very ancient date, and in which the Whale has come off victor.'"'
"Each species of Whale," remarks Dr. Gray, "has its own
peculiar kind of sessile Cirriped ; one has the Coro7iula, another the
Diadema, and the third the Tubicinella. They are all sunk in the
surface of the skin, with the aperture for the free valve, or operculum
as it is called, alone exposed, and as diey grow in size the deeper
they sink into the skin. Some genera ahied to Coronula are found
on the shells of Turtles, and on the outer surface of shells that are
partially covered by the mantle of the animal. The Whales have
also pedunculated Cirripeds on them ; these were early observed :
' This Whale hath naturally growing upon his backe white things
like unto Barnacles ' (Purchas, ' Pilgrims,' 47 1)."
In the genus Etcbalcena the head is about a fourth of the entire
length, and there are some other differences. Only one species can
with certainty be referred to it, the Cape Whale {E. Australis), of
which a female measured sixty-eight feet in length. In the Green-
land Right Whale, and probably in all other Balmtidce, the female is
the larger. The Japanese Whale {E. Sieboldii) of Gray, according to
that naturahst, is only described and figured from a model made in
porcelain clay by a Japanese under the inspection of a Japanese
* The sailors, Dr. Brown remarks, have a notion that the Shark does not bite
out the pieces, but cuts them by means of its curved dorsal fin, and seizes them as
they sink when severed from the victim. This belief is widely and firmly received.
THE WHALE, %J
whaler and of Dr. Siebold; but no remains of the animal were
brought to Europe ; so that we do not know whether it is a
Eubal(E7ia or a Hunterius, or if it may not be an entirely new form."
Mr. Bennett observes that "the Right Whale, so abundant and so
little molested in the northernmost waters of the Pacific, especially
off the north-west coast of America, is probably identical with the
Greenland species ;"* but Dr. Gray remarks that its baleen, which
is very inferior in quality to that of B. mysticetiis, " shows that it is
more allied to the Cape species, but apparently distinct from it.^'
Himterius Temmi7ickii, Caperia antipodosimi^ and Alacleayius Aicstra-
lie7isis, are three other Southern Whales, the distinctions of which
are only beginning to be understood. In one or more of them a
curious horny substance is commonly observed upon the fore part of
the head, which the whalers denominate the creature's " bonnet."
One in the British Museum, obtained at the Sandwich Islands,
is oblong in shape, eleven inches long and eight inches wide, with a
very rough pitted surface. The whole substance seems to be formed
of irregular horny layers placed one over the other, the lowest layer
being the last one formed ; and each of these layers is more or less
crumpled and plicated on the surface, giving the irregular appearance
to the mass. "I do not recollect observing any account of this
' bonnet,' " writes Dr. Gray, " or giant corn, or rudimentary frontal
horn, as it may be regarded, in any account of the Right Whale, nor
in that of the Cachalot. I have especially searched for it in works
by persons who have seen these Whales alive, but without success.
It has been suggested by Mr. Holdsworth, that the ' bonnet ' may be
a natural development, and possibly characteristic of the species
bearing it."
In the true Cetacea generally, or Cete of Dr. Gray, there are no
hairs upon the skin, and the nearest approximation to bristles is
generally supposed to be furnished by the baleen of the Mysticeie ;
but a South American genus of beaked Dolphin, Inia, has a well-
bristled rostrum ; and in his description of the Greenland Right
Whale Dr. Brown states that " the whiskers consist of nine or ten
short rows of bristles, the longest bristles anteriorly. There are
also a few bristles on the apices of both jaws, and a few hairs
stretching all along the side of the head for a few feet backwards.
On the tip of the nose are two or three rows of very short white
hairs, with fewer hairs in the anterior rows, more in the posterior.
I have reason to believe that some of these hairs are deciduous, as
• "Whaling Voyage," vol. ii., p. 229.
88 MAMMALIA.
they are often wanting in old individuals." Notwithstanding their
abnormability of external form, and of their mode of life, as compared
with the generality of the class Mammalia, it is thus seen that even
the great toothless Whales tend to exhibit one of the usual charac-
teristics of the class to which they appertain, which is to be clad with
hair or fur ; and it is highly probable that it has been overlooked in
sundry species of them.
Of the three sub-families of Balcenopteridce, Xho. Megapterince com-
prise three genera — Megaptera^ Foescopia, and Eschrichtius ; the
PhysalincB comprise Be?iedenia^ Physalus, Cuvierius, and Sibbaldius ;
and the Balcenopterincz consist of one genus only — Balcenopterus.
Many naturalists are of opinion that Dr. Gray carries the dis-
crimination of these genera to excess ; but, after briefly assigning
certain distinctions, it is remarked by him that " the student must
not run away with the idea that because the characters of the genera
here given are taken from a few parts of the skeleton, they are the
only differences that exist between the skeletons of the different
genera and species. The form of the head, and the peculiarities of
the cervical vertebrcC, of the ribs and of the bladebone, have been
selected, after a long and careful comparison of the skeletons, as the
parts which afford the most striking characters that can be the most
easily conveyed to the mind of the student in a few words, and
therefore best adapted for the distinction of the genera and species."
It is at least tolerably certain now that the species of these huge
marine creatures are surprisingly numerous, instead of their being
comparatively very few, as was supposed formerly ; and several of
them have only recently become adequately recognised, whilst by far
the greater number are still insufficiently known to be regarded as
definitely established. Here we can do little more than briefly
indicate the principal forms.
The Alegapterince, or Humpbacked Whales, form a well-distin-
guished sub-family of BalcznopteridcE. They have remarkably long
flippers, each containing four very long fingers, composed of many
phalaugial bones; the dorsal fin, low and broad, being said to
resemble that of a Cachalot. Dr. Gray adopts three genera of them
— Megapfera, Po'escopia^ Eschrichtius ; founding each of them upon a
single species, and provisionally referring from other species to the
first one. In one or more of the species the Humpback Whales
occur in most parts of the world, generally in small herds, and seldom
at any considerable distance from land, "although," remarks Mr.
Bennett, " the vicmity of the most abrupt coast would appear to be
their favourite resort. Examples," he adds, "are occasionally seen
THE WHALE. 89
in the neighbourhood of the islands of the Pacific, and very fre-
quently in the deep water round the island of St. Helena. They are
most abundant off the bold coast of Cape St. Lucas, California."
The Keporkak of the Greenlanders is the Megaptera longimana of
Dr. Gray. " This Whale," writes Dr. Brown, " is only found on the
Greenland coast in the summer months. For many years it has been
regularly caught at the settlement of Frederickshaab, in South
Greenland. In North Greenland it is not much troubled. Whilst
dredging in the harbour of Egedesminde one snowy June day a large
Keporkqk swam into the bay; but though there were plenty of
boats at the settlement, and the natives were very short of food, yet
they stood on the shore staring at it without attempting to kill it.
The natives of this settlement are, no doubt, the poorest hunters and
fishers in all North Greenland (if we except Godhavn, the next most
civilised place) ; but there were at that time at the settlement natives
from outlying places. A whaler, Captain John Walker, one year, in
default of better game, killed fifteen Humpbacks in Disco Bay. He
got blubber from them sufficient, according to ordinary calculation,
to yield seventy tons of oil, but on coming home it only yielded
eighteen. The baleen is short and of little value. Though one of
the most common Whales on the Greenland coast, yet, on this
account and being difficult to capture, it is rarely troubled."* Pro-
fessor Eschricht, a high authority among Cetologists, believes the
Keporkak of Greenland and the Bermuda Whale to be the same
species, and that it migrates from Greenland to Bermuda, ac-
cording to the season; and he states that he cannot find sufficient
difference in the skeleton of the Cape specimen in the Paris Museum
to separate it as a species from the Greenland example. A young
female, thirty-five feet long, the pectorals measuring ten feet, was
obtained in the estuary of the Dee in 1863, and its skeleton is now
exhibited in Liverpool. The stomach contained only shrimps.
There is a very fine and complete skeleton, forty-six feet in length,
of an adult individual, in the museum at Brussels. Dr. Gray, how-
ever, regards the Bermuda Humpback as distinct, and terms it M.
Americana. One is described as measuring eighty-eight feet in length,
with the flippers twenty-six feet long, and the tail flukes twenty-three
feet broad. The Cape Humpback is the Po'escopia Lalaftdii of Dr.
Gray ; and his Eschrichtius robicstus is a remarkable northern species,
of which not much is known. A skeleton of it was found in
Denmark at a depth of two to four feet below the surface of the
* Brown: "Proceedings of the Zoological Society," 1868, p. 548.
90 MAMMALIA.
ground, about 840 feet from the present sea-beach, and about twelve
to fifteen feet above the level of the sea. Other Humpbacks are
indicated by Dr. Gray^ as Megaptera Novazelandice, M. (?) Burmeisten,
from the coast of Beunos Ayres, and M. Kuzira, from that of
Japan.
The numerous Rorquals which fell under Dr. Gray's sub-families
FkysalincB and Balcenoptermcd do not differ much from each other.
To his genus Physalus he refers — i. P. aiitiquorum^ the ordinary
Great Northern Rorqual \ 2. F. Duguidii^ also northern ; 3. F. Sib-
baldii (afterwards identified with Cuvierus latirostris^ but the specific
name Sibbaldii being retained \ a valuable memoir upon which has
been pubhshed by Dr. Reinhardt),* again northern ; these tliree are
now tolerably well known, but the following are much less so —
4. P. (?) Australis, Falkland Islands; 5. P. Brasiliensis^ from near
Bahia; 6. P. (?) fasclatus, from the coast of Peru; 7. P. Indicus ;
8. P. (?) iwasi, Japanese Seas ; 9. P A?itarcticus, from those of New
Zealand ; 10. P. Grayi, which has to be added from the Australian
colony of Victoria, where it has been described by Professor McCoy,
an example of it having been there stranded that measured ninety
feet in length.f Other species, detached from Physalus, are Fene-
denia Knoxii, obtained on the coast of Wales ; Cuvierus Sibbaldii,
already noticed ; Sibbaldius laticeps and S. borealis, from the northern
Seas ; S. Schlegelii, from the Malayan Seas ; and S. Antarcticics , from
the Southern Ocean. Falcenoptera he restricts to the comparatively
small B. rostrata, but in his appendix he adds B. Swinhoe, from the
vicinity of Formosa; and F. Fonaerensis has been subsequently
described by Dr. H. Burmeister from a Rorqual that was found
floating on the River Plata, about ten miles from Buenos Ayres, but
this will not improbably prove to be a Physalus. % When these
animals become better known it is probable that the number of
species will be reduced rather than increased.
Of Physalus antiquorum it is remarked by Dr. R. Brown, in his
valuable paper, that "this species, in common with most of the
family FalcBiiopteridcz, does not go far north as a rule, but keeps about
the Cod-banks of Rifkol, Holsteenbojg, and other locahties in South
Greenland. They feed upon Cod and other fish, which they devour
in immense quantities. Desmoulins mentions six hundred being
* Translated in the "Annals and Magazine of Natural History " for Nov., 1868,
p. 323-
t "Proceedings of the Zoological Society," 1867, p. 707.
t Brown: Vide "Annals and Magazine of Natural History," third series,
vol XX. (1867), p. 177.
THE MANATEE. QI
taken out of the stomach of one ; I know an Instance in which eight
hundred were found. They often, in common with Balcenoptera gigas
and rostrata^ wander into the European seas in pursuit of Cod and
Herrings, and are quite abundant in the vicinity of Rockal. A few
years ago much excitement was got up about the number of ' Whales'
found in that locaUty, and companies were started to kill them,
supposing them to be the Right Whale of commerce. As might
have been expected, they proved only to be ' Finners,' which prey
on the immense quantities of Cod which are found there. This
Whale is accounted almost worthless by the whalers ; and, on
account of the small quantity of oil which it yields and the difficulty
of capture, it is never attacked unless by mistake or through igno-
rance. I remember seeing one floating dead in Davis Strait, to
which the men rowed, taking it for a Right Whale ; but on discovering
their mistake they immediately abandoned it. They had apparently
not been the first, for on its sides were cut the names of several
vessels which had paid it a visit, and did not consider it worth the
carriage and fire to fry out the oil. The blubber is hard and
cartilaginous, not unlike soft glue. Its ' blowing ' can be distinguished
at a distance, by being whiter and lower than that of Balce7ia
mysticetus. The BalcEnoptera gigas is popularly confounded with it,
and the same names are applied to the two by the whalers and
Eskimo. The latter species visits the coast of Greenland only in the
summer months, from March to November, and its range may be
given as the same. In common with the other, it is rarely killed by the
natives. The small Balcenoptera rostrata only comes in the summer
months to Davis Strait and Baffin's Bay, or very seldom during the
winter to the southern portion of Greenland. It is not killed by the
natives, and its range is that of its congeners. The natives of the
western shores of Davis Strait seldom recognised the figures of this
and kindred species of Whales, though the Greenlanders instantly
did so."*
The Herbivorous Cetacea or Sirenia. — The diet of these
animals has necessitated their being provided with molar teeth,
having those parts which project from the gums flat; they also have
the faculty of dragging themselves along on the ground, so as to
enable them to feed on the sea-shore. Their anterior members are
more flexible than those of the true Cetacea, and they are never
found in the open ocean.
* Brown: "Proceedings of the Zoological Society," 1868, p. 546.
92 MAMMAL I A,
We shall mention among this family the Manatee {Manatus)^
the Rhytina, and the Dugongs {Halicore.)
The Manatees (Manatus)^ Fig. 23, have the body oblong,
terminated by a simple fin. Their anterior fins are composed of five
fingers, each composed of three joints, and of which some at least
are furnished with flat and rounded nails, coarsely resembling those of
a man ; they have no posterior members. Their head, almost
conical, is terminated in a fleshy muzzle, having, on its upper portion,
very small nostrils. Their eyes are also small, and their upper lip is
furnished with a moustache of stiff hairs. Their teats, placed on the
stomach, become large and rounded during gestation and the suckling
period. It is for this last, and also on account ot the skill with
which the Manatees sometimes make use of their fins for carrying
their young, that these animals have been often called Mermaids
{femmes-poissojis) , or women of the sea, &c.
These animals collect together in large troops. Their character
is mild, affectionate, and sociable. The male, which is extremely
attached to his female, does not desert her in the hour of danger, but
defends her till his death. The young ones have no less tenderness
for their mother.
The fishermen know how to profit by the ties which unite all the
members of the family. They try, above all, to capture first the
females, because the males and the young ones follow them, to defend
them or to share their fate. On the shallow, weedy shores, round
islands, at the mouths of rivers, which these innocent and mild
animals frequent to feed on the sea-weed, are the places to look for
the Manatees. The hunter waits for the moment when they come to
the surface to breathe j or else he surprises them in their sleep,
floating, with their muzzles above the surface of the water, in the
current. When close he throws his harpoon. The wounded animal
loses its blood ; this blood brings up the other Manatees to the
assistance of the victim. At this fatal moment some of them try to
wrench out the murderous weapon, the others to bite through the
cord which the wounded one is dragging along with it, thus
affording the fishermen an opportunity to massacre the whole troop.
The unselfish devotion of these animals leads them on to their
destruction.
The Manatees often leave the sea to go up rivers. For this
purpose they gather together in great troops. The strongest and
oldest of the males leading the way, followed by the females, with the
young placed in the middle.
Their flesh is said to be agreeable : for it resembles beef in the
THE DUGONG.
93
opinion of some, is like pork according to others. Their fat is sweet,
and keeps for a long time without becoming putrid.
What we have just said relates particularly to the American species
{Manafus latirostris), which is found at the mouth of the Orinoco, of
the Amazon river, and all the great watercourses of tropical South
America. There exist other species, of which one {M. Sinegalensis)
inhabits Senegal.
The Dugong is distinguished from the Manatee by its flippers
which have no nails, and by some other peculiarities of structure
which need not be mentioned here. We shall, however, remark tha--
each of the two external incisor teeth of the upper jaw is elongated
into a sort of tusk. The habits of the Dugong are analogous to those
of the Manatee. Two species are known, one of which {Halicorc
Dugong) chiefly inhabits the Malayan seas, but is also met with on
the west coast of Ceylon, in the backwaters of the Concan, along the
coast of Malabar, and occasionally on the shores of the Andaman
Islands, in the Bay of Bengal ; the other {ff. Australis, Owen) inhabits
tke shores of the northern part of Australia.. Their flesh is held in
94 MAMMALIA.
high estimation. The AustraHan Dugong is now eagerly hunted for
the sake of the oil which it yields, to which the same medicinal
virtues are attributed as to that derived from the livers of Cod-fish.
Rhytina Stelleri W2is discovered, in 1741, upon the shores of an
island in Behring's Straits. Here Behring's second expedition was
shipwrecked, and the marines fed on the flesh of this animal for
nearly ten months. Steller, one of the party, prepared an account
of the species, the only one we shall probably ever have, as it is said
that the last Rhytina was destroyed in 1768. The only remains at
present existing are a few fragments in one or two European
museums.
ORDER OF PINNIPEDIA.
This order has sometimes received the name Amphibia ) but, taken in
the strictest sense of the word, the denomination of Amphibia (aij.'pl,
"on all sides ; " ^ios, " life ") ought to be applied only to those animals
which can pass their existence in the air or in the water alternately- :
such as the Batrachians, which breathe at one period in the water, by
means of gills,- and then again in the air, by lungs. But it is better
not to apply this expression to those Mammalia which are essentially
organised for aquatic life, and which can with difficulty move about
on the land : such as the Morse or Walrus, and the Seal.
The Morse or Walrus, and the various Seals, of which this order
is composed, present a series of characteristics which correspond
exactly with the mode of life which has devolved upon them. They
have the body elongated, cylindrical, and more or less pisciform--
that is to say, representing that of a fish. Their limbs are very short,
the extremities alone being visible : these are converted into fins by
being provided with broad connecting webs. Their anterior ex-
tremities hang alongside the body, and act backwards and forwards,
as m most aquatic quadrupeds; on the contrary, the posterior ex-
tremities, stretched out in a horizontal and parallel direction, are
arranged in such a manner as to strike the water obliquely. These
remarks apply more to the true Phocidce^ or Seals, than to the Sea-
bears or the Walrus, both of which latter bring the hind-legs more
forward when on land fhan the Seals. When on land, the Seals
wriggle themselves along by means of the subcutaneous muscles of
the body, making little use of their limbs while on a flat or sloping
surface. But the movements of the Sea-bears are quadrupedal, and
they not only make their way well upon land, but are excellent
climbers of rocks. They are also much swifter under the water than
are the true Seals, as may be commonly observed in the London
Zoological Gardens. The Walrus is far more unwieldy and awkward
on land, where its movements forcibly remind the spectator of the
wriggUngs of a gentle or fly-maggot ; but it makes considerable use of
its hind-legs by bringing them forward and thus taking hold of the
ground, whereas those of the Seals are more directed backwards.
When in the water, and about to dive, both the Walrus and the
96 MAMMALIA.
Sea-bears show their backs above the surface, like a Porpoise, but
this is never observed of the true Seals. Their fur is composed of a
woolly, compact coat, the thickness and fineness of which increase
with the severity of the climate they inhabit. The coat is covered
by rather coarse hairs lubricated with oil, the object of which is to
prevent the water from penetrating to the skin. A thick layer of fat
protects the body against cold, more especially in those species which
inhabit the extreme frigid regions.
The Pinnipedia have the head rounded, the eyes large, the ex-
ternal ear rudimentary or absent, the upper lip covered with a thick
moustache. Their jaws have three sorts of teeth, and the brain is
furrowed into numerous circumvolutions. Living in numerous troops,
they feed on fishes, mollusks, crustaceans, &c. They dive with great
facility ; and, although obliged to come to the surface to breathe,
they can remain a long while under water. This circumstance is
explained by a peculiarity in their circulation. They are provided
with vast venous reservoirs, in which the blood accumulates whilst
the respiration is suspended. The animal is not suffocated on that
account, however ; for though asphyxia, or suffocation, is brought on
by the stoppage of the circulation of the blood, as soon as respira-
tion is suspended, yet the large dilations of the great trunks of their
venous system prevent a dangerous over-distension.
Owing to this precaution of nature, the Pinnipedia can dive freely
into the depths of the ocean in search of their food. It is only when
the blood overruns their venous reservoirs that they find it necessary
to remount to the surface to breathe.
As their limbs are in most instances badly fitted for loco-
motion on land, the Pinnipedia only leave the water when they want
to bask in the sun, to sleep, or to give birth to or suckle their young.
Under such circumstances, when they are surprised on the shore, they
are very much at the mercy of their assailants ; for they are not very
capable of escaping from, or of resisting those who attack them. One
must not be surprised, then, that considerable quantities of these
animals are destroyed every year, and that the products they furnish
(oil, fur, leather, ivory) are great inducements for expeditions to be
fitted out for their capture.
The Pinnipedia do not inhabit tropical regions, and they increase
more and more in number in proportion as one advances towards
the poles. They are found on the coasts of Europe — in the North
Seas, the British Channel, the Mediterranean ; in the Black Sea they
are abundant. Known to the Greeks and Romans, they gave rise
to the stories about Tritons and Nereids,
^'Ilii^^^^^
Ilip ^1^1"
I
ll'll
ll:.
I':
run WALRUS, gg
The Pinnipedia comprise but two families : that of the Trichechidcz
and that of the Fhocidce.
Trichechid^ : the Walrus Family. — The only species of this
family is the Morse or Walrus, commonly called Sea-horse, or Sea-
cow, Trichechus rosimarus (Fig. 24). This animal measures from three
and a half metres to four metres in length, by three metres in circum-
ference. The assertions of travellers, who pretend to have seen them
of from six to seven metres, must be regarded as exaggerations. The
Walrus is covered with short scanty hair of a dark reddish colour \
its muzzle is large and puffed out at the upper part, and is terminated
in a snout, in which are the nostrils, which are turned upwards.
Altogether, it is a creature of a massive and unwieldly appearance.
The Walrus possesses two powerful canine teeth, which, descending
vertically from its upper jaw, project somewhat outwards, and consti-
tute formidable weapons. These tusks attain to as many as sixty-five
centimetres in length, and to a proportionate breadth. The full-
grown Morse has no incisor nor canine teeth on the under jaw ; but
when they are young they have six small incisor teeth in each jaw.
The molar teeth, variable in number, are met with in each jaw; they
are suited for crushing and grinding hard substances, and act in the
same way in which a pestle does on a mortar.
The Walrus inhabits exclusively the Arctic Polar regions : it is
especially common in the neighbourhood of Spitzbergen, of Nova
Zembla, and on the coasts of Siberia. It disports itself with ease
in the water, feeding on shelled mollusks (especially of the genus
My a), which it detaches from the submerged banks by means of its
tusks, which act Uke garden rakes. Its gullet is too small to swallow
a fish larger than a Herring, and it is now certain that this animal
is not piscivorous, but subsists mainly as described. Its long canine
teeth are, above all, very useful to it in hoisting itself up on to the
shores, or over the ice which is in its way ; they serve it also as points
of support, ox fulcra, and assist it to advance, by drawing it along on
its front legs. It often mounts upon floating icebergs, on which
it will drift about for hours together.
The female brings forth in winter one or two young ones, which
she tends with solicitude and defends with energy.
Naturally mild and inoffensive, the Walrus becomes very^ bold
when it is attacked and wounded. Under such circumstances it will
fight with the utmost fury, and will show its desire for vengeance by all
its actions. If on land, and consequently incapable of pursuing its
enemies, its feeling of helplessness makes it utter furious cries \ it
tears up the soil with its tusks, and attacks everything it meets with
lOO MAMMALIA.
on its way. But to avoid being injured by it, after it is wounded,
all that is necessary is for the hunters to keep at a respectful
distance. In the sea,, on the contrary, where it can display all its
activity, the Walrus is rather to be feared ; so much the more so on
account of the strict union in which it lives with its fellows, who
never fail to come in great numbers to help any of their companions
which are threatened with danger. They surround the boat, and try
to sink it by running it through with their tusks, or capsize it by
bearing with their whole weight upon its sides. Sometimes, indeed,
they even try to board boats, much to the disgust of the sailors, who
have no wish for such company. If the boats row off, they follow
them for a long while, and only stop when they are quite out of
sight.
The Walrus has to struggle, not only against man, but also
against the Bears which inhabit the same latitudes. Although the
White Bears are provided with formidable means of attack, they do
not always come out of the combat victorious. The deep wounds
which they carry away with them after their battles with the Walrus
sufficiently attest the valour and power of the animals which they
wished to make their victims.
Formerly the Walrus existed in such great quantities in certain
parts of the icy Arctic Ocean, and were at the same time so bold, that
they allowed themselves to be approached by bands of sailors
without attempting to escape ; so that in half a day prodigious
numbers of them could be destroyed. Gmelin states that in 1705
some Englishmen killed from 700 to 800 of them in the space of six
hours, and, three years afterwards, 900 in the space of seven hours.
In 1640, a captain of a ship, of the name of Kykyrez, killed so
many, that his fortune was made in one single campaign.
This is how the Walruses were obtained : The crew made a
descent upon the shore, and cut off their retreat while they lay
stretched out unsuspectingly at some distance ; having done so, they
advanced and pierced them through with their lances. A fearful
massacre followed ; as the carcasses fell, they were heaped up in a
long line, and thus formed a sort of embankment, against which those
which were trying to escape came and exhausted their strength ; the
whole troop were thus knocked down and killed (Fig. 25).
Nowadays the same manoeuvre very rarely succeeds. Having
learnt a lesson from experience, the Walruses keep together in bands
more or less numerous on the rocks and icebergs ; they go but a
very small distance from the sea, so as to be able to plunge into it
on the least alarm, and they place sentinels during their sleep, so as
THE SEAL.
10
iiot to be taken by surprise. Generally, it is necessary to take to the
boats, to row after them, and harpoon them in the water. But, as
we have said, this operation is extremely dangerous, for when wounded
in the water they become furious ; they surround the boat in which
are their pursuers, and in their desperate efforts try to capsize it
(Fig. 26). It takes many, a boat-hook." harpoon, and gun, adroitly
used, io repel the assailants.
Walruses supply diverse products of considerable importance in
trade \ it is for this reason that such deadly war is waged against
them. In the first place, their tusks provide us with a grainy ivory,
Fig. 25. — A massacre of Walruses.
harder and whiter than that of the Elephant. These tusks detach
themselves when the animal's head has been boiled in a cauldron of
water. An oil of a better quality than that of the Whale is extracted
from their fat ; each Walrus produces half a ton of it. Lastly, their
skins, properly cured and tanned, become very thick and substantial
leather, v/hich is employed in carriage-making. In the middle ages,
cords and cables, of a solidity which was proof against everything,
were made of this leather. Albert le Grand, in the fourteenth
century, relates that this skin had a great commercial value in the
market of Cologne. The Walrus was unknown to the ancients.
Phocid^ : THE Seal Family. — Seals have considerable analogy
of form to the Walrus ; but they have not the long tusks which
characterise the latter. Their heads are rounded, and very much
resemble that of a Dog ; their eyes are large, bright, and very soft.
I04 ' MAMMALIA,
They can shut theh nostrils when they plunge, and thus prevent the
water from running into the back of their mouths. Their organs of
hearing, which consist generally of but simple openings, without any
external ear, are endowed with the same property. Their mouths are
furnished on both jaws with three sorts of teeth — incisive, canine,
and molar. The molars differ little from those of the Carnivora,
being sharp-edged, and either simple or notched ; in the latter case
they are generally furnished with two roots. Of their limbs one only
sees the extremities, composed "of five very long toes, joined together
by a broad membrane. Their hind feet, arranged side by side, form
a sort of hollow fin, the centre of which is occupied by a short tail.
The spine is so very flexible that they can elevate the anterior part of
their iDody, while the hinder portion remains horizontal, clinging to
the ground.
The large size of their brain leads one to conclude that they have
a high degree of intelligence. These animals' senses, however, do
not appear to be very much developed. According to the observa-
tions of Cuvier, their sense of sight is best. Seals see pretty well
for some distance, but too great a quantity of light dazzles them. In
the dark, their eyes seem to scintillate, as do also those of the
Sea-bears. Their hearing must be very weak, since the organs of this
sense have no external ear for catching the sounds ; the sense of
smell does not seem to be very acute. The sense of touch is exercised
apparently by means of the long and hard bristles which adorn the
upper lip ; for they abut upon nerves of a remarkable size. As for
their taste, it is altogether rudimentary, if one judges of it by their
gluttony. They often swallow their prey whole, without chewing it,
although they can only do so after most energetic efforts. When it
is too big to be devoured all at once they divide it into many morsels,
by the action of their teeth or nails, and swallow without taking the
trouble of masticating it.
The voice of the Common Seal, Fhoca vitidina (Fig. 27), consists
of a sort of bark, analogous to that of the Dog. When it is irritated
it makes a noise like an angry Cat, and shows its teeth. Certain
species pronounce distinctly the syllable pa, many times in succession.
This is enough for the speculators in wonderful exhibitions to hang out
as a bait, for the credulity of marvel-hunters, a notice that within is to
be seen an "extraordinary animal, a marine monster, which says
papa and mamma as well as you or I could do."
Seals have almost the same habits as Walruses ; but they are not
confined, as are the last named, to the frozen seas of the north,
although they are more numerous, and generally stronger there than
THE SEAL.
105
anywhere else. The Eared Seals abound equally in the southern
seas. Seals are to be met with on all the coasts of Europe, and even
in certain lakes or interior seas, such as the Caspian Sea, the lake
Baikal, and, lastly, the lakes Ladoga and Onega (Russia in Europe),
if we are to believe certain authors. They live in large troops in the
creeks and the bays of our shores.
All the species do not choose the same sites for their resort ; some
Fig. 27. — Seals [Phoca vitulina).
prefer sandy shores sheltered from the winds, others select those
rocks which are constantly beaten against by the waves, while again
some choose a beach thickly covered with seaweed. They seem to
delight in the tempest, the roaring of the waves, the whistling of the
wind, the mighty voice of the thunder, and the vivid flashings of the
lightning. They delight to see, rolling along in a sombre sky, the
great black clouds which predict torrents of rain. Then it is that
they leave the sea in crowds, and come and play about on the shore,
in the midst of the fury of the elements. They are at home in the
tempest. It is in these crises of nature that they give full play to all
I06 MAMMALIA,
their faculties, and to all the activity of which they are capable.
When the weather is fine they fall asleep, and resign themselves
lazily to the dolce far niente.
Seals feed principally on fishes, which they catch cleverly. To
these some of them add mollusks, crustaceans, and, when they have
the chance, some say even aquatic birds.
Some authors gravely afiirm that it is their custom, before they
take to the water, to swallow a quantity of pebbles, which serve
them as ballast, as in a ship ; this excess of weight they disgorge
when they come on shore. If this is not true, it is at least a happy
thought : se non e vero, e bene trovato. It would seem to be true
that such pebbles are found in the stomach of the Walrus.
Seals commonly swim with the head and shoulders out of water.
It is not astonishing that in this position, and seen from a distance,
they were considered by the ancients as extraordinary beings, whose
duty it was to accompany Neptune in procession as he passed
through his liquid domain. When they want to land, they choose a
place having a gentle slope, and hooking on with hands and teeth to
any rough places near them, they advance mth difficulty, but more
rapidly than the imperfections of their limbs when applied to loco-
motion on land would have led us to suppose. Principally, indeed,
by means of the subcutaneous muscles of the trunk, and making
no use of their limbs, they hoist themselves very cleverly on shore and
on to floating icebergs, on which latter they appear to love to drift.
They are very tenacious of their rights, which they fight for
most energetically. From the moment a family has installed itself
on a rock or on a block of ice it will not allow any other individual
of the troop to come and interfere with it ; the male takes upon
himself to repel every invasion on his domicile. Hence arise furious
combats, which only end in the death of the legitimate proprietor, or
the flight of the aggressor. When there is very little room at their
disposal, one sees many families keeping on the same rock or ice-
berg, and living on it in perfect harmony; but they always leave
between each other a certain space, and rigidly keep to that part
which constitutes their lot.
Like the Walrus, Seals place sentinels to watch during their sleep
over the safety of the whole troop. As soon as a man or a band of
White Bears appears, the sentinels give vent to long-protracted
bowlings, and the whole company precipitates itself into the sea.
These animals mostly breed in caverns which have a seaward face ;
and the young are remarkably large at birth, and are then clad with
a sort of fleece, which is very soon shed — indeed, sometimes even
before birth. They follow their dam from the first, and appear to
swim and dive with equal facility.
The most effectual way of killing Seals is to strike them on the
I08 MAMMALIA,
nose with a club. If they are attacked with pointed arms they
must be speared very deeply to put their lives in danger. When
they see themselves surrounded they defend themselves courageously,
but with little success. In their fury, if opportunity offers, they
break the arms of their enemies between their powerful jaws. A
Seal hunt differs in its details in nothing from a Walrus hunt. They
are harpooned from boats, or they are pursued on the icebergs, and
killed with axes and pikes (Fig. 28).
All the inhabitants of the shores of the Polar Seas pursue Seals,
and destroy innumerable quantities of them. They find in these
animals precious resources against the rigour and desolation of the
hyperborean climate. For the Greenlanders especially the Seal is
of universal utility. It yields them nearly all they want, and renders
life endurable in the cold country which they inhabit.
The Greenlander eats the flesh of the Seal, and is contented
with it, although it is tough and has a disagreeable smell. He
drinks its oil, or lights his hut with it. With its skin he makes
clothes, wrappers, tents, and canoes ; or else cuts it up into straps
and thongs. Its muscles and tendons are converted into thread for
sewing, and into strings for bows. Its blood even, mixed with other
substances, forms a sort of soup. Everything, even to the mem-
branes in the interior of the body, is turned to account ; properly
dried, these serve, owing to their transparency, to close the openings
which admit a little light into the Greenlander's wretched hovel.
And so the chief occupation, as we may say, of the Greenlanders,
is Seal hunting. From their youngest days they are trained to this
exercise, which is for them a matter of life and death. Sometimes
they launch out to sea, in their fragile skin boats, and harpoon their
prey when it comes to the surface to breathe ; at other times they
envelop themselves in Seal skins, stretch themselves on the shore,
and endeavour to attract some unwary Seal by their deceitful simili-
tude to itself.
The Esquimaux also take the Seal in the following manner :
They make a hole in the ice, and the moment one of these animals
presents itself to breathe the air at the improvised skylight, they
seize it (Fig. 29).
The English and the Americans in the United States are the
principal people who organise Seal hunting on a large scale. They fit
out annually many ships, of from two hundred and fifty to three
hundred tons each, for this purpose. The main object of these
expeditions is to obtain the oil with which the flesh of these aquatic
animals is saturated. The bodies, cut in pieces, are thrown into
THE SEAL.
109
boilers set up on the beach. When the oil is separated by boiling, it
is put into barrels, and exported to Europe or to America, where it is
sold at the rate of eighty francs a barrel. Each Seal supplies about half
a barrel of oil; much more or less, however, according to the species.
For a very small profit the peasants on the coast and in the isles
Fig. 29, — Esquimaux watching for a Seal.
of the Baltic brave every year the greatest dangers in pursuit of the
Seal. When the ice is breaking up, five, six, or sometimes fewer,
embark in a canoe, with a supply of provisions and weapons. They
run the risk of seeing their boat crushed between the masses of ice,
or of being carried away on an iceberg, on which they will probably
die of cold and hunger. A good many Norwegians perish each year
on these dangerous expeditions.
Seals sometimes visit the shores of the north coast of Scotland,
and are occasionally hunted in a strange manner, which is not
without its dangers. The hunters, most of whom are fishermen,
no MAMMALIA.
know that the Seals retire into vast caverns, the entrance to which is
generally very narrow, to give birth to and suckle their young. In
October or November the hardy fishermen, towards the middle of
the night, penetrate into these sombre grottos, to the end of which
they advance in small boats. Then they light torches, and shout
loudly. At this sudden illumination, and these strange noises, the
Seals, howhng loudly, leave their retreat in the greatest disorder.
Their numbers are sometimes so great that their pursuers would be
crushed to death if they did not take the precaution of at once
ranging themselves against the sides of the gi'otto, so as to allow the
Seals to escape. But the principal crowd having passed, the hunters
fall upon the laggards, and kill them by striking them over the
nose with cudgels. There is danger in these sort of expeditions of
a gust of wind blowing out the torches. In that case the hunters
might perish, lost in one of these dark caverns.
The Seal is endowed with so many remarkable faculties that it
seems quite suited to become one of our domestic animals ; and so
it is perhaps surprising that man has not yet thought of training it to
fish for him, as he has done with the Otter. Its gentleness, its
sociability, and, above all, its intelligence, which is almost equal to
that of the Dog, would insure it a high place in the affections of our
race. There are numerous examples on record of Seals which,
having been tamed when very young, became so much attached to
their masters as to follow them wherever they went, and returned to
them even after they had purposely been left far from home. They
give very little trouble : a basin filled with water in which they can
bathe, and a hut with some straw in it on which they may repose, are
sufiicient to keep them in a good state of health. They must be fed
on fish. As they devour an enormous quantity of this food, the cost
of keeping them is the greatest obstacle to their ever being domesti-
cated. It is strange, that when they are accustomed to one sort of
fish they will not eat any other, and rather die of hunger than
consent to change their diet.
Seals are divided into numerous genera and species, peculiar to
different climates. Let us examine rapidly some of the principal.
The Common Seal {Phoca vitultim), vulgarly named Sea-calf,
inhabits Northern Europe and America, and measures about one
metre in length. It is this one that has been most studied, and that
is of the greatest commercial importance.
The Atak, or Greenland Seal {P. grcEnIa?idica), is double the size
of the Common Seal. It inhabits the coasts of Greenland, chiefly
frequenting the floating ice.
THE SEAL. Ill
The White-bellied Seal {Lepionyx monachus) is found in the
Mediterranean, especially on the borders of the Adriatic Sea. It
varies in size from two metres twenty-five centimetres to three metres
twenty-five centimetres. It is one of the most intelligent. M. Boitard
says that he saw one, which had been in captivity for two years, and
which, let loose in ponds and even in large rivers, came to its master
when called.
The Capuchin Seal {Cystophora crisfafa, Gmelin), of about two and
a half metres in length, is thus named because it has on its head, in
the adult state, a sort of movable bag or hood, with which it covers
its muzzle when it chooses. It can also distend its nostrils in such a
manner as to give them the appearance of a bladder. It is found in
the waters of North America and of Greenland. The second species
of this genus, C. proboscidea (the Sea Elephant) is met with in the
Great Southern Ocean, and on both coasts of Patagonia. It is the
largest of all the Seals. It is as much as from eight to ten metres in
length, by five to six in circumference. In the male, the nose is pro-
longed into a sort of trunk, membranous, erectile, from forty to fifty
centimetres in length. This species supplies an enormous quantity
of oil ; the weight of its flesh alone is a thousand kilogrammes.*
This enormous animal is very indolent, and when it is on land it
allows itself to be easily approached and massacred.
The Sea-lion {Otaria jubata, Gray) is generally four metres in
length, but sometimes measures eight, according to Permetty. The
male has a thick mane on his neck, which hangs over his shoulders,
and from which he derives his name. This Seal inhabits Kamtschatka,
the Aleutian and Kurile Islands, and the coasts of CaHfornia, Chili,
and Patagonia.
The Sea-bears {Otaria, Ursma, Linn.) are peculiar to the
southern seas, and do not in general attain to great dimensions. It
is sometimes called the Fur Seal, as its skin furnishes that soft
yellowish fur, formerly so extensively used for making caps and
waistcoats. It is still much thought of in China, whither it is
exported at great prices. For this reason the Russians wage deadly
war against it, which will end perhaps in the complete extinction of
tlie species.
* 2,250 lbs.
(^24d^^i4^v^ uj-t^ Tm^c^^ .^:yK^^
ORDER OF PACHYDERMATA.
The greater number of the animals of which this order is composed
are remarkable for the thickness and hardness of their skins^ and it
is from this characteristic that they derive their name (iraxv?, " thick,"
and 5ep/ia, "skin"). In nearly all of them the toes are rendered motion-
less by a horny covering which surrounds them, called the hoof,
which prevents them from seizing objects, and entirely blunts in this
part of their bodies the sense of touch. Their digestive organs are
not arranged for 7'uinination, which distinguishes them from the order
with which we shall be occupied when we have done with the
Pachydermata. Lastly, they never have on their foreheads either
antlers or hollow horns, which fact also distinguishes them from the
Ruminants. It is in the order of Pachydermata that we find the
largest of terrestrial animals.
The Pachydermata may be divided into four families : The
Froboscidea, or Elephants; the Gemn?ia, containing the genera Hippo-
potamus, Tapirus, Rhinoceros, and Hyrax; The Suina, or Pigs \
and the Equina, cr Horses.
Professor Owen has arranged the Angulate quadrupeds into those
with an odd number of toes {Perissodactyla), and those with an even
number of toes {Artiodadyla), which latter seem to grade, by the
intervention of extinct genera, into the Ruminantia. The So/ipeds
form a division of the Perissodactyla.
The Family of Proboscidea, or Elephants. — The Elephants,
or Proboscidea (from the Latin wordi p?^oboscis, "trunk"), are the largest
of terrestrial animals, as the Whales are the largest of aquatic animals.
If size and strength conferred the right of dominion, these two
families would be able to divide between them the empire of the
world.
The proportions of the Elephant are clumsy, its body is thick
and bulky, its gait heavy and awkward ; but its physiognomy is
imposing and noble. These giants of creation have a head which is
remarkable for its enormous development of skull. Of all the lower
animals, the Asiatic Elephant is the one whose head has the greatest
THE ELEPHANT. I I 3
vertical height in proportion to its horizontal length. However,
the enormous rising produced at the upper, temporal, and posterior
part of the skull is not the result of great development of the brain ;
it arises simply from there being a quantity of broad cells hollowed
out in the substance of the bone. The volume of the brain is thus
much inferior to that of the skull. On the lateral and upper por-
tion of this enormous head are two immense thin ears, which
extend upwards, backwards, and downwards. These the animal
moves and flaps about at will ; they also serve as a fan against the
heat. The eye is small, for its globe is not a third of the size of
the Bull's eye, in comparison to the magnitude of the two animals.
The mouth is also small, and almost entirely hidden behind the
tusks and the base of the trunk. This trunk, an organ peculiar to
the Elephants, is merely the snout prolonged to an immoderate
length, in the shape of a tube, and terminating in the openings of
the nostrils. This prodigious nasal organ performs the duties of arm
and hand. In the Hindustani language, the Elephant is Hafhi^
from hdt^ a hand, /.<?., the creature with a hand. The Elephant's
trunk is, at the same time, an organ of smell, of touch, of prehen-
sion, and Hkewise a formidable weapon. In the ordinary actions
of life it is an instrument that performs all the functions of a hand.
It seizes and picks up the smallest objects, as, for instance, a
piece of money or a straw; it can uncork a bottle, or fire off a pistol.
In the natural state, the Elephant makes use of it for conveying food
to its mouth; for lifting heavy weights, and putting them on its
back ; for drinking, by filling it with water, and then letting the
water pour down its throat. With this instrument it defends itself,
and attacks others. It seizes its enemies, entwines them in its folds,
squeezes them, crushes them, and tosses them into ,the air, or hurls
them to the ground, afterwards to be trampled under its broad feet.
The structure of this marvellous organ (the trunk) is very re-
markable. It is a conical tube, of an irregular form, very elongated,
truncated and funnel-shaped at the end. The upper side of this
trunk is convex, and fluted along its breadth ; the lower side is flat.
The first portion of the trunk is situated at the point which forms
the extremity of the nose in other animals ; it serves it in lieu of
a nose, since the interior side serves as a lip, and the nostrils are
placed within ; in fact, this organ is hollow in the interior, and a
partition divides it into two channels. At the point at which these
channels or pipes touch the bony walls which terminate them, and
which contain the organ of scent, they are provided with a little
cartilaginous and elastic valve, which the animal can open and shut
1 14 MAMMALIA.
at will. This arrangement prevents the liquids used as drink from
entering into the posterior parts of the nose.
Between the internal channels of the trunk and its external
membrane are implanted numerous longitudinal, transversal, and
radiating muscles, the contraction or dilation of which brings about
or causes the quickest, strongest, and most varied movements and
inflections. The trunk is terminated in a concavity, in the in-
dentation of which are the orifices of the nostrils. The upper part
of the border is prolonged into a sort of finger, which is about five
inches long. This extremity seizes hold of objects with so much
delicacy that it can pick up a grain of wheat, a fly, or a straw.
The Elephant's tusks are nothing but the incisor teeth pro-
digiously elongated. Turned obliquely downwards, forwards, out-
wards, and ultimately upwards. They are sometimes more than two
metres and a half in length, and weigh as many as from fifty to sixty
kilogrammes. In the females they are sometimes very slightly
elongated, and do not project beyond the lips. In the Indian species
they are indeed wanting in the females, so also, either one or both of
them, in not a few of the males, which are styled Maknas, while the
tusked males are called Denfhalas.
The tusks serve the elephant for defensive and offensive weapons.
They protect the trunk, which curls up between them, when the
animal traverses woods in which there are many thorns, prickles, and
thick brushwood. The Elephant also uses them for putting aside
and holding down the branches, when, with its trunk, it is about to
pluck off the tops of leafy boughs.
The ivory, which is so much used in trade, and which is so remark-
able for the fineness of its grain, whiteness, hardness, and for the
beautiful polish that can be given to it, is principally obtained from
the Elephant's tusks.
Elephant ivory is easily recognised by its peculiar structure. On
the transverse section of it streaks, going in a circle from the centre
towards the circumference, will be seen, and these form lozenges in
crossing each other.
Ivory has been employed by man as an ornament since the most
remote times. Solomon had a throne of ivory covered with gold,
and the interiors of many opulent houses in Jerusalem were adorned
with it. Homer speaks of ivory being employed as an object of
ornament. The statue of the Olympian Jupiter, made by the Greek
sculptor, Phidias, was of ivory and gold. Ivory was, among the
ancients, of a very great price ; and the Elephant's tusks figured only
in the most important public ceremonies^
THE ELEPHANT. II5
The Elephant has no canine teeth. Its molar teeth are composed
of a certain number of plates of dentine, covered with enamel, and
bound together by a substance softer than either, called cement.
The manner in which the teeth succeed each other in the Ele-
phant is well worthy of attention. In other Mammalia the second
teeth succeed to the milk teeth in a vertical direction. But in
Elephants the molars come forwards from behind, in such a way that,
as a molar is worn out, it is pushed forwards by the one which is to
replace it. The same molar can thus be replaced many times. The
tusks, however, are only renewed once, and are then being added to
continually.
The enormous head, the different parts of which we have just
examined, joins on to a neck so short that its movements are very
circumscribed. The back is arched or bowed, and the rump de-
pressed. The tail is short and thin. The fore legs have no collar-
bone, and seem to be massive pillars placed under the body to
support its heavy mass. As with the hind legs also, their bones are
placed in a position perpendicular to the body and to the ground,
which gives the animal a clumsy and awkward appearance. The
fore legs are moreover longer than the hind legs, which are very short,
and of which the leg properly so called, and perhaps the knee, are
alone disengaged from the body. Under the feet is a sort of callous
sole, thick enough to prevent the hoofs from touching the ground.
The hoofs, to the number of from three to five, are shapeless, and do
not even show the number of the toes (five on each foot), which
remain encrusted and hidden under the skin.
The colossal and heavy body is covered with a skin, callous, full
of cracks and crevices, very thick, of a dirty blackish-grey colour,
having a few hairs sprinkled over it here and there, which are
almost invisible, except on the back, on the eyelids, and on the tail,
which is terminated by a tuft. The fossil Mammoth Elephant was
well provided with both wool and long bristly hair, as protection from
the cold climates in which it chiefly lived. At this present time an
Indian Elephant, which has now lived for many years in the elevated
region of Thibet, has become well clad with hair.
Elephants live in the hottest parts of Africa and of Asia. Revel-
ling in forests and swamps, they keep together in troops more or less
numerous, which are either led by an old male, or very commonly by
an old female. Their food consists of herbs, roots, and grains. They
often seek their food in cultivated fields, where they do considerable
damage.
Tame Elephants are very fond of bananas and cocoa-nuts ; but
Il6 MAMMALIA.
their usual diet consists of hay, straw, rice, raw or cooked, bread, and
the leaves of trees. It is remarkable that they are easily accustomed
to drink wine, brandy, and all sorts of spirituous liquors.
To support this enormous mass these animals require to swallow
a great quantity of food. In India generally about fifty kilogrammes
of rice a day are given to one ; to this is added, to keep the animal
in good health, a certain quantity of grass or fresh leaves, and
especially sugar-cane tops when obtainable.
The Elephant which was brought to Versailles in the time of
Louis XIV.- used to eat eighty pounds of bread a day and two
bucketsful of soup ; it drank twelve pints of wine, and consumed
besides a great quantity of cakes which the visitors brought to it.
The pace at which Elephants walk is much more rapid than the
clumsiness of their appearance would lead one to suppose. These
animals can, according to certain authors, do their twenty or twenty-
five leagues a day. They also swim well.
It was for a long time asserted that Elephants could not lie down,
and that they always slept standing. It is true that among Elephants,
as among Horses, are found some that can sleep standing, and only
rarely lie down ; but generally they sleep lying on their side, like the
majority of other quadrupeds.
The Elephant mother carries her young one twenty months.
On coming into the world, the young Pachyderm is about a metre
high. It enjoys the use of all its organs, and is strong enough to
follow its parents. When it wants to suck it turns its trunk over
backwards, and takes the milk from its mother's teat with its mouth,
and not with its trunk, as certain authors have affirmed. The
suckling period lasts for about two years.
The Elephant is endowed with very great intelligence, of which we
shall give some proofs. It understands a certain kind — say Elephantine
— of justice, that is to say, it renders good for good and evil for evil.
The mahout (groom and driver) of an Elephant broke, out of
spite, one day, a cocoa-nut on the head of his beast. Next day, the
Elephant, passing along a street, perceived some cocoa-nuts exposed
for sale in front of a shop. He took one in his trunk, and gave his
driver such a severe blow with it on his forehead that he fell dead on
the spot.
A young man who had amused himself by offering a piece of
sugar a great many times to an Elephant, and by as often withdraw-
ing it, at last gave it to another Elephant. Offended at this teasing,
the former seized the young man with its trunk, inflicted some severe
bruises on his face, and tore liis clothes to pieces. The keepers were
THE ELEPHANT, II9
obliged to run to the assistance of this imprudent fellow, and made
the furious animal relax his hold of him.
An Elephant was in the habit of elongating his trunk and putting
it in at the windows of the houses of Acheen (in the north of
Sumatra), as if to ask for fruits or roots, for the inhabitants used to
take a pleasure in giving them to it. One morning it presented the
extremity of its trunk at the window of a tailor, who, instead of giving
the Elephant what it wanted, pricked its trunk with his needle.
The animal appeared to bear this insult with patience. It went
quietly on down to the river, whither the mahout, or driver, led it
each morning to wash. On this occasion it stirred up the mud with
one of its front feet, and drew into its trunk a great quantity of this
dirty water. When it was returning home through the street in which
the tailor's shop was situated, it advanced towards the window, and
spouted the water in on him with such prodigious force that the
tailor and his workmen were pitched off their shop-board and struck
with terror.
Buffon relates the following trait : —
"A painter wished to make a drawing of the Elephant of the
menagerie of Versailles in an extraordinary attitude, which was with
its trunk elevated in the air and its mouth wide open. The painter's
servant, to make it remain in this attitude, kept throwing fruit into its
mouth, but oftener by pretending to do so. The Elephant was
indignant at this treatment, and as if it knew that the painter's desire
of making a drawing of it was the cause of its being thus annoyed,
instead of revenging itself on the servant, it addressed itself to the
master, and discharged at him, through his trunk, a quantity of water,
with which it spoiled the paper on which the artist was drawing."
We read in the Decade Philosophiqiie^^ that an Elephant treated in
the same way a sentinel who wished to prevent the public from feed-
ing it. Still further, that the female of the same Elephant, being as
angry as the male, seized hold of the gun of the rigid overseer,
twisted it round and round in its trunk, smashed it under foot, and
only gave it back to him when it was thoroughly destroyed.
As the Elephant is conscious of its own strength, it takes every
precaution so that its heavy mass may not harm creatures that are
weaker than itself If it passes through a crowd it opens a passage
for itself with its trunk, and gently presses forward its fore limbs, in
such a manner as to hurt no one. Dr. Franklin says that he has
witnessed in the Elephant an attachment for children.
* Tome xxii., p. 164.
I20 MAMMALIA.
" I have myself," says he, '' seen in India the wife of a mahout
confide the care of a very young child to one of these gigantic
creatures. I was very much amused by observing its sagacity, and
the delicate attentions this huge mass lavished on the little thing
intrusted to it. The Elephant undertook its task in earnest. The
child, which like many other children, did not at all like to remain
long in the same position, and wanted to be noticed, set to work and
cried the moment it was left to itself. Sometimes it got in between
the animal's legs, or became entangled in the branches of the tree on
the leaves of which the Elephant was feeding. The animal on these
occasions moved the child and disentangled it from the branches
with wonderful tenderness, either by raising it with its trunk, or by
moving out of its way the obstacles which might interfere with its
movements." This is not an uncommon sight in India.
The Elephant is extremely touchy. Here is a trait related by the
same Dr. Franklin, for the truth of which we must hold him re-
sponsible : — The manager of the old menagerie in Exeter 'Change,
named Pidcock, had for some years been in the habit of offering to
his Elephant every evening a glass of spirituous Hquor. The animal
seemed to attach great importance to this favour, for it drank its glass
with much relish, as indeed nearly every Elephant does. Pidcock
always handed the first glass to the Elephant, and then took one him-
self. One evening he changed his mind, and apostrophised the
animal thus : " You have been helped first long enough, it is now my
turn to drink before you." His friend, the Elephant, took this in bad
part; it refused to be helped second, and never drank its master's
health again in its daily libations.
The Elephants which are exhibited in different places in theatrical
representations give proofs of a most varied intelligence. They
move over the boards with singular lightness. On a stage crowded
with actors they avoid any blunders which might interfere with the
stage arrangements ; they advance with measured paces, keeping time
with the music. They distinguish one actor from another. If, for
example, they have to place the crown on the head of the lawful
king, they do not go and place it on the head of an usurper. There
was in Paris, in 1867, an Elephant performing at the circus of the
Boulevard du Prince- Eugene, which went through a great many gym-
nastic exercises and feats of address, which gave one a high idea of its
docility and intelligence. This creature, which was called L Elephant
ascensio?iiste, went so far as to balance its heavy mass on a tight-rope,
like Blondin. This is a feat which many a man could not accom-
plish. The African Elephant was trained to do this in the time of
THE ELEPHANT, 121
ancient Rome ; and for anecdotes of the docility and sagacity of
Elepliants consult Elian's work on " The Nature ot Animals,'^ book
ii. chap. II. The passage is translated by the late Sir J. Emerson
Tennent, in his work on Ceylon.
Some Elephants possess a taste for music. In 1813, the mu-
sicians of Paris met together and gave a concert to the male Ele-
phant, which was then in the Jardin des Plantes. The animal
showed great pleasure at hearing sung O ma tendre Musette ! But the
air of La charviante Gabrielle pleased it so much that it beat time by
making its trunk oscillate from right to left, and by rocking its
enormous body from side to side. It even uttered a few sounds
more or less in harmony with those produced by the musicians.
Grand symphonies were less to its taste. It seemed to understand
melody more easily than scientific harmony. It is probable that in this
respect the Elephant is by no means singular. When the concert was
over the sensible Pachyderm approached one of the musicians, who,
by his performance on the horn, had particularly affected it. The
animal knelt down before him, caressed him with its trunk, and ex-
pressed to him in all sorts of pretty ways the pleasure which it had
felt in listening to him.
After these general considerations on the organisation and the
habits of Elephants, we shall pass on to consider more particularly
the different species of this family. Those now existing, however,
are only two in number, the Elephant of Asia and the Elephant of
Africa. The Sumatran Elephant is regarded as a peculiar species by
some naturalists, but the late Dr. Falconer has shown clearly that it
is one and the same with that of continental Asia. Mr. Blyth
examined a living Sumatran Elephant in the Zoological Garden at
Rotterdam, and assuredly could not perceive any difference from the
Indian Elephant. He had also many opportunities of studying the
variations observable in the latter species, of which, upon one
occasion, he examined 294, which were ranged for the inspection by
the local head of the military commissariat.
The Asiatic Elephant Elephas Indicus (Fig. 30) at present inhabits
nearly the whole of the Indian Regions, inclusive of Siam, the Burmese
Empire, and India properly so called. It is found also in the island
of Ceylon, in Sumatra, and there are some in the great island of Borneo.
Its head is broad, flattened on the front of its forehead, swelling out
on its sides ; its ears are much smaller than those of the African
Elephant, and differ a little in their proportions. Its colour is dull
earthy, approaching to brown. Albinos occur rarely, and are greatly
prhed by the monarchs of Ava and Siam, who maintain them in regal
122 MAMMALIA.
State, lodge them in their palaces, and have them served magnificently
by a nmiierous retinue. Fig. 31 shows the head of the Asiatic Elephant.
Until lately, the Asiatic Elephants were, in modern times, the
only ones that were domesticated. It must be observed, too, that
those which are employed are not born in captivity. They are wild
Elephants that have been tamed. These animals live always in
troops. Those which are met with isolated from the others have
been driven out of the band, and are commonly known as " rogue
Elephants " to the inhabitants of India and Ceylon.
The African Elephants in the London Zoological Gardens are
quite as tractable as the Asiatic, and are equally intelligent. Already,
since the British campaign in Abyssinia, some African Elephants
have been tamed and put to uses in that country.
There can be no doubt that the Elephant is a most powerful and
in a sense important animal, and it has been well perhaps that man
has kept it thoroughly in subjection. He has succeeded in appro-
priating this strong and intelligent servant to his use. The following
is the way most commonly used in Asia for getting possession of the
wild Elephants, and for domesticating them : —
When the inhabitants of India, of Siam, &c., have discovered a
troop of Elephants, or only two or three little groups of these
animals, which can easily be gathered together, the natives of the
neighbouring districts get together and suiTound them. Provided
with firearms, drums, trumpets, and fusees — in a word, with every-
thing calculated to terrify — they form a circle round them, and, little
by little, drive them towards a cunningly-prepared inclosure, the
entrance of which, adorned with the leafy branches of trees, re-
sembles a road through the woods. This avenue becomes narrower
and narrower, and ultimately comes to an end in an inclosure formed
by the trunks of trees arranged as a palisade, and containing a deep
ditch or hole.
The drove of Elephants, thus pursued, arrives at the entrance to
the trap. The chief, who precedes and guides the band, hesitates a
long while before he will enter it. He is attracted, however, by fruits
and the stalks of those plants of which he is most fond, such as
sugar-canes and bananas, and which have been placed there by the
Elephant-catchers.
As soon as the chief has gone into it the whole troop follow him.
All is not, however, yet over, for it is necessary above all things to
get them isolated from one another, so as to get possession of them
and tame them separately. With this object in view, they place fruit
and herbs near the entrance of very narrow passages, in which the
THE ELEPHANT.
133
animals cannot turn round. As soon as an Elephant has entered
into one of these, they shut the door and so cut off his retreat. There
they keep the animal a prisoner by cross-bars forced in between its
legs. Soon after the captive's limbs and feet are securely tied with
cords.
Fig. 31.— Head of Asiatic Elephant.
Each prisoner is then left to its keeper, who, ^'with time and
patience," by caressing, threatening, depriving it of food, or humour-
ing its appetite, manages by degrees to approach his charge without
danger. It requires about six months before the animal will allow
its mahout to get on its back. However, love of liberty is so great
in these proud giants that they occasionally, though very rarely, seize
124 MAMMALIA,
the Opportunity, when it presents itself, of escaping into the woods
and of resuming their wild life.
Let us add, that tame Elephants serve in their turn to break in
their wild brethren, and accustom them to man — a singular proof of
intelligence or of philosophy in animals, particularly in those which
always secretly preserve a strong love for the liberty they have lost.
As for die Elephants which live isolated in the forests, the Indians
capture them in various ways. For example, they cast a slip-knot
over one of the hind feet of those which they have been able to
approach stealthily ; making fast the other extremity of the cord to a
tree, they then envelop it in a network and other bonds. They build
a roof in the tree to which the captive is attached ; and when fatigue
and hunger have weakened the unfortunate, they come with a tame
Elephant, which reassures it, and conducts it to the stable. They are
also taken in various other ways, and a solitary male wild Elephant
is usually approached by a couple of tame females, who caress him,
and while doing so avail themselves of opportunities to assist the men
who had accompanied them in passing cords round the limbs of their
dupe. This done, he is not now starved into submission, but a couple
of powerful tame male Elephants take charge of the captive, and
soon reduce him to obedience, sometimes by very rough means.
A well- trained Elephant is considered of very great value in Asia.
Its strength is about five times that of the Camel. In its wild state,
the Indian Elephant is believed to attain to the age of two hundred
years ; but it rarely is so long lived in a state of captivity. In war
they are employed for carrying the sick, and camp equipage. The
English in India harness them in their artillery trains. Moreover, the
proprietors of large cultivated plains, in certain parts of India, have
succeeded in making them draw ploughs. Never did a more mon-
strous beast of draught turn up the earth with a ploughshare. A
ploughing Elephant does the work of many oxen.
Without the presence of numerous Elephants to grace it, no
public/^/*? in most parts of India is considered complete. It always
figures in the suite of princes, and state processions.
It is especially useful for carrying sportsmen on its back in Tiger
hunting, and, if need be, for defending them against the Tiger when
this terrible animal turns to bay.
Van Orlich, a naturalist who travelled much, has described the
singular feeling of surprise he experienced when he rode for the first
time on the back of an Elephant. A cushion stuffed with hair is
placed on the back of the animal ; over the cushion is thrown a long
drapery of red cloth embroidered with gold, which hangs down on
THE ELEPHANT. 1 25
each side of the Elephant ; on this drapery is fixed, with girths, a
seat made to contain two persons and their suite. The guide, or
mahout, sits on the neck of the beast, behind its ears, and directs its
movements with an iron fork, of which one of the prongs is bent
round. The motion is sometimes pleasant, sometimes fatiguing. At
times the pace was so rapid that a man on horseback could with
difficulty keep up. But this pace lasted a very short time, and the
animal only did his twenty-four miles a day.
The Asiatic Elephant has been trained for domestic and military
use for many ages. In the wars which took place between the
peoples of Southern Asia, these animals were loaded with towers
occupied by men armed with arrows, slings, or javelins. The first
armies which had Elephants in their train were everywhere victorious.
The sight alone of them equipped for war struck the battalions with
terror. The Romans were greatly alarmed when, in their campaigns
against Pyrrhus, they saw for the first time these living machines.
They learned, however, in time how to fight against the Elephants.
They broke their colossal legs with axes ; they threw in front of them
enormous stakes, which embarrassed or prevented their charging.
Later, the Romans themselves made use of Elephants in war, and
Caesar found them of the greatest use to him in his campaign in
Gaul. At Rome Elephants often appeared in the Coliseum to fight
with the gladiators; and they were frequently harnessed to the
chariot which conducted the victors in triumph to the Capitol.
Caesar, to make his triumphal procession more striking and mag-
nificent, caused the Elephants he had taken in the battle of Thapsus
to be brought to Rome. Then were seen forty of these magnificent
animals, arranged in two rows, each carrying a torch in its trunk.
The idea of this spectacle, which interested the Romans much, was
borrowed from the kings of Egypt and Syria, who were sometimes
accompanied thus by Elephants that had been trained to carry
torches. In all ancient Greek coins upon which an Elephant is
represented it is always the Asiatic species ; and in all Roman coins
invariably the African species. The Romans were familiar with both
kinds.
One reads in the " Stratagems of War," by Polyaenus, that Julius
Caesar, during his conquest of part of the Island of Great Britain,
made use of an Elephant for crossing the Thames more rapidly.
Here are the details relating to this event given by Polyaenus : —
" Caesar wanted to cross a great river, the opposite bank of which
Cassivellaunus, one of the barbarous kings of Britain, was guarding
with a large number of cavalry, a considerable body of infantry, and
126 MAMMALIA,
a great many chariots of war. The Roman general, seeing how
difficult it would be to force the enemy from his position, caused an
enormous Elephant, with iron trappings, and having on its back a
tower containing archers and slingers, to advance towards the
enemy. This strange apparition struck with terror the inhabitants
of Albion, who had never seen anything like it before ; their horses
took fright and ran away with them, and C^sar became master of
the ford.'^
We must here mention, with regard to the employment of Ele-
phants in armies, that the Indian is more courageous than the African
species. The Romans knew this, for in the battles in which they had
only African to oppose to Indian Elephants, they took care to place
them, not in front of the army, but behind the soldiers. This,
according to Livy, the Romans did at the battle of Magnesium.
The African Elephant has the head rounder and less broad above
than the Asiatic Elephant. Its forehead has not the double lateral
bump which is found on the forehead of the latter. Its ears are very
much larger, and have their interior rims almost meeting over the
occiput; its tusk also is generally stronger. Various other peculi-
arities in the form of the bones and of the molar teeth still further
distinguish the Elephant of Africa from that of Asia.
The African Elephant is met with from the Cape of Good Hope
to as far north as Nubia and Cape Verd. It consequently exists in
Mosambique, in Abyssinia, in Guinea, and in Senegal.
African Elephants live, like those of India, in troops more or less
numerous. They are sometimes found alone ; the Dutch call these
rodeurs, rovers or prowlers. They were formerly much more common
in the environs of the Cape of Good Hope than they are at present.
Thunberg relates that a hunter told him that he had killed, in these
regions, four or five a day, and that regularly. He added that the
number of his victims had many a time amounted to twelve or
thirteen, and even to twenty-two in one day. This may perhaps
have been but a braggart's idle boast. They abound still in the vast
interior of Africa.
The African differs much from the Asiatic Elephant in that which
concerns its relations to man. He does not require of the former
what he obtains from the latter. The African Elephant has, in modern
times, been rarely hunted but for the food that its flesh suppUes, or
more possibly for the sake of its tusks. Fig. 32 shows the head of
the African Elephant.
In shooting the African Elephant guns and poisoned arrows are
made use of. Formerly it was customary to entice it and make it fall
THE ELEPHANT,
127
into pits, at the bottom of which it impaled itself on sharp-pointed
stakes. Levaillant has given some very interesting details on this
sort of sport, but want of space forbids us from here repeatmg them.
Delegorgue, a French traveller, has published more recently
some curious accounts of the habits of African Elephants. Among
these animals, gathered together in troops, there prevails a spirit of
Fig. 32. — Head of the African Elephant.
imitation which sometimes makes them all do exactly what the first
has done. Delegorgue relates on this subject the following episode
of one of his hunting excursions : — A band of Elephants were coming
towards him and his two hunting companions. He shot at the first
of the troop ; the Elephant fell, sinking on its knees. A second
Elephant was then killed, and fell on its knees over the first. Another
of the sportsmen then shot in his turn, and the Elephant aimed at fell
E *
128 MAMMALIA.
in the same manner over the two others. All the Elephants fell thus
on their knees, even to the very last of them (eleven in all !), under
the fire of the sportsmen. But this does not accord with the ex-
perience of our numerous British sportsmen who have shot so many
African Elephants !
The African P^lephant has not always been a useless being, fit
only to be a target for adventurous sportsmen. In ancient days, when
the empire of Carthage was flourishing, this immense living machine
was turned into a powerful auxiliary. The Carthaginians employed
it in all those works which are accomplished in other parts of the
globe by Horses and other beasts of burden. It was placed in the
first rank in battle, and history informs us of the important part the
African Elephants fulfilled which Hannibal brought with his armies
when he invaded Italy, and put to such great peril the power of the
ancient Roman people.
In caves and in the superficial layers or strata of the soil of
Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, are often found the tusks, the
molar teeth, and the bones of Elephants, and people were for a long
time puzzled as to the source from whence these bony remains came.
Before people knew anything of geology^ they took these gigantic
remains for the bones of giants, who, according to certain cos-
mogonies, lived on the earth prior to the existence of the human race.
Thus the Spartans saw the body of Orestes in the bones of an
Elephant of twelve feet in length, found in Thrace \ a gigantic knee-
pan, found near Salaminus, was attributed to Ajax ; and some bones
of a very great size, dug up in Sicily, were considered as the remains
of the giant Polyphemus. Thanks to the progress of the science of
geology, we know nowadays that these bony remains belonged chiefly
to a species of Elephant now extinct, of Siberia, the Mammoth
[Elephas primigeiims, Fig. 33).
No land is more fruitful in fossil bones of the Elephant than the
north of Asia. Such a profusion of these are found in the islands of
New Siberia, which are adjacent to the shores of the Arctic Ocean,
that the soil is almost entirely formed of them, cemented together by
sand and ice. The tusks of the Mammoth are so abundant in the
north of Siberia, that the Czars, wishing to reserve to themselves a
monopoly of them, forbid the inhabitants to collect them. This fossil
ivory is a matter which is very greatly speculated in at the present
day. Each year innumerable caravans start off to the frozen shores,
and bring back from it many cargoes of ivory, of which the industry
of Europe makes the same use as it does of the ivory of those animals
here killed for the express purpose of obtaining ivory.
THE MAMMOTH, 1 29
There has been a great deal of discussion, and the discussion is
still going on, as to how we are to explain the presence, in these
frozen latitudes, of animals which live now only in the scorching
regions of Africa and Asia. It has been asked if the creatures to
which they belonged lived under the equator, as do their congeners
at the present day ; and if they were transported northwards by some
geological cataclysm, or if they could have existed in the same places
in which their remains are at present found. This last hypothesis
has been found to be correct, from a wonderful discovery, which
proves that the fossil Elephant, known among scientific men by the
name oi Mammoth, lived under the northern zones. The following
is the discovery in question : — In 1799 a carcass of the Mammoth
was found under the ice in Siberia. The Elephant, already much
damaged, was examined in 1806 by Professor Adams, of Moscow.
The Siberians had cut it up, and used its flesh as food for their Dogs.
The Bears and other carnivorous animals had also consumed a great
part of it j but a portion of the skin, and one ear remained still un-
touched. Professor Adams was able to distinguish the pupil of the
eye, and the brain was also to be recognised. The skeleton was still
entire, with the exception of one forefoot. The neck was still covered
with a thick mane j and the skin was covered with blackish hairs and
a sort of reddish wool in such abundance, that what iremained of it
could only be carried with difficulty by ten men. Besides this, they
collected more than thirty pounds weight of long and short hair, that
the White Bears had buried in the damp ground after they had
devoured its flesh. The remains of this animal, which came to light
after being buried in the ice for probably many thousand years, are
preserved in the Museum of the Academy of St. Petersburg.
The Museum of Natural History at Paris possesses a piece of the
skin and some locks of hair, with some flocks of wool, belonging to
another Mammoth, which was found entire and in a perfect state of
preservation in the ice on the coasts of the Arctic Ocean.
We have related these two facts, with all the necessary details, in
our work, " The World before the Deluge," to which we refer our
readers.* The only thing we mention here is, that the discovery of
the Mammoth made on the shores of the Irtisch proves that this
animal lived in the regions of the north, of which the climate was
then, perhaps, much warmer than it is now ; and that it is perfectly
distinct from the two species actually in existence.
To the Mammoth {Eiephas primtgenius) we must add among the
* Cassell Petter & Galpin : London, Paris & New York,
130
MAMMALIA,
species of fossil Prohoscidea the famous Mastodon glganteiim of Ohio.
Whilst the Mammoth has its tusks excessively curved round, the
Mastodon has almost straight tusks; the molar teeth differ also in
each of these species. The bony remains of species of Mastodon
are found in the middle of America and in Central Europe. How-
ever, the question of how many species are to be admitted among the
Fig. 33. — Mammoth {EIeJ>has J>rlmigeniiis.)
fossil Prohoscidea is still not well determined ; and it is very difficult to
fix the relationship between these species and the species of our own
time. The investigations of the late Dr. Falconer and of Professor
Leith Adams have thrown great light on this subject.
Genuina, or Family of Ordinary Pachyderms. — The genera
comprised in this family are — the Hippopotamus^ Rhinoceros, Hyj-ax,
Tapir.
Hippopotaimis. — The Hippopotamus amphibius (Fig. 34) is an
enormous animal of massive dimensions. It sometimes attains to as
THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 1 33
much as three metres and a half in length by more than three metres
in circumference. After the Elephant and the Rhinoceros, it is the
largest of terrestrial Mammalia. Its head, very bulky, especially in
its facial portion, is terminated in a large swelling muzzle. Its mouth,
immoderately large, extends very nearly from eye to eye. All who have
seen in the Zoological Gardens at the Regent's Park, London, or in the
Jardin des Plantes, at Paris, this monstrous mouth opening for a little
piece of bread, must have been surprised at the frightful appearance
of this living gulf, armed with enormous canine, and large and
pointed incisor, teeth. When it is shut, the upper lip descends in
front and on the sides, like an enormous blobber lip, which covers the
extremity of the lower jaw, and partly hides the under lip ; but on the
sides it is the lower hp which stands up. The nostrils, which are in
front of the muzzle, are surrounded by a muscular apparatus, which
closes them hermetically when the animal is under water. The eyes
are of middling size, but prominent. The upper portion of its head,
denuded of hair, and of a pinky colour, reminds one of a calf s head,
after preparation at the butcher's shop. An enormous round body,
spreading out on all sides, is crushed, as we may say, on to legs,
so short and fat that it very nearly touches the ground. Each foot
has four toes, each furnished with a little hoof. The tail, which is
very short, has on it, here and there, a few hairs. The whole of this
mass is covered with a bare skin, of a brownish hue, except at the
joints, round the eyes, at the groins, &c., where it is pink. Nume-
rous little hairs project from the surface of its skin, which is of
considerable thickness, and fully justifies the place this animal has
been given in the order of Pachydermata.
The Hippopotamus inhabits Southern and Eastern Africa; but
everything announces that it will not be long in disappearing before
civilisation, that is to say, the sportsman's gun. They were formerly
much more abundant in the Nile than they are now, and they
diminish equally in other localities. In the time of Levaillant,
that is to say, in the eighteenth century, they abounded in the colony
of the Cape of Good Hope ; but, in 1838, there were only two left
on the property of a rich horse-breeder, who very carefully protected
them.
These animals live in troops on the banks of rivers and lakes.
On land, their gait is clumsy and heavy, for their own enormous
weight fatigues them; but they are very quick and active in the
water, where they lose, by its pressure, a great portion of their weight.
And so they pass all day in the aquatic element, in which they
swim and dive with extreme facility. When swimming they only let
134 MAMMALIA.
the upper surface of their heads be seen, from the ears or occiput to
the surface of the nostrils, which allows them to breathe, to see all
round them, and to hear the slightest noises. In breathing, they
spout out noisily, in the form of irregular jets, such water as has
become introduced into their nostrils. This spouting announces to
the hunter the presence of the Hippopotamus.
The w^ord Hippopotamus, which signifies River-horse ('/ttttos, horse,
TTora^os, river), proclaims to us that the habits of this Pachyderm are
essentially aquatic. It feeds on young stalks of reeds, little boughs,
small shrubs, and water plants, also on roots and succulent bulbs.
Its cry is hoarse, but of incredible depth, power, and volume.
Those who have heard it are not astonished at the assertion of
Adanson, who affirms that the cry of this Pachyderm has been
distinctly heard at a distance of a quarter of a league.
The habits of this animal are peaceable ; its disposition is, in
general, mild and inoffensive; it only turns vicious when it is
attacked.
Hippopotamus hunting is performed in different ways. Its
enemies surprise it at night, on its leaving the waters, when it comes
to browse in the meadows and the neighbouring plains ; or attack it
by day in the river, either with harpoons or guns, assailing it when it
comes to the surface to breathe. The unfortunate animal tries to
defend itself. In its sudden action it sometimes overturns the boats
containing its enemies. Occasionally, desperate with rage at being
wounded, it tries to tear the boats to pieces with its formidable tusks.
Woe betide the men then who are on board ! With one bite it could
cut through the middle of the body of a full-grown man.
The natives of Africa hunt the Hippopotamus, first to obtain the
ivory furnished by its tusks — an ivory which, without being so good
as that of the Elephant, is nevertheless a valuable commodity in the
trade of the two hemispheres. The skin, or hide, which is very thick,
is also employed in the manufacture of various instruments. The
flesh of the Hippopotamus is also very much esteemed. It is sought
after in South Africa as a delicate morsel. The epicures of the towns
in the Cape Colony do not hesitate to employ their influence with
the farmers of the interior of the Afiican continent to obtain a quarter
of a Sea-cow ( Vache de Mer). Some parts of the skin of the animal
covered with fat are salted and dried like bacon. Such are the
inducements which threaten with complete and speedy destruction
one of the most curious, if not one of the most elegant, zoological
types. On account of the perfection to which firearms have been
brought, hunting for these animals is much more easy than it was
THE RHINOCEROS. I 35
formerly, and everything announces that this species will very soon
become extinct.
The inhabitants of equatorial Africa catch the Hippopotamus in
a trap. Knowing the paths taken by the animal on leaving the
river to go along the bank, they hang in a thicket, with the help of
long poles kept in equilibrium, a stake terminated in a steel point.
The Hippopotamus, in traversing the thicket, deranges the poles, and
the sharp instrument, falHng from a great height on the animal's
head, kills or wounds it so seriously that it can easily afterwards
be approached and despatched.
The history of the Hippopotamus for a long time reposed on
very vague notions. Herodotus attributed to it a tail furnished with
hair analogous to that of Horses ; Aristotle gave it a name ; and
Pliny reproduced these two assertions without commentary.
The artists of antiquity, more faithful to nature than the historians
and the naturalists, have left good representations of this animal.
In the palace of the Vatican, at Rome, on the bas-relief which forms
the plinth of the ancient colossal statue of the Nile, is given pretty
correctly the outline of the Hippopotamus. One sees other very
exact representations in certain mosaics at Pompeii, and again on the
medals of Adrian, which represent so frequently the banks oi the Nile.
The Hippopotamus has been seen only on very rare occasions at
Rome. Scaurus, when Edile, exhibited one. Augustus showed
another during the fetes which were instituted in honour of his
triumph over Cleopatra. The emperors, Commodus and HeHo-
gabalus also caused a few of these animals to be brought there. But
none appeared in Europe in the Middle Ages, and it is only within
the last few years that the Jardin des Plantes, at Paris, and the
Regent's Park Gardens, at London, have been able to procure living
specimens of this Pachyderm.
Rhinocei^os. — Remarkable for their great size and for their strength,
the Rhinoceroses ought, for this double reason, to rank immediately
after the Elephant. Their most prominent feature — we do not mean
a joke — which is one unique among the Mammalia, is that they have
on their nose one or two horns, filled up and solid. Hence their
name, which is derived from two Greek words (pt's, nose, and k^^o-s,
horn).
Rhinoceroses were much more numerous in remote eras than they
are at present. There have existed numerous different species,
several of them living in temperate and even in cold climates, like
France, Germany, and Russia; but they are now no longer found,
except in the hottest portions of the Old World.
IS6 MAMMALIA.
Aristotle says nothing of the Rhinoceros ; but Athen^us, PHny,
and Strabo mention it in their works. The first Rhinoceros men-
tioned in history figured in a fete given in Egypt by the King
Ptolemy Philadelphus. Later, Pompey, Augustus, the emperors
Antoninus and Heliogabalus brought some into Europe, and made
them fight in the Coliseum, at Rome, sometimes with the Hippo-
potamus^ sometimes with the Elephant. We must then pass on to
the sixteenth century to find in European history new mention of
these animals. In 15 13 Emmanuel, the King of Portugal, received
from India a one-horned Rhinoceros. Albert Durer made an
engraving of it on wood, which was for a long time copied and
reproduced in works on natural history. Only this representation of
it is very inexact ; for Albert Durer had executed it after an incorrect
drawing sent him from Lisbon into Germany. During the eighteenth
century a Rhinoceros was brought to Holland ; two were taken to
London at the end of the same century. The menagerie at Versailles
bought one of these last-named animals, which very soon died, and
was dissected by Mertrud and Vicq d'Azyr. Since the beginning of
our century, Europe has received many of these gigantic and curious
quadrupeds (but only until quite recently of one species).
The Great Indian Rhinoceros {Rhinoceros unicornis) inhabits the
regions situated beyond the Ganges, and especially the valley of
Opam, along the base of the eastern Himalaya Mountains. It is
more than three metres in length and two metres in height. Its head
is short and triangular ; its mouth, of a moderate size, has an upper
lip, which is longer than the lower, pointed and movable. It has in
each jaw two strong incisor teeth. Its eyes are small j its ears are
rather long and movable. The horn upon its nose is pointed,
conical, not compressed, sometimes two feet in length, and slightly
curved backwards. This singular weapon is composed of clusters of
hairs closely adherent ; for when the point is blunted it is often seen
divided into fibres resembling the hairs of a brush. This horn is,
however, very solid, hard, of a brownish red on the outside, of
a golden yellow inside, and black in the centre.
The neck of this animal is short and covered with folds and
creases. Its shoulders are thick-set and heavy ; its ponderous body
is covered with a skin remarkable for the deep wrinkles or creases
with which it is furrowed, backwards and across the fore-quarters,
and across the thighs. Thus, as it were, to all appearance cut up
into plaits of mail, the Great Indian Rhinoceros seems to be covered
with a cloak made for it. This cloak has, indeed, been compared to
a suit of armour of well-adjusted pieces. The hide is, however, so
THE RHINOCEROS,
1.37
iiif'^'iaiir I
thick, and hard that, without these creases or folds, the animal,
imprisoned, as it were, in its armour, could scarcely move. It is of a
dark colour, nearly bare, generally provided only with a few coarse
138 MAMMALIA.
and stiff hairs on the tail and ears, occasionally with curly woolly
hairs on certain parts of the body.
The Great Indian Rhinoceros (Fig. 35) is heavy and more massive
than even the Elephant, on account of the shortness of its limbs.
The feet have each three toes, of which one sees nothing but the hoof
which covers them. The tail is short and thin.
This huge Pachyderm lives alone in the forests and near rivers
and marshes, because it is fond of wallowing in the mud, like the
Wild Boar, which it somewhat resembles in its habits. Though such
a powerful animal, it rarely attacks before it is interfered with ; the
other large animals fear it, and consequently leave it unmolested.
Its horn only serves it for moving branches out of its way and for
clearing a road for itself in the thickets, in the midst of which it
passes its taciturn existence. Some naturalists have said that it uses
its tusks for tearing up the roots on which it is fond of feeding ; but
in order to turn up the soil, the animal, from the position of its horn
and from that horn being curved backwards, would be obliged to
assume an attitude which the shortness of its neck and its general
conformation render impossible. A wounded Rhinoceros of this
species has been seen to cut the reeds on either side of it as perfectly
as if done with the sharpest incisive instrument.
Its principal food consists of roots, of succulent plants, and of
small branches of trees, which it tears off, seizes, and breaks with its
upper lip, which is elongated and movable, and which it uses with
great adroitness, almost in the same way in which the Elephant uses
its trunk. When it is kept in a state of captivity it eats bread, rice,
bran soaked in water, hay, and carrots.
Its clumsy shape, its short legs, its belly almost touching the
ground, render this animal very ugly and ill-favoured. Its diminu-
tive eyes seem to indicate a low order of intelHgence. And the
Rhinoceros is found to be a dull beast, almost untamable. When
it is not irritated, its voice has a great analogy to the grunting of a
Pig ; if it is angered it utters sharp, piercing cries, that can be heard
at great distances.
The female has only one young one at a time, which she carries
for nine months, and which she tends with great care. It is
dangerous to be thrown in contact with the female at this period.
In India, in former times, the Rhinoceros was hunted on light,
quick Horses. The huntsmen followed it from afar off, and without
any noise, till the animal became tired and was obliged to lie down
and sleep. Then the sportsmen approached it, taking care to keep
to leeward, for it has a very acute sense of smell. When they were
THE RHINOCEROS. 1 39
within shot they dismounted, aimed at the head, fired, and galloped
away \ for if the Rhinoceros is only wounded, it rushes furiously upon
its aggressors. When struck by a bullet, it abandons itself wholly to
rage. It rushes straight forward, smashing, overturning, trampling
under foot, and crushing to atoms everything which is unfortunate
enough to be in its road. Its pursuers can avoid these formidable
attacks by making digressions to the right or left, for the course taken
by the Rhinoceros is always rectilinear, never turning out of its
direction or retracing its steps.
If the Indians dare to run the risks involved in such dangerous
sport, it is because the skin and horn of the animal are of great value.
Sportsmen also find the skin of the Rhinoceros of utility : it is made
into leather, which is so hard that it can only be cut with great
difficulty by the best steel.
The Indians like the flesh of the Rhinoceros; but the Chinese are
excessively fond of it. After Swallows' nests, Lizards' eggs, and Httle
Dogs, there is nothing to be compared, according to the Chinese, to
the tail of a Rhinoceros, or to a jelly made with the skin from this
animal's belly ! Let us add, that the Chinese attribute to the horn
of this Pachyderm marvellous properties, amongst others that of
destroying the effects of the most deadly poisons. The Asiatic
kings, who had too often to be afraid of poisoned beverages, had
their drinking-cups made of the horn of the Rhinoceros. These cups
were considered by them of inestimable value.
In menageries, the Asiatic Rhinoceros is generally a gloomy, but
a mild and obedient animal. Sometimes the constraint in which it is
retained gives it fits of impatience and fury, when it becomes
dangerous. In its despair it has been known to dash its head
violently against the walls of its stable. Generally, however, it
recognises its keeper's authority, and shows itself conscious of his
presence and grateful to him for his care.
There exists at Java a peculiar representative of the Asiatic
Rhinoceros. This species {R. Javanicus) has only one horn. Again,
another species {R. Sumatrensis) is peculiar to Sumatra, and has two
horns.
The African two-horned Rhinoceros (i?. bicornis) was known to
the ancients, for its effigy is found on medals struck in the time of the
Emperor Domitian. It has on its nose two conical horns, inchned
backwards ; the foremost horn is often seventy centimetres long, the
second much shorter. It is a large animal ; its skin has no wrinkles,
nor folds, and is almost entirely bare (Fig. 36).
The Rhinoceros inhabits Caffiaria, the Hottentot country, and
140 MAMMALIA.
probably the whole of Southern Africa. It lives in the forests which
overshadow the banks of the great rivers, and is still more shy than
the Asiatic Rhinoceros. It is hunted, and supplies the same products
as make the Asiatic species valuable.
A species {R. ciLcuUatus) or perhaps only a variety of the
Rhinoceros — about the habits of which and the manner of hunting
it the English traveller, Bruce, has given some details — is met with
near ponds and rivers in Abyssinia. Hidden during the day in
the thickets, it sallies out at night, to eat the young boughs covered
with leaves. After feeding it wallows, covering itself with repeated
layers of mud, to preserve it from the sting of the Gad-flies — its small
but troublesome enemies. When the mud is dry it falls off, exposing
the animal to fresh attacks. To allay the irritation caused by these
annoying insects it rubs itself against the trunks of trees, and during
this operation it grumbles and grunts so loudly that it betrays its
place of retreat to the hunters, who attack it and kill it by shooting
arrows into its flank, the most vital portion of its body, and in which
a wound is certain to produce death. Other hunters, called in the
language of the country agageer (ham or hock cutters, coiipe-J arrets),
pursue on horseback and kill the Rhinoceros with extraordinary courage
and address. Two men ride on the same Horse. The one is dressed,
and armed with javelins ; the other is naked, and has nothing but a
long sword in his hand. The first sits on the saddle, the second rides
behind him on the Horse's back. Directly they have got on the
track of the quarry, they start off in pursuit of it, taking care to keep
at a great distance from the Rhinoceros when it plunges into the
thickets, in the midst of which it opens for itself a broad passage,
which closes as the animal passes on, but the moment it arrives in an
open spot they pass it, and place themselves opposite to it. The
animal, in a rage, hesitates for a moment, then rushes furiously upon
the Horse and its riders. These avoid the assault by a quick move-
ment to the right or the left, and the man who carries the long sword
lets himself shde off on to the ground without being perceived by the
Rhinoceros, which takes alone notice of the Horse. Then the
courageous hunter, with one blow of his formidable weapon, cuts
through the tendon of the ham or hock of one of the monster's hind
legs, which causes it to fall to the ground, when it is despatched with
arrows and the sword. The grandees of Abyssinia also engage in the
pursuit of the Rhinoceros. But they attack these animals with guns.
It is in this way also that the Hottentots and the colonists of the
Cape of Good Hope hunt this Pachyderm.
From late researches it would appear that there are at least six
THE RHINOCEROS.
existing species of Rhinoceros — three in Asia and three in Africa ;
and they differ so much from each other that Dr. Gray has referred
them to four generic divisions, which are quite as distinct as the
142 MAMMALIA.
genera recognised in other families, and indeed more so than in
many.
Asiatic Rhinoceroses.
The geographical range of the Great Indian Rhinoceros would
appear to be at present restricted, or very nearly so, to the tarai^ an
unhealthy marshy tract at the foot of the Himalaya, skirting the
territories of Nipal, Sikhim, and Bhotan. As remarked by an
experienced naturalist, Dr. Jerdon, in his " Mammals of India," this
animal "is more common in the eastern portions of the tai'ai\S\2,VL
the western, and is most abundant in Assam and the Bhotan Dooars.
I have heard from one spoilsman,'' he adds, " of its occurrence as far
west as Rohilkund, but it is certainly rare there now, and indeed
along the greatest part of the Nipal tarai; and, although a few have
been killed in the Sikhim tarai^ they are more numerous east of the
Teesta river." Dr. Jerdon suspects that it has crossed the great
river Brahmaputra, and that it may be found in some of the hill
ranges to the east and south of that river. From the dimensions
given of a pair killed in the Garrow hills, in the territory indicated,
we conclude that such must be the case, and that both of the One-
horned Rhinoceroses are there met with ; but from recent investiga-
tions it would appear that from thence southward it is completely
replaced by the R. so7idaiciis^ a smaller kind, which has generally
been supposed to be peculiar to the island of Java.
The difference between these two species of One-horned Rhino-
ceroses is not sufficiently striking to be noticeable by an ordinary
observer, unless perhaps he might chance to have the rare oppor-
tunity of comparing the two together ; and thus there are sportsmen
who have killed both species in their respective haunts, iDut have
failed to discriminate them apart, considering the smaller kind to be
merely not fully grown. The R. sondaiciis is about (or almost) a
third less in size than the R. Indicus, and its coat of mail is much the
same, except that the tubercles on the hide are considerably smaller
and of uniform size throughout, and (at least in the young animal) the
polygonal facets of the skin have a few small bristles growing upon a
depression in the centre of each of them. One marked distinction
at all ages consists in this, that the strong fold or plait at the setting
on of the neck, which is continued across the shoulders in the smaller
species, or R. so?idaicus, is not continued across in the larger one, or
R Indicus^ but curves backward and terminates over the bladebone
in the latter. In R. sondaiais the neck-folds are less heavy and
pendulous, and the posterior plait which crosses the buttock from
THE RHINOCEROS. 1 43
the base of the tail is less extended, not reaching to the great
vertical fold anterior to the hind-quarters, as it does in R. Indicus.
Of numerous skulls examined of both, those of each varying
considerably in contour, the width in some being conspicuously
greater than in others, the depth of the ascending portion of the
lower jaw — from the condyle to base —averages twelve inches in
adults of R. Ifidicus, and never exceeds nine inches in R. sondaiciis.
The length of skull from occiput to tip of united nasal bones
(measured by calipers) is — in R. Indicus, two feet (half an inch more
or less, English measure) ; in R. sondaicus, a foot and three-quarters
at most. Breadth of bony interspace between the tusks of the lower
jaw — in R. Indicus, one inch and a half to one and three-quarters ;
in R. sondaicus, three-quarters to one inch. The skulls of R. sondaicus
examined were from the Bengal Sundarbans, the Tenasserim pro-
vinces and Java ; and it was from a Javanese skull that the illustrious
anatomist, Cowper, first discriminated it as a distinct species from
the others ; the same individual skull being figured in the Ossejne?ts
Fossiles of Baron Cuvier, who, in that work, rightly indicates the
animal as being a little smaller than the other {d'une faille im pen
i?ioind?'e), and as otherwise much resembling it; but in his sub-
sequently published second edition of the Regne Animal, while
mentioning the particular distinction of the great neck-fold, he refers
to his brother's figure in the Planches des Mammiferes as illustrative
of his R. Javanus. Professor Schirz, however, gives the species of
Frederic Cuvier as R. Javanicus.
But the late Dr. Horsfield had previously well figured the animal,
in his " Zoological Researches in Java," as R. sondaicus of Cuvier, and
by the same name it has since been figured and described in the great
Dutch work of Dr. Salomon Miiller and Professor Temminck. Now,
M. Frederic Cuvier's figure of his supposed Javanese Rhinoceros
represents, most decidedly, a young animal of the Asiatic Two-
horned Rhinoceros, which does not inhabit Java ! And it is a better
figure of the latter than the one which he gives as representing that
two-horned species. Both are copies of drawings by native artists,
sent by MM. Diard and Dusancel ; and in the former instance the
posterior horn had been overlooked, though a rudiment of it would
certainly have been apparent at the age represented. That figure has
mislead naturalists, who have designated the animal as le Petit
Rhinoceros de Java; whereas Horsfield was informed that the
individual figured by him grew afterwards to a height of five feet
seven inches, which must surely be a mistake ! Four feet seven inches
was the probable measurement, even if taken round the curve of the
144 MAMMALIA.
body. A sporting writer, describing one which he killed in the
Garrow hills, gives the height of it as four feet four inches. "It
proved to be a male, with a pretty large horn, and he was a very
powerful animal." Other Rhinoceroses (doubtless R. Iiidims) killed
in the same tract of territory are described as exceeding six feet in
height, which is probably an exaggeration, or at least they must have
been measured round the curvature of the body as they lay dead,
which in so bulky a carcass would add some inches to the alleged
stature. As the smaller example (doubtless R. so7idaims) had "a
pretty long horn," we may be certain that he was full grown, and may,
accordingly, infer with some confidence that both species inhabit the
hill territory known as the Garrows, and probably also the Khasya
and Jhyntea hills, if not still farther eastward.
Dr. Jerdon remarks (in the excellent work already cited) that
" the R. sojidaicus is found at present in the Bengal Sundarbans, and
a very few individuals are stated to occur in the forest tract along the
Mahanadi river, and extending northwards towards Minaspore ;
and also on the northern edge of the Rajmahal hills, near the
Ganges. Several have been killed quite recently," he adds, "within
a few miles of Calcutta." According to another writer, they are
or were "found in great numbers at the bottom of the Rajmahal and
Sikri Gulli hills, but are seldom seen in the district of Purneah.
They live chiefly upon growing rice and vegetable roots, the horn
enabling them to procure vegetable matter embedded in the earth."
Having a horn suitable for the purpose, they may thus use it ; but the
nasal horn in this group of Pachyderms varies so much in shape and
direction, according to the species, that it is not always suitable for
such employment ; and it may well be asked of what use is the
strong horn of some of them, which in the Keitloa Rhinoceros of
Africa is sometimes as long as the anterior one, while in some
individuals of the Asiatic Two-horned species, the fore-horn is so
very much elongated and curves so far backward that it is difficult to
imagine how it could be put to any service. An experienced
sporting writer remarks of one of the single-horned species, that "it
is a mistake to suppose that the horn is their most formidable
weapon. I thought so myself at one time,^' he adds, " but have long
been satisfied that it is merely used in defence, and not as an instru-
ment of offence. It is with their cutting teeth" (lower canines)
" that they wound so desperately. I killed a large male," this writer
asserts, "which was cut and slashed all over its body with fighting;
the wounds were all fresh, and as cleanly made as if they had been
done with a razor — the horn could not have been used here^
THE RHINOCEROS^ I45
Another one he had wounded stood, and out of pure rage cut at the
jungle right and left, exactly as a Boar uses his tusks. A medical
friend had a man, who was sauntering through the forest, actually
disembowelled by a Rhinoceros. He examined the wound im-
mediately, and I heard him say afterwards that if it had been done
with the sharpest instrument it could not have been cleaner cut.
Such, then, could not have been done with the horn." ^
In Java the R. soiidaicus is reputed to be rather a timid animal ;
but an instance is related of one attacking a sailor's watering party in
that island ;t and the full-grown Garrow Rhinoceros before men-
tioned (standing four feet five inches in height) had killed a man
and a boy some- days before he was shot. This smaller One-horned
Rhinoceros appears to be diffused more or less abundantly over the
whole Indo-Chinese region (or the countries lying eastward of the
Bay of Bengal), and through the Malayan peninsula, but it does not
appear to inhabit Sumatra. In Java, according to Professor Rein-
hardt, it is "found everywhere in the most elevated regions, ascending
with an astonishing swiftness even to the highest tops of the moun-
tains." Dr. Horsfield also notices that "it prefers high situations,
but is not limited to a particular region or climate, its range extending
from the limit of the ocean to the summits of mountains of consider-
able elevation. Its retreats are discovered by deeply excavated
passages, which it forms along the declivities of mountains and hills.
I found these occasionally of great depth and extent." Of one of
the single Short-horned species of this genus an observer remarks,
" It is surprising to see how rapidly, and without the least exertion,
as it seems, these huge, heavily-built, unwieldy-looking animals get
over the ground, consisting of the densest jungle, of hill-reeds,
bushes, and brushwood, and thick j-^/-saplings, interspersed with
large trees. Awkward as is their gait, they trot very fast ; I say trot,
for their movement more nearly resembles a trot than anything else,
though actually it is rather a gait between a trot and a canter.
Elephants with howdahs have no chance with them in the chase, and
unless dropped with the first shot, or they suddenly stop and turn
to stand at bay, thus exposing the fatal spot in the temple within
fair ball-distance, they generally manage to escape. It is useless
firing at the body." % This was written before the present far more
efficient style of weapon came into use (the low trajectory rifle),
or the terrible explosive shell was invented, which is now so fatally
* Bengal Sporting Magazine^ 1836, partii., p. 158.
\ Zoologist, p. 1328.
X Linndar remarks^ " Viscera ad ec^uina accedunt."
146 MAMMALIA,
destructive to the largest of land quadrupeds, as well as to the most
gigantic of Cetaceans.
In the early part ot the sixteenth century of our era the famous
Mogul Emperor Bdber (the great grandson of Timour Lang, or
Tamerlane, and the founder of the dynasty of the Great Mogul)
mentions incidentally, in his public memoirs, the occurrence of the
Rhinoceros, the wild Buffalo, and the Lion in the neighbourhood
of the city of Benares, and the wild Elephant in the vicinity of
Chunar. In his notice of the animals peculiar to Hindustan, after
describing the Elephant, the imperial author remarks, "The
Rhinoceros is another. This also is a huge animal. The opinion
prevalent in our countries that a Rhinoceros can lift an Elephant
on its horn is probably a mistake. It has a single horn over its nose
upwards of a span in length ; but I never saw one of two spans.''
(From this it would seem that the particular species referred to is
R. sondaicus, inasmuch as Bdber would probably have been able to
obtain larger examples of the horn of R. Indiciis.) "Out of one of
the largest of these horns I had a drinking vessel made and a dice-
box, and about three or four fingers' bulk of it might be left. Its
hide is very thick. If it be shot at with a powerful bow drawn up to
the armpit with much force, the arrow enters three or four fingers'
breadth. They say, however, that there are parts of its skin that may be
pierced and the arrows enter deep. On the sides of its two shoulder-
blades, and of its thighs, are folds that hang loose, and appear at a
distance like cloth housings dangling over it. It bears more resem-
blance to the Horse than to any other creature. As the Horse has a
large stomach, so has this animal j as the pastern of the Horse is
composed of a single bone, so also is that of the Rhinoceros. It is
more furious than the Elephant, and cannot be rendered so tame and
obedient. There are numbers of them in the jungles of Peshauar
and Hashuagar, as well as between the river Sind and Behreh in the
jungles. In Hindustan, too, I frequently killed the Rhinoceros. It
strikes powerfully with its horn, with which, in the course of these
hunts, many men and many Horses were gored. In one hunt it
tossed with its horn, a full spear's length, the Horse of a young man
named Maksud, whence he got the name of Rhinoceros Maksud." *
* Some of the Royal Emperor Baber's remarks are amusingly correct. Thus,
of the common large Indian Frogs {Rana tigrina\ he remarks, "The Frogs of
Hindustan are worthy of notice. Though of the same species as" ( i.e., akin to)
"our own, they will run six or seven ^2^2" (twelve or fourteen feet) "on the face
of the water." During our long residence in India, we have known more than
one naturalist traveller to have been at once struck with this peculiarity.
THE RHINOCEROS, 147
Again, in the course of his narrative, he states, " We continued
our march till we came near Bekram, and there halted. Next
morning we continued halting in the same station, and I went out to
hunt the Rhinoceros." And again "We crossed the Sia Ob" (black
water), " in front of Bekram, and formed our ring lower down the
river. When we had gone a short way, a man came after us with
notice that a Rhinoceros had entered a little wood near Bekram, and
that they had surrounded .the wood and were waiting for us. We
immediately proceeded towards the wood at full gallop, and cast a
ring round it Instantly on our raising the shout the Rhinoceros
issued out into the plain, and took its flight. Humaiun, and those
who had come from the same quarter, never having seen a Rhinoceros
before, were greatly amused. They followed it for nearly a kos "
(two English miles), " shot many arrows at it, and finally brought it
down. The Rhinoceros did not make a good set at any person or
any Horse. They afterwards killed another Rhinoceros. I had often
amused myself with conjecturing how an Elephant and Rhinoceros
would behave if brought to face each other. On this occasion the
Elephant keepers brought out the Elephants, so that one Elephant fell
right in with the Rhinoceros. As soon as the Elephant drivers put
their beasts in motion the Rhinoceros would not come up, but
immediately ran off in another direction." In a modern Rhinoceros
hunt the Elephants are too apt to turn tail, and the great Indian
Rhinoceros sometimes charges them j but we remember no instance
of an Elephant being wounded by an infuriated Rhinoceros.
"In the jungles round Chunar," remarks the founder of the
dynasty of the Great Mogul, " there are many Elephants ;" and else-
where he asserts that the Elephant " inhabits the district of Kalpe "
(or Culpee), " and the higher you advance from there towards the east
the more do the wild Elephants increase in num.ber." Upon which
his able translator remarks justly, in a note penned more than half a
century ago, that *' the improvement of Hindustan since B4ber's time
must be prodigious. The wild Elephant is now confined to the forests
under Himala, and to the ghats of Malabar. A wild Elephant near
Karrah, Manikpore, or Kalpe, is a thing at the present day totally
unknown. May not their familiar existence in these countries down
to Baber's days be considered as rather hostile to the accounts given
of the superabundant population of Hindustan in remote times ?"
The description that Baber gives of a Mailed and Single-horned
Rhinoceros is unmistakable ; but it still seems passing strange that
these huge Pachyderms should have been killed with arrows. At the
present day the Rhinoceros has long been extirpated, with not so
148 MAMMALIA,
much as a tradition of it remaining in all the parts where Baber
mentions its former occurrence ; but in the desert region north-west
of Delhi the Lion was numerous within the memory of living man,
and there we learn that already hardly a tradition remains of this
formidable animal as a former and comparatively recent inhabitant of
die extensive desert tract in question.
The genus Ceratorkinus (Gray), is founded on the Two-horned
Rhinoceros, C. Sitmatrafius^ a comparatively small animal, which cer*
tainly never much exceeds four feet in height ; but its horns some-
times attain a beautiful development, more especially the anterior
one, which is much longer than the other, slender except at base, and
has a graceful curvature backward, more or less decided in different
individuals; the other, or posterior horn, is not placed close behind
the first, as in the different two-horned African species, but at a con-
siderable distance from it, and it has a corresponding backward
curvature. An anterior horn of this small Rhinoceros in the British
Museum measures thirty-two inches along its front, and is seventeen
inches in span from base to tip. We have seen a pair of horns of
this Rhinoceros beautifully carved and polished, and set with the
bases upwards and on a parallel in a carved black wooden stand,
similar to those upon which Chinese metallic mirrors are mounted ;
and the Chinamen give such extravagant prices for fine specimens
that they are exceedingly difficult to be got hold of by any one else.
We have seen a pair upon the head, the value of which was estimated
at five guineas ; and the price, as usual, increases with the size and
length to a sum much higher.
The Asiatic Two-horned Rhinoceros has a comparatively smooth
hide, which is somewhat thinly, though conspicuously, covered with
short and coarsish black hair throughout : there are folds about the
neck, a distinct fold behind the fore-quarters, a slight fold, or rather
crease, anterior to the hind limbs, and another slight fold at some
distance above the hock; but nothing comparable to the plaits of
mail of the One-horned Rhinoceroses. Inside of the folds the
skin is of a suUied pinkish colour, and elsewhere its hue is brownish
ashy. Its hide is rough, but not thick or hard, being easily cut
through with a knife ; where thickest it does not exceed one-third of
an inch, decreasing to a quarter of an inch on the belly. The form
of the skull approximates to certain of the extinct Rhinoceroses of
the European-Asiatic continent, which were also two-horned, and the
huge northern (extinct) R. tichorhiims^ which is known to have been
thickly clad ^vith woolly hair. The Indian R. platyrhinus (likewise
extinct), of die late Dr. Falconer would seem indeed to be just
THE RHINOCEROS, 149
an immensely magnified representation of the diminutive existent
C. Sumatranus,
The earliest description of the Asiatic Two-horned Rhinoceros is
by Mr. William Bell, then sm-geon at Bencoolen, in Sumatra, and is
to be found in the "Philosophical Transactions" for 1793. In the
same year the second edition of Pennant's " History of Quadrupeds"
appeared, giving a slight notice of the species, also as an inhabitant of
Sumatra ; but little was at that time known of the geographical limits
of the range of particular species, and Pennant never suspected its
non-identity with the then known Two-horned Rhinoceros of Africa.
Bell gave a tolerable figure of the beast, and three representations of
its skull; and Sir T. Stamford Raffles remarks that "Dr. Bell's
description and representation of this animal are extremely correct,"
save that the folds of the skin "are rather more distinct and defined
than in Dr. Bell's figure." He adds that the natives of Sumatra
" assert that a third horn is sometimes met with ; and in one of the
young specimens procured an indication of the kind was observed."
In Mr. C. J. Andersson's work, entitled " Lake Ngami," the same is
remarked of one or more of the ordinary Two-horned Rhinoceroses
of Africa. This traveller writes :— " I have met with some persons
who told me that they had killed Rhinoceroses with three horns ; but
in all such cases (and they have been but few) the third or hinder-
most horn is so small as to be scarcely perceptible." It is remarkable
that Linnseus referred to Rhinoceroses bearing a third horn,'^ and
this seems to be a not unhkely character to have been developed more
frequently in certain of the extinct species of RhmocerotidcB. A rudi-
mentary secondhom may, indeed, be seen upon the forehead of the large
female of R. Indiciis in the London Zoological Gardens ; and the
alleged third horn referred to by Linncxus, Raffles, and Andersson,
we suspect to be merely a slight appearance of the same kind.
The Asiatic Two-horned Rhinoceros has been supposed, until
recently, to be peculiar to the island of Sumatra, as the smaller One-
horned Rhinoceros is to that of Java j but both of them are widely
diffused over the Indo-Chinese countries, and throughout the Malayan
peninsula, the smaller One-horned being likewise found in Java, and
the Asiatic Two-horned also in Borneo as well as Sumatra. We have
information of the Two-horned species having been killed in one ot
the hill ranges immediately to the southward of the Brahmaputra
river, so that its range may be said to extend northward into Assam
* To his description of R. bicornis, it is added, "Rarior est Rhinoceros tri-
cornis, tertia cum cornu ex alterato priorem excrescente." (Gmelin's edition,
A.D., 1788.)
150 MAMMALIA.
(where, however, it is exceedingly rare), and a native female has
recently been captured near the station of Chittegong, to the south-
east of the Bengal Sundarbans, where R. sondaicus is found, but not
the great One-horned Rhinoceros, which is so commonly brought
alive to Europe, these captured animals being usually brought down
from Assam. It is worthy of notice that the full-grown females of the
Two-horned Asiatic Rhinoceros become very speedily tame and
tractable. We have reason to believe that the Rhinoceroses men-
tioned by Du Halse as inhabiting the province of Quang-si, in the
south-east of China, are of this small two -horned species.
So long ago as in 1838, the late Dr. Heifer remarked that the Ten-
asserim Provinces (now constituting the southern portion of British
Burmah) " seem to be a convenient place for this genus ; for I dare
to pronounce almost positively,'' he then wTOte, "that the three
known Asiatic species occur within their range. The R. Indicus
being found in the northern part of these provinces, in that high
range bordering on Zimmay, called the ' Elephant-tail ' Mountain ;
the R. sondaicus^ on the contrary, occupies the southernmost part;
while the Two-horned R. Sumatranus is to be found throughout the
extent of the territories from the 17th to the loth degree of north
latitude. In character the R. sondaicus seems to be the mildest, and
can be easily domesticated (tamed) ; the powerful Indian Rhinoceros
is the shyest, and the Double-horned the wildest.'"^ Mason (in 1850,
in his work entitled " Burmah ") remarked that '' the common Single-
horned Rhinoceros is very abundant. The Double-horned is not
uncommon in the southern provinces 3" and then he alludes to the
alleged fire-eater of the Burmans, supposing that to be R. sondaicus^
as distinguished from the common Single-horned kind, which he
thought was R. Indicus. " The fire-eating Rhinoceros," he tells us,
"is so called from its attacking the night-fires of travellers, scattering
the burning embers, and doing other mischief, being attracted by
unusual noises, instead of fleeing from them as most wild animals do."
Professor Oldham's camp-fire was attacked by a Rhinoceros, which
he fired at with a two-ounce ball ; and three days afterwards the body
was found, and proved to be of the Two-horned species. The skull
of this individual is now in the Zoological Museum of Trinity
College, Dublin. The commonest of the African Rhinoceroses
has been known to manifest the same propensity, and so has even
the ordinary American Tapir; but we have never heard of the
Malabar Tapir doing so, and the range of that animal extends into
* "Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal," vol. vii.,p. 861.
THE RHINOCEROS, I5I
the more southern of the Tenasserim provinces. In general, how-
ever, the Asiatic Two-horned Rhinoceros is an exceedingly shy and
timid animal, and Sir T. Stamford Raffles remarks of it : — " They
are not bold, and one of the largest size has been seen to run away
from a single wild Dog" {Canis rutilafis, a peculiar species). Dr.
Cantor heard of it, in the Malayan peninsula, as an inhabitant of
Province Wellesley, frequenting only the densest and most inacessible
jungles. He also gives both i?. Indicus and R. sondaims as inhabit-
ing the Malayan peninsula, but did not procure specimens or other
indications, and we doubt if he wrote on personal knowledge, or
that he had actually seen and compared the skulls of both species.
It may be added- that C. Su??iatranus, like i?. sondamis, is found at all
elevations, but that the two do not usually inhabit the same districts.
In the course of personal investigations in the province of British
Burmah, Mr. Blyth obtained the spoils of both the lesser One-horned
and of the Asiatic Two-horned Rhinoceroses. Of the latter a full-
grown male was staked within a distance of not more than five miles
of him, in upper Mortabon, but the intervening ground was impracti-
cable, and he only succeeded in obtaining the facial portion of the
skulls, with the two horns attached to the skin covering it. The
small size of the bones seemed to indicate a young animal, but
when, after maceration in water, the skin (with the horns attached to
it) was separated from the bone, the complete anchylosis of the
nasals proved that it was by no means immature. The thought
occurred that the horns of a Rhinoceros, consisting merely of agglu-
tinated hairs, might, under rare circumstances, be shed in a mass,
and subsequently renewed, which was the only way that the small
size of the horns upon this tolerably aged animal could be accounted
for. We have since learned that a great One-horned Rhinoceros, at
this time living in the Zoological Gardens at Moscow, did actually
shed a horn, which is now in the museum of that city, and that
another has since grown in its place. So the rudimentary frontal
horn oi the old female of the same species now in the London Zoologi-
cal Gardens was roughly broken off on one occasion, and the blood
flowed very profusely ; but another hornlet has since been developed
in its place, and there can be no doubt that the same occasionally
happens with wild animals.
The genera of Rhinocerotidce differ remarkably in the conforma-
tion of the lips. In RImioceros (as Hmited by Dr. Gray, i.e.^ to the
Asiatic One-horned species) the upper lip is prehensile, extensile, and
pointed, while the lower lip is very broad and square j in the Asiatic
Ceratorhinus, and the African R/iinasfer, the upper lip is similarly
p
152 MAMMALIA.
formed, and the lower lip corresponds with it, though without having
a pointed and prehensile tip ; and in Ceratotheriuin both lips are
broad and non-prehensile. Those Rhinoceroses which have the
upper lip prehensile are habitual browsers, while the flat-lipped are
habitual grazers.
African Rhinoceroses.
In the African Rhinoceroses there are no lower incisor-teeth,
and the grinders come much more forward, or nearer to the cleft
of the mouth. They further agree in bearing two horns, one situated
behind the other, and in having no distinct folds or plaits to the
hide; though in Rhinaster we perceive the same crease near the
hind limbs as in Ceratorhinus , and there is a slight appearance of
folds upon the neck. Their skin is smooth and hairless, excepting
only a fringe of black bristly hairs upon the ears, and a few also at
the tail-tip. Such are the known African Rhinoceroses, which divide,
nevertheless, into two well-marked genera — Rhinaster (with prehen-
sile upper lip), and Ceratotheriimi (with non-prehensile upper lip).
These are respectively known to sporting travellers as the Black and
the White African Rhinoceroses, which differ much in habits and
disposition ; and the White one is the largest of the whole group,
being next in size among existing land animals to the Elephants.
The name Rhinastei' is applied by the people of Dutch descent
in South Africa to all Rhinoceroses, though now technically limited
by Dr. Gray to one section of them ; and there are certainly two
species of this particular section or genus, one of which {R. keifloa),
is considerably larger than the other (i?. bicor?iis), and exhibits certain
other differences. In general, these two animals are the Keitloa (or
Ketloa) and the Bo^-elt of travellers in the interior of South Africa ; but
Mr. Chapman styles the first the true Bofele, and calls the other the
Borelenga?ii or Keningani. The former is the one figured and de-
scribed by the late Sir C. Cornwallis Harris as the " Black Rhi-
noceros," and the latter is that of which a living example, procured in
Abyssinia, was received in the London Zoological Gardens in 1868.
Both species, however, have been ascertained to inhabit Abyssinia
as well as the more southern parts of Africa. The Keitloa is said to
grow to six feet high at the shoulder, and may at least approach that
size, -whereas the Borele would not probably exceed five feet. The
horns of the Keitloa are much longer than in the other species, and
its hind horn especially (which is straight and laterally much com-
pressed) grows to two feet and a half or more in length, being not
unfrequently as long as the anterior horn, though oftener the latter is
THE RHINOCEROS. 153
Still longer, and considerably more so than the other. In the Borele
the posterior horn is much shorter, and is generally about half the
length of the anterior one, which seldom exceeds two feet. Both of
these are fierce and energetic animals — especially the smaller species
■ — and so active and swift of foot that they cannot be overtaken on
horseback. ''Both species,'^ writes W. C. J. Andersson, "are ex-
tremely fierce, and, excepting the Buffalo, are, perhaps, the most
dangerous of all the beasts of Southern Africa. Seen in its native
wilds, either when browsing at its leisure, or listlessly sauntering
about, a person would take this beast to be the most stupid and
inoffensive of creatures \ yet, when his ire is roused, he becomes the
reverse, and is then the most agile and terrible of animals. The
Black Rhinoceroses are, moreover, subject to sudden paroxysms of
unprovoked fury, rushing and charging, with inconceivable fierceness,
animals, stones, and bushes ; in short, every object that comes in
their way.'' " The Black Rhinoceros," writes Gordon Gumming also,
"is subject to paroxysms of sudden fury, often ploughing up the
ground for several yards with its horns, and assaulting large bushes
in the most violent manner. On these bushes they work for hours
with their horns, at the same time snorting and blowing loudly, nor
do they leave them in general until they have broken them to pieces.
During the day they will be found lying asleep, or standing indolently
in some retired part of the forest, or under the base of the moun-
tains, 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. They
usually visit the fountains between the hours of nine and twelve
o'clock at night ; and it is on these occasions that they may be most
successfully hunted, and with the least danger."
The Keitloa, according to Mr. Ghapman, is nearly as large as the
Mohoohoo, or White Rhinoceros (so called.) " He is of a dark neutral
grey colour, as seen from a distance. This animal droops behind,
and has a stiff, clumsy, and awkward walk. He feeds on bushes and
roots, is nervous and fidgety when discovered, but confines his
movements generally only to the head and horns, moving them
about in an undecided manner, first one way, then the other. He is
not nearly so excitable as the Borekngani. The latter is a dumpy,
plump-looking animal, of a very dark colour, particularly lively in his
actions, and seemingly always on the trot, always very nervous, wary,
and fidgety, often flying round in a fury, whether he has observed
danger or not, making the hunter sometimes believe that he has been
discovered. When he fancies that he does see or hear anything, he
154 MAMMALIA.
lifts one foot, tosses up his horn and nose and sinister little eyes, and
presents altogether a picture of the most intense and earnest scrutiny
and attention, wheeling round with great rapidity, and, by his active
gestures and startling snortings often rendering the nerves and aim
of an experienced hunter very unsteady. On the whole his actions,
when undisturbed, are like those of a lively and busy Pig." Else-
where he remarks, that whilst '' the White Rhinoceros likes the open
plains, where there is just bush enough to shelter him from sun and
wind, the BorM^ likes the thorny jungle, and the most secluded and
retired spots of it ; the Keitloa (or large Black Rhinoceros) being
more an inhabitant of rocky hills."
All Rhinoceroses are fond of wallowing in mud, with which the
body is not unfrequently encrusted ; and their senses of hearing and
smell are most acute, but not that of vision, so that they may be
closely approached by keeping to leeward of them. On one occasion
the wagon of a friend of Mr. Andersson was attacked by one of
these animals. " We heard shouting and firing, and, on looking in the
direction whence the noise proceeded, discovered to our horror a
Rhinoceros rushing furiously at us at the top of his speed. Our only
chance of escape was the wagon, into which we hurriedly flung our-
selves. And it was high time that we should seek refuge, for the
next instant the enraged beast struck his powerful horn into the
bottom plank of the wagon with such force as to push it several
paces forward, although it was standing in very heavy sand. Most
fortunately he attacked the vehicle from behind; for if he had
struck it at the side he could hardly have failed to upset it, ponderous
as it was. From the wagon he made a rush at the fire, overturning
the pot we had placed alongside of it, and scattering the burning
brands in every direction. Then, without doing any further damage,
he proceeded on his wild career."
The Mohoohoo, or White Rhinoceros, CeratotJwium simum (so
called from its general pale colour), is a very different animal from
those of which we have been treating. It grows to more than six feet
and a half high at the withers, where there is a sort of square hunch,
and its head is a foot longer than that of the Keitloa, with an exceed-
ingly long anterior horn, attaining to more than four feet in length,
whilst the hind horn is very short, not exceeding seven or eight inches.
" Its colour,'' remarks Mr. Chapman, "is of such a light neutral grey
as to look nearly as white as the canvas tilt of a wagon." His fellow-
traveller, Mr. Baines, describing a freshly-killed one, tehs us that
" the skin was of a light pinky grey, deepening into a bluish neutral
tint on parts of the head, neck, and legs. The limbs, shoulders.
THE RHINOCEROS. 155
cheeks, and neck were marked with deep wrinkles, crossing each
other so as to have a lozenge-shaped reticulated appearance ; but the
only approach to a fold was a slight collar-like mark across the throat.
The mouth was very small, and the limbs were dwarfish compared
with the bulk of the carcass. The eyes were small and set flat on
the side of the head, with no prominence of brow, and in such a
position that I should doubt very much the assertion that the
Rhinoceros can see only what is straight before it. I should think,
on the contrary," continues Mr. Baines, "that anything exactly in
front would be absolutely hidden from its view." Mr. Chapman
estimated the weight of one of these White Rhinoceroses as being
probably not less than 5,000 lbs.
"The male," he says, "measures six feet eight inches at the
withers, carries his head so low that the chin nearly sweeps the
ground, is constantly swaying his head to the right and left when
suspicious, and its calf, instead of going behind or at the side, always
precedes the dam, and when fleeing is helped on by her horn or
snout. The back of this animal is tolerably straight, the croup being
as high, or even higher than the withers. It moves each ear alter-
nately backwards and forwards when excited, and the ears, when
thrown forward, turn as if on a pivot, so as to bring the orifice
innermost. In the other African Rhinoceroses the two ears are
moved together, and not alternately. The ears are pointed or tufted."
This animal is of a comparatively mild and gentle disposition ;
and, unless in defence of its young, or when hotly pursued, or
wounded, will very rarely attack a man. "It is gregarious in
families,'^ remarks Mr. Chapman, "the individuals comprising which
are greatly attached to each other ; and it utters a long sound, and
not such a starthng, whisthng snort as the Bor^l^ does. It is an
indolent creature, and becomes exceedingly fat by eating grass only."
Elsewhere, he remarks of a herd of eight which he observed at a
drinking place — " The Rhinoceroses, all of which were of the white
kind, occupied each twelve minutes to drink their fill, after which
they wallow in the mud, or else go to their regular sleeping-places.
At these their dung is found accumulated sometimes to the amount
of a ton or more. They like the warmth of the manure to lie in.
The sounds emitted by these animals is something like the coughing
of a Horse, and when in distress, a stifled asthmatic cry ; when in
pain they squeal like a storm- whistle." According to Gordon
Gumming, and others, their flesh is excellent, and even preferable to
beef. The speed of this species is very inferior to that of the others,
so that a person well mounted can easily overtake and shoot them.
156 MAMMALIA,
In old individuals of the White Rhinoceroses, having exceedingly
long and heavy anterior horns, the latter hang over much forward ;
and such have been supposed to exemplify a peculiar species, for
which the name of C. Oswellii has been proposed. They are also
designated Kohdbd in the interior of South Africa. Mr. Chapman
writes : — " I believe that wherever guns are to be found at present
the White Rhinoceros is not allowed to reach its prime, and will soon
be extinct. In newly-opened countries we always find long-horned
Rhinoceroses at first. These are selected and shot by every new
comer for their long horns. I have never found a person yet who could
conscientiously say that he had seen a young or middle-aged Kohdbd
that was distinguished from 2^Mohoohoo — not even a Bechuana or Bush-
man." That traveller, however, nevertheless believes in the existence
of a second species of flat-lipped and grass-eating African Rhinoceros,
though he has favoured us with no intelligible description of it.
Fossihsed bones of the Rhinoceros are met with in great
quantities in tertiary and diluvian soils. We shall only mention here
the R. tidioi'hinus^ which was greater in size than the African
Rhinoceros, and had a very elongated head, supporting two long
horns. The remains of this Pachyderm are pretty often found in the
bone caverns (cavernes a ossemens)^ and in the alluvial soils of France
and England. In Siberia the remains of the R. tichorhinus are very
plentiful ; and are found mixed up with those of the Mammoth. In
1 77 1 was discovered, in the midst of the ice of that region, a carcass,
very nearly entire, of an antediluvian Rhinoceros, with its skin, its
hair, and its flesh intact. ^ In the excavations made, preparatory to
building the Hotel de Ville, at Paris, some portions of the skeleton
of the R. tichorhinus were found.
Hyrax. — Cuvier has placed next to the Rhinoceros a pretty little
animal, the Hyrax capensis^ of the Cape of Good Hope, which is not
larger than a Rabbit. It is rather clumsily made ; its body elongated,
and low on its legs ; its head thick and heavy ; its muzzle obtuse.
The molar teeth in Hyrax are similar in number as well as in shape to
those of Rhinoceros. Its coat, silky and very thick, is of a brownish-
grey above, of a greyish-white below. It inhabits the mountains
covered with woods near the Cape of Good Hope, and lives in the
midst of the steepest and most precipitous rocks, either in a burrow,
or in a fissure of the rocks, or in a hole in a tree. It is said to be
found along the east coast of Africa up to Abyssinia, and very
possibly the species described by Ehrenberg as Hy. Abyssinica is only
«i- See ♦' The World before the Deluge : " Cassell Petter & Galpin..
THE HVRAK.
157
a climatal variety. Quick, alert, and timid, it eats herbs, like the
Hare, and is said to be easily tamed.
The Hyrax of Syria {Hy. Syriams) is the Saphan of Scripture. It is
found along the eastern coast of the Red Sea and into the borders of
Lebanon. Several other species from Abyssinia have been described.
158 MAMMALIA. '
I'apirus. — -Three species of Tapir are known ] two live in South
America ; the third is pecuHar to India. The Indian and one of the
American species have only been known for a short time ; but the
other, the American Tapir, properly so called, is frequently seen in
our menageries, and both its anatomical structure and its habits have
been particularly studied by naturalists.
The American Tapir i^Tapii'us Americanus), Fig. 37, is two
metres long, from the nose to the beginning of its tail ; its height,
measured at the withers or at the rump is one metre. The
body is stout, and terminates in a broad rump. The head, which
is pretty large, is compressed on the sides; the eyes are small;
the ears elongated, and the animal can contract or enlarge them;
the nose is prolonged a few inches in the shape of a trunk.
This addition, which can be diminished to half and elongated
to double its quiescent length, is without that movable finger
which is the characteristic of the Elephant's proboscis; so it
can be of no use in seizing objects or in sucking up water. The
Tapir takes its food directly with its mouth ; when it drinks, it raises
its contracted trunk in such a way as to prevent its being wetted.
The neck is rather long; and its legs are strong and thick. The
anterior extremities terminate in four toes, each of which is provided
with a little, short, rounded hoof; the posterior extremities have but
three toes. The tail is very short and stumpy. The thick, hard skin
of this animal is covered with short hair, very close and smooth, of a
more or less dark brown, except under its head, its throat, and the
tips of its ears, where it is of a v/hitish colour. The male has on his
neck a short mane, composed of stiff bristles, of about an inch and a
half in length ; this decoration is sometimes seen on the female.
In South America, from the Isthmus of Panama to the country
adjoining the Straits of Magellan, this Pachyderm is found, but it is
most numerous in Paraguay, Brazil, and Guiana. It lives alone,
hidden in the forests and in the most secluded retreats. Following
always the same track in its excursions through the woods, it forms
well-trodden footpaths, which the sportsman can easily recognise. It
sleeps during the day, and wanders at night to seek its food. Some-
times, however, rainy weather brings it from its hiding-place during
daylight, when it goes to the swamps, in which it delights to wallow,
or to the streams, in which it swims with great agility. Its usual
pace is a sort of trot ; when forced to gallop, it does so with its head
down, in a peculiarly awkward manner.
Its food consists of wild fruits, buds, and young branches of trees.
A nitrous soil, which is called in Paraguay barrero, is anxiously
1
THE TAPIR, 159
sought by it. Of a timid disposition, it never attacks man, but
avoids him. However, when excited, it advances resolutely, and
without fear, with its head lowered ; the keel-like shape of its skull
and the hardness of its skin favouring this mode of assault. Often it
is pounced upon by the Jaguar and the Ounce, which spring on its
back. The Tapir then rushes headlong into the thickest of the
forest, and tries to get rid of its enemy by dashing against the trunks
of the trees.
The female Tapir is not prolific, as she only bears one young one
in a season.
In South America the Tapir is hunted, and affords good sport.
Its flesh is dry . and rather disagreeable ; but its hide is thick and
strong, and can be used for many purposes.
Such is the American Tapir in its wild state. No one seems to
think of rearing these creatures as domestic animals ; and yet it
might be worth the trouble of trying the experiment, for they are
easily tamed. Frederick Cuvier has given us a few details of the
habits of a young Tapir with which he was acquainted. This animal
was gentle and confiding j and appeared to have no will of its own.
It did not defend its food, but allowed the Dogs and Goats to par-
take of it together with itself When it was let loose into an
inclosure, after having been shut up for some time, it showed its joy
by running round it several times. It also playfully seized by the
back the puppies with which it was brought up. When it was forced
to leave a place it liked, it complained by uttering a few plaintive
cries. Frederick Cuvier assures us that, if the Tapir would be of any
use to us, it could be very easily domesticated. Isidore Geoffroy
Saint-Hilaire also wished the experiment of domesticating this animal
in Europe to be tried ; but his idea was never carried out.
"Not less easy to feed than the Pig/' says this distinguished
naturalist, " the Tapir seems to me eminently suited to become one of
our domestic animals. When it has no creatures of its own kind to
associate with, I have seen it seeking the society of all the animals
that were near, with an eagerness without an example in other
Mammalia. The Tapir would be useful in two ways to man ; its
flesh, especially when improved by proper diet, would furnish a
wholesome, and at the same time an agreeable food ; and as it is
much larger than the Pig, the Tapir might be of great service as a
beast of burden to the inhabitants of the south of Europe, and, after
a time, to those of colder countries."
During a sojourn of some months in the Andes of America, at a
height of 7,000 to 8,000 feet, M. Roulin discovered a new species of
l60 MAMMALIA,
Tapir {Tap, Roiilini)^ which he named J'apir pinchaque. The head
of this Pachyderm is very much hke that of an extinct animal of
the same family, the Palceotherium ; it is, however, smaller. The Tapir
pinchaque, from living in cold countries and on high mountains, is
entirely covered with long hair, which is of a brown colour.
The Indian Tapir {Tap. Indicus) is much larger than the Common
Tapir, which it resembles in the shape of its body. Its hair is short.
Its head, neck, shoulders, limbs, and tail are of a dark black colour ;
its back, rump, belly, flanks, and the extremity of its ears white. It
has no mane. It inhabits the forests of the Island of Sumatra, the
peninsula of Malacca, and the South-west provinces of China.
Among the extinct animals there is a group very analogous
to the Tapirs in their general form, in the structure of the head, and
the smallness of the bones of the nose. They form the genus Palseo-
therium, which we must class among the most ancient Mammalia
that have ever existed on the surface of the globe. Remains of
these Palaeotheria abound in the tertiary gypsum of the Paris basin,
SuiNA OR Family of Pigs. — To this family belong the genera
Sus, Dicotyles and Fhacochce?'iis, the first containing the ordinary
Wild Boar, and the different varieties of Domestic Pigs.
The animals belonging to this group have the head elongated
and terminating in a strong movable snout. Their bodies are
generally covered with stiff hairs, called bristles. The tail is rather
short, and the feet have four toes ; two of these toes are large ; the
other two, which are smaller, are situated at the back of the limb,
and are not used for locomotion. Its very strong canine teeth are
elongated in the shape of tusks, of which the lower are longer than
the upper.
The snout is a movable prolongation of the muzzle, supported
by a bone, the base of which rests on the front part of the upper
jaw. It is set in motion by two muscles situated on each side of the
face. This bone is covered by a nbro-cartilaginous tissue, which is
terminated in front in a circular surface, inclined downwards, covered
with a thick and naked skin. On the upper rim or border of this
truncated extremity of the muzzle is a large callous swelling, with
which the animal turns up the soil, whilst the under part of the
muzzle is used as a ploughshare.
The Common Wild V>02ir {Sus scrofa), sometimes measures as much
as one metre twenty-five centimetres from the end of the muzzle to
the beginning of the tail. Its whole body is covered with bristles
of a blackish-brown colour, stift^ hard, longer on the back and round
THE WILD BOAR,
i6i
the ears than in its other parts, and which form a sort of mane when the
animal is excited. The body is large and thick-set. The ears are
rather short, straight, and movable. The four canine teeth, curved
outwards and upwards, can attain such dimensions as to become
1 52 MAMMALIA,
formidable weapons. The upper canine teeth are large, conical, and
obhquely truncated on their anterior surfaces from their rubbing
against the lower teeth. The lower canine teeth, in the shape of a
triangular pyramid, are equally curved outwards and upwards ; but
their points are not sharp.
With its snout, which is possessed of great strength, the Wild
Boar can hollow out the ground to a depth of sixty centimetres.
The Wild Boar's foot rests on the toes, which are very close to
each other. When it walks, it constantly places its hind foot as far
forward as the heel, and a little outside of the front foot. It often
happens that a toe of one of its feet is longer than the other, and is
twisted into the shape of a crescent ; these toes are called in French
des pieds gauches, which is abbreviated into pigaches.
Till the age of six months the young Wild Boar (which is called
in French Marcassin) wears a livery : which is striped longitudinally
with bands, the colour of which is alternately light and brown fallow
on a mixed ground of white, brown, or fawn colour.
In summer Wild Boars (Fig. 38) are principally to be met on the
outskirts of forests, in the approaches to fields or vineyards, and near
swamps, where they retire during the heat of the day to refresh them-
selves by wallowing in the muddy water. In autumn they perma-
nently reside in the forests, in the heart of which they establish their
winter retreat.
Dark, damp localities are generally chosen for their lairs. Here
they lie hid during the whole day, and only leave in the evening or
at night to seek their food. They dig up the ground in search of
worms and the larvae or grubs of Cockchafers ; and they also devour
reptiles, birds' eggs, and all the young animals they can surprise.
Field-mice, Moles, and even young Rabbits are likewise favourite
food. Acorns, chestnuts, and beech-nuts constitute a large portion of
their vegetable diet. They often lay waste fields of potatoes, maize,
and other grain. A whole crop is sometimes destroyed by these
animals in a single night. When they root up the soil in search of their
food they invariably proceed in a straight line, and as the furrows
which they make are as broad as their heads, experienced sportsmen
can thus tell the size of the animal whose track they are following.
Although Wild Boars are fond of wallowing in the mud, yet they
are of excessively cleanly habits, and accordingly wash themselves in
the ponds or brooks before returning to their lairs.
The old males live alone; but the females continue with their
young ones for at least two years. In forests that are almost
deserted, it happens sometimes that a number of females meet
THE WILD BOAR.
163
together and form, with their progeny, a considerable troop. The
members of these coteries seem to know each other; they live on
good terms and combine for one another's defence. If the troop
happens to be attacked, they form a circle, of which the weakest
occupy the centre. When thus ranged in order of battle, they oppose
to their enemies a desperate resistance.
Previous to a female becoming pregnant, accompanied by a male,
Fig. 39. — Wild Boar at Bay.
she quits the troop and retires into the depths of the forest. If a
rival should discover their retreat, a terrible combat takes place,
which is terminated sometimes by death.
The female goes four months with young, when she brings forth
a litter of from four to ten \ these she hides in inaccessible thickets
formed of briars and brambles, to save them, not only from the
voracity of Wolves, but also from that of the males of her own
species. She suckles them for three or four months, teaches them to
find their food, and defends them with energy and desperate courage.
164 MAMMALIA,
The young one, we have said, is called (by the French) Marcassin;
when it is a year old, Bete de Compagnie; when two years old, Ragot;
when three years old, it is a Sanglier a son tie?'s an; when four years
old, it is a Qiiaternier; and, lastly, it is called by the names of Vieux
Sanglier^ Solitaire^ and Vieil Ermite. It lives from twenty to twenty-
six years.
Wild Boar hunting is occasionally dangerous sport. This savage
animal is not alarmed by the pursuit and the barking of dogs ; but
the sound of horns, the cries of the sportsmen, and the report of
guns terrify it. It runs with a rapidity and a lightness which surprise
us when we consider its heavy, thick-set figure. Its route is
invariably straight, and if any imprudent hunter does not get out of
its way he is certain to be upset ; but it will not turn from its course
to attack any one. If it is wounded, it changes its tactics, and
rushes on all within reach. When fatigue or loss of blood prevents
its flight, it places its back against a bush or tree, and makes a most
vigorous resistance (Fig. 39). Those hounds which approach too
closely are frequently ripped up. But there is always found, in a
well-trained pack, some intelligent and knowing member, which keeps
baying the game at a safe distance, and confuses the Boar with its
ferocious barking until a favourable moment occurs, when, with a
bound, it seizes the game at its weak point — the ear. The furious
animal is then what is called coiffe. It has lost all power, and is
conquered. A bullet from one of the sportsmen or a blow from a
cutlass scon after puts an end to its existence.
Firing upon it as it leaves cover, driven out by strong dogs, is
the method generally adopted for hunting the Wild Boar in France
and Germany. In other lands the sportsmen secrete themselves at
night, within shot of a vineyard, a clump of oak trees, or a pond,
which the animals are in the habit of visiting, and shoot them on
their appearance.
When taken young, the Wild Boar is susceptible of a certain
amount of training. It becomes fond of its master, follows him, and
hkes to be caressed. It, however, retains much of the roughness and
bluntness which are natural to its race. For a bit of bread or some
other little thing they are fond of, Wild Boars, when tamed, have
been known to perform certain exercises, to assume different attitudes,
and play various tricks. The inhabitants of the Place Saint-Sulpice,
at Paris, remember a tame Boar that was kept in the courtyard of a
man who let out vans for removing furniture, and which was almost
as quiet and docile as a domestic animal.
The Wild Boar is found in those parts of France where there are
THE DOMESTIC PIG. 16/
Still large forests. In England it has been long extinct. It was
common in the environs of London in the twelfth century. In many
parts of the continent of Europe, in the north and the east of Asia,
it is abundant, and in many islands in the Mediterranean^ also in
Algeria, and Egypt.
Without speaking further here of the species of Wild Boars
peculiar to India and its islands, or of those which belong to Africa,
we shall pass on at once to the Domestic Pig.
There has been much controversy as to the origin of the
Domestic Pig. On the one hand, it has been said that they sprang
from Wild Boars that had been domesticated, and that they had, from
generation to generation, gradually assumed the characteristics of
the domestic animal. It has also been asserted, that Domestic Pigs,
having been allowed to return to their wild life, have after a certain
time resumed the form, the manners, and the habits of the Wild
Boar.
The male Pig is called a Boar, and the female a Sow. Soon after
their birth, the young ones are called Sucking Pigs and Porkers.
Hog is the general appellation of the adults.
The Pig has a large, quadrangular, pyramidical head, more or less
elongated, and truncated obliquely at its extremity. The eyes are
small. The ears are placed high up on the head, and vary in form
and direction according to the breed of the animal. The mouth is
very wide. The upper canine teeth of the male are curved forward,
outward, and upward, their sockets inclining in the same direction,
and being strengthened above by a ridge of bones. The body is
more or less long, broad, rounded, and covered with bristles, of which
the quantity, the length, and the colour are variable. When cured,
the flesh is called bacon. In the interior of the body, that is to say,
beneath the peritoneum, is found a fatty substance from which lard
is made.
The legs are thin, and more or less short, according to the
breed; the toes are four in number, two large ones, which rest
on the ground and on which the animal supports itself, and two
smaller ones, which are higher up the limb. The last joint of
each toe is enveloped in a triangular horn. Its tail is small, thin,
and twisted. Fig. 40 shows some pigs eating acorns, a kind of food
of which they are remarkably fond.
According to certain authors, the Domestic Pig has lost nothing
of the brutality of character and rusticity of habits of the Wild
Boar ; it has only, say they, become less intelligent, retaining all the
faults of the latter, but none of its good qualities. According to
1 68 MAMMALIA,
Others, the Pig is not what some people erroneously suppose : but
is clever and sagacious, and can be educated and instructed.
In justification of this latter opinion we are told of some touching
traits of good-fellowship that existed between a Pig and a Dog.
We are reminded that Pigs have been trained for the chase ; that a
Pig was exhibited on the stage in London and in America, and that
it was the hero of many a play ; and, lastly, the audiences were in
raptures at the amount of its language. "Its cries of distress are
lamentable," says Dr. Jonathan Franklin. *'0n the other hand,
when it is happy, when it is walking at liberty in the sun, it converses
with its friends in short, energetic, broken phrases, which doubtless
express its good-humour and its sociable feeHngs." *
This indulgent interpretation of the gruntings of the Pig is,
perhaps, open to dispute. Without pretending to setde the matter,
we shall call our readers' attention to a characteristic feature about
which there is no doubt whatever, we mean the peculiarity this animal
has of refusing obstinately to perform what is required of it, and of
doing exacdy the opposite. This spirit of stubborn opposition is so
well known, that man turns it to his own advantage. When a Pig-
driver wishes to make a Pig advance in a certain direction against its
will, he drags it with all his force by the tail in the opposite direction.
As the beast supposes that it is required to go backwards, it pre-
cipitates itself in the reverse way.
The voracity of this animal is as proverbial as its obstinacy. No
sort of food comes amiss to it. It devours indifferently meat and
vegetable products. A remarkable fact, if true, is, that it can eat
without danger hemlock and henbane, either of which are deadly
poison to most other animals.
One may say that man has manufactured the Pig, and that he
makes it take the shape he finds most to his liking. The modifications
this animal has been made to undergo, by an elaborate system of
breeding and rearing, are truly wonderful. This art has been carried to
great perfection in England. Not only has the flesh of this Pachyderm
been very greatly improved, but, moreover, their primitive proportions
have, as we may say, been converted to the most desired form. The
English, by their mode of treatment and the food they give it, have
manufactured a new sort of monster, when we compare it with the
primitive and wild type of Pig. Further this zoological monster is a
chef-d'muvre in an economical point of view. When it has attained
this ideal type of perfection the Pig is square-shaped ; its head
* " Za Vie des Animaux : Mammiferes,^^ 8vo.
THE PIG.
169
disappears in a cushion of fat ; its belly reaches to the ground ; its
whole body speaks of its weight and quahty of flesh. What a
difference there is between these singular products of civilisation and
the Pigs on an ordinary French farm: lank, miserable creatures,
making a fit member of the household of the peasant, whose condi-
tion is bad, whose land is unprofitable, and who is still ignorant
of the best systems of breeding.
In a work on the Pig,* M. Gustave Heuze' divides into three
■^^^^^^ '^
Fig. 41. — Craonnese race {Boar).
groups the porcine races which live in Europe. The first comprises
the French races and their varieties ; the second contains all those
that are of foreign origin. To the third group belong the varieties
which result from crosses between the French and foreign races.
We will give the characteristic features which M. Heuze has marked
out for distinguishing each of these varieties.
Among the French breeds, the common race has the head and
muzzle elongated ; the neck slender and long ; the ears thick, semi-
pendant, and projecting in front of the eyes; the body thin; the
back arched ; the rump hanging down (avalee) ; the legs thin ; the
skin hard and covered with coarse bristles.
The Norman race is better made. Its body is long, and its back
horizontal. It has been brought to great perfection in the valley
of Ange.
* Paris, 8vo. 1867.
I/O
MAMMALIA.
The Craonnese race (Fig. 41) is remarkable for the fineness of its
bones, of its skin, and of its bristles. Its pork is excellent, and so
are its hams.
The Lorraine race furnishes pork and bacon of excellent quality.
All these races are white, and are gentle in their habits. To
another group belong races which are piebald and white and black,
and have semi-pendent ears. Such, for instance, are the Perigord
race (Fig. 42), of which the best specimens are sold at the fairs of
Fig. 42. — Perigord race {Boar).
Saint Yrieix and Saint Leonard ; also the Bressane race (Fig. 4,:;), of
which the meat is rather coarse and stringy.
Among the foreign breeds, we will confine ourselves to mention-
ing the Middlesex, the Windsor, and the new Leicester breeds,
remarkable for the symmetry of their shape, and their fine and rosy
skin. These, in ten or twelve months, become so excessively stout that
the neck, the face, and the eyes almost disappear in the fat. Their
flesh is fine and melting, but the animal is of a delicate constitution.
The Berkshire breed (Fig. 44), hardy, rapid of growth, the most
lucrative of all when it is well fed, furnishes excellent pork and a
much firmer bacon than that which is given by most of the English
white-skinned races.
As exam.ples of mixed races, that is to say crosses made between
THE PIG.
171
French and foreign breeds, we will confine ourselves to mentioning
the New Leicester Craonnese.
The fecundity of Pigs is remarkable. Two litters a year can be
obtained from a Sow, and each litter may consist of from twelve to
fifteen. Agricultural reports tell us that one single Leicestershire
Sow had three hundred and fifty-five young ones in twenty litters.
Vauban, when occupied with the question of provisioning towns,
recommended the rearing of these animals ; he calculated that in ten
generations one single Sow could supply 6,434,838 Pigs.
When a Sow has a litter of Pigs, the little ones should be placed
Fig. 43.— Bressane race {Sow).
within reach of her teats, the most vigorous of the young Pigs next
the largest. Each Pig will keep to one and the same teat during the
whole of the suckling period. When the number of young ones
exceeds the number of teats, the smallest animals are destroyed. It
is necessary, moreover, to keep a constant watch over the mother
during the time she is having her fitter, for she sometimes is so
unnatural as to eat her progeny.
Our object is not to dwell here at any length on the rearing, nor
on the fattening of the Pig. Suffice it to remark that the animal is
omnivorous, accommodates itself to all diets, eats everything that is
given it, and digests all sorts of food well. To the young Pigs, how-
ever, must be given vegetable matters containing azote, which helps to
develop their muscle. The vegetables containing this to the greatest
173
MAMMALIA,
extent are : clover, lucerne, wild chicory, lettuce, cabbage, carrot, and
beetroot leaves; beetroot, carrots, potatoes, also acorns, beech-nuts,
bran, the refuse of corn and potato flour factories are favourite food,
and to all these may be added the water in which plates, dishes, and
other kitchen utensils have been washed up. Pigs that are to be
fatted require, however, some grain (barley, maize, oats, buckwheat,
beans, peas), the residue of flour or oilcake, and the refuse from
malting.
Fig. 44.— Berkshire race {Boar).
We now come to the slaughter of the Pig, and the various uses
to which it is put.
In all well-to-do cotter's families in the villages of France, at the
approach of Christmas a fat Pig is killed, so that there may be Pig's
pudding and sausages, and at Easter a ham. When the animal is
killed, they begin by cleaning its skin. In the northern and central
provinces they singe the Pig; that is to say, they cover it with
straw, to which they set fire, which burns or scorches the bristles ;
afterwards the body is washed and scraped. In the western and
southern provinces they put the Pig into a tub containing boihng
water ; by this process the bristles are easily removed. The animal,
thus prepared, is now opened. The lungs, the heart, the tongue, and
THE PIG. 173
the intestines are taken oat \ it is then cut up, and divided into
various joints. There is no animal that furnishes so many different
parts suited for food as the Pig ; this is what makes it so immensely-
useful and economical. We will say a few words on these products.
Black pudding is made of the blood, spiced, salted, and larded,
introduced into a piece of the gut, which is afterwards closed at each
end. This is cooked for from fifteen to twenty minutes in tepid, but
not boiling water. Sausages are manufactured from a mixture of lean
flesh and fresh fat bacon, with the addition of some salt and spices.
Collared brawn is composed of the head of the animal. Lean
pork, mixed with fillet of beef, forms the ordinary saucisson. To these
ingredients are added little squares of fat bacon, of about the size of
dice.
The saucissoji de Lyon and the saucisson d' Aries require meat of
the first quality, fine, and streaked like marble. Some people pretend
that the flesh of the ass plays a prominent part in the Lyons sausage ;
but the Aries sausage-makers repudiate any addition of this kind to
their productions.
The second quality of pork, interlarded, seasoned, and chopped
fine, is used in making saveloys.
The most fleshy of the intestines, pickled and seasoned, when
divided into long fillets, and mixed with pieces of lean flesh and little
bits of the fat, introduced into portions of the gut, constitute what is
called the andouille (chitterlings.) They are generally eaten grilled.
They are also sometimes smoked, and cooked in soup. Pigs' tongues
are also greatly esteemed. Pickled pork is prepared by preserving
various parts, such as portions of the fillet and brisket, in a stone jar
or barrel containing salt and water. The mass of fat which covers
the neck and chest, melted over a fire, furnishes that grease of the
Pig which is called lard, and which advantageously replaces butter
in many culinary preparations.
Ham (the familiar appellation for the leg and thigh of the Pig,
when preserved after a certain manner) is a favourite and widely
used food. In France, the best hams are prepared in the de-
partments of the Bas-Rhin, of the Haut-Rhin, of the Meuse, of
the Moselle, the Ardennes, the Vosges. and the Basses-Pyrenees.
Hams from Mayence, WestphaHa, and Jutland are much esteemed.
The best English hams are those of Yorkshire, Hampshire, and
Berkshire. The superiority of the Bayonne hams is due to the
excellence of the race of Pigs which supply them, and to the good
quality of the salt which is extracted from the springs situated at
Salies, the chef-lieu of the canton of the Department of the Pyrenees,
174 MAMMALIA,
and with which they are prepared. The excellent hams of Mayence
are cured by salting and dipping them in a preservative mixture ;
after which they are hung for six weeks in the interior of a chimney,
so that they may be thoroughly impregnated by smoke; ultimately
they are placed in layers, in barrels furnished with a chafing dish, in
which juniper wood is burnt. The small Westphalia ham is usually
smoked for three weeks over a smouldering fire made of juniper
branches.
A ham fair is held in Paris on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thurs-
day of the Holy Week. It formerly took place in the square opposite
the principal entrance of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame ; and we find
it mentioned in an ordinance of the Provost of Paris, dated as far
back as the 15th April, 1488. In 18 13, it was established on the
Quai de la Vallee. From there it was removed, in 1832, to the forage
market in the Faubourg Saint-Martin. In 1843, it again changed
locality to the Boulevard Bourdon, between the Seine and the Place
de la Bastille, where this market is still held.
We have not yet finished with the innumerable products of
the Pig.
The hide, after having been tanned, is used by harness-makers,
saddlers, and trunk-makers. Bottles for transporting and preserving
wine are also sometimes made of pigskins in Spain.
The bristles are employed in the manufacture of toothbrushes,
nailbrushes, paintbrushes, &c. Lastly, the bladders serve for
different uses in trade and domestic economy. France consumes
annually more than sixty millions of kilogrammes of pork. England
and the United States of America probably more. This meat, when
it is properly fed, is tender, savoury, full of gravy, and of an agree-
able flavour. In Italy the Pig is reared under circumstances very
favourable for producing agreeable and nourishing human food. At
Rome, Bologna, and some other towns in the north of Italy, pork
is said to be entirely destitute of the heating properties that it
possesses in other parts of the world.
During life the Pig is also made useful. Few are ignorant of the
fact that it is man's assistant when searching after truffles. It is
principally in Perigord that it renders this service. When it has been
trained to hunt for them, from its keen sense of smell, it discovers
the precious subterranean champignon with great adroitness. As
soon as the Pig has disinterred it, it remains a few moments motion-
less, similar to a Pointer standing on game ; but if it is kept wsiting
too long a time, its gluttony frequently gets the better of its training.
A Truffle Pig, well taught, is worth about 200 francs.
THE PIG, 175
In Normandy Pigs are often tied to the foot of apple trees, that
they may in a manner cultivate them by digging and turning up the
soil round their stems.
In certain parts of China Pigs are used as beasts of draught.
A point in the history of the Pig which we should not forget
is that many ancient legislators forbid its flesh to be eaten. This
prohibition was founded on the fact that, in all seasons in hot
countries, and in summer in temperate climates, the flesh of these
animals is often infested with parasites, when, if it is imperfectly
cooked, the germs not being destroyed, it is possible for them
to become developed in the body of the person who has partaken
of it.
Diseases resulting from the use of pork thus eaten would have
been frequent in Asia if the public health had not been protected by
this salutary prohibition. In our climates it has been established
beyond doubt that pork-butchers are more often attacked by Tcenia
(tape-worm) than those persons who follow other trades.
Moreover, measly Pigs occasion a disease called trichinosis^ about
which, of late years, a great deal has been written.
The Trichifia spiralis is a minute worm, with difficulty visible to
the naked eye, for it has scarcely as large a diameter as a very fine
hair, and in length is rarely over two millimetres. It is found in the
muscles, where it lives and reproduces itself When pork containing
the trichina is eaten by man these worms pass into his intestines.
But this abode not suiting them, they make their way out, and get
into the veins, when they are carried along with the blood in the
circulating torrent, and finally lodge in the muscles.
This is the part of the human form which is preferred by the
trichina. While irritating the muscular and tendinous fibres, it
produces intolerable pain and brings on hectic fever.
This disease has made great ravages in the North of Germany,
where raw ham is much eaten; it has also been prevalent in America.
France and England, however, seem to have enjoyed immunity
from it.
Although this epidemic has almost disappeared, we will state
the best means for preventing its development. They are as
follows : —
I St. Watch carefully over the food of the Pigs, and never give
them animal substances about which there is the least suspicion;
2nd. Inspect carefully the pork, if possible, with a lens, or examine
suspected morsels with a microscope; 3rd. Cook most thoroughly
every piece of pork, bacon, ham, &c., before use.
176
MAMMALIA,
The experiments which have been made to determine the amount
of cooking that is necessary to destroy the trichines give the following
results : —
I St. The trichines are killed in hams by a protracted salting, or,
in sausages by subjecting them to strong smoking, continued for
twenty-four Iiours. 2nd. They resist ordinary smoking for three
days ; if prolonged, however, it appears to destroy them. 3rd. Cook-
ing pork by boiling is not certain to kill them, unless performed most
thoroughly.
Phacochcerus (F. Cuvier), the Wart Hogs, which much resemble
the true Hogs, are distinguished from them by the structure of their
Fig. 45. — The White-lipped Peccary {D . labiattis).
molar teeth. A fleshy excrescence hangs down on each side of their
cheeks, which gives them a repulsive appearance. There are two
species to be found in Africa, of which country they are natives.
They are very courageous, and possessed of immense strength.
Their habits are similar to those of the Wild Boar. The yEthiopean
Wart Hog {Ph. yp,thiopiais)^ found in South-eastern Africa, is probably
the best known. Specimens of it are generally to be seen at the
Regent's Park Gardens, London. The other species, Ph. Africanus,
is found from Kordfan and the eastern slopes of Abyssinia to Senegal.
Babinissa, one species (B. alfiiriis) of this genus, is found in the
Moluccas, in which the upper canines are of great length, turned
completely upwards and curved backwards in a semicircle.
Dicotyles (F. Cuv.). — The Peccaries are animals which are peculiar
to America. They resemble the common Pig in their general shape
and in their teeth, but their canine tusks do not project from the
moath. They are devoid, of tail, and are provided with a gland
THE HORSE, I J J
opening on the back, from which a penetrating and fetid humoui
oozes. The two following species are best known : —
The Collared Peccary (Z>. torqiiatus) is eaten in South America,
and is considered a wholesome article of food, the gland above
mentioned being cut out immediately after it is killed.
The White-lipped Peccary [D. Iabiatus\ Fig. 45, which is found
in Guiana, is larger and more strongly formed than the last mentioned.
Equina, or the Family of Horses. — This family is characterised
by the structure of the feet, which are composed only of a single toe,
inclosed at its extremity in an entire hoof. It is composed of but
one genus, Equus, which comprehends the six following species : the
Horse proper, E. caballus; the domestic Ass, E. asinus; the E.
hemio7ius (or Dshikketee); the E, Burchelli; the E. Zebra, and the
E. Quagga.
The Horse, — In the book of Job there is a well-known passage
containing a reference to the Horse, in language the counterpart of
which can only be found in the Bible.
"Hast thou given the Horse strength? hast thou clothed his
neck with thunder? Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper?
the glory of his nostrils is terrible. He paweth in the valley, and
rejoiceth in his strength : he goeth on to meet the armed men. He
mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth he back from
the sword. The quiver rattleth against him, the glitteiing spear and
the shield. He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage :
neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet. He saith
among the trumpets, Ha, ha ; and he smelleth the battle afar off, the
thunder of the captains, and the shouting." (Job xxxix. 19 — 25.)
Linnaeus, in a style most exact in all its brevity, has written of
the Horse : —
"Animal herbivonmi, rarissime carnivorum; generosum, super-
bum, fortissimum in currendo, portando, trahendo; aptissimum
equitandoj cursu furens; sylvis delectatur; hinnitu sociam vocat;
calcitrando pugnat."
Buffon has left us a portrait of the Horse which all admire, for he
depicts most truly and strikingly its character and ways when human
art has perfected its natural qualities, and has educated it for service.
Let us therefore quote it : —
" The noblest conquest which man has ever made is that of the
proud and high-spirited animal which shares with him the fatigues of
war and the glory of the fight. No less intrepid than his master, the
Horse sees danger and faces it Accustoming himself to the din of
178 MAMMALIA.
arms, he loves and seeks it, and is excited by a warlike ardour. In
the chase, the tournament, and the racecourse, he partakes of the
pleasures ; brilHant and conscious of his glory, he is as docile as he
is courageous, and, mastering his fiery eagerness, restrains his
impetuosity. Not only will he yield readily to the hand which
guides him, but he seems even to consult its wishes ; ever obedient
to the impression which he receives, he dashes on, slackens his speed,
or stops, doing all at his master's will. The Horse is a creature
which seems to renounce its own independent existence in order to
submit to another's will, which he is able even to anticipate. By the
promptitude and precision of his movements he expresses and
executes his master's desire. In all his unreserved submission there
is nothing he will refuse to do ; he will serve with all his strength,
and, going beyond it, will die in order to render a perfect
obedience."
The subjection of the Horse to man may be traced back to the
most primitive date. Moses recommends the Hebrews to have
no dread, in war, of the Horses of their enemies. We read in the
Book of Kings (i Kings iv. 26) that "Solomon had 40,000 stalls for
his horses, and 12,000 horsemen."
According to the same book, these Horses were bought in Egypt
and brought into the country of the Hebrews.
Homer, in his Iliad, speaks of the numerous studs of King
Priam. The bas-reliefs on the Assyrian monuments afford us a
knowledge of the figure of the Horses of Asia Minor ; and the paint-
ings of ancient Egypt acquaint us with the fact that their Horses
from the valley of the Nile were no less worthy of admiration.
The Greeks must have given preference to the Horses of Asia
Minor and Egypt, for the splendid remains of statues in the Par
thenon prove that, in the age of Pericles, the Athenians were in
possession of some magnificent specimens of that race. We learn,
indeed, from various ancient authors, that the Horses which appeared
in the Olympic Games were brought from Cappadocia and the
neighbouring countries. In fact, the inhabitants, or rather the
kings, along the coast of Asia Minor, were zealously addicted to
horse-dealing, and they have done their part in spreading far and
wide the famed Arab blood. Armenia also furnished Horses to
the early dealers of Tyre and Sidon. Cyrus collected together
in his stables 800 stallions and 1^600 mares. The Numidian Horses
were also celebrated for the elegance of their shape and the swiftness
of their pace, characteristics preserved by them to the present day.
The invention of the art of horsemanship is ascribed to th©
THE HORSE. 1 79
Scythians. When that nation made its first appearance in Greece
the inhabitants of Thrace were struck with surprise and dread,
imagining that the man and the animal formed one and the same
body, and unquestionably this is the origin of the Centaurs of
mythology. We find the same apprehension and the same dread
existed among the American savages, when the natives of the Mexi-
can coast saw for the first time the troopers of Fernando Cortes
disembark upon their shores.
The remote epoch to which we can trace back the Horse being
employed as a domestic animal renders it very difficult to determine
its original country. For a long time it was assumed to be Arabia,
but historical facts and other considerations deduced from the nature
of the Horse render this hypothesis improbable. At the present day,
we are generally led to consider the Horse as originally a native of
Asia, and that it appeared for the first time either on the vast central
plateau which occupies so large a space in this quarter of the globe,
or on the steppes to the north-east of the Caucasus. As the
originally wild Horse does not exist in any country, it is quite as
impossible to recognise its primeval traces in historic times as to
state with any certainty the native country of the first Oxen, the first
Goats, the first Pigs, the first Sheep, or the first D«gs.
There are, however, droves of Horses free and unowned living on
the plains of Asia and the pampas and prairies of America ; but all
zoologists agree in considering them as the descendants of certain
domestic races, somewhat modified in their shape and habits by
having returned to a state of liberty. At the date of the discovery
of the New World, it is certain that no animal of the Horse genus
existed there ; at the present day, on the contrary, we find immense
hordes of them, which, through their wild and exposed life, have
lost many characteristics which were possessed by their progenitors.
These Horses, called Tarpans, Mustangs, and Parameros, according
to locality, live most frequently in bands of fifteen to twenty, of
which only one is a mature male. In the pampas of Paraguay,
however, the droves are sometimes composed of more than 10,000
animals. They are controlled by chiefs, who always lead them in
travelling as well as in escaping pursuit, and each drove inhabits a
particular district, which it defends against the invasion of strangers,
and does not abandon unless obliged by deficiency of pasturage, or
by the attacks of some of the larger carnivora. The migration of
wild Horses crossing the wide plains of the New World, almost
shaking the ground under their measured tramp, is a spectacle to
delight the traveller. Divided into squadrons composed of a stallion
l8o MAMMALIA,
and his attendant mares, the column progresses, preceded by their
scouts. If these droves should meet with domestic Horses, they
invite them by neighings to regain their lost liberty and join their
wandering phalanx, a request too frequently accepted.
These wild Horses can be broken in for man's use, but their
struggles are most determined before they are willing to resume the
commonplace life which was led by their ancestors.
Spaniards and Indians capture wild Horses by surrounding and
forcing a drove to enter an inclosure, called a coral, where a horse-
man, armed with a lasso (a long strip of green hide, provided with a
noose at one end) or the balleros (two balls connected by a cord) is
placed. In Mexico the former implement is used, in lower South
America the latter ; and the skill and address with which these
people entangle and throw the objects of their pursuit are truly
surprising. However violent and protracted the struggle, the victim
must ultimately succumb, when a leather strap with a slip noose
having been placed round its lower jaw, or a villainously cruel
Spanish bit in its mouth, an Indian mounts. After making vain
efforts to get rid of the man, the Horse sets off at full gallop, stimu-
lated moreover by the spur. After being ridden till thoroughly
exhausted, and its lungs bursting for want of breath, it submits to be
led back to the coral. Henceforth it is tamed, or, more properly,
broken-spirited, and although left free with the domesticated Horses,
does not seek to escape ; for having felt the brand of serfdom, it feels
unworthy of liberty. Young Horses are generally selected for this
mode of breaking, as they give less trouble than those that are older,
and, from their making a less determined resistance, are not so
subject to injuries that mature into blemishes, or frequently cause
unsoundness.
The Horses running free in the plains of Asia may also be
broken in. Those which frequent the neighbourhood of the Caucasus
are, it is said, the descendants of some troopers which were aban-
doned by Peter the Great during the siege of Azov, in consequence
of a deficiency of forage to maintain them.
In addition to these races, which have regained their primitive
liberty, there are some which form, so to speak, a link between the
wild Horse and those which are completely tamed. Among these
are the Iceland Horses, which are allowed by their masters to feed
on the mountains in full liberty, and are caught only when they are
wanted. We may likewise mention the droves of Horses which the
Cossacks of the Don possess, and which graze in deserts of the
Ukraine ; also the Finland Horses, which pass the summer in absolute
THE HORSE, l8l
independence, and in the winter return to their owners' homes;
lastly, those of the Camargue, which hve in full liberty, among the
fens and salt marshes lying round the mouths of the Rhone, from
Aries to the sea.
After this digression as to the various races of wild or semi-wild
Horses, we must now give a portrait of the animal, although it is
doubtless perfectly well known to our readers, so as to bring more
clearly to view the beauty of its structure. In a passage which is
somewhat less known than the one we before quoted, Buffon thus
expresses himself: —
" Among all the animals the Horse is the one which combines
with a considerable bulk the highest degree of perfection, of propor-
tion, and elegance in every part of his body ; for if we compare the
animals which come immediately above and below him, we find that
the Ass is ill-made, the head of the Lion is too large, the legs of the
Ox are too clumsy and short for the size of its body, the Camel is
certainly deformed, and that the larger animals — such as the Rhi-
noceros and the Elephant — are, so to speak, nothing but shapeless
masses. The regularity in his proportions gives the Horse an air of
graceful lightness which is well maintained by the beauty of his head
and shoulders. In the carriage of his head he appears to desire to
rise above his condition of quadruped, and in this noble attitude
regards man face to face. His eyes are sprightly and wide opened ;
his ears are well made, aCnd of a proper length, without being too
broad, like those of the Ox, or too long, like those of the Ass. His
mane harmonises gracefully with his head, and is a handsome
appendage to the neck, conferring both an air of strength and spirit.
His flowing and bushy tail is an ornamental finish to the extremity of
his body. Very different from that of the Stag, Elephant, &c., and
from the bare appendage of the Ass, the Camel, the Rhinoceros, &c.,
the Horse's tail is formed of long and thick glossy hair which seems
to spring directly from the end of the back. He cannot elevate his
tail hke the Lion, but, although drooping, it becomes him better, and,
as he can readily move it from side to side, it is of great use to drive
away the insects which might annoy him ; for although his skin is
very firm, and covered all over with thick and close hair, it is, never-
theless, highly sensitive."
It may be useful to specify the terms employed to describe the
principal parts of the Horse. These details will not prove altogether
superfluous, as some of the words which we are about to explain not
unfrequently occur in conversation.
The two parts of the head of the Horse which correspond to the
*l82 MAMMALIA.
temples in a man are above the eyes. The eyes themselves have a
loose crescentiform fold of the conjunctiva at the inner angle, often
erroneously called ine?nbj'ana nictitans, but it neither performs its
office nor possesses its muscular apparatus. The orbit, which is
formed of seven bones, four cranial and three facial, contains the
globe of the eye, on the inner angle of which is situated the haw {a).
Fig. 46 will perfectly supply the means of verifying all these indica-
tions. The eyepits {b) are deep indentations which lie between the
eye and the ear, above the eyebrows on each side.
Th^face {c) is the front of the head from the eyes to the nostrils ;
this part corresponds to the upper part of a man's nose. This name
is, however, generally applied to that portion that surrounds the curl
or centre on the forehead from whence the hair radiates.
The neck of the Horse is designated by the word crest id). It is
comprised from one end to the other between the mane on the upper
side and the gullet on the lower, liht fore-lock (e) is the portion of
the mane which is on the top of the head and falls over on the fore-
head between the eyes.
The withers (/) is the spot where the shoulders meet up above,
between the back and the neck, at the point where the neck and the
mane come to an end.
The chest (g) is that part which is in front between the shoulders
and below the throat.
The bach (h) commences at the withers and extends all along the
spine as far as the crupper. When the Horse is fat the whole length
of the spine forms a kind of hollow, which is said to be channelled.
The space which is included within the ribs is called the barrel
(/) ; the name of stomach (/) is also given to the lower part of the
body which joins the os sterjiicm and the bottom of the ribs.
Thejlanks lie at the extremity of the stomach and extend as far
as the hip bones. The tail is divided into two parts : the stump or
dock, and the hair.
The upper part of the front leg of the Horse is called the shoulder
{m), although it corresponds with the fore-arm in a man ; the fore-
arm {n) follows it lower down.
The joint which is below the fore-arm is called the knee {0) ; it
corresponds to the place of the wrist in man, and forms an angle
turning inwards when the leg is bent.
The shank {p) forms the second portion of the fore-leg ; it com-
mences at the knee-joint, and corresponds to the metacarpus in man.
Behind the shank is a tendon, which extends from one end to the
other, and is called the hack-sinew.
THE HORSE.
t83
The fetlock'joint {q) is the articulation immediately below the
shank.
The fetlock itself is a tuft of hair covering a sort of soft horny
excrescence, which is called the ergot.
ThQpasteni (r) is the portion of the leg between the fetlock-joint
and the foot.
Fig. 46. — The different parts of the body of the Horse.
The coronet {s) is an elevation lying below the pastern, and is
furnished with long hair falling over the hoof, all round the foot.
The hoofs (/) form, so to speak, the nails of the Horse, and
consist of a horny substance.
In order to describe the parts which make up the hind legs of the
Horse we must go back to the haunches. Each of these contains
the femtir, and corresponds to the thigh of a man. It is, therefore,
the thigh of the Horse which is joined on to the body, and bears the
name of buttocks. It is terminated below and in front by the stifle
(k), which is the joint of the knee containing the knee-pan. It is
9
1 84 MAMMALIA,
situated below the haunch, on a level with the flank, and shifts its
place when the Horse walks.
The highest part of the hind leg, which is detached from the
body, is called the thigh^ or gaskins [m'), and corresponds to the leg
of a man. It extends from the stifle and lower part of the buttocks
down to the hock {0).
The hock is the joint which is below the thigh, and bends
forward. This joint represents the instep of a man ; the hinder part
of the hock, which is called the point of the hock, is the hee/.
Below the hock are the shank, the fetlock-joint, the pastern, and
the foot, just the same as in the fore-legs.
We will now say a few words as to the diversity of colour in the
coat of the Horse, in order to fix the meaning of the terms which
are generally employed to designate the various hues the coat presents.
Bay is a reddish nut-brown colour, with various shades. Z>ark
bay Horses are of a very dark brown, almost black, except on the
flanks and tip of the nose, where they are of a reddish colour. The
goldeii^ or light bay, is a yellow sunlight hue. Dappled-bay Horses
have on their rumps spots of a darker bay than on the rest of their
bodies. In bay Horses the extremities, the mane, and the tail are
always black.
There are three kinds of black Horses : the rusty black, which is
of a brownish tinge, more or less conspicuous in various lights ; the
black, and the coal-black, which is the darkest of all.
Z>z/;2-coloured Horses, of which there are several shades, are of a
yellowish-sandy hue; the mane and tail of these is either white
or black. Some of the latter have a black line along the vertebrae,
which is called a Mulds, or Eel-stripe.
Chestnut is a kind of reddish or cinnamon-coloured bay. There
are several shades of it, among which are the bright chest72ut, which is
the colour of a red Cow's coat ; the co7mnon chestnut, which is neither
dark nor bright; the bay chestimt, which verges upon the red; the
burnt chestnut, which is dark, and nearly approaches black. Some
chestnut Horses have white manes and tails, others black. The roan
is a mixture of red and white.
Grey Horses have white hair mixed with black or bay. There
are several modifications of this colour : the dappled-grey, the silver-
grey, the iro7i-grey, &c. Dapple-grey Horses have on the back and other
parts of the body a number of round spots, in some cases black, in
others, of a lighter hue ; these spots are somewhat irregularly dis-
tributed. Grey Horses as they increase in age become lighter in
colour, ultimately becoming white.
THE HORSE.
185
Piebald and skewbald Horses are white, with large irregular spots
and stripes of some other colour irregularly arranged. The different
kinds are distinguished by the colour that is combined with the white,
as the piebald proper, which are white and black ; the skewbald,
which are white and bay ; the chest7t2it piebald, which are white and
chestnut.
The Horses which have small black spots on a white or grey coat are
0.2^^^ flea-bitten, and are particularly prevalent in India among Arabs.
We have hitherto considered the wild and domestic Horse in
common, both as regards its structure and its colour; in short,
its outward appearance generally, without noticing the different
breeds, which must soon occupy our attention. But before we enter
Fig. 47. — Dentition of the Adult Horse.
a Incisors. — b Tushes or Canines. — c Interval called the bar.
-d Molars,
upon the study of the various equine races, it is necessary to give a
short explanation as to the way in which the bit regulates the paces
of the Horse. By this we are led to speak of the construction of the
mouth, a knowledge of which is most useful.
The Horse either walks, trots, gallops, or ambles.
The paces of the Horse are essentially modified by means both
of the bit and spur. The spur excites a quickness of movement ;
the bit communicates to this movement a due amount of precision.
The mouth of the Horse is so sensitive that the least movement
or the slightest impression which it receives warns and regulates
the motion of the animal. But to preserve the full delicacy of
this organ it is highly necessary to treat tenderly its extreme
sensibility.
The position of the teeth in the jaw of the Horse affords to man
the facility which exists of placing a bit in its mouth, by which
instrument this high-spirited and vigorous animal is broken in and
1 86 MAMMALIA.
guided. Let us, therefore, in the first place, study the arrangement
of its mouth (Fig. 47).
There are in each jaw six incisors, or fore-teeth, followed on
either side by a tush, which is generally deficient in mares, especially
in the lower jaw. Next comes a series of six grinders on each side in
both jaws ; these teeth have a square crown, marked with four
crescents, formed by the lamznce of enamel which are embedded on
them. Between the tushes and the grinders there is a considerable
space called the bar, which corresponds to the angle of the lips ; and
it is in this interval that the bit is placed.
It is also by means of the teeth that we are enabled to know a
Horse's age — a knowledge which is of the highest utility ; for a
Horse increases in value in proportion as he approaches maturity,
again decreasing in worth as he becomes older. Up to nine years
the age can be determined pretty accurately by means of the changes
which take place in the teeth.
The foal, at its birth, is usually devoid of teeth in the front of the
mouth, and has only two grinders on each side in each jaw (Fig. 48).
At the end of a few days the two middle fore-teeth, or pincers, make
their appearance. In the course of the first month a third grinder
shows itself, and in four months more the two next fore-teeth also
emerge. Within six and a half or eight months the side incisors, or
corner-teeth, show, and also a fourth grinder. At this period the first
dentition is complete. The changes which take place up to the age
of three years depend only on the fore-teeth being worn away more
or less, and the black hollows being obliterated gradually by contact
with food. In thirteen to sixteen months the cavities on the surface
oi \!£iQ pincers are effaced; they are then said to be razed. In sixteen
to twenty months the intermediate fore-teeth are likewise razed, and
in twenty to twenty-four months the same thing takes place with the
corner-teeth.
The second dentition commences at the age of two and a half or
three years (Fig. 49). The milk-teeth may be recognised by their
shortness, their whiteness, and the construction round their base,
called the 7ieck of the tooth. The teeth which replace them have no
neck, and are much larger. The pincers are the first to fall out and
be replaced by new ones. At the age of from three years and a half
to four years the intermediate fore-teeth experience the same change,
and the lower tushes begin to make their appearance. The corner-
teeth are also renewed when between four and a half to five years ;
the upper tushes likewise pierce the gums, and about the same date
the sixth grinder shows itself.
I
THE HORSE. 1 87
A depression, or small hollow, may be noticed on the surface of
the crown of the second growth of fore-teeth, just as in the milk-
teeth, and these hollows are gradually worn away in the same fashion.
Fig. 48.— At eighteen days. Fig. 49. — At three years.
Th^ pincers of the lower jaw lose their cavities when the Horse is
five or six years old (Fig. 50); the intermediate fore-teeth are the
next to raze. The marks in the corner-teeth are obliterated at the
age of seven or eight years. The process of destruction of the
Fig. 50. — Six years. Fig. 51.— Nine years,
marks in the upper fore-teeth goes on in the same order, but more
tardily (Figs. 51 and 52).
When all these various changes have taken place, the Horse
is looked upon as aged (Fig. 53), because the teeth no longer furnish
any certain indications as to the age of the animal. Only approximate
inferences can now be drawn from the length and colour of the tusks,
which become more and more bare and, projecting from the gum, &c.
i88
MAMMALIA,
The domestication of the Horse appears to date back to the very
earhest period of his appearance on earth; and as this animal adapts
itself to every necessity, every want, and every climate, its subjection
has resulted in a considerable number of races, distinguished by more
or less prominent characteristics of shape, strength, temper, and
endurance. Although generally intelligent, affectionate, and endowed
with considerable powers of memory, these qualities in the Horse are
essentially modified by education and climate. And for the full
development of his intelligence, and his high qualities, it is requisite
that man should be his companion and his friend, as well as his
master, but never his tyrant. Under the whip of an unfeeling driver
Fig. 52. — Fifteen years.
Fig. 53.— Thirty years.
the Horse becomes brutalised, and rapidly degenerates, morally even
more than physically.
The attachment of the Horse for those who treat it kindly is a
well-known fact; anecdotes proving this are numerous and varied,
but our limits are too circumscribed to relate more than one, the
authenticity of which cannot be doubted.
In 1809, in one of the insurrections, the inhabitants of the Tyrol
captured fifteen Horses from the Bavarian troops, on which they
mounted their own men. An encounter afterwards took place
between the hostile forces ; but at the commencement of it the
Bavarian chargers, which had changed their masters, recognised
their former trumpet-call and the uniform of their old regiment, and
in an instant darted off at a full gallop, in spite of all the efforts of
their riders, whom they bore in triumph into the midst of the Bavarian
ranks, where the Tyrolese were at once made prisoners.
The influence of memory on the Horse is also shown by the
THE HORSE, igt
sense it retains of injuries and ill-treatment it has suffered. Many a
Horse is restive with persons who have misused it, while perfectly
docile with others, proving a consciousness of good and evil, and a
natural insubordination against tyranny and injustice.
Emulation they also strongly possess. In Horse-racing the
conquerors show by their carriage the pride they are inspired with ;
the vanquished, on the contrary, are sad and humiliated. Sympathy
may also be added, as the following incident, taken from a well-
known periodical, will prove : —
" On a cattle station, where the narrator lived, near Ispwich,
Queensland, he often noticed two old mares (very old) — the one
had a fine foal by her side, the other had none. For many years
these aged mares had run together ; in winter they sought the ridges
for shelter, in summer the banks of creeks were their resort. A
deserted shepherd's hut stood by a creek, and on nearing it one day
his attention was arrested by the state of agony and despair the foal
seemed to be in : for now he would gallop round the hut, making
the whole valley ring with his piteous appeals, and then would
timidly approach it, peeping in at an opening, and then, as if in
utter despair, scamper back to the creek. When our authority came
to the hut one of the mares was outside, standing still, and seemed
to^ take litde or no notice of him, while the mother of the foal was
lying down (quite naturally) inside the building : her posture was
just that of a tired horse trying to rest every limb at once. Her
ears, inclining forwards, gave her the appearance of being asleep.
Feeling sure she was asleep, he touched her with his whip— no
move; again—no stir. So, on closer inspection, he saw she was
dead — a death so easy and free from pain that she must have ceased
to breathe while sleeping soundly. The old companion remained
upon the same spot, the foal increasing his speed and the eagerness
of his cries just in proportion to his hunger. Three days afterwards,
accompanied by a stockman, he saw only the foal outside the hut,
the old faithful friend had herself gone and laid down close along-
side her former companion, and, strange to say, was quite dead also.
Their two frames lay, one near the other, in the deserted hut, and
the foal has since joined a mob of bush horses, and seems to have
quite forgotten his kind old mother."
The intelligence of this noble animal is evident in many ways.
For instance, in the Arab tent, where it is esteemed and loved as if
it were a member of the family ; or to the circus, where it performs a
series of prodigies of strength or grace in obedience to the voice of
its trainer. The most restive and vicious Horses have been known
i9^ MAMMALIA.
to submit to the control of children, when the bit, whip, and spur, in
the hands of an adult, were useless to force them into subjection.
By the suitability of its motive powers the Horse is adapted to
two different uses : firstly the saddle, when it carries a rider, either
as a means of travelling, or for purposes of war, pleasure, or salutary
exercise ; secondly, for draught, when it draws burdens of various
kinds. Again, there are distinctions between the Carriage-horse, the
Heavy Draught-horse, and the Light Draught-horse.
The Saddle-horse must possess elegance and activity in all its
movements. It must pay immediate obedience to the will of its
rider, communicated to it by means of the reins.
The Carriage-horse, used in the vehicles of the rich, either alone
or in a pair, should combine size, strength, and elegance. It is,
therefore, in fact, nothing but a larger Saddle-horse endowed with a
more considerable bulk in all its parts.
The Draught-horse is deficient in those features of nobility and
distinction that characterise the previous mentioned animal. Its
shape is more massive, and a little clumsy ; the neck is shorter and
thicker, while the coat is composed of rougher hair.
If we take an animal of average size and weight, with easy paces,
combined with energy of temperament, that is able to continue a
trot while drawing a heavy burden, we have the type of a light
Draught- horse. This is the stamp of animal used for posting, coach-
work, and artillery.
The Heavy Draught-horse is endowed with immense muscular
development. Its back is wide and short, so as to resist the violent
shocks to which it may be subject. Its chest is deep and voluminous,
and its limbs and joints are in proportion to the size of the body.
Having considered the four types which are adapted by their
conformation for special economic functions, we will now glance at
the various races of the Horse family.
Following M. Sanson, author of an excellent work on the
** Applications de la Zootechnie," we shall divide them into two great
classes, that of Thoroughbred or Blood Horses, and those of ordi-
nary or common Horses.
Honour to whom honour is due ; we shall therefore commence our
account of the former class by speaking of the Arabian Horse (Fig. 54).
The Arab, pure from any alliance with other kinds, is the perfect
type of beauty and perfection, morally as well as physically.
The forehead is wide and flat, the orbital arches are prominent ;
the orbital hollows are large and widely separated ; the face short,
with a straight flattened and broad nose. The nostrils are wide and
THE HORSE. 1 95
open, the lips thin, the cheeks flat, and the mouth small ; the ears
small, straight, mobile, and placed at some distance from each other.
The eye is prominent, bright, and energetic, and the tout ensemble is
mild, yet proud. Such are the principal characteristics which may be
noticed in the head of this noble animal. Its height varies in the
East from fourteen to fifteen hands. Its colour is generally white,
light grey, or flea-bitten, not uncommonly chestnut, rarely black or
bay. Its straight neck and large and strong joints serve as points of
connection to muscles of vast power, which stand out under a glossy,
short-haired, silky coat, underneath which, in every direction, C3.n be
distinctly traced the veins. Its chest is wide, its legs handsome and
sinewy, and its foot is terminated by a hard hoof Combining, as it
does, both strength and agility, it is able to travel habitually immense
distances, and is a better weight carrier for its height than any other
race extant. As the Arabian Horse transmits to posterity its high
qualities, together with its generous blood, it is looked upon as the
source from which the whole equine race obtained improvement.
Reared under its master's tent, and forming a part of his family,
the Arabian Horse manifests an unchangeable attachment and
fidelity for him. The Arab, on his part, would make any sacrifice for
the sake of his Horse, and in order to produce and preserve these
admirable qualities he deems no amount of labour trouble. The
genealogy of each Horse is strictly preserved, and its details are
as authentic as those of the proudest families of our nobility, for
some of their pedigrees may be traced back in all due form for more
than four centuries. The Arabs, indeed, go so far as to attribute a
pedigree of two thousand years to the noble race of Horses which
they call Kochlani. This has formed a theme for some of the most
beautiful Oriental verses.
The following is the manner in which an Arab colt is reared : —
When a suckling it is supplied with camel's milk, in addition to that
of its mother's. As soon as its teeth are able to masticate, it is given
bruised and softened barley, and after it is weaned it grazes on the
tenderest grass, although barley forms its staple support. All the
inhabitants of the tent lavish on it their caresses, just as if it were a
child belonging to the family. When its back gains strength it is at
first mounted by a child, and gently exercised ; it then carries in
succession the child, the youth, the grown man, and the warrior. Its
limbs and its joints are objects of the most constant solicitude while
being gradually trained to endure fatigue and privations of hunger
and thirst. The Arab, in fact, identifies the courser with his own
existence, and thus the nobility of its race, the mode of its education,
ig6 MAMMALIA,
the affection with which it is surrounded, make it at the same time
the most beautiful, the most abstemious, the most docile, the most
loving, and the most intelligent of all the equine race, while it is the
best fitted for long and rapid journeys.
According to M. Sanson, the breed of EngHsh Horses called
Thoroughbreds springs from animals of Arab lineage, which were
introduced into England, and modified so as to serve for different
uses, particularly that of Horse-racing. Into France also they have
been imported, together with the practice of the latter sport. '^ The
typical characteristics of the English racer differ but little from those
of the Arabian Horse. It is, therefore, according to the same
author, an error to look upon the English racer as forming an
independent breed. The next point is, how did the Arabian Horse
come to be introduced into England ?
The first foreign stallion which is mentioned in ancient chronicles
as being imported into England is the "White Turk," which was
purchased by James I. from a M. Place, who subsequently became
Cromwell's Master of the Horse. Villiers, first Duke of Bucking
ham, then introduced " Helmsley's Turk," and afterwards "' Fairfax's
Morocco." But, generally speaking, this genealogy is not traced
back beyond the commencement of the last century, beginning with
the " Darley Arabian," a horse born in Syria, of the highest lineage.
Among its descendants we shall content ourselves with mentioning
the famous '' Eclipse," which still remains in memory the most perfect
type of a Race-horse.
More than twenty years after the introduction of the " Darley
Arabian," Lord Godolphin admitted into his stud the celebrated
" Godolphin Arabian," a stallion, which was purchased for a very
small sum in Paris, where it was drawing a water-cart. Eugene Sue,
in one of his romances, has related the pathetic story of its life.
" Lath," one of its progeny, was the most distinguished Horse of
his day.
The English Race-horse (Fig. 55) possesses certain minor peculi-
arities, by means of which it may be distinguished from its Oriental
type. First, it is taller, and the lines of its body are more elongated
and rounded. The exercises of the race-course have lengthened its
thigh, raised its croup, and communicated to these parts a special
shape. Its frame is throughout more lengthy than that of the
Arabian, and bay and chestnut, with their diverse shades, have
become its prevailing colours.
* ^^ Applications de la ZoQtechnie,^'' p. \,
THE HORSE.
19;
The special qualities of this English Horse are the result of
the combined action of climate, education, and use.
But the sport of racing dates back to a time far anterior to the
introduction of any Arabian stallions ; for an English author of the
twelfth century speaks of Horse-races which were established, in his
Fig. 56.— Norman Horse.
time, in Smithfield. Again, we read of their frequent occurrence in
the reign of Charles I., and the promulgation of regulations for their
guidance in the last year of the reign of James I. Since that time
they have always been kept up in England.
Much of course is due, even among the most celebrated families
of English Race-horses, to the mode of education, or more properly
speaking training, to which these animals are subjected, in order to
prepare them for their career. The qualities of lightness and speed
have, beerL obtained uaq^uestionably,. but. it is to be feared, however,^
198 MAMMALIA,
at the expense of strength and endurance. We must also add that,
in many cases, a race cannot be won without a cruel urging of the
steed on the part of the jockey — a class which, nowadays, have
assumed an important position in a contest in which the Horse once
solely took a part.* As a proof of the exertion a racer will make to
be victorious, we will quote the following anecdotes from a well-
known authority : —
" ' Forester,' " says William Youatt, " had already won several
hardly-contested races ; but on an unlucky day he entered the list
with ' Elephant,' a most extraordinary Horse, belonging to Sir James
Shaftoe. The length of the course was about four miles in a straight
line, and, having run over the level part of the ground, they found
themselves ' neck and neck ' on mounting the ascent. When within a
short distance of the winning-post, ' Elephant ' gained a little on
* Forester,' and the latter made every possible effort to regain his lost
ground ; but seeing that these efforts failed, with a desperate bound
he darted upon his antagonist, and seized him with his teeth, in order
to hold him back, and it was with great difficulty he was made to let
go his hold.
"In 1753 another Horse, belonging to Mr. Quin, on seeing his
antagonist pass him, seized the conqueror by one of his limbs, and
the two jockeys were obliged to dismount to part their steeds."
The author from whom we have borrowed these two facts
regrets the state of the present system, which requires that the Race-
horse should be hard pressed by the jockey, and that much should be
sacrificed to speed at the expense of strength, so that the victorious
Horse sometimes leaves the course with his flanks torn by the spur,
his sides running down with sweat, his tendons strained, and, in fact,
incapable of further exertion, at least for that day. Men who are
competent to judge regret to see that, both in France and England,
every effort tends to one aim — an extraordinary rate of speed for
a short space of time. It is not by requiring from a Horse the one
quality of speed that we obtain vigour and endurance, which, after all,
are the most necessary qualities. All the triumphs of the race-
course, even those of " Gladiateur," winner of the " Derby," and of
the "Grand Prix de Paris," only go to prove the existence of a
transient quality.
Let us pass on to the Norman Horse (Fig.^ 56).^ Before the
creation of the Adminish-ation des Haras, there existed in Normandy
a race of Horses which for many years furnished carriage animals to
^ In Italy it \% still the custom to rage Efors^s witl^out jogkeys,
THE HORSE,
199
the great lords of olden time. These were of Danish origin ; but
the present race is the result of a cross between the Norman or
Danish mares and the English thoroughbred, the results show the
characteristics of both stocks. They are bred in two districts in
Normandy : one the plain of Caen, comprising the grassy meadows
F'g- 57- — Breton Horse.
of Calvados and La Manche ; the other is situated in that part of the
Department of Orne which bears the name of Merlerault. Hence
were derived the successful French Race-horses of former years,
before the introduction of the English blood, such as "Surprise/'
"Vermouth," "Fille de I'Air," '^ Eclipse,^' &c.
The district of Cherbourg produces an excellent race of Horses,
of a strong constitution and great powers of endurance, on the mares
of which the farmers' wives of Caux ride to market. On these
Normandy nags the graziers, before the establishment of railways,
used to make journeys of several days' duration, in order to purchase
2CO MAMMALIA.
Oxen. These Horses, which walk with high action, and are pure of
any cross, are strong, of great substance, and at the same time hand-
some.
In the Landes of Brittany there is a breed of small Horses called
Bretons (Fig. 57), whose good temper, beauty, hardiness, and strength
cause them to be much valued. They are evidently allied to the
Arabian type. These estimable qualities, combined with diminutive
size, are only met with in those reared in a comparatively wild state ;
to increase their height they have been crossed with English stalUons.
On the Atlantic sea-coast, between the embouchure of the Loire
and Gironde, there once existed immense marshes, which were
devoted to the breeding and rearing of Horses. This is the district
where the stout-built mares, with long and narrow heads and bulky
limbs covered with hair, were first bred, and which, when crossed
with Anglo-Norman stallions, produced the chargers which were
found best suited to mount the French cavalry.
We shall not notice here the Horses of Lorraine, Alsace,
Champagne, and Burgundy, which are not distinguished by any
special or strongly-marked characteristics. We will only mention the
Limousin breed, which supplied the mosi elegant and valued Saddle-
horses for our ancestors. They were, it is said, the descendants of
Arabian Horses left by the Saracens, after their conquest by Charles
Martel. This active and high-spirited race, which was slender in
shape, with fine and sinewy limbs, has been spoiled, according to M.
Sanson, by being crossed with the English type.
The Horses of Auvergne differ but slightly from the Limousin
breed, although they are somewhat modified, better fitting them for a
mountainous country. Their appearance is also not so pleasing;
their height is less, and the croup is shorter and lower than in the
former. They are, however, excellent servants, abstemious and
docile in their habits, full of spirit and vivacity. It seems an
acknowledged fact, that the influence of the English stallions has
been injurious in this district also, the progeny having a tendency to
become vicious.
The Horses of the Landes of Aude and Camargue are all
descended from the Arab type. They are smaller than those of
Limousin and Auvergne, and less to be admired for shape ; but they
possess the same energy, combined with a kind of wild independence.
They are natives of the uncultivated districts adjacent to the^
Mediterranean. The following, according to M. Gayot, are the-
characteristics of the Camargue Horse : —
In England he would be denominated a Pony,, for ''He isnsmall^
THE HORSE, 201
his height measuring from thirteen to thirteen hands and a half; it is
but seldom that he is tall enough to reach the limit for a light cavalry
charger. His coat is always of a greyish white. Although the head
is large, and sometimes 'Roman-nosed/ it is generally squarely made
and well set on; the ears are short and widely separated, the eyes are
Fig, 58. — Pyreneean Horse (Haras de Tarbes).
lively and well opened, the crest is straight and slender, but some-
times ewe-necked ; the shoulder is short and upright, but yet the
withers are of a sufficient height; the back is prominent, the reins
wide, but long, and badly set on; the croup is short and drooping,
the haunches are poor, the hocks narrow and close, but yet strong ;
the foot is very sure and naturally good, but wide, and sometimes
even flat. The Camargue Horse is active, abstemious, mettlesome,
high-spirited, and capable of enduring both bad weather and fasting.
For centuries he has maintained the same type, notwithstanding the
202 MAMMALIA.
state of distress to which he is sometimes reduced by carelessness and
neglect."*
These small Horses are kept in the marshes and wild meadows
which stretch away from Aries to the sea. They live in perfect
freedom, in small droves, together with semi-wild Oxen. In harvest
time they use these Horses for thrashing out the grain ; they are led
in upon the thrashing-floors, and are made to stamp upon the sheaves
to beat out the corn from the ears. Their hard but elastic hoof
forms an excellent flail. When they have done their allowance of
work they are permitted to return to their independent existence, to
roam and feed over the wide expanse of uncultivated districts which
surround their homes.
The breed of Camargue Horses is, as a rule, but little valued,
even in the south of France. The best of them are, however,
occasionally sent into the market. It is stated that these Horses are
the descendants of som-e of those left by the Moors in one or other
of the frequent descents and incursions made by them on the south
coast of France during the early years of history.
The Barbary race of Horses, which was introduced on the
northern slopes of the Pyrenees, has produced the Pyreneean breed,
on which we shall not dwell. Fig. 58 represents the Pyreneean
Horse, sometimes called the Horse of Tarbes, on account of the
splendid studs which have been established in the neighbourhood
of that city, and which have produced some of the most beautiful
animals of the breed.
The Barbary breed of Horses, or the Barb, which is a native of
Algeria and Morocco, is found among the settled Arab tribes, and
also among the Kabyles. Having been introduced into Spain by the
Arabs and the Moors, this type there assumed the name of Andalu-
sian. A cross from the same race and the Arab also exists in the
Pyrenees under the name of Navarrine. Its forehead is large and
slightly prominent, its face is short and wide, and the brow is
projecting in a line with the orbits j its nostrils but little opened -, the
mouth small ; the eye large ; the ear straight and finely cut ; the
expression calm when the animal is at rest, but lighting up during the
time of action. This breed is but diminutive in size, but carries a
high crest adorned with a long and silky mane. Its limbs are strong
and well set under it ; the back and the reins are short and wide, and
the tail is bushy. Its coat varies in colour, but is generally grey.
These Horses, although small, are powerful, docile, and abstemious.
* " Guide du Sportsman^^'' or *' Trait e de P Eniratnement et des Courses de CkevauX.^'
THE HORSE. 203
During the Crimean campaign the French and EngUsh Horses were
decimated, whilst the Barbs, which were ridden by the Chasseurs
d'Afrique, endured with impunity every hardship.
We must not omit to mention the Russian Horses (Fig. 59), a
magnificent race, which combines elegance of proportion, height,
Fig. 59. — Russian Horse.
size, vigour, and suppleness. Many of this breed are remarkable for
their speed in trotting, and they all much resemble the celebrities of
the American trotting turf After many inquiries, we are unable to
learn if there is any affinity between these similar and equally cele-
brated strains of blood. Some magnificent specimens of Russian
Horses were exhibited at the Paris Exposition in 1867.
We have hitherto directed our attention to high-bred Horses
alone ; we must now take a glance at some of the commoner breeds,
204 MAMMALIA.
especially those belonging to France, taking for our guide throughout
M. Sanson's excellent work " Applications de la Zootechnie."
The Flemish Horse, which is, in fact, as much Belgian as French,
is of great height and immense bulk. Its face is very long, narrow,
and prominent at the extremity ; the nostrils small ; the mouth large,
with flat cheeks ; its ear is thick, long, and slightly drooping ; its eye
small j the crest short and overloaded with mane ; its body long, and
croup channelled. Its limbs are very largely made and thickly covered
with rough hair. Its feet are large and flat, and its temper is lym-
phatic. It is but dull at work and devoid of fire ; its strength lying
in its enormous weight. This breed, somewhat improved by training,
furnishes the brewers of Paris with those colossal specimens of the
equine race which are the admiration of all.
Nothing can be more beautiful than the type of the German
Horse which is represented in Fig. 60.
The Horses of the Boulonais breed (Fig. 61) are shaped like the
preceding, with the exception of their size and the form of the head.
They are easy-tempered, docile, vigorous, and energetic ; their eyes,
too, are full of resolution. They are natives of the Department of
Pas-de- Calais, and chiefly of the district of Boulogne. Some of the
colts are sent into the districts of Arras, Sainte-Pol, and Abbeville.
Others cross the Department of Somme, and are trained in the
countries of Caux and Vimeux, being distributed over the Depart-
ments of Oise, Aisne, Seine-et-Marne, Eure-et-Loire, and the Seine-
Inferieure. The diff"erence of climates and agricultural conditions
stamps a variety of modifications on the Boulonais type, chiefly with
respect to stature. It is this breed which supplies nearly all the
Horses employed in trade in Paris for heavy carriage not requiring
speed.
We must also mention the Ardennes breed, which furnishes good
Draught-horses for artillery, and is very similar in type to the Breton
Horse, of which we are about to speak.
The Breton Draught-horses have the brow high and square, the
face short, with the forehead sunken, nostrils open, mouth small, eye
lively, and physiognomy expressive. The mane is double, and well
furnished with hair, and the tail is bushy. Their limbs are strong,
and feet sound. Their paces are quick and easy, constitution good,
and temper gentle.
The Percheron breed, justly celebrated for ages (Fig. 62), is the
model of a light Draught-horse. In the days of mail-coaches and
diligences this race was the Post-horse par excellence. At the present
time it almost exclusively supplies, together with the Breton type,
7 HE HORSE.
205
the Horses for the omnibuses of Paris and the rapid carriage of
merchandise. The brow of these animals is shghtly bulging between
the orbital arches, which are prominent. The face is long, with a
narrow forehead, straight at the top, but slightly bulging out towards
the tip of the nose ; the nostrils are open and mobile j the lips thick
Fig. 60.— German Horses.
and the mouth large ; the ear long and erect ; the eye lively, and the
countenance animated. Their mane is but poorly provided with
hair, but the tail is bushy ; the legs are strong and firmly jointed,
with rather long shanks devoid of hair. Their coat is generally a
dappled-grey colour.
The farmers in the environs of Mortagne, Bellesme, Saint-Calais,
Mondoubleau, and Courtalin breed this race ; but the greatest
number come from the Department of Eure-et-Loire, in the district
of Illiers.
206
MAMMALIA.
We may remark, in conclusion, that generally the Horses found
in Central France are of a very miscellaneous character, the individuals
of which, having been brought there as foals, belong to the various
types which we have previously mentioned.
Among foreign races, we have already spoken in favour of the
Fig. 6i.— Boulonals Horses.
Russian Horses. We must also mention the race which are natives
of a group of islands situated to the north of Scotland. These are
called Shetland Ponies (Fig. (y^^)^ and are perfect Horses in miniature.
Some of them, indeed, are scarcely as high as a large Newfoundland
Dog. Notwithstanding, they are strong, and will endure almost any
amount of fatigue and privation.
Independent of all the services which the Horse, during its life-,
renders man, it furnishes him, after death, with a variety of useful
substances — such as the skin, the horn of the hoofs, the hair of the
1
THE ASS. 209
mane and tail ; the tendons, from which glue is made, and the bones,
which produce animal charcoal. Lastly, we must not omit to make
mention of the Horse as an article of food. Everyone is acquainted
with the eiforts which, during the last year or two, have been made
(and to some extent with success) to introduce Horse-flesh for the use
Fig. 63.— Shetland Ponies.
of the public. In Paris, and some other cities in France, at the
present time, it forms no inconsiderable portion of the nutriment of
the poor. Prussia and the north of Europe were the first to set the
example in this path of economy.
Equus asvius. — The Ass, like the Horse, is the servant and
helper of man, but its domestication is of a much less ancient date.
The Domestic Ass (Fig. 64), a somewhat degenerate offspring
of its wild ancestor, is generally mouse-coloured or silvery grey,
mixed with darker shades. Upon its back a black longitudinal
210 MAMMALIA,
dark stripe, crossed over the shoulders by another of similar colour,
may be almost invariably found. Its ears are very long, and the
tail is tufted at the termination.
If we compare the Horse and the Ass as regards general appear-
ance and carriage, we immediately observe that the head of the Ass
is larger in proportion to its body j its ears much more elongated,
the forehead and temples more covered with hair ; its eyes are more
deeply sunk, the upper lip more pointed, in fact, pendent j the crest
miore thick-set, the limbs less upright, and the chest narrower. The
back is convex, and the spine projecting; the croup is flat and
drooping, and the tail is bare for three-quarters of its length, while
the difference in its carriage is still more apparent. If we add to all
this, that the vocal utterance of the Horse is a neigh, marked mth
considerable power and pride, whilst that of the Ass is a discordant
bray, we may perhaps be led to depreciate too much this poor
animal. It is, nevertheless, worthy of occupying a large place in
our esteem. We must, in the first place, bear in mind that the
Ass is not a degenerate Horse, but that it constitutes a distinct
race, has its own special individuality and characteristics, and con-
sequently we ought to pass judgment upon it without any odious
comparisons.
" Why," says Buffon, very justly, " is there so much contempt foi
an animal so good, so patient, so abstemious, and so useful ? Can
it be that men despise, even in animals, those who serve them too
well and at too little expense ? We confer on the Horse a degree of
education ; he is cared for, he is trained, and he is exercised, whilst
the Ass is handed over to the mercy of the lowest servant, or to the
malice of children, and, so far from improving by education, he must
almost always be the worse for it ; if he did not possess a large
supply of good quaUties he would, in fact, lose all in consequence of
the treatment which he receives. He is too frequently the plaything,
the butt, and the drudge of his owner, who drives him, beats him,
overloads him, and tires him out, without care and without mercy.
There seems to be no attention paid to the fact that the Ass would
be the best and most useful of animals, if there had been no such
animal in the world as the Horse."
While the Horse is full of pride, impetuosity, and ardour, the Ass
is mild, humble, and patient, and bears with resignation the most
cruel treatment. Most abstemious in its habits, it is content with
the coarsest herbage, which other beasts will not touch, even such as
thistles and weeds. A small quantity of water is sufficient for it, but
this it requires pure and clear. It v/ill not, like the Horse, wallow
I
THE ASS. 213
in mud or water ; and as its master too often forgets to groom it.
it performs this duty by rolling itself on the turf or the heather when
opportunity offers. It has sharp sight, an excellent sense of smell,
and an ear of keen acuteness. If it is laden too heavily it remon-
strates by drooping its head and lowering its ears. "When it is
teased," says Buffon, " it opens its mouth and draws back its lips in
a disagreeable manner, giving it a mocking and derisive air."
The Ass walks, trots, and gallops like the Horse, but all its move-
ments are shorter and slower. Whatever pace it employs, if too
hardly pressed, it soon becomes tired \ if not hurried, it is most
enduring. It sleeps less than the Horse, and never lies down for
this purpose except when worn out with fatigue. Bufifon says that it
never utters its "long and discordant cry, which passes in inhar-
monious succession from sharp to flat and from flat to sharp, except
when hungry, or desirous of expressing amorous feelings.
Attaching itself readily and sincerely, it scents its master from afar,
and distinguishes him from all other persons, manifesting joy when
he approaches. It recognises without difficulty the locality which it
inhabits, and the roads which it has frequented. When young, it
cannot fail to please by its gaiety, activity, and gracefulness j but age
and ill-treatment soon render it dull, slow, and headstrong.
The Ass carries the heaviest weight in proportion to its size of all
beasts of burthen ; it costs little or nothing to keep, and requires, so
to speak, no care ; it is a most useful auxiliary to the poor man,
more especially in rugged mountainous countries, where its sureness
of foot enables it to go where Horses could not fail to meet with
accidents. It is, therefore, the Horse of those of small means ; the
abstemious and devoted helper of the poor. It suffers with resigna-
tion under the tyranny of its oppressors. Who has not witnessed
with feelings of compassion the coal-merchants of Burgundy, driving
them along the roads, punishing them at every step, so as to cause
their backs to become denuded of hair, and covered with revolting
ulcers? When used as a riding-animal by children, its destiny is,
possibly, less precarious, and less unbearable.
In energy, in nervous power, and in temperament, the Ass even
surpasses the Horse. It is also superior to the latter in docility,
abstemiousness, and capacity to endure fatigue. How, then, does
it come to pass that this animal — so useful and devoted, the servant
of the weak, the Horse of the poor man — should have acquired a
reputation which is become proverbial for foolishness and obstinacy ?
Enough praise cannot be lavished on the brilliant Race-horse j but
for the humble creature of which we are speaking there is nothing
214 MAMMALIA.
but abuse and blows. How ungrateful and capricious does man
appear to be in his loves as well as his hates ! How often may
he be seen treading under foot the simplest rules of justice and
common sense, even without motive, and to the injury of his own
interests !
According to M. Paul Gervais, '^ the principal varieties of the Ass
are (i) the Thibetian Ass; (2) the Persian Ass (the latter, which
has a reddish coat, and often has wild blood in its veins, is much
valued in Persia on account of its strength and activity; great care is
taken of it, as it is of considerable pecuniary value ; but it is more
headstrong than those of other races — whence comes the proverb,
"Stubborn as a red Ass"); (3) the Tuscany Ass, which is as large as
a Mule; (4) the Sicilian Ass, a httle less in height; (5) and an Ass,
to which the Mahrattas give the name of Gudha, which is not larger
than a Newfoundland Dog, &c.
Among the Asses which are natives of France M. Sanson, in
his ''Zootechnie," recognises two breeds, one of which comes from the
East, whilst the other has inhabited from time immemorial the south
of Europe, especially the Balearic Isles and Catalonia, where it still
flourishes. It is necessary, therefore, to distinguish as varieties of
the asinine species, the Common breed, which is found everywhere
in the East, and that which is called the Mule breed, differing from
the other in the shape of the skull, in its short, thick, and wide head,
and its more massive neck and shoulders.
In size, and in other respects, the Ass varies according to the
locality in which it is bred. In the southern districts of France its
shape is rather slender ; in Poitou, on the other hand, it attains the
highest degree of development, being thick-set and well placed on its
limbs ; its croup is rounded and short, the whole showing an
abundance of muscular development. This is the race principally
sought after for stalHons by the breeders of mules. Its coat, which
is of a dark shade, varies from a brown bay to pure black. In the
south of France the Ass has generally close short hair ; but in Poitou
it is very shaggy, and connoisseurs set a value on this mark of beauty.
The flesh of the Ass has a disagreeable taste, so that it never can
become popular as public food; but that of their foals, on the
contrary, is very tender, and differs but little from veal.
As a strengthening agent, or as a light and mild food for invalids,
the milk of the Ass has long been considered excellent. The Greeks
of antiquity made use of it for this purpose. It contains more
* ^^ Histoire Naturelle des Mammijbrs,^^ Paris, vol. ii,, p. 150.
THE ASS,
215
sugar and soluble salts and less casein and insoluble matter than
Cows' milk ; but it should invariably be taken from a young animal
in good condition, which has been fed on wholesome food. Fig. 65
represents the male and female of the common breed of the Ass.
The Ass is also of considerable service to us after its death. Its
Fig. 65.— Male and Female Ass (common breed).
skin, which is very hard and elastic, is employed for various purposes.
For instance, in making drums, sieves, excellent shoes, parchment
for memorandum books, tablets, &c. &c. The skin of the Ass is
also preferred by collar-makers and saddlers for the various pads used
in harness.
The Ass and Mare produce a mixed breed, which participates in
the shape and characteristics of the two species from which they
proceed. _ This cross, called a Mule, does not, however, constitute an
intermediate race, as they are unable to reproduce.
In its size and neck and shoulders, the Mule (Fis^. 66) inherits the
H
2l6
MAMMALIA.
fine shape of the Mare. From the Ass it derives the length of its ears?
its ahnost naked tail, its sure-footedness, and strong constitution. Its
hair is short, rough, and generally of a brownish black colour ; there
are, however, many Mules which have grey or chestnut coats, with a
stripe along the back of dark hair, as well as bands of the same shade
around the limbs. It is a long-lived animal, even occasionally
reaching the age of forty-five to fifty years. Almost omnivorous
in reference to herbage. Mules have an advantage that cannot be too
highly valued ; moreover, a level country or mountainous region
equally suits them; provided neither are too damp. Although
patient, it will not submit to ill-treatment without bearing malice.
A fine, large, serviceable stock of Mules are to be found in the
Department of Deux- Sevres ; those that are met with in Spain and
Italy are often brought from there. The Departments of La Vendee
1
Ttik WiLb As5. ±ig
and Chatente furnish those which are employed in the carriage of
merchandise over the most difficult passes of the Alps and Pyrenees.
Mules bred in the Deparments of Jura, Herault, Aveyron, and Isere
are used chiefly for agricultural labour. In the south of France this
animal is an important auxiliary to the farmer, performing most
of the hard work which is required from Oxen in the centre and
north of France.
Equus hemionus, Cuvier (Fig. 67). The Wild Ass, Kiang,
Dshikketee, in its shape and proportions, takes the middle place
between the Horse and the Ass. This, indeed, is implied by its
name, derived from the Greek word, meaning Half Ass. It re-
sembles a Mule, but its legs are more slender, and its carriage is
lighter. The general colour is dun, the mane and dorsal stripe
black, and the tail is terminated by a black tuft. This animal
inhabits the sandy deserts of Asia, especially those of Mongolia, or
the plains north of the Himalaya.
In their periodical migrations they come down as far as the
Persian Gulf and Hindostan. To the north, they do not go beyond
the forty-fifth degree of latitude. They live together in innumerable
droves, and travel under the guidance of a leader, whom they obey
with inteUigent submission. If they chance to be attacked by
Wolves they range themselves in a circle, placing the weak and
younger members in the centre, when they defend themselves so
courageously with their fore-feet and teeth that they almost invariably
come off victorious. The Tartars capture them to improve the breed
of their domestic Ass, and also to get possession of their skins j they
also eat their flesh, which is considered excellent.
The Wild Ass is endowed with a sure foot and great swiftness,
but it is difficult to tame. In order to capture them, snares and nets
made of cord are placed around the places where they are in the
habit of coming to drink.
Larger than the domestic animal, the Wild Ass has a narrower
chest, lighter body, and shorter ears. Its legs are also long, the
forehead arched, the head lean, which it carries erect, like the Horse.
The top of the head, the sides of the neck, the flanks, and the croup are
of a dun colour, with stripes of dirty white ; the mane is black ; there
is a coffee-coloured line along the back, which widens on the croup,
and, in the males only, is crossed by another band on the shoulders.
In the books of Moses the Wild Ass is mentioned, so that it was
well-known to the ancients. It also figured in the festivals which the
Roman emperors gave to the people to make them forget the loss of
their liberty and their grandeur.
220 MAMMALIA.
In 1838 M. Dussumier, a shipowner of Bordeaux, procured for
the Jardin des Plantes, in Paris, three adults, a male and two females.
These animals had never figured in this menagerie before, and since
that time no other individual of the breed has been brought there ;
but the specimens which they possessed were not long before they
bore young. Not only did they multiply, but were crossed both with
male and female Asses.
When the question arose as to utilising this animal, it was for a
moment feared that it would be impossible to break it in ; at the
present day, however, we know how to train animals better than was
formerly the case. A wild Ass from the Jardin des Plantes in a few
months' handling became sufficiently docile to be driven from Paris
to Versailles. According to M. Richard (du Cantal), they present
no more difficulty in breaking than Horses which are reared in our
meadows, and permitted to run at large to the age of four or five
years. Two individuals from the menagerie of the Museum, which
were intrusted to the care of M. de Pontalba, were ridden without
difficulty after a very short tutelage.
Equus Zehra^ Linn. — The Zebra (Fig. 68) is larger than the Wild
Ass, sometimes attaining the size of a mature Arab Horse. The
richness of its coat, which almost every one has had an opportunity
of admiring at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, and the Zoological
Gardens in London, both of which institutions possess living speci-
mens, would suffice to distinguish this creature from every other
species of the same genus. The ground colour is white tinged with
yellow, marked with stripes of black and of blackish brown.
This elegant animaJ is a native of the Cape of Good Hope, and
probably the whole of southern, and a part of eastern, Africa.
Travellers state that they have met with it in Congo, Guinea, and
Abyssinia. It delights in mountainous countries, and although it is
less rapid than the Wild Ass, its paces are so good that the best
Horses are alone able to overtake it.
The Zebra lives in droves, but is very shy in its nature ; it is
endowed with powers of sight that enable it to perceive from great
distances the approach of hunters. It is, consequently, very difficult
to capture a mature living specimen.
That it is impossible to reduce this quadruped to a domestic state
is currently believed. In contradiction we would state that a female
Zebra, which had been caught young, and sent by the Governor
of the Cape of Good Hope to the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, was
so tractable that it allowed itself to be approached and led almost as
readily as a Horse.
THE ZEBRA
221
The resemblance which exists between the Ass and the Zebra
suggested the idea that a cross might easily be made between them.
Mules between the Zebra and the Ass were obtained in England in
-^22 MAMMALIA.
the time of BufFon, and, at the present day. Mules between the Zebra
and the Horse.
The Zebra was not unknown to the ancients, who called it Hippo-
tigris — that is, Horse-tiger. An historian relates that the Emperor
Caracalla killed on a certain day, in one of the circus combats, an
Elephant, a Rhinoceros, a Tiger, and a Hippo-tigris. Diodorus of
Sicily speaks of the Hippo-tigris, although in rather obscure terms.
The kings of Persia, during certain religious festivals, were
accustomed to sacrifice Zebras to the sun, a stock of which were kept
by these potentates in some of the islands of the Red Sea.
Eqicus Quagga. — The Quaggais smaller than the Zebra, and more
resembles the Horse in general shape. His head is small, and his
ears are short. The colour of head, neck, and shoulders is a dark
brown, verging on black ; the back and the flanks are of a bright
brown, which on the croup merges into russet grey. The upper
parts of the legs and tail are crossed with whitish bars, the underneath
parts are white. The tail is terminated by a tuft of long hair. It is
a native of the plateaux of Caffraria, and feeds on grasses and the
mimosa shrub, and lives in droves indiscriminately with the Zebra.
It is tamed without difficulty. The Dutch colonists were in the
habit of keeping them with their herds, which they defended against
the Hyenas. If one of these formidable carnivora threatened to
attack the catLle, the domesticated Quagga would attack and beat
down the enemy with its fore-hoofs, ultimately trampling it to death.
The Menagerie of the Museum of Natural History in Paris has
for some time been in possession of a male Quagga. At the sight of
Horses or Asses, this animal would several times utter a shrill cry,
which might be pretty nearly expressed by the word Cotia-ag.
Equus £u?'chelli, Fisch, Dauw or Peetsi. — The Dauw seems to
take a middle place between the Zebra and the Quagga. It
resembles the former in its shape and proportions, and the latter in
the colour of its coat, which is dun on the upper and white on the
underneath portions of the body. All the upper parts are streaked
with dark bands, which are transverse in front and oblique behind.
The tip of the. muzzle is black, and from this point spring four stripes
of the same colour. The markings on the neck are continued up into
the mane, which does not fall down over the crest, as in the Horse,
but is stiff and straight, like that of the Zebra.
This quadruped (Fig. 69) is a native of the Cape of Good Hope,
and doubtless of many of the mountainous districts of Southern
Africa. It lives in arid and desert localities, in droves, and is shy,
capricious, irascible, and difficult to tame. The Dauws in the
7 HE 'DAVW.
m
Menagerie of the Museum of Natural History in Paris have produced
several young ones.
Fig. Tq, — The Dauw or Peetsi (E^uus BinxJielli, Fisch).
The Wild Ass is the sole undomesticated species of the equine
genus which belongs to the regions of Asia included in Mongolia,
India, and the Himalaya. The Zebra, the Quagga, and the Dauw
are the species of the genus which are pecuUar to Africa.
ORDER OF RUMINANTIA.
The animals which compose this Order owe their general name to
the singular faculty they possess of bringing back into their mouth,
in order to re-chew it, the food they have once swallowed. This
power is owing to a complicated structure of their stomach, which is
divided into several compartments, and which have been considered
by some as so many distinct stomachs. The first and largest of these
divisions is the paunch, b b (Fig. 70), which forms a continuation to
the oesophagus {a), and occupies a large part of the abdomen, par-
ticularly towards the left side. The food is here accumulated after
being grazed.
After the paunch comes the reticulum or honeycomb bag [c) ;
this receptacle is small, and its internal mucous membrane is lined
with folds formed by polygonal cellules. In this the food is gradually
moulded into small pellets, which ascend again into the mouth, by
means of the action of the muscles of the oesophagus j these pellets
then undergo in the mouth a thorough mastication and mixing
with the saliva. Such is " chewing the cud."
When the food, thus transformed into a soft and pasty mass,
descends again into the stomach, it goes straight into a third portion,
called the psalterium or manyplies (d), on account of the wide
longitudinal folds which line the interior of it, much resembling the
leaves of a book. From this it at length passes into the digesting
stomach, or rennet-bag {e), which is the seat of the real digestion, and
owes its name to the fact that its irregularly folded internal surface is
continually moistened by the gastric juice — a fluid which has, as is
well known, the property of curdlijtg milk. After having undergone
the digestive process, the food passes from the rennet-bag (e) into the
intestine (/). We may add that liquids pass straight into the digesting
stomach without staying either in the paunch or reticulum.
Ruminants feed chiefly upon grass, both stalks and leaves, and
their dental system is specially adapted to such circumstances.
There are no incisors in the upper jaw, except in the Camels, and
there is an empty space between the lower incisors and the grinders,
the crowns of which are wide, and marked with two double crescents.
THE CAMEL, 22$
During mastication, the movement of the jaws is from side to side,
the lower jaw revolving on the upper one.
The feet ot all these animals terminate in two toes, the metatarsal
and metacarpal bones of which are joined together in one bone,
called the shank. Sometimes, also, there exist at the back of the
foot two small spurs, vestiges of lateral toes. In all these animals,
except Camels and Llamas, the hoofs, which entirely cover the last
joint of the two toes on each foot, act side by side on a smooth
Fig. 70. — The Four Stomachs of a Sheep.
surface, and resemble one single but cloven hoof. Thus the origin
of the word cloven-footed.
We must remark, in conclusion, that these animals are the only
Mammals which are provided with bony extensions of the frontal
bones ; but all the Ruminants do not possess these.
Ruminants are divided into four families — the Cavicornia or
hollow horned, including the genera, Bos, Ovis, Capra, and Antelope,
the Cervina or Deer Tribe, the Camelopardalidse, and the Tylopoda
or Camel Tribe. We shall commence with this last.
The Tylopoda or Camel Family.— This family comprehends
the two genera containing the Camel and the Llama.
226
MAMMALIA.
Camehis. — Linnaeus, and with him most modern naturalists,
admit of two distinct species in this genus ; the Camel proper
{C. bactrianiis)^ which has two humps on its back, and the Drome-
dary (C. dromedarius) which has only one.
The Camels have a small and strongly-arched head. Their ears
are slightly developed, still their sense of hearing is excellent. Their
Fig. 71.— Camel's Head.
eyes, which have oblong and horizontal pupils, are projecting, and
gentle in expression, and are protected by a double eyehd. Their
power of sight is very great. Their nostrils are situated at some
distance from the extremity of the upper lip, and, externally, appear
only as two simple slits in the skin, which the animal can open or
shut at will. No trace is found, round the nostrils of the Camel, of
the glandular body which forms the muzzle in other Ruminants, and
attains such development in the Ox. Their upper lip is split down
the centre, and the two halves are susceptible of various and separate
THE CAMEL, 22/
movements, constituting a very delicate organ of feeling. They are
also possessed of an extremely acute sense of smell.
This remarkable head (Figs. 71, 72) is carried with a certain
degree of nobility and dignity on a somewhat long neck, which, when
the animal moves slowly, describes a graceful arched curve.
Their peculiar body, made more remarkable by the one or two
Fig. 72. — Camel's Head.
humps on its back, is supported on four long legs, which appear
slender in comparison with the mass they bear.
In the Bactrian Camel the colour of the coat is chestnut-brown,
more or less dark. The hair grows to a considerable length, and
becomes rather curly on the humps and about the neck. Below the
neck it forms a fringe, which descends over the fore-legs.
The Dromedary, which is less massive in form and smaller in
size than the Camel, has a coat of brownish-grey, more or less dark ;
in some instances it is nearly bay. Its hair is soft, woolly, and
228 MAMMALIA.
moderately long, more especially about its hump and neck. There
are, however, peculiarities of coat characteristic of the different
races.
We must not omit to mention the callosities which Camels have
on their breast, knees, and insteps, as well as on their heels. Their
feet are bifurcated. The two toes on each foot are not enveloped in
horn, and have only on the last joint a somewhat short and hooked
nail. A hard and callous sole covers the bottom of the toes, a
characteristic which enables them to walk with ease on loose sand,
where the Elephant would be useless and the Horse would soon
exhaust its strength.
The Bactrian Camel is a native of ancient Bactria, now the
country of the Usbecks. It principally lives in Asia, where it has
been used, from antiquity, for domestic and military service. In
Africa, where it is acclimatised, it has doubtless existed since the
time of the conquest of that country by the Arabs.
The Dromedary is distributed all over a great part of Northern
Africa, and the major portion of Asia. It seems originally to have
been a native of Arabia.
After thus mentioning the structure and places of habitation of
the Camel, we will dwell a little on the immense service which it
renders man, by means of its strength, rapid movements, abstemious-
ness, patience, and docility.
Bufifon has said that gold and silk are not the real riches of the
East, but that the Camel is its chief treasure. In fact, this animal
feeds the inhabitants of these countries, both with its milk and flesh,
and furnishes clothes for them, fabricated from its long and soft hair.
For centuries sal-ammoniac, so useful to the manufacturer, was solely
obtained from its excrement. But it is chiefly as a means of convey-
ance and as a beast of burden that it renders the m-ost important
service to man. Without it those nations which are separated from
one another by vast stretches of desert sand could not trade with
each other. Without it the Arab could not inhabit those arid
countries in which he dwells. With it, this " ship of the desert," as
the Eastern nations have called it in their figurative and symbolical
language, life is possible even in such places as Buffbn has called
*'the blank spots in nature."
From time immemorial the Camel has been the only means of
bearing commodities across the desert. By means of this patient
and strong animal merchandise finds its way from the remote
countries of Asia as far as the eastern confines of Europe. The rich
products of Arabia, in ages past,, were brought to Phoenicia on the
Fig' 73. — Algerian CameL
THE CAMEL, 23 1
backs of Camels ; and in our time, in the same way, merchandise is
borne to Alexandria, from whence it is distributed over the European
continent. Fig. 73 represents the Algerian Camel.
The better to fit the Camel for its arduous life, the Arab trains it
to do without sleep, and to suffer all the extremes of hunger, thirst,
and heat. A few days after its birth its legs are bent under its
stomach, and it is compelled to remain crouched upon the ground,
laden with a suitable weight, which is gradually increased with its
age. As it arrives at maturity, its food is restricted, and given at
longer intervals ; it is also practised in running and enduring severe
exercise.
Its natural abstemiousness, further developed by training, is so
great that a Camel laden with from five to six hundred pounds
weight, travelling eight or ten leagues a day under a burning sun,
receives no other food than a few handfuls of grain, a limited number
of dates, or a small pellet of maize paste. The Camel will often go
eight or ten days without drinking ; but when the poor animal, after
such a fast, approaches a pool of water, it scents it at a great dis-
tance, redoubles its pace, and eagerly pushes for that coveted
necessary of life, and drinks for the past, the present, and alas ! too
often for a long future.
The name of caravan (Fig. 74) has been given to companies
formed in the desert by the assemblage of travellers who thus,
through numbers, avoid the insults and robberies of the brigands
scattered around and over its immense confines. These caravans
use Camels and Dromedaries for their beasts of burthen ; the former
are loaded with the baggage and provisions, the latter are reserved
to carry the travellers. Each is loaded according to its strength;
and the creatures know so well how much they can carry, that if too
heavy a load be imposed, they refuse to stand up, or strike with their
heads at those who surround them, uttering at the same time lament-
able cries. When all are loaded and ready to start, an Arab who
acts as guide precedes them, the Camels and tlie Dromedaries
following in line. This guide sings a monotonous and modulated
plaintive song, indicating to the attendants by the quickness or
slowness of its measure when they are to increase or slacken their
pace. When the guide's voice ceases, the whole troop of animals
bait, and kneel to be unloaded ; after which they are turned loose to
gather the scanty herbage that is to be found in such places, except
tjhe vicinity should be suspected of harbouring dangerous characters
(Fig. 75). .
Dromedaries are used in the Sahara, also in other provinces in
232 MAMMALIA,
Africa. Certain stages are performed on them in the journey from
Philippeville to Constantine or to Setif.
The Camel also serves the African as a useful auxiliary in war
and predatory excursions. The Touaregs, especially, make use of it
for those purposes. Fig. 76 represents one of that tribe mounted
and equipped. We have already said that nature seems to have
made every provision to enable these enduring and patient servants
to cope with the privations to which they are exposed, indeed, it is
beheved that a certain quantity of the solid matter placed on their
bodies in the form of humps is an alimentary reserve, which they are
enabled to use when in want. After a long and fatiguing journey
these humps begin to collapse, and the whole body immediately
afterwards grows thin.
The strength and energy of these animals are consequently sus-
tained a long time ; but when much reduced in condition, they only
recover their proper form by obtaining abundant and regular nourish-
ment for a lengthened period.
The faculty which the Camel possesses of being able to dis-
pense with drinking for a considerable time has generally been
attributed to the fact that it carries a reservoir of water in its paunch,
which it uses in cases of necessity.
Auchenia. — The Llamas are to the New World what Camels are
to the Continent of the Old. They are distinguished from the latter
animal by the absence of humps on their backs ; by their two-toed
feet only touching the ground at their extremities ; by their soles,
which are less flattened ; and their shape, which is more slender and
graceful.
There are said to be four species of Auchenia : Au. lama^ Au.
huanaco, Au. paco, and Au. viamna.
The Llama, Au. lama (Fig. 77), was the only beast of burden
made use of by the Peruvians at the time America was discovered
by Europeans, and it exists nowhere else in a wild state. It is about
the height of an undersized Horse ; its head is small and well set ;
it has callosities on its breast, knees, and hocks. Its coat is coarse,
and varies in colour from brown to black : occasionally it is grey,
and even white. The hair on its body is always longer and more
shaggy than on its head, neck, and legs.
The ancient inhabitants of Peru made use of this species entirely
as beasts of burden and labour; but since the introduction of
Horses into America their employment has much diminished.
These animals are, however, very useful for the transportation of
heavy weights across the mountains and over the difficult roads of
THE LLAMA.
235
the Cordilleras, on account of the wonderful sureness of their footing.
They walk very slowly, and can carry upwards of a hundred and
sixty pounds weight ; but they must not be hurried, for if violence is
used to quicken their pace they are certain to fall down, and
refusing to get up, would allow themselves to be beaten to death on
the spot rather than resume their course.
The climate which this animal prefers is that of plateaux, from
-Cam 1 Drivers of .Sahara.
10,000 to 11,000 feet above the sea, and in these localities the most
numerous herds of Llamas are to be found. The natives fold the
domesticated ones, like Sheep, in special inclosures near their cabins.
At sunrise they are set at liberty to seek their food, under the
guidance of the old males. In the evening they return, frequently
escorted by wild Llamas ; but these take every precaution to avoid
being captured.
In more ways than one the Llama is most valuable to the inha-
bitants of the Cordilleras ; for the flesh of the young is good and
wholesome food, their skin produces a leather of value, and their
hair is used for various manufactures.
236 MAMMALIA,
The Paca or Alpaca, Au. paco (Fig. 78), inhabits similar localities
to the former. It may immediately be recognised by the develop-
ment of its hair, which is of a tawny-brown colour, very long on the
neck, shoulders, back, flanks, rump, thighs, and tail, and falling on
each side of the body in long locks. The fore part of the head and
back portion of the belly of this animal are bare j on the former,
from the eyes upwards to the ears, it is generally grey, while the
inside of its thighs are white.
The Paca is gentle and timid, and allows itself to be led about
by those who feed and tend it; but if a stranger attempts to take
liberties with it it kicks viciously, or ejects its saliva over him. Its
food is similar to that of Sheep ; and its wool is very fine, elastic,
and long. It is never employed as a beast of burden, but is valued
for the sake of its long silky hair.
The Vicuna, Au. viama (Fig. 79), is the smallest species of
the Llama genus. It is the same size as a Sheep, and strongly
resembles the Llama, only that its shape is more elegant. Its legs,
which are longer in proportion to the body, are more slender, and
better formed ; its head is shorter and its forehead wider. Its eyes
are large, intelligent, and mild ; its throat is of a yellowish colour \
its breast, the lower part of its belly, and the inside of its thighs are
white, while the remainder of its body is brown.
The rich fleece of this animal surpasses in fineness and softness
any other wool with which we are acquainted. In order to obtain
possession of its skin the American hunters pursue it even over the
steepest summits of the Andes, when, by driving, they force them into
pens, composed of tightly stretched cords, covered with rags of
various colours, which frighten and prevent the prey attempting to
escape. One of these battues sometimes produces from five hundred
to a thousand skins. Instead of destroying the Vicunas, the proper
course would be to make them submit to the yoke of man ; for great
profit might be derived from their fleece.
A great many attempts have been made to acclimatise the
two last-mentioned species in France. If the French were to
succeed in introducing Llamas on the Pyrenees, the Alps, the
mountains of Vosges, and the Cevennes, &c., they would become
an important source of wealth. With this view, the Jardin des
Plantes and the Jardin d'Acclimatation, at Paris, have reared a
large number.
Au. huanaco^ the last species, is met with from the Equatorial
regions of South America to Patagonia ; it is also met with in Peru,
Chili, and Bolivia.
Fig. 76. —Camel of Touareg, equipped for War,
THE GIRAFFE.
239
Camelopardalid^e, or Family of Giraffes. — This family
consists of a single genus {Cameiopardalis^ Linn.), that of the Giraffe
( C. giraffa)^ which has also but one species.
The height of the Giraffe, the singular proportions of its
body, the beauty of its coat, and the peculiarity of its gait, are
Fig. 77.— The Llama (F. Cuv.).
sufficient to explain the curiosity which these animals have always
excited.
Its long and tapering head is lighted up by two large, animated,
and gende eyes; its forehead is adorned with two horns, which
consist of a porous, bony substance, covered externally with a thick
skin and bristly hair. In the middle of the forehead there is a
protuberance of the same nature as the horns, but wider and shorter.
The ears are membranous, and are somewhat turned back.
140
MAMMALIA.
The nostrils do not open in a muzzle, that is to say, the skin
which surrounds them is not bare, like that of the Ox. The lips are
long and mobile, and the upper one is not split like that of the
Camel. Its long dark tongue frequently is ejected from its mouth,
and the animal delights in licking its lips and nostrils.
Fig. 78.— The Paca (F. Cuv.).
The head of the Giraffe is supported by a very long neck, which,
however long, is like that of other Mammals— composed of but seven
vertebrae. Along the neck is a short, thin mane, which extends from
the occiput to the withers. The body is short, and the line of the
backbone is very sloping. Its fore-quarters are higher than the
hinder — a feature which is observed too in the Hyena. Its legs are
most extensively developed in the shanks, as well as in the fore-arms
and tibiae, and are terminated by cloven hoofs, which have no
k
THE GIRAFFE.
1A^\
rudimentary toes. The tail, which is of a moderate length, is
terminated by a tuft of blackish hair. The skin, which is of a very
Fig. 79. — Vicuna attacked by a Cougar.
light fawn-colour, is covered with short hair, marked with large
triangular or oblong spots of a darker shade. These markings are
not found on the inside of the limbs or on the shanks and belly,
which are almost pure white.
242 MAMMALIA,
Giraffes (Fig. 80) are only found in Africa, and even there they
are not numerous. They Uve in famiHes of from twelve to sixteen
sometimed but rarely more. They frequent the verge of the deserts,
and are met with from the northern limits of Cape Colony to Nubia.
I'he usual pace of the Giraffe is an amble, that is to say, they
move both their legs on one side at the same time. Their mode of
progression is singular and very ungainly. At the same time as they
move their body their long neck is stretched forward, giving them an
excessively awkward appearance. When at rest, their neck enables
them to reach with their tongue the leaves on the tops of high shrubs,
which constitute a large part of their food.
In menageries Giraffes are fed, like other Ruminants, on corn,
maize, carrots, and fodder. When in a wild state, the foliage of
several species of mimosa forms their principal support. Their
disposition is as gentle as their appearance. Nor do they generally
take flight at the sight of a human being, unless approached too
closely. When taken captive, the Giraffe is docile even to timidity.
If it is teased it never gives way to temper, makes no hostile move-
ments with its horns, but only paws the ground with its fore-feet,
rarely, but occasionally, kicking after the manner of a horse at the
object which has provoked its hostility.
It is very difficult, almost impossible, to take a mature Giraffe
alive ; for they run with such speed and with a succession of such
wonderful bounds, that the swiftest Horses can scarcely overtake
them. In order to capture them, the period when the young are
suckling is selected, when, if the captor is fortunate enough to keep
the youngster alive for a few days, it becomes quiet, and even tame ;
but very often the poor captive refuses all nourishment, and dies in
consequence.
The chief enemies of the Giraffe are the Lion and Panther. In
the open plain it distances them with ease; but if it is surprised from
ambush by one of these animals, although it exhibits both courage and
strength in resisting its assailant, striking with its fore-feet with such
force as to prove occasionally fatal to the foe ; yet too frequently its
efforts are unavailing.
The Giraffe must number man also among its enemies. The
Hottentots hold its flesh in high esteem, and with its thick skin they
make straps, vessels, and leather bottles to hold water. By lying in
wait for it at a favourite feeding or watering-place they shoot it with
poisoned arrows. The more frequent use of firearms in hunting this
beautiful animal will certainly before long lead to a complete
annihilation of these wonderful and docile creatures.
Fig 80.— The Giraffe or Camelopard {Camelopardahs Giraffa, Linn.).
THE GIRAFFE, 245
The ancients were acquainted with the Girafte. The Hippardion
of Aristotle is the Giraffe badly defined. In the Egyptian paintings or
bas-reHefs which have been handed down to us, there are figures
which represent it. Pliny, Oppian, and Heliodorus also make
mention of it. The Romans possessed living specimens of this
animal, which they exhibited in their circuses, and it appeared in the
procession of the "Triumph." Several Giraffes were introduced into
Europe during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Buffon was
unable personally to examine this animal; but the great traveller,
Levaillant, who died almost in poverty, after having sacrificed his
fortune to long and perilous journeys in Africa, sent to the museum
of the Jardin des Plantes, at Paris, the first stuffed Giraffe which that
institution possessed.
Levaillant thus gives a description of the chase by which he
became possessed of this rare animal :* —
" I began one day to hunt at sunrise, in the hope of finding game
to add to my provisions. After hours of riding, I perceived on a
brow of a hill seven Giraffes, which my Dogs immediately attacked.
Six of these immediately took flight in the same direction, but the
seventh, surrounded by my Hounds, went off another way. At this
moment my companion was walking and leading his Horse by the
bridle ; in less than a second he was in his saddle and pursuing the
herd. I followed the single one with all speed \ but, notwithstanding
the efforts of my Horse, it gained so much on me that, on turning a
corner of a hillock, it was quite out of sight, so I relinquished the
pursuit. My Dogs, however, were not long in reaching it ; for they
soon came so near as to force it to come to a halt to defend itself.
From where I was I heard them baying ; and as the sounds seemed
all to come from the same place, I conjectured that the Hounds had
driven it into a corner, so immediately hurried towards the spot.
" I had scarcely, indeed, topped the acclivity, when I perceived
the Giraffe surrounded, and endeavouring to keep off its assailants by
kicking. Having dismounted, with one shot from my rifle I knocked
it over.
" Delighted with my victory, I was returning on foot to call my
people round me to skin and cut up the animal. While I was look-
ing for them I saw Klaas Blaster, who was eagerly making signs to
me, which at first I could not in the least understand. But on
looking in the direction in which he was pointing, I perceived, with
surprise, a Giraffe standing up under a large ebony tree, and attacked
* ^^ Second Voyage dans V Interieiir de PAfrique," tome ii., p. 220.
246 MAMMALIA.
by my Dogs. I thought it was another one, and ran towards it, but
found it was the animal I had first attacked, which had managed to get
up again, but fell down dead just as I was about to fire a second shot.
" Who would believe that a success like this could excite in my
mind transports of joy almost akin to madness ! Pain, fatigue, cruel
want, uncertainty as to the future, and disgust at the past, all disap-
peared, all vanished, at the sight of my rare prize \ I could not look
at it enough. I measured its enormous height, and gazed with
astonishment from the instrument of destruction to the animal
destroyed by it. I called and recalled my people, one by one ; for
though each of them might have been able to do as much, and we
had all slaughtered heavier and more dangerous animals, yet I was
the first to kill one of this particular kind. With it I was about to
enrich natural history, and, putting an end to fiction, establish the
truth."
Such are the pure, deep, and noble joys which attend the
travelling naturalist in the distant countries to which he is urged by
his love of science and devotion to his pursuit.
Until the year 1827 no living Giraffe had been brought to London
or Paris ; but at this date the Pacha of Egypt, having heard that the
Arabs of the province ofSennaar, in Nubia, had succeeded in
rearing two young Giraffes on Camel's milk, caused them to be
brought to Cairo, one of which he gave to the English, and the other
to the French consul.
The specimen destined for France accomplished the journey from
Senna ar to Cairo, partly on foot, and partly on the Nile, in a boat
specially prepared for its reception. It reached Marseilles in the
month of January, where it passed the winter. Its journey to Paris
began in May ; on the 5th of June it reached Lyons.
On the 30th of June it made its entree into Paris, and went to St.
Cloud, to be presented to the king before finally taking up its abode
in the menagerie of the Museum.
The reception which this strange visitor obtained at Paris may still
be remembered by some. People never wearied in admiring its singular
gait, its great height, its long neck, the peculiarity of its skin, and the
brilliancy of its colours. An incalculable number of portraits and
drawings of it were made, and the outbursts of curiosity and admira-
tion for it were endless. This Giraffe from Sennaar passed a long
and peaceful existence in the Jardin des Plantes, and died in 1845.
Cavicornia or Family of Hollow-horned Ruminants. —
Ruminants with horns which consist of a conical process of the
THE CHAMOIS. 247
frontal bone, which is covered with a sheath of horny matter, may be
divided into two groups. In the first, the bony core of the frontal
prolongations is composed of sohd bone; whilst in the animals
belonging to the second group, the core is cellular.
To the first group belong the Chamois, Gazelle, Saiga, Nyl-ghau,
Fig. 81. — Chamois {Rupicapra tragus, Pallas).
Gnu, and Bubale. To the second group belong the Common
Goat, the Mouflon or Wild Sheep, the Sheep, and the Ox.
Let us here consider the most remarkable species belonging to the
first division. These all come under the natural and well-defined
group formerly known by the name of Antelopes. It comprehends
about a hundred species, which live, for the most part, in Africa.
They are generally slender, and lightly-made, vary greatly in size, are
I4S hiAMMjtL/A.
fleet in running, of a gentle and timid disposition ; they are gregarious,
and are particularly distinguishable by the different shapes of their
horns.
We shall cursorily glance at the most remarkable genera resulting
from the division of the old general group of Antelopes.
Chamois i^Rupicapra tragus, Pallas). — The Chamois is well dis-
tinguished by the smooth horns which are placed immediately above
the orbits. These horns are almost upright, with a backward tendency,
and curved like a hook at the end. The horns exist in both sexes,
and are nearly the same size in each. It is about the size of a small
Goat. It is covered with two sorts of hair — one woolly, very
abundant, and of a brownish colour; the other silky, spare, and
brittle. Its coat is dark brown in winter and fawn-colour in summer ;
its fine and intelligent head is of a pale yellow, with a brown stripe
down the muzzle and round the eyes. Its horns are black, small,
short, smooth, and not quite rounded.
This graceful Ruminant inhabits the Pyrenees and Alps, and also
some of the highest points in Greece. But from constant persecution
it has lately become so rare that few persons can boast of having
been successful in its pursuit.
The Chamois lives in small herds, in the midst of steep rocks on
the highest mountain summits. With marvellous agility it leaps over
ravines, scales with nimble and sure feet the steepest acclivities,
bounds along the narrowest paths on the edge of the most perilous
abysses, and jumping from rock to rock, will take its stand on the
sharpest point, where there appears hardly room for its feet to rest \
and all this is accomplished with an accuracy of sight, a muscular
energy, an elegance and precision of movement, and a self-possession
which are without equal. From these facts, it can easily be under-
stood that hunting this nimble and daring animal is an amusement
full of danger.
As the Chamois' only weapon of self-defence is flight, its organs
of sight, smell, and hearing have attained a high degree of perfection.
It is but rarely surprised, consequently can only be shot with a rifle
of long range. In this arduous and often unproductive chase, many a
mountaineer has fallen down percipices ; report even says that the
Chamois, when pursued by a hunter, if it happens to be hemmed in
or pressed too closely, to open a passage for escape will turn round
and face the sportsman, endeavouring by the suddenness of its
movements to take him unawares, and precipitate him over the
crags.
On the approach of winter the Chamois quits the northern side
Fig. 82.— Hunting the Gazelle {Aniilope dorcas, Pallas).
THE GAZELLE. 25 I
of the mountains, and betakes itself to the southern aspect ; but it
never descends into the plain.
Gazella. — This genus comprehends animals of graceful shape,
and rather smaller in size than the Chamois. They have tear-pits,
and their tails are short ; they have two teats ; their colour is fawn or
dun on the back, which is separated from the white belly by a brown
or blackish band. The horns, which are stronger in the male than in
the female, are twice bent, in the shape of a lyre, and without sharp
edges. The nostrils are generally surrounded by hair.
The eyes of the Gazelle {A7itilope dorcas) are so beautiful and so
soft in expression, its movements are so elegent and so light, that the
Gazelle is used by the Arab poets as the type of all that is lovely
and graceful. It inhabits the large plains and Saharian region of
Northern Africa. It is the same size as a Roe, but its shape is lighter
and more graceful.
Gazelles are generally to be seen in our Zoological Gardens. In
a wild state they live in numerous herds, " which seemed formed
expressly," as is cynically observed by Boitard, " to furnish food for
Lions, Panthers, Hyenas, Jackals, Wolves, Eagles, and Vultures."
This prey is, alas ! composed of gentle, timid, and inoffensive
beings, which have nothing but their rapid flight to oppose to their
stealthy foes. Sometimes, however, these animals exhibit a kind of
desperate courage. When their herd is surprised they crowd one
against the other, and, arranged in a circle, make a rush upon their
assailants with their horns. If their destroyer is, for instance, a
Lion, it has thus opportunity to make choice of its victim, when it
darts upon the poor creature, and the terrified herd becomes
scattered in flight.
The Gazelle is ridden down by horsemen, or taken with the
assistance of Dogs (Fig. 82). Tame Gazelles, with nooses fastened
on their horns, are also let loose into the middle of a wild herd,
when many get entangled in these knots, and are captured.
If taken young, and reared in captivity, the Gazelle becomes
domesticated, and shows pleasure at being caressed; seldom
attempting to take flight in order to regain its liberty, although it
doubtlessly repines when thus situated.
There are several species of Gazelle which liye in Morocco,
Senegal, Nubia, and the Cape of Good Hope ; but any special
mention of them would be here out of place.
Saiga. — This genus is composed of several species of Antelope,
the males of which possess spiral and annulated horns, with two or
three curvatures, and without sharp edges. They have no muzzle.
252
MAMMALIA.
but possess tear-pits ; the hair on their instep is arranged in a brush-like
form ; they have inguinal pores, two teats, and a short tuftless tail.
Such, for instance, is the Saiga Antelope {Aiitilope coins),
Fig. ^2>^ which has a stouter form than the Gazelle, and a coat of
a light slate colour above and white underneath. Its horns are long,
Fig. 83.— The Tartary Saiga {Antiloj>e coins, H. Smith).
bending backwards, and very much annulated. Its cartilaginous
muzzle in very long.
These animals are very swift in their movements. It is said that
they can leap to a height of thirteen feet, and clear with one bound
a space of forty feet. They inhabit open plains, where anything
approaching can be seen from afar, and associate in droves composed
of from ten to sixty females and one mature male. When grazing or
THE GNU, 255
ruminating, members of the herd are placed as sentinals at about
six to seven hundred feet distance, to watch over the common safety.
At the sHghtest alarm the whole take flight, with the old male at
their head. Their principal habitat is the region of the Altai
Mountains, but they are found as far as the frontiers of Europe.
The memxbers of this species collect together in flocks of several
thousands for the purpose of migration, when the males form a guard,
and defend the young ones from the attacks of Wolves and Foxes.
Their principal food consists of the wormwood and artemisia shrubs
Their sight is defective, but their sense of smell is so delicate that
they discover an enemy at a great distance.
We may also mention {A. cervicapra) a species of India, which is
almost as large as a Fallow-deer. Its horns, which are as long as
its head, are black (out of which the Indian Fakirs frequently make
poniards), lyrated, and annulated to their extremities.
Among the African Antelopes may be mentioned the Koodoo
(Strepsiceros kudu), Fig. 84.
Nyl-ghaie {Boselaphus pictus) or Bull-stag is a native of India
(Fig. 85). It is a beautiful animal, about the same size as the male
of the Red-deer, and like it in general shape, though it looks heavier,
on account of the greater size of its legs. Travellers have often
compared it to an Ox, and, in fact, its name of Nyl-ghaie signifies in
Hindostanee " Blue Bull.'' Its head is slender, and moderately
long \ it has a blackish mane on its neck, also a tuft of long hard
hair on its breast ; horns, which are half as long as ils head, and are
only found in the male j they are conical, smooth, very far apart, and
bent slightly forwards. The colour of the male's coat is slate-grey,
whilst that of the female is pale brown. The tail is long, and
terminated by a tuft.
This handsome animal inhabits the interior of India and the
mountains of Cashmere and Guzerat. It is hunted for its flesh,
which is much esteemed. It is of a timid disposition, but does not
allow the hunter to capture it without courageously defending its life.
Nyl-ghaies have been kept in menageries, where they were gentle,
licked the hands of those who caressed them, and appeared quite
reconciled to confinement.
Catoblepas. — The animals of this genus have a bovine appear-
ance : a wide, bare muzzle ; a long and tufted tail ; horns which are
found in both sexes, and are flat at their base, descending obliquely
forwards, and suddenly turning upwards. The white-tailed Gnu
(C gmi), Fig. 86, which inhabits Southern Africa, is about the size
of an Ass. Added to a muscular and thick-set body, it has the
256
MAMMALIA.
muzzle of an Ox, the legs of a Stag, and the neck, shoulders, and
rump of a small Horse. Its head is flattened, and its hair is short,
and of a rushy-brown colour. It has on its neck a mane of white,
grey, and black hair, and under its chin hangs a thick brown beard.
This remarkable animal lives, in numerous herds, in the mountains
Fig. 85.— The Nyl-ghaie {Boselapkus pictus, Pallas).
to the north of the Cape of Good Hope. It was at one time
rather common. They run in single file, following one of their
number as a guide.
Akelaphus. — We shall only mention under this genus the Bekker-
el-Wash i^Alcelaphiis bubalis), or Bubale of Northern Africa (Fig. 87.)-,
which has an elongated head, and horns somewhat resembling the
two prongs of a pitchfork. It lives in numerous herds, and evinces
an evident liking for the society of domestic cattle. It might perhaps
be rendered useful by acclimatisation.
THE GNU. 257
To the second section of Cavicortzia, those with cellular cores to
the horns, belong the Goats, Sheep, and Oxen.
Capra. — One of the chief characteristics of Goats are their horns,
which turn upwards, are curvilinear, large, and divergent. A section
of their horns is prismatic, or elliptic, and their front is often nodose ;
Fig. 86.— The Gnu {CatobIej>as gmi, Gmelin).
their base rests on a protuberance of the frontal bones. Their fore-
head is also straight, and not protruding, as in Sheep, and the chin is
furnished, especially in the male, with a long beard ; while, their tail is
short, and the body but sparsely furnished with fat. Their feet are,
moreover, larger in proportion than those of Sheep.
Several species of Wild Goats are recognised. Among these
we shall mention the Ibex of the Alps and the Caucasian Ibex.
The Common Ibex {Capra ibex), Fig. 88, is about the size of a
Goat. Its winter coat is composed of long, rough hair, covering a
258
MAMMALIA.
soft, fine, and abundant wool, which it preserves during the summer.
It is light brown above, and white underneath, with a black dorsal
band, and a brown traverse line, which crosses the flanks. A rough
black beard hangs from its chin. Its horns are blackish, with two
longitudinal ridges, intersected by projecting and transversal ribs.
Fig. 8/.— Eubale {Alcelaphns hnhalis, Pallas).
These animals may be found in Europe, on some of the Alps,
and keep to a still higher zone than the Chamois. They have ani-
mated and brilliant eyes, mobile ears, and a proud and independent
demeanour. Making their residence on peaks bordering on the
eternal snows, they feed on the scanty grass, the buds of the Alpine
willow, dwarf birch, and rhododendrons.
Their secureness of footing is such that they will jump with
perfect confidence to a point of rock only of sufficient size to contain
their four feet, leaping down to such a position from a height of from
twenty to thirty feet, on which they will remain balanced, or, poising
THE IBEX.
259
themselves, and then springing to other peaks in their vicinity. Their
sense of smell is so acute that they often smell the hunter long before
he can perceive them. If the sportsman pursues them to the edge
of a precipice, where there is neither a crag or a ridge of rock
within their reach, they have been known to spring into the abyss,
The Common Ibex {Capra ibex, Gray).
and even to escape uninjured, when such a descent would have
caused certain destruction to any other animal. The Ibex, when
very hard pressed, will sometimes turn round and charge the hunter.
The Caucasian Ibex {Capra mgagrus), is distinguished from the
Common Ibex by its horns, which are sharp in front. It inhabits the
mountains of Asia, from the Caucasus to the Himalaya. We more
particularly direct attention to this species, as it is said to be the
race from which our Domestic Goats are descended.
The Domestic Goat has been frequently called the poor man's
Cow, and not inappropriately, for those who cannot purchase a Cow
260 MAMMALIA.
may be able to buy a Goat ; and, although abstemious in the extreme,
they yield an abundance of excellent milk.
With these good qualities are, however, to be found several
defects ; for the Goat is untractable, vagrant, and capricious.
-The Common Goat {Capra hircus, Linn.).
The Common Goat {Capra hircus), Fig. 89, is the most widely
spread and the most hardy of all the species. Its colour varies, and
is either all white, black and white, or grey and brown of different
shades, with white spots. There is a .sub-variety of this species
without horns. When properly attended to, the Goat gives, in
THE GOAT.
261
exchange for the httle food it eats, two kids a year, an abundant
supply of milk, and a plentiful and valuable growth of hair, which
can be shorn once a year.
The Syrian Goat, or Goat with pendulous ears, is more frequently
without horns than the former variety. It thrives best in cUmates
of a moderate temperature, as it is less hardy and more sensitive to
cold than the Common Goat.
There are two varieties of this Goat in the East— that of Thibet
or Cashmere, and that of Angora.
Fig.
-Cashmere Goat.
The Cashmere Goat (Fig. 90) is found in great numbers in the
magnificent valley of Cashmere and in Thibet, and is, without doubt,
the most valuable of all the varieties. The wool which grows under
its scanty hair is used in making those valuable fabrics and marvel-
lous tissues of India known as Cashmere shawls, which are esteemed
throughout the world for their delicacy, softness, and smoothness.
The coat of the Cashmere Goat is removed every year. This process
is accomplished with a comb of double teeth, made expressly for the
purpose.
The acclimatisation of this species in Europe does not present
any great difficulty ; but the wool produced in our climate is unable
262
MAMMALIA.
to Stand in competition with the exotic produce, and the undertaking
has been finally abandoned as being unprofitable.
The Angora Goat (Fig. 91) is a native of the extreme East.
Rearing this species in France has been successfiiUy accomplished,
and the animals born in the menagerie of the Jardin des Plantes at
Paris thrive as well as they would in their native land.
Fig. 91. — Angora Goats.
Of all foreign varieties the Angora Goat is the one which might be
most advantageously propagated in France, where it appears certain
to become a source of wealth to the mountainous districts. It gives
as much milk as the Common Goat, and its fleece is composed of
long and fine wool, which preserves all its lustre after it is dyed.
This wool resembles, and is often mistaken for silk ; for it possesses the
brilliancy of the latter, and takes, in the hands of the dyer, the same
shades. It is superior to the best wools for the fabrication of woollen
velvet. Beautiful light fabrics are also made from it, which are called
THE MOUFLO/V.
263
in the trade Zephyr cloths. Angora Goats ar«i generally of small
size, and their white coat is long and twisted.
Qyis. — This genus, like the preceding one, contains mountain
animals, which are found nearly all over the globe, for they exist not
only in the Old World, but also in North America.
The Argali {O. argali), Fig. 92, which is found in Asia, has two
Fig. 92. — The Thibet Argali {Ovis argali, Gray
They are as large as
Their horns bear some degree of resemblance to those of
varieties — Ovis mnmonides and Ovis ammon
a Deer
our Rams.
The Mouflon ((9. musimon) of Corsica and Sardinia is about the
size of an ordinary Sheep, but is more stoutly made. The fleece is
woolly, and of a greyish colour, and is hidden under its long and
silky hair. Its horns are large, triangular at the base, and flattened
towards their point, and in the female are entirely wanting. These
animals live in droves.
264
MAMMALIA.
The Kebsch {O. tragelaphiis)^ Fig. 93, is an African species,
remarkable for the mane which covers its neck, and for the long hair
which falls down over its legs, something in the form of cuffs.
The Big Horn {O. moniana) is the representative of this family in
North America. Dr. Gray considers this the same as the Ammon of
Siberia.
Fig 93 — Kebsch {Ovis trngelapJms, Gray).
Gvis arics. — According to M. Milne-Edwards, the almost in-
numerable varieties of Sheep which are reared by man in a state of
domesticity appear to have descended from the Argali. M. Paul
Gervais seems to think that the Sheep is a domestic animal which
has never known a wild state.
The principal characteristics of Sheep consist in the greater length
of their tails, which usually hang down as low as their feet, and, also,
in the bony nature of their horns, which are farther apart at the base.
THE SHEEP. 265
and shaped more spirally than those of the Argali. Further, many-
breeds of Sheep, in both sexes, are entirely destitute of horns.
One thing is certain, that domestic Sheep have a very different
appearance from their supposed progenitors. The former are pos-
sessed neither of the slender or graceful shape nor the nimbleness of
pace which is peculiar to the wild breed. The Domestic Sheep is
heavy in its tread, and slow in its motions. In them the long and
silky hair of the Argali, or Wild Sheep, has almost entirely dis-
appeared j whilst their wool, becoming enormously developed, con-
stitutes a thick fleece. The amount of intelligence they possess is
very limited, and their constitution is weak; indeed, they would soon
entirely disappear, were it not that man protects them with assiduous
and continual care.
In our climate the ewe does not in general produce more than
once in a year ; but in warmer countries they often bear twice in
that period. The length of gestation is five months, and the ewes
preserve their milk for seven or eight months after the birth of their
young, although the lambs are not allowed to suck for over two
or three months. At the age of one year Sheep are able to repro-
duce, and they continue fruitful to the age of ten or twelve years.
Very considerable differences exist in the various varieties of
Sheep. The Big-tailed Sheep is a breed which is remarkable for
the shape of its tail ; in them this appendage is expanded to so great
an extent with fat, that it often assumes the form of an immense
excrescence. This race exists in the temperate parts of Asia, in the
South of Russia, in Upper Egypt, and at the Cape of Good Hope.
Travellers have stated that in parts of Eastern Africa some of these
Sheep are harnessed to a kind of small truck, solely for the purpose
of supporting the weight of their tails.
There is another race, which is quite as remarkable, known under
the name of the Big-headed Sheep. They have no horns, and their
necks are supplied with the rudiments of a dewlap, which recalls to
mind that of Oxen.
The Wallachian Sheep is distinguished by its horns pointing
straight upwards, and twisting spirally, like those of Antelopes.
The Iceland Sheep is known to have as many as three, four, and
even eight horns.
In speaking of the breeding of this valuable animal, we shall
presently refer to other varieties which exist in our own country or
among neighbouring nations. Sheep are, in fact, one of the prin-
cipal sources of agricultural wealth, and furnish, both to commerce
and manufacture, products of no inconsiderable importance. Flocks
266 MAMMAL/A.
of Sheep are wonderful improvers of the soil. The folding of these
animals in a field intended for the cultivation of corn causes bene-
ficial effects which are felt for three consecutive years. Thus their
utility in rural economy has long been known. Their wool, for a
very considerable period, was considered their most valuable pro-
duction ; but now they supply so vast a quantity of wholesome,
agreeable, and very nourishing food, that it is doubtful in which way
they most benefit the human family. The fat of Sheep, which forms
tallow, is likewise one of their most important products ; in some
breeds it forms a layer from seven to eight inches thick along the
ribs and around the loins. Their skin, deprived of the wool, is also
applied to numerous purposes. Of this integument is made most of
the thin leathers which are used in the manufacture of shoes and
gloves. When prepared by other processes it takes in commerce the
names of chamois^ parxhrnent, vellum\ &c. Lastly, milk and cheese
are useful products which are furnished to us by these creatures.
Ewe's milk, which is remarkable for its richness, is used in many
countries as an article of food, but it is more generally applied to the
manufacture of cheese. In no part of France do the flocks receive
more judicious management, with a view to the production of milk,
than in the department of Aveyron, and chiefly in the district of
which the village of Roquefort is the centre. In its environs more
than two hundred thousand milking ewes are kept. The basis of
these cheeses is the curdled milk. These cheeses undergo various
operations, upon w^hich we shall not now dwell, which, however, give
them their flavour and special qualities.
The most valuable commodities which are produced by Sheep,
both in a manufacturing and agricultural point of view, may, however,
be summed up as wool and meat. In order to supply these two
products in perfection, it is necessary that the animal should present
a certain type of conformation.
We shall first carefully examine the origin, structure, and qualities
of their wool which yields the fleece.
The Sheep's skin produces, in a wild state, two hair-like sub-
stances : one, stiff and straight, which is called hair, and is the most
abundant \ the other, waving or curled, which is called wool, and is
the most scanty. In a domesticated state, however, these propor-
tions are reversed ; it is the wool which is the most plentiful and
constitutes the fleece. Under the efforts of culture the stiff hair
tends more and more to decrease. The fleece is composed of a
collection of locks or slivers, and the locks are composed of a col-
lection of the staple, or hairy fibres.
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THE SHEEP. 269
The staple is composed of tubes felted together, which are only
visible in the microscope ; their diameter is variable, for which
reason the staple is divided into extra fine^ fine, middlings common, and
coarse. Such staple as is equal throughout in diameter is, if straight,
much valued ; when it is flexuous, the wool is called wavy ; and
when the wavy bundles are very close together, it is pronounced
curly. This last characteristic appears to belong more particularly to
the Merino breed.
The desiderata sought for in wool are flexibility, mellowness, and
softness ; these properties enable the staple to preserve the qualities
which are communicated to it, and so the wool will work ox felt much
more easily, and there is imparted to the w^oven fabric the softness
and mellowness to the touch which are so much valued. Elasticity is
also most desirable, for without it wool could not be used in the
manufacture of milled cloths.
Most of the properties we have just pointed out are due to the
greasy matter which penetrates more or less the animal's coat. This
lubricating substance is of a very complex nature, its composition
varying in different breeds. The yoke, for so it is called, is more or
less fluid and oily, and is secreted by small glands developed in
the skin of the Sheep. When the yoke abounds, it communicates to
the wool both softness and pHability ; if it is thick and strongly
coloured, it imparts to the wool a rough and coarse feel, which
necessitates a special process for cleansing or scouring it.
Wool is naturally either white, brown, or black. Those of the two
last-named colours are less appreciated than the first.
The best wool is found on the sides of the animal's body, from
the shoulders to the croup, and underneath as far as the line of the
lowest part of the belly. Here, where the fleece is less thick (in fact,
wanting altogether in some varieties), the locks of wool are felted
together, and short, because they are often crushed when the animal
lies down.
On the back, the croup, and the top of the thighs, the regularity
and uniformity of the locks both diminish, nor do they possess either
the mellowness or the pliability of those on the sides. The wool
both on the upper and lower parts of the neck is frequently found
weak and pendent ; that on the head and front of the chest is gene-
rally rougher and harsher, as well as being irregular in length and
very wavy. The wool on the withers is almost always coarse; that
on the ends of the limbs frequently valueless.
Let us now turn to the various breeds of Sheep. M. Sanson,
in his work on Technical Zoology, classes the ovine race into two
270 MAMMALIA,
categories — the loiig-wooUed breed, that is, with long-stapled wool,
straight, or merely waved; and the shorf-woolkd hxttd, that is, those
with more closely-curled wool.
In the long-wooUed breed the fleece is comparatively of small
value in a manufacturing point of view, these varieties being specially
Fig- 95- —Leicester Race.
devoted to the production of food. We will mention the principal
breeds of this kind.
The Leicesters (Fig. 95) afford a meat which is deficient in firm-
ness and is often too fat and devoid of flavour.
The Cotswold breed (Fig. 96) is a large and coarse-woolled
variety, and is at the present time plentiful and popular in the British
Isles ; it resembles the Leicesters.
The Welsh breed (Fig. 97) and the Scotch, both fed and reared
principally on elevated ground, furnish mutton highly appreciated.
The Flemish breed affords a large supply of tallow, but the
carcass possesses too much bone, and is rather wanting in flavour.
The Breton breed, which inhabits the coasts of Morbihan and
I
THE SHEEP,
271
Fig. 96. — Cotswold Breed (Ewe).
Fig. 97.— Welsh Breed (Ram}.
Finisterre, is valuable on account of the justly-esteemed quality of
its flesh. This small variety wanders at will over the Landes.
The Touareg breed (Fig. 98), Y/hick is very widely distributed
272
MAMMALIA.
Fig.
-Touareg Breed (Ram).
Fig. 99.- Southdown Sheep.
in Algeria, seek their food over enormous tracts of ground, and pass
from the desert into the Tell, and from the Tell into the desert,
according to the season. Their remarkable prolificness constitutes
their principal value.
THE SHEEP. 275
Among the short-woolled breed we must, in the first place, men-
tion the Southdown variety (Fig. 99), which chiefly inhabits the
downs situated in the county of Sussex, in England. This breed of
Sheep is the most remarkable found in Great Britain, from whence it
has been extensively introduced into France, its mutton being most
deservedly esteemed in both countries.
The Merino breed derives its name from the habits of its life
{merino, in Spanish, signifying " wandering "). It was brought into
the latter country by the Moors, and thence introduced into France,
on account of the fineness and beauty of its wool.
The Spanish Merinos live during the winter in the rich valleys
and fertile plains in the mild climate of Estremadura, Andalusia,
and New Castile. They pass the summer on the high mountains in
the ancient kingdom of Leon, Old Castile, Navarre, and Aragon —
regions which are the most favoured in all Spain for the freshness of
their temperature. Here grows a sweet her?)age, much sought after
by these Sheep, and which does not dry up from the heat of the sun.
The Merinos begin their migrations about the beginning of the
month of April, and they are shorn during their journey. The estab-
lishments devoted to this operation are so well managed that a flock
consisting of one thousand head of sheep can be disburdened of their
valuable covering in one day. They arrive at their destination at
the end of the month of May or the beginning of June, and remain
in the mountains till September, when they repair again to their
winter quarters.
The Merino sheep is, so to speak, a cosmopolitan animal, and
may be met with in the most widely-divided latitudes, for it has
been introduced into Germany, France, the English colonies at the
Cape of Good Hope, Australia, Canada, and the United States of
America.
The definitive introduction of this breed into France dates from
the year 1766, when Daubenton brought from Spain a flock which
he placed in his domain at Montbard, between Chatillon-sur- Seine
and Semur (Cote-d'Or). This undoubtedly was the original stock
of all the Merinos at present to be found in Burgundy. In 1786
Louis XVI. founded the celebrated Sheep establishment at Ram-
bouillet, from where the breed of Merinos has been spread most
extensively.
Having been subjected to various conditions, both of food and
climate, this breed has been broken up into varieties, which have
caused them to be distinguished under the names of Merinos of
Rambouillet (Fig. 100), of Beauce, of Brie, of Soissonnais, oi
276
MAMMAL/A.
Champagne, of Burgundy, and of Mauchamp (Fig. loi). This latter
is specially deserving of notice for their silky wool.
The Merino wool varies in the degrees of fineness ; but the last-
mentioned race produces the best, for it combines in the highest
Fig. loi.— Merino Breed of Mauchamp (Ram).
ViO.fj O
Fig 102. — Black Breed of the Landes (Ram).
degree softness, strength, and elasticity. The fleece covers the
whole skin of the animal, down even to its toes, and the tip of
the nose is the only part left free. On the other hand, the Merino
yields but indifferent mutton, which is not only over-burdened
with bone, but also has a very decided flavour of the wool^grease
or yolk.
THE SHEEP, 2^7
'The breeds of Betry and Sologne produce a meat which is valued
by the butcher, but their fleece is of a very common quaUty.
The Poitou breed furnishes a large quantity of fat sheep to the
markets of Sceaux and Poissy, but their mutton is far from deserving
to be considered of prime quality.
The Pyrenean breed is valuable for the table ; for it is fine, and
of an agreeable flavour.
A breed from the Landes (Fig. 102) has a black fleece, and its
meat is esteeme i.
Fig. 103. — Breed of Larzac.
The breed of Larzac (Fig. 103) spends the fine weather upon
the plateau of the mountain of Larzac (Aveyron), and the winter in
the plains. This breed is slender in shape and clad with a scanty
fleece. They furnish excellent milk, which is used extensively in the
manufacture of cheese.
Sheepshearing takes place every year. Sometimes the wool is
taken to market in. the rough ; at other times it is not clipped until
the animal has undergone a thorough cleansing.
Before beginning the operation, which takes place during the
months of May and June, the Sheep are plunged into the water
and their wool is rubbed with the hand, to cleanse it from the
grease; it is then cut off with shears. All the portions of the
278
MAMMALIA.
fleece which are cut off must hold together without gap or rent.
Before it is offered for sale it is doubled and rolled up and firmly
bound.
In France the trade in wool is very important. It is estimated
that the flocks tliere produce about two hundred million pounds'
weight of wool in the rough, equivalent to seventy-seven million
pounds' weight of cleansed wool. Scarcely any wool at aU is
exported ; indeed, French manufacturers buy annually about seventy
to eighty million pounds' weight of foreign growth.
Fig. 104. — The American Bison. {Bison Americamis).
The French fabric, called merino, has a well-merited renown.
In no other country are they able to produce such brilHancy and
softness. In fact, French manufacturers have rendered themselves
distinguished for this produce.
Bos. — This genus is easily distinguished from the other genera of
the hollow-horned Ruminants. It is composed of large and heavy
animals, with concave horns, turned outwards, in the shape of a
crescent. The head is terminated by a wide muzzle, the legs
are strong and robust ; the skin of the neck is loose and hanging,
forming a large fold, called the dewlap.
Of the more remarkable species in this genus may be mentioned
the American Bison, the European Bison or Aueroch, the Yak, the
THE BISON, 281
Musk Ox, the Cape Buffalo, the Buffalo, and the Common Ox. From
peculiarities in their horns these species have been placed in various
sub-genera.
The Bison {Bison Americanus)^ Fig. 104, is of a thick-set shape,
its croup and head are low and its withers very high ; its head is short
and large ; its horns are small, lateral, far apart, black, and rounded.
Its head, neck, and shoulders are covered with thick, curly, dark
brown wool, which becomes very long in winter. The rest of its
body is, on the contrary, covered with a short dark brown coat. Its
tail is short, and terminated by a tuft of long hair. This immense
animal inhabits all parts of North America, especially the plateaux
on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. In the spring, herds
of thousands of Bisons, crowded closely together, make their way up
from the south to the north of these vast steppes ; in the autumn
they migrate again to the south. When the summer comes, these
wild troops break up, and the Bisons separate into small herds,
guided by two or three old males. Bisons are not ferocious in their
nature ; they seldom attack man, but will defend themselves when
wounded. They then become formidable adversaries, for their
enormous heads, well furnished with horns, and their fore-feet, are
terrible weapons. In their migrations, their numbers are so enor-
mous that as they advance everything that comes in their way is
devastated.
The European Bison, or Aueroch {Bison bojiastis), is, next to
the Elephant, Rhinoceros, and Giraffe, the largest of terrestrial
Mammals. It is nearly six feet high, measured at its withers. Its
horns are large, round, and lateral, and its tail is long ; the front of
the body, as far as the shoulders, is covered with coarse, harsh,
brown hair ; the underneath part of its throat, down to its breast, is
furnished with a long pendulous mane, and the rest of its body
is covered with short black hair.
This animal is the Urus of the ancients. It formerly lived in
all the marshy forests of temperate Europe, even in Great Britain.
In the time of Caesar it was still to be found in Germany, but,
from the increase of man and his conquests, it has become more
and more rare. At the present time it is only to be found in
two provinces of Russia — the forest of Bialystok, in the govern-
ment of Grodno, and the province of Awhasie, a dependency of the
Caucasian region. Very severe orders have been issued by the
Emperor of Russia to prevent the destruction of these animals, and
not one can be killed without his permission.
The Yak {Bison grunniens^ Linn.) has a large tuft of woolly hair
282 MAMMALIA,
on its liead, and a sort of mane on its neck ; the underneath part of
its body, particularly around the legs, is covered with very bushy,
long, pendent hair; its tail, which is entirely covered with hair,
resembles that of a horse ; while its voice is low and monotonous,
becoming harsh and discordant when the animal is excited.
It is found undomesticated on the confines of Chinese Tartary.
It is then wild, irascible, and dangerous; but when captured and
broken in it proves a useful servant to the inhabitants of Thibet and
the north of China, who utiUse it as we do our cattle. Its milk is
excellent ; and its strength in carrying loads and dragging ploughs
and conveyances extraordinary. But it is with difficulty they are
tamed, for their disposition is always restless and wilful, and subject
to fits of bad temper. Its flesh is highly esteemed, and coarse
fabrics are made from its hair.
The tail of this Ruminant has long been valued in the East.
Attached to the end of a lance, with the Mussulmans it is the insignia
of the dignity of Pacha ; and the higher this dignity the greater is
the number of tails which the possessor of rank has a right to have
carried before him. The Chinese also adorn themselves with the
tail of the Yak, dyed red, by placing it in their caps. It is more-
over employed as a switch for driving away flies.
Yaks have been successfully introduced into Europe, and they
have bred in England and France. The frequenters of the various
Zoological Gardens must be well acquainted with it. For the sake
of their long silky hair hopes are entertained of acclimatising them.
The Musk Ox [Ovibos moschatics), Fig. 105, is much smaller than
the Common Ox, and has somewhat the appearance of an enormous
Sheep. Its forehead is arched ; its mouth small ; its muzzle com-
pletely covered with hair ; and its horns, which are very large, are
closely united at the base, and bending downwards over the sides
of its head, suddenly turn backwards and upwards at the tips. Its
long and abundant coat is of a dark brown colour. It exhales
a strong odour of musk, which even impregnates the flesh. This
animal inhabits North America below the Polar circle, and lives
in families of from twenty to a hundred individuals, among which
there are seldom more than two or three males. In the month
of August the latter become so jealous that they fight even to
the very death. Notwithstanding its apparent heaviness, the Musk
Ox climbs over rocks almost as nimbly as a Goat, and its speed
across the rocky, rough, barren grounds, its principal habitat, for an
animal so clumsy, is truly astonishing.
The Cape Buffalo (Buhalus Coffer) is distinguished, by its large
Fig. 106— livirtaloes (Bttbalus Caffer, Sparman) pursuing the Natives in, a Forest of Central
Africa.
THE BUFFALO, 285
horns, from all the other species peculiar to the Old World, the
flattened bases of which cover the top of its head like a helmet,
only leaving a triangular space between them. The horns of this
African Ruminant are black, while its coat is brown. It lives in
numerous herds in the thickest forests of Southern Africa, from the
northern limits of Cape Colony as far as Guinea. When in the open
country it is shy and cautious, but is formidable and aggressive
when hunted in the woods, which form its principal retreat. Buffalo
hunting is one of the occupations of the natives of the south of
Africa ; and it is not unaccompanied by danger, for it often happens
that the respective characters are inverted, and it is the Buffalo which
chases the hunters (Fig. 106).
The Zebu {Bos Indicus) from Hindostan is regarded as a sacred
animal by the Hindoos.
The Common Buffalo {Bos bubalus, Briss.) appears to be a
native of the warm and damp parts of India and the neighbouring
isles, from whence it has spread into Persia, Arabia, the south of
Africa, Greece, and Italy. It is nearly the same size as an Ox. Its
bulging forehead, which is longer than it is wide, bears two black
horns, turned outwards, and marked in front by a longitudinal and
prominent ridge. Its coat is coarse and scant, except on its throat
and cheeks, and it has a very small dewlap. It lives in numerous
herds in marshy and low plains, where it delights in wallowing. It
is of a wild and untractable disposition, particularly towards strangers ;
and, in order to make use even of those which are the tamest, the
more perfectly to control them, a ring of iron is passed though their
nostrils. Their flesh is indifferent, but their milk is good. In the
cultivation ot rice — that cereal particularly requiring moist land —
their services are most valuable, for their power of draught, even
when immersed to the knees in mud, far exceeds that of all other
animals in a similar situation. In the Campagna of Rome the Buffalo
is employed in agricultural labour, as may be seen in the celebrated
picture of "The Reapers," by Leopold Robert. In the Crimea
they are also utilised. Those who served with the allied army before
Sebastopol will remember them.
The introduction of the Buffalo into Greece and Italy dates only
from the Middle Ages. Their skin is excellent for making armour to
guard against cutting weapons.
The Arnee must be considered as a variety of this species. Its
horns are very large, about five feet long, wrinkled on their concave
side, and flat in front. It is principally found in Hindostan.
We now come to the common Ox {Bos tatirus).
286 MAMMALIA.
The male and female of this species are called respectively Bull
and Cow. The Bull is easily offended, wild, and its violent dis-
position prevents its being used in agricultural labour; and its dry
and sinewy flesh is not good as food. The young males are called
Steers, and the females Heifers. Although we talk in general terms
of the Domestic Ox, yet the term Ox is also applied to an emasculated
Bull.
There is, at the mouth of the Rhone, stretching from the town of
Aries to the Mediterranean, a vast extent of marshy land, intersected
by woods. This tract has been formed by successive deposits of the
river, and is called the Camargue. Large herds of cattle live in an
almost wild state in these humid plains and solitary woods. The
Bulls of the Camargue are all black, of a moderate size, with long
tapering horns. Their wild nature, agility, and exceptional strength
render them very dangerous. They are employed in the Bull-fights,
or " courses," of which the Provengals and inhabitants of Bas-
Languedoc are so passionately fond.
The herds of the Camargue are guarded by herdsmen called
Gardians. These are armed with a trident, and are mounted on
small spirited Horses (Camargue Horses), which, like the Oxen,
graze at liberty in this delta. When about to be killed, the cattle
are penned up, allowed a little rest, and better food, to improve their
flesh.
In South America, especially in the vast pampas of the basin of
La Plata, immense herds of wild cattle are to be found, descended
from animals introduced into those countries at the time of their
appropriation by Europeans. At one time innumerable quantities of
these were killed only for their hides, which were sent to all the
markets of the world in the untanned state ; but at the present date
the Buenos Ayrians have learnt to manage the meat so as to forward
it dry or pressed to a great distance. The flesh of these cattle is
now employed to make Liebig's " Extract of Meat," from which soup
can be made at a minute's notice. This new preparation is a dry
and concentrated extract made from the Hquor which remains after
boiling down the beef. Europe, at the present time, consumes no
inconsiderable quantity of this extrachmi carnis, the invention of the
Berlin chemist.
In spite of the immense slaughter, there appears to be no diminu-
tion in the number of wild cattle, which wander far and wide in
these vast regions of America, because the destruction which takes
place is fully compensated for by their annual increase.
Much ink has been used and much paper has been spoiled in the
THE OX, 289
endeavour to solve the question as to the origin of the Ox ; but, even
now, we are no further advanced than at the outset of the discussion,
and are, after all, compelled to proceed on conjecture. Is the
Domestic Ox a descendant of any one of the wild species of the
genus Bos, such as the Buffalo ? This opinion, w^hich was that adopted
by Buffon, is now abandoned. Are we to seek in Europe the
primitive type of the species, or in Asia, the cradle of civilisation?
Or is it not the case that the bovine races of the East and West have
each respectively their own special origin? and would it not be
imprudent to assert that the latter are derived from the former, since
such an assertion is based on nothing but very vague data, drawn
from the fables of antiquity, frequently so erroneous ?
However we may answer these questions, the most ancient
documents of historic ages describe the Ox, the Horse, the Dog, and
the Sheep, as associated with man. The former animal was carried
over to America shortly after the discovery of that continent, and, as
we have seen, is now spread over the entire of this continent, forming
one of the most important elements of its wealth. How, indeed,
could any one describe the state to which agriculture would be
reduced if suddenly deprived of the Ox ? This humble and patient
animal forms the most useful assistant of the small farmer, and also
constitutes the main performer of the most important agricultural
operations (Fig. 107). It helps to till the ground; it drags immense
and heavily-laden wagons ; it takes a part in all the labours of the
farm ; and, after fifteen or sixteen years of a well-spent life, it yields
up for the benefit of man its flesh, bones, fat, skin, horns, hoofs, and
blood — all of them products which supply the material for a host of
useful manufactures. As a return for so many services so liberally
rendered, what is it that it demands ? Nothing but a due amount of
care and cleanliness, a well-ventilated shed, and a sufficiency of
wholesome food, the manure arising from the latter paying nearly all
its expense.
The Ox is neither so dull nor so stupid as is popularly believed ;
but, on the contrary, is endowed with a degree of intelligence which,
in certain countries, man has developed and turned to his profit ;
for some of the tribes of South Africa intrust to Oxen the care of
their flocks, duties which the sagacious Ruminants fulfil with a zeal
and intelligence worthy of all praise. Prudence and a quick percep-
tion of danger are also qualities possessed by the Ox. If, either by
his own fault or that of his guide, .he finds himself in a dangerous
place, he has resources for extricating himself quite surprising.
When we are considering the advantages which society derives
290 MAMMALIA,
from them, domestic cattle may be looked at in four different aspects :
as beasts of burden, that is, producers of mechanical force applicable
to the cultivation of the soil ; as supplying milk ; as furnishing meat ;
and, lastly, as makers of manure or fertilising matter. Allowing all
this, the question arises, is it possible to manage the breeding and
rearing of the Ox so as to insure the maximum result of all these
four requirements ? All the agriculturists who have had any experi-
ence in breeding cattle give a negative reply to this question.
Qualities so different in their nature as muscular vigour, abundance
of milk, fitness for fattening, and richness of fertiUsing residuum,
cannot, they say, be the attribute of one animal or one breed ; in
fact, they exclude one another, and one quality can only be en-
couraged at the expense of the others. A good breed for work can
hardly at the same time be a good breed for the butcher. If, there-
fore, any one quality is to be specially developed, the others must, to
some extent, be sacrificed. By this plan perfection may, at all
events, be arrived at in one point, whilst by a different course of
procedure nothing but mediocrity can be attained. This is the
principle which ought to guide the agriculturist in the choice and
breeding of his cattle.
Beef, after all, is the most useful product which the Ox affords.
To the improvement of it must therefore tend all our efforts.
The problem simply consists in producing, as quickly and econo-
mically as possible, an animal excelling in the highest degree both in
the quantity and quality of its meat. Care, therefore, must be taken
particularly to develop those parts which furnish the joints which are
most esteemed.
According to these ideas, the type of the Ox best fitted for the
butcher is that in which flesh surpasses bone in proportion, and
in which the hinder parts are more fully developed, even at the
expense of the neck and shoulders ; for the latter joints furnish
an inferior article of food, so that their reduction, if compensated
for by an increase of the more valuable portions, must be a great
desideratum.
What, therefore, are the points by which we can discern when an
Ox approaches the butcher's ideal ? The answer is, great width
combined with depth and length.
"The deeper," says M. Sanson, "the animal is in the thorax,
in proportion to its size — in vulgar terms, the closer it is to the
ground ; added to this, the longer it is in body and rump ; and the
thicker it is, or, as is commonly said, 'the better it is made up,'
the greater amount of clear meat it gives in comparison with its
THE COW, ^ 293
absolute or living weight, and the better it approaches to the desired
type."*
There are certain accessory characteristics which must have their
due importance as likewise forming a prominent feature in the
type of the Ox which is intended for the butcher. It must have
slenderly-made bones, a fine head, skin supple and not too thick,
moderate dewlap, thin and downy hair, calm visage, quiet and mild
look. It may be regarded as a certainty that the Ox which combines
these and the former attributes possesses a special fitness for becom-
ing good beef.
Next to meat, milk is the most valuable product which this
race furnishes us — a source of wealth to the producers, for it is an
article of universal consumption. Thus it may be easily understood
how important it is for the buyer to be able to distinguish, in the
market, from certain outward signs, what are the milking qualities of
a Cow, and to be able to arrive at a correct conclusion, even in
a Heifer, whether she will be a good or bad milker. In spite, there-
fore, of certain preconceived opinions, the discovery of Francois
Guenon, a farmer of Gironde, should be welcomed : it asserted the
possibihty of determining at once, from a mere examination of the
Cow, both the quantity and quahty of the milk it would furnish, as
well as the period of its lactation. Does not this statement rather
savour of exaggeration ? Do the data on which it is based present
any degree of scientific value ? A Commission, nominated by the
National Government of France in 1848, was charged to solve these
questions.
This Cow-dealer and farmer — for such was Guenon's business —
had had great opportunities of observing practically a great number
and variety of cattle. He remarked that in Cows the hairs on the
hinder part of the udders are turned upwards, and added to this,
these hairs extend more or less over the region of the perinseum, so
as to form a figure, which he describes under the name of an
escutcheon. By a multiplicity of observations, he became convinced
that a Cow's power of giving milk varied in proportion to the size
of this escutcheon, and he divided Cows into orders and classes
accordingly. He certainly somewhat exaggerated the merits of
his discovery, and in some points his facts were clearly contra-
dicted. This the Commission did not fail to see. Still, however,
they had to confess that the basis of his hypothesis was correct, and
that the longer and wider the so-called escutcheon of the animal is,
* ^' ■Application de la Zootechnie."
294 . Mammalia.
the greater are its milking qualities. Hence results a probability
of knowing approximately, by the inspection of the udder, the
quantity of milk that may be expected from a Cow.* By taking
notice of certain outward indications, such as those furnished by the
bulk, size, and consistence of the udder, the development of the
milk veins, &c., it is very seldom that a careful or experienced
observer can be much in fault.
As far as regards the richness of milk, Guenon considers that it
finds its maximum in those Cows which have the skin of their udders
of a yellowish hue, freckled with black or reddish spots, furnished
with fine and scanty hair, and covered with a greasy substance,
which becomes detached when it is scratched on the surface.
This escutcheon of Guenon exists in males also, but is much less
extensive and varied in shape. In them it might perhaps be taken
into consideration as an indication of their fitness to procreate stock
likely to be good milkers.
In Calves this characteristic is but indifferently developed,
both on account of its smallness and also the bushy hair which
often hides the hind- quarters. Nevertheless, with a httle attention
it may be discovered. It is more clearly shown on the Cow-Calves
than on the Bull-Calves, but it is only after the third or fourth
year that it attains its precise size and shape. Cows do not give
the same quantity of milk at all periods of their life. They furnish
the largest amount when they have suckled several Calves. Fig. io8
represents some Cows and Calf.
There are both good and bad milkers in every race ; the propor-
tion, however, of each presents a certain constant character, by
which some breeds may be recognised as possessing a decided
superiority for milking. Climate and the nature of the pasturage have
also great influence on the milking qualities of different races. It
may be stated, in a general way, that in France the best milking
Cows are those which inhabit mild and damp districts, such as the
northern and western coasts. The most noted producers of this
article of universal consumption are the Cows of Holland, Flanders,
Normandy, and Brittany, and some individuals belonging to these
breeds will give as much as from five to six gallons of milk a day.
Among foreign breeds may be mentioned those of the Channel
Islands, known by the names of the Alderney and Jersey ; those of
Ayrshire, in Scotland; the Schwitz, or Swiss breed; and the Jura
* See Guenon's work, " Chcix de Vaches laitieres^'' published at Paris in 1847,
and accompanied with plates exemplifying his system.
BREEDS OF CATTLE.
295
breed, which belongs as much to France as Switzerland, compre-
hending as it does all the cattle distributed on both sides of the
chain of mountains separating these countries. The latter breed
Fig. 109. — Norman Bull.
'/y Z-r
Fig. 110— Breton Bull.
is that which supplies the cheese-making companies established in the
departments of'Doubs, Jura, and Ain. We here represent two
French breeds, the Norman and the Breton (Figs. 109 and no).
We must now pass on to those breeds which are held in the
highest reputation for their capacity for labour as well as producing
296
MAMMALIA.
beef; and it is to be remarked that they are generally bred with both
ends in view.
In the possession of working Oxen, France has an unqirestionable
Fig III.— Bull of La Garonne.
Fig. 112. — Cow of Beam.
superiority ; to such extent, indeed, that the breeds belonging to
that country are almost the only ones we shall mention under this
head. The principal of these come from Vendee, Auvergne, La
Garonne (Fig. iii), Gascony, Beam (Fig. 112), Bazadois (Fig. 113),
BRITISH BREEDS, 29/
La Camargue, those of Maine and Morvan, which unfortunately are
disappearing, and, lastly, those of Algeria.
England, on the other hand, surpasses all other nations in Oxen
fit for the butcher; and this is just as it should be, for every true
Englishman is nationally a believer in the excellence of roast beef.
The most celebrated British stock is the Durham, or Short-horned
breed, which has been introduced on the Continent, and, by mixing
with other breeds, has produced the most magnificent results. The
Durham breed is the most valuable of all the bovine species ; most
of the individuals belonging to it are adults at the age of three years,
Fig. 113.— Cow of Bazadois.
while the Ox in the natural conditions of its development is not
completely formed until the age of six years.
The next to be mentioned are the breeds of Hereford, Devon,
Galloway (in Scotland), or the hornless breed, and that of the West
Highlands of Scotland; then, on the Continent, the Hungarian
breed (Fig. 114), remarkable for its elongated horns; and the
Charolaise breed (Fig. 115), which was formerly confined to the
environs of Charolles (Saone-et-Loire), but has gradually extended
over the entire basin of the Loire, and everywhere tends to supersede
the breeds of Maine and Morvan.
Cervid^e or Family of Ruminants ivhich shed their Horns. — The
distinctive characteristic of the animals of this group consists in the
texture, shape, and manner of growth of their frontal protuberances.
298
MAMMALIA.
Fig. 114. — Hungarian Oxen.
Fig. 115 — Charolaise Bull.
These projections, which are called antlers, and not horns, are bony,
solid, and more or less branching ; they are also devoid of the horny
casing which exists in all the hollow-horned Ruminants. They fall
ABOUT ANTLERS. 299
off, and are renewed periodically every year up to a certain age,
hence comes their descriptive appellation.
In the adult individual the antler is composed of a cylindrical or
flattened stem, varying in shape according to the species, which is
called the brow-antler^ from which branch out at intervals slighter
and shorter additions, called ti7ies or branches. The base of the
stem of the antler is surrounded with a circle of small bony ex-
crescences, which afford a passage to the blood-vessels intended
to provide for the growth of the antler ; these are called burrs.
We must now turn to the various terms used to indicate the
growth ot the antlers. In the first place, on the brow of the young
animal two small elevations or knobs are seen to make their appear-
ance, above each of which there soon grows a cartilaginous pro-
longation, which is not long before it assumes a bony texture.
Until they become perfectly hard these two early sprouts are
protected against any external friction by a kind of velvety skin,
which serves as a vehicle for the calcareous matter, and dries up as
soon as ossification is accomplished, the beast getting rid of the
velvet by rubbing its head against a tree. The short horns which
then adorn its brow take the name of dags. At the commencement
of the third year the dags fall off, but soon after they are replaced
by other and longer ones, which throw out their first tines. From
this time they are considered as entitled to the name of a?itler.
Every year, at a certain time — that is, immediately after the
young are" produced — the antlers fall off, and in growing again
acquire an additional branch, up to the date when they attain the
limit of maturity peculiar to each species.
The falling off and periodical renewal of these bony, highly
developed excrescences, is certainly a very curious phenomenon.
It seems as if it ought to take several years for the horns to regain,
as they do, equal or even larger dimensions than their predecessors ;
nevertheless, they shoot out all complete in the space of a few weeks.
Still, the explanation of this fact is simple enough. The skin which
covers the base of the antler is traversed by a large number of
blood-vessels, which supply the phosphate of lime necessary to
solidify the bony parts. Up to the time when the antler has
acquired the full growth which it is to attain in each year, this skin
continues to receive the requisite flow of blood; it retains, in fact, its
living action. But as soon as the growth is complete, and the
ossification finished, the burrs increase in size, strangulate the vessels,
and stop the flow of the nutritive fluid. This skin then withers and
comes away from the antler, which, thus laid bare and no longer
300 MAMMALIA,
receiving nourishment, gradually wastes away or decays, and falls off
at the end of a few months, again making its appearance in the
approaching season.
Except in the Reindeer, it is, amongst Ruminants, the exclusive
attribute of the males to shed theii antlers.
Nearly all the members of this family are rematkable for the
elegance of their shape, the dignity of their attitudes, the grace and
vivacity of their movements, the slenderness of their Hmbs, and the
sustained rapidity of their flight. They have a very short tail ;
moderately sized and pointed ears ; their nostrils are generally
situated in a muzzle, and their eye is clear and full of gentleness.
In most of the species there is, below the internal angle of the eye, a
small depression, called a tear-pit, which is nothing but a sort of
gland, secreting a peculiar fluid. This gland is not, however, as
might be supposed from the name, the place from which the tears
proceed.
The coat of Ruminants which shed their horns is generally
brown or fawn-coloured. It is composed of short, close, and
brittle hair, which assumes a somewhat woolly nature in the in-
clement regions of the extreme North, more especially in the winter
season.
These Ruminants live in small droves or herds in forests, on
mountains or plains, and feed on leaves, buds, grass, moss, or the
bark of trees, &c. They are distributed over all the surface of the
globe, both in the hottest and coldest climates. The Reindeer and
Elk are peculiar to the northern regions of both hemispheres ; but
numerous species are allotted to hot and temperate countries.
The family of Cervidae contains the genera of Tara?tdus (Rein-
deer), Moschus (Musk Deer), Cervus (Red Deer), Dama (Fallow
Deer).
Reindeer i^Rangifer tarandus). — The horns of the Reindeer
present a characteristic arrangement, which enables us, without
difficulty, to recognise the animal. From the principal stem, which
is cylindrical and very short, spring two considerable branches, of
flattened shape, the longest of which tends upwards with various
twists, terminating in an indefinite number of branches ; the other,
stretching horizontally over the muzzle, is more moderate in the
number of its points. As a matter of course, it is only of the
general conformation of these horns which we are here speaking,
or, as it were, their typical shape, which may, indeed, vary to an
infinite degree without the chief lines of conformation ceasing to
exist.
THE REINDEER. 3O3
We have already said these antlers do not belong exclusively to
the male in this race ; the female also has them, but of smaller
proportions. In the male animal, these antlers sometimes attain
dimensions which are really extraordinary; some have been measured
which are nearly 'four feet long. This natural ornament is entirely
renewed in eight months, and, in the females, five months suffice.
The males and barren females lose their horns in the course ot
October; the breeding females, on the contrary, do not shed them
until the time of bringing forth their young, that is, in the month ol
May.
The Reindeer (Fig. ii6) is about the size of the Red Deer, but
it is heavier built. Its head is wide, and rather resembles that of the
Ox ; but there is no muzzle, and the nostrils open in the midst of
the hair. The legs are finely made, although less slender than those
of the Stag, and are terminated by firm and strong feet. The latter
are covered all over with stiff hair, even on the underneath part, a
circumstance which singularly facilitates the animal's tread on ice
and frozen snow. Its coat is rough, of a greyish-brown colour, and
is pendent under the throat ; in the winter it becomes woolly, and
frequently changes colour to white.
The Reindeer is a native of the icy deserts of the Arctic regions,
and the most northerly countries in which man has placed his abode.
It is found in Spitzbergen, Greenland, Lapland, Finland, and the
whole of Northern Russia, in Siberia, Tartary, and, lastly, in Canada
and all the adjacent isles. In Russia it sometimes migrates south-
ward as far as the foot of the Caucasus.
The Reindeer is a most valuable animal to the people who dwell
about the Arctic circle. Without it, existence in these high latitudes
would scarcely be possible. We can hardly form a just idea of the
services which this animal renders, more especially to the Laplanders,
for to them it fills the place of Horse, Ox, and Sheep ; for, when
domesticated, it goes in harness Hke the first, and drags sledges and
carriages even with great rapidity. On even ground it can travel
seven or eight leagues an hour ; but its ordinary pace is from four to
five leagues in that space of time. There is, in the palace of the
King of Sweden, a picture representing a Reindeer which carried an
officer charged with urgent dispatches a distance of three hundred
and twenty leagues in forty-eight hours ; that is to say, an uninter-
rupted pace of six leagues and a half an hour. At the end of the
journey the poor animal is reported to have died.
The mode of harnessing and driving the Reindeer is most simple.
A collar of skin is fastened round its neck, and from this a trace
304 MAMMALIA.
hangs down, which, passing under the belly, is fastened into a hole
bored in the front of the sledge. The rein consists of a single cord
fastened to the root of the animal's antlers, and the driver drops it on
the right or left side of the back, according to the side to which he
wishes to direct the animal. The vehicle being very light, travelling
may be rapidly performed in this equipage, but not without running
some risk of breaking your neck ; for, to avoid being upset, one
must be very skilful in this sort of locomotion. The Laplander is a
perfect master of this art.
We have not yet mentioned the most important articles this
Ruminant of the Arctic regions yields to man. The female produces
milk superior to that of the Cow, and from it butter and cheese of
excellent quahty are made. Its flesh, which is nutritious and sweet,
forms a precious alimentary resource in the Polar regions. Its coat
furnishes thick and warm clothing, and its skin is converted into
strong and supple leather. The long hairs on the neck of this
animal are also used for sewing, while out of its tendons string is
manufactured. From the old antlers of the Reindeer various utensils
are made, such as spoons, knife-handles, &c., and when the horns
are young, gelatine is extracted from them by submitting them to a
severe course of boiling. Their excrement, when dried, is formed
into bricks, which serve for fuel. Many tribes even turn to advantage
the cropped lichens contained in the stomach of a slaughtered
animal. The Esquimaux and Greenlanders add to these Uchens
chopped meat, blood, and fat; when this mess is smoke-dried,
they are extremely fond of it. The Toungouses, or nomadic inhabi-
tants of Siberia, add wild berries to the northern delicacy, then
make it into cakes, which rank high among the articles of their
cinsi7ie.
The Reindeer is truly an invaluable companion to the people of
high latitudes. The poorest Laplander possesses at least several pairs ;
while the wealthy have immense herds of from four to five hundred,
even sometimes of several thousand of these animals. During the
day they are taken to graze ; and at night they are shut up in sheds,
or left out of doors in an inclosure sufficiently high to shelter them
from the attacks of wild beasts. These flocks need a great deal of
supervision, as the Reindeer is somewhat inclined to return to its
wild hfe if granted too much liberty. All the individuals composing
these herds are maz-ked with the brand of the proprietor, so that they
may be re<:ognised when they stray in the woods, or when the flocks
get mixed.
The Wild Reindeer unite in vast herds, which migrate from one
THE ELK. 305
climate to another according to the seasons. In winter they come
down into the plains or valleys near the sea-coast, and there feed on
the lichens which they excavate with their feet from under the snow.
In summer they ascend the plateaux to graze on the buds and
leaves of mountain shrubs. They are, moreover, induced to select
these elevated situations in the warm season to lessen the attacks of
the Horse and Gad-flies, which otherwise would incessantly prey upon
them. The latter insects, at the time when these quadrupeds
change their coat, deposit their eggs on the surface of the skin;
the larvae, after they are hatched, penetrate under the epidermis,
causing acute pain.
Hunting Reindeer is actively prosecuted in every country where
they exist. The time of their migration, in the spring and autumn,
is the period when the greatest havoc in their ranks is made. For,
through ignorance, stupidity, or fear, they precipitate themselves
671 masse into passes, where they succumb in vast numbers to tht
blows of those who are lying in wait for them. As there are always
numerous streams to be crossed in their route, and as when immersed
in the water they are more completely at man's mercy, such situa-
tions are frequently selected by the hunter. Sometimes the slaughter
made on such occasions is immense. The autumn hunting is always
more productive than that of the spring ; in the first place, these
animals then are much fatter than they are after enduring the severity
of winter ; and, in the next place, the water-courses, which are then
completely thawed, afford greater advantage to the pursuers.
Extreme cold is a necessity to the Reindeer. When this animal
is conveyed into warm, or only temperate climates, it soon dies, and
never breeds ; the menagerie of the Museum of Natural History in
Paris, and the Zoological Gardens of London, however, generally
manage to keep a few specimens.
The Elk or Moose {Alces machlis). — The Elk, like the Reindeer, is
characterised by the peculiar form of its horns. They do not spread
out into branches either at the base or middle part; but from their
burr or commencement they widen out into a large palmated surface,
which is terminated by a series of rather deep jags or notchings.
These horns are solid, and are consequently very heavy; in adults,
their weight attains occasionally to as much as eighty pounds. To
support a mass of this kind a strong and thick-set neck is necessary ;
and when an Elk is examined, the shortness and thickness of this part
of the body cannot fail to attract the observer's notice. It is the
largest member of the family of Cervidae ; its size being not inferior to
that of the Horse. There is a deficiency of grace in the shape of
306 MAMMALIA.
this animal, for the fore-quarters are much higher than the hinder
ones. Its large head is terminated by an elongated upper Up,
perforated by somewhat wide nostrils. This lip is mobile, and
constitutes a very delicate organ of touch and prehension. Its coat,
which is composed of coarse, rough, and brittle hair, rises into a
small mane on the nape of the neck, and along the dorsal spine.
The long black hair under the throat forms a kind of beard, and
in the male animal covers a considerable protuberance. The general
colour of the coat is brown, varying in shade according to the season.
Its speed is very great, and its endurance wonderful : but the pace is
generally a trot, seldom a gallop.
The Elk (Fig. 117) is, like the Reindeer, an inhabitant of the
northern regions of the Old and New Worlds ; but it does not roam
so far north, and wanders farther south ; and is not found inside the
Polar circle. In Europe it is distributed over a part of Scandinavia,
Prussia, Poland, and Russia. It formerly lived in all parts of
Germany, and JuHus Caesar spoke of it as existing in the immense
Hyrcanian forest, of which the limits were not then known. Siberia,
Tartary, and the north of the Chinese Empire, are the Asiatic
countries in which it is met with in greatest abundance ; and in
America it is found in Canada, and the adjacent northern parts of the
United States.
The Elk swims with great facility. During the summer it sub-
merges its whole body, except the head, in this way preserving itself
from the stings of the Horse-fly : and so passes the greater portion of
the day, when it principally subsists upon aquatic herbage. It is also
partial to damp forests and marshy localities. This animal feeds off
the ground with difficulty, on account of the shortness of its neck; in
order the better to reach the grass it kneels or straddles its fore-legs.
It prefers, however, to browse off the young shoots, buds, and bark of
trees, and so furnishes the hunters with a certain indication of its
vicinity.
The Elks live in small famiUes composed of one male, a female,
and the young of two generations.
The females, at their first parturition, bring forth only a single
Fawn, but afterwards always two. They watch over their offspring
with vigilance, and protect them with the greatest courage from
the attacks of their enemies.
This Ruminant has a very highly-developed sense of hearing and
smell, which enables it to avoid its enemies. From its great strength
and length of limb, even among the thick snow, unless it be crusted
by a previous thaw, it trots rapidly. It flie.s from man (except at the
THE ELK.
307
rutting season, or when wounded or disabled), and retires before the
advance of cultivation. When incapacitated for flight it will vigour-
ously defend itself. To approach it then is excessively dangerous,
for with its foot it is able to strike a fearful blow, so severe that it has
been known to kill the large Grey Wolf with a single kick.
In the Old as well as the New World this noble species of game
Fig. 117. — The Elk or Moose {Akes inachlis).
is becoming annually scarcer, for it is hunted with the greatest
perseverance. The most destructive mode is that adopted by the
white and Indian population of Canada, viz., running them on snow-
shoes — a wooden frame, covered with net-work — which support the
hunter on the crusted surface, while the Elk sinks through it chest-
deep, and consequently soon becomes exhausted, when its life is
taken with the rifle. Another method is enticing the males within
range of firearms by imitating the female's call.
3p8 MAMMALIA,
Among the chief enemies of the Elk may be mentioned the Bear,
the Wolf, and the Glutton.
The Elk, when captured young, may without difficulty be com-
pletely tamed. It recognises the person who takes care of it, and
will follow him like a dog, manifesting considerable joy on seeing him
after a separation. It goes in harness as well as the Reindeer,
and can thus perform long journeys. For two or three centuries
it was used for this purpose in Sweden, but the custom is now given
up. Its flesh has a good flavour, and is very nourishing. Its skin,
hair, and antlers are all employed for useful purposes. It is impossible
to understand why hardly any attempts have been made to domesticate
such a useful animal in those climates suited to it, and thus prevent
the destruction which threatens to entirely extirpate the race.
Deer (Cervus). — This genus comprehends a somewhat large
number of species distributed over the warm and temperate regions of
both continents. They are remarkable for their grace, elegance, and
agility, and possess the common characteristic of being furnished
with a real muzzle, or bare space in which the nostrils open. The
various species differ somewhat in the shape of their antlers, and the
colour of their coat, which is sometimes all of a fawn-coloured shade,
sometimes dotted over with white spots during their youth, and
sometimes mottled during the whole of their life.
The Red Deer {Cervus elaphiis) is certainly one of the most
beautiful of European animals. It forms the chief ornament of our
forests, owing to the majestic antlers which adorn its head, and
its stately and graceful bearing. This quadruped is about the size of
a small Horse. Pennant mentions one that v»'eighed eighteen stone.
Its coat, which varies according to the season, changes from light
brown in summer to greyish in winter. It has generally a very
gentle and timid disposition, and dreads the presence of man, taking
flight at the slightest alarm. On the contrary, when not disturbed,
it manifests an amount of laziness which contrasts strangely with
its extraordinary agility. When arrived at a certain age, and in
full possession of all its strength, the Stag loves solitude, and, when
it is possible to do so, confines itself during the whole summer
to thickets and woods, scarcely coming forth except at night to
search for sustenance; this done, it again retires to the thickest
brake, to rest and digest its food. At the end of autumn it visits
the plains, making its way into badly-enclosed gardens, where it
satisfies its appetite with the agriculturist's cereals and fruit. If
there should not be a sufficiency of the latter on the ground, the
Stag increases the supply by standing upright against the trunk of
THE STAG. 309
the tree, and using its antlers as a pole to knock down enough to
satisfy its appetite.
The favourite food of the Red Deer is gi'ass, leaves, fruits, and
buds ; but as none of these can be found in winter, it is compelled to
eat moss, heath, and lichens. When the ground is covered with snow
it will feed upon the bark of trees. At this season of the year
they assemble in numerous herds under the tallest trees of the forest,
to obtain shelter from the north wind, when they crowd closely
against one another for warmth.
In the early part of September a great change takes place in the
Stag's characteristics and ways of life, for the breeding season has
arrived. Then he ranges the wood, uttering a deep guttural bellow-
ing, seeking the females, and bidding defiance to his own sex.
Excited, and almost furious, he rushes hither and thither with a wild
air, tearing up the ground impatiently with his feet, dashing his head
against the bushes, and with violence scattering the foliage. Now he
appears to have lost all sense of danger, for, contrary to his usual
habits, if any suspicious object appears, he runs at it. At length the
Stag assembles round him several Hinds and forms a seraglio, of
which he becomes exclusive master, watching over its members with
anxious jealousy. If a rival happens to appear a combat a outrance
immediately takes place. The two adversaries rush impetuously one
against the other. On their feet and knees they fight. Long and
obstinate are such battles ; wounds are given and received, and blows
are parried with consummate skill. Sometimes their antlers get en-
tangled to that extent that they are unable to separate. Fastened
together, the two heroes strive in vain to disentangle themselves, and
some of these hostile couples, thus closely riveted together, ultimately
perish of famine. When the duel is ended, by the death or flight of
one of the champions, the conqueror remains master of the seraglio,
until a competitor drives him away and assumes possession ot all his
privileges.
After two or three weeks of this life of excitement and fatigue,
additionally aggravated by scantiness of food and the want of sleep,
the Stag is thoroughly enfeebled. He then retires into solitude,
to restore his exhausted strength. But the season is now so far
advanced, that it is not before spring that he thoroughly recovers his
former condition.
The Hind goes eight months with young. In May she brings
forth one Fawn, very rarely two, the body of which is covered with
white spots on a yellow ground. At six months old the young
change their appearance, and the rudiments of the antlers appear
3IO MAMMALIA.
In about a year, the dags having shot out, the knobber becomes
a brock. At the commencement of the third year the second crop of
horns begins to rise, with indications of branching, or, in hunting
terms, it begins to show a head. The Stag produces every year
a new head of horns, and its age is generahy indicated by them. At
six years old, that is, when the fifth head has grown, it is said
to possess a full head ; in the following years, and up to the end of
its life, it is a Royal Stag.
The horns of the Stag are cylindrical, having the branches, more
or less in number, according to the age of the animal, pretty
regularly distributed both to the right and left. However, even when
the ages are equal, the number of branches occasionally vary in
Stags from the influence of circumstances. When a Stag has lived
ten years, or thereabouts, the antlers flatten out and become more or
less palmated, which throw out points resembling fingers. When
these are arranged in a circular shape, the Stag is said to carry a
round head.
The glance of the Stag is mild in its character. Its power of
vision is indifferent, but its hearing is excellent, and its sense of smell
very acute. The wounds made with its horns are dangerous, being
extremely difficult to cure.
Stag-hunting, except perhaps in the opinion of fox-hunters, is con-
sidered the type of all pursuits of the chase. It has been deemed
for centuries the most noble of pleasures ; and, as it entails large out-
lay, it has always been the amusement of those of the highest rank
either in point of wealth or nobility. Stag-hunting is quite an art,
which, like others, has its special vocabulary. In the first place,
it requires a large pack of Hounds, and a considerable number of
attaches. Let us here add a description of how this sport is followed
in France. The whole chase is directed by the huntsman, who ought
to have the most perfect and accurate knowledge of the habits of the
game — a faculty which can hardly be acquired, except by constant
practice and long experience. The huntsman examines the track
of the animal which has been left in the soil, and ascertains both its
form and size ; also the markings of its horns on the trees and
bushes. He scrutinises its lair, where it last laid down. From these
and hosts of other observations that he can make, the enumeration
of which would be uninteresting, a good huntsman can with certainty
tell whether he has unkennelled a Fawn, a Brock, a young Stag,
a Six-year-old, an aged Stag, or a Hind.
The animal being such as desired, the pack are taken up, and a
few old Hounds are placed upon the trail to unkennel it. A short
THE STAG. 313
interval usually occurs before the game is afoot, and then the hunt
commences. At first the Stag, trusting to its fleetness, with his head
well up, runs with assurance ; but after a time, it feels its strength
diminish, and tries artifice, doubling back over its scent, so as to set
the Hounds at fault. Sometimes it endeavours to make them change
their quarry, by unharbouring another of its species, and, taking
refuge in some thicket, or making the best of its way in a fresh
direction, uses all means to avoid detection. Occasionally this
manoeuvre meets with success, invariably it causes delay, and thus
time is gained, enabling, by a period of rest, the harassed and
exhausted creature to regain its failing strength.
In spite of all the resources suggested by its instinct, in spite of
its wonderful activity, the Stag rarely escapes from those who have
made its capture a point of honour. After an uninterrupted run of
twelve or fourteen leagues, the unfortunate animal still finds the pack
constantly behind it, and frequently increased by fresh relays of
Hounds. It hears the cries of the pursuers, and the sound of the
horn resounds in its ears. Incapable of sustaining the contest any
longer, it attempts a final effort for life, plunges into the nearest pond
or river, hoping to place a liquid barrier between itself and its
enemies. Fatal illusion ! the pack rush after it, press upon it,
surround it, and pull it down, while the blasts of the horn sound its
death-warrant (Fig. 118).
The fatal moment has arrived, and the Stag must die.* The
noble animal collects all its remaining energy, and prepares to sell its
life as dearly as possible. It distributes furious blows with its
antlers to the right and left, knocking over the nearest Dogs. But,
overcome by numbers, exhausted and worn out, it is ultimately
surrounded and pulled down by the infuriated pack, when it receives
the final blow, the cottp degrdce, from the chief personage of the hunt.
The feet of the victim are retained as a trophy by those who rode
foremost in the chase.
In North America the Wapiti Deer {Cervtts Canadensis)^ a mag-
nificent animal, is met with. This animal bears some resemblance
to the Elk, whose name the ignorant give it. It is easily tamed, and
soon becomes used to confinement. The North American Indians
catch it in snares when young, and rear it with care. At maturity
they harness it to their sledges during the winter, and its powerful
frame enables it to draw heavy loads. Their flesh, which is excellent,
forms a large portion of the Red man's sustenance.
* In England the Stag is generally reserved for future amusement
314 MAArMALTA.
The Virginian Deer {Cervus Virginianus) is common in the
United States. There it is the favourite animal of chase. It is
larger than our Fallow Deer, and is excessively abundant in some
parts of that country ; but so many of them are annually slaughtered
that, before a hundred years are past, says Audubon, this animal will
have become an extraordinary rarity. Thus, on the part of man, we
always find the same thoughtlessness and the same abuse of the good
gifts of Providence ! Their death is generally accomplished by the
hunter stalking on them unawares, when they are shot, or by driving
them from cover.
The Indian continent and Malay Islands produce several very
remarkable species of Stags. The Sambur ( Cervus Aristotelis), so
called (Fig. 119) because it was first described by that celebrated
philosopher of antiquity; then the Axis {Cervus Axis), a very elegant
animal with a fawn-coloured coat speckled with white, and horns
furnished with only two branches ; and the Porcine Deer {Cervus
'Porcinus), which owes its name to its small size and massive shape,
are all found in India.
In Bengal, these two last-named species are reared in a domesti-
cated state, and fattened for the table. They readily reproduce
their kind in the warm and temperate parts of Europe, as has been
proved by the various specimens which are now living in the Jardin
des Plantes, Paris. It would be a very desirable thing if they could
be acclimatised in some of the European forests, and made to furnish
food for the people.
The Fallow Deer {Cervus dama), Fig. 120, holds a middle
place in size between the Red Deer and the Roe. Its height, at the
withers, is little more than ten hands. It may be easily recognised
by its horns, which are round at the base, and palmated above. Its
coat, like that of the Axis, is fawn-coloured or brown, dotted over
with white spots, which in summer are very distinctly marked, but
are scarcely perceptible in winter. Its habits differ but slightly from
those of the Red Deer.
By the same claim as the Red Deer, the Fallow Deer is honoured
by the high notice of huntsmen of noble birth. It is preserved in
many of our large parks, not only as an ornament, but for the chase.
In a state of nature the Fallow Deer is not partial to large forests,
but prefers woods intersected by fields and hills. It has recourse,
when hunted, to the same stratagems as the Stag to throw its
pursuers off its track. The Fallow Deer is found over a large part
of Europe, in the north of Africa, and also in Asia Minor.
The Roe Deer ( Capreolus caprea) is one of the most elegant and
THE ROE.
315
graceful representatives of this group; it does not measure much
more than a yard in length. Its horns are small, and very simple in
Fig. 119. — The Sambur {CefVKS Aristotelis).
their shape. They are composed of a deeply indented stem, which
is straight for the greater part of its length, and furnished at the top
with two short branches, forming a fork at the extremity. Its coat is
a uniform fawn-colour, the shade of which varies with the season. It
3i6
MAMMALIA.
has neither tear-pits nor any vestige of tail, and on the end of its
muzzle there is a white marking, edged with black.
The Roe differs from the Red Deer in its habits ; it does not
live in herds or practise polygamy. The male remains attached for
life to the companion he has chosen ; he never quits her for an
instant, and devotes himself, with her, to the rearing of their young
families. The most affectionate relationship exists between him and
his mate ; they are content one with the other, and voluntarily con-
fine themselves to solitude.
Fig. 120, — Fallow Deer {Cerzms daiiia, Linn
The Roes frequent young woods and thickets in the vicinity of
cultivated ground, where they delight to crop the buds and shoots,
thus doing considerable mischief in plantations. They are timid,
intelligent, and gentle ; the least unaccustomed noise frightens them.
Still, all their precautions are not sufficient to protect them against
the multitude of huntsmen eager for their capture — an eagerness the
more excusable as the Roe furnishes the finest venison.
The sport of Roe-hunting (Fig. 121) takes place in France with
less ostentation than that of the Stag, but the same instruments are
employed, namety, sometimes Hounds and Horses. In Scotland
they are driven by beaters through passes guarded by marksmen,
when they are shot.
'IHE MUSK DEER.
317
Roes are distributed all over the temperate portion of Europe,
and through several parts of Asia.
Moschus. The Musk Deers are, with the exception of the Camel,
the only Ruminants without horns. They have no incisors in the
upper jaw, but possess two long and strong canine-teeth, which
extend beyond the lower lip ; these teeth are the exclusive attribute
-Roe-hundng {^Capreolus caj>i ea).
of the male. Musk Deer have a muzzle like Stags, but no tear-pits ;
and their tail is short. The smallness of their size, the elegance of
their shape, combined with the grace and nimbleness of their move-
ments, cause these animals to be much admired.
There is but a small number of species, which chiefly inhabit the
Indian continent and adjacent islands ; not a single representative is
found in America. The two principal are the Thibet Musk {Moschus
moschiferus., Linn.), and the Napu {Moschus pygmcciis).
3l8 Ma MM Alt A.
The Thibet Musk is about the size of the Roe. It inhabits the
mountainous regions of the centre of Asia, and is distributed over an
area of more than a thousand leagues in latitude, and about fifteen
hundred in longitude. It is met with as far as southern Siberia. It
lives in solitude on inaccessible rocks, in the vicinity of glaciers,
during summer; in the winter, it descends into the woodlands.
As it is very timid, and flees from the presence of man, it is therefore
necessary to have recourse to snares and traps to capture it. The
Toungouses, the nomadic inhabitants of Tartary and Asiatic Russia,
kill this animal with bows and arrows, having enticed it within reach
by imi-:;ating the cry of its young.
This animal is hunted for the sake of a strongly-scented substance,
which is secreted in a pouch situated under the abdomen, known as
musk, an odour insupportable to some noses, but with which others
love to perfume their persons. The male alone produces this
scent. In winter, at the pairing season, it is of the best quality; this,
therefore, is the season chosen for the animal's pursuit.
Musk is not only made use of as a perfume, but is also employed
as an anti-spasmodic medicine. It is sold in trade along with the
receptacle which contains it, and its price is always very high.
We append a most interesting description ot the habits of this
animal, written by a celebrated sportsman, and published in Land
and Water: —
"From the first high ridge above the plains, to the limits of the
forest in the snowy range, and for perhaps the whole length of
the chain of the Himalayas, the Musk Deer may be found upon
every hill of an elevation above 8,000 feet which is clothed with forest.
On the lower ranges it is comparatively a rare animal, being confined
to near the summits of the highest hills, as we approach the colder
forests near the snow; but it is nowhere particularly numerous,
and its retired and solitary habits make it appear still more rare than
it really is. Exclusively a forest animal, it inhabits all kinds of forests
indiscriminately, from the oaks of the lower hills to the stunted
bushes near the limits of vegetation. If we may judge from their
numbers, the preference seems to be given to the birch forests, where
the underwood consists chiefly of the white rhododendron and
juniper.
^'In many respects they are not unlike Hares in habits and
economy. Each individual selects some particular spot for its
favourite retreat, about which it remains still and at rest throughout
the day, leaving it in the evening to search for food, or wander about,
returning soon after dayhght. They will occasionally rest for the
THE MUSK DEER, 319
day in any place where they may happen to be in the morning,
but in general they return to near the same spot almost every
day, making forms in different quarters of their retreat a little distance
from each other, and visiting them in turn. Sometimes they will
lie under the same tree or bush for weeks together. They make
forms in the same manner as Hares, levelling with their feet a spot
large enough for the purpose, if the ground is too sloping. They
seldom, if ever, lie in the sun, even in the coldest weather, and their
forms are always made where there is something to shelter them from
its rays. Towards evening they begin to move, and during the night
appear to wander about a good deal, from top to bottom of the hill,
or from one side to another. In the day they are seldom seen
moving about. Their nocturnal rambles are apparently as much for
recreation as in search of food, as they often visit regularly some
steep ledge of rock or precipice, where there is little or no vegetation.
The mountaineers believe that they come to such places to play and
dance with each other, and often set their snares along the edge
of such a ledge or precipice, in preference to the forest.
- "If not walking leisurely and slowly along, the Musk Deer always
goes in bounds, all fours leaving and alighting on the ground together.
When at full speed these bounds are sometimes astonishing for so
small an animal. In a gentle slope I have seen them clear a space of
more than sixty feet at a single bound, for several successive leaps,
and spring over bushes of considerable height at the same time.
They are very sure-footed, and although a forest animal, in travelling
over rocky and precipitous ground have perhaps no equal. Where
even the wild Burrel Sheep {Ovis nahurd) is obliged to move slowly
and carefully, the Musk Deer bounds quickly and fearlessly; and
although I have often driven them on to rocks which I have thought
it impossible that they could cross, they have invariably found a way
in some direction, and I never knew an instance of one missing its
footing, or falling, unless wounded.
"They eat but little compared to other Ruminating animals, at
least one would imagine so from the small quantity found in their
stomachs, the contents of which are always in such a pulpy state that
it is impossible to tell what food they prefer. I have often shot them
whilst feeding, and found in the mouth or throat various kinds of
shrubs and grasses, and often the long white lichen that hangs so
luxuriantly from the trees in the higher forests. Roots also seem to
form a portion of their food, as they scratch holes in the ground, like
many of the Hill Pheasants. The mountaineers believe that the
males kill and eat snakes, and feed upon the leaves of a small and
320
MAMMALIA.
very fragrant- smelling laurel, but from the few occasions upon which
I have seen this laurel stripped of any portion of its leaves, it does
not appear to afford a very favourite repast.
'' The young are born either in June or July, and almost every
female brings forth yearly, and often twins. These are always
deposited in separate places some distance from each other, the dam
herself keeping apart from both, and only visiting to give them suck.
Should a young one be caught, its bleating will sometimes bring the
-The Napu, or Pigmy Musk D
old one to the spot ; but I never knew an instance of one being seen
abroad with its dam, or of two young ones being seen together.
Their solitary habits are innate, for if a Fawn is taken young and
suckled by a Sheep or Goat, it will not for some time associate with
its foster-dam, but as soon as satisfied with sucking seeks some spot
for concealment. It is amusing to see them suck, for all the while
they keep leaping up and crossing their fore-legs rapidly over each
other. They are rather difficult to rear, as many, soon after they are
caught, go blind and die.
" In most of the hill states the Musk Deer is considered a royal
property. In some the rajahs keep men purposely to hunt it, and in
Gurwhal a fine is imposed upon any mountaineer who is known
to have sold a Musk Deer to a stranger, the rajah receiving them in
lieu of rent'^
1
THL MUSK DEER 321
The flesh of the Musk Deer is excellent, if the musk-bag is taken
from the animal immediately after death. Its skin and long dog-
teeth are also made use of.
The Napu, or Pigmy Musk Deer [Moschus pygmcBus), Fig. 122,
is the smallest of Ruminants ; it is not larger than a Hare. Its limbs
are excessively delicate, and its power of leaping is extraordinary ;
but it is wanting in energy, and allows itself to be captured, without
effort to escape, by the Malays of Java and Sumatra, who seek it for
its flesh, or to make pets of. Very little is known of their habits.
They have been introduced into Europe, but the natural delicacy of
their constitution has invariably prevented their living any length of
time. A pair which were brought from Java by Mr. Blyth, and pre-
sented to Her Majesty, were afterwards forwarded by her to the
London Zoological Gardens. They lived only a few months.
^iiA^x^fj^ ^ yotA^
ORDER OF EDENTATA.
The designation of Edentata (toothless), applied to the Mammals
which compose this order, does not infer that they are completely
devoid of teeth, although this is really the case in several species, but
only that in them the incisors are always wanting, so that there is an
empty space in front of their jaws. Another peculiarity which
characterises this order is that their teeth, when they have any, are,
as nearly as possible, all alike, and not of various shapes, as in most
Mammals ; added to this, the root of each tooth is single, having but
one fang.
In individuals of the order Edentata the limbs are terminated
by very strong claws, which are used for climbing or scratching.
These animals are, in general, of a clumsy form, slow in their
motions, and possessed of but little intelligence. Some, instead of
being clothed with hair, are covered with scales — a peculiarity which
adds to the strangeness of their appearance. Their habits and
system of feeding differ much in the various families : some living on
vegetables, others on animal substances; some burrowing in holes,
others living on trees. All, however, are natives of the warm regions,
both of the Old and New World ; none exist in Europe, and the
larger number of them are found in South America. They never
attain great size, the largest species measuring about three feet in
length, not including the tail. This, however, was not always the
case. Deep in the bowels of the earth the remains of some of this
order have been found, the races of which have long been extinct,
and their vast proportions are a just cause of astonishment. To
this order belong the Glyptodon^ the MylodoJi, the Megatherium, &c.
Most of these fossil species are peculiar to America, and their dimen-
sions equal those of the Ox, the Rhinoceros, and even the Elephant.
Europe maintained one species quite as large as the American Mega-
therium ; this is the Macrotherium of M. Lartet.
The Edentata include the Sloths^ Armadillos^ Aard-vark^ Ant-
eaters^ and Pangolins.
Bradypus. — The Sloths, from their more prominent charac-
THE SLOTH,
323
teiistics and climbing habits, were for a long time classed among the
Monkeys ; but a more attentive study of their habits has led to their
being referred to the order of Edentata. When they are examined
on the ground they appear deformed, and, as it were, incapable of
active motion ; for on the surface of the earth they can only move
with extreme slowness. Their fore-legs are so much longer than the
hind ones, that in walking they are obliged to drag themselves along
on their knees. Owing to the size of their pelvis and thighs, which
turn outwards, they are unable to bring the knees together. Only
Fig. 123.— Sloth, or Ai {Bradypus tridactylus) .
the inner edge of their feet rests upon the ground ; and, lastly, their
toes, the number of which never exceeds three, are enveloped in
skin up to the very tips, and must be constantly kept in a state of
mutual dependence with regard to motion.
It will be readily understood that limbs thus formed are not well
adapted for locomotion on the earth ; it is, indeed, difficult to form
an idea of the awkwardness of a Sloth when placed upon the ground.
But if we follow with our eye its motions on a tree, in the midst of
those conditions of existence which are natural to it, the Sloth leaves
on our mind a very different impression. We then recognise that
there is in them no want of harmony, and that they, like every other
creature, possess the means of protecting themselves from the attacks
324 MAMMALIA,
of their enemies. They embrace the branches with their strong
arms, and bury in the bark the enormous claws which terminate their
four limbs. As the last joint of their toes is movable, they can bend
them to a certain extent, and thus convert their claws into powerful
hooks, which enable them to hang on trees. Hidden in the densest
foliage, they browse at their ease on all that surrounds them ;
or, firmly fixed by three of their legs, they avail themselves of the
fourth to gather the fruit and convey it to their mouths. No doubt,
during the day, they appear indolent and sleepy ; but the fact is, that
their eyes are not fitted for brilliant sunlight. Their movements aloft
betray no sense of embarrassment, and they can in no way be looked
upon, in such a situation, as being awkward. They certainly seem
almost devoid of intelligence, but they are, in this respect, no worse
off than the rest of the order.
Their stomach, like the Ruminants, is divided into four compart-
ments ; but it is not known whether they chew the cud. Their coat
is harsh, abundant, and long ; and they have neither tail nor any
visible external ear. They are natives of the virgin forests of South
Ajnerica ; the two best known being the two-toed Sloth {^Cholopics
diaadyhis), and the Ai, or three-toed Sloth {Bradypus tridactylus)^
Fig. 123, which are found in Guiana, Brazil, Peru, and Columbia.
The two-toed Sloth {C/ioIopns didadyhcs) has but two toes on its
hind feet, and measures about thirty inches in length. The mena-
geries in London and Paris have been in possession of specimens of
this creature, which were fed on bread soaked in milk, with vegetables
and fruit. The three-toed Sloth is rather smalldr than the two-toed
Sloth.
Dasypus (Linn.). — The Armadillos are remarkable for the
very peculiar nature of their outward integument, which, at first
sight, might lead to their being taken for Reptiles, Instead of being
clad in hair, like other Mammals, they have the upper part of
the head, the top and sides of the body and the tail protected by a
scaly cuirass, very hard in its nature. This cuirass is composed of a
number of bony plates, arranged in parallel rows and of various
shapes; it is not separate from the skin, but forms a very curious
modification of it. On the head, the fore and back part of the
body, these plates are firmly fixed to one another ; but on the middle
of the back they are possessed of a certain amount of mobifity, so
as to move one over the other. In this way the animal has the
po\\*er of executing various bending and stretching movements ; for
instance, of rolling itself up into a ball whenever it is attacked, so as
THE ARMADILLO,
325
to hide under its cuirass all the vulnerable parts of its body, that is,
those which are merely covered with hair.
The other characteristics of the Armadillos are short legs, provided
generally with five toes, terminated by long claws, which are used to
scratch up the ground ; ears pretty well developed, upright, and
pointed ; nostrils perforating an elongated snout, and detecting very
acutely any odoriferous emanation ) a tail either long or rounded, or
Fig. 124. — Armadillos {Dasypus).
short and flat. In some species, the number of teeth is considerable :
the Great Armadillo {D. gigas) has no less than ninety-eight.
The Armadillos are natives of the great plains of South America,
where they dig burrows, composed of one chamber, entered by
numerous passages. They feed partly on vegetable and partly on
animal substances, more especially insects and carrion.
They are inoffensive and harmless in their nature. Their size is
generally small; the largest species — that just alluded to, which con-
siderably exceeds all the rest — is not much more than a yard in
326 MAMMALIA.
length. The smallest of the species (Z^. minufus) is about the size
of a Rat.
Orycteropus (Geoffroy). — This genus contains but two species,
the Aard-vark {O. Capensis)^ which is peculiar to Africa, abounding
especially in the southern portion of this part of the world, and the
Ethiopian Ant Bear {O. y£thiopiciis).
The Aard-vark is short legged ; its claws are thick, sharp, and
almost like hoofs, indicating habits of an essentially burrowing
nature. Its skin is hard, and covered with scanty and rough hair ;
its head, which is very long and^tapering, is terminated by a kind of
snout. Its mouth is furnished with molar teeth of a very peculiar
structure. They are small cylinders, with a crown, which is flat and
devoid of enamel ; they are formed of a substance which is soft, and
indeed almost spongy in its nature, being constituted by an agglo-
meration of a large number of microscopic tubes, closely fitted to
one another in a vertical direction. If a horizontal section is made
of one of these teeth it almost presents the appearance of a piece of
cane.
The Aard-vark measures rather more than three feet in length,
not including the tail, which is about a foot and a half long. Its
height is eighteen inches. It lives in burrows, which it hollows out
with great rapidity. When its head and fore-feet are buried in the
ground it maintains its position with so much obstinacy that the
strongest man is unable to draw it out. Its food consists of Ants, or
rather Tennites, insects which are commonly designated by the name
of White Ants, on account of their resemblance to very large speci-
mens of the race. It is well known that these Termites live in large
nests made out of a mound of earth in the form of a dome. The
Aard-vark, squatting down by the side of one of these, scratches till
an entrance is effected through the walls, and immediately legions
of the insects rush out to defend their habitation. Without losing a
moment the quadruped darts out its tongue, which is covered with
a viscous fluid, into the midst of the restless crowd, and then draws
it back covered with the victims.
This exclusive description of food communicates to the flesh a
strongly acidulated taste ; nevertheless the Hottentots and the
colonists at the Cape of Good Hope are partial to it, and hunt these
animals. A slight blow on the head with a stick is sufficient to kill
it. The Aard-vark is met with not only at the Cape of Good Hope,
but also in Abyssinia and Senegambia.
The O. ^thiopicus is met with in North-East Africa.
THE ANT-EATER. 527
Here also must be mentioned {Chlmnydophoriis truncatiis) a rare
Edentate found in Mendoza, in Chili. It is about six or seven
inches in length. The dorsal disk is divided into two parts behind,
forming an elongated dorsal and short pelvic shield. The dorsal disk
is attached only to the middle of the back ; the pelvic shield and
tail are covered with tesserae, the body and limbs with silky hair.
Myrmecophaga (Linn.). — The Ant-eaters feed upon a variety of
insects, and thus have a greater range of prey than the Aard-
vark. They are specially organised for procuring their food.
Completely destitute of teeth, the head is terminated by an elongated
tube, which incloses a very long and extensile tongue, worm-like,
which issues forth through a small orifice placed at the extremity of
its scabbard-like head. This slender and flexible tongue being
darted into the Ant-hills, all the interstices where the insects take
refuge yield numerous victims, which adhere to it through the gummy
secretion with which it is covered. To conclude the description of
the Ant-eaters, we must add that they are armed with sharp claws,
useful both as instruments for scratching and weapons of defence.
The most remarkable species of the genus is the Great Ant-eater
{Myrmecophaga j'ubata), Fig. 125, the largest of the family, and even
of the Edentata. It attains to more than a yard and a half in
length, from the tip of its muzzle to the junction of its tail. Its coat
is rough, abundant, and of a darkish colour. The tail, covered with
very long and extremely bushy hair, has the power of being raised
like a plume, and is more than a yard in length. The strength of
this animal is so considerable, that it can defend itself successfully
against the ferocious Jaguar, which it either hugs like a bear, or
tears to pieces with its formidable claws.
It is nocturnal, solitary, and listless in its habits, and delights
in damp forests and marshy savannahs, in which its insect food is
most abundant. The female only produces a single young one at a
time, which she constantly carries on her back. In the gardens of
the Zoological Society of London, which was in possession of two
specimens, they were fed on bread, soaked in milk, and eggs ; but it
became certain that they had also a taste for blood, as they were
one day noticed sucking the flesh of a rabbit which had been given
them.
There are other Ant-eaters which live more or less on trees, and
enjoy, on this account, one of the characteristics which are peculiar
to American Monkeys — that of grasping branches firmly with the
tailj a portion of which is bare of hair underneath, and capable of
3=8
MAMMALIA.
being twisted round any object. These are the Tamandua {M.
tainandiia, Cuv.), an Ant-eater about three feet long, which divides
its sphere of action between the ground and the thick fohage of
trees, and the Little or Two-toed Ant-eater [M. didadyla, Linn.), so
called because it has only two toes on the front feet. This latter
— '^_ ^^
Fig. 125.— Great Ant-eater, or Ant Bear [JM.jubaia, Linn.).
species is a native of Brazil and Guiana. It but seldom descends
to the ground, and is not much larger than a Rat. The female of
this species also brings forth but one at a birth, which she places in
a nest, lined with leaves, formed in a hole in a tree.
Manis (Linn.). — The Pangolins are also Ant-eaters, but the pecu iar
nature of the covering of their bodies will not allow them to be
classed in the same genus with the preceding. The hair of their coat
THE PANGOLINS,
329
is glued together so as to form large scales, inserted in the skin in
nearly the same way as the nails of a man, and lapping one over the
other, like the slates of a roof These scales cover the whole body
and legs, except the belly and lower portions of the head. Hence,
from their strong resemblance to Reptiles, the name Scaly Lizard has
been applied to these creatures.
The Pangolins (from the Javanese word Pangoeling, meaning to
roll into a ball), Fig. 126, have short legs, furnished with stout claws;
they are devoid of any external ear, and present no trace of teeth.
Fig. 126. — Short-tailed Pangolin (J/, brachyura, Erxleben).
Their method of feeding is exactly the same as that of the Ant-eaters ;
but their head, although elongated in shape, is not quite so long or
eccentric in appearance, and their tongue is less slender. They
dwell in forests, where they dig burrows, or lodge in the hollow of
trees. When they are attacked they roll themselves into a ball, like
the Armadillo ; at the same time their scales are erected, forming an
impregnable buckler. There are several species.
The Pangolins are of medium size ; they never exceed three feet
in total length. They are natives of the Old World exclusively.
India and the Malay Isles, the south of China, and a great part
of Africa, are the regions which have been allotted to them by
nature.
/* ORDER OF CARNIVORA.
In the Cariiivora are included the strongest and most formidable
of all terrestrial Mammals. Being endowed with .proclivities of a
most violent nature, and organised for slaughter and carnage, they all
feed more or less on flesh and blood, spreading terror around them.
They are marked out by Providence to play a special part — that of
limiting the multiplication of the herbivorous species ; and, strange
as it may appear at first sight, their disappearance from the surface of
the earth might lead to serious inconvenience.
Although animal matter in all cases forms some part of their
sustenance, all the individuals of this order do not live upon it ex-
clusively, as there are some which add to it vegetable diet in different
proportions. Some, indeed, are more herbivorous than carnivorous.
Hence arise variations of greater or less extent in their alimentary
organs, especially in the digestive canal and the dental system, and
these modifications form very important characteristics, whereby the
various species are classified.
The Carnivora possess, as a rule, three kinds of teeth — incisors,
canine-teeth, and molars. The z?idsors, placed in front, are six in
number in each jaw. The canine-teeth are long, strong, sharp, and
well adapted to tear the flesh of a victim. There are two of them in
each jaw, placed on each side of the incisors ; there is usually a gap
between the incisors and canines of the upper jaw for the reception
of the lower canine. Lastly come the inolm^s, which vary very much
both in number and form, according to the kind of food eaten ; they
are divided mto fro?it-??iolars, Jiesh-teeth, and tttbercular or back-molars.
The front-molars are usually pointed, and increase in size from the
first to the last ; their number is one at least, and four at most.
These are followed by a tooth with a sharp-edged crown, the largest
in the whole system, known under the name of the flesh-tooth. The
last, or tuberciilated 7nolars, are thus called on account of their large
and flattened crown, sometimes being entirely wanting in the lower
jaw, ^yhere they are always fewer than in the upper jaw.
The flesh-teeth and tubercular teeth differ, not only in their
structure, , but also in the way in which they meet in the act of
THE CARNFVOKA, 331
mastication. The flesh-teeth are alternate in their action, that is,
they sHp one over the other, something Hke the blades of a pair of
scissors ; they are^ therefore, eminently fitted to cut and divide flesh.
The tuberculated molars, on the contrary, being exactly opposite to
each other, and fitting closely, crown to crown, are very well adapted
to grind and triturate vegetable matters.
From what has been already said, we may conclude that an
animal will be carnivorous in his nature in proportion as the flesh-
teeth are more and the tubercular less developed ; and that, on the
contrary, he will be omnivorous, that is, eating both flesh and
vegetables, when these conditions are reversed. We may, therefore,
say, with Isidore Geoffroy Sainte-Hilaire, " that the exact extent to
which an animal is carnivorous is defined with an almost mathe-
matical accuracy by the modifications of its dental system, and
especially of the flesh-teeth."
The Carnivorous Mammals are generally very agile in their habits ;
their limbs are well-proportioned, and their toes, which are entirely
separated from each other, are terminated by stout and strong claws,
more or less sharp according to their habits of life ; these, with their
teeth, constitute their means of attack and defence. In all the
members of the Feline tribe — the Carnivora par excellence — the
claws are retractile, that is, there is the power of withdrawing them
into the interior of each toe at the will ot the animal. This power
is owing to the peculiar arrangement of the claws, and the action of
special muscles which draw these into a sheath. The object of this
is to keep the claws thoroughly sharp and pointed, by protecting
them from all the causes which would wear them away, such as
walking and rubbing them on the ground.
The Carnivora vary very much in their mode of placing their feet
on the ground. Some, such as Bears, Badgers, &c., tread upon the
whole surface of the foot, and are remarkable for their thick-set forms,
— these are called Plantigrades ; others, as Cats, Dogs, &c., only
touch the ground with their toes, and have a more slender body and
a more agile gait — these are called Digitigrades. Between these
well-marked types are ranked various species, which more or less
partake of both characteristics.
These characteristics, derived from the mode of walking, are
useful in the distinctions of genera, but they are scarcely of sufficient
importance to become the starting-point for any general division
of the Carnivora into two great tribes, such as was made by
naturalists at the commencement of the present century.
The senses of the Carnivora are very highly developed, but they are
332 MAMMALIA.
not equally so in all alike. Hearing and sight attain their maximum in
the kinds that feed chiefly on flesh ; whilst a fine perception in smell
and taste is the attribute of those whose food is more or less of a
vegetable nature. Most of the Feline or Cat tribe have their eyes
organised for nocturnal vision.
The Carnivora are superior in intelligence to all the orders of
animals which we have previously noticed. Their brain is volu-
minous, and always presents circumvoluUons in its texture. These
animals are also highly endowed by nature in respect of their cover-
ing. A great number of them furnish furs which are much in
request, either for the brilliancy of their colours or for their fineness.
We may mention particularly the skins of the Marten, the Sable,
the Ermine, the Fox, the Lion, Tiger and Panther, the Bear, and
generally all the furs of the Fehne tribe.
This order is spread in considerable numbers over the whole
surface of the globe, except in Australia, where, as we have seen,
they are represented by the Marsupial Carnivores. The most
formidable species are those found in the torrid regions of Asia,
Africa, and America. The largest species of this order, which is
at present an inhabitant of Europe, is the Bear. However, this part
of the world has not always been so devoid of wild beasts. Bears
much larger than those of the present age used to be common, as
well as Hyenas and Panthers.
The Carnivora are divided into six great families, (i) The
Mustelidce^ the type of which is the Weasel {Mustela) ; (2) the
HycBuidce, or Hyenas ', (3) the FelidcB, or Cat tribe ; (4) the CariidcB,
or Dog tribe ; (5) the Vivenidce or Civets j (6) and the Ursidce, or
Bear tribe.
The Mustelid/E. — This family consists in general of animals
of small size, with slender bodies, carried very near the ground, and
possessing instincts of an eminently destructive character. The
name of Vermifoj'm, which is given to many of them, such as the
Weasel, Otters, Polecats, and Martens, indicates their peculiar con-
formation. They are either digitigrade or plantigrade, but more
often the former. They are characterised by the presence of two
tubercular teeth in each jaw.
Included in this family are the genera to which the Otter, Marten,
Glutton, Weazel, Badger, and Ratel belong.
Lutra. — Otters are essentially organised for an aquatic life.
Their webbed feet, their slender shapes, and their flattened heads,
enable them to cleave the water with rapidity ; while, on the contrary,
THE OTTER.
333
they are awkward and slow on land. They frequent the edges of
lakes, rivers, and streams, where they either dig out a burrow com-
municating with the water, or they take up their abode in some
natural crevice near the bank of the stream they frequent.
As they feed principally on Fish, which they capture with
334 MAMMALIA.
extraordinary adroitness, they cause great havoc in the waters which
they frequent ; for they are said not to be satisfied with sufficient
food to support life, but also to kill from the love of carnage.
Otters will also eat small Mammals, Mollusks, aquatic Reptiles,
and even vegetables. In the early days of spring the female gives
birth to three or four little ones, which she tends with the most active
solicitude, sacrificing her life, if necessary, in their defence. If
deprived of her offspring, it is said that she bemoans their loss with
sorrowful cries, sometimes even dying of grief
This animal is naturally sagacious, and can be tamed. The
better to accomplish this end, it should be caught young, and care
must be taken not to feed it on animal matter, for without this
precaution its ferocious nature is apt to break out and cause it to
become untractable. When trained, the Otter will use its talents
in its master's behalf, and freely relinquish the prey obtained by its
own exertions.
The skin of the Otter is, and has always been, a fur of great
value, and deservedly so, for it is soft, close, and durable. The coat
of this animal, like that of the Beaver, and almost all the aquatic
Mammals, is composed of two layers — one next the skin, formed of
short, fine, and downy hair ; the other, which grows through it, is
more glossy, longer, and coarser. The Otter is hunted with ardour,
as much to obtain possession of the animal's fur as to destroy it.
The pursuit, without firearms, is a difficult one, the paramount
object being to drive the animal into some spot where the water is
shallow, for alone under such circumstances can it be easily killed or
captured.
Otters are found in every part of the world j and they are most
plentiful in Europe and America. The Common Otter (L. vulgaris),
Fig. 127, measures about two feet and a quarter from the tip of the
muzzle to the commencement of the tail, which is from twelve to
fifteen inches in length. The usual colour of its coat is brown, more
or less dark. In Kamschatka and on the coasts of the North Pacific
Ocean there exists a species of Otter {Enhydra lutris) which differs
from all other species in the softness and brilliancy of its fur, and
its exclusively marine habits ; it is rather more than a yard in length.
The male and the female are strongly attached to their offspring, as
well as to each other, and this union appears of a durable nature.
They are, besides, of so mild a nature that when caught in a trap
they oppose scarcely any resistance to their destruction.
The skins of Sea-otters are much sought after. In Europe,
where they are scarce, their price varies from ^£"30 to ;^6o. The
THE WEASEL. 335
markets of China and Japan are supplied with them from the North
Pacific, Avhere they are used for the adornment of the mandarins, and
other high functionaries. But however extravagant their price may
be at the present time, it will certainly increase, as these animals are
gradually becoming exterminated.
Mustela (Linn.). — The Weasels are the smallest, but they are
among the most ferocious of all the flesh-eaters, not even excepting
the Lion, Tiger, and Panther. They feed entirely on living prey,
and seem only to delight in slaughter ; but they seldom attack
animals disproportioned to their own size. Rats, Mice, Squirrels,
form the chief part of their sustenance.
The Weasel [Mustela vulgaris) generally lives in the vicinity of
man's habitations. AvaiHng themselves of the slenderness and flexi-
bility of their bodies, they make their way through holes and aper-
tures into farmyards, poultry-houses, and Rabbit-hutches, when they
put to death all the inhabitants. They appear to possess some
insatiable lust for destruction ; for they will slaughter many more
victims than are necessary to satisfy their hunger. But it must be
remembered that, as the blood and brains of their prey is generally
the only portion utilised, the number of victims must necessarily be
considerable.
The Weasel is among the smallest of all the Carnivora, and does
not measure more than six inches in length. It is found all over the
temperate part of Europe, frequenting the environs of country habi-
tations. Its boldness and courage are extraordinary; it will seize
animals much larger than itself, even those which are formidable,
such as the Norway Rat. According to Dr. Jonathan Franklin, a
Weasel has been seen to attack an Eagle, and after allowing itself to
be carried high into the air, it succeeded, after a prolonged contest,
in biting through the throat of the bird of prey, when both fell to the
ground, the latter in the final agony of life, the Weasel uninjured.
Weasels are artful and cunning, and generally succeed in taking
their prey by surprise, displaying considerable intelligence on such
occasions. They can be tamed, but are almost incapable of aflection.
Thus they are made the slave of man, not his friend.
The Common, or Fetid Polecat [M. putorius), Fig. 128, owes
its latter name to the disagreeable smell which it emits when irritated.
This odour is absolutely insupportable, and alike hateful to all
animals. Similar to the Marten, it frequents inhabited localities, and
perpetrates the same outrages. After the pairing season, which takes
place in spring, the male retires into the woods and subsists on the
resources which they provide. If favoured by such circumstances as
33^ MAMMALIA.
enable it to establish itself in a Rabbit-warren, it makes sad havoc
among the legitimate residents. It is found all over Europe.
The Vison, or Minx ( Vison lutreola, Gmelin), is a North American
representative of this animal ; but its fur is of much more value.
The Ermine {M. erminea), Fig. 129, is, like the Sable, a native
of the more northerly regions of the globe — Sweden, Norway, Russia,
Siberia, but Arctic America is where it most abounds. Those who
hunt the Sable generally combine with it the pursuit of the Ermine.
Fig. 128. — Polecats {Mustela /mtorhis, Linn.).
The prime skins of these animals fetch an exceedingly high price,
and a very important trade in them is carried on. The judges and
other high officials consume a large quantity for their robes ; and
ladies, who love to deck their delicate persons with this beautiful fur,
also show a marked preference for it. In summer the Ermine is of
a beautiful brown colour above and white below, while the tail
is tipped with black. In winter its whole coat becomes a briUiant
white, with sometimes a slightly yellow tinge, the tip of the tail
remaining black. This is the season in which their fur is sought.
This animal is not more than ten inches long, not including the tail.
There is nothing ])eculiar in its habits which requires mentioning.
THE FERRET. 337
The Ferret [Micstela fii-rd)^ Fig. 130, which some authors have
regarded as a variety of the Polecat, has a yellowish-white coat and
pink eyes. It was brought to us from Spain, whence it was originally
obtained from the coast of Africa. It cannot live in a state of
freedom either in France or England, on account of the rigour of
our climate. A cross between the Ferret and Polecat produces a
Fig. 129. — Ermines {M. erminea, Linn.).
hardy animal, which is a great favourite with those that employ
them.
Man has availed himself of the natural instinct possessed by
the Ferret to prey upon Rabbits, and trains it to assist him in
capturing the latter animal. The mode of proceeding is much as
follows : — When a Rabbit-burrow is to be ferreted the Ferret is intro-
duced into one of the holes. It is not long before the Rabbits
become aware of the intrusion of their deadly enemy. Mad with
fright, they leave their haunts ; but the unfortunate creatures only
avoid Scylla to fall into Charybdis ; for at the outlet of the burrow
333
MAMMALIA.
a net awaits them, into which they pkinge headlong, or are shot by
the gun of the sportsman.
The Ferret, however, should always be muzzled ; but for this
precaution, it would seize the Rabbits, and, gorging itself with blood,
remain in a state of insensibility, which sometimes lasts several days.
It is then almost impossible to induce the Ferret to leave the burrow,
except by filling every aperture of it with smoke, and even this
method will not always succeed.
-Ferret {l\;l7istelafnro, Linn.).
Apart from this service, the Ferret is of no use ; it manifests no
affection for its master, not even appearing to recognise him.
The genus Martes live for the most part in trees, being in this
unlike Mustela. The principal species are the Common Marten
(Martes forria), the Pine Marten {M. abietrun), the Sable (J/, zibclliiia)^
and the Beech Marten (M. martes).
The Common Marten, which is essentially nocturnal in its habits,
is about twenty inches long ; it is a native of the wildest forests in
the North of Europe and America. Birds of all kinds. Hares,
Rabbits, Squirrels, Dormice, Wood-mice, and, exceptionally. Serpents
and Lizards, fall a prey under the murderous fangs of this destructive
creature. It also has the reputation of being partial to honey.
Their place of abode is made in the middle of thickets, or in the
hollows of trees. When the female is on the point of giving birth to
THE MARTEN.
339
her young, she looks out for a Squirrel's nest, and having surprised
and devoured the proprietor, instals herself therein.
The fur of the Common Marten is valuable, but it does not bear
comparison with that of some of the other species of which we are
about to speak.
The Sable {M. zibellma) is furnished with a fine and soft coat.
In summer its neck is greyish, but the rest of its body is of a rich
fawn-colour. This little animal, eagerly sought after on account of
c
%^i
^x?
Fig, 131. — Beech or Stone Marten {Martis viartes).
its fur, has its habitat in the northern regions of Siberia and European
Russia. The Turks, Eussians, and Chinese are the principal pur-
chasers of their skins, and distribute them in trade far and wide,
through Europe and Asia. The winter coat of the Sable is almost
black, and very close, and is much mxore valued than when the
animal is in summer garb.
The Russian exiles in Siberia employ themselves hunting the
Sable, and when in quest of this animal they are exposed to all the
perils of famine, climate, and wild beasts.
The Beech, or Stone Marten i^M. martes)^ Fig. 131, is a native
of the whole of Europe, and a part of Western Asia, Woods,
hedges, vineyards, wherever there is sufficient shelter for concealment,
more especially if possessed of facilities for making sudden forays,
come alike acceptable to it for a residence. It also will take up its
340 MAMMALIA.
abode near the habitation of man, destroying with unrelenting fury
the small domestic farm fowls and animals. It will even invade the
dovecots; but the barns and hay-lofts are its favourite places of
retreat, and these are usually selected by the female for a residence
when giving birth to her young. It can be comparatively tamed,
and, when in captivity, will eat anything except vegetables.
Boitard relates a curious fact about a peasant, who managed to
feed his family at the expense of his neighbour, by the united agency
of a Marten and a Dog, both of which, however, must have been
wonderfully trained to attain the desired result. The said peasant
was in the habit of prowhng about the farms adjacent, followed by
his Dog and carrying his Marten in his pocket. Whenever he
noticed a Fowl distant from the homestead to which it belonged, he
let loose the Marten, which killed it. Of course, the rogue went
away at once, assuming an innocent air, whilst the Dog was sent
back for the feloniously slain Bird. This plan was ultimately dis-
covered, and the ingenious villager was compelled to discontinue
profiting by the natural habits of his confederates.
Gulo. — With the Glutton we commence a series of animals, the
mode of walking of which is more or less plantigrade, and their
shapes more massive than those of the preceding. This animal is
the biggest and the strongest of the family. It has a large
head ; the body somewhat more raised from the ground ; a tail of
medium length, and pretty well furnished with hair; the claws sharp
and pointed. It derives its name from its voracity, which is said to
be remarkable.
The Wolverine, or Glutton {Gulo luscus), Fig. 132, is peculiar to
the Arctic regions, both of the Old and New Worlds. The manner
it obtains its food is as follows : — Chmbing into a tree, it remains con-
cealed till some prey passes beneath, when, springing down on to its
back, it clings there, ultimately tearing out the victim's throat with
its sharp teeth. In vain does the animal make most desperate efforts
to get rid of its ferocious assailant ; nothing but the chance interven-
tion of man could then save it. The Glutton fears not to attack
some of the large Ruminants, such as the Reindeer and Elk, and, it
is said, seldom unsuccessfully.
Buffon was in possession of a living specimen of this animal,
which captivity had much subdued. It ate very largely, and with
such greediness that it was several times nearly choking. It could
devour more than four pounds of meat at a single meal, but there is
reason to think it has got a much worse name than it deserves.
Mephitis (Guv.). — In their size and general shape the Skunks
THE SKUNK.
341
approach the larger species of Marten ; but they differ much from
them in their dental system, being organised for an omnivorous
system of food. Their coat is very thick, silky, and varied with
black and white in colour ; the tail is bushy, and capable of being
raised over the back like a plume. These animals inhabit the two
Americas, from Hudson's Bay to Cape Horn, and are remarkable
for the horrible stench which they diffuse around them when pro-
voked. This liquid, the effluvium of which no living creature can
endure, is their weapon of defence, and so powerful is it that cloth-
ing once touched by it is rendered unwearable.
Fig. 132. — Wolverine, or Glutton {Gulo luscus).
Kalm, in his Voyage dans VAmeriqiLe Sepfentf'ionale, thus speaks
of this animal : —
"In 1749 one of these creatures came near the farm where I
was staying ; it was during the night, and in winter time but the
dogs woke up and pursued it. In a moment it diffused around so
fetid a stench that, although I was in bed, I thought I should be
suffocated ; even the cows bellowed, this smell was so disagreeable.
Towards the end of the same year a Skunk crept into our cellar. A
domestic, who perceived it at night from the glittering of its eyes,
killed it ; and, in an instant, the cellar was filled with such an odour,
that not only was the woman ill from its effects for several days, but
the bread, the meat, and other provisions which were kept in the
cellar were so tainted that they could not be used, and it was neces-
sary to throw them all away to render the place fit for use."
34^
MAMMALIA,
Meles (Cuv.). — The Badger is a thick-set animal, standing low on
its legs, about the size of our Common Fox, and, except in regard to
bulk, much resembling the Bear in its general appearance. It has
an elongated muzzle, very sensitive at the tip, strong jaws, and sharp-
pointed teeth ; its fore-feet are armed with stout claws, well adapted
for digging. Its hair is long, and, contrary to what is observed in
most other Mammals, it is of a Hghter shade on the upper part of the
body than on the belly and legs ; its tail is short and hairy. Its gait
in walking is heavy and awkward.
Fig. 133. — Common Badger {Meles taxus).
The Badger {M, taxus), Fig. 133, is common in the temperate
parts of Europe and Asia and North America ; it is met with fre-
quently in France. It lives a solitary life in the most deserted
neighbourhoods, where it digs out a burrow with several outlets, the
various " runs " intersecting one another, and sometimes attaining a
considerable length. It is very shy, and nocturnal in its habits. It
feeds on small animals of all kinds. Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, and
Insects ; also roots, fruit, and honey. It may, therefore, be called
omnivorous in its nature. It can endure very long abstinence ; for
it has been known to remain entirely without food for forty-eight
days, without showing indications of want at the expiration of that
time. Being extremely cunning, it manifests much sagacity in
THE HYENA. 343
avoiding traps ; but it is courageous, and will defend itself stoutly
when attacked. When dogs are pursuing it, its first effort is to get to
its burrow, where it would probably be safe ; but if the place of refuge
be at a distance, the Badger will fight to the death. In such cases,
the animal throws itself on its back, and seldom yields up life without
inflicting severe wounds on its enemies. But if, on the contrary, the
Badger reaches its hole, it becomes a difficult matter to dig it out, as
it is often necessary to break through into the runs of the burrow by
means of a pickaxe ; and these runs go down so deep, and occupy
so much space, that whole days have been consumed before the
animal could be secured.
When caught young, the Badger may be easily tamed, and
becomes almost as familiar as a Dog. The great variety of food
which it thrives upon renders it easy to keep. Its skin is used by
harness-makers, its hair serves for the manufacture of shaving-brushes,
and its flesh is said to be deHcate.
In India, the Badger is represented by Mdes collaris, frequently
called Bear Pig ; and in North America, by Meles Labi-adoria. The
form and habits of the latter have been admirably described by Sir
John Richardson in his Fauna Boreali Americana.
Mellivora. — The Ratel or Honey Badger {M. Capensis) bears
much resemblance to the Badger ; it has the same thick-set shape
and awkward gait ; a similar arrangement in the colouring of the
coat, and instinct for digging; but its muzzle is shorter in proportion,
while its size is greater, for it measures about a yard in length. It is
very fond of honey, and employs the greater part of its time in
seeking this favourite diet. Its skin, which is covered with thick
and coarse hair, is thus defended against the sting of insects. It i?
found in several parts of Africa, especially at the Cape of Good Hope.
The HvENiDiE. — In this family are classed certain animals of
considerable size and highly Carnivorous tastes, which are digiti-
grade in their walk ; these are the Hyenas proper, and the Aard
Wolf.
Hyena, — The chief characteristics of the animals of this genus
are — stout and strong teeth, better fitted for grinding than cutting j
very powerful jaws, which are able to lift easily a prey of enormous
weight ; head large, and terminated by a blunt muzzle ; repulsive
scowling visage ; tongue rough, like that of the Cat tribe ; ears large,
and almost bare ; coat rather thick, and increasing to a kind 0/
flowing mane along the ridge of the spine ; tail moderately long and
hairy ; hind-quarters lower than the fore, causing an obliquity and
344 MAMMALIA.
shambling in their gait ; feet tetradactylous ; claws short and stout,
more useful for digging than tearing a prey.
The Hyena is met with in all parts of Africa, and in a large
portion of Asia. It dwells in caverns, from which it emerges at
evening to seek its food.
Hyenas are not, however, the ferocious beasts which the popular
imagination delights to picture them. They never attack man,
except in cases of absolute necessity. In fact, they prefer animal
matter in a state of putrefaction. They frequent burying-grounds,
where they devour the dead (Fig. 134). They will even enter villages
to consume animal remains thrown away as unfit for the table,
whether flesh or bones, for their voracity is only equalled by their
powers of digestion.
These unclean habits, and their repeated violations of graves,
have caused the Hyena to be regarded as an object of aversion and
disgust. We should, however, be just, and not refuse to recognise
the services which are rendered by them. The Hyena is, among
Quadrupeds, what the Vulture is among Birds. They perform very
much the same functions, but much more completely, as they con-
sume even the skeletons of the carcasses on which they feed. In
those cities and villages of Africa in which the care of the public
ways is left to chance, the Hyenas are in the habit of removing all
the offal which would otherwise decay, the decomposition of which,
accelerated by a burning sun, would engender a pestilential miasma,
and endanger the public health. Looked at in this point of view,
the utility of this animal cannot be disputed.
Unfortunately, in those localities where Hyenas most abound,
they can seldom find a sufficient quantity of putrefied matter to
satisfy their appetites, and thus are frequently compelled to appro-
priate living prey. Travellers relate that at night they break down
the barricades which the inhabitants of African villages erect round
their houses, to get at the cattle. In the absence of animal food they
can subsist upon roots and vegetables.
The two best known species of this family are the Striped
Hyena {Hyena striata) and the Spotted Hyena {Hyena maculata).
The Striped Hyena owes its name to the black lines which run
transversely across its yellowish-grey coat. It is about the size of
a large Dog, and is a native of Barbary, Egypt, Abyssinia, Arabia,
Syria, and Persia.
The Spotted Hyena is to be met with in Barbary, and is also
found in Caffraria, and generally throughout the whole of South
Africa. This species may be very easily tamed. Some of the African
colonists rear it like a Dog, and exact from it similar services. It is
by kind treatment alone its attachment is gained ; ill usage would
render it dangerous.
The Aai'd Wolf {Proteles balandi). — This genus differs so little in
general appearance from the Hyenas, that it is quite excusable for
the two to be confounded. But, independently of the fact that the
former has five toes on the fore-feet, whilst Hyenas have only four,
the genus Proteles must be classed by itself on account of its dental
system, which presents a type which is entirely exceptional throughout
the whole Carnivorous order. This animal has but four pairs of
molars in each jaw, very wide apart, which are reduced to mere
rudiments. The conclusion to be drawn from this fact is, that these
animals do not possess a dental apparatus suitable for feeding on
tough and muscular flesh, and that therefore something more easy of
mastication is necessary for their nutriment. Observation has con-
firmed these conjectures. The Aard Wolf lives principally on the
flesh of very young or immature Ruminants. It, however, will occa-
sionally attack adult Sheep, or equally defenceless animals. They
also are frequenters of graveyards.
There is not much known about the habits of this animal. It
has, however, been ascertained that it digs burrows, in which it
retires during daylight. It is a native of Southern Africa, the
Mozambique Coast, Nubia, and Abyssinia.
The Felid^. — The Feline or Cat tribe form a strongly marked
and easily characterised family.
They have a round head ; jaws short, and consequently very
powerful, armed with sharp teeth ; the tongue bristling with horny
paillpce, which produce a rasp-like sensation when drawn across the
bare skin, wounding by mere licking ; they possess five toes on the
front and four on the hind feet; claws sharp-cutting, pointed,
and retractile, except in the Hunting Leopard; eyes yellow, and
organised for nocturnal vision ; the ears well open, but slightly
developed. If, to these various features, we add a digitigrade tread,
a lithe form, and an astonishing degree of suppleness and activity
enabling them to spring immense distances, we shall be able to form
some general idea of these formidable quadrupeds.
And, in fact, most formidable they are ! for amongst them are
found the Lion, Tiger, Panther, &c., the largest, the best armed,
and the most sanguinary of the Carnivorous order. They feed,
except in rare cases, on none but living victims, the palpitating flesh
of which they rend to pieces with savage energy. Although the
34^ MAMMAL/A.
various species differ much in size, they are all alike in their mode of
attacking, their method of contending with, and ultimately killing,
their victims. As a rule, they take them by surprise ; for they are
not possessed of that courage which people are pleased to attribute
to them. Crouched in some hidden retreat, silently and patiently
they await their prey ; and as soon as within reach they spring upon
it from behind, without allowing time for escape or defence. In
order to avoid dangerous opposition, they seldom attack any but the
most inoffensive animals. Hunger alone induces them to dart upon
the first creature they come in contact with ; but, in this case, if they
encounter resistance, their fury is commensurate.
The Felidse includes the Cats, the Lynxes, and the Hunting
Leopard.
The Cats include those Carnivora which have for their type the
Domestic Cat. These are, in the Old World, the Lion, Tiger,
Panther, Leopard, Ounce, Serval, Wild and Domestic Cats ; in the
New World, the Jaguar, Puma, and Ocelot.
T/ie Lion {Felis ieo), Fig. 135. — If the impression made by
the first sight of this animal be retained, it must be confessed that
the Lion is no usurper of the title " King of the Beasts," which
has been awarded him from the most ancient times. He carries
his head high, and walks with a slowness which may well pass for
dignity ; his visage is calm and dignified, and announces a full con-
sciousness of his strength. The bushy and magnificent mane
which overshadows his head and neck is an addition which confers
on his remarkable ensemble an air of grandeur which commands
awe.
Some adult Lions have attained a length of nearly ten feet, from
the tip of the muzzle to the root of the tail ; but, generally speaking,
they do not exceed six to seven feet. With the exception of the mane
and a tuft of hair at the end of the tail, the coat is entirely smooth,
and of a nearly uniform tawny colour. The female is distinguished
by the absence of any mane, and by a smaller head ; she is generally,
in proportion, about one-fourth less than the male.
Buffon has drawn a magnificent portrait of the Lion, which will
ever remain one of the most beautiful passages in French literature.
He attributes to it the good qualities of courage, magnanimity, gene-
rosity, nobility of character, gratitude for kindness, and sensibility.
Unfortunately, this elaborate panegyric is fated to give way before
observation.
Before proceeding any further, there is one remark which it is
necessary to make, which is, that Lions diifer much in size, nature,
THE LION 351
and habits, according to the country which they inhabit. The
evidence of various travellers puts it beyond all doubt that the Lion
of South Africa differs as a variety from the Lion of Barbary.
This remark will be sufficient to explain the numerous contradic-
tions which, even up to the present day, have thrown some obscurity
round the various accounts of this animal, if looked upon as a single
type. TJiese contradictions, however, exist only in appearance,
because they merely depend on the confusion in the varieties of the
species, and fall to the ground as soon as this confusion is cleared up.
There are, nevertheless, certain characteristics which are possessed
in common by all the Lions, viz., a certain physiognomy.
As a rule, the Lion does not hunt during the day ; not that his
eyes are unfitted for diurnal vision, but indolence and prudence
keep him at home till evening. When the first shadows of twilight
appear, he enters upon his campaign. If there is a pool in the
vicinity of his haunt he places himself in ambush on the edge of
it, with the hope of securing a victim among the Antelopes, Gazelles,
Giraffes, Zebras, Buffaloes, &c., which are led thither to slake their
thirst. These animals, well aware of this habit of their enemy, will
not approach a pond without extreme caution. If one, however,
places itself within reach of their terrible foe, its fate is generally
sealed. One enormous bound enables the Lion to spring on it, and
one blow with its paw breaks its back. If the Lion misses his aim,
he does not endeavour to continue a useless pursuit, well knowing
that he cannot compete in speed with the children of the plains. He
therefore skuJks back into his hiding-place, to he in ambush until
some more fortunate chance presents itself, or complete nightfall shuts
out all hope of success.
The Lion, however, is not disposed to remain long with an empty
stomach. Then it is that he approaches man's habitations, with the
hope of surprising the domestic animals. Fences ten feet in height
form no obstacle to him, for he will bound over such with ease, when,
falling into the midst of the herd, he seizes the nearest.
The amount of strength which he manifests under circumstances
similar to these is really extraordinary. A Lion has been known, at
the Cape of Good Hope, to carry off a Heifer as a Cat would a
Mouse, and, with the burden, leap a wide ditch. It is almost impos-
sible to conceive the muscular force necessary to jump a fence
several feet high when carrying a load of several hundredweights.
The audacity of the Lion increases in proportion to his need.
When he has exhausted all means of procuring subsistence, and when
he can no longer put off the cravings of hunger, he sets no limit to
his aggressions, and will brave every danger ratlier t"han peris'h by
famine. In open day he will then proceed to where herds of Oxen
and Sheep are pastured, entirely disregarding shepherds and Dogs. At
such times he has been known to carry his rashness so far as to attack
a drove of Buffaloes, an action which is all the bolder as a single
Buffalo, unless it is taken by surprise, is well able to defend itself.
" I have it on good authority," says Sparrmann, " that a Lion was
thrown down, wounded and trampled under foot so seriously as to
cause death by a herd of cattle he had ventured to attack in open
day."
Livingstone, too, the celebrated African traveller, was witness to a
herd of Buffaloes defending themselves against several Lions. The
bulls stood in front, the females and young ones keeping behind
them.
When nearly famished, the Lion will make shift with carrion,
although it may be in a very decomposed state ; moreover, he is in
the habit of returning the next day to consume the remains of his
yesterday's feast, a thing which is not done by others of the Feline
tribe.
One feature, which seems peculiar to the nature of South African
Lions, is, that they will combine to hunt those animals which singly
they are unable to encounter with certainty of success. Delegorgue
relates that in winter twenty or thirty Lions have been seen to
assemble during the day-time, and drive their game into narrow
passes, in which some of their confreres were posted. These are, he
says, regular battues, conducted in due order, but without noise ; for
the smell of the Lion is quite sufficient to drive before it the herbi'
vorous animals. The Rhinoceros is sometimes destroyed in this
way by associations of Lions.
There is one important fact which has several times been ob-
served. When the Lion is hungry or irritated, he flogs his sides
with his tail and shakes his mane. If, therefore, a traveller finds
himself unexpectedly in the presence of a Lion, he may thus know the
brute's intendons, and can take precautions accordingly. If the tail
does not move, the animal may be j^assed without fear ; not only
will he not spring upon you, but throwing a stone at him will suffice
to drive him away. Under the reverse circumstances, no time must
be lost in seeking a place of refuge, unless you are in a position to
commence a contest with your arms, and then the more prompt and
determined your action the more successful will be the issue.
Because the Lion seldom attacks any living creature when his
appetite is satisfied, and because he is content with one victim at a
THE LION. 353
time, some people have fancied that he is magnanimous. We might
as well praise the abstemiousness of a man who has well fed. But
few animals kill for the mere pleasure of killing. If some of the
Carnivora appear to contradict this, it may be because we are unable
to appreciate their motives ; with the progress of knowledge, their
true characters may in future be better understood. It is also at
present impossible for us to say that the Lion is less irritable than
other quadrupeds. The " King of Beasts," moreover, does not fear
man ; nevertheless, he treats him with respect, only attacking him in
a case of urgent necessity, such as suffering from long abstinence,
without a prospect of food. Numerous testimonies vouch for the
correctness of this statement.
" We arrived one day," says Delegorgue, "where the Caffirs and
their famihes, although deprived of firearms, traversed the localities
where thdse animals roam, the presence of Lions being to them no
cause for alarm. And there is reason for this : either from motives
of cunning, or through timidity, this terrible animal, when surprised,
and hunger does not excite him, takes to flight at the sight of a man
or child, and even retires when the wind carries the sound of human
voices to him. These habits, which appear to be determined by a
feeling of caution, are well known to the experienced."
One day Sparrmann and his companions saw before them, at two
or three hundred paces distant, two large Lions, which fled as soon
as they perceived the hunters. The latter pursued them on horse-
back, shouting loudly : but the Lions doubled their pace, and
plunged into a wood, where they disappeared.
The Rev. D. Moffat speaks of having seen bushmen compel the
Lion to forsake his prey by only shouting and making a great noise.
A wealthy farmer was walking over his land, armed with his gun.
Suddenly he saw a Lion. Making certain of killing it, he aimed.
The gun, however, hung fire \ the man, alarmed, turned to the right
about and scampered off with all his might, pursued by the Lion. A
little mound of stones presented itself, and on this he jumped,
wheeling round to face the brute, and threatening it with the butt-end
of his gun. In turn, the animal halted, and withdrew some paces,
looking very composed, but the farmer did not venture to descend.
At last, after nearly half an hour had passed, it slunk slowly away, as
if it had been stealing ; and as soon as it got a short distance off,
took to rapid flight. This anecdote is told by Sparrmann.
Another proof of the fear that seizes the Lion at the sight of man,
is the manner in which it treats him when in its power. While it at
once kills an inferior animal which it has made its prey, it does not
354 MAMMALIA.
immediately take the life of a human being whom it has seized.
Evidently it acts in this manner because it still fears him, even when
he is lying on the earth powerless — instinctive fear, and not
generosity, arrests its vengeance.
We have many examples to bear out this statement. A hunter
fires at a Lion and misses, or but slightly wounds it. The animal
precipitates itself upon him, strikes him to the ground with a stroke
of his paw, and there respectfully keeps him in this terrible restraint,
without completing the work of destruction. Thus it often happens
that its attention is distracted by the attack of another hunter, when
it abandons its victim.
In this way Livingstone one day escaped certain death. A Lion
held him prostrate on the ground in his claws, when a shot from one
of his companions fortunately attracted the animaFs attention. Im-
mediately leaving the Doctor, the terrible beast threw itself on its
new adversary, who in turn escaped.
It appears, from the statements of some travellers, that when the
Lion has fed several times on human flesh, it afterwards prefers this
food. It then becomes a man-eater, as the Arabs call it, and instead
of flying from the presence of man, it seeks him with persistence.
Some have imagined that the Lion recognises the superiority of the
white man over the black, and knowing that it has more to fear from
the former than the latter, it prefers attacking the negro. It is well
known in South Africa that the natives are much more exposed to
their assaults than the colonists.
Self-respect is one of the characteristic traits of the Lion ; it loves
to admire itself.
" In daylight," says Livingstone, "the Lion will halt for one or
two seconds to stare at any one it meets ; it turns slowly round ;
moves off some steps, always leisurely, looking back over its
shoulder ; then it begins to trot, and finally bounds off like a Hare
as soon as it supposes it is no longer seen."*
Its distrust is excessive. When its suspicions are aroused, it is
careful how it makes an attack. And so it frequently happens that,
against its own inclinations, it leaves a prey that it deems too easily
obtained, suspecting it to be a bait. Sometimes the conjecture
proves false, and the man or animal whose unlucky star has placed
him or it without defence in the path of the Lion, thus miraculously
escapes its formidable jaws. The following is an example : — A
colonist at the Cape of Good Hope suddenly came upon a Lion,
• ' ' Explorations in Southern Africa. "
THE LION, 355
and was so frightened at its appearance that he fell down from fear.
Surprised at such a result, the Lion carefully inspected the whole
vicinity without seeing any one. Still fearing some ambush, it
quietly retired, without touching the man, whom fear had rendered
incapable of action.
The roaring of the Lion has always been a proverb. When heard
Fig. 136. — Dr. Livingstone.
within a distance of a mile or two during the silence of the night, it
awes all living creatures. When this great voice echoes over the
plain the cattle tremble in the farms, and follow with anxiety its
various modulations, in order to inform themselves of the direction in
which the enemy is approaching. If the Lion comes to prowl around
the inclosure ^ in which they are sheltered they exhibit symptoms
of the most intense fear. Their sense of smell alone suffices to
indicate, even at a considerable distance, the dreaded presence.
Livingstone makes some remarks on the voice of the kin^ of
356 MAMMALIA.
beasts, which are singularly opposed to the opinions of the majority
of authors who have spoken of that animal. He asserts that the
roaring of the Lion resembles, and may be mistaken for, the cry of
the Ostrich. The voice of the Ostrich, he says, is as loud as that of
the Lion, and it has never frightened anybody. He declares he has
consulted several Europeans on this subject, who were acquainted
with both cries, and all replied that there was not the slightest
difference. The natives (he further states) are very often deceived,
and it is not until after the first notes are uttered, and by paying
great attention, that it becomes possible to distinguish the voice of
the Carnivore from that of the Bird.
Livingstone thinks that, in general, the cry of the Ostrich is not
so deep as the Lion's roar ; but, he adds, I have not been able up to
the present time to distinguish with certainty between them, because
they are only heard, the one during the night, and the other during
the day. Perhaps the Lion of the Atlas has a more powerful voice
than that of South Africa, which Livingstone alone refers to. If
this supposition be correct, it may reconcile all difference of
opinions. We give in Fig. 136 a portrait of the renowned traveller,
Dr. Livingstone, to whom we have so frequently made reference in
these pages, and whose name will for ever be associated with travel
and exploration in Africa.
It is in spring that the Lion seeks a mate, and when an alliance
is formed they show themselves most devoted to one another. Until
the female has young, the Lioness follows her lord everywhere, and
most frequently the male is charged with providing the common
subsistence. It is said that he pushes his gallantry so far as to refuse
to eat first, and that he does not approach the prey captured by him-
self until the Lioness is satisfied; and, on the other hand, the latter
defends him with energetic fury if he be attacked.
The Lioness goes with young about one hundred and fifty days,
and brings forth from two to five cubs, which she tends and protects
with remarkable solicitude. Her courage in defending them has
become proverbial. Evil be to those who attempt to disturb or to
deprive her of her cubs ! for they will feel the weight of her wrath,
unless they gain shelter or slay the furious mother.
As the male has the unnatural habit of devouring his offspring
when they come into the world, the Lioness wanders in search of
some inaccessible concealed spot in which to deposit her progeny.
She is, moreover, careful to an extreme to make all her tracks in the
vicinity most intricate and confused.
She suckles her cubs for six months^ scarcely ever leaving them
THE LION,
357
except to quench her thirst, or procure nourishment. After weaning
them, she takes them out to hunt, when their ravages are of incredible
extent ; for it is said that they kill not only to feed, Dut also to learn
how to strangle and tear their prey. The neighbouring population
35^ MAMMALIA,
know to their cost what the nature of this education is. This state
of things lasts until the cubs are strong enough to find their own
subsistence, when they are driven off by their parents.
The size of a new-born cub is about that of a half-grown Cat ; at
a year old it is equal in stature to that of a Newfoundland Dog.
They do not walk before they are two months old. The colour of
the coat in the young differs from that of the adult animal, in being
yellow, and striped with small brown bars, which markings do not
completely disappear until maturity of form is reached. The mane
begins to grow on the male when he is about three years of age. The
average duration of the Lion's life appears to be from thirty-five to
forty years.
A fact to be noted in the habits of the Lion, particularly those of
North Africa, is that by reason of its carnivorous regime, and the
activity of its appetite, it is generally obliged to live a solitary exist-
ence, in a locality where it arrogates to itself the exclusive ownership.
No other animal of the same species is permitted to plant its foot on
this reserved domain without having to contend for proprietorship.
Travellers have given us descriptions of these terrible contests, which
are often terminated by the death of the two com.petitors.
Another cause of strife between the males is the possession of
the females in the coupling season. It appears that these dames
take a mahcious pleasure in exciting the jealousy of their wooers,
and that it affords them pleasure to see these fiery champions slay
each other for the sake of their good graces.
The Lion is most assuredly the king of animals, if we might
judge from its strength and pow^r of destruction. We are amazed
when we think of the number of cattle slain by a single representative
of this species during a hfetime. Jules Gerard, surnamed the Lion-
killer, and celebrated for his hunting in Algeria, gives an estimate of
6,000 francs as the value of the Horses, Mules, Oxen, Camels, and
Sheep that a single Lion carries off annually from the Arabs. In taking
the average duration of his life, which is thirty-five years, each Lion at
this rate costs the Arabs 2 10,000 francs. Jules Gerard adds that from
1856 to 1857 sixty Lions carried off, in the province of Bona only,
ten thousand head of cattle, great and small. The quantity of food
that this flesh-eater absorbs at a single repast is truly prodigious ; he
has been seen to devour the whole of a Heifer at one meal.
From this it can be understood how cordially the Lion is hated by
the people of Algeria, whose whole wealth consists in herds and flocks ;
hatred all the more violent, as the Arabs rarely have the courage
to expose their lives in arresting the depredations of their enemy.
THE LION. 359
A great number of artifices are employed to destroy Lions. The
negroes of the Soudan, as well as the Hottentots, dig a deep pit in
the path frequented by the Lion they are desirous of killing. This
pit is perfectly concealed by a roofing of branches covered with turf,
which gives way on the slightest pressure. On this deceitful ground
they fix some kind of bait, either a living Lamb or a piece of freshly-
killed Ox or Horse. The Lion arrives, perceives the bait, springs at
it, and falls into the trap. His enemies then approach and worry
the victim, now powerless to do injury, and shoot him down at their
leisure from the border of the pit, at the bottom of which he crouches
in mournful silence, and with a calmness full of dignity.
The Arabs often excavate this cavity in the interior of the douar
(a collection of tents) ; the locality allows them to dispense with the
ingenious contrivance for concealment, and still further assures the
success of the artifice. When the nocturnal marauder clears the
hedge that surrounds the village, he tumbles into this gaping hole, to
remain a prisoner till his captives choose to slay him. His imprison-
ment is announced to the neighbouring villages with frantic cheers
and rejoicings of every description. Men, women, and children all
rush to contemplate the unfortunate brute, and shower upon it deri-
sive epithets, and volleys of stones.
Destroying it by concealing a pitfall in an underground place
is tolerably free from danger. In this method three or four men
hide themselves in a hole about three feet deep on the margin of a
path frequented by their prey. The roof is covered with heavy
stones and earth ; narrow openings are made in the sides, in order
to see what may be passing without, and on which to rest their fire-
arms ; lastly, a lure is placed in front of this sanctuary to induce the
Lion to stop, which if he does a volley of bullets is his welcome. It
is rare that he falls dead immediately, but springs towards the
ambush, hoping to find the foe ; but the construction is too strong
to permit him to enter, and he staggers off, probably to die in his den.
At other times, the hunters conceal themselves in a tree to which
they even add more branches to make a more secure hiding-place.
From this post they operate in precisely the same manner as in the
subterranean plan.
These two methods are those principally in vogue among the
Arabs.
But the caution of the Lion often defeats these artifices ; so that
he can only be destroyed by attacking him when opportunity offers.
A number of horsemen, accompanied by vigorous Dogs, meet
together and scour the woods to which he resorts, and by different
360 MAMMALIA,
means force him out on the plain. If the animal shows fight under
these conditions he is lost. The hunters successively ply him with
bullets, or fly at speed out of his reach ; when, having re-loaded their
weapons, they return to the attack, and re-commence firing until the
foe succumbs.
The colonists of South Africa adopt a similar method, and there
is no instance on record in which one of them has been killed in
this kind of tournament. Not only do they practise it without
apprehension, but with pleasure, and they are always ready to avail
themseves of an opportunity to enjoy it.
This sport, however, does not go on so smoothly with the Arabs,
for their arms are inferior to those of the colonists ; and the Lion
is never so terrible as when he is dangerously wounded and on the
point of death. Every one who falls beneath his claws at such a
time is truly in a perilous position.
There is still another method of chasing the Lion, which demands
coolness, intrepidity, and, above all, remarkably good eyesight ; this
is the chasse a VaffiLt, so well explained and illustrated by Jules
Gerard and Chassaing. By this mode it is necessary to go alone to
the place frequented by the game. By observation the favourite
haunt is chosen, the animal's precise movements are studied and
watched, so that the hunter becomes thoroughly acquainted with the
marauder's habits. At last, on some fine night, it is waited for in the
most favourable situation for attack ; then the sportsman must
conquer or die.
By this method Chassaing obtained surprising results : for he
declared that he killed fourteen Lions in ninety-six hours, four of
which fell in a single night !
The exploits of Jules Gerard, surnamed the '* Lion-killer," have
been admired by all the world. His spirit-stirring adventures have
been widely read and enjoyed. We will limit ourselves to giving an
idea of them, by selecting what appear the most interesting passages.
In Chapter XVI. of his work, entitled "Z^ Ticeur de Ltojis," he
thus relates what follows : —
"Scarcely had I arrived at Guelma when I received new com-
plaints, due to the presence of a large tawny Lion, which had
established itself since my departure amongst my friends the
Makouna.
" I still suffered from fever, but I knew how healthy are the air
and the watei of these mountains, so started off.
" Of all the people in the country, a man named Lakdar had
suffered th'* most ; he alone had lost the- large number of twenty-
THE LION, 361
nine Oxen, forty-five Sheep, and several Mules and mares. It is
necessary, however, to mention that this unfortunate individual had
fixed his abode in the least inhabited part of the district, and which
really appeared more made for Lions than men. If we figure to
ourselves a corner of arable ground on the slope of the most thickly
wooded and rugged mountain, where the sun never penetrated, we
have an idea of the locality where Lakdar had taken up his residence.
I ought to add, however, that he had before his tent a garden planted
with fruit trees, and a spring which yielded delicious water — natural
resources that all the gold in the world could not, in an Arab's
estimation, surpass. It was for this reason Lakdar was able to sup-
port, with the courage of a stoic, the ravages inflicted on him by
the decimator of his herds.
" On my arrival at my host's I was greeted as a saviour. I
found the douar surrounded by a hedge six feet high, and about four
feet thick ; this the Lion, to obtain his supper, jumped over nearly
every night. I passed several consecutive evenings watching with-
out seeing the hungry visitor. In the daytime I carefully examined
all the neighbouring haunts, but without success.
" * You see,' said Lakdar to me, ' it is sufficient for you to appear
and the enemy vanishes ; but as soon as you go away he will return,
and then my last ox, my brother, my wife, even my child, will all be
carried off ! '
" ' You must marry among us, and never more go away,' chimed
in Lakdar's wife. ' We will search out for you the prettiest maids of
the mountain — gazelles in form and doves in affection ; choose two
or three ; the tribe will give you a fine tent, and flocks and herds,
and we shall all be happy, for we shall have peace,'
"This example of the animosity of the Lion against a single
douar, or even a single tent, is not rare
" . . . . On the evening of the 26th August, while sitting in
the garden observing an old Boar wallowing, Lakdar came and told
me that his black Bull had not returned with the herd, and that at
daybreak he would search for its remains.
" The next morning, on waking up, I found my host near me.
His face was overspread with joy.
*' ' Come,' he exclaimed, ' I have found it ! '
" After passing through a dense vvood for a quarter of an hour we
came to the remains of the Bull. The thighs and breast had been
devoured. I then sent Lakdar for a cake and a jar of water, after
receiving which I installed myself at the foot of an olive tree about
three paces from the carcase. The woodj. in the middle of which I
362 MAMMALIA.
found myself, was so dense, that it was impossible to see for more
than eighteen or twenty feet around. I had taken the precaution to
assure myself, by the spoor, of the direction the Lion had taken
when retiring, so as to face that point. Afterwards I relieved myself
of my turban, the better to hear the slightest noise. At sunset all
the animal life in my vicinity was on the move, so that I was often
falsely alarmed at one time by a Lynx, at another by a Jackal, and
sometimes by creatures of less importance. For each alarm I
experienced as many fancies ; and I may truly say that, in the space
of half an hour, I felt as many as would satisfy the most fastidious
adventure-hunter. Towards eight o'clock in the evening, at the
moment when the new moon half lighted up the edges of the black
scud overhead, I heard a branch snap. This time there could be no
mistake ; only the weight of a large animal could make such a noisCo
Shortly after, a hollow, suppressed roar re-echoed through the forest.
Then I could distinguish a slow heavy tread. With my rifle to my
shoulder, elbow on knee, and finger on trigger, I waited the moment
when his head would appear. But I could not perceive the foe
until he had reached the Bull, on which he began to ply his
enormous tongue. I aimed at his forehead, and fired. The Lion
fell roaring, then sprang up on his hind legs, as a Horse when
rearing. I had also risen and taking a step to the front fired a
second shot at close quarters. This brought him head over heels,
as if struck by a thunderbolt. I then withdrew in order to reload ;
which having done, and seeing that the animal still moved, I
advanced on him, dagger in hand. Certain of the spot where his
heart was situated, I raised my hand and struck. But at the same
moment the fore-arm of the tawny savage made a backward move-
ment, and the blade of my dagger broke in his side. My presence
had renewed his vitality. He raised his enormous head. I retired
two paces, and administered a final shot. My first bullet entered
about an inch above the left eye, and came out behind the neck,
but was inefficient to cause death. While I was examining the
wounds, and reflecting on the difliculty of killing a Lion on the spot,
I heard a great noise behind me. It was Lakdar, who rushed through
the wood like a hunted Wild Boar.
" ' It is I,' he cried, out of breath, and forcing a way through the
underwood. * I was there all the time, and heard everything. The
infidel, the ogre, the scourge, the fiend incarnate is dead, dead !
Here is a happy day !' exclaimed he, trying to disengage a corner of
his burnous from the thorns that held it fast.
" Then he called with all his might to his brother, his sons, and
THE LfON. 363
his wife, as if they were within sound of his voice, * Come to me !
bring the dogs ! he is dead ! he is dead ! '
"At last he went to where the Lion lay, saying, 'Thanks,
brother, for that which you have done this day. Henceforth I am
yours, body and goods.'
" ' Look,' said I, ' and assure yourself if that be really your
friend.'
"He crouched down in silence near the Lion, examined it
attentively, and endeavoured to raise its head.
" ' All that you have taken from me,' he said, addressing the
carcass, ' all the evil you have done is as nothing, for now you have
found your master, and you are dead ; and I can now strike you
with my fist.'
"And suiting the action to the word, he struck with no light
hand.
"Soon after, the brother and sons of Lakdar also arrived,
attracted by the reports of my arms ; and it was not without trouble
that I induced them to accompany me to the tent there to wait for
daylight.
"Next day all the men, women, children, and Dogs on the
mountain took their way towards the residence of Lakdar. Not-
withstanding this reinforcement of strength, the density of the wood
and the weight of the carcass were so great that it was impossible to
remove it from the place where it fell ; so, ultimately, we were
obliged to skin it where it lay.
" Lakdar asked me as a favour to allow him to accompany me
to Guelma, so as to make his entry with me, himself carrying the
spolia opima. I consented, and in order to enhance the triumphal
rejoicings, he spread the Lion's skin on the mule he bestrode. It
is scarcely necessary to say that the creature charged with such a
load cared much less about the honour than its master did, and
that more than once my companion was ignominiously and hurriedly
dismounted.
" To give an idea of the size of this Lion, I will mention the
following tact : —
" General Bedeau, who was passing through Guelma at the time
when I arrived, expressed a desire to see its skin. I hastened to
select from among the troops one of the strongest men to carry it
into the presence of my superior. Scarcely had this load been placed
on the spahi's shoulders than he sank beneath its weight j and, for
want of more suitable means, a stable wheel-barrow ultimately had
to be employed for the purpose.
364 MAMMALIA.
" Lakdar returned to look at it in the evening. Next day he
was there again to have a last glance ere it was carried away by the
purchaser.
" Comparing this one with the finest Lions I have seen in me-
nageries, or in the Jardin des Plants, it was as a Horse to an Ass."
This celebrated Lion-killer perished in 1866; but not beneath
the claws of one of the race he had so often caused to bite the dust.
He met an accidental and obscure death while crossing a river during
an excursion which had not even Lion-hunting for its object.
We will terminate this brief history of the king of animals by
noticing the efforts which have been sometimes made to subdue his
Carnivorous instincts.
A false idea is generally entertained with regard to these great
Carnivorous animals. It is looked upon as an almost superhuman
task to overcome their ferocity, and to tame them. From this sup-
position arises the admiration of the crowd for those people who
enter Lions' cages. Such exhibitions, however, have nothing asto-
nishing in them when we know that the Lion, far from being incapable
of training, readily submits to it. Frequent examples of this have
occurred in the various zoological establishments in Europe.
In 1825 there were, in the menagerie in the Tower of London,
two young Lions, a male and female ; they had been obtained in
India, where they were captured when only a few days old, and a
Goat had been employed to suckle them during the early months of
their existence. So docile were they, that they were allowed to
wander about the courtyard, and visitors caressed and played with
them with impunity. At a later period, it was deemed proper to shut
them up, to prevent accidents ; but this more rigorous captivity did
not alter the character of the male. With regard to the female, she
became intractable when suckling— a circumstance perfectly explained
when we know the violent affection this creature displays towards its
progeny.
In menageries, the keepers who look after these ferocious beasts
perform every day as great feats as the professional trainers, for they
enter the cages, and are received by the occupants with much affec-
tion— a truly curious interchange of greetings between the man and
beast.
There is still preserved the remembrance of a deep friendship
which arose between two Lions, male and female, brought to the
Jardin des Plantes, in 1799, and a man named Felix, the keeper, at
that period, of the menagerie. When he became unwell, and it was
necessary to replace him, the male Lion persistently refused to have
THE LION. 365
anything to do with the strSinger, and would not even allow him to
approach the place of confinement. When Felix re-appeared, the
Lion, accompanied by the Lioness, rushed to meet him. They
iroared with pleasure while licking his face and hands, and in all their
■movements demonstrated the greatest joy at seeing him once more.
A Lioness has been exhibited in England which would allow her
keeper to get upon her back, and, with a still greater degree of
familiarity, drag her about by the tail, or even place his head between
her teeth.
The ancients, more adroit or less timid than ourselves, were much
better skilled in taming ferocious animals. Hanno of Carthage em-
ployed a Lion to carry a portion of his baggage. Mark Antony was
often drawn in a chariot to which Lions were yoked. The Indian
princes of the last century knew the science of training Tigers and
Lions to hunt for them. Even at the present time the Orientals fre-
quently reduce the Lion to domesticity. Thus the famous King of
Abyssinia, Theodorus, who put an end to his life in 1868 in so
tragical a manner, had in his palace several Lions, which were intended
to figure among the magnificent collection of animals at the Zoo-
logical Gardens of London.
The above facts are sufficient to prove the power of education on
the king of beasts.
In Paris, Dublin, and London, also at Naples and Florence, the
Lion has bred many times in captivity ; but it is with difficulty such
cubs are reared, as they suffer extremely at the period of dentition.
If it were not for this, there is no doubt that the Lion could be suc-
cessfully acclimatised. The few that have lived for a moderate time
in our cfimate have exhibited an exemplary degree of docility ; in-
deed, to such an extent have they submitted themselves without
resistance to man's control, that in the opera of Alexander and
Darius, which was represented at Covent Garden Theatre, London,
one figured several times.
In the Windsor menagerie, in 1824, a very remarkable cross was
effected between a Tigress and a Lion. From this union resulted
two young, of a very peaceable temper, and dissim.ilar in appearance
from both parents.
In former times Lions were numerous even in Europe. Accord-
ing to Herodotus, Aristotle, and Pausanias, they were abundant in
Macedonia, Thrace, and Thessaly; but for centuries in these coun-
tries they have been unknown. Arabia, Syria, and Babylonia used
also to contain large numbers. In Arabia, and on the confines of
Persia and India, at the present date, they are scarce.
366 MAMMALIA.
We may fonn some idea of their number in ancient times by the
quantity absorbed annually in the combats which were so much in
favour with the Romans. In a very brief interval, Sylla had slaugh-
tered a hundred Lions, Pompey six hundred, and Caesar four hun-
dred.
In fact, in our age the leonine species is rarely met with, except
in Africa, where every day its numbers are diminishing, and from
whence it will soon completely disappear, if the present rate of
slaughter is continued. Our grandchildren, probably, will know the
Lion only from our descriptions.
Several varieties of the Lion are distinguished. The most ferocious
is the Brown Lion of the Cape. In the same habitat lives another,
much less dangerous, the Yellow Cape Lion. After these we may
enumerate the Lion of Senegal, the Barbary Lion, and the Lion of
Persia and Arabia (see Fig. 137, p. 357).
The Tiger {Felis tigris), Fig. 138. — The Tiger stands as high on
his legs as the Lion ; but is more slender, active, and stealthy, closely
resembling, in figure and movements the domestic Cat, which, indeed,
serves as the type of the entire genus. Its coat is very handsome,
being of a yellowish fawn colour above, and a pure white beneath ;
everywhere irregularly striped by brown transverse bands. Its tail,
which is very long, is ringed with black, and contributes not a little to
its beauty. It has also white around the eyes, on the jaws, and on
the back of each ear.
The Tiger is peculiar to Asia. It inhabits Java, Sumatra, a great
part of Hindostan, China, and even Southern Siberia as far north as
the banks of the river Obi. It sometimes wanders in the direction
of Europe; for, according to M. Nordmann, one was killed near
Tiflis, in 1853.
The Tiger makes its lair in jungles, or densely-wooded districts
bordering on watercourses. Like the Lion, it has a den, to which
it retires to rest ; from whence it steals forth, secretes itself in a wood
on the borders of a frequented path, and there, concealed from every
eye, awaits its victim. The moment it sees the object of its desire,
its eyes flash, and its whole bearing manifests a savage joy; it allows
the unsuspecting prey to draw near, and when it is sufficiently close,
springs upon it with tremendous velocity.
The Tiger has for a long time borne a reputation for cruelty as
little deserved as that for generosity which has been given the Lion.
The old naturalists pretended that the Tiger gloried in shedding
blood, and that it never saw a living creature without desiring to
destroy it. Nothing can be more untrue. The Tiger does not kill
THE TIGER. 369
fot the pleasure of killing ; it kills only to appease its hunger. In
doing this, it only conforms to the necessities of its nature ; but when
it has fed, it does not exhibit any bloodthirsty propensity, and con-
fines itself, when threatened, to defence. The expression relative to
the " Tiger thirsting for blood " is a form of rhetoric which can only
be accepted as figurative.
What may have been the cause for attributing a high degree of
ferocity to the Tiger is its incredible audacity. In this it differs from
the Lion, for when hungry no obstacle, not even the most certain
danger, will arrest it. Nor does it delay, nor employ artifice to
entrap its prey, nor will it abandon it if too powerful ; neither does
it wait to be reduced by hunger to the last extremity before it braves
every obstacle. No ; it throws itself without hesitation on the first
object that presents itself, whether man or animal, and will face
death a thousand times in order to carry it off. This temerity is too
frequently crowned with success.
The Tiger will carry off soldiers in the middle of their encamp-
ment beneath the eyes of the sentries. A feat of this kind has been
reported by an English officer in every respect trustworthy, and who
was an eye-witness.
A Tiger has been seen to select a victim from the midst of an
immense assemblage of men. This happened at the fair at
Hurdwar, where a considerable concourse of people annually gather
from all parts of India. The animal sprang out from a thicket
situated in a field of barley, and, in the sight of a terror-stricken
crowd, struck down a native who was peacefully occupied in cutting
spice.
These facts, and many others which would be too long to
enumerate, fully justify the terror that the Tiger inspires in Asia.
Each year it marks its presence by the destruction of numerous
human beings. According to statistics recently published in an
English journal, 148 persons in one year, and 131 in another,
were devoured by Tigers in Java.
Tiger-hunting holds a high place among the amusements of the
Indian nabobs and the English officers stationed in Hindostan
This sport is principally followed on Elephants placed in line, and
on which the hunters ride. When all is ready, at a preconcerted
signal, they enter the jungles, beat them in every direction, and com-
pel the Tiger to show itself. Firearms then do their work. It
often happens that the ferocious Carnivore springs on the flank of an
Elephant and tries to seize one of the riders.
Like the Lioness, the Tigress exhibits a most extraordinary degree
370 MAMMALIA^
of affection for her young, and will defend them with her life against
every peril. She conceals them in the same manner as the former
from the voracity of the male. A litter is generally composed of
from three to five cubs.
Whatever may be said to the contrary, the Tiger is capable ot
being trained, and rendered perfectly docile ; it is even susceptible
of a certain degree of attachment. The one that lived, in 1835, in
the menagerie of the Jardin des Plantes, in Paris, had been brought
from India in a ship on which it had been allowed to wander about
at large. The confidence it inspired was such that the cabin-boys
lay between its legs, and slept with their heads on its flanks.
A Tigress which had been brought to England, and which had
not shown any signs of a bad disposition on board ship, became
morose when shut up in the menagerie of the Tower of London.
Some time after, however, a sailor, one of its late travelling com-
panions, came to visit the menagerie, and solicited permission to
enter the den where this Tigress was confined. The latter at once
recognised him, and testified the greatest pleasure. All the day after
its friend had departed it lay prostrate with grief.
Nero had a Tigress, named Phoebe, that he often kept near him
in his apartments, and which he more than once made the instrument
of his brutal, vindictive feelings. At the termination of a revel,
nothing gratified him so much as to point out to this animal some
illustrious patrician that had come under his displeasure, and quickly
a bleeding victim rolled at the feet of the monster with a human face.
Here the veritable Tiger was Nero.
When raised to the empire, Heliogabalus made his entry into
Rome in a chariot drawn by four Tigers and four Panthers, which
he afterwards allowed to go about his palace at liberty.
But in modern times who has not seen Martin, Carter, or Van
Amburgh handle Tigers as it they had been inoflfensive Poodles? It
may be remarked, with regard to this subject, that a person of rank
attended, it is said, every one of the exhibitions given by Martin,
expecting to see him some day eaten up. The expectations of
this follower of the sensational were not realised j Martin and his
animals refusing to favour him. After amassing a considerable
fortune, the famous tamer disposed of his menagerie and retired
to Holland, without leaving the smallest portion of himself between
the teeth of his old companions.
Felis leopardus. — The Leopard (Fig. 139) is a pretty animal,
about three feet in length, not including the tail, and is distinguished
from the preceding species by its deep yellowish-brown coat, speckled
THE LEOPARD,
371
with numerous spots. These spots, quite black on the head, are
disposed in a rose-hke fashion over the other parts of the body,
being formed of five or six httle black patches grouped in a circular
Fig. 139.— Leopard {F. leoJ>cirdns, Linn.).
manner around a piece which is of the same colour as the ground of
the coat.
The Leopard can ascend trees with agility, into which it pursues
Monkeys and other climbing animals. It is a ferocious and un-
tameable animal, and inhabits only the wildest forests. No Carnivore.
3/2 MAMMALIA-,
not even the Tiger, is more ferocious, and its pursuit is pro-
portionably dangerous. It rarely attacks man without being
provoked ; but it is irritated at the merest trifle, and its anger is
manifested by the Hghtning rapidity of its onset, which invariably
results in the speedy death of the imprudent being who has aroused
its fury. Its power, nimbleness, and stealth surpass anything that
can be imagined; and it is these qualities which render it so
dangerous.
Notwithstanding its ferocity when in a state of savage inde-
pendence, the Leopard is easily tamed when captured young. It
then shows itself as mild and affectionate as the most docile dog,
and wanders at large in its master's dwelling without the slightest
danger.
The Leopard inhabits the whole of Africa and a large part of
Asia, extending as far as the regions bordering on the Caucasus.
The Leopard will make a bound of forty feet with surprising ease,
and fall on its prey with the rapidity of a cannon-shot. It keeps by
preference in places covered with brushwood, and near streams or
arms of the sea ; it is rarely found on high mountains.
The Leopard never hunts in the middle of the day^ but when
night comes on it starts in search of food. The whereabouts of its
prey being discovered, it creeps with the noiselessness of a serpent
until it has arrived at a distance from which it judges it can be
certain of success, then, taking its spring, it brings its captive to earth
in an instant. In Algeria, where at one time it was not uncommon,
it commits numerous depredations upon the herds and flocks of the
natives, and is not less dreaded than the Lion. Oxen, Horses,
Camels, Goats, Sheep — such are its ordinary bill of fare. It seldom
attacks man without provocation, except it should chance upon him
within its bound, when, if such be the case, his position would
be perilous. Children are frequently its victims, as is testified by the
fact mentioned in a journal published towards the end of 1850.
A woman was at work in a field in the environs of Baraki (Algeria) ;
to follow her occupation with more freedom, she deposited her child
on the ground. Suddenly a Leopard, hearing the infant cry, rushed
from a neighbouring thicket, and carried it off. When the poor
mother returned, she saw the ferocious brute entering the wood with
her babe in its jaws. She followed in pursuit until, exhausted,
she fainted, and her infant was lost.
On another occasion a boy about twelve years, who tended a flock
of Goats, was assailed by a Leopard, which mutilated him in a
frightful manner, after which it fled, having been frightened by the
THR LEOPARD, 373
arrival of some Arabs, who were attracted to the spot by the cries of
the lad. The victim died after two days' suffering.
If destroying the Lion has brought Jules Gerard considerable
fame, the pursuit of the Leopard has rendered another of his country-
men equally conspicuous. We allude to Bombonnel, librarian of
Dijon (Fig. 140). This bold man devoted himself to Leopard-
hunting in Africa, an occupation which can only be followed by the
methods pursued by Gerard and Chaissaing against Lions, and
which is surrounded by even greater dangers.
Bombonnel pubHshed in 1862 a most interesting book, containing
a description of his stirring adventures. We here reproduce a chapter
in which he relates a terrific struggle he sustained with a Leopard he
had wounded : a fearful and almost fatal combat that occurred on the
brink of a ravine. The countenance of the courageous hunter still
bears traces of this conflict. Bombonnel thus describes the event : —
"It was eight o'clock at night ; we were dining, and during our
meal discussing our projects for the morrow, when there arrived,
quite out of breath, an Arab belonging to the tribe of Ben-Assenat
He told me that at sunset a Leopard came and carried off a Goat in
the presence of the goatherd, and that he had seen it enter a ravine,
where it was certain to be found. I was too anxious to meet this
infernal beast to hesitate an instant ; dinner \vas left unfinished, and a
rush was made at once to my weapons, notwithstanding the represen-
tations of several who wished to detain me, by observing that the
night was very dark and the weather bad \ but knowing that the moon
rose at ten o'clock, and that I ought to be with the tribe before that
hour, I started.
" The man who conducted me, in his endeavours to make a short
cut, went along narrow tracks, and often through the brushwood.
My hunting-knife bumped against my legs and caught in the
branches ; so, to get it out of the way, I pushed it round my waist-
belt behind, instead of retaining it by my side. I mention this fact
here, though it appears of but little importance, because, as will be
seen hereafter, it was the means to which I owe my life.
" On reaching the tribe, I found the Arabs waiting for me. For
a decoy they had got ready a Goat and a stake to attach it to. They
led me about a quarter of a mile from the douar, to the margin of a
wide and deep ravine. Here they halted and explained : — ' The
Leopard is inside there ; in this small thicket place yourself; we will
go and fix the lure.' I was very much surprised they had chosen
such a convenient position for me, and one which I could not have
found without great difficulty. The ground was an inclined plane^
374 MAMMALIA.
which descended by a somewhat steep slope to the ravine, on the
brink of which, facing from it, I took my stand. The Arabs drove in
the stake on the higher ground, about twenty feet from me, and there,
tied the Goat ; then, wishing me good luck, ran off with all haste, not
desiring to become intimate with the dangerous animal they believed
in the vicinity.
" I had seated myself in the thicket, and had not drawn my hunt-
ing-knife from its sheath to lay it on the ground, so as to have it
handy, for a few minutes had scarcely elapsed, when separating the
slender twigs which might impede its movements, quicker than light-
ning the marauder fell upon the bait. I held my breath, and hesi-
tated firing, hoping the moon would afford me a gleam of light ; a
delay of some seconds thus ensued, for "its rays only occasionally
showed through the dark Hitting clouds.
" But what was my astonishment to see the Leopard passing by me,
carrying off the Goat with the ease of a Cat bearing off a Mouse ? It
was about ten feet from me, and moving directly across ; I could
neither distinguish head nor tail, only a black indistinct mass. . . .
The remembrance of my thirty-four unsuccessful nights flashed across
my mind; impatience carried me completely away, and, forgetting
all prudent resolutions, I pulled the trigger.
" My gun, a twelve-bore, was loaded with no grains of powder
and twenty-four slugs. The object of my aim fell, uttering guttural
roars, at the same time dropping the Goat. I had broken the
Leopard's two fore paws ; yet it had not seen from whence the shot
came, and might have thought that the Goat had exploded in his
jaws.
" The slightest movement on my part would be certain to attract
attention ; common sense demanded that the most complete immo-
bihty should be observed ; but fearing a surprise, I determined to
stand up in my hiding-place to see over it, and be the better pre-
pared for results. In rising, a branch caught the hood of my cloak
and threw it down on my shoulder. This was another of the provi-
dential chances to which I owe my life.
" The wily brute, now alarmed, did not utter a cry or a sound,
but fixed its attention on the thicket and listened. A few moments
passed, and I, hearing and seeing nothing, thought the foe dead.
" Crouching, and using every possible precaution, I issued from
my shelter, carrying my gun with the barrels depressed and my finger
on the second trigger. As soon as I was perceived, the Leopard
made a spring of ten feet towards me. I aimed at its \\ sad ; but the
rapidity with which it came was so great, and the darkn(sss so intense,
THE LEOPARD,
37i
Fig. 140. — Bombonnel.
that I missed, my ball entering the ground, and the lire from my
piece singeing the hair on its neck.
" The terrible brute now threw itself upon me, and bore me to the
3^6 MAMMALIA.
ground in an instant. I fell underneath on my back, with my
shoulders caught in the bush that had served as a place of conceal-
ment. First my foe attempted to strangle me, and fixing upon my
neck, tore at it in indescribable rage. This was fortunately protected
by the collar and thick hood of my cloak.
" With my left hand I endeavoured to defend myself and push off
my assailant, while with the right I made desperate efforts to grasp
the hunting-knife that lay under me. The former it bit through and
through, notwithstanding the woollen sleeve that covered it ; it also
gnawed my face horribly : one of the fangs of the upper jaw tore
my forehead and went through my nose.; the other fang entered
at the corner of the left eye and broke my cheek-bone. Incapable of
resisting with one hand, I abandoned the useless search for my knife,
and with my two hands I convulsively grasped my assailant by the
neck. It then seized me across the face, and driving its formidable
teeth into the flesh, smashed the whole of my jaw. The noise thus
caused sounded so painfully that I thought my brains were being
crushed out. My face was in its mouth, from whence issued a burn-
ing, infected breath that stifled me. Still I clung to the foe by the
neck, which was as large and hard as the trunk of a tree, and at
length, with the strength of despair, I was enabled to thrust away its
horrible head from mine. It then seized me by the left arm, and bit
four times through the elbow. Without the large amount of clothing
with which it was covered, it must have been crushed like a piece of
glass.
" All this time I was lying on my back on the extreme brink of
the ravine, my legs above and head downwards (Fig. 141).
" The Leopard tried a second time to take me by the face ; I re-
sisted ; but my strength w:^.s all but exhausted. Making a movement
to better my condition, it clutched my head. Gathering all the
strength and determination that yet remained for a final effort, I dis-
engaged myself, leaving my wadded cloth case in its jaws. I had
thrown the brute from me so vigorously that it shpped over the steep
slope ; the two front paws being broken, it could not check itself, but
went crashing headlong, at the same time roaring, into the ravine.
"At last released, though not a moment too soon, I reHeved
myself, but spitting out four of my teeth and a mass of blood that
filled my mouth. Entirely given up to the fury which possessed me,
burning for vengeance, I seized my hunting-knife, and not knowing
where the brute had gone, sought him on every side, to recommence
the struggle (for I did not believe I could long sumve my wounds).
It was in this position that the Arabs found me.
I
THE LEOPARD. 379
" They told me that they heard the Leopard quite distinctly, and
that its roars made their flesh creep ; that they had no doubt as to its
combat with me, but that they imagined it roared because of its
wounds, so' they judged it best not to sally forth until the sounds
ceased.
" The thirst of revenge, and especially the mortificatian I expe-
rienced at not being the victor in a battle which I had sought,
dominated over me to such a degree that I did all I could to find my
antagonist, determined either to kill or be killed. But the Arabs
dragged me to their douar, where they tried to bathe my face and
bandage my wounds ; but I would not allow them, and at once pro-
ceeded to the farm of Corso, which I reached at midnight. Judge
of the astonishment of all its inhabitants, who the same evening had
seen me start off strong and well, when they beheld me in my
mangled condition.
" At my desire, the man who had carried me there on his Mule
went at once to Algiers for Dr. Bodichon, one of my intimate friends,
in whose skill I had entire confidence.
"While the people at the farm were lavishing upon me their
attentions, with an intelligence and goodwill which I shall re-
member all my life, I asked for a looking-glass. But they were afraid
to gratify me, and pretended not to be able to find one. I however
took a candle, and in spite of all they could say went to a mirror.
My left cheek was torn and lay in my mouth, leaving the bone
broken and exposed ; the frontal bone could also be seen for a
space of more than three inches ; with regard to my poor nose,
which was formerly aquiline, it was flattened, lacerated, and smashed
in a fearful manner.
" Those who surrounded me were very sad, and less com-
posed than myself. I read in their faces that they thought me
a dead man ; but I tried to reassure them, by telling them that the
heart was still sound and cheerful. Previous to this I had often
said that the happiesl day of my life would be that on which,
armed only with my hunting-knife, I should encounter a wounded
Leopard or Lion, so much did I reckon on the vigour of my
arm.
"Now when I read, or am told, of the larger Carnivora being
killed with hatchets and daggers, I can scarcely forbear laughing.
Is it possible to attack successfully with any other weapon than a gun
such a powerful and agile animal as a Leopard, a brute weighing
from two to four hundred pounds, and whose weight is more than
quadrupled by the length and impetuosity of its bound ; a brute that
38o
MAMMALIA.
falls upon you with the rapidity of lightning, and before there is time
to make a movement of defence ? Where is the Hercules capable
of resisting such a shock ?
" Notwithstanding the providential chance that placed me on the
{Felis uiicia, Buffon.)
slippery margin of the ravine, and also notwithstanding the other
favourable circumstances that protected me, if my late foe had not
been deprived of the use of his fore -feet, I must have been lost.
Even in the condition in which it was, if I had been able to seize my
knife, I could not have prevented it retaining hold of me. On the
one hand, I could not have had strength to push it off; and, on the
other, I should not have been able to kill it quick enough to prevent
\
THE OUNCE AND SERVAL, ^381
its terrible jaws from mangling me. It will be seen, then, how
fortune favoured me. If from such a fearful struggle I came off with
my life, it is because I was as desperate in defending myself as the
animal was savage in attacking me ; but, above everything, I owe my
preservation to God."
The portrait of Bombonnel given above (Fig. 140) is accompanied
Fig. 143.— Wild Cat {Felis catus, Linn.).
by the head of the terrible Carnivore whose exploits and death we
have just recorded.
OiC7ice and Serval. — The Ounce {Felis imcia), Fig. 142, is nearly
as large as the Leopard. The colour of its coat is not yellow, but
grey. Its spots are much more irregular than those of the two
preceding Feline. It is a native of Thibet, and but little is known as
to its habits.
The Serval {Felis serval), also named the Cat-pard or Tiger Cat,
382 MAMMALIA.
is only about thirty inches long. It is found in the forests of
southern Africa ; also in Senegambia, Abyssinia, and Algeria. It
lives on small Mammals, particularly Monkeys and Rodents, which
it pursues on the trees. Rearing it in confinement has no power
whatever to soften its savage nature. Its fur, which is varied with
bars and black spots on a buff ground, is much prized.
Wild and Domestic Cats. — The Wild Cat (Fig. 143) is a reddish-
brown animal, marked with more or less distinct black stripes. Its
length is about two feet. It does not differ in its habits from the
larger members of this family. It climbs trees with agility, and feeds
on Birds, Squirrels, Hares, Rabbits, &c. At one time it was very
common in France and Scotland. It inhabits nearly the whole
of Europe, and a large portion of Asia.
There ought to be ranged beside the Wild Cat a multitude of
varieties, which are only separated from it by differences in the
colour of the fur and length of hair, and which are its representa-
tives in the countries it does not inhabit. Such are the Pampas Cat,
the Bengal Cat, the Nepaul Cat, the Egyptian Cat, the Serval Cat,
the Caffir Cat, indigenous to the Cape, &c.
Certain authors are inclined to believe that the numerous varieties
of the Domestic Cat have descended from the Wild Cat, crossed
with the Egyptian Cat. However this may be, there exist several
breeds of well-characterised Domestic Cats. Such are the Spanish
Cat, the Chartreuse Cat, the Red Cat of Tobolsk, the Angora Cat,
the Chinese Cat with pendant ears, and the tailless Malay Cat.
It may be noted that the tails of Wild Cats terminate in an
abrupt thick point, while the tails of Domestic Cats taper to a fine
point.
The Domestic Cat (Fig. 144) is one of those few animals which
has remained in a state of independence in its domesticity ; it lives
with man, but still is not reduced to servitude. If it renders service,
it is simply for its own interest to do so. That disinterestedness
which distinguishes the Dog we do not find in the Cat. Whatever
Buffon and others may have said, it is capable of affection ; but this
attachment is only manifested by infrequent caresses, not by devo-
tion. Has a Cat ever been known to defend its master ? It has
been said that it is more attached to localities than persons; we
know of numerous exceptions to this.
The Cat possesses qualities which alienate it from all our sym-
pathies, viz., cowardice and dishonesty. It is also distrustful : this
we can least pardon. Man dislikes suspicion, as it is an offence
against his honour, and an insult to his good intentions. When we
THE CAT.
383
compare the Dog and the Cat, so different from each other, aversion
to the one and attachment to the other resuUs: To the distrustful
gaze of the Cat is opposed the confiding, frank eye of the Dog ; and
Fig. 144.— Domestic Cat {Felis domestica, Briss.).
to the noble qualities in the latter we oppose the objectionable ones
in the former.
No animal is more savage than the Cat when threatened by
chastisement or danger. For when it sees no chance of escape, it
defends itself with energy that cannot be surpassed. So long as its
enemy keeps at a respectful distance, it confines itself to a passive
584 MAMMA L/A.
resistance, watching, however, for the sUghtest indication of hostility,
and holding itself ready for every emergency. Should its adversary
advance to seize it, with wonderful activity it strikes with its terrible
claws, at the same time expressing anger with its voice. It nearly
always comes off victorious, unless over-matched, for its agility
renders escape almost certain.
The Cat is less an enemy of the Dog than is generally believed.
When unacquainted with one another they have little sympathy in
common ; but when associated for a length of time they become
good friends. Then they lick each other, sleep on each other, and
understand making mutual concessions, which enable them to live in
peace ; in short, the most perfect harmony frequently reigns between
them. Every one who keeps Cats and Dogs can testify to the
correctness of these assertions.
The Jaguar {Fe/is onca), Fig. 145, also called the American Tiger,
is the largest carnivorous animal of the New World. It almost
equals the Tiger in size, strength, and bloodthirstiness. It measures
nearly seven feet from the end of the nose to the root of the tail. It
is not Zebra-striped like the Tiger, but spotted in the same manner
as the Leopard. Its markings are most numerous on the head,
thighs, legs, and back, but always irregular in shape ; on the flanks
they are concentric, like a rose, with a black point in the middle.
The ground-colour of the coat is of a bright tawny hue above, and
white beneath.
The Jaguar is spread over nearly the whole of South America,
and in the warmer parts of North America. It inhabits the great
forests traversed by rivers, and actively pursues various aquatic
Mammals. Like the Tiger, it swims with ease, and passes the day
in inaction among the islets which stud the surfaces of the great
lagoons and rivers. In the evening it seeks its food, and levies a
heavy tribute on the immense herds of wild cattle and Horses that
graze in the Pampas of the Plata. With a single blow of its paw it
breaks the vertebral column of its victims. It fishes, we are told,
very adroitly, and is not afraid of attacking the largest Cayman.
The Jaguar climbs trees with agility, to the great discomfiture of
the Monkeys which it pursues. Notwithstanding the fires that
travellers make at night to keep away these ferocious animals, they
do not always escape their attacks.
At the setting and rising of the sun it gives utterance to two cries,
which are well known to the natives and to hunters. It is by this
means that it announces to living nature the commencement and the
termination of its feeding operations, and thus excites terror or joy.
The Jaguar.
385
Fig. 145.— The Jaguar {Fdis o?tca, Linn.).
386
MAMMALIA,
In certain parts of America Jaguars were so numerous, that, accord-
ing to Azara, in the seventeenth century, two thousand were killed
every year at Paraguay. At the present time many are yet to be
found in that region, although their numbers are considerably
diminished.
Fig. 146 —Puma {Felis concolor').
The Puma or Couguar {Felis concolor), Fig. 146, formerly im-
properly called the American Lion, is an animal about four and a
half feet long, but it is frequently greater. At the early settlement of
the United States numerous children, even adults, were killed by
these animals. At the present date both white and red men dread
them more than any wild animal found in their habitat. It is of an
THE LYNX. 387
unifonn fawn-colour without any spots. It inhabits Paraguay,
Brazil, Guiana, Mexico, and the United States. It has the general
appearance of a Lioness, without possessing its dimensions.
This animal is alike remarkable for stealth and agility. It makes
great ravages among the herds, and differs from the other Cats, in
slaying numerous victims before it commences to feed. To carry off
the smaller domestic animals, it visits human habitations during the
night. It prefers living in the open country, yet it climbs trees ; its
agility is such, that at one bound it can ascend upwards of twenty
feet.
The Puma is easily tamed, when it knows its master, and receives
his caresses with pleasure. No inconvenience results from allowing
it to run about at liberty. The celebrated actor Kean had a Puma
which followed him like a Dog, and kept close to him in the most
crowded assembly.
The Ocelot {Felis pardalis, Linn.), one of the most beautiful of
the Felidae, is a little more than three feet in length. The colour of
its fur is a greyish fawn, marked with large spots of a bright fawn,
edged with black. Its habits are entirely nocturnal; it feeds on
Monkeys, Rodents, and Birds, climbing the trees in their pursuit
with marvellous agility. It is found in various parts of North and
South America.
Like the Puma, it rapidly becomes attached to man. Azara saw
one which, although it enjoyed the greatest liberty, would never leave
its master.
Lynxes. — These animals differ from the Cats in their longer coat,
their shorter tail, and their ears, which are terminated by a tuft of
hair; their dentition is, however, the same. A great number of
species of Lynx are known, as well in the Old as in the New World.
Among those belonging to the former may be mentioned the Euro-
pean Lynx and the Caragal.
The European Lynx {Felis lynx)^ Fig. 147, is well known in the
great forests of Northern Europe, and in Asia ; it is also found in
some of the Alps and Pyrenees, as well as in the Sierras of Spain.
This Carnivore measures from thirty to thirty-six inches, not including
the tail, which is four inches long. The upper parts of its body are
of a bright red colour, with small brown spots, while the under parts
are white. On each side of its face it has an addition of white hairs,
which resemble w^hiskers.
The name of " Loup-cervier," sometimes given to it, probably
originated from its howling like a Wolf during the night. It nimbly
climbs trees in pursuit of prey. Martens, Ermines, Hares, and
388
MAMMALIA.
Rabbits also enter into its alimentation. It does not, however,
eat the flesh of large victims, unless its hunger is extreme ; but
generally is satisfied by sucking out the brain.
Taken young, it becomes accustomed to captivity, and is fond of
being caressed; but it will return to its wild life if opportunity
Fig. 147. — European Lynx {Felis lynx).
offers, so it really never becomes attached to its master. It is an
extremely cleanly animal, and, like the Cat, passes a large portion of
its time in washing and cleansing its fur.
The Caracal (^Felis caracal)., Fig. 148, is about the size of the
preceding animal. Its fur is red above, without any spots ; its
chest is fawn-coloured, speckled with brown. It is the Lynx of the
ancients, and inhabits the north and east of Africa, Arabia, and
Persia. Its habits differ but little from those of the Lynx.
THE CHEETAH.
389
It; preys chiefly upon Antelopes and Gazelles. It always retains,
when in captivity, a savage disposition, and a great desire for liberty.
The Greeks consecrated it to Bacchus, and Pliny has debited
it with several absurd stories, Among others, he endows it with
Fig. 143.— The Caracal {Felis caracat).
the faculty of seeing through walls ; hence the expression Lynx-eyed.
which is adopted in our language to designate very keen vision.
The Cheetah {Felix jubata). — The Cheetah or Hunting Leopard
has weak, non-retractile claws, which are unfitted for tearing pur-
poses ; but in its dentition it unmistakably shows its affinity to
the Cat family. Its limbs are also longer, the vertebral column is
less flexible, and the body more slender than that of the other
Felidae, from whence results a greater aptitude for hunting. Its tail
390 MAMMALIA,
is curled over on itself at the extremity, a disposition very common
in Dogs, but which is not observed in the Felidas. Its mildness,
obedient temper, and attachment in domesticity, naturally define its
place on the confines of the Feline and the Canine family.
The Hunting Leopard inhabits Southern Asia and various parts
of Africa. It is about four feet in length, and twenty-six inches
in height. Its fur is very elegant, being a bright fawn colour above,
perfectly white beneath, and everywhere interspersed with black
spots. The tail is barred -vvith twelve alternately white and black
rings. A quantity of hair, longer than on other parts of the body,
grows on the back of the head and neck, forming a scanty mane.
The Cheetah seizes its prey by a succession of bounds remark-
able for their rapidity. In India and Persia it has been the
habit to train it to hunt certain animals, its natural docility
allowing it to be readily trained for this service. The custom of
employing the female Cheetah for hunting goes back to a very
remote period, for the Arab Rhazes speak of it in the tenth century.
In Mongolia the following is the method of conducting this
sport The sportsmen start off on horseback, carrying the Cheetah
either on a Horse, or in a carriage specially constructed for the
purpose. The animal is chained, and its eyes blindfolded. The
places which Gazelles frequent are sought out. As soon as one is
perceived the hunters stop, the Cheetah is unfastened, and its eyes
unbandaged, and the game is pointed out to it. Immediately, under
cover of the high vegetation and brushwood, the beast glides off in
pursuit, taking advantage, with unequalled tact, of the slightest
breaks in the ground to conceal its movements. When it considers
that it is sufficiently near its victim, it suddenly shows itself, dashes
on with terrible impetuosity, springs on the prey after a succession
of prodigious bounds, and immediately pulls it to the ground.
Its master, who has followed the events of the chase, then
enters upon the scene. To detach it from its victim, he throws it a
piece of flesh, speaks gently to it, and caresses it ; after^ which he
again covers its eyes, and replaces it on the saddle or in its convey-
ance, while the assistants carry off the quarry.
This kind of amusement is greatly in vogue in IMongolia, and a
well-trained Hunting Leopard attains an extraordinary price among
the inhabitants.
In Persia this method of hunting is not conducted in quite the
same way. Men and Dogs beat the woods, and drive the game
towards the hunters,, who turn off the Cheetahs when the quarry
passes them.
THE FOX, 393
These facts sufficiently prove that the Cheetah differs essentially
in its nature from the other species of Felis. It is tamed almost as
easily as the Dog, knows and loves its master, recognises his voice,
and runs to him when called. In its treatment of strangers, it is so
docile that it may be allowed perfect liberty. In menageries it is not
necessary to confine it. If allowed to ramble about a park it is very
submissive to its keeper, and receives with the greatest goodwill the
caresses of visitors.
The menagerie of the Jardin des Plantes, at Paris, has had one
for many years, which was brought from Senegal. It had a most
excellent temper. One day, among the spectators present, it saw a
little negro who had travelled with it in the same ship. It immediately
testified the greatest pleasure at finding an old friend. Specimens
of the Cheetah may always be seen at the Regent's Park Gardens.
The Canid^e, — The Dogs are digitigrade animals, whose claws
are neither sharp nor retractile, and consequently cannot serve either
for attack or defence. They possess four digits on the hind feet ; on
the front they have five.
Their tongue is smooth, in this respect different from that of
Cats. Their tail is long, and more or less clothed with hair.
They are the most intelligent of the Carnivora. Their senses,
particularly that of smell, are strongly developed. They are spread
over the entire surface of the globe, from the highest to the lowest
latitudes.
Canis. — This genus comprises, besides the Common Fox, a large
number of Carnivora which differ but little from each other, and
which are distributed over the two hemispheres. They have the
muzzle extremely tapering, and the tail very full.
The Common Fox (Ca/iis Vulpes)^ Fig. 149, is still to be found
throughout Europe. From time immemorial it has enjoyed a repu-
tation for cunning, which has given it great notoriety. " As cunning
as a Fox" is one of the most common adages in the languages of
nations.
The Fox never attacks animals capable of resistance. In the
twilight it ventures out in quest of its prey, when it wanders silently
around the country in search of Birds, Rabbits, or Hares, its usual
prey.
In default of such delicate food, however, it will eat Field-Mice,
Lizards, Frogs, &c. It does not dislike certain fruits. For grapes it
exhibits a great predilection.
To domestic Fowls it is terribly destructive. When, during its
nocturnal prowling, the crow of a Cock strikes its ear, it turns at
394 MAMMALIA.
once in the direction of the welcome sound. It wanders inces-
santly around the poultry-yard, examining, scrutinising, and observing
all the weak points by which an entrance might be gained. When
at last successful in reaching the hen-roost, a reckless carnage among
its occupants is made, and this not so much to satisfy a craving for
blood as to provide store for the future. With this object, one by
one the victims are carried off, and concealed in the woods or its den.
If all efforts to enter the hen-roost are unsuccessful, then
Reynard undertakes to ruin it in detail, and to slay in one or more
months those which he cannot kill in a day. With this intention he
installs himself on the margin of a wood, in proximity to the farm,
and anxiously watches every movement of the poultry. If his prey
wander into the fields, his attentions are doubled; seizing the
moment when the watch-dog is out of sight, he creeps towards them
on his belly, draws near his victim without being seen, seizes,
strangles, and carries it off. When these manoeuvres have once
succeeded, they are repeated till the poultry-yard is depopulated.
The following story, narrated by an old woodman, also
illustrates their cunning. Two Foxes, located in a neighbourhood
where Hares abounded, adopted an ingenious stratagem for
capturing them. One of them lay in ambush on the side of a road ;
the other started the quarry and pursued it with ardour, with the
object of driving the game into the road guarded by his associate.
From time to time, by an occasional bark, the associate in ambush
was notified how the chase was proceeding. When a Hare was
driven into the road it was immediately pounced on, and both foxes
devoured it in thorough good-fellowship. Nevertheless, it sometimes
happened that the Fox who kept watch miscalculated his spring, and
the Hare escaped ; when, as though puzzled at his want of skill, he
resumed his post, jumped on to the road, and several times repeated
this movement. His comrade, arriving in the middle of this exercise,
was not slow to comprehend its meaning, and, irritated at being
fatigued to no purpose, chastised his clum.sy associate ; but a tussle
of a few minutes sufficed to expend the bad humour, and the e?itente
cordiale was quickly re-established.
The adult Fox is also assisted by its young in procuring food
when they become sufficiently aged. Some observers aver that these
family excursions are undertaken for the education of the cubs.
When on a foray to obtain aquatic birds, among the reeds and
rushes that margin the borders of lakes and rivers, Foxes always
proceed with extreme caution, and take especial care not to become
unnecessarily wet.
THE FOX. 395
M. La Vallee, in his work on La Chasse cl Courre^ gives a very
remarkable example of the singular address of the Fox in pro-
secuting his robberies. The animal he speaks of was taken when
young by a druggist of Chateau-Thierry. It was perfectly tamed,
liked being fondled, came at the call of its master, and followed him
to the chase, where it played the part of an excellent Dog. But
domesticity had not caused it to lose any of its taste for marauding,
though it wanted for nothing at home.
It was the hero of an adventure which for a long time perplexed
the good town of Chateau-Thierry. The house where it was kept
was situated at the corner of the market-place, and had two exces-
sively narrow cellar ventilators opening into the street, before which
it was customary for the dealers, who bought eggs from the neigh-
bouring peasants for the Paris or Meaux markets, to range them-
selves. Before being packed off the eggs were inspected, and those
which were cracked were laid on one side. One day, a poor
woman, who had placed two dozen chipped eggs behind her, was
astonished when turning round a few minutes afterwards to find
them gone. She blamed her neighbour for having robbed her, and
probably the discussion was only terminated by a quarrel.
On the next market day the same larceny was committed. It
was believed to be the waggish trick of some urchin in the neigh-
bourhood, and some suspicion was even attached to the young clerks
of the sheriff, who occupied the ground-floor of the house.
At the succeeding market a watcher was placed before the dealer,
to observe what went on around her ; but this person saw nothing,
although one-half the number of broken eggs disappeared.
The case became serious. The dealer then bethought herself of
depositing her property beneath her petticoat, between her feet, cer-
tain that there they would be in safety. But the eggs again vanished.
As a matter of course, all was attributed to witchcraft.
It was not long after this when the truth was discovered. The
druggist's Fox was found squatted in the ventilators, and where no
one could ever have believed it possible the beast could introduce
itself, so narrow were the openings. As soon as an ^gg was laid on
the ground it pushed up its head, seized it, and withdrew. This
operation it could perform with perfect security, concealed as it was
not only by the feet and the petticoats of the dealer, but also by the
panniers that lay around.
One of the most frequent stratagems of the Fox, and which
denotes an extraordinary amount of intelligence, consists in simu-
lating death when surprised by the hunters, and there is no hope of
3g6 MAMMALIA
safety by flight. It may then be handled, kicked about in every
direction, even lifted up by the tail, hung up in the air, or carried
over one's shoulder, without showing the slightest sign of vitality.
But as soon as released, and opportunity for escape offers^ it will
decamp with all haste, to the great amazement of those so cleverly
duped.
The Fox most frequently inhabits a burrow, or " earth," which it
excavates among stones, rocks, or under the trunk of a tree, at the
edge of a wood ; at other times it digs its subterraneous retreat on
cultivated land ; always it is careful to have it on an elevated slope,
so as to be protected against rain and inundations.
At times it appropriates the burrow of a Rabbit or Badger, and
rearranges it to suit itself. In the first case, it simply throttles the
proprietor; in the second, it so pollutes the den, that in this way it
drives out the legitimate owner.
Its dwelling it divides into three parts : the first is the place from
whence it examines the neighbourhood before coming out, and from
where it watches for a favourable moment to escape its persecutors,
when a fatiguing pursuit has driven it to seek an asylum in its retreat.
Then comes the store-room, a place with several outlets, where the
provisions are stored away. Lastly, behind the store-room, quite at
the bottom of the burrow, is the den, the sleeping-chamber and real
habitation of the animal. There the female brings forth and suckles
its young, and takes refuge in great emergencies. The Fox seldom
regularly inhabits its burrow, except when rearing young. After
that period it generally sleeps in a cover, near a spot where it thinks
plunder is to be had, sometimes at a distance of two or three leagues
from its earth.
In the Fox maternal instinct is highly developed. It watches its
cubs with solicitude, provides for their wants, and courageously
defends them against their enemies. A litter is composed of from
three to five young, which are born about the month of April. The
male and female live together until their progeny is reared, after which
they separate. The duration of a Fox's existence is from thirteen to
fourteen years.
The serious depredations it commits have caused it to be classed
among the most obnoxious animals, and for this reason, in nearly all
countries, man adopts every means to accomplish its destruction.
Fox-hunting is considerably popular among some of the upper
classes in England, and large sums are expended to support kennels
of Fox-hounds. But the example has not been followed to any
extent in France.
THE FOX. 397
To enjoy successfully this sport, care must be taken the evening
preceding the chase to close up all burrows in the neighbourhood,
and thus cut the animal off from taking refuge in them, which it is
sure to attempt when it finds itself hard pressed. This precaution
taken, Master Reynard is almost certainly doomed, for he leaves
after him so powerful a scent that the Hounds with facility follow his
track. So full of devices to destroy the life of others, he scarcely
manifests any to save his own, but confines himself to retracing the
course he has pursued time after time, till the voracious pack over-
take him and tear him in pieces.*^
Old stagers, however, are sometimes found who disconcert all
pursuit by fleeing to places inaccessible to Hounds and huntsmen.
It is the business of the huntsman to know these localities, and to
prevent the game from entering them. This is done in France by
placing a piece of cord across the approach to the sanctum, garnished
with feathers, or scraps of bright-coloured cloth. The Fox, seeing
this object, suspects a snare, and doubles back, and probably
perishes through this excess of prudence. t
Destroying them with firearms is much more easy. A certain
number of sportsmen occupy the paths of a wood which is known to
contain Foxes. The vermin, started by some Cur Dogs, take to their
runs, thus offering an easy shot ; if they escape, the sportsmen have
usually only their own unskilfulness to blame. \
When the Fox runs to earth, and obstinately refuses to be un-
kennelled. Terriers are often successfully employed, which, crawfing
into the lair, drive the possessor out.
Sometimes Reynard resists all attempts to expel him. There is
nothing then to be done but to smoke him out, or to lay open his
retreat with the pickaxe. The first operation, being the simplest, is
generally preferred. All the openings of the burrow are closed,
except that to windward ; into this is introduced, as deeply as pos-
sible, a sulphur match; bushes and leaves are collected in front of
the hole, and set on fire. The smoke, blown by the wind, penetrates
to the bottom of the burrow, carrying with it the sulphurous vapours^
The subterranean cavity being completely filled, the smoke returns
against the wind; the last opening is then hermetically closed,
and things are left in this state until the next day, when the Fox is
sure to be found dead near one of the orifices.
* This description is intended for the French Fox, not for the enduring,
plucky animals of the central counties of England,
t The Continental method of Fox-hunting.
X No sportsman in England, it is hoped, would be guilty of shooting a Fox.
398 MAMMALIA.
When Foxes overrun a country, more energetic measures are had
recourse to in order to destroy them, viz,, by traps and poison.
We have seen, by the history of the Chateau-Thierry Fox. that
this Carnivore is susceptible of being tamed. It is, nevertheless,
necessary to make some reservation, for its sanguinary instincts are
invincible ; the desire for blood is a necessity of its nature. We
might, perhaps, succeed in entirely banishing these instincts by
submitting the animal to prolonged domestication during successive
generations, but it cannot be brought about by a few years' training.
This is the reason why it is so difficult to keep an adult Fox ; the
depredations that it never ceases to commit are a continual source
of embarrassment to its owner, who at last, to end the annoyance,
ultimately gets rid of it.
The flesh of the Fox exhales so repulsive an odour that it is even
repugnant to many animals. Some people, however, use it, prin-
cipally those in vine-growing districts, where it feeds on grapes. It
is stated that this offensive smell can be readily got rid of by exposing
the flesh to a freezing temperature.
Hitherto we have been treating of tiie Common Fox. In
America the Red Fox (C. fidviis) is also known, being found from
the 35° to the 55° parallel of latitude, and from the Atlantic sea-
board to the Mississippi River ; also in Oregon and British Colum-
bia. There is a slight difference in colouring between the European
and American Fox, which some naturalists have taken advantage of to
consider as just cause for classing them as representatives of different
species. The Black Fox, so valuable for its fur, is only a chance
production ; in the same litters, occasionally, cubs both black and red
having been found. The nobles of Russia, the mandarins of China,
and the khans of Tartary value a Black Fox skin above all furs, and
the price that a perfect pelt in prime condition feiche?; is fabulous.
Russia, Siberia, and the colder regions of North America alone
produce this valuable animal, and they are so much sought
after that but for the severity of the climate few would continue to
exist.
The Arctic or Blue Fox (C lagopus) inhabits the whole extent of
both continents beyond the 69° of latitude; that is to say, Russia,
Siberia, and the high regions of North America. The fur of this
species is very long, soft, and thick, and is sometimes white, fre-
quently of a grey slate colour with a tinge of blue. It is-the object
of a considerable trade.
This animal differs considerably from the ordinary Fox in its
habits. It prefers naked hills to woods, and makes its burrow on
THE JACKAL. 399
their southern slope. It is not afraid of water, and frequently swims
rivers and arms of the sea to surprise aquatic birds, or obtain their
eggs.
A trait which is particularly characteristic of the Blue Fox,
because it is exceptional in the order of Carnivora, is its custom of
migrating in crowds when game fails in a country it has hitherto
occupied. After remaining absent three or four years it again
returns.
The female Arctic Fox brings forth seven or eight young towards
the month of May. It is a lucky chance for a hunter when he can
capture some of these cubs, as he rears them and sells their fur
as soon as it has reached the period of its greatest beauty.
Among the Foxes of the New World the two principal species
are the Silver (C. fuhnis var. argentata) and Kit Foxes (C velox).
The first inhabits North America. Its fur, although less esteemed
than that of the Arctic Fox, is nevertheless valuable. The second
variety is distributed over the United States and Paraguay. It is
a venturesome, courageous little animal; during the night it will
approach the bivouacs of travellers and gnaw their leather trappings,
or steal anything edible lying around the encampment.
Various other species of Foxes inhabit Asia and Africa. We
may particularly cite the Fennec ( C. cerdo), the smallest of its kind.
To its enormous ears it owes its extreme acuteness of hearing. It is
found in the Algerian Sahara, Egypt, Nubia, Abyssinia, and Dongola.
Dogs. — In this section the animals are sociable, and collect in
numerous troops to attack their prey, or defend their lives against
more powerful animals. In a domestic state they all, without excep-
tion, bark ; in a wild state, on the contrary, they howl, though
during the moments when they are rapidly pursuing their prey they
give vent to their feelings in quick successive barks, designated by
sportsmen '-giving tongue."
Three distinct sections are found : these are the Jackal, the Wolf,
and the Dog properly so called.
y^ackal {C. aureus). — This Carnivore, five or six varieties of
which are known, is common to the whole of Africa, all the warm
regions of Asia, and to portions of Southern Europe. It is about
the same length as the Fox, but stands a little taller. Its coat is of
a greyish-yellow colour above, and white beneath ; its tail is tipped
with black at the extremity.
Jackals (Fig. 150) live together in troops, which are sometimes
composed of more than a hundred individuals. Although their eyes
are adapted for diurnal vision, they usually sleep during the day,
400
MAMMALIA.
and do not go abroad until night to seek their food. To keep
together they are constantly howling, and their voice is sad, loud,
and unmusical. Their voracity and audacity are unparalleled. They
enter habitations, when opportunity presents itself, and sweep off
everything eatable they can reach ; devouring even boots, Horse
Fig. 150.— Jackals {Cattis am-eus, Linn.).
harness, and other articles made of leather. In the desert they
follow the caravans, prowl all night around their encampment, and
endeavour to carry off anything chance may throw in their way.
After the start of the caravan they rush upon the deserted halting-
place, greedily fighting for all the refuse.
Lasdy, like the Hyenas, they disinter the dead. To protect
graves from their outrages, the inhabitants are obliged to cover them
with large stones and prickly bushes.
Nor do the Jackals limit themselves to these means of existence,
but kill as food a quantity of small Mammals, and unite to hunt the
THE WOLF. 401
Antelope, Gazelle, &c. When numerous enough they are not afraid
to attack Oxen and Horses. With regard to man, they fear him, if
one may judge by their timid movements when suddenly thrown in
his presence. The stories of women and children having been de-
voured by Jackals are, therefore, pure fabrications.
Another fable is that which assigns the Jackal the duties of being
the Lion's purveyor. The ancients said that the Jackal always went
before the Lion to discover and give it notice of prey, and that the
king of beasts recognised these good offices, and consigned to it, in
return, the remains of the meal. This story, taken by Aristotle from
an Indian apologue, was borrowed from the ancient writer by the
naturalists of the eighteenth century, during which time it enjoyed a
certain amount of favour, although it rested on absolutely nothing.
The Jackal can be perfectly tamed. Taken young, it is both
docile and playful, and knows well its master, also those about
it, and readily attaches itself to strangers. But it is timid and
capricious, and often passes from one extreme of temper to the other
without any apparent cause. In this way it has much of the Dog's
character, which it resembles physically, and is said to breed with.
This is the reason why it has been maintained that the Jackal is
the origin and stock of all the breeds of the Domestic Dog now
existing. A gentleman possessed a Jackal at Gibraltar that was quite
as tame as a Dog. To keep it out of mischief it was permitted to go
about coupled to an old and very wise Poodle. However, getting loose,
it made an onslaught on the Quartermaster's Turkeys, and destroyed
the whole of them. Some ill-natured person afterwards poisoned it.
Naturalists have not always been of the opinion that the Jackal
is the origin of the Domestic Dog. Fr. Cuvier opposed the theory
by referring to the disagreeable odour emitted by the Jackal ; and
adds that there is nothing to authorise the supposition that domes-
ticity would change the animal so as to cause it to lose this smell.
It might be replied, that the odour is an accidental circumstance,
and is due to the putrid flesh on which the Jackal feeds ; at any
rate, that it disappears in the tamed animal in the second or third
generation. Nevertheless, it is difficult to affirm anything either
one way or the other. The origin of different species of animals is
full of obscurity, possibly never to be dissipated.
Wolf ( Cajiis lupus). — It may be said that the Wolf is not dis-
tinguished from the Dog by any zoological characteristics ; its eyes
being only situated more obHquely, and a little more inclined towards
the nose. Its fur and size vary, according to the country in
which it is found. Certain Wolves measure, not including the tail,
402
MAMMALIA.
only thirty inches ; others twice that length. Its powers of enduring
the effects of hunger and fatigue are extraordinary. It is found
throughout the whole of Europe, excepting Great Britain and the
neighbouring islands, where it has been exterminated. It also
inhabits the cold and temperate regions of Asia and America.
In some natural excavation, situated in a wood, the Wolf takes
up its abode. From here at night it cautiously steals forth with a
Fig. 151.— Wolves and young.
Wolfs Step, as the saying is, to prey upon all weaker animal life.
The vision and hearing, but more particularly the sense of smell in
the Wolf, are very fully developed. These faculties are of great
service in enabling it to obtain food and avoid danger.
When suffering from hunger it loses all caution, and becomes a
scourge to the farmers, and a source of danger even to man. In
broad daylight, under such circumstances, without being seen, it will
draw near a flock of Sheep. Eluding the vigilance of the Dogs, it
will dart forward, seize a victim that it has singled out, and bear it
off with such velocity as often to defy pursuit. This exploit accom-
plished, it returns time after time to the scene of its previous success,
until destroyed or driven from the neighbourhood. Fig. 151 repre-
sents some Wolves and young.
THE WOLF.
403
When it succeeds in obtaining entrance to a sheepfold, the havoc
it commits is fearful, for it makes a general massacre among the
inmates. The slaughter terminated, it carries away a victim for
immediate use (Fig. 152). It afterwards takes a second, third,
and fourth, which it conceals in different places in the neighbouring
woods. Nor does it return to its retreat until daybreak, devoting the
last moments to secreting its booty.
This craving for slaughter, preceding the act of hiding the
Fig.
-Woif carrying off a Sheep.
carcases, rather denotes foresight than ferocity ; so that the Wolf is
perhaps not the monster of cruelty pictured by Buffon.
The Wolf often destroys Dogs, its most deadly enemy; and
resorts to stratagems the better to accompHsh its purpose. Should
it see a Puppy about a farmyard, it approaches, and attracts atten-
tion by frisking and making all kinds of gambols to gain its confi-
dence. When the youngster, seduced by these overtures, responds
to them, and leaves the friendly shelter of his home, it is immediately
overpowered, and carried off. Against a vigorous Dog, capable of
defending itself with success, the stratagem is different. Two Wolves
arrange between themselves the following plan : — One shows itself to
the hoped-for victim, and endeavours to make the Dog follow its
track into an ambuscade, where the second Wolf is concealed. Both
404 MAMMALIA.
suddenly assail it at once, and through their combination obtain ac
easy victory.
Under ordinary circumstances the Wolf does not molest man,
but even flies from his presence. In cases of extreme hunger, on
the contrary, it attacks him, looking out for an unguarded moment in
order to take him unawares. If the man is on horseback or accom-
panied by a Dog, its first efforts are directed against the quadruped.
During the winter, when the ground is covered with snow, in the
great plains of Germany, in the vast steppes of Russia and Poland,
Wolves are most dangerous. " Hunger drives the Wolf from the
wood," says a proverb. Allied in immense troops they range the
country in every direction, and become a terrible scourge.
In those plains of Siberia that are infested by Wolves a sledge
journey is far from agreeable, for frequently a band of these ferocious
brutes persistently follow travellers. If the sledge stops for only a
second, the men and Horses are lost ; safety exists only in flight.
The struggle on such occasions is fearful. The Horses, mad with
terror, seem to have wings. The Wolves follow on their track, their
eyes flashing with fire. It is a terrible situation to be placed in, to
behold these black spectres tearing across the surface of the white
shroud of snow, thirsting for your blood. From time to time a
report is heard ; a Wolf falls. More audacious than the others, the
victim had tried to climb the sledge, and one of the travellers has
shot it. This incident gives some advantage to the fugitives ; for the
carnivorous troop halt for a few seconds to devour the body of their
companion. But the end is nigh : the village or castle appears
against the grey sky, and the Wolves are deprived of their anticipated
prey. At other times the adventure terminates in a tragical manner ;
after a pursuit of some hours, the team, exhausted and incapable ot
progressing farther, is overtaken; the sledge is surrounded and
carried by assault : the rest may be imagined !
Certain Wolves — fortunately they are rare — show a marked pre-
ference for human flesh. Such was the notorious animal which
desolated Gevaudan, in the second half of the eighteenth century,
and whose evil reputation yet survives. This animal was of enor-
mous size (measuring about six feet from the point of the nose to the
tip of the tail), and for several years defied all eflbrts made for its
destruction.
In India, where Wolves are classed among sacred animals, they
levy tribute on mankind, carrying off every year numbers of children.
In April or May the she Wolf brings forth five or six young,
which she suckles for two months, after that time providing them
THE WOLF. . 405
with such animal food as small game. For her progeny she cherishes
the most devoted affection, leaving them only when compelled,
watching over their safety, and sacrificing her life in their defence.
If she becomes aware that they have been disturbed in her absence,
or even their hiding-place approached, she removes them at once to
another locality. As soon as the young are active on their legs,
which happens when they are about three months old, they are
instructed to hunt and capture their prey.
To put a hmit to the ravages of Wolves, the kings of France
organised the Loiiveterie, an institution which yet exists in a modified
form. In the old French Court there was an office of " Grand
Louvetier." The person who held it extended his jurisdiction over
all the Louvetier s in the provinces. The " Wolf-hunters " levied a
tax on each inhabitant residing within a radius of two leagues of the
place in which one of these brutes happened to be killed. The
Revolution swept away \h.Q Lotiveterie, but it was replaced in 1797
by an ordinance which directed that every three months there should
be battues for the destruction of Wolves, Foxes, and other obnoxious
animals, when it was decided that a bounty of fifty francs should be
paid for the head of every full-grown Wolf, and twenty francs for that
of a young one. This ordinance is still in force. The battues are
ordered by the Prefet, on the requisition of the forest agents. The
Mayors of each commune name the inhabitants who are to take part
in them ; and a fine of from sixteen to one hundred francs is imposed
upon those who refuse to share in these measures for public safety.
In 18 18 the amount of bounty was lowered to fifteen francs for a
female Wolf not in young, twelve francs for a male Wolf, and six
francs for a whelp.
According to M. d'Houdetot, an authentic hunting authority,
there are 1,200 Wolves annually destroyed in France, divided as
follows: Mature male Wolves, 300; female Wolves, 200; whelps,
700.
Wolves are not hunted with Hounds that run by scent, for it
would only be possible to overtake them with Greyhounds, as they
are endowed with great speed and endurance. The method gene-
rally adopted for th^ir destruction is to post the hunters around the
covers which a Wolf frequents. These measures being taken, the
grizzly marauder is started by Bloodhounds, specially trained for the
purpose. The Wolf dashes past the sportsmen, either successfully
running the gauntlet or getting shot.
For the destruction of this animal every measure is permissible ;
snares, spring-traps, pitfalls, and even poison are justifiable,
4o6 MAMMALIA.
methods which would be reckoned unworthy of a sportsman if
employed against a Stag, Roebuck, or Hare.
Although the Dog and Wolf manifest towards each other deep
and instinctive hatred, progeny resulting from a cross of the two
animals has been obtained.
Buffon has stated that the Wolf is not capable of affection, and
that it cannot be tamed ; but in this he is wrong. For Cuvier relates
the history of a Wolf that lived in the menagerie of the Jardin des
Plantes, Paris, which, after being reared by a person who had to
leave it to proceed abroad, displayed more passionate affection for its
master than the most devoted Dog could have shown. And this is
not a single, isolated example. When it is taken sufficiently young,
to our knowledge it can be trained to hunt for its master's benefit.
Among the varieties of the common W^olf, it is necessary to men
tion the Black Wolf, which more particularly inhabits the North of
Europe, and is only exceptionally found in France ; the Black Wolves
of the northern Himalayas ; the Dusky Wolf, and the Prairie Wolf,
which live in troops on the immense plains of North America ; the
Red Wolf, which leads a solitary life on the pampas of La Plata and
in the savannahs of Texas and Mexico ; lastly^ the Mexican Wolf, or
Cayotte, and the Java Woif In the glacial regions of the two con-
tinents White Wolves are found.
Between the Dog, properly so called, the Wolf, and the Jackal,
the physical differences are so trifling, that it may be asked if these
three types of Carnivora are not simply three varieties of the same
species, instead of constituting three distinct species, as the majoiity
of naturalists maintain. Certainly, there is a wider difference between
some breeds of Dogs and others— -between the Mastiff and the King
Charles, than there is between the Mastiff and the Wolf. And, never-
theless, the Mastiff and King Charles are considered as varieties of
the Dog species, while this degree of relationship is refused to the
Mastiff, Wolf, and Jackal. It therefore happens that naturalists are
reduced, in order to diagnose the domestic Dog, to such characters
as that it has the tail more or less curved, a peculiarity not exclusively
belonging to this animal. But not only is this distinction a trivial one
but in many cases it is false, for tame Wolves have been seen giving
way to the influence of example, and becoming accustomed to carry
their tails en trompette^ like the Dogs, while many Dogs carry their
tails straight. In Pointers and Setters, for instance, nothing is so un-
sightly, or a greater mark of bad breeding, than a curled tail.
If it is admitted that the Jackal, Wolf, and Dog are three races
derived from the same species, the question as to the origin of the
THE DOG.
Domestic Dog becomes relatively easy of solution • at least,
very plausible hypotheses may be JDrought to bear on it.
407
some
We
Fig. 153. — Danish Dc
should then no longer say, with Bufifon, that our numerous varieties of
the Domestic Dog had sprung from a single type ; we should not seek
to inquire if this type was the Wolf or Jacka^, or if it had been for a
long time altogether lost. It would only be necessary to prove, that
408
?^AMMAUA.
there existed, before the appearance of man on the face of the earth,
diverse varieties of Dogs corresponding to some of our domestic
breeds. Fossil forms of the Domestic Dog have been described,
so that it is natural to think that from all the possible combinations
between the different varieties of Jackals, Wolves, and Dogs, have
Fig. 154..— Greyhound.
emanated well defined breeds, over which man has extended his
control, modifying them according to his fancy, and gradually in-
creasing the number by successive crossings. Such is the opinion
that to us appears the best founded.
However this may be, it is impossible to fix the epoch in which
the Dog became the servant of man. The oldest traditions, the
most ancient historical documents, show us the Dog reduced to a
state of domesticity. Thus it may be said that the Do^ forms an
THE DOG. 409
integral part of mankind. This is what Toussenel has well said :
" Ce qu'il y a de meilleur dans Thomme, c'est le Chien." The Dog
possesses all the quaHties of intelligence and spirit. Where can we
find a more certain, more constant or more devoted friendship, a more
faithful memory, a stronger attachment, more sincere abnegation, a
mind more loyal and frank ? The Dog does not know what ingrati-
tude is. He does not abandon his benefactor in danger or adversity.
With joy he offers to sacrifice his life for those who feed him. He
pushes his devotion so far as to forget himself He does not recall
the corrections, the unkind treatment, to which he has been sub-
jected ; he thirsts for caresses, while the indifference of those that are
dear to him plunges him into deep distress. Noble creature ! the
favourite of the rich, consolation of the poor, inseparable companion
of the unfortunate ; thanks to thee, the miserable individual who dies
alone in the midst of society counts at least one friend at his melan-
choly funeral ; he does not descend alone into the cold grave, for
thou comest to shed on his tomb the sincere tears of affection and
regret ; and such is the excess of thy grief, that no one can tear thee
from that spot where sleeps the corpse of him thou lovest !
And what intelligence ; what penetration ; ^N\\2Xfi7iesse is there in
this admirable companion of our gladness and sorrow ! How well he
can read countenances ; how skilfully he knows how to interpret the
sentiments conveyed in gestures and words I In vain you may
threaten, in vain try to frighten him. Your eye betrays you : that
smile, which scarcely appears upon your lips, has unmasked your
feelings, and so far from fearing and avoiding you, he comes to solicit
your attention.
Volumes might be written, if desirable, relating all the extraor-
dinary stories of which Dogs are the heroes. Every day, in ordinary
life, we see something of this kind, and which, although of so frequent-
occurrence, is none the less curious. Is it necessary to recall to
memory the Dog of Ulysses, the model of fidelity ; the Dog of Mon-
targis, the vanquisher of crime; of Munito, the brilliant player at
dominoes ? Must we mention the Newfoundland Dog and the Dog
of Mount St. Bernard, both of them preservers of human life ? Is it
necessary to speak of intelligent Dogs going for provisions for their
master, and assisting him in his duties with ability ; of the shoeblack's
Dog, trained to plant his muddy paws on the best polished boots, so
as to bring more business to his master, the man of the brush ? We
should never come to an end if we attempted to register all the exploits
of this valuable companion to man.
The Dog is subject to a terrible malady, which also attacks the
4IO
MAMMAIJA.
Wolf, viz., hydrophobia. The most characteristic symptoms of this
disease are dulness and loss of appetite, inflamed eyes, suffering from
an ardent thirst, yet avoiding water, not because liquids inspire it
Pyrenean Shepherd's Dog.
with horror, as is generally believed, but because of the pain ex-
perienced in swallowing, A more significant characteristic of rabies
is the change that suddenly takes place in the character of the Dog
affected. It becomes indocile, sulky, and expresses by a peculiar
HYDROPHOBIA. 4I I
hoarse melancholy cry the pain it suffers, and the nature of the
deplorable disease with which it is seized. At length an indescrib-
able state of madness is manifested by offensive acts, that mark the
last stages of the malady. The animal runs here and there without
purpose, biting at whatever comes in its way — Cats, Dogs, men,
Fig 150. — Esquimaux Dogs.
women, or children, innoculating all its victims with the virus that
mipregnates its saliva. It does not always attack its master, and it is
probably to avoid this misfortune that it wanders off on feeling the
first symptoms of the horrible malady.
The most energetic measures should be taken against rabies.
Every Dog bitten should be immediately killed ; and the same law
should mflexibly be exercised towards every brute which has met with
the same misfortune.
With regard to people who may happen to be wounded by rabid
41
MAMMALIA.
animals, the injured part should be cut out and carefully cleansed
with the shortest possible delay after the accident ; better still, the
wound should be deeply cauterised with a hot iron or a powerful
Fig. 157.— Land Spaniels
caustic. No other efficacious means are known, notwithstanding all
that has been said by the inventors of pretended sovereign remedies.
In t868 the public journals made a noise about a draught con-
cocted from certain valueless plants; this, however, was a perfectly ridi-
culous remedy, resuscitated from the obsolete medical budget of some
old woman, and had nothing in its favour to merit public attention^
HYDROPHOBIA.
413
save that it had been extolled by a prominent man of the period,
M. de Saint-Paul, General Secretary to the Minister of the Interior.
It could not be said of this remedy, that ''if it did no good, at
any rate it could do no harm." On the contrary, it might have
caused great mischief, by inducing the patient and those around him
to believe in its efficacy, and thus rest in fatal security, preventing
them from having recourse to proper means of treatment.
Fig 15S.— Poodle.
It is a very extraordinary phenomenon that the inoculated
virus should be sometimes so slow in producing its effects. A man
is bitten by a Dog which is apparently quite healthy. The wound is
treated like an ordinary bite, or nothing is done to it. At the end of
a long period, even several months, when it is imagined that there is
nothing more to be feared, the victim is attacked with hydrophobia,
and expires in horrible agony.
What is the cause of rabies ? On this point opinions are divided.
414 ^'MAM.XlALIA. -
It ought not to be attributed either to the great heat of summer, the
rigorous colds of winter, nor yet to hunger, thirst, or the bad quahty
of food. Statistics prove that rabies is not more frequent during the
summer than in any other season. Again, this malady is absolutely
unknown in many warm countries, where Dogs nevertheless enjoy
perfect liberty ; for example, in Turkey, Syria, P^gypt, Cafifraria, at the
Cape of Good Hope, and in South America. This proves that the
Fig. 159.— Havanese Dogs.
custom of muzzling Dogs during the summer, and at no other seasons,
is open to question, and may, in fact, be more likely to promote than
prevent this fearful ailment.
Dogs are also subject to a disease called distempei', which attacks
all indiscriminately, and carries off more than one-half their number;
this disorder usually accompanies the period of -dentition. It is an
inflammation of the respiratory passages, comi)licated with nervous
disorder, and lasts from twenty to forty days. Any one who keeps a
Dog should not liesitate a moment, when the malady appears, to
THE DOG.
455
place it in the hands of a veterinary surgeon, or some 'Other person
of long experience in the ailments of animals. Empirical remedies
ought especially to be guarded against, as in the majority of cases
they leave behind them serious results.
The period of gestation in the Dog is about sixty-three days— a
little longer than in the Wolf. The puppies, which vary in number
from six to twelve, are born with their eyes closed, and do not open
Fig. 160. — Turnspits.
them until they are ten days old. At two years of age they attain
maturity. The Dog's average length of life is about fifteen years.
The marvellous sense of smell in this animal has led to its being
employed in hunting. In certain countries it is even used to track
human beings. The companions of Pizarro and Ferdinand Cortez
frequently employed Bloodhounds to capture the unfortunate
natives of Peru and Mexico.
Sporting Dogs may be divided into two classes — the Running
Dogs or Hounds, and Setters or Pointers. The first follow rapidly
4i6
Mj^?JMALIA.
on a track or scent, giving tongue, and only stop when they have
captured or lost their game. The second follow silently on the trail
of game, sagaciously thread all deviations, and only cease advancing
when the scent announces their proximity to the object of their
search. It is then that they are said to be pointing or setting.
Setters generally lie down and wait for the sportsman ; Pointers, on
Fig. i6 1. —Large French Water Spaniel.
the Other hand, stand. Well-broken Dogs will remain in their
position for many minutes.
Among the Running Dogs, it is necessary to mention the Grey-
hound, the Hounds of Saintonge and Poitou, English FoxhoundS;
Harriers, and Beagles, Turnspits, Bull-dogs, Mastiffs, &c.
The principal breeds of the second class of Sporting Dogs are —
Pointers, Setters, Land Spaniels, and Water Spaniels, which have
given rise, through crossing, to a great number of varieties.
THE DOG.
417
The training of Sporting Dogs requires an amount of attention
and preparation that the hmits of this work will not allow us to
Fig. 162,— Newfoundland Dogs.
notice. It may be remarked that it is necessary to commence when
they are about four or five months old ; this is called house-
l)reaking. Their training should be discontinued at the period of
4i8
MJMMAL/A.
distemper, which is generally towards the seventh or eighth month of
their age. As a rule, until ten months old, they should not be
shown game, or be trained in a steady continuous manner.
Since the date when the Dog was redeemed by man from a
Fig. 163.— Gascony Hounds.
savage condition, its size, strength, and coat have submitted to
infinite variations ; a circumstance which makes it very difficult to
class, in a small number of sufficiently homogeneous groups, all the
races and sub-races now existing. Fr. Cuvier and Desmarest have
divided all the varieties of Dogs thus— Matins, Spaniels^ and
THE DOG. 419
Mastiffs. We shall adopt this method, because it is easier to
remember, though it is not without its faults.
It is among the Matins that the largest-sized Dogs are met with.
We may mention the ordinary Matin ; the Great Danish Dog (Fig.
153), whose size almost equals that of the Ass, and whose progenitors
were probably those redoutable Molossian Dogs of the Epirus, so
celebrated in antiquity ; the Danish Spotted Dog ; the Little Danish
Dog; the different varieties of Greyhound (Fig. 154); the Pyrenean
Shepherd's Dog (Fig. 155), so affectionate and intelligent j the Alpine
Dog ; and the Dog of Mount St. Bernard.
Fig. 164.— Pointer.
The Spaniels comprise the Wolf Dog ; the Chinese Dog ; the
Esquimaux Dog (Fig. 156), the Siberian Dog, the two latter being
used in their habitat to draw sledges across the snow ; the French
and English Spaniels (Fig. 157); the Small Spaniel, the stock of a
great number of varieties called Saloon or Lapdogs, and which are
remarkable for their diminutiveness, and often also for their ugliness,
a circumstance which does not prevent their finding a place in the
muff or on the knees of our elegantes. The principal Lapdogs are
the Cocker, King Charles, Blenheim, Small Poodle (Fig. 158), the
Small White Dog of Cuba, or Havanese Dog (Fig. 159), and the
Lion Dog. Then we come to the Turnspits, with straight and
crooked legs (Fig. 160); the St. Domingo Dog; the Large Water
Spaniels (Fig. 161), the most faithful and most intelligent of all
420
MAMMALIA.
Dogs ; the Little Water Spaniel, Poodle, Newfoundland Dog (Fig.
162); Stag, Fox, and Harehounds (Fig. 163); Bloodhounds,
Pointers (Fig. 164), and Setters.
Among the Mastiffs are placed the Great Dog, or Mastiff, of the
English, an animal very courageous, robust, and well adapted for
fighting ; the Thibet Mastiff, which differs but little from the former ;
the Small Mastiff, the Pug, excessively small, and now become very
Fig. 165.— Bull- dogs
rare in France ; the Bull-dog (Fig. 165) ; the Terrier and Bull-
Terrier (Fig. 166), a cross between the Matin and the Mastiff; the
Turkish Dog, very remarkable for its almost entirely nude skin, and
very improperly named, as it is really of American origin — it was dis-
covered by Columbus in the Antilles, in 1492, and at a much later
date passed into Eastern Europe and Africa ; lastly, the Common
Cur Dog, which has no distinct characters, and is the product of all
the combinations that can be brought about among different breeds
wandering in the public thoroughfares.
THE DOG.
421
In this long nomenclature we have designedly omitted to 5peak
of some races of Dogs which live either entirely wild, half-wild.
or semi-domesticated in various parts of the globe. It is generally
believed that they have sprung from individuals which had returneil
Fig. 166— Bull- Teiriers.
to a savage condition, but nothing very certain is known about them.
There are the Dingo, or New Holland Dog, which is very destructive
to domestic animals, and even to cattle ; the Dhale, or East Indian
Dog, which in packs pursues Deer, Gazelles, &c., and which, when
collected in troops, does not fear to accept combat with the Lion or
Tiger ; the Wild Dog of Sumatra ; the Cape of Good Hope Dog ;
tks Maroon Dog of America : lastly, the Crab-eating Dog, whicli
422 MAMMALIA,
lives in small bands in Guiana, where it chiefly subsists on Crabs and
Lobsters.
The Cape Hunting Dog {C. pictus) inhabits South Africa. It is
about the size of the Wolf, but not so strong as that animal. Its
coat is of a deep grey colour, and irregularly speckled with spots
of various colours. It has large pointed ears, and the tail long
and bushy.
These Dogs feed on living prey, such as Gazelles, Antelopes, &c
To pursue and capture these they collect in troops, which are some-
times very numerous, and under the direction of a chief, when they
hunt with a unanimity and cleverness unsurpassed by the best pack
of Hounds. When the game is taken they divide it equally ; but if
any of the larger Carnivore approach to take a share in the feast, all
unite against the intruder. This often happens with respect to the
Leopard, and even the Lion.
ViVERRiDiE. — This family comprises Mammals which differ much
from one another in their general form and external characteristics,
some of them being plantigrade, others more or less digitigrade, but
all having as a common feature two pairs of tubercular molar teeth in
the upper jaw, and a single one in the lower. They derive their
denomination from the word viverra^ the Latin name for a Ferret.
Herpestes. — The Ichneumons are small animals, found in the
warmest parts of Africa and Asia. They have a low body and are
vermiform in appearance, at the sam.e time possessing great rapidity
of movement, so that they appear rather to crawl than run along the
ground. Their tail is long, and thick at the root. Their fur, generally
silky, is marked with diversely-coloured rings, which give them a
chequered aspect. Their toes, five in number on all the limbs, are
terminated by claws, which are variable in length and slightly retractile.
They have a tapering muzzle, and the tongue is covered with horny
papillae. Near the terminal orifice of their alimentary tract are situ-
ated two small pouches which secrete a musky substance.
The Ichneumons are semi-nocturnal ; they principally frequent
marshy localities, where reptiles are abundant, on which they feed ;
though they also attack the smaller mammals and birds. They like-
wise search for the eggs of reptiles, and such birds as build on the
ground. They sometimes manage to gain access to poultry-yards,
when, like Ferrets and Weasels, they put all the inmates to death,
only eating their brains and drinking their blood. They are wanting
in intelligence, yet can be domesticated.
The typical species of the genus is the Egyptian Ichneumon
THE CIVET, 423
(Herpesies ichneumon), which inhabits the whole of the Nile region of
Egypt. This animal measures sixteen inches in length, not including
the tail, and is very slender in figure. It has long been celebrated
for destroying Crocodiles' eggs. A fable, which obtained great credit
in former times, affirms that the Ichneumon entered the bodies of
these enormous reptiles to devour their viscera. It was no doubt
because of the intimate relations existing between these animals that
the ancient Egyptians deified the Ichneumon at the same time as the
Crocodile.
Beside the Ichneumons must be placed the pretty little animal
Galidia elegans, which has almost the same form and habits, and is a
native of Madagascar. They are easily tamed, and are used to
destroy vermin.
Viveri'a. — The Civets are the largest of the Viverridas, although
their size does not surpass that of the Fox. Like the Ichneumon,
they live on small mammals and birds ; but they have not the same
preference for reptiles. For a long time they enjoyed great celebrity,
owing to the perfume they furnish, and which bears their name. The
odoriferous matter is secreted in a number of small glands, which
pour it into a well-developed double pouch, situated beneath the
anus, and communicating with the exterior by a longitudinal slit.
Since musk and ambergris have been known the use of Civet has
been more restricted ; but in former times it was an article of large
consumption. Each year Africa and India exported to Europe con-
siderable quantities, which was used in medicine and perfumery ; as
an anti-spasmodic in nervous diseases it was considered valuable.
To procure the perfume, the people of the East reared Civets in
captivity, and by feeding them on appropriate nourishment they
rendered the secretion more abundant. Birds, fowls, eggs, fish, and
rice were the articles of diet mostly adopted. Two or three times a
week the pouch was emptied by means of a spoon, and the contents
were then put in a vessel hermetically closed. The odour of this
product is so intense, that it remains a long time in the skins of the
animals even after they have been prepared. The skeleton even
emits traces of it, after repeated washing.
In certain towns of Abyssinia the Civet (F. civeita). Fig. 167, is
reared on a very large scale, and the people live almost exclusively
on the profits derived from this source. Father Poncet speaks of
having seen traders at Enfrar who had more than three hundred.
These animals are naturally irritable and ferocious, and they
cannot be really domesticated. Their vision being nocturnal, they
sleep nearly all the day.
424
MAMMALIA.
Civets are frequently exhibited in our menageries. The Dutch
used to bring the species called V. Indica from the Indian Archipelago
to rear in Holland, and thus obtain the perfume unadulterated. The
Civet of Amsterdam thus acquired a great reputation.
The V. Zibetha inhabits not only the Indian Continent, but also
the neighbouring islands, such as Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Amboina,
and Celebes. It differs from the last mentioned in having its coat
longer and rougher. Both have a fawn-coloured covering, marked
with stripes or brown spots. It is sometimes domesticated, and is
met with in the houses of the natives.
Fig. 167. — African Civet {Viverra civetia, Schreib).^
Geneva . — The Genets are elegant animals, very closely allied to
the preceding in form and habits. Their bodies are more slender,
the head liner, and size notably less. Their claws are almost entirely
retractile ; and their fur, which is speckled with black spots on a pale
fawn-coloured ground, has a very pretty appearance, and is an object
of considerable trade.
The Genets emit, like the Civets, a musky odour, but their secre-
tion is so trifling as to make it not worth collecting. They frequent
the borders of streams, and the neighbourhood of springs.
One species is found in certain parts of Western and Southern
Europe; this is the Genetta vulgaris (Fig. 168), common enough in
the South of France, and chiefly in the vicinity of Perpignan. Other
species belong to Africa, Madagascar, and Southern Asia, as well as
to the Indian Archipelago..
THE CY NO GALE.
425
We may add to the Civets and Genets the Paradoxures (Fig.
169), animals belonging to India and the neighbouring islands, and
Fig. 168. — The Genet {Genetta vnl^afzs, Linn.).
which are about the size of a Cat. They climb trees, and feed both
on animal and vegetable substances. That which Fr. Cuvier ex-
amined at the menagerie of the Jardin des Plantes had the tail
Fig. 169. — Paradjxure (P. t}pns, Luv.)
constantly rolled up, and always on the same side; for this reason he
gave it the name of Paradoxiirus tjptcs, being desirous of indicating
that this animal had an extraordinary or paradoxical tail ! Several
species of this genus are known.
Cynogale. — The Cynogale (C Bennettii., Gray) is an Otter-like
representative of the Viverridge. Like that animal, it has palmated
426
MAMMALIA,
feet, though not so greatly developed, and essentially aquatic habits.
Its body is elongated, it stands low, and its tail is of medium length.
It was brought from Borneo by Mr. Bennet ; until the present time it
has only been found here and in Sumatra. It lives on Fish, Crabs,
Birds, and fruit.
170. — The Coati-mondi {Nasuafusca),
The Bear Family, Ursid^e, contains several genera; among
these is the genus Nasua, which is pecuHar to America. The Coatis
inhabit the warm portions of the New World — Mexico, Columbia,
Peru, Guiana, Brazil, and Paraguay. Their collective characteristics
permit them to be readily recognised. They have a narrow head,
terminating in a salient, mobile muzzle, like that of the Ichneumons ;
and, in addition, their tongue is soft and extensile. Their mode of
progression, which, like that of the family, is plantigrade, gives to all
their movements an appearance of clumsiness. Their claws are very
THE RACOON. 42/
Strong, and serve to carry food to the mouth. The Coati {Nasua
fuscd)^ Fig. 170, is about the size of the Domestic Cat, and exhales a
disagreeable odour \ its fur is harsh, dry, and of no value.
The Coatis easily climb trees, descending, head downwards, without
the shghtest difficulty. Their alimentary r^^////<? is composed of small
mammals, birds, eggs, insects, and fruits. Their best developed sense
is that of smell, and it is by it that they principally obtain their prey.
Of a gentle disposition, they very soon become familiarised. One
which MM. Quoy and Gaimard kept for some time, on board the ship
Uraifie, exhibited great attachment to those who gave it food or paid
it attention. It abandoned its nocturnal habits, and soon became
accustomed to the noise and movement of the ship. It loved to lie
Fig. 171.— Common Racoon {Procyon lotor).
in the sailors' hammocks, and was very angry when driven out. It
ate everything indifferently, even to bread steeped in wine or brandy.
It pursued and caught the Mice and Rats very adroitly.
Ge7ius Procyon. — Like the Coatis, the Racoons belong to America ;
they inhabit the north and south of that part of the world. They have
a certain resemblance in form and habits to the Badger ; they are,
however, not so awkward. The head is very much developed in the
frontal portion, and terminates in a tapering, inflexible muzzle ; the
paws rest entirely on the ground in progression, and are armed with
strong and somewhat sharp nails ; their fur is abundant and the tail
bushy.
Racoons are omnivorous, though vegetable substances predomi-
nate in their alimentation. Roots and fallen fruit form the staple of
their nourishment. They climb trees to gather eggs, and even to
capture young birds in the nest.
Several species of Racoon are known : the Common Racoon
428 MAMMA LJ A,
[Procyon lotor), Fig. 171, is distributed over North America, from the
Gulf of Mexico to Canada. It is easily tamed, and makes a capital
pet; although rather mischievous in its proclivities. The boatmen of
the Ohio and Mississippi teach them many tricks, and afterwards ex-
hibit them to public curiosity. The Crab-eating Racoon [P. cancri-
vorus) is a native of South America. Crabs and other shell-fish, as
may be imagined from "its name, are its principal support. It is
slimmer and more active than the former.
The Kmkajou {Cercoleptes caiidivolvidus). — Uncertainty has been
felt for some considerable time as to the place which ought to be
assigned to this genus in the zoological series. Some naturalists have
placed it in the Quadrumanous order, and others have created for it
a special family among the Carnivora, desiring thus to show that ^they
considered it something intermediate between the two above-named
orders. There need be no hesitation in classing it among the Ursidae,
to which it manifests undoubted athnity.
It must be confessed that the Kinkajou bears some resemblance
to certain .species of Monkeys, especially to the Sapajous, its head
being nearly the same shape, and its tail long and prehensile. Its
coat, too, is of a woolly texture, which is another point of agreement;
but still these characteristics are not sufficient to make it a member
of the Quadrumanous order. It is plantigrade in its tread, while its
hooked claws enabling it to climb with extreme activity, it passes
nearly all its life upon trees. Its size is less than that of a cat. During
the daytime it sleeps, curled up like a ball ; but is not wanting in
good temper, grace, or intelligence.
This small animal is found in Mexico, Guiana, and the Rio Negro
district.
The consideration of the preceding animals has prepared our
transition from the actual Carnivora, digitigrade in their tread, and
living exclusively on flesh, to the Bears^not only plantigrade animals,
but onmivorous in the highest degree. -^In the Bears the flesh-teeth are
rudimentary, and the tubercular teeth are strongly developed. There
are three pairs of the latter in each jaw, whilst of the former there is
but one pair in the upper jaw, and none in the lower. If we recall to
mind what was stated as to the dental system of the Carnivora, before
we commenced the study of these famiHes, we should conclude, from
the principles there laid down, that Bears prefer vegetable substances
to any other kind of food, and that necessity alone compels them to
devour flesh. And this is the fact, just as we might expect from their
organisation.X We must, therefore, modify any previously- formed idea
of the ferocity which is usually attributed to these annuals. True it
THE BEAR. 429
is, that when they are attacked they will defend themselves vigorously ;
but it is wrong to apply the name of cruelty to self-preservatioii.
The Bear is a large Mammal of a heavy, lumpish shape, with a
thick coat of fur, and almost devoid of tail. Its toes, five in number
on each limb, are armed with powerful claws, which are not retractile.
The sole of the foot is of an excessive width, and its whole surface
touches the ground in walking. The head is wide behind, but ter-
minates in a rather sharp muzzle. The eyes are small, brilliant, and
mild \ the ears short and hairy.
In spite of their apparent heaviness, and the usual slowness of
their motions, the Bear is more agile than one would fancy. It can,
without difficulty, overtake a man in running ; and, generally speak-
ing, climbs trees with facility. Bears can stand upright on their hind
legs j and this is the attitude which they usually assume in charging
an enemy ; but in this position they advance but slowly.
Their strength is enormous j with little difficulty they can crush
a man to death in their arms. Tschudi, in his work on the Alpine
world, records that the Alpine Bear is able to carry off a Cow
through the roof of a stable, and to convey a Horse across a rapid
torrent.
fin eating, Bears sit down like Dogs, and taking the food up in
their paws raise it to their mouths, at the same tinie lowering their
muzzles so as to meet the food half-wa}^_J
The female Bear brings forth every year two or three young
ones, of which she takes tender care, and protects them against
every danger, even at the peril of her own life. Nor does she
abandon her progeny until a fresh litter claims her attention. Like
the Cat, she is in the habit of licking the cubs with her tongue to
clean them.
When it has plenty of food the body of the Bear, under the skin,
is enveloped in a thick layer of fat. In the olden time certain
marvellous curative quahties were attributed to this grease, but at
the present day these ideas are generally discarded. In many
countries the flesh of the Bear is deemed a delicacy ; the taste of it
resembles pork of a superior flavour. Lastly, its fur is utihsed ; true
enough, it is rough, but it is warm, and is well adapted for making
travelling cloaks and carriage rugs.
When caught young the Bear may be easily tamed, and its
docility of nature enables it to learn numerous amusing tricks, among
others, dancing, performing somersaults, &c. It will not, however,
always voluntarily exhibit its acquirements without expressing its un-
willingness by deep growling ; and, as it is capricious, it sometimes
430 MAMMALIA,
gets angry when it is coerced. It is, therefore, advisable not to
place too much confidence in its good nature, but always to keep it
muzzled, especially when of adult age.
The vivacity of its disposition, and grotesqueness of its move-
ments, may be observed in all collections, for instance, in the Pits
at Berne, the Zoological Gardens of London, and the Jardin des
Plantes in Paris. In the latter establishment the Bear, from time
immemorial, has obtained the name of " Martin ;" no one can tell
why, unless that it twists about in many different postures, bows
awkwardly to right and left, stands upright, and climbs a tree — the
incentive being the cake with which he is tempted by some smart
nursemaid or gallant soldier. These Bears, however, lie under the
accusation of having devoured a soldier who ventured into the pit
to rob them of a cake which some children had thrown them.
Bears not being partial to heat, they are more common in the
northern regions of the globe, and, although they are met with in
warm and temperate climates, it is generally on the lofty mountain
ridges. Europe, Asia, and America all possess various species.
The Bears may be, from a geographical point of view, classed as
follov/s : — the Brown Bear of Europe, the Grizzly Bear of America,
the Black Bear of America, the Syrian Bear, the White or Polar
Bear, the Sloth Bear, the Malay Bear, and the Bornean Bear.
The Brown or Alpine Bear XUrsiis arctos var.\ Fig. 1 72, has short
and crooked claws ; its head is very large, and its forehead forms a
very decided prominence above the eyes. There are no less than
ten or eleven varieties of it, each located in some particular region
of Europe and Asia, and all differing considerably both in their size
and also in their coats. Its length varies from four to five feet ;
some Bears, however, very much exceed these dimensions ; one, for
instance, which adorns the Museum of Lausanne, in Switzerland,
according to Tschudi, could not have measured less than seven feet
and a half. The Brown Bear generally weighs from 220 lbs. to 330
lbs. ; but some have been killed which reached 550 lbs. Its colour
varies from a bright yellow to brown and grey. White and black
Bears are occasionally found in Europe, but these are but exceptional
cases of albinism or melanism.
The Brown Bear leads a soHtary life in the dark pine forests,
amidst the deepest gorges, or on the highest mountain ridges. It
makes its den in caverns, on clefts of the rocks, often, also, in the
hollow of some giant old tree. Sometimes, too, it builds for itself a
bower of branches and moss. It generally sleeps during the day,
and seeks its food at night ; but this is by no means a settled habit
THE BEAK.
431
in the animal. It feeds on the nuts of the beech, and the various
descriptions of wild fruits and berries, especially those that are
slightly acid ; also various seeds, vegetables, and roots. It is very
fond, of honey, strawberries, and grapes, and will travel many miJes
to procure these delicacies. An agreeable repast is also furnished it
by swarms of ants, wi;ich it likes on account of their acid taste.
Fig. 172.— Brown Bear {Ihsus arctos).
In the lofty regions which it generally inhabits, when all these
kinds of food fail, it makes its way down to some of the lower
plateaux, and ravages the fields of wheat, oats, and maize. When
hard pushed by hunger it will not unfrequently go eight or ten
leagues from its home, but at dawn never fails to return to its own
district.
The Bear is well endowed with sight, hearing, and smell. If
432 MAMMALIA,
Tschudi is to be credited, before setting out on hunting expeditions
it invariably climbs to the top of some eminence or tree to explore
the neighbourhood, both by sight and smell. It is very cautious in
its nature, and but seldom enters traps; it inspects objects at a dis-
tance with which it is unacquainted, and will not approach them
without extreme caution. If it finds a carcass it will not feed upon
it before due examination.
The Bear does not become torpid during winter, as has been
generally believed ; but sleeps sometimes for several days, for the
reason that its appetite is smaller in cold weather. When abroad at
this season, and not finding a sufiiciency of vegetable sustenance, it
is then that a taste for flesh takes possession of it, and it lays tribute
on the nearest flocks of Goats and Sheep. It prefers Sheep, because
the capture of them is more easy, for the Goat's agility is a serious
obstacle to its successful pursuit. When the latter becomes its prey,
the Bear generally jumps down upon it from the top of some
height, or makes its way at night into its pen. It rarely attacks
larger cattle ; still, instances are known where it has lain in wait for
Cows near their drinking-places, when it has sprung on the back of
one, and seizing it by the nape of the neck, continued lacerating
until death ensues. In foggy weather Bears are said to be more
venturesome, as they can approach the grazing-grounds with greater
impunity, and with less fear of being seen by the shepherd, when, if
opportunity offers, they fall upon some beast which is detached from
the others, and devouring part of it carry off the remainder. The
Brown Bear will not often attack Horses, possibly on account of their
agility of avoiding its assault, or greeting its approach with a volley
of kicks.
The Brown Bear is, in the main, an easy-tempered animal, and
cruel only from necessity ; it is happy and comic in its ways, and
absolutely inoffensive to man when unprovoked. It must, however,
be confessed that it becomes more and more carnivorous in its
nature as it ages, because the taste for flesh increases in proportion
to the number of times the animal has fed upon it, the appetite
augmenting as it is gratified. When it is attacked and wounded, or
suddenly disturbed in its sleep, or when its cubs are in any peril, the
Bear becomes a dangerous foe. From the intrepidity of its nature,
and its reliance on its strength, it is ever ready to accept battle if
molested. In a hand-to-hand contest, unless a wound is given which
goes straight to its heart, all is over with the unfortunate hunter.
When a Bear is once wounded but not killed, either the animal or its
enemy must succumb \ and if the former succeeds in getting hold of
THE BEAR,
433
its adversary, it is a duel to the death of the most unrelenting
description.
One curious detail in the physiology of the Bear is the extraordi-
nary smallness of the young at birth, when compared with the bulk
of the parents, for they are not much larger than rats. At the age
of five years they are able to reproduce their kind. The duration of
their life has not been positively ascertained. Tschudi relates that a
Bear was kept at Berne for forty-seven years, and that a female had
young at the age of thirty-one years.
The Ringed, Collared, or Siberian Bear, a variety of the Common
Bear, owes its name to a large white ring which traverses its shoulders
and fades away on the chest. This characteristic, however, is not
of any scientific value, for in youth many of this family show it
more or less. The Siberian Bear is much more formidable than
the European variety. In the gloomy and cold countries which it
inhabits, the vegetation is altogether insufficient to satisfy its appe-
tite ; it must therefore, from sheer necessity, fall back upon some
kind of animal food. It will also feed on fish, which it catches
cleverly, and on carcasses thrown on the seashore. It hunts the
Reindeer, and will, even without provocation, attack man. The in-
habitants of Kamtschatka wage a war of extermination against this
animal.
The American Black Bear ( Ursus Americanus) is naturally one of
the least offensive animals. It has little taste for flesh ; even when
hungry, if a choice is offered between animal food and fruit, it does
not hesitate in selecting the vegetable substance. It swims well, and
is fond of fish, which it catches skilfully. It seldom attacks man,
unless previously provoked by his assaults ; as a rule, it prefers seek-
ing safety in flight. It principally makes its abode in the hollows of
firs and pines, selecting in preference those holes which are the
highest. Under these circumstances, the Americans capture it by
setting fire to the loot of the tree. This animal is hunted with great
activity, not only to put an end to its depredations in the cornfields,
but also for the sake of its flesh, fat, and fur, which latter is used for
many purposes. The hams of the American Bear, when salted and
smoked, have deservedly a high reputation both in the United States
and Europe.
The second American species, the Grizzly Bear [Ursus ferox),
Fig. 173, known also as the Ferocious Bear, is a native of the slopes
of the Rocky Mountains. If we may credit the accounts of travellers,
the Grizzly Bear is the most formidable of all the Carnivora, not
even excepting the Lion and the Tiger. It is said to delight in
434
MAM.WJL/A.
slaughter, and that it attacks without hesitation the immense herds of
Bison which people the plains in the vicinity of its habitat. But
these assertions are probably exaggerated. That the Grizzly Bear is
stronger and more carnivorous in its nature than the brown or black
zzly Bear (Ursjisferox).
species is credible ; but it is highly improbable that it is possessed of
the ferocity which is attributed to it. There can be no doubt that it
feeds on living prey, but only, in our belief, when berries, seeds, and
roots fail to afford it a sufficient sustenance. The courage, power,
and strength of this animal cannot be over-estimated. Its size is
/•///• ///:'.//.',
435
enormous ; a specimen exhibited in the United States was said to
weigh 2,000 ll)s.
The White or Polar Bear {Ursiis marilinms) enjoys a reputation
for boldness and voracity. Doubtless, much of its ferocity is to be
43^ MAMMALIA
attributed to the barrenness of the regions which it inhabits, the
absence of vegetation obHging it to attack animals to supply its
craving appetite. Its domain includes all those solitudes which
surround the Arctic pole — Greenland, Spitzbergen, Nova Zembla,
&c. Over these vast icefields it reigns supreme. It pursues the
Walrus and the Seal, which it catches with ease, for it both swims
and dives with extraordinary skill.
White Bears also feed on such dead Fish, Cetacea, &c., as the
sea throws upon the beach. In the summer time, when they betake
themselves to the forests farther inland, they attack the Mammals
which are natives of these regions, especially Reindeer. But not-
withstanding their apparent love of flesh, they are able to subsist
upon vegetable diet.
Most mariners who have been detained by the ice in the Polar
seas have had frequent encounters with White Bears. Instances
have been known in which they pursued them into their vessels,
even endeavouring to make their way into cabins at night through
the portholes.
The White Bear is terrible in its attack. Accustomed, as it is,
to meet with little or no resistance, and not even suspecting danger,
it rushes upon man with a blind fury and determination too often
fatal in their results (Fig. 174).
It is not an uncommon thing for White Bears to drift out to sea
on floating icebergs, when they become reduced to the most frightful
distress from hunger. Fatally confined to their icy raft, and utterly
devoid of all means of subsistence, they ultimately attack and devour
one another. Some of these famished Bears have been drifted to
the coasts of Iceland, and even Norway. They are then indeed
terrible, and make an indiscriminate rush on anything before them,
be it man or brute. Circumstances of this kind have certainly
contributed to form the reputation they have acquired of untameable
ferocity.
Living in the midst of perpetual ice, the White Bear naturally
dreads heat. Pallas, who observed one that was kept captive at
Kranojack, in Siberia, says that it could never remain long in its
house. Although the climate there is very inclement, it took a con-
stant dehght in rolling in the snow. The White Bears in the Jardin
des Plantes, in Paris, suffer so much from the heat of summer, that
it is impossible to keep them alive for any lengthened period.
Cuvier, however, says that one lived there for fifteen years, owing to
the care that was taken, both in winter and summer, to refresh it by
throwing over its body sixty to eighty pails of water daily.
THE BEAR,
437
The White Bear never becomes famihar with man. When in
a state of captivity it always remains wild and taciturn, and shows
itself alike incapable of attachment or domestication.
The Malay Bear {Ursus Malay anus), Fig. 175, is a much smaller
species than any of the preceding. It is a native of Malacca and the
Fig. 175.— Malay Bear {Ursns Mahzyanus, Eaffles).
Bornean Isles. They climb trees readily, and feed chiefly on fruit.
They are easily tamed, and soon learn numerous tricks.
The Labiate or Sloth Bear {A. labiatus), is characterised by
extensile lips and a tongue of remarkable length. It is a native of
India, and feeds only on vegetables. This animal submits to training,
and can be taught various exercises. This species has been formed
into a separate genus by some naturalists.
ORDER OF RODENTIA.
This order is one of the most extensive in the class of Mammals,
and includes certain animals of small or moderate size, the dis-
tinctive characteristic of which is, that they possess only two kinds of
teeth — incisors and molars. The incisors, two or more in number,
in front of each jaw, are very remarkable. Their office is to cut, as
with shears, roots and branches, and they are wonderfully constructed
for attaining this result. These teeth are long, curved, and stout,
and being covered with enamel on their front face only, they wear
away more behind than in front, and, by rubbing one against the
other, naturally form a chisel edge. This is a very advantageous
arrangement, as thus the teeth always present a sharp-cutting and
very hard edge, w^ell adapted for sawing through or gnawing tough
substances. The incisors always maintain the same length, notwith-
standing their continual v/ear ; for, having no roots, they grow from
the base in the same proportion as they are worn away at the top.
It is thus explained why it is that when one of the incisors happens to
break, the one opposite to it grows to an indefinite extent and
becomes distorted in shape.
The molars are separated from the incisors by an empty space.
In each jaw there are never less than three pairs nor more than six
pairs of molar teeth. In most cases the enamel forms wrinkles on
their surface of varied shapes, which give them an uneven ap-
pearance, and cause them to act as a kind of rasp, which much
facilitates mastication.
Animals of this order feed on seeds, fruit, leaves, and grasses,
occasionally on roots and bark. Some of them, however, such as
the Rats, are omnivorous, and will eat even putrefied flesh ; but
these form the exception. The Rodents, therefore, like all herbi-
vorous animals, have the intestinal canal of great length. In the
Guinea-pig it measures nearly ten feet; in the Domestic Rabbit,
fiifteen feet two inches ; in the Agouti, seventeen feet ten inches ; in
the Porcupine, twenty-five feet. Rodents differ much in form and
size, and their organs of locomotion are as variously constituted.
They are adapted either for running, jumping, climbing, flying, or
THE RAT, 43^
swimming. Their toes are generally five in number, and touch the
ground with the extremities only, a circumstance which is favourable
to agility. They are armed with sharp claws, enabling them to climb
trees, or to burrow in the earth.
The greater number of Rodents have their bodies covered with
fine, soft, and sometimes prettily-coloured fur, which man has
turned to advantage. The small Grey Squirrel and the Chinchilla
both furnish furs of value ; and the coats of the Beaver, the Hare,
aud the Rabbit are used in several of our manufactures.
The Rodents do not, like the other orders of Mammals, admit of
any great divisions based on natural characteristics which are readily
and clearly marked. When such have been adopted by naturalists
they have been founded on nothing but the most subtle features of
organisation. We shall not, therefore, in this case, classify them into
a number of families ; but confine ourselves to describing genera one
after the other, grouping under a common head those which are con-
nected together by certain actual affinities.
The order of Rodents commences with a very numerous group,
that of the Rats, which includes, besides the Rat proper, the Field
Rats and Mice, the Musk Rats, the Hamsters, the Dormice^ and the
Jerboas. All these animals have a kind of family likeness to one
another, and differ but little in the eyes of the general public, who
mix them all up under the same general denominations. These
form the Muridce. of the naturalists (from Mus., Mouse).
Rats. — Rats proper are characterised by an oblong-shaped head,
furnished with stiff" feelers on each side of the muzzle ; by an elon*
gated body, terminated by a tail e qual to it in length, and almost
bare, scaly, cylindrical, and tapering down to the tip. They have
but four toes on the fore feet, and the number of their teats varies
from four to twelve. They are usually of a tawny or brown colour.
These animals are very numerous ; for the females bring forth
several times a year litters composed of ten to twelve young, which
are soon able to reproduce. The males are polygamous, and take
no part whatever in the rearing of their progeny.
Rats are the most destructive of all Rodents ; for although their
principal food is formed of seeds and roots, they are, as we have
said, omnivorous. They make their abode in the cultivated fields,
gardens, and plantations, each locality suffering by their residence.
Houses, barns, hay-sheds, piovision-stores, sewers, slaughter-houses,
butchers' shops, restaurants, &c., are, however, their favourite abodes.
When a colony of Rats is established in any locality, and no
longer finds a sufficient supply of food, it emigrates to a new placf
44C maMmal/a.
of residence. They sometimes, on such occasions, accomplish long
journeys. Streams, and even the widest rivers, cannot then stop
therh. Onward appears to be their watchword, until they meet with
a neighbourhood suited to their requirements. One word, however,
we have to say in their favour : on these occasions they exhibit a
strong spirit of fehowship, for, far from abandoning the old and
infirm, they are said to come to their assistance, obviating as much
as possible all the difficulties that surround their situation.
Dr. Franklin states that he has seen an old Rat, deprived of
sight, holding in its mouth the end of a twig, the other end of which
was grasped by a comrade, who thus led the unfortunate animal.
So rapid is the increase of Rats, that they would be a perfect
scourge to humanity, if it were not for the various and powerful
causes of destruction which limit their multiplication. Not only do
Owls. Buzzards, and other birds of prey make slaughter am^ong
them, but even they destroy and devour one another, either for the
possession of the females, or (which is the more general case) in con-
sequence of the scarcity of subsistence.
With regard to this point, Parent-Duchalet relates the following
fact, which Majendie witnessed. The celebrated physiologist had
caused a dozen Brown Rats to be shut up in a box. When he
arrived home he found only three left ; these had devoured the nine
others, and a few bones and other scattered remains were all that
reminded him of the victims' existence.
In cities it is highly necessary that steps should be taken to limit
the increase of these troublesome animals ; but in spite of their
incessant destruction Rats do not appear to diminish, but rather the
reverse.
In consequence of their disgusting habits, and the damage which
they cause, Rats invariably inspire all with repugnance, so that we
never think of taming them, and but rarely contemplate the possi-
bility of making pets of them. This, however, would be by no
means an impossibility. In the public places of Paris, a mounte-
bank may often be seen exhibiting a troop of performing Rats.
They recognise the voice of their master, and execute various tricks
at his command, such as jumping in and out of a basket, bowing to
the company, &c. ; ultimately, at the call of their owner, they come
and nestle in his bosom, between his waistcoat and shirt.
The Chevalier de Latude, celebrated by his lengthened captivity
in the Bastille, was much inconvenienced in his dungeon by Rats,
which, during his sleep, were in the habit of running over his face,
and sometimes even biting him. Finding himself unable to drive
THE RAT. 441
them away, he determined to cultivate the friendship of these trouble-
some neighbours. He began by enticing one with some bread,
taking care not to startle it by any sudden movement. At the end.
of three days the animal had become so tame that it would feed out
of his hand. The most difficult part of his task was now over. The
first Rat brought others, which did not manifest any more timidity
than their leader ; and in less than fifteen days the company con-
sisted of ten Rats, each of which received a name. When Latude
called to them, they would run after him and allow themselves to be
handled without fear, appearing to be pleased when scratched under
the neck ; but they always objected to be touched upon the back.
" They used to come and eat out of my plate," said the unfortunate
captive ; " but I found that this license was inadmissible, so, in
order to avoid their uncleanly habits, I was forced to lay another
cover at table for them." At the end of a yeai this family of Rats
reckoned twenty-six members.
Both Cats and Dogs are natural enemies of the Rat ; yet these
animals, apparently so irreconcilable, may be trained to live to-
gedier.
Dr. Franklin was in possession of a White Rat, which was much
attached to him, and kept on very good terms with a Dog of the
terrier breed. The Dog and Rat were in the habit of amusing them-
selves together in the garden \ they would drink milk side by side
from the same saucer, and share like brothers any titbits that fell in
their way, either from the liberality of their master, or the plunder-
ings of the Rat, which never scrupled to climb upon the table and
carry off, unless prevented, sugar, pastry, or cheese. If a stranger
entered the room, Scugg (which was the name of the Rat) used to
retire into a corner, and place itself under the protection of friend
Flora, the Dog, who would bark furiously until the pacific intentions
of the new comer had become evident. It was curious to see Scugg
sleeping in front of the fire between Flora's paws. In consequence
of vexation at being separated from its master, the Rat became ill.
At length the Doctor returned. He caressed the affectionate animal,
and having with some difficulty withdrawn it from his bosom, put it
back into its cage. The next morning it was found dead. Is it true
that in Rats, as well as in men and women, joy sometimes kills %
Rats are distributed all over the earth. They seem to adapt
themselves to all climates, and many of the species are cosmopolitan.
This may be easily explained by the fact that all vessels have a
number on board, and that thus they pass from one hemisphere to
another.
442
MAMMAL/A.
We shall now state the principal species of the genus, beginning
with those of Europe.
In the first place, we have the Black Rat, and the Brown or
Norway Rat.
The Black Rat(J///i- rattus), Fig. 176, is about eight inches long,
the tail not included. It is originally from Asia Minor, and is ceasing
to be an inhabitant of Europe, for it is gradually retiring before the
Brown Rat, the largest, most malicious, and the most voracious of
Fig. 176.— Black Rat {Mus rattus).
all the family, and which wages a war of extermination upon the
Black Rat. Thus it is that in England the Black Rat has become
excessively rare. Fr. Cuvier, in opposition to general belief, states
that these two varieties of Rats live together on the best of terms
wherever there is plenty of food.
The Brown Rat (Fig. 177, M. decumanus) did not exist in Europe
until the middle of the eighteenth century, and appears to have
been brought in ships from India. Some Brown Rats attain eleven
inches in length, and are able to defend themselves against a Cat.
They have taken the place of the Black Rat in almost all our large
cities.
The Wood Mouse {M. sylvaticus) makes its abode in woods;
THE MOUSE.
44.3
during the winter, it takes refuge in corn-ricks, and sometimes it even
frequents dwellings. Its length varies from four to five inches.
The Common Mouse {M. miisculus), Fig. 178, is slightly larger than
the Field Mouse ; it is not necessary to describe its habits, as they
are so well known. This little animal is a troublesome guest in our
houses, and even makes its way into movable furniture. Although
it is timid and inoffensive, it is a cause of fright to children and
weak-minded persons. Terror, however, gives way to curiosity when
Fig. 177. — Browrij or Norway Rat {Mas decuinattus).
the Mouse belongs to the white variety, for White Mice are fre-
quently made pets of
The Mouse does not inhabit houses exclusively; it is likewise
found in gardens and fields. This species is believed originally to be
indigenous to Europe ; but it is now plentiful everywhere.
The Harvest Mouse (M. iniiiutiLs), Fig. 179, is the smallest, the
most graceful, at the same time the prettiest of all the genus. Its size
is not much more than half that of the Common Mouse. Its coat
is tawny on the back, with a brighter shade on the flanks ; while the
lower part of the head, the chest, and the belly is white, soft, and
silky. Its habits are very interesting. The receptacle which it con-
structs for the reception of its progeny is a marvel of architectural
444
MAMMALIA.
skill. This delicate piece of work bears considerable resemblance
to the nests of the Tomtit. It is spherical in shape, and is no
larger than the small balls played with by children. Being com-
posed of grass and leaves, artistically interwoven, it is skilfully poised
at the intersection of two or three straws of grain, bound together
about half-way up. In this cradle the mother deposits seven or eight
young ones ; but the question may be asked, how she manages to
suckle them, for the narrowness of the structure will not allow her to
[78.— Common INIouse [M?is muscnhis).
install herself in the midst of her brood. The opening of their
dwelling is so skillfully concealed that extreme attention is sometimes
necessary to discover it. The female can climb up to her nest with
the greatest ease, and descends with similar facility, winding her tail
round a straw, and sliding down rapidly. In winter time, the Harvest
Mouse takes refuge in corn or hay-ricks, or scratches out a burrow,
which it Hnes with wool, hair, or other soft substances.
Those we have named above are the principal European species.
The other parts of the world have also varieties which are peculiar
to them.
The Field Mice {Arvicold). — In contradistinction to the preceding
genus, which has, generally speaking, the tail bare, and as long as
THE MOUSE,
445
the body, this appendage in the Field Mouse genus is much shorter
and hairy.
Among this genus may be found some very interesting but also
very mischievous species. As they make their abode in the woods
Fig. 179.- Harvest Mouse {M. uiinutus).
and fields, and, besides, breed with prodigious rapidity, they some-
times become a serious plague to agriculture, and farmers do their
best to extirminate them.
The Common or Small Field Mouse {A. arvahs), Fig 180, is
found all over Europe, except in Italy ; it is also met with in Siberia.
It is about the size of the Common Mouse, and makes its abode in
some raised bank, where it hollows out irregular passages, all meeting
446
MAMMALIA.
in one chamber. In this hole, on a bed of dry grass, the female
gives birth to from eight to twelve little ones once a year. We ma,y
judge by this how rapidly they multiply, and the extent of destruc-
tion to agricultural produce which results from them. Whole districts
have been reduced to destitution by this scourge. In 1816 and 18 17
the one department of La Vendee experienced a loss estimated at
;^i 20,000, caused entirely by these animals. They were ultimately
got rid of by poison.
Fig. 1 80. — Campagnol, or Short-tailed Field Mouse {Arvicola arz'alis).
The Economic Mouse (A. cecononms) differs but little from the
species just named, except that it is larger. It is a native of Siberia,
between Daouria and Kamtschatka. The name which is given it
alludes to one of its characteristic habits — that of hoarding up,
during the fine weather, provisions for the winter. The labours and
foresight of this puny creature are a constant source of admiration to
the lovers of nature. Its domicile is of a somewhat complicated
character, consisting of a principal chamber, twelve inches in dia-
meter, and about four inches high, from whence spring numerous
little tunnels, tending in every direction, and communicating with
the surface of the ground by apertures about an inch in diameter,
and placed at a suitable distance from each other. Three or four
winding passages, penetrating still farther into the depth of the
THE LEMMISG. 447
ground, lead on to an equal number of comparatively spacious store-
houses, where the " people of the house," that is, the male and
female, hoard up roots of all kinds, which have been previously
scraped and dried in the sun, and which are arranged in separate
heaps, according to the nature of each. If, in spite of all these pre-
cautions, the provisions get damp, the little animals bring them up
again into the open air, and dry them a second time. Looking at
these actions, so full of intelligence, it is clear that the instinct of
animals may become developed to an almost wonderful degree.
The quantity of food which the Economic Mouse stores up
during the time of plenty is sometimes considerable ; for it occasion-
ally reaches as much as fifty pounds' weight, and in such case forms
a resource for the miserable, half-starved inhabitants of Eastern
Siberia. The natives of this country hunt out these burrows to
plunder them, but they always take care to leave a Httle of the
hoard behind, so as not to reduce the industrious collectors to
starvation.
Like the Lemmings, of which we shall presently speak, the
Economic Mice are in the habit of migrating. United in large
troops, in the spring of some years they go straight ahead, crossing
every obstacle — rivers, arms of the sea, and mountains, leaving
behind them numbers of stragglers and exhausted victims, who fall
a prey to the crowd of carnivorous animals which follow in their
rear. After their journey they are so fatigued that they can scarcely
move. At the beginning of winter they return to their homes, and
the natives of Kamtschatka make quite a festival in honour of their
arrival.
The Water Rat {Arvicola ainphibius) is another species of this
genus ; it is about the size of the Black Rat, and frequents the edges
of streams. It swims with ease, and feeds on roots and various
aquatic plants. It digs a burrow in the river-bank, of no great depth,
but provided with several holes for egress. It is found all over
Europe, in Asia, and also, it is said, in America.
There are various other species of this genus, but an account of
them would take up too much space.
Myodes. — The Lemmings (Fig. i8i), the most curious species of
this group, are natives of the mountains of Lapland, where they feed
on mosses and lichens. Their tail, paws, and claws are all very short.
They are about the size of the Rat, and their coat, variegated with
black, yellow, and white, is very pretty. During the daytime they
creep into their burrows, to enjoy sleep, but during the night they
are very active. When they are attacked they defend themselves
o *
443
MAMMALIA.
both with their teeth and claws, and if an attempt is made to catch
hold of them, they utter shrill cries.
At very irregular dates the Lemmings migrate in immense num-
bers, and make their way towards the south in crowded columns. It
seems as if they were drawn on by some irresistible power towards a
fixed point, so straight is the character of their march. They never
go round any obstacle, except when it is absolutely impossible to
surmount it ; and then, as soon as the impediment is passed, they
again take their former direction. If a large rick of hay happens to
Fig. i8i. — Lemming (I\Tyodes leimnus).
Stand in their path, they bore right into it, and make a thoroughfare
through it. If a boat is moored in a river, and thus crosses their
direct road, they will climb over it, and take to swimming again on
the other side of it. They only travel at night and in the early morning.
Woe be to the field in which they make their halting-place, for it will
be left completely bare.
These animals thus make their way as far sometimes as Germany.
Incalculable numbers of them perish during their journeys, and
scarcely a hundredth part of them ever live to return.
Much discussion has taken place as to the cause which induces
the Lemmings, as well as the Hamsters, to undertake these migra-
tions. It has been sometimes asserted that they foresee a hard
winter, and that tliey make these journeys to avoid it. But the more
THE MUSK A' AT.
449
probable supposition is, that these changes of abode are owing lo a
superabundance in their numbers, which naturally leads to a de-
ficiency in the means of subsistence.
The Musk Rats lyFiber Zibethicus), Fig. 182, are much larger than
Rats, their size being equal to that of a small Rabbit. They are
plentiful ail over North America, especially in Canada, and are
thoroughly adapted for an aquatic or amphibious life. Their hind-
feet are semi-webbed, and each toe is fringed with straight hair;
added to this, the tail, which is almost as long as the body, is flat-
tened, and covered with scales.
Fig. 182. -Musk Rat {Fiber Zibethiais).
They possess a gland which secretes a milky fluid of a penetrating
musky odour ; hence the name Musk Rats is frequently given them.
These animals have powers of building highly developed. In
this they resemble the Beaver, a species which we shall soon con-
sider ; for they combine to build villages, in which they find a safe
refuge against cold, and the attacks of their enemies.
When Musk Rats form a colony, they select a lake or quiet river,
free from cliffs, rapids, or falls. Their houses externally are in the
shape of a dome, and are composed of rushes or reeds firmly
interwoven, with the interstices filled up with clay. A final layer of
twisted rushes covers this facing, making the total thickness of the
walls about thirteen inches.
450 MAMMALIA,
Against floods, and the possible invasion of their domicile by
water, due precautions are taken by arranging a series of steps
inside. This animal must also be endowed with very remarkable
powers of observation, for the upper steps are always above water
level, except in the case of extraordinary floods.
The size of their huts varies according to the number of
inhabitants. They are, in general, about two feet to two feet and a
half in diameter, inside, and are calculated to shelter seven or eight
animals ; but occasionally they are found much more spacious.
These dwellings are sometimes crowded together in considerable
numbers. When thus collected they present the appearance of
numerous bundles of hay resting upon the surface of the water. In
these abodes the animals shut themselves up during the cold months.
In the early days of spring, the Musk Rats emerge from their
subterranean dwellings, and spread over the country in couples.
When the females are pregnant they return to their houses, but
without the males, who continue to wander about. At the end of
summer, both males and females again unite in greater or less
numbers and proceed to form a new colony, for these animals never
occupy the same dwelling two years running.
Cricetus. — The Hamsters are about the size of the Black Rat;
but the body is more thick-set, and the tail much shorter. They
are especially characterised by the large pouches in the sides of the
cheek, and extending as far back as the shoulder behind the head.
Their coat is a russet-grey on the upper part of the body, and black
or brown underneath, scattered over with white and yellow spots.
Their fur is valued.
The Hamster (C frume?itarius)^ Fig. 183, is very plentiful in
Siberia, Russia, Poland, and all over Germany. Alsace is the only
province in France in which they are found. Their habits resemble
very much those of the Economic Rat ; but instead of being, like
the latter animal, a source of profit to the natives of the country
which they inhabit, they are associated with devastation and ruin.
Cultivated fields are the usual scene of their depredations ; for there
they find an abundance of their favourite food. Occasionally they
destroy some of the weaker Rodents, such as Mice, Field Mice, &c.
Burrows, composed of a chamber lined with straw, which serve
as their lodging, and various storehouses, are excavated by them,
three or four feet underground. These communicate with one
another, while two runs afford access, one of which is oblique and
winding, and is used by the animal in ordinary circumstances ; the
other, which is vertical, is reserved for cases of pressing necessity.
I
THE HAMSTER.
45
In the storehouses, the Hamster hoards up seeds of all kinds —
wheat, rye, beans, peas, vetches, linseed, &c. Morning, evening,
and night it crams its cheek-pouches with grain, after having
separated it from the husk; and carrying it into the subterranean
dwelling, there deposits it. It is said that this animal carries the
spirit of order to such an extent as to arrange in separate chambers
the various seeds it stores.
The quantity which the Hamster thus stores up is sometimes
Fig. 183. — Hamster {Cricetiis frjiuieiitarUis).
prodigious. Cases have been known where as much as 120 lbs.
weight has been taken from a single burrow. These figures may
give some idea of the ravages which are to be dreaded from an
animal, the multiplication of which is exceedingly rapid. The
females produce young three or four times a year : the first litter
is only three or four in number, but the subsequent ones are from
six to nine, sometimes, indeed, from fifteen to eighteen.
At one time the number of these Rodents became so great in
pirts of Germany, that the Government of Gotha offered a pre-
mium for their destruction. During one year eighty thousand were
killed in that neigbourhood.
From what we have said it may be easily imagined that
Hamsters are not looked upon by the peasants with much favour.
45^ MAMMALIA.
but are pursued with the utmost animosity, both for the purpose of
destroying them, and also for recovering their misappropriated
property. The burrow of the Hamster is not difficult to find, and is
recognised by observing, near an obliquely-tending hole, a little
mound resulting from the mould scratched out by the animal. To
destroy them the peasants spread poison-balls about the field? ; but
this plan might lead to very serious consequences, and ought to be
absolutely forbidden.
Fig. 184. — Garden Dormouse {Jlfyoxus niie^a].
In the middle of autumn the Hamster retires into its stronghold,
and, closing up all the avenues, shuts itself up there until spring.
During this interval it consumes the provisions which have been
stored up in reserve, and becomes very fat. If the temperature
becomes very low it falls into a lethargic sleep.
Myoxus. — Dormice are pretty little animals, which remind one
of Squirrels in their habits and external characteristics. They are
sharp-looking, have a soft and thick coat, a long and bushy tail, and
are rapid in movement. Their muzzle is adorned with a beautiful
pair cf moustachios, or feelers. They climb with great ease, for
they are possessed of curved and sharp claws, which enable them to
cling to any object. They pass all their lives on trees, and feed
chiefly on fruit and wild berries ; nevertheless, they will also eat the
eggs of small birds, and perhaps even the birds themselves. The
THE DORMOUSE, 453
evening and night are the times when they go in quest of food ;
during day they sleep, curled up in beds of moss, placed in the
hollow of a tree, or in the crevice of some wall or rock. Hence
comes the proverb, " As idle as a Dormouse/' It is also worthy of
remark, that their places of shelter are almost always turned towards
the south.
In these retreats they rear their famiHes, and pass the winter in
a state of torpor, hibernation being a decided condition of their
Fig. 185.— Jerboa Rat {Merwucs Biirtoni).
nature. If the temperature should chance to rise during their
winter sleep, they wake up and feed upon the fruit which they have
stored during the summer. A small species, the M. muscardinus,
takes the most ingenious precautions to guard itself from cold, or
from any inquisitive curiosity, during the time it is torpid — it
envelops itself in dry grass and moss, forming them into a skilfully-
constructed hollow ball, the centre of which it occupies.
The Garden Dormouse {M. iitte/a), Fig, 184, is less in size than
the Black Rat ; while the Common Dormouse {M. muscardinus) is
not larger than a Mouse. These two species live in the forests of
Central and Southern Europe ; the latter is a native of England, but
the Garden Dormouse prefers the vicinity of inhabited places. They
454
MAMMALIA.
often take up their abode in parks, gardens, and vineyards, and make
great havoc among the fruit trees.
Meriones. — The Jerboa Rat is a Rodent, having the hind-legs
much longer than the fore — a peculiarity which causes it to have
a particular mode of locomotion. The Jerboa Rats neither walk nor
run on the surface of the ground, but move forwards by leaping.
They inhabit the plains of Eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa, hollow-
ing out burrows in which they hoard up stores of corn. The size of
these animals varies between that of the Mouse and the Black Rat.
The Meriones Burtoni (Fig. 185) is met with in Africa.
Fig. 186.— Mole Rat [Spalax iyphius).
The Mole Rats {Spalax) are armed with stout claws, with which
they dig out runs through loose soils, cutting in two, Avith their
powerful incisors, the roots which obstruct their path. Their habits
of life are, in short, almost exactly the same as those of the Moles,
of which we shall speak when treating of the insectivorous animals.
They are heavy in shape, with a thick-set body, and a short tail, or
sometimes no tail at all ; their head is large, with a flattened skull,
slightly developed external ears, and very small eyes. In the Blind
Mole Rat, indeed, the latter organs are almost entirely wanting,
being of no use for purposes of vision, and entirely covered by skin.
The Mole Rats feed on seeds and roots ; they live in burrows,
seldom coming to the surface, and they prefer the plains to hilly
THE JERBOA.
455
regions. They are natives of the east of Europe, Asia, and
Africa.
The Mole Rat {Spalax typhlus), Fig. i86, is the type of the whole
group. It has a very long and angular-shaped head, which it actually
uses as a kind of wedge in burrowing. It is devoid of tail, and
differs but little in size from the Black Rat. It is described by
Buffon under the name of Zemni. It is found in Asia Minor,
Southern Russia, Hungary, and even Greece.
The Coasts Rats or Sand Moles are natives of Africa. They
Jerboa {Dipus Mgyptius).
make their abode in sandy districts, especially in the dunes along the
sea-coast. The most remarkable species is the Sand Mole {Bathyergus
maritimus)^ which makes its runs so deep that horses have been
known to sink into them over their knees. It is about the size of a
Rabbit. An Abyssinian species, the Brilliant Mole Rat {Rhizomys
splendens), is thus named on account of its coat, which is of a red
colour, with metallic reflections. This variety is not larger than
a common Rat. Rhizomys Siimatrensis is a native of the dense
bamboo forests in the Malacca peninsula : it feeds on the roots and
young shoots of this vegetable. In size it is a little smaller than the
Great Cape Mole.
Dipus. — The Jerboas (Fig. 187) are pretty little animals, with a
45 6 MAMMALIA.
large head, prominent eyes, and wide ears. Their front legs are very
short, with only four toes at the extremities, fitted for digging. The
hind legs are five or six times longer than the front ones, and are
terminated by three or five toes, according to the species. This kind
of organisation recalls to mind that of the Jerboa Rats ; but their
long legs make them much more striking. The tail is long a^d
covered with short hair, and terminated by a tuft ; the coat is soft
and thick.
The Jerboa inhabits the vast solitudes of Africa, and the steppes
of Tartary and Russia. They dig out burrows, in which they pass
die day, sleeping on a bed of grass and moss. But in the evening
they seek their food, which consists of roots and seeds. They make
use of their fore paws to convey what they eat to their mouths.
Under ordinary circumstances, when nothing occurs to hurry or
excite them, the Jerboas walk on all fours ; but if, from the scarcity
of sustenance, or the necessity of escaping from danger, they are
compelled to go a considerable distance in a short space of time,
they use their hind legs only, moving forward in leaps, like the
Jerboa Rats \ but the span of their bounds is of much greater extent,
reaching sometimes to three yards. The way in which these springs
are made is very curious. The animal first crouches down on its
tarsi^ at the same time stretching out and stiffening its tail, so as to
make another bearing-point on the ground \ then, suddenly, it bounds
forward, as if forced by a spring. The same manoeuvre is repeated
after an imperceptible interval of time. It is said that the Jerboa
can compete in speed with a fast horse. The ancients, looking at
this peculiar mode of progression, were led to think that the fore-
legs of these Rodents were absolutely unfitted for walking, and for
this reason gave them the name of Dipus, which signifies two-footed.
Jerboas are difficult to tame; they can, however, be kept in
cages. The menagerie of the Jardin des Plantes at Paris, and the
Zoological Gardens in London are in possession of several specimens.
It is necessary to place them in cages made of iron wire, for the
hardest wood cannot resist their jaws. Their size varies from that
of the Mouse to that of the Brown Rat.
Among the species which are known, we may mention one which
is common on the Upper Nile and the West Coast of Arabia,
D. hirtipes; and one, D. sagitta, met with on the steppes between the
Don and Volga.
Pedefes.—The Great Spring Hare {P. Caffer) of the Cape of Good
Hope colonists may be regarded as the representative of the Jerboa
in South Africa. Only the one species cf this genus is known.
THE CHINCHILLA.
4S7
Under the name of Pouched Rats we shall place together a cer-
tain number of American Rodents, which are characterised by the
possession of large and deep cheek-pouches. Among these are the
genera Saccomys, Geomys, (Sec.
Saccoj?iys. — The Sackmouse {S. anthophilus) resembles the true
Mice in its habits, and it is a native of North America. We are in
possession of but litde information as to its modes of life. There
is but a single species.
Fig. i88.— Pouched Rat {Geomys InD'sariics).
Geomys bursarius (Fig. i88). — This animal is a native of the
regions to the north of the habitat of the preceding species. Its
name signifies sack-bearer. They have immense cheek-pouches,
which sometimes hang down to the ground, and assume a most
extraordinary development. These sacs are used as a temporary
receptacle for provisions till deposited in their burrows. These
Rodents are armed with powerful claws, with which they hollow out
runs and holes in the ground. Hence the name of Geomys, or Earth
Rats (from yrj, earth, and ,uGs, Rat or Mouse), applied to them.
ChinchiUidce.. — To this family belong the genera Lagotis, Chinchilla,
and Lagostomus. The Chinchillas have rounded and widely spread
ears, the tail moderately long, and of a brush-like shape, similar to
that of the Squirrel ; long stiff feelers, like moustachios, adorn the
45»
MAMMALIA.
upper lip. Their fur is soft, of a glossy grey colour, and forms a
considerable article of trade between America and Europe.
These animals (Fig. 189) are natives of the Chilian and Peruvian
mountains. Their food is chiefly composed of bulbous plants, to
which they add dried grass and seeds. They are sociable in their
nature, and their burrows are sometimes so close together as to impair
the solidity of the ground, and to hinder traffic. They are very
prolific, for the females bear two litters a year of three or four young.
Fig 189. — The Chinchilla {ChincJiilla lanigera).
They are of a gentle nature, and easily tamed. According to the
Abbe Molina, a Chilian author, " any one may safely take them up
in the hand and caress them, without any fear of their attempting to
bite, or even escape ; added to this they are sensible to kindness.
People are, therefore; fond of keeping them in their houses, in which,
indeed, they behave with perfect propriety as regards their habits of
cleanliness. ''
The Chinchilla constitutes an abundant source of income for a
portion of the inhabitants of ChiH and Peru. The high price
fetched by their fur exposes them to all the evils avidity engenders.
They are hunted with dogs which have been trained to lay hold of
them delicately, so as not to injure their valuable coats.
At the commencement of the present century, the fur of the
THE V/SCACHA.
459
Chinchilla was so, much sought after in Europe, and the quantity of
it which was sent from America was so considerable, that the Chilian
government was compelled to take energetic measures in order to
preserve the species from complete destruction. Between the years
1828 and 1832 there were sold, in London alone, more than eighteen
thousand Chinchilla skins. At the present day, although this fur
is a little out of fashion, it is still very far from having fallen into
disuse.
Lagotis. — The Chinchillas have five toes on their hind-feet, but
Fig. 190. — The Lagotis {Lagotis Ctivieri) .
the Lagotis (Fig. 190) have but four, the same as on the fore-feet.
Added to this, their ears and their tail are longer, and their shape is
more elegant. These are some of the principal features which justify
their being placed in a separate genus. They are natives of the
Bolivian, Peruvian, and ChiHan Andes, and in their habits differ but
little from Chinchillas. Their coat is as soft as that of the latter
animal, but of a less uniform shade of colour. In spite of this it
possesses value.
Lagostomus. — The Viscacha (/S. iric/iodactylus), Fig. 191, is charac-
terised by a very thick snout, furnished with black strong whiskers,
by a moderately-sized tail of a brush-Hke shape, four toes on the
front feet, and three on the hind, the latter armed with strong claws.
Added to this, their hind-legs are longer than their fore-legs, and they
460
MAMMALI/u
leap like the Jerboas. This latter power, however, is much less
developed in the Viscacha than in the Jerboa.
The habitat of these animals is the vast plains or pampas of
South America, or the basin of La Plata river. They live in com-
munities, and hollow out very deep buiTOws. Grasses and vegetables
constitute the chief part of their food. Their usual posture is that
generally assumed by Rabbits ; and they use their feet to convey
their food into their mouths. Their movements are very active, and
Fig. igi. — The Viscacha {Lagostomiis irichodactylns).
they are excessively wary and difficult of approach. They are hunted
for the sake of their fur, of which the natives make caps.
PsanunoryctidcB. — After the Chinchillidae comes a group of
Rodents analogous to Rats with regard to their shape and size, but
distinguished from the latter by their dental system and the texture
of their hair. While Rats have only three pairs of grinders in each
jaw, these animals possess four, added to which, their coat is more or
less sprinkled with diminutive quills. This last characteristic, how-
ever, is not a constant attribute. The animals which compose this
group are often called Sand Rats ; they are almost exclusively natives
of the New World, and chiefly belong to South America. They feed
on vegetable substances obtained on the surface of the soil. Their
THE PORCUPINE.
461
tail is long, generally scaly, and sometimes furnished with short hair.
Of these we may mention Ctenomys Brasiliensis (Fig. 192).
Beside these Rodents are ranked the species of Capromys, which
have the same habits, but are as large as Rabbits. The species of
Capromys are inhabitants of Cuba ; they can climb with ease, and
will readily ascend trees. Their food consists of leguminous fruits
and aromatic plants, of which they are very fond ; all animal sub-
stances are excessively repugnant to them. They are very intelligent,
and may be easily tamed.
Fig. 192. — Cicnoinys Brasiliensis.
Aulacodus Siviiideraims (Fig 193) has the head and body much
elongated, and the toes short. Their tail is rather long, and covered
with prickly hair. These animals are as large as Rabbits, and in-
habit Western and Southern Africa.
Hystricidce. — The Porcupines are singular animals, endowed with
a very peculiar faculty, that of causing their body, which is covered
with quills, to bristle up, and thus forming for themselves a cuirass
both offensive and defensive. Before proceeding further, we may
mention that the small family of Porcupines is divided into the follow-
ing genera — Hystrix, or the Porcupines Proper ; Cercolabes, or the
Prehensile-tailed Porcupines ; Erethizoji, and Atherura.
Hysirix. — H. cristaia, the Crested Porcupine, inhabits Italy,
462
MAMMALIA,
Greece, Spain, Northern Africa, and different parts of Asia. We
shall describe it, which will serve to characterise the whole genus.
This Porcupine is one of the largest Rodents ; its average total
length exceeds twenty-four inches. Its principal peculiarities, exclu-
sive of its coat (Fig. 194), are very powerful upper incisors, short
thick toes, furnished with strong claws, a large head bulging out in
the frontal region, small eyes, short ears, a slightly split mouth, and
thick-set shape, combined with an awkward and clumsy gait.
Fig. 193. — Ground Pig {Aulacodus Swinderaniis) .
The back, thighs, and rump of this animal are covered with
pointed quills from eight to nine inches long ; these quills are annu-
lated with black and white, and fixed to the skin by a pedicle. By
means of the action of an enormous skin muscle, which moves at the
will of the animal, these can bristle up and radiate in all directions.
Tlieir tail is rudimentary, and is not, like the back, covered with
quills, but with hollow white tubes, which produce a sharp sound
when they clash together. The muzzle is furnished with long and
strong whiskers ; the head and neck are covered with flexible hair,
which is not prickly, but is susceptible of standing on end. The
hinder parts of the body are completely devoid of quills, and the hair
is there moderately soft. Long hair is also found on the fore parts,
but it is intermixed with bristles.
Under ordinary circumstances, the quills of the Porcupine lie
THE PORCUPINE.
4'53
close down on its body, and no one would suppose that at a
moment's warning they could become formidable weapons. But let
anger or fear seize upon the animal, and a whole forest of bayonets
spring up. If assailed, the Porcupine turns its back to the enemy,
and places its head between its fore-paws, at the same time uttering a
hollow grunting noise. If the assailant will not be intimidated, the
Porcupine endeavours to thrust its quills against the body of the foe.
The wounds thus inflicted are much to be dreaded ; for not only
Fig. 1Q4. — Porcupine [Hystrix cristata).
are they difficult and tedious to cure, but frequently the detached
barbs adhering in the flesh are almost impossible to extract.
The Porcupine is a shy, solitary, and nocturnal animal. It in-
habits unfrequented localities, and hollows out deep burrows with
several entrances. At night it comes forth to procure its food, which
consists of herbs and fruit. It is not essentially hibernating in its
habits. The female brings forth three or four young ones once a
year, and they are covered with quills from their birth.
The flesh of the Porcupine is good food, with somewhat the
flavour of pork. It is, doubtless, this similarity, and also the grunt-
ing noise which they make, to which it owes its name of Porcupine.
Aiheriira.- — To this genus belong the long-tailed Porcupines.
A. A/rica?ia,^ the Brush- tailed Porcupine (Fig. 195), is found in Sierra
464
MAMMALIA.
Leone; another species, A. macroura, is somewhat larger, and is
found in Sumatra, Java, and Malacca.
Erethizon. — America also possesses some species of Porcupines.
The most remarkable is the E, dorsatum, or Canada Porcupine (Fig.
196), which is found north of the 46th degree of latitude. It is as
large as the European species, and it inhabits pine forests, feeding
principally on the bark of trees, and its den is hollowed out under-
neath their roots. When attacked, it draws its legs beneath its body,
sets up its quills, and lashes around with its tail.
195. — Brush-tailed Vorcw'plne (A thenira Africana).
The Indians hunt it for the sake of its flesh, which is good, and
also for its skin, from which they make caps, after having plucked out
the quills, which are used by them for pins.
Cercolabes. — The Prehensile-tailed Porcupines are characterised
by a partly bare prehensile tail, and hooked and sharply-pointed
claws, which enable them to cHmb trees. Their quills are not long,
and are frequently hidden under their hair. They have a depressed
forehead, and not a prominent one, like that of common Porcupines.
They are principally met with in South America.
The Prehensile-tailed Porcupine {Cercolabes villosus) has been
observed in Paraguay by the Spanish naturalist Azara. The length
of its body is about a foot and a half^ and that of its tail ten inches.
THE CAPYBARA. 465
It lives on trees, and all its movements are excessively slow. It
appeared to dislike exertion, and Azara noticed one that remained
in the same posture for forty-eight hours. In short, it is a lazy,
indifferent, and apathetic animal, which only exerts itself to obtain
food. Azara possessed five of them, which he fed on leaves, fruits of
all kinds, manioc, maize, and bread.
C. prehe7isilis is the Mexican Porcupine, which has its body
Fig. 196. — Canadijn Porcupine {Erethizon dorsatwn) .
entirely covered with quills. It is found in the forests of Guiana,
Brazil, and Mexico.
CavidcB. — The group of Cavies, which comes after the Porcupines,
comprehends a certain number of Rodents, which, differing in appear-
ance, are, however, indubitably connected by certain characteristics
common to all. Their grinders are devoid of roots ; their toes, to the
number of four in front and three behind, are terminated by rounded
claws, somewhat similar to hoofs ; they have no tail, or if any, quite
rudimentary. The Cavies belong exclusively to South America.
Hydroch(Bnis. — The Capybara {H. capybard)^ Fig. 197, is about
the largest of all the Rodents. The only species which has yet
been observed measures three feet in length and a foot and a half in
height. This animal possesses a massive body, a large head, short
and rounded ears, moderately long legs, semi-webbed toes, and
466
MAMMALIA,
rough scanty hair, which is generally of a brown colour. It lives
gregariously, on the banks of lakes and rivers, feeds on grass, and
hollows out burrows to sleep in. At the appearance of danger they
plunge into the water, in which they are perfectly at home. Car-
nivorous animals, such as Jaguars, Cougars, &c., destroy them in
great numbers. They are also hunted by man for the sake of their
flesh, which is said to be very good. This Rodent is of a very
docile disposition, and becomes quite tame if taken young. It is
Fig. 197.— Capybara {Hydroch(Prus capybarn).
very numerous in Guiana, and most of the tributaries of the
Amazon.
Cavia. — In respect of size, the Cavias contrast singularly with the
Capybaras ; for they are not larger than Rats. One species of these
pretty little animals is known generally under the name of Guinea
Pigs. Their domestication dates back to a very distant epoch. This
fact may at least be inferred from their being marked by large black
and yellow patches on a white ground, a peculiarity of colour which
they presented even before their introduction from Brazil into Europe
in the middle of the sixteenth century — a peculiarity which cannot be
attributed to the agency of nature, as no wild Mammal is ever marked
in different ways on each side of its body.
THE GUINEA PIG.
467
When in captivity Guinea Pigs manifest but little intelligence ;
they seem entirely absorbed in satisfying their material wants, and
do not appear to have any consciousness of caresses bestowed on
them. As the females produce a good many at a birth, and the
young ones are fitted for reproduction at a very early age, it natu-
rally results that they multiply rapidly. They are partly nocturnal
in their habits.
Fig. 198.— Guinea Pigs {Cavia aperea).
There is one peculiarity which is not very often met with among
Mammals, that of the young ones coming into the world almost
wholly developed, their size alone excepted. This is the case with
Guinea Pigs. In point of fact, when they are born they can follow
their mother about and eat and suck, for their teeth are, even at this
early age, very strong.
Guinea Pigs (C apercd)^ Fig. 198, may very easily be fed, for
468
MAMMALIA.
they will eat bread, roots, vegetables, and grasses. It has been com-
monly thought that they never drink ; but this is a mistake. When
their nutriment is of a dry nature, and they have water within reach,
they use it.
Almost worthless, it is not easy to see the reason which has
induced man, for so many ages, to rear them in a state of domes-
ticity. Their diminutiveness, and the unsavouriness of their flesh,
place them very low among animals which are fit for food. It must
Fig. 199 — Sooty Paca [Ccelogettys J>aca).
be, therefore, from curiosity, rather than with any real views of
profit, that the Guinea Pig has been naturalised in Europe, and that
a place is sometimes assigned it among our domestic animals.
The Guinea Pig is found wild in South America, principally in
Guiana, Peru, and Brazil. They lead a nocturnal life, and, according
to the species, either dig out burrows for themselves or find a retreat
among the herbage. Their fruitfulness is then much greater than
that of the domesticated breed.
Ccelogenys, — The Paca {C. paca)^ Y\g. 199, takes a middle place
as to size between the Capybara and the Guinea Pig. Its body is
thick-set, the head large and provided with cheek-pouches, the legs
moderately short, but a little longer behind than in front ; the toes are
armed with claws adapted for digging; the coat is rough but not thick.
THE AGOUTI.
469
The Pacas are natives of the forests of Brazil, Guiana, and Paraguay.
In the vicinity of water they dig burrows, provided with three
OLitlets. Their flesh is excellent, and they are therefore hunted with
some eagerness. They are capable of being acclimatised in Europe,
and of being reared in a domestic state, for their nature is very
gentle and they are easily tamed. Added to this, there is no
difficulty in feeding them, as they will eat all kinds of vegetable
substances, and even meat.
Fig. 200 — The Agouti {Dasyprocta agouti).
Dasyprocta. — The Agouti {D. agouti)^ Fig. 200, bears some re-
semblance to the Hare ; its legs are longer and more slender, but its
ears are not so fully developed. In point of size, however, there
is but little difference. Its short and stiff coat is liable to stand
on end under the influence of anger or fear.
The Agouds are natives of South America and the West Indies.
Woods spreading over hills and mountains are the localities where
they generally take up their abode ; and the clefts of rocks, or the
hollows in trees, serve for their retreats. If ready-made places of
shelter are not procurable they dig burrows. They are nocturnal in
their habits, and feed principally on roots and fruit. But when in
captivity they are omnivorous, and manifest an unbearable voracity,
for they gnaw everything they can get at.
470 MA MM A LI A,
The Agouti is hunted in America, just as the Hare and Rabbit
are in Europe, with Dogs, laid in wait for and shot, or taken in traps
and snares, for it constitutes excellent human food. It can be very
easily tamed.
Casforide Beavers. — We now have to describe certain Mammals
which are celebrated all over the world for their industrious habits
and intelligence ; but, in the first place, let us attempt to draw a
portrait of these interesting Rodents.
The Beaver (Fig. 201) does not possess a very pleasing appear-
ance. Its thick-set shape, its large head, small eyes, cloven upper
lip, which shows its powerful incisors ; its long and wide tail,
flattened like a spoon handle and covered with scales, combine to
give it an awkward appearance. Its hind-feet are larger than the
fore, and are fully webbed. Owing to the deep separation of the
fingers, and the existence of certain fleshy tubercles, placed on the
lower face of the extremities, they fulfil to some extent the functions
of thumbs, those in front more especially. The muzzle is prolonged
a little way beyond the jaws, and the nostrils are remarkably mobile.
The ears are also movable ; they do not show much, and the animal
has the faculty of placing them close to its head when it dives, so as
to prevent water entering the auditory passage. Its coat is well
adapted to the requirements of an aquatic life, and is composed of a
fine thick woolly substance, which lies close upon the skin and is
impervious to water. This first covering is hidden under long, silky,
and glossy hair. The Beaver is about a foot in height and two feet
in length, not including the tail, which is about one-half the length
of the body.
We have already stated that the Musk Rats combine to construct
habitations in close proximity to one another. The Beaver affords
us a still more striking example of the love of associating with its
own race, for, when practicable, they invariably live in numerous
societies.
Beavers are essentially aquatic ; they swim with great ease ; in
their hind-feet they possess effective propelling power, and in their
tail an excellent rudder. Countries intersected with lakes and
rivers are, therefore, the localities in which they are found, such as
the unfrequented solitudes of North America and Canada. Before
the advent of the white man they were universally spread over the
northern portion of that continent.
A feature to be noted in the habits of the Beaver is its extreme
cleanliness. It will not suffer the shghest trace of filth to remain on
the floor of its chamber. In captivity it preserves this characteristic.
TiiE BEAVER.
4; I
Buftbn, who kept one, says that when it was shut up for too long a
period it deposited its excrement near the door, and that, as soon as
it was opened, it hastened to eject it. This dread of filthiness
appears to be owing to the exquisite sensibihty of its nasal organs.
The Beaver does not build a house when the conditions of exist-
ence cease to demand it. This explains why the surviving European
Beavers, instead of congregating to work and live in common like
their brethren in America, lead a solitary life and inhabit burrows,
Fig. 201. — The Beaver {C nsior fiber) .
which has caused the name of Ten-ier Beavers to be given them.
Indeed, it can be readily understood that the vicinity of man, his
mcessant persecutions and interruptions, would disturb the quietude
of streams and rivers, the choice retreats of this race, and therefore
they are forced to modify the habits of their lives.
It is a melancholy circumstance to note that the Beaver is
gradually disappearing, as well in America as elsewhere. So in-
cessant lias been their pursuit, and so indiscriminate their slaughter,
and their numbers have so considerably diminished within a century,
that we might prognosticate the time that the species will cease to
exist. But we are glad to know that of late years, from the value of
p
47^ MAMMAUA.
Beaver skins having much diminished, and consequently tlieir being
less persecuted, they are again rapidly increasing.
'• The societies of Beavers," says M. Ernest Menault, in an
article which we shall again refer to, " maintained themselves on our
soil (France) until the termination of the Middle Ages, notwithstand-
ing the constant attacks made on them by man. But in proportion
as the latter began to improve his weapons and his method of hunt-
ing, the Beavers increased in prudence, in cunning, and in sagacity.
A communal life entailed too great dangers, and it was necessary to
renounce the amenities of association. The families dispersed, and
no longer finding security in those huts which attract the notice
of their enemies, the Beavers have taken refuge in the rocky crevices
that overhang streams.
" Thus it is that this animal has given up a social existence, that
it has adopted manners and customs which are altogether novel to it,
that it has created a new occupation for itself, and that the builder has
become a miner. In this way it has acted in quite a contrary fashion
to man, who at first hid himself underground in caverns, but at a
later period constructed huts on the surface as soon as he had no
longer to fear the attacks of ferocior.s beasts."
Many people are not aware that Beavers are still to be found in
France ; and yet such is the case. Certainly they are very few, but
their existence nevertheless cannot be contested. The southern por-
tion of the Rhone, and accidentally the entrance of its principal
affluents, such as the Isere, the Gard, and the Durance, are places
where French Beavers are still to be found. Unfortunately, every-
thing leads to the belief that they will not long enjoy this privilege;
the avidity excited in man for possession of these creatures will
infallibly bring about their complete annihilation.
The Beavers of the Rhone chiefly frequent islets. As these are,
for the most part, uninhabited, they find themselves more secure there
than on the banks. Their burrow communicates with the stream by
a long gallery, which always opens below the surface of the water, so
as to hide their dwelling from malevolent eyes. This burrow is
sometimes very large, and affords an asylum to many individuals.
On a property in the department of the Gard, a bank having fallen
in, exposed one of these subterranean abodes. It measured fifty feet
in length, and was partitioned off into several compartments.
Colonies of Constructive Beavers are yet to be found in Europe.
This fact Avas noted in 1787 by a German observer, not far from
Magdeburg, on one of the affluents of the Elbe. A number had col-
lected in this place, and had built huts in every respect similar to
The beavrr. 473
those of American Beavers. Such colonies are, as may be imagined,
excessively rare, and excite the greatest amount of curiosity.
The Beaver thrives in captivity, and although the water is its
favourite element, it may be kept from it without inconvenience.
The one Buffon possessed, and which had been taken from Canada
when very young, was even frightened at the sight of water, and re-
fused to enter it; but after being forced to take a bath for a few minutes,
it began to enjoy it, and returned to paddle in it whenever oppor-
tunity offered. It was very familiar, but without much affection, and
when asking for food it shook its fore paws and uttered feeble cries.
The interesting experiment has been made of rearing the Beaver
in a domestic state, by placing it in those conditions in which its
natural instincts might be developed, and even by various means
facilitating the manifestations of these instincts. An attempt of this
kind was undertaken by M. Exinger, of Vienna, on the banks of a
large pond situated in the vicinity of Modlin, Poland. The Bulletin
of the Societe d'Acclimatation (for January, 1866) has given an
account of this effort.
The Beavers of M. Exinger belonged to those which burrow in
the ground. This observer was able to study them for six years.
They were very timid, and scarcely ever left their retreat until night-
fall. At the approach of winter^ M. Exinger had the willow and
poplar trees cut down, and laid them on the bank of the pond, the
trunks in the water. In the first cold days the Beavers dragged these
trees to the bottom of the pond, and ranged them side by side,
weaving them in such a manner as to form a solid and resisting mass.
When the winter was prolonged, M. Exinger broke the ice and intro-
duced some fresh trunks of trees, so as to furnish an additional sup-
ply of provisions for the prisoners.
Dr. Sacc, in alluding to this example, remarks that there is here
an excellent means of utilising the immense marshes of the East and
North of Europe, in favouring the settlement and multiplication of
Beavers. It would suffice for this purpose to plant the banks of
these marshes with trees suitable for Beavers — willows, poplars,
alders, birches, &c. The enterprise would not be an expensive one,
and would soon become a source of wealth, for Europe would here-
after produce within itself those valuable furs that are now bought at
juch a high price in America.
In 1868, Beavers were brought from America to the Jardin des
Plantes, in Paris, where they created much interest. M. Ernest
Menault has described, in the following terms, the habits of these
little foreigners : —
474
MAMMAL/A.
"These animals," says M. Ernest Menault, "are four in number.
Two have been given by Captain Laynel, who brought them from
Newfoundland. The others had been purchased from M. Douenel.
THE BEAVER, 475
All are lodged in a large wooden box, the door of which opens on
the side of a pond. As soon as the Castors discovered that they
were placed in conditions which were favourable to their mode of
existence, they set to work to consolidate their habitation, so as the
better to resist the severity of the weather, and to shelter themselves
more effectually. And, what is a remarkable fact, which can either
be ascribed to habit or pure instinct, these Castors turned up
the turf of the little lawn belonging to their domain, and carried it on
to their hut in such a way as completely to cover it, forming a roof
fit to carry off the rain and keep out the cold and noise. In a word,
they executed a special work which was not in accordance with their
habits.
" There is another trait of their intelligence. At the opposite
extremity to the entrance of their cabin an opening was made,
through which to give them food — ^bread and carrots. This appeared
useless to them, and perhaps they were doubtful of the aperture being
conducive to their safety : so they closed this opening by covering it
over with earth. Every day the keeper undid their work, and every
day they re-performed it. It was at last decided to leave them alone.
M. Milne Edwards, who took the greatest interest in them, put at
their disposal branches of trees: these they amused themselves with by
gnawing, carrying the debris into their hut (Fig. 202). These intelli-
gent animals took great pains to throw their excrement out of their
habitation. In winter they closed the entrance to their home, the
better to keep out the cold.
" The Beaver forms, Bufifon has said, the intermediate link between
the quadrupeds and fishes, as the Bat forms that between quadrupeds
and birds. But to return to our description of those in Paris.
One day they embarked on their Httle river to pay a visit to
another Castor, which led a solitary life in a small cabin situated
at the extremity of the domain. So far as might be judged, the
greeting on both sides was of the most cordial nature. The next day,
the hermit returned the visit of his new acquaintances. You will
say that what passed at this interview is impossible for me to describe.
Nevertheless, it is a fact that the poor creature was found lying life-
less at the door of those he had taken for his friends. Was it because
he had asked to live with them, and that, not knowing him, they
refused to accede to his demand, which resulted in a struggle which
terminated in his death ?
"It is with reluctance that we can believe that such an act of
ferocity could be committed by animals which have the greatest
aversion for bloody which are the opponents of rapine and war^
476
MAMMALIA.
which are endowed with such a mild and pacific character, and
are essentially devoted to liberty." *
It is not only the fur of the Beaver that is in demand : there is
also another particular product named castoreum^ which is used in
medicine as an anti-spasmodic. This is an odoriferous substance,
secreted by two glands situated at the root of the tail. Two other
pouches in their vicinity produce an oil, which lubricates their coats,
and renders them impervious to water. Further, we are assured that
Fig. 203. — Coypou {Myopotamus coypus).
the flesh of the Beaver is edible, and that the North American
Indians and white traders consider it a bonne-bouche.
The Castors inhabit the northern regions of the two continents.
They are found in Europe, Asia, and America. In Asia they are
only to be met with in Siberia, and Northern Tartary ; in Europe,
in Russia, Poland, Prussia, Austria, and the south of France. In
former times they were found in every part of France, and probably
Great Britain.
Fossil remains of the Beaver have been discovered near
Paris, and the little Bievre river appears to have been so named in
'' V Annce Illustrec.'' I2th March, 1868.
THE SQL I Ri: EL. 47/
consequence of the Beavers which hved on its banks. The Castors
of the Rhone are called Bicvres by the people of Southern France.
Myopotaimis. — The River Rat greatly resembles the Beaver. It is
of smaller size, and, like the latter, has palmated feet ; but its tail is
cylindrical and scaly. The only known species of Myopotamus
is the Coypou {M. coypis), Fig. 203, which is very common in Chili
and La Plata, and is also, though more rarely, found in Brazil and
the other states of South America, where the natives incessantly
persecute it on account of its valuable fur. As it remains in its
burrow during the day, it is hunted at night with Dogs. Some time
ago the exportation of Coypou skins was carried on very extensively.
According to M. D'Orbigny, there were sold, from 1827 to 1828,
more than 150,000 dozens by the name of Castors of La Plata; and
in certain years the total number of skins offered in the various
markets of the world has attained three millions.
SciuridcB, or Squirrels. — The Squirrels are pretty little animals,
elegant in form, and rapid in movement, of a lively disposition,
and with a bright, inquisitive eye. They are easily recognised by
their long tails, raised like a plume above their heads, and furnished
with bushy hair that stands out like the barbules of a feather; by
their ears, which are sometimes terminated by a tuft of hair ; and by
their soft fur, which is abundant, clean, and glossy. They have
sharp claws, and climb trees with extraordinary rapidity.
The forest is their natural home. Their agility is extreme ; their
restlessness astonishing. If seen for a moment in one place, like
a flash of light they appear to flit to another. We see them passing
incessantly from branch to branch, from tree to tree ; or, again, they
jump to the ground from elevations which seem to threaten their
destruction. But these acrobatic feats do not at all injure them,
and immediately afterwards they will begin to gambol about in every
conceivable manner. Their tail is in truth of the greatest assistance
in these perilous flights, in which they often clear distances of twelve
or fifteen paces. Carried horizontally during the jump, it presents a
wide flattened surface to the air, and, with the extended members,
offers a resistance to the atmosphere.
The Squirrel chiefly lives upon hazel-nuts, beech-nuts, acorns,
almonds, chestnuts, and fruit. However, on occasions it will become
carnivorous, for when it finds a bird's-nest it cleverly sucks the eggs,
or devours the tenants. In northern countries it eats the seeds
of the pines and fir-trees, which it expertly extracts from the cone.
So great are the strength and sharpness of its teeth that it readily
perforates the hardest nutshell to extract the kernel; and in SQ
478
MAMMALIA,
doing it usually sits up and holds the food to its mouth with the
fore-paws.
Among other qualities, it has the instinct of forethought, and
stores provisions in summer, so that it may not sufter from hunger in
Fig. 204.— European Squirrel {Sciiiriis Eziropeus)
winter. It even takes further precautions, and, independent of its
principal storehouse, conceals food in various places, that it may not
be left destitute should intruders discover the principal magazine. It
usually accumulates these reserves in the trunks of trees, occasionally
in the ground; and its memory is so good that it remembers perfectly
where, they are situated.
THE SQUIRREL, 479
It scarcely ever leaves its lurking place during mid-day, par-
ticularly if the sun is bright, but enjoys a siesta in its nest — a real
nest, comfortably lined, placed in a crevice between two branches, or
in a hole in the trunk of a tree. This dormitory is made of little bits
of dry wood, solidly interlaced with moss, and is almost spherical in
form ; it is large enough to lodge the father, mother, and three or four
young ones. At the upper part is a narrow opening, only just suffi-
cient for entrance and exit ; but as the rain would find access through
this aperture, the Squirrel places above it an oblique shelf, which
carries off the water, and preserves the dwelling from becoming wet.
These graceful, fascinating Rodents live in couples. Their union
is not temporary, as with so many other Mammals, for the male
continues to live with its mate during life. The mother manifests
tenderness for her young, and this causes her to resort to various
stratagems to shield them from surrounding perils. Thus, before
bringing forth, she constructs several nests, at certain distances from
each other ; and it frequently happens, even without any appearance
of danger, but as a measure of precaution, she takes her progeny in
her m.outh, and effects a change of residence. In the morning, with
the first indications of dawn, she descends with her little family
to take exercise, but if any intruder appears, she carries them off to a
place of safety with surprising rapidity. The better to conceal her
movements she adopts a device truly effective. She remains con-
cealed behind the trunk of the tree, and turns round it at the same
time as her pursuers, be it man or animal, so as always to have
it intervening, at the same time ascending so cleverly that at last,
unperceived, she reaches her destination. There she rests still and
invisible among the foliage until the danger has disappeared.
This animal swims very well, but will not enter water unless
compelled. Cleanfiness it practises to such an extent as to employ
a large portion of its time in dressing its fur. Consequently it never
exhales an unpleasant odour. When irritated, it emits a sort of
growling sound ; but its habitual cry is a shrill note, that not unfre-
quently betrays its presence.
The handsome coat, vivacity, and gracefulness of the Squirrel
have attracted the sympathy of man. Few have not known it as a
pet. Taken young, it is tamed with facility; but it never shows
markedly any traits' of affection. When will people cease to confine
Squirrels in those horrible revolving cages, which they wheel round,
to the great enjoyment of the thoughtless? Is it believed that the
animal's happiest moments are reached when doing so? Until
we have proof to the contrary, we may be permitted to doubt such
48o
MAMMAUA,
to be the case, and condemn the incarceration as abominable
cruelty.
Squirrels are found in all parts of the world, and everywhere their
manners are very much the same as the European species (Fig. 204),
to which what we have stated is more particularly applicable.
We ought to mention, however, that in certain countries Squirrels
do not live in isolated couples, but in numerous bands. This is the
only essential point in which the numerous species differ in habits.
Fig. 205. — American Flying Squirrel {Pteromys vohicella).
Their size and colour, on the contrary, vary much. Thus, the
Squirrels of India and the Malayan Islands are remarkable for the
brilliancy and variety of their coats ; one of them, the Great Malabar
Squirrel, is more than twice the size of the European, and even
larger still is the Great Fox Squirrel of North America. In the
temperate regions of Europe, this animal is usually of a more or less
bright red on the back, and white beneath \ sometimes it is a deep
brown, almost black.
Elsewhere the fur of the Squirrel varies in colour according to the
season, having a summer and winter coat. In Sweden, Russia, and
Siberia it becomes of a fine greyish slate colour under the influence
of cold. Its fur at this period acquires value, and is exported in
considerable quantities.
THE SQUIRREL.
481
Fteromys. — The animals belonging to this genus are commonly
known by the name of Flying Squirrels. Their common character
consists in their being provided with wing-like membranes, extending
along the flanks between the anterior and posterior members. These
membranes are covered with hair like the other parts of the body,
and constitute veritable parachutes, wKich enable them to sustain
themselves a little longer in mid-air than most animals, could
do, and consequently to clear considerable distances at a single
bound.
Fig. 206. — Taguan {Ptcroniys petauris!a)
These, then, are not wings, and of no use for ascent, like the
wings of Birds, but are only serviceable in descending and moving
horizontally. With the exception of this characteristic feature, these
Rodents have absolutely the physiognomy and the habits of the true
Squirrels.
Among the smallest of the Flying Squirrels are the species of
this genus referred by some to a sub-genus, Sciwopterus, a specimen of
which is to be seen in Fig. 205. They inhabit the northern regions
of the globe, particularly Russia, Siberia, and North America ; and
it would appear that they are also found on the Southern slopes of
the Himalayas.
The species belonging to the type genus, Fteromys^ are much
F F
^t82
MAMMALIA.
larger than the preceding. They are proper to Southern Asia and
the Indian Archipelago. The best-known species is the Taguan {P.
petaurista)^ Fig. 206.
The Anomalures (Fig. 207) were not known to naturalists until
-AtioinahcriiS Frazeri.
1840, when Mr. Fraser brought one from Fernando-Po. They in-
habit the West Coast of Africa. One of their most singular charac-
teristics consists in the presence, at the inferior base of the tail, of
thick scales dovetailed into one another, the use of which appears
to be to furnish a point o^ support when they climb vertically along
the trees.
THE MARMOT. 483
Tamias. — The Earth Squirrels greatly resemble the true Squirrels ;
but they have a shorter tail, and are provided with cheek-pouches.
Their life is not exclusively spent in trees; they run very actively on
the ground, and, instead of building on trees, they excavate burrows,
in which they accumulate the provisions transferred from their cheek-
pouches. They live on fruit and grain. These animals are to be
found in North America and Siberia. The principal species are T.
striatus of Siberia, and T. Lysteri of Canada and the United States,
where it is known by the name of Hackee, from the sharp double
note it utters when alarmed.
Spermophilus. — Like the Tamias, the Spermophiles have cheek-
pouches j but while these creatures are semi-terrestrial, semi-aerial,
the Spermophile is essentially terrestrial. Their tail, though clothed
with hair, is not long nor tufted, nor is it carried overhead, like that
of the Squirrels. Their name implies that they are partial to seeds,
from which it may be inferred that they might become a scourge in
cultivated lands.
The typical species is the S, cifillus, which is spread over Austria,
Bohemia, Hungary, Poland, Russia, Siberia, and Tartary.
This animal leads a solitary life, and excavates a deep burrow,
with several outlets, where it stores up grain of all sorts. However,
these reserves are scarcely needed, for it lies in a torpid state during
the winter. Its flesh is said to be agreeable, and its fur is much
esteemed.
Several species of Spermophiles are found in North America.
One of them, the striped Spermophilus {S. Hoodi), Fig. 208, is so
named because it has the back marked with three longitudinal
bands, alternately white and brown, the latter being interspersed
with white spots.
Arctomys. — Between the lively, graceful, well-proportioned
Squirrels, and the Marmots, with their squat bodies and sluggish
movements, the difference is certainly considerable. Yet, notwith-
standing this, the Marmots are aUied to the Squirrels through the
Spermophiles.
The Marmots are characterised by very long, powerful incisors,
strong claws, indicating burrowing habits, and by a tail of medium
length, somewhat thickly garnished with hair. They have short
limbs, and from that results the slowness of movement peculiar to
them. Their ears are scarcely apparent, and their upper lip is cleft
in the middle, a feature which is also common to several other
Rodents.
The Marmots inhabit different chains of mountains in Europe,
484
MAMMALIA.
Asia, and North America. They have nearly all the same habits ;
so that it will suffice if we speak of the common species, the only
one, in fact, which has been well studied.
The Common Marmot {A. marmota). Fig. 209, lives on the high
peaks of the Swiss and Savoy Alps, in the vicinity of the glaciers. It
forms small societies, composed of two or three families, and digs out
burrows on the slopes exposed to the sun. These burrows have the
form of the letter Y ; the galleries are so very narrow that it is with
difficulty the human hand can be inserted into them. At the extre-
mity of one of these oblique shafts is found a spacious chamber of
^^
Fig; 208. — Striped or Hood's Spermopliilus {Spermophihis Hoodi).
an oval form, in which the proprietors rest and sleep. The vertical
passage has no exit, and appears to be specially destined to receive
the ordure of the community, though they may, perhaps, obtain from
it the jnaterials necessary to cover and consolidate the other two
conduits, which serve for principal gallery and sleeping room.
The Marmots in a state of nature live exclusively on herbage.
According to Tschudi, they crop off the shortest grass with wonder-
ful rapidity. During fine weather they love to stretch themselves
out, frisk, play, or bask in the rays of the sun. Remarkable for
caution, they never sally from their retreats without taking the
greatest precautions ; the old venturing first, after carefully inspecting
the neighbourhood, then follow the others in rotation according to
seniority. Feeding, playing, or basking, they lose nothing of their
vigilance, for as soon as one has the slightest suspicion of danger it
THE MARMOT.
485
Utters a sharp bark of warning, which is quickly repeated by those
near it, and in an instant the whole band rush into their burrow, or
fly towards some place of concealment.
Marniots have a summer and winter residence — a town and
country mansion. In summer they betake themselves to the highest
part of the mountain, where they devote themselves to breeding and
rearing their young, the number of which varies from two to four,
and who remain with their parents until the following summer.
When autumn arrives, they descend to the region of pasturage, and
Fig. 209.— Common Marmot {Arctoinys marmota).
dig out a new burrow for their winter home, which is always deeper
than the summer retreat. It is then they make hay — cutting grass,
turning and drying it, which, when cured, they carry into the
chamber appointed for its reception.
And Avhy these labours ? It is a precaution to guarantee warmth;
for the winter is approaching, when they will soon commence their
lethargic sleep. In this warm htter of dry herbage they bury them-
selves, after closing up the entrance to their retreat to further guard
against the rigours of an Alpine winter.
It is also believed that this hay serves them as food when they
begin to awake from their torpor, and before herbage has had time
to grow through the late snow-covered surface.
4^6
Maa/mal/a.
The Marmot's hibernation usually begins towards the end of
November, and its termination takes place in April; but
these limits are not fixed, and vary each year with the tem-
perature.
" When the winter habitation of the Marmot is thrown open,"
says Tschudi, " the temperature is found to be about 80° to 90*^
Reaumur. All the members of a family, no matter how numerous
they may be, are lying one upon the other, rolled up, the head
towards the tail, in a torpid state, as if they were dead.^ The seven
or eight months of winter in these high regions would infallibly kill
them, if this sleep did not guarantee their being able to maintain the
quiet life of a plant.''*
Naturally mild and sociable, the Marmot is readily tamed, and
under the influence of good treatment becomes very affectionate and
familiar ; it can be even taught to perform tricks at the command of
its master, and the young Savoyards turn this feature of its
character to a profitable account.
The Marmot lives on anything in captivity — fruit, herbs, insects,
bread, and flesh; but milk and butter are its favourite diet.
If the Marmot renders some pleasure during its life to the poor
people of the Alps by means of the tricks it acquires, it is much
more useful to them after its death. Its flesh is excellent, its only
drawback being a slight odour; but this may be got rid of by
judicious seasoning. Its fur is not of much value commercially ;
but it is none the less appreciated by the hardy mountaineers, who
are acquainted with rough clothes and coarse diet.
From what has just been stated, it can be understood that the
Marmot is sought after; and so we find that there are Marmot
hunters, as there are Chamois hunters. These select for their
purpose the commencement of winter, when their prey are entering
into their hybernating state, and are consequently less capable of
making resistance. Their burrows are easily recognised, for all the
ground around is strewn with moss and hay. Dig up these retreats,
and the whole family are found. In summer this procedure is im-
practicable— first, because the Marmots vigorously defend themselves
with tooth and nail against any one who dares to violate their domi-
cile; and secondly, because they can dig as rapidly as man, and as
their enemy advances, the deeper they bury themselves in the side of
the mountain. In certain Swiss cantons it is unlawful, and rightly
♦ '* Le Monde des Alpesy By F. de Tschudi. Translated from the German
Ly O. I5ourritt. Vol. iii., p. 231.
THE HARE. 48/
§0, to dig out Marmots during the winter. It is a wise act to protect
defenceless animals against the cupidity and the improvidence of
man.
After the Alpine Marmot we may mention the Quebec Marmot,
the Maryland Marmot, or Woodchuck, which are peculiar to
certain parts of North America, and the Bobac or Poland Marmot.
The Prairie Dog {A. Ludovicianus) is an allied species, which lives in
extensive communities in the wide prairies of North America ; their
villages, as the hunters term their burrows, extending sometimes
many miles in length. They owe their name to the supposed resem-
blance of their warning cry to the bark of a small dog.
We arrive, finally, at the last group of Rodents— the Hares and
Rabbits.
LeporidcE. — With these animals, the upper incisors are four in
number, placed two and two, and parallel one behind the other, the
two posterior ones being completely concealed by those in front,
which are longer and wider. This characteristic mark is of great
value, as it is not found in any of the Rodents we have yet studied,
and which only possessed one pair of incisors in each jaw.
Lepus. — The animals composing this genus have twenty-two
molar teeth, formed of vertical layers joined to each other; the ears
are very large and funnel-shaped, covered with hair externally, almost
nude internally ; the eyes are salient and lateral ; the upper lip cleft
(thus the origin of the expression "hare-lip" when it exists acci-
dentally in man) ; the tail is short, furry, and ordinarily elevated ; the
hind-feet are much longer than those in front, and are provided with
five toes, while the fore-feet have only four ; the claws are but little
developed ; the feet are entirely covered with hair, above as well as
below. These traits constitute in their case a very distinct phy-
siognomy.
We will first speak of the Hare (Z. timidiis), Fig. 210, properly so-
called. It would be superfluous to describe it in detail. This animal
is too well known to render it necessary. As, however, it might be
confounded with the Rabbit, which it much resembles, it may be re-
marked that the Hare has the ears and the thighs longer, the body
more slender, the head finer, and the coat of a deeper fawn-colour.
The Hare inhabits indiscriminately hilly or level regions, forest, or
field ; but it is most frequently found in flat or slightly elevated dis-
tricts. It does not burrow, but chooses a form or seat, the situation
of which varies with the season. In summer it is on the hillocks ex-
posed to the north, in the shade of heaths or vines, that it loves to
repose ; in winter, on the contrary, it betakes itself to sheltered places
4^8
'MAMMALIA.
facing the south. It is often found squatted in a furrow between twt)
ridges of earth, which have the same colour as its coat. Being thus
confounded with the surrounding soil it does not attract attention.
During the daytime the Hare does not generally stir from its
form, but as soon as the sun approaches the horizon it goes forth to
seek its food, consisting of herbs, roots, and leaves. It is very fond
of aromatic plants, such as thyme, sage, and parsley. It is 'also par-
tial to the bark of some varieties of trees.
No animal has so many enemies as the timid Hare. Snares and
traps are set for it by poachers. Foxes, birds of prey — diurnal and
nocturnal — and sportsmen, aided by Dogs, are all its implacable
persecutors.
To guard itself against so many perils, the poor creature has ears
Fig.
-The Hare {Lep7cs timidus).
endowed with extraordinary mobility, and which catch the faintest
sounds from a great distance ; four agile and very muscular limbs,
which rapidly traverse space, and transport their owners quickly from
its pursuers. In a word, its defence consists in perceiving danger and
fleeing from it.
The existence of the Hare is, according to La Fontaine —
" Un souffle, une ombre, un rien, tout lui donnait la fievre."
It must not, however, be imagined that when pursued it runs by
chance and without purpose. Its tactics are, on the contrary, nume-
rous and varied. It nearly always goes with the wind, so as to hear
more distinctly the noise made by the hounds, and yet prevent its
scent being carried to them. It alters and confuses its trail, to put
its adversaries at fault and gain time ; it doubles frequently, returning
THE HARE.
489
precisely in the same course, often jumping suddenly to one side to
make a break in the scent. If close pressed, it crosses rivers, or
Fig. 211. — French Hare-hunting.
conceals itself in the middle of a pool, only leaving the tip of its nose
above the water to respire. Others have been seen to take refuge
among a flock of sheep, enter villages, flee into courtyards, make a
hundred turns and detours on dungheaps, then spring on a wall, and
490 MAMMALIA.
Start off again after resting. And their numerous wiles are often re-
warded by success.
AVhen they are residents of a district, they invariably return to
their old retreats, where they may be found even next day. In such
case, when pursued, they do not go a great distance from home, but
run in a circle. On the contrary, when the animal goes straight from
the place where it was started, it may be concluded that it is a wan-
dering Hare, probably a male. At the breeding season — that is, from
January to March — there are many males that become wanderers,
resulting from a paucity of females in their own localities.
In France the Hare is hunted with a pack of Hounds (Fig. 211) ;
but this sport, from its expense, is now becoming less common. It is
also hunted with Greyhounds. Shooting parties are also organized
for its destruction (Fig. 212). Their fecundity is very great, and it
is owing to this provident law of nature that the species is not totally
destroyed by the numerous efforts used for its capture. The female
brings forth three or four litters yearly, and each is composed of from
three to five young ones, which are born with their eyes open and
their bodies covered with fur. The Hare not making a nest, the
young are deposited on the bare earth, among the herbage, or in a
thicket. Nevertheless, the mother anxiously tends them, and even
defends them against their enemies, though, it is feared, seldom with
success. Twenty days they are suckled, after which the Leverets are
sufficiently strong to attend to their own wants. Each then retires
into solitude, and is soon old enough to reproduce. The mean dura-
tion of a Hare's life is from eight to ten years.
The Hare has a remarkably fine sense of hearing, but it is in-
differently provided with vision, for not only are its eyes of feeble
power, but by their position on the sides of the head they deprive the
animal of the faculty of seeing directly before it. Not unfrequently,
therefore, it literally runs against those objects it should avoid.
Although suspicious and timid to excess, the Hare is yet sus-
ceptible of being tamed, when it becomes very familiar. Dr. Franklin
had one which, during the winter, sat before the fire, between a large
Angora Cat and a Greyhound, with both of which it lived on the best
terms. It perched itself on the table beside its master, and scratched
his arm with its fore-paw to attract attention. The Hare may also be
taught various tricks, such as beating a drum, dancing, and firing off
a pistol. But such is the power of the instinct of liberty in them, that,
even when captured at the earliest age, they will frequently return to
a wild state.
The Hare is well known as a table delicacy ; it makes excellent
THE HARE, 493
soup, appreciated alike by all classes. The mountain Hares, although
not generally so fat or large as those from the plains or wood, have
more flavour, . as they principally feed on aromatic plants. Those
which Hve in low, marshy situations should be absolutely rejected, for
their flesh is pale and of bad quality. The law of Moses and the
Koran prohibit the use of Hare's flesh as food, doubtless because of
Fig. 213. — Wild Rabbits {Lep7is ctmimlus).
its Stimulating properties, which might, in Eastern climates, give
rise to inconvenience.
The fur of the Hare has its uses ; and before the introduction of
silk for the purpose, it was employed in the manufacture of gentle-
men's hats.
Among Hares are found individuals which are quite white ; these
are the albinos of their race, and are characterised by red eyes.
However, it is necessary to guard against confounding them with
494
MAMAfALM.
another variety, familiarly known as Mountain Hares, whose fur in
the summer is of a greyish fawn colour, but changes to white during
the winter, and who inhabit the elevated summits of mountains and
the northern regions of the two continents.
214. — Wild Rabbits and Young
AVe shall now pass to the Rabbit (Z. cunicuhis).
Closely allied to the Hare in its form and external aspect, the
two differ greatly in habits. The Rabbit lives in societies, and
retires into burrows. It is not found on the open plain, but chooses
for Its home places where there are hillocks and woody banks. Like
the Hare, the Rabbit has not a preference for day ; but towards
THE RABBIT. 495
evening it comes forth and gambols about in the glades (Fig. 213),
or nibbles the dewy herbage. It is particularly partial to moonlight
for making its forays (Fig. 214).
It has also, like the Hare, many enemies, and to escape them it
takes refuge in its subterranean dwelling. As it has not the speed
of its congener, it would be rapidly overtaken by Dogs if it trusted
to its powers of flight. Its fear or anger is expressed in a singular
fashion, namely, by striking the ground with its hind foot ; some say
it does this to warn its fellows of danger.
The fecundity of the Hare, though great, cannot be compared
with that of the Rabbit, for one female of the latter may have seven
or eight litters a year, with from four to eight in each. Some days
before bringing forth the Rabbit excavates a chamber, which is
especially destined for its progeny.
This burrow, which is straight or crooked, as the case may be,
invariably terminates in a circular apartment, furnished with a bed
of dry herbage, which again is covered with a layer of down, that the
mother has torn from the lower portion of her body. On this bed
the young are deposited. As soon as they are born the mother
quits the burrow, after having carefully closed the entrance ; and
every time she comes to suckle her family she renews the same
precautions at her departure. In about twenty days they are able to
provide for themselves, and are strong enough to do without protec-
tion. These remain together, and soon make a burrow for them-
selves, where they live in common.
The Wild Rabbit, also called the Warren Rabbit (Fig. 215),
is said to be a native of Africa, from whence it passed into Spain,
then into France and Italy, and successively into all the warm and
temperate parts of Europe ; it is also found in Asia Minor and in
Persia. Everything leads to the belief that this species is the origin
of our Domestic Rabbit.
The rearing of Domestic Rabbits is, nowadays, frequently per-
formed on a large scale. In country districts in France it has become
the adjunct of every kind of farming. This is because it requires
little expense, little trouble, is within the means of every one, and
yields, when well conducted, a handsome remuneration. This subject
is well treated in a well-known pamphlet entitled, " The Art of
Rearing Rabbits, and how to make a Revenue of Three Thousand
Francs from them."
In addition to the extensive operations in this respect carried on
in large farms, and which can be made very profitable, when
conducted with the skill and precaution that experience teaches, the
496
MAMMALIA.
Rabbit is also reared in cellars ; but from this method, the dimensions
of their residence being too restricted, only slender profits result.
Rabbits so reared are often designated in France Cabbage Rabbits,
because cabbages are the staple of their food. They are exposed to
Fig. 215. — Warren Rabbits.
a host of maladies ; and those that reach the market have a very in
ferior flavour to Warren Rabbits. Their flesh being insipid and un-
wholesome, it is lightly esteemed by the ge?is de gout.
At the commencement of the seventeenth century, Olivier de
Serres published directions for rearing Rabbits. But what he had
more particularly in view was the reproduction of the semi-savage,
semi-domesticated animal, inclosed in a warren, several acres iu
THE RABBIT,
49;
extent. Of course such conveniences are not in the power of all ; so
the most general mode is to deprive the Rabbit of Hberty, and confine
Fig. 216 — Tame Rabbits.
it in boxes built for the purpose. Fig. 216 represents some Tame
Rabbits. The following are the rules laid down in order to arrive
at the best results : —
The Rabbits are placed in a series of small compartments. These
ought to, be about six and a half feet square, separated in such a
4gS MAMMALIA.
manner that they can see each other, and thus not be submitted to
sohtary confinement. They should be exposed to a southerly aspect
— it is indispensable that they be kept dry and well ventilated.
Plenty of good litter, firequently renewed, should cover the floor,
which ought to be of wood, and slightly sloped to favour drainage.
No matter how hard the floor be made the Rabbits are sure to burrow
into it, especially the females, who are most anxious to hide away
their young ones, At six months old the females are isolated, as
at that time they are capable of breeding. It is also necessary to
separate the young from their parents as soon as they are weaned.
All are then gathered together in one compartment, the dimen-
sions of which vary according to the number of young Rabbits.
Food is given them at fixed hours — morning, mid-day, and evening.
In summer this consists of herbage and vegetables of all kinds ;
in winter, vetches, potatoes, hay, &c. Particular care should be taken
not to mix their food with watery herbage. When their food is of a
dry nature, water must be regularly supplied them.
Taking into account the losses necessarily resulting under the
influence of various causes, each Rabbit may produce annually
thirty young ones, and give a clear profit of about sixteen shillings.
If the undertaking is, therefore, on a large scale, it must prove
remunerative.
Among the different breeds of Domestic Rabbits must be men-
tioned the Angora Rabbit, originally derived from Asia Minor.
Like the Cats and Goats bearing the same name, it is celebrated
for the length and fineness of its hair. It is bred for its fur, which
is of value.
Not only is the flesh and the hair of the Rabbit utilised, but its
skin is also employed in the manufacture of gelatine.
The Domestic Rabbit is, therefore, a valuable animal. Not so
the Wild Rabbit, for, by its rapid multiplication, its burrowing habits,
and its herbivorous tastes, it is to the agriculturist a veritable scourge.
For this reason it is hunted with perseverance, ferrets being frequently
employed as an auxiliary to drive it from the depths of its warren
(Fig. 217).
The Rabbit is peculiar to the Old World. Those animals found
in America, of which there are many resembUng it, are, properly
speaking, Hares.
Lagomys. — The calling. Hares differ from the Hares in their
round slender ears, their short limbs, the absence of a tail, and their
diminutive size. In their habits they much resemble the Rabbits.
Thjey inhabit steep mountainSj and dig burrows among the rocks-
THE PIKA.
499
The majority of known species are proper to Siberia; one is found
in the Rocky Mountains of America and one in Nepauk
The most interesting is the Pika {Lagojnys Alphius). This animal
collects into societies in the months of August or September, and
Fig. 217. — Ferreting Rabbits in France.
gathers provisions for the winter. These are composed of herbs,
which the little Rodents dry in the sun, and afterwards pile up at the
entrance to their burrow. They in this way form stacks about five
feet in height and eight in diameter. The Pikas do not always
derive advantage from their industry, for the wild inhabitants of the
Siberian steppes gladly appropriate their hoards.
ORDER OF INSECTIVORA.
In tliis order are collected a certain number of Mammalia, which,
with the general form of Rodents, have the character of feeding
almost exclusively on insects. In this respect they resemble, as we
shall see hereafter, some of the Cheiroptera. Their dental system is
constituted for this special mode of alimentation ; they have molars
studded with conical points, and the other teeth are (canines and
incisors) usually very sharp.
With regard to their principal external characteristics, it may be
mentioned that they are of small size, with four limbs furnished with
nails, and which are adapted for walking, swimming, and digging. In
progression they place the entire sole of the foot on the ground. Their
intelligence is feebly developed, and scarcely permits their being
domesticated.
The habits of the Insectivora are extremely varied, a circumstance
that should not surprise us when we consider the diversity in the con-
formation of their organs of locomotion. Some, for instance, like
the Hedgehog, seek their food on the ground ; while others, like the
Tupaia, hunt for it on trees. The Moles, on the contrary, find their
subsistence deep in the soil, and lead an entirely subterranean exis-
tence ; finally, the Desmans and some species of Shrew Mice are
essentially aquatic. Several of these animals become torpid when the
temperature is low, though it appears that torpor has also been
observed in warm latitudes without such a cause.
The Insectivora are encountered in all parts of the world except
Australia, where they are represented by the Opossums, and other
Marsupials. America is less abundantly provided with them than
the Old World.
VV'e shall divide this order into three families, each composed of
a certain number of genera, which, again, are grouped around a
typical genus : the famifies of Moles, Shrew Mice, and Hedgehogs.
TalpiNvE, or Mole Family. — This family comprises four or five
genera, which are closely allied to each other : we will only speak in
detail of the first, which is the best known ; limiting ourselves to
pointing out the differences which separate the others.
THE MOLE,
.01
Talpa. — The Mole {T. Eiiropce-a), Fig. 218, is a burrowing
animal. Its entire organisation testifies to its mining instincts. Its
anterior members, very short and strong, are terminated by large
hands, with a sharp inner border, and the palm of which is rough and
callous, and turned outwards in such a manner as to permit the animal,
when excavating, to throw the rubbish to the right and left. The
digits, five in number, are scarcely apparent \ yet terminated with long
and powerful claws. With regard to the posterior members, whose
Fig. 218. — Common Mole {Talpa Europcea).
action is less immediate and decisive, they are not so strong as the
anterior ones, and are armed with more slender nails.
The body of the Mole has the appearance of a cylindrical mass,
terminating in the head. There is no trace of a neck ; the head
abruptly succeeds the body without any depression or attenuation.
At the end, and underneath the head, which gradually terminates in
a point, is situated the mouth. The nose is, at the same time,
destined to second the action of the creature's paws by its simul-
taneous efforts. The skull is very flat, elongated, and furnished with
vigorous muscles. The entire body is covered by a fine, silky, thick,
and short black hain
502 MAMMALIA,
For a long time it was thought that the Mole was destitute of
vision, and that nature had refused to give eyes to this subterranean
dweller because it did not require them. This error was exposed by
Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, who discovered in the Mole two black
eyes, nearly imperceptible it is true, and deeply hidden among the
sombre fur, a circumstance which had misled other observers.
Certain anatomists, stubbornly clinging to their opinion, then pre-
tended that the eyes of the Mole were only rudimentary organs, and
quite unfit for vision. But ingenious experiments have demonstrated
that the Mole possesses, to a certain degree, the sense of sight.
This sense, it is true, is exercised imperfectly, but that it exists is no
longer doubted.
The Mole possesses a very acute sense of hearing. The external
auditory apparatus is rudimentary, but the internal ear is highly
developed. Its olfactory organ is also excellent. The mouth, very
widely cleft, is admirably furnished, containing not less than forty-four
teeth, distributed in equal numbers in each jaw. When we have said
that this animal, a love.i: of darkness, has a short, scantily-furnished
tail, we have completeii.its portrait.
Almost everybody knows thci#)its of the Mole. We are aware
that it passes its life below groufid, -occupied in, making galleries,
through which it runs with astonishing rapidity, s Fertile, cultivated,
land is its favourite habitat. Wet or stony regions do not suit it, as
they prove an obstacle to its labours. Digging with head and paws,
it rapidly hollows out what is in every sense its domain. In this way
it makes a system of communicating passages, which well merit our
attention. The system is composed of a central chamber, hollowed
out in the form of a dome, from around which radiate seven or eight
trenches, which, rectiHnear at their origiEi^ aperwards become canals,
and send prolongations to the surface of tfie ground. The points
where these galleries meet the upper face of the soA-a# marked by
the little eminences of earth, named molehills, whicTt are so^fre^
quently observed in the fields, and which aire nothing more than the
rubbish thrown out by the animal. The central excavation is the
animal's ordinary resting-place. To reach it, it has first to enter a
circular gallery, situated on the same floor as the radiating galleries ;
then it passes into some one of the five conduits, which ascend ob-
liquely towards another circular gallery of a smaller circumference
than the first, and placed a little higher : lastly, it penetrates the for-
tress by the only entrance to the dwelling, and which opens into the
latter gallery. We say the only entrance, so far as the upper gallery
is concerned ; but there exists another, diametrically opposite. This
THE MOLE, 503
abuts on the lower part ; it is the head of a tunnel, which is strongly
inflected below the line of the other works, and which afterwards rises
to open into one of the principal communications that concentrate
in the animal's retreat.
What is the meaning of this complicated labyrinth ? l^his is a
219. — Sec'ion of interior of a Molehill,
point which has not yet been solved. The most probable supposition
is, that the excavator forms it to elude more easily the pursuit of its
enemies.
The Mole works at all seasons, exhibiting most energy in spring.
During a great portion of the year it lives a solitary life, but in the
months of March and July it seeks a mate. After their interview
Q
504 MAMMA tr A.
each reassumes its solitary habits. The female goes with young only
a short time, and usually brings forth four or five, sometimes not so
many, and which, when compared with the size of the mother, or the
size which they themselves afterwards attain, are extremely large at
birth.
The Mole always arranges a comfortable asylum for the reception
of her progeny, and tends them with much solicitude. This nursery is
situated in the most elevated part of its domain, and most frequently
at the junction of several galleries. The roof of this apartment is
sustained by pillars at equal distances from each other, and forms a
large dome, the internal face of which has been well beaten, so as to
make it resist the infiltration of water. The ground is covered by a
thick layer of herbage and leaves ; and here dwell the young crea-
tures so long as they are incapable of seeking their own food.
The aliment of the Mole is chiefly composed of insects and
earth-worms ; but it also eats Snails, and even the dead bodies of
small mammals and birds. They are likewise partial to Frogs.
The fact is apparent that the Mole is eminently carnivorous.
Perhaps no animal, even amongst the most redoubtable Felidse, is
impelled by a greater desire to destroy and feast upon living prey.
"The Mole,'^ says Etienne Geoftroy Saint-Hilaire, "does not ex-
perience a sense of hunger like other animals ; with it this want is of
the most powerful description : it is an exhaustion w^hich is felt as a
kind of frenzy." It first attacks the belly of its victim, plunges the
whole of its head into the palpitating entrails, and gloats with rap-
ture over its carnage. Take two hungry Moles of the same sex,
place them before each other in a room, and in a very short time
the stronger will have devoured the weaker.
JNIoles rarely come to the surface of the ground, except when
changing their residence, or when the two sexes are seeking each
other.
During the rainy period they take refuge in elevated places, but
descend to the valleys when the dry weather arrives. Notwith-
standing these precautions, they are at times sufferers from inunda-
tion. When the rivers overflow their banks, numbers may be seen
flying from the flood, and trying to reach ground that the waters will
not cover.
Although Moles destroy an enormous quantity of larvse and per-
fect insects, they are none the less looked upon as very prejudicial
to agriculture, because of the mischief they commit in digging their
galleries among cultivated plants. Although they do not feed on the
roots of vegetables, as has often been supposed, they cut them in
THE MOLE. 505
making their passages. In addition to this, when they are preparing
their nest, they seize the plants by the root and gradually drag them
underground, with the intention of converting them into a bed for
their progeny. There have been found in the nest of one Mole no
fewer than 402 stalks of barley, which had been withdrawn from the
surface of the ground in this way. Finally, the Molehills that stud
the fields prove troublesome to the mower, and prevent him cutting
the grass as close as desirable.
Such are the complaints that agriculturists bring against this
excavator. Certainly, they are not altogether unfounded ; but then
we respond by pointing out, on the other hand, the services the Mole
renders as an insectivoro is animal ; and again, in showing that these
galleries, which are dedared to be injurious, constitute so many
natural drainage canals, incontestably useful.
After well considering the pi^os and cojis of Ihe question, we may
be led to see that the amount of good is greater than the evil, and
that the Mole ought to be classed in the category of animals which,
if not useful, are at least inoffensive.
It is necessary to say, however, that this opinion is far from being
generally accepted, for Moles are pursued a oiitrance. There are
men who especially devote themselves to their destruction. The
Molecatcher has at his fingers' ends the habits of his game. With
experience, he follows it through its galleries \ he knows that such a
hillock, higher than the others, covers its nest, and that such another
overhangs its seat. If exercising his vocation, he arrives early in the
morning, at the time when his prey is hard at work ; he keeps its
movements in view, and whenever he chances to see the soil up-
heaving, he excavates rapidly with a spade behind the animal, so as
to cut off its retreat. He then digs down, and is sure to find the
animal in the Molehill in process of formation.
For difficult occasions, the Molecatcher has traps of various
kinds, which he places in the most recently-made galleries.
The trap most used is that of the Delafaille (Fig. 220, a a'). It
consists of a hollow wooden cylinder, from ten to twelve inches long,
and of a diameter nearly equal to that of the Mole galleries. At
each extremity is a valve which opens from without to within, but not
from within to without. It will be understood what happens when
the trap is placed in one of the runs.
The Mole, anxious to repair the damage done to its thoroughfare,
approaches the tube, and pushes through the valve ; this closes, and
it is a prisoner. The inventor of this trap has still further improved
it by a thin stalk placed vertically in the tube, and terminating
5o6
MAMMALIA.
externally in a piece of paper. The Mole, excited by the noise of
the agitation of the paper, which it thinks caused by some prey,
rushes at it, and in doing so raises up the valve.
Two other arrangements of Moletrap are shown in Fig. 220,
B c. These are a kind of Mousetrap, which is placed, not in the
interior of galleries, like that of Delafaille, but outside of the Mole-
hill.
The time preferred to destroy Moles is that at which the young
are about to be brought forth. As soon as a nest is recognised,
the Molecatchers collect around it, and with a spade the various
Fig. 220 — Mohtraps.
galleries are cut off; then the apartment itself is opened, and the
nest reached.
Moles are also got rid of by poison ; insects and other animal
matters impregnated with poisonous substances being introduced
into their burrows. Strong fumigations are also used to drive them
away, such as sprinkling their galleries with an infusion of garlic and
oil of petroleum.
It is very difficult to keep Moles in captivity, as much trouble is
entailed in procuring for them the enormous number of insects they
daily dc'^our. To this maybe added that the Mole cannot accommo-
date itself to confinement ; to inclose it in a box, or even in a room,
IS to bring about its death. It is soon affected with subterranean
nostalgia, and pines away for want of the aliment necessary to its
febrile activity.
Dr. Franklin, however, relates that an American, Mr. Titian
Peale, succeeded in taming one. This Mole ate and drank a great
THE CHRYSOCHLORE, 50/
deal ; its regimen consisted of cooked or raw meat. Naturally lively,
it followed the hand of its master by scent, frequently went to burrow
under ground, but always returned for its food.
The flesh of the Mole is not eatable ; it exhales a repugnant
odour, and rapidly becomes putrid. Owing to the small size of its
skin, its fur cannot be of great utiHty. In the reign of Louis XV.
the ladies of the Court are said to have put it to an unheard-of use
— to compensate for the parsimony of nature, they thought fit to
replace their eyebrows by narrow strips of Mole's skin. This is an
artifice which the elegantes of the present day have not yet thought
of, and it is not likely that they will revive the custom.
Moles inhabit the temperate regions of the old and new conti-
nents, though they are most numerous in Europe. Two species are
known: the Common Mole {T. Europcsa), of which there are
several varieties, of which one, the Blind Mole, so named in con-
sequence of its eyes being reduced to httle openings which are no
more visible than the point of a pin, inhabits Italy; and the Woogura
Mole {T. wogura), a native of Japan.
Co?idylura.—T]\Q species of this genus. North American animals,
greatly resemble the Moles ; but the fore parts of their bodies are
much more developed in comparison with the hind parts ; the tail is
also longer and bushier, and their snout is terminated by membranous
appendages which have the figure of a star. Their habits are the
same as those of the Mole. There are but two species known, the
Star-Nosed Mole (C ?tiacrura), and the Long-tailed Mole (C lo7igi
Cauda fa).
Scalops. — It is particularly by the dental system that this genus is
distuiguished from the Moles. vS. aquaticiis has only thirty-six teeth,
twenty of which are in the upper jaw, and sixteen in the lower.
Their tail is very short, and completely naked. They are fond of
living near water, and are constantly found in marshy places, or near
streams, in North America. In this respect they differ much from
the Moles, but their habits otherwise are much the same.
Chrysochloris. — The animals of this genus are the representatives
of Moles in South Africa. Their aspect is very singular. They
have only the rudiment of a tail, and their snout, abruptly truncated,
is far from being so much developed as that of the Mole. On first
casting our eyes upon one of these creatures, nothing is to be seen
but an unshapen mass, the nature or habits of which could not
be imagined j but on careful examuiation the Hmbs are seen,
which scarcely reach beyond the body, and are terminated in front
by three toeSj^ armed with enormous curved and sharp claws» and
5o8
MAMMALIA,
behind by five toes, as in the other genera of this family. The toes
of the fore-feet have the pecuHar shovel-Hke disposition noticed in
the Moles.
The fur of the Chrysochlores offers that iridescent play of colours
which is so often found in birds and fishes, and to this circum-
stance they owe the name of Golden Moles.
There are three species of Chrysochlores, of which C. Capensis is
the best known. They all burrow like the Moles, and pass their lives
underground.
Fig. 221. — Water Shrew {Sorex fodiens).
SoRiciN^, OR Shrew Mice. — The animals included in this family
have a certain resemblance to Rats, but their muzzle is somewhat
trumpet-shaped, pointed or flattened, and this feature, as well as the
structure of their teeth, markedly distinguishes them from these
Rodents. Their habits are very diverse, according to the genera.
Amongst these we have
Sorex. — A superficial observer would be apt to confound the
Shrew Mouse with the Mouse. They are nearly of the same
form and size; but the Shrew Mouse has a more tapering head,
the ears shorter, and the tail not so long. Besides these differ-
ences, the characteristics to be found in the dentition of this
creature place an impassable barrier between the Rodent and
Insectivore. The Shrew Mice offer us examples of the smallest
Mammals, certain species being much more diminutive than any
of the Mice.
These animals are, like the Moles, very badly endowed with
THE SHREW MOUSE. 509
vision ; their eyes are so small that it is almost impossible to dis-
tinguish the pupils. Long moustachios ornament their muzzle. Their
hair is silky, thick, and varying in colour between a grey and a
brown ; it is very short on the head, tail, and paws.
The Shrew Mice feed on worms, insects, snails, and grain
occasionally. They lead a solitary life in holes, which they find
ready made, or which they dig for themselves. They seldom leave
these retreats during the day. In winter, when food is scarce, they
force their way into barns, stables, &c. The various species, how-
ever, do not frequent the same kind of locaHty. Some show a great
preference for woods, and generally all the dry regions \ others only
inhabit damp meadows on the banks of streams. Some swmi with
ease, aided by their tail, which is flattened like the blade of an oar,
and seek their subsistence about water.
Shrew Mice are furnished with a gland on each flank, which
is surrounded with bristly hair, and secretes a gTeasy matter, having
a penetrating odour like musk. This odour is so powerful that it is
most repugnant to other animals. The Cat pursues and kills them,
but never eats them. For a long time it had been believed that the
bite inflicted by these tiny Insectivora on domestic animals was
poisonous. This is a mistake ; their bite is completely inoffensive.
There have been found, along with Egyptian money, the bones of
the Shrew Mouse, a fact which goes to prove that the ancient
Egyptians placed it among their sacred animals. Plutarch explains
this circumstance by saying that the Shrew Mouse is deprived of
sight, and that, according to the Egyptians, darkness is older than
light. The explanation is as obscure as the fact.
Shrew Mice are found in every part of the globe; they are
met with on the two continents in all latitudes. Nevertheless, it
is in Europe, and particularly in France and Germany, that they are
most numerous. The principal species are the Common Shrew
Mouse {S. vulgaris)^ which inhabits Central and Southern Europe ;
the Etruscan Shrew Mouse {S. Etruscus)^ proper to the South of
France and certain parts of Italy — it is the smallest species in
the genus, not measuring more than two and a half inches long, head
and tail included; the Rat-tailed Shrew Mouse {S. Indicus)^ the
largest of the genus, its size attaining nearly that of the Norway
Rat — it inhabits India and the Indian Archipelago, and the odour it
exhales is so powerful that it puts serpents to flight, and taints the
water in vessels it passes through ; lastly, the Water Shrew {S.
fodiens)^ Fig. 221, which are aquatic in habits, and found in the.
whole of EuroDe,. also well known in the suburbs of Paris,,.
510
MAMMALIA.
Solenodon. — This genus differs very little from that of the Shrew
Mice, except in the dentition. It has a long, bare, scaly tail, and
inhabits the islands of Hayti and Cuba. Only one species is known,
the Solenodon pai'adoxiis.
Macroscelides. — The Macroscelides are essentially leaping animals ;
it is the Jerboa type transferred to the Insectivora. They have the
posterior members much longer than the anterior ; hence their name,
which, according to the Greek etymology, signifies large thighs
-The Elephant Shrew {M. typicus',.
(fxaKpSs, large ; (tk^kos, thigh). Their eyes are more apparent than
those of the Shrew Mice and Moles ; their ears are well developed,
and their muzzle is prolonged into a short trunk. The body is
thick and short, the tail long, and scantily furnished with hair.
They are very small, measuring about four inches Avhen standing up.
Naturally gentle, they soon gain the sympathy of man, and willingly
submit to captivity. They are also easily fed, their aliment being
insects and herbage.
The species of this genus inhabit Africa, and live in arid, stony
places. Of the species known, two are peculiar to Caffraria, three to
Mozambique, one, the Af. Rozeti, is common enough in Algeria,
especially in the neighbourhood of Bona and Oran, where it is known
as the Tnmked Rat. The M. typicus (Fig. 222) is found at the Cape
of Good Hope.
777^ HEDGEHOG. 5II
Rhynchocyon. — The Rhynchocyon cirnei is also a leaping animal,
and consequently has the hind-quarters more elevated than the fore
ones, but its body is more slim, and it is altogether larger than any
of the species of Macroscelides. Besides this, it is tetradactylous
— that is, its hmbs are terminated by only four toes. This, the only
species of the genus that is known, belongs to Mozambique. Nothing
is certain as to its habits.
Myogale. — The species of this genus are specially organised
for an aquatic existence. The hind paws are palmated, and their
tail is flattened at a certain portion of its length, in such a manner as
to play the part of an oar. Their eyes are very small, and their ears
scarcely visible. The body is elongated and covered with silky hair
of an iridescent hue. At the base of the tail are numerous glands,
which exhale an excessively penetrating odour. The nose is termi-
nated by a small compressed trunk ; the paws are formed of five
toes, and are furnished with strong claws. They live on the banks of
lakes and rivers; they pursue Insects, Molluscs, Frogs, and even
Fish. Two species common to Europe are known : the M. moschata
and the M. Pyrenaica.
The former is found in Russia. Its size is about that of our
Water Rat ; the odour it exhales is such that it taints the flesh of the
fish that are voracious enough to feed on dead specimens belonging
to this species.
The latter (Fig. 223) is much smaller than the preceding; it
is common among the little watercourses in the department of the
Hautes-Pyrenees.
ERiNACEiE. — In this family are found the bulkiest Insectivora,
and those which present the least remarkable features in their form.
They differ much from one another in habits, but they all agree
in feeding in the same manner, and in possessing the same dentition.
The principal genera are —
Ermaceus. Centetes. — The Hedgehogs owe their name to the
singular lexture of their hair, which consists of spines, capable of being
thrown erect at the will of the animal. Their body is elongated, the
limbs very short, and their paws have each five toes, armed with
comparatively feeble claws. Their muzzle is pointed, and their
olfactory organs are most highly developed. Their eyes are small,
and their range of vision limited. The tail is bare, thin, and very
short. The teeth are thirty-six in number, twenty being in the upper
jaw and sixteen in the lower. They have no incisors.
The most curious feature in the economy of the Hedgehog
512
MAMMALIA,
consists in the faculty it possesses of rolling itself up in a ball,
bringing the tail, paws, and head beneath the belly. x\fter doing so, it
is very difficult to compel it to open itself again. Dogs are successfully
trained to vanquish the resistance of the Hedgehog. An infahible
method of making the animal unroll is by plunging it in water. It has
then to assume its normal state in order to save itself from drowning.
Otherwise it does not experience any embarrassment in the water,
and without hesitation enters it when any pressing danger demands
Fig. 223. — Pyrenean Desman {Myogale Pyrenaica).
such a course. It even can remain below the surface for several
minutes without suffering — a circumstance which is all the more
remarkable, inasmuch as with nearly all the warm-blooded animals
immersion produces asphyxia after a short period.
Another singular peculiarity in the life of this creature (pointed
out in the last century by the celebrated naturalist Pallas) is, that
the Hedgehog can eat hundreds of Cantharides without being
put to the slightest inconvenience; while man and the majority of
the carnivorous animals cannot eat many without experiencing
poisonous effects.
This discovery of Pallas led to a German naturalist, LentZj
finding out that the Hedgehog is impervious to the effects of viper
poison.
THE HEDGEHOG. 513
Lentz intioduced a Viper into a box containing a female Hedge-
hog and her young. The Viper, which was a large and vigorous one,
rolled itself up as if unconscious of danger. However, the mother
.slowly approached, smelt the Viper, and immediately withdrew,
showing her teeth. As she drew near another time without any
precaution, she was bitten in the nose, and a drop of blood escaped ;
she again retired, licking her wound, but soon returned to the
charge. She received a second bite on the tongue ; but without
being in the least intimidated, she seized the Serpent by the body.
The two adversaries now became furious ; the Hedgehog growled,
and shook its foe; the Viper, on the contrary, struck blow after
blow with its fangs. Suddenly the Hedgehog seized its adversary by
the head, crushed it, and afterwards devoured, without any other
symptom of emodon, the anterior half of the reptile, then quietly
returned to its young to suckle them. Next day it consumed the
remainder of the Viper.
This experiment was repeated several times ; and always with
the same result ; neither the Hedgehog nor her young were ill from
the results.
A medical journal, the Coiirrier des Families^ which quotes this
fact, after a lecture by M. Vogt, adds : —
"It is therefore not wise to kill the Hedgehogs, especially in
Limousin, where they abound. On the banks of the Vienne, in the
neighbourhood of Limoges, if you are walking out at mid-day, you
will see a crowd of tails disappearing into holes. These are Vipers.
The paths are their scouring-places. At Fontainbleau, before 1848,
Viper-hunters were paid one franc for each of these troublesome
Reptiles."
Hedgehogs are nocturnal animals. They remain concealed the
greater portion of the day in holes, either beneath stones, in decayed
trunks of trees, or in some other refuge, the work of chance or of
nature. There they He buried in a somnolent state, from which they
are only roused to go in search of food. Their aliment chiefly
consists of Mollusks, Frogs, Toads, and the small Mammals. When
they can obtain nothing else, they subsist upon roots and fallen fruit;
but they do not climb trees in search of it, as certain naturalists hive
stated.
We must regard as a fabrication the story of Hedgehogs using
their prickles like so many spits to carry off food to their retreats ;
for, on the one hand, we cannot see in what way they could get rid
of their load when they arrive at their destination ; and, on the other,
it must be remembered that they do not collect a store of provisions.
514
MAMMALIA.
During winter, the Hedgehog hybernates. As soon as the tem<
perature approaches freezing-point it retires to its hole, and remains
torpid until the following spring. At fhis period it is enveloped in a
thick layer of fat, which suffices for support during the winter sleep.
Twice in the year the females produce from four to eight young,
.^^::;,':^^^,
Fig. 224. — Hedgehog {Eriiiacens Eiiropcsus).
which they place in a nest of moss. On their white skins appear
black points, which indicate where the prickles will come.
The intelligence of the Hedgehog is very limited, and it can,
with difficulty, be tamed. It nevertheless would appear that on the
banks of the Don and the Volga it is reared in houses like a Domestic
Cat. When allowed to run about in gardens it usefully employs
Itself in destroying a number of noxious insects.
Several species of Hedgehog are known.
The Common Hedgehog {E. EnropcBus)^ Fig. 224, is widely
THE TANREC. 515
spread in Europe. It is to this species that the preceding details
more particularly refer. Nowadays but little interest attaches to this
animal; but in olden times it was very different. The ancients used to
hunt it for its spines, which they employed in carding wool. At an
even later period people made use of parts of its carcass in several
maladies.
The Long-eared Hedgehog {E. auritus) is distinguished from the
preceding, not only by a greater amplitude in the external auditorial
conch, but also by larger eyes, longer legs, a shorter tail, and blunter
spines. It is a native of Eastern Russia, Western Siberia, and
Fig. 225. — Gymnure {Gymtiura Rafflesii).
Tartary. Not so well protected as the other species, it readily falls
into the power of its enemies. Birds of prey destroy a large number
on the banks of the Oural. Other species are met Avith in Asia and
Africa.
Centetes. — The Tanrecs are denizens of Madagascar, and bear a
great analogy to the Hedgehogs, as much with regard to their figure
as in their habits.
The Tanrecs are rather more slender and lanky, their prickles are
less rigid and are mixed with silky hair, and they do not possess the
faculty of roUing themselves so completely up in a ball. They have
no tail. They are found not only in Madagascar, but also in the
islands of Bourbon and the Mauritius. Some authors have affirmed
that the Tanrecs are torpid during the hot season, as the Hedgehogs
are under the influence of cold ; but this statement is unsupported
by proof. What may be received as a fact is, that these animals
5l6 MAMMALIA,
sleep during the day and sally out in search of their food at night.
The two species are C. ecmidatus and C. semispinosiis.
Gymniira. — The Gymnure has its hair silky, its muzzle is elon-
gated, the tail is as long as the body, and its shape is rather grace-
ful. Only one species is known, the Gynmtira Rafflesii (Fig. 225),
named after the distinguished naturalist and traveller, Sir Thomas
Raffles. This animal is found in Sumatra, but its habits have not
been carefully studied.
Cladobates. — The Tupaias inhabit India and the Sunda Inlands.
They have much resemblance to the Squirrels, possessing their
movements, and also living on trees. Their food consists of
insects and fruit. They have abundant soft hair, and a long, well-
furnished tail. Their toes are terminated by sharp claws, which
enable them to climb. They are the most elegant of the Insectivora.
Along with the species of this genus may be mentioned Hyloinys
suilliis, from Java and Sumatra, and Ptilocercus Lowi, from Borneo,
which are distinguished from them — the first by a rudimentary and
almost naked tail ; the second by a tail the same length, but covered
with hair only on its termination. ■♦
ORDER OF CHEIROPTERA.
The Cheiroptera are those smgular animals commonly designated
by the name of Bats. For a long time, and even nowadays, people
have entertained the most erroneous ideas with regard to these odd
creatures. Aristotle defined them as Birds with wings of skin.
After him Pliny, Aldrovandus, and Scaliger fell into the same error.
The Bats, however, have no other resemblance to Birds than being
able to fly.
At last, after many centuries, the different characters that deter-
mine the rank of these animals in the scale of created beings are
known even to the minutest details, removing all doubts of their not
belonging to the Mammalia.
The altogether peculiar conformation of their anterior limbs, and
the transformation of their hands into wings, constitute for them
a character which renders them perfectly distinct from other Mam-
maha. Their scientific denomination also marks this special organic
character. The word Cheiroptera signifies "winged hand," or "hand
transformed into a wing '' {x^lp, hand ; irrepov, wing). The Cheirop-
tera are, therefore, Mammals with " winged hands."
How has nature formed this type ? All the fingers of the hand,
with the exception of the thumb, which is short, has a nail, and is
quite free, are immoderately long, and united by means of a trans-
parent membrane, which is without hair. This membrane covers
also the arm and fore-arm, and is nothing else than a prolongation
of the skin of the flanks. It is composed of two very thin layers,
the one a continuation of integuments of the back, the other that of the
abdomen. It also extends between the posterior limbs, where it is
more or less developed, according to the species, and there takes
the name of the interfemoral membrane ; but it never reaches the
toes of the feet, which are short, and have nails.
It is owing to this membranous sail that Bats direct their course
through the air in the same manner as Birds. When they are at
rest they fold their wings around them, enveloping their bodies as
if in a mantle, similar to our closing an umbrella to diminish its
volume when it is no longer required. This comparison is still
5i8
MAMMALIA.
more exact when we observe that the long filiform digits of the
animal perfectly correspond to the ribs or rods of the umbrella.
After what has been said, it will be understood that Bats are not
well adapted for terrestrial locomotion. When they wish to move
on the ground, they project as far as possible the hooked nail that
Fig. 226.— Flying Foxes (JPteropi) in a state of rest.
terminates one of their thumbs, and plant it in the ground ; then,
exercising a certain amount of traction at this point, it draws the body
forward in the same direction by the play of the arm muscles, at the
same time the posterior limbs act from behind, to aid this move-
ment. The other thumb then executes the same manoeuvre, and
the body advances at the same rate, but no longer in the same
direction. It is easy to see that the creature is carried now to the
right, then to the left, according as it fixes itself on one or other of
THE BAT, 519
its thumbs, and in this way the Bat walks, not in a straight Une, but
in a series of zigzags, in which the axis of the animal represents the
real direction.
The English naturalist, White, who had studied Bats in captivity,
on the contrary, states that they can run with considerable rapidity.
Despite this affirmation, we refuse to believe in the agility of the
Cheiroptera, or to look upon them as walking Mammals ; therefore
we think that there is some slight exaggeration in the statement of
the naturaUst referred to.
It is certain that Bats do not descend to the ground under
ordinary circumstances. Besides the reason we have already given,
for this there is another, which is, that when placed on the ground
they find themselves in a very inconvenient position to resume their
flight. Their case is then almost the same as that of the high-
soaring Birds, which, full of grace and assurance aloft, are compelled
to resort to the most painful efforts to ascend again from low levels.
The Cheiroptera are essentially nocturnal. Their eyes, although
small, are organised for seeing, not in complete darkness, but in the
gloaming, or in the feeble light of the moon and stars. They retire
during day to caverns, abandoned quarries, lofts, church spires, old
ruins, or the trunks of trees, where they remain until evening. From
the walls of these sombre dwellings they suspend themselves head
downwards by their hind-feet, the strong curved claws of which are
exactly suited for this purpose. They frequently hang to each other,
forming such curious, compact masses that no one who has not seen
them can have any idea of their grotesqueness. Fig. 226 shows some
flying Foxes in a state of rest.
If we except vision and taste, which do not appear to be much
developed, the senses of the Bats are of an astonishing extent and
subtlety.
In general the earo are large, widely open, and the perception
of sounds perfect. With regard to their sense of smell, it is extremely
delicate. In a number of species the entrance to the nostrils is
covered by membranous folds called nasal-leaves, which endow the
olfactory organ with a singular power. Lastly, the sense of touch is
exquisite ; a circumstance that cannot surprise us when we consider
the wide extent of their hands.
It is to this exceptional delicacy of touch that must be attributed
the ease with which Bats fly about in their dark retreats without
striking against the angles, rocky projections, or other objects.
Spallanzani instituted experiments which were decisive in this respect.
The celebrated physiologist destroyed the vision of several specimens,
520 MAMMALIA.
and on leaving them alone he saw thera fly around the room without
betraying the slightest hesitation, or without striking their heads
against the furniture or the ceiling ; in a word, without the deprivation
of sight having changed in the slightest degree their powers of flight.
This fact induced Spallanzani to declare that Bats are endowed
with a sixth sense, which informs them of the proximity of solid
bodies. But such an explanation is unnecessary. When we are aware
of the prodigious sensibility of the tactile organs in these animals, we
may admit that they are affected by certain movements of the air
which are imperceptible to us, and that Bats can thus be rendered
conscious of the proximity of a body by the obstruction to the eddies
and currents of air displaced by them in their flight.
In cold and temperate regions Bats hybernate. They are then
absolutely insensible, and may be handled, shaken, and even thrown
in the air, without betraying the least movement. But if they are
held for some time in the hands, or near a fire, under the influence
of the heat they rapidly show signs of animation.
During the period of torpidity the vital functions are executed
feebly, but they are not altogether suspended. They cannot dispense
Avith nourishment during this portion of their existence, but as they
are incapable of taking food, they use up the fat that has accumulated
in their bodies during the period of activity. In this way is explained
their emaciation at the termination of their winter sleep.
The majority of the Cheiroptera have their molar teeth studded
with conical points. The Flying Foxes, however, have molars with
a flat crown, but they feed upon fruits. There are also some of the
Cheiroptera, such as the Vampires, which fasten upon animals, even
man, to suck blood.
As soon as the sun has descended below the horizon the
Cheiroptera issue from their lurking places to wander abroad in
search of food. They are then seen to pursue and catch on the
wing such Insects as abound during twilight. Who has not observed,
after a fine summer's day, the wheeling, tremulous course of the Bat
in quest of its prey ? Who has not remarked its erratic yet graceful
flight? The part this creature plays in nature, with regard to the
poetry of night, is so familiar, that it would seem as if something
were wanting in its sombre harmony did the Bat not pass and repass
at regular intervals.
Bats usually have only one oftspring at a time. As soon as
brought forth the mother envelops it in her wings as in a cradle, and
holds it pressed against her breast to receive its first nourishment.
After some days, the youngster can hang by the claws of its hind
THE BAT, 521
feet to the fur of the mother, and it is not rare to see her flying
about with this strange burden. When, exceptionally, the progeny
are double, then the winged nurse carries both in her aerial voyages.
It has been remarked by close observers that these animals are
particularly cleanly, and spend much time in dressing their fur.
Generally the Cheiroptera, when in captivity, die in a short time.
Some, however, have lived in miprisonment, and even become
familiar with the people whom the relations of every day have taught
them to recognise. Dr. Franklin says that he has seen, in several
farms in England, Bats which were perfectly tame. These little
creatures lived in the same room with the farmer's family. If any-
one, holding an Insect between his lips, imitated the buzzing of
a fly, they perched upon his shoulder, sought for the insect around
his mouth, and even seized it from between his Hps.
In the East there are few inhabited houses in which Bats do not
reside. In summer many are seen hanging to the arches of the
cellars in Bagdad, and living on good terms with the natives, who
are in the habit of shutting themselves up in such places to avoid
the intense heat of the climate. There they remain all day, without
being disturbed by the noise and activity of traffic.
To many persons Bats are objects of dread. Their ambiguous
nature, their mysterious movements, and their nocturnal habits,
cause this repulsive feeling. They are associated with Owls and
other unsociable creatures, and are supposed to share in the same
malevolent properties. In the time of Moses they were consigned
to public opprobrium \ for the Hebrew legislator classed them with
the unclean animals whose flesh the people of God were forbidden
to eat. In the Middle Ages Bats were supposed to personify the
Evil One, and were the inseparable companions of witches and
sorcerers. At present these ridiculous ideas are no longer in vogue;
but Bats continue to be disliked, and the peasant who kills one
glories so much in the deed that he nails it up on the door of his
cottage. These animals, however, do not deserve such treatment ;
indeed, our hatred of them is base ingratitude, for it renders us
every service. Like the Swallows, which they succeed in the regions
of the air at evening, the Bats prevent the multiplication of insects
noxious to agriculture and an annoyance to the human family. In
this respect they have a claim on our friendship. When will man,
then, cease to persecute them ? for to do so would be an act of justice
on his part, as well as good policy.
Bats are found in every region of the globe. Certain species are
confined to particular regions ; others are absolutely cosmopolitan.
522 MAMMALIA.
Conformably to what is observed in all other animals, and even
in vegetables, it is the warmest countries which furnish the largest
and strongest species.
The order of Cheiroptera may be divided into two sections, the
Insectivorous and the Frugivorous ; the former contains all the Bats
generally so called, and the latter the Flying Foxes. The first section
contains a very large number of genera, the latter only a few ; we
will examine some of the more important forms of each.
Insectivora. — • Vespertilio. This genus comprises a large number
of species and those more particularly designated by the name of Bats.
Nearly all of them have a long tail, and the interfemoral membrane
well developed. Though generally of small size, they yet devour a
large quantity of insects. One of them, the Pipistrelle, is said to
Fig. 227.— Head of Long-eared Bat, Vespertilio {Plecotus) auritus.
eat upwards of seventy common flies at a meal. Like many of the
Cheiroptera, they emit a musky odour that immediately betrays their
presence. They are very numerous, and have their representatives
in all parts of the world.
Among the most common we may mention V. nocfiila, which
inhabits France and nearly the whole of Europe ; the Pipistrelle,
which is also found everywhere in Europe, as well as in Africa and
India — the span of its wings does not exceed nine inches ; the Long-
eared Bat, V. auritus (Fig. 227), so named because of its enormous
ears — it is met with in England and other parts of Europe, though
it is somewhat scarce ; the Vespei'tilio inurinus, which lives in nume-
rous flocks in Europe and Algeria — it is the largest of the Vespertilio,
measuring eighteen inches in expanse of wing.
Dysopes. — This genus contains animals with a large head, thick
swollen lips, more or less fringed, and with the interfemoral mem-
brane only reaching to one-half of the tail. Their tout e?ise7nble is
THE BAT, 523
not attractive. They inhabit the hot and temperate regions of the
two continents. Very many species are known, only one of which
'D. cestoni) has been observed in Europe ; the largest is the Collared
Molossus {D. torquatus), which inhabits Borneo, and the kingdom
of Siam, and the span of its wings is twenty-six inches.
Taphozous. — The animals belonging to this genus are natives of
Africa and the hot parts of Asia. They are characterised by a retreating
forehead and a somewhat short tail, which, instead of being inclosed
in the substance of the interfemoral membrane, as in the majority of
the Cheiroptera, is detached and projects downwards. Their wings
generally have a span of from eight to twelve inches.
Noctilio. — Noctilio leporinus has thick cleft lips, like a hare-lip — a
conformation which gives its physiognomy quite a repulsive aspect.
It belongs to Guiana, Brazil, and Peru.
Rlwwlophits — The animals belonging to this genus are distinctly
characterised by the presence and the arrangement of the nasal leaf,
which is composed of two parts, somewhat similar to that of the Vam-
pires : one has the form of a lance-head, and is placed at the root of
the forehead, the other margins the upper lip, and is more or less in
the shape of a horseshoe; the nostrils open between these two -mem-
branes. The ears and tail are of medium size ; the interfemoral
membrane entirely embraces the latter. At the flanks two glands are
found which secrete an odoriferous substance. With regard to size,
the Horseshoe Bats differ but little from the species of Vespertilio ;
they have a long abundant fur, generally of a light shade, and which
is sometimes remarkably handsome.
These Cheiroptera are widely spread in the Old World, in Europe,
Africa, Asia, and the islands of Sunda; no species are found in
America. They live in numerous bands during the greater part of
the year. When the females are with young, they separate themselves
from the males, to bring forth and rear their progeny. When the
latter are capable of supplying their own wants the mothers cease to
attend them, and return to live in the society of the males.
The largest species of the genus is the Giant Horseshoe Bat,
Rhinolophus luctus, which inhabits Java, Malacca, and the Himalayas ;
it measures across the wings twenty-one inches.
Europe possesses two species, which are proper to it ; these are
the Lesser Horseshoe Bat, Rhinolophus hippocrepis, whose fur is of
a fine lustrous colour, and which measures about nine inches ; and
Rhinolophus eiiryale ; the former is common in Middle Europe, and
the latter in Northern Italy.
Nyderis. —The nose in this genus is pierced by a cavity, in which
524 MAMMALIA.
the nasal leaf is concealed. This leaf, therefore, exists though it is
not visible externally. The tail is of medium size, and supports the
interfemoral membrane throughout its length. These creatures inhabit
different parts of Africa, such as Egypt, Mozambique, and Senegal,
md are also found in Java. Up to the present time only four or five
species have been discovered. They measure from eight to ten
inches across the wings.
Megaderma. — The Megadermes have the nose surmounted by a
very ample and very complicated leaf. The ears are large, and their
interfemoral membrane is highly developed ; they have no tail. They
are found exclusively in Africa and Asia. Of the four or five species
known, the most important are the Leaf-nosed Megaderme (M.
frons), which inhabits Senegal, and the Lyre Megaderme {M. lyra)^
found in India. The former measures fourteen inches across the
wings,
Rhifioponia. — The Rhinopomes are distinguished by a smaller nasal
leaf, and a long thin tail. R. microphylhnn inhabits Egypt and
Bengal.
FhyIIosto77ia. — The Vampires are chiefly characterised by two
nasal leaves, one in the form of a horseshoe, situated above the upper
lip ; the other disposed in the shape of a lance, and placed above the
first. They have the mouth widely cleft, the tongue studded with
horny papillae, and in each jaw a pair of strong canine teeth, which
project beyond the lips. They are of medium size, their fur is short
and lustrous, and their interfemoral membrane is more or less de-
veloped, and the tail varies in length, or is altogether absent.
The Vampires chiefly inhabit Central and South America. They
are very destructive, as much from their size and strength as from
their carnivorous habits.
The travellers and naturalists who have visited these countries
are unanimous in their declarations to the effect, that not content
with devouring insects, the Vampires fix themselves on domestic
animals, and even man, to suck their blood. Oxen, Horses, and
Mules are persecuted by them when care is not taken to have them
enclosed in stables at night. It is not necessary to beheve, however,
what has sometimes been advanced, that such wounds are dangerous
enough to cause death ; these are unreasonable exaggerations. But
the more or less prolonged haemorrhage, which is the consequence of
the wounds, is a cause of debility, and might bring about disastrous
consequences.
The naturalist, Azara, who observed a large number of these
American Bats, has afforded us valuable information concerning their
THE VAMPlRli.
525
habits. It is usually on the croup, shoulders, or neck that they bite
beasts of burden, because there they find a secure resting-place. The
wounds they inflict are neither extensive nor deep, but small inci-
sions made by the horny papillae with which their tongue is armed,
and which only puncture the skin. The blood, therefore, with which
Vampires gorge themselves comes, not from the veins or arteries, but
Fig. 228. —Vampires attacking Travellers.
from the capillary vessels of the skin. They sometimes attack sleep-
ing poultry, and bite them on the crest, or the other appendages
which decorate their heads. Most frequently gangrene of the wound
supervenes in these subjects, and death follows.
Azara fully confirms their sanguinary proclivities with regard to
man, having himself on several occasions experienced their eftects.
At four different times this naturalist had his toes bitten when he was
526
MAMMALIA,
obliged to sleep in the open air. But the sensation was so painless
that he did not awake, and knew nothing of his mishap until morn-
ing. He suffered from the effects of these wounds for some days,
although he did not think it necessary to pay any attention to them.
The same traveller adds that Vampires do not Hve on blood
except when insects are scarce. He also gives an opinion, but
Fig. 229. — Spectre Vampire {Phyllosfpma sfectrimi),
without mentioning it as his own, or expressing his belief in it, but
which is credited by the natives, that in order to lessen the sensation
of pain in their victims, these animals fan with their wings the part
they are about to wound. Fig. 228 represents some travellers
attacked by Vampires.
A contemporaneous naturalist, M. de Tschudi, who travelled in
Peru, also studied these Cheiroptera. He says that it is common
enough to find cattle which have been bitten by a Phyllostome during
THE VAMPIRE.
527
the night in a very miserable pUght in the morning. It was not
without great trouble, and constant friction of the injured part, that
M. Tschudi was able to save one of his Mules which had been
wounded in this manner. On another occasion, an inebriated Indian
was bitten in the face, and such an amount of inflammation ensued
that his features were scarcely recognisable.
The Spectre Vampire (Fig. 229), the king of Vampires, so far as
size is concerned, belongs to this genus {P. spectrum). A mature
specimen is never less than twenty-six inches across the wings, and
Fig. 230.— Javelin Vampire [P. hastatum).
sometimes attains twenty-seven and a half inches. It is found in the
Brazils and Guiana. The Javelin Vampire {P. hastahnn), Fig. 230,
described by Buffon, and which is a smaller species, measures from
twelve to fourteen inches across the wings.
Glossophaga. — The Glossophages are recognisable by their long,
thin, and extensile tongue, furnished with hair on its surface, which
they protrude and retract with extreme rapidity ; and from whence
they derive their name, which signifies ''to eat with the tongue." The
species are not numerous, and are met with in South America.
Frugivora. — Pteropus, the Flying Foxes (Fig. 231), commonly
called Roussettes by the French, because of their being generally of
a red or brown colour, are the largest of the Cheiroptera. There are
some which attain the size of a Squirrel, and measure no less than
four feet across the wings. In the majority of the species the inter-
femcral membrane is rudimentary, as is also the tail ; some are even
without a vestige of the latter appendage.
528
MAMMALIA.
The chief characteristic of the Pteropi is to be found in their den-
tition— the molar teeth have a flat, or simply tuberculous crown — and
in their regimen, for they feed on fruits. The face is totally
destitute of nasal leaves, and the ears are but slightly developed.
The animals belonging to this family exclusively inhabit Africa, Asia,
and the Oceanic Islands, particularly the latter region. There are
Fig. 231.— Flying Fox {Pteropus ruhricoUis).
also vast numbers in Polynesia, Malaysia, Australia, and Van Dieman's
Land ; but none are found in Europe or America.
The Flying Foxes are not the redoubtable animals represented by
early travellers, who had the privilege of becoming first acquainted
with them. These explorers allowed themselves to be imposed upon
by their extraordinary dimensions, and their descriptions of them are
ridiculous exaggerations. The truth is that the Flying Foxes never
THE FLYING FOX. 529
attack any animal, even the feeblest. They may, it is true, in the
absence of their ordinary aliment, eat insects, but this is a rare ex-
ception ; and they are only to be dreaded by man, in consequence of
the incalculable amount of damage they occasion in gardens and
plantations, as they devour every kind of fruit that comes in their
way, and thus become a source of great injury to the natives. Divers
artifices are, therefore, resorted to to prevent such destruction. For
this purpose at Java the fruit-trees are covered with network or
wickerwork made with bamboo slips.
There are some species among the Flying Foxes which, instead of
retiring during the day into hiding-places, as nearly all the Cheiroptera
do, suspend themselves, with their bodies inverted, to the branches of
large trees, and thus await the hour of twilight. Then is the time
chosen for their destruction, they being hunted not only because of
their depredations, but also for their flesh. As a precaution, before
firing at them, it is necessary to make them take wing ; for if this be
not done, they remain hanging to the branches, even after being shot,
so strong is their power of prehension.
Although the Flying Foxes, like other Bats, are essentially nocturnal
in their habits, yet it is not rare to see them on the wing in broad
daylight. Doctor Foster, in his voyage with Captain Cook, in 1772,
observed numbers of them in the Friendly Islands. He said that
they skimmed along the surface of the water with the greatest ease ;
and he even asserted that he saw one swim. Elsewhere they
frequently enough resort to water, with the double object of washing
themselves and of getting rid of the parasitic insects that torment them.
The Flying Foxes exhale a strong, disagreeable musky odour.
They utter acute cries when squabbling among each other for places
to perch on, or when their perch is disarranged. When wounded,
and about to be captured, they bite severely.
The attempt has sometimes been made to bring Flying Foxes to
Europe, by feeding them with bananas, and other fruits, during the
voyage, and adding to this vegetable diet raw meat. On board ship
they kept awake all night, and appeared to be tormented by the
desire to get out of their cage. It has been remarked that they are
capable of attachment to those who look after them, and specimens
are now living in several of our Zoological gardens.
Naturahsts have divided the Flying Foxes into genera, which,
however, we shall not stay to examine. Among the numerous
species we will only mention the P. edulis, Indian Archipelago;
P. Edtvardsii, India, Madagascar; P. vulgaris^ Mauritius j P. riibri-
collis (Fig. 231), Bourbon and Madagascar.
9 *^a4^ ^
ORDER OF QUADRUMANA.
The Quadrumana occupy the highest grade in the scale of the brute
creation. The Monkeys are, in fact, of all Mammalia, those which,
by their physical organisation and habits, offer the closest relationship
to man. This analogy is so striking with some, such as the Orang,
Gorilla, and Chimpanzee, that several naturalists, in every way good
authorities, have considered them as but inferior forms belonging to
the human genus.. Thus it was that the illustrious Linnaeus placed
man with Monkeys in his order of Primates, or first animals, and
composed his genus Homo not only of human beings {Homo sapiens\
but also of Chimpanzees {Homo t7'oglodytes), the Orang-outangs
(Homo satyrus), and the Gibbons {Homo lar).
This classification raised numerous protestations, for the pride
of man was offended by the strange relationship imposed upon him.
The opinion of Linnaeus, therefore, enjoyed but little favour, and
it has been decided to constitute a particular order for man, that of
Bimana, placing it at the head of the organic creation.
It is incontestable that, from a purely anatomical point of view,
certain Quadrumana offer so strong a similitude to man, that they
might be readily classed in the same genus. Like man, they can
stand upright ; like him, they are provided with hands ; have a nude
face, with the eyes directed forwards; and, finally, in general form
and internal structure, resemble, on a small scale, the king of nature.
But, as Buffon puts it, this only proves that the Creator did not
desire to make a mould for man absolutely different from that of the
animal, and that his form, like that of other animals, has been
included in a general plan.
Nevertheless, when looked at closely, the physical resemblance is
not so complete as it appears at first sight, and we perceive that the
Monkey is far from attaining perfection precisely in those organs
which assure the superiority of man over the rest of created
beings.
It is only by great and visible efforts that any of the Quadrumana
are able to maintain themselves erect on their posterior limbs. Even
the structure of their feet — which are veritable hands, like those
Q UA DR UMANA, 531
terminating their upper limbs — is an obstacle to vertical progression ;
for it prevents their resting solidly on the ground, and preserving
a state of firm equilibrium.
Monkeys have hands, it is true — that is, members composed
of five fingers, one of which, the thumb, is opposable to the other
four : these are organs proper to prehension and the diverse acts
incident thereto. The Monkey is even more richly endowed than
man in this respect; for it possesses four hands, from whence
originates the generic name of Quadrumana (animals with four hands)
given to the entire order. But this multiplication of hands, so
far from being a sign of power, is, as we shall see hereafter, a mark of
inferiority, inasmuch as it prevents the Monkey assuming the upright
position. And, moreover, the hand of the Monkey is not the
admirable instrument that enables man to accomplish marvels of
industry and art. Its thumb is short, and widely separated from
the other fingers, which it only imperfectly opposes; and, in addition,
the fingers are mutually dependent one upon the other, and cannot
act separately as in the hand of man. In every way the comparison
between the two is to our advantage.
Lastly, that which puts an abyss between the Monkey and man
is that the first, although with a throat organised to produce the same
sounds as the latter, and although possessing the same form of larynx
and tongue, is yet incapable of speech.
An ingenious philosopher, Joseph De Maistre, has clearly pointed
out some facts that would separate man from Monkeys. " The latter,"
he says, "willingly approach fires lighted at night by travellers to
warm themselves, or to warn off ferocious beasts; but they never light
them.^^ The act of making a fire, which appears to us so simple,
is beyond the limits of their intelligence. Take, on the contrary, the
most degraded savage — a Bushman, if you will: he rubs two pieces of
dry wood together, in order to obtain the spark that is to produce
heat and light, thus acting as a man.
However submissive and obedient Monkeys may have been in
their youth, it is said that in old age they become vicious, quarrel-
some, and averse to the habits of their younger days; everything
indicates a closer approach to the condition of a veritable brute, from
which at first they appeared to be separated. It is worthy of notice
that if these animals in their early days have exhibited a more
sociable disposition, and a greater facility to assimilate themselves to
the acts and gestures of man, they afterwards degenerate more
rapidly. Thus it is that, contrary to what occurs with mankind,
the progress of r'ge brings to the Monkey the decadence of that
532 MAMMALIA,
intelligence and the abolition of those qualities with which it is
endowed at birth.
We need not carry the parallel between man and the Monkey any
further, for the first is far beyond comparison superior to the second.
Therefore, without more delay, we shall point out the general
characteristics of the Quadrumana, and the groups into which
naturalists have subdivided them.
Although we have said that the distinctive trait of the Quadru-
mana is their being provided with four handS) this, however, is not
strictly correct. Some species are more or less deficient in a thumb
on the anterior members. Such are the species of Colobus, Ateles,
and Eriodes. Others, such as the Marmosets, and the majority
of the Lemurs, are furnished with five regular fingers, but do not
have the thumb opposable except in the posterior limbs. Whatever
the nature of these exceptions may be, the character drawn from the
number of hands remains sufficiently marked to allow us to retain
it as a characteristic of the order of Quadrumana.
Therefore the Quadrumana are Mammalia provided with four
limbs, disposed for climbing, and which may serve for walking,
digits with nails, having nearly always the thumb of the posterior
members, and often that of the anterior members, opposable to the
other digits. Most frequently they have two pectoral mammae.
Their teeth are variable in number, but are almost constantly of
three kinds — incisors, canines, and molars, adapted for frugivorous,
herbivorous, and sometimes for insectivorous food. The body is
everywhere covered with hair, except on the face (this exception, how-
ever, is not found in Galeopithecus or in the Lemurs). Their brain,
with regard to organisation and volume, has great analogy to that of
man ; it has three lobes on each side, the posterior covering the cere-
bellum, and it presents, in the higher species, numerous convolutions.
The Quadrumana inhabit all the inter-tropical zone of the two
Continents j they are found in Africa, America, Asia, and the Malay
Islands. A single species, belonging to the genus Macacus, actually
inhabits Europe, being found on the rock of Gibraltar.
As a general rule, the Quadrumana keep to well-wooded, and
slightly elevated regions, though they are also met with on several
chains of mountains, such as the Cordilleras of New Grenada, the
Himalaya and Atlas mountains, and Table Mountain, at the Cape of
Good Hope.
With the exception of some savage races, who add the flesh of
the Quadrumana to their list of articles of food, man derives but
httle benefit from them.
THE GA LEO PITH EC US.
533
The order of Quadrumana comprises two sub-orders, the
Prosimidse and the Simidse ; the former contains the family of the
Lemurs, the latter the two families of the Platyrrhines and the
Catarrhines.
Of the Lemurs, we proceed to notice the following genera : —
Gakopithecus.—T\iQ Galeopltheciis volans (Fig. 232) was for a
Fig. 232. — Colugo (fiakopithectcs volaits).
long time, and is still by some, ranged among the Cheiroptera,
which we have already studied. It is one of those transitional
animals that we so frequently find when studying zoology, and
which appear destined to link together the principal groups, so
as to form an uninterrupted chain, extending from the most imper-
fect to the most perfect. The general characteristics of this animal
assimilate it to the Quadrumana, but it also shows its relationship to
the Cheiroptera by its interdigital membrane, and even in a slight
534 MAMMALIA,
degree to tlie Insectivora through its dental system. So that while
it approaches the Lemurs in the form of its head, and to a certain
extent in its dentition, it is allied to the Bats by the possession of a
membrane enveloping it laterally, from the neck to the end of the
tail, and which, being attached to the extremities of the four limbs,
plays the part of a parachute, permitting the creature to sustain itself
in the air for even a longer time than the Flying Squirrels. This
membrane is hairy, and of the same colour as the body ; it forms
quite a web between the digits of the fore and hind quarters, which
are all directed the same way, and are therefore unsuitable ifor pre-
hension. The nails are narrow, sharp, very strong, and give the
animal great facilities for climbing trees. From this peculiarity,
no doubt, the name of Squirrel Monkey — the meaning of the word
Galeopithecus — has been derived.
In the female, the mammae are four in number, placed symme-
trically on each side of the chest, although but seldom more than one
young is produced at a birth.
The teeth of the Galeopitheci are thirty-four in number : ten
incisors, four canines, and twenty molars. They have two incisors
less above than below ; the total number of teeth in the lower jaw is
therefore eighteen. The molars are studded with points like those of
the Insectivora, and the lower incisors present this peculiarity, that
they are directed forward, and are deeply notched at their summits.
The Galeopitheci are essentially nocturnal; they conceal
themselves during the day in the most lonely parts of forests, and
come forth at evening in quest of food. They are then seen moving
actively through the trees, either flying or climbing, according to cir-
cumstances. On the ground they are not so embarrassed as might
be supposed, for they run with agility. Their flight is noiseless ; and
although certain writers assure us that they can in this way clear a
space of some hundreds of yards, there are good reasons for be-
lieving that they but rarely attempt such an experiment. Insects
constitute the staple of their food, but they are fond of fruit, and
even devour small Birds.
In order to rest, these animals suspend themselves by their hind
paws to the branches of trees, like Bats. The people of the regions
they inhabit choose this opportunity for capturing them ; and not-
withstanding the disagreeable odour their flesh exhales, eat them
without repugnance.
There are two species, which inhabit the Moluccas, the Philippines,
and the islands of Sunda, and, it is said, some parts of the Indian
Continent. They are most numerous in Java, Sumatra, and Borneo.
THE AYE' AYE.
535
Chiromys. — This genus contains but a single species, the
Aye- Aye {Chh'omys Madagascar iensis)^ a native of Madagascar,
which Sonnerat discovered in that island towards the end of the
eighteenth century. This singular animal, which is very rare, was
not even known at that period to the people of INIadagascar, and the
name of Aye-Aye, given to it by Sonnerat, was due to the excla-
Fig. 233. — Aye-Aye {Chironi} s Madagascariensis).
mation of the natives of that island when this traveller showed it to
them for the first time.
For a long time it was undecided what place to assign the
Chiromys among the Mammalia. This arose from certain character-
istics in this quadruped, some of which would ally it to Rodents
and others to the Lemurs. At first sight, the Aye-Aye (Fig. 233)
shows some striking points of resemblance to the Squirrels : it has
their general form, the long bushy tail, and especially their dentition.
It has, in fact, no canine teeth, but possesses, in front of its jaws, a
536 MAMMALIA,
pair of strong incisors, isolated from the molars by a vacant space,
similar to the gap occurring in the Squirrels and other animals
belonging to the order of Rodentia. But, on the other hand, the
large size and rounded form of its head, indicative of a voluminous
brain ; the conformation of its limbs ; the length of the digits, and
the opposable thumb in the posterior members ; the complete state of
the bony circle of the orbit, as in the majority of Quadrumana; the
existence of only two mammae in the female ; — are characteristics
which assimilate the Aye-Aye to the Lemurs, and ought definitely to
cause it to be ranked among the Quadrumana. Such is the opinion
of the principal zoologists of our time. Cuvier was, therefore, not
altogether right in classing this animal among the Rodents.
The habits of the Aye- Aye are very little known ; Sonnerat said
that it used its long front toes to dig into the bark of trees, where it
found the insects on which it fed. Nevertheless, some peculiarities
in its dentition lead to the belief that it also eats fruit.
Sonnerat kept a pair of Aye-Ayes alive for two months. " I fed
them," he says, " on boiled rice, and to eat this they used the slender
toes of their fore-feet, as the Chinese use their chopsticks. They
were drowsy-looking, and sleep with their heads placed between their
fore-legs; it was only after shaking them several times that I suc-
ceeded in waking them up."
The Aye-Aye has been brought alive to England, and a female
lived for some time in the Zoological Gardens, Regent's Park,
London.
The true Lemurs constitute among Prosimiae a well marked
group, which has its representatives in various parts of the Old
World. They are characterised by an elongated head, analogous to
that of certain carnivorous animals, hence the name of Fox-headed
Monkeys which some of the species have received ; by opposable
thumbs on the four extremities, and especially by the nail on the
index finger of the hind-feet, which is long, compressed, and sharp,
and singularly contrasts with those on the other digits. Although
their brain is but little developed, they have considerable intelligence,
and are susceptible of training. They are in general of small size,
and furnished with a short or long tail, though some species are
deprived of that appendage. Their eyes are prominent, and denote
nocturnal habits, indeed the Lemurs only come out after sunset.
Linnaeus alluded to this peculiarity in devising for them the name of
Lemur, which means spectre. Certain authors have preserved this
designation, and classify them under the term Lemurs. Of the
Lemurs we will mention the following : —
THM LEMUR.
SZ7
Fig. 234.— The Ring-tailed Lemur [LemtircaUa).
Lemur. — These animals are, of all the Lemurs, those with the
most tapering heads, and therefore it is to them that the de-nomina-
tion of Fox-headed Monkeys is applicable. Buffoii called them
False Monkeys. They stand somewhat high on their feet, and take
53S
MAMMALIA.
rank, for size, between the Marten and the Fox. Their fur is soft
and thick, and their tail long and bushy. They live in forests, and
feed chiefly on fruits. Their movements are light and graceful ;
their voice is a low or loud growl, according to the nature of their
emotions. The female has only one at a birth, and manifests the
greatest tenderness for it, keeping it concealed beneath her body,
buried in her thick fur, until the period when its hair, having acquired
5^
"ig. 235. — White-footed Lemur (Z. albima7nis).
a sufficient length, may efficaciously protect it against external
vicissitudes. It is suckled for six months, after which it is left to
its own resources.
These animals are sociable, and often collect into numerous
bands. They select almost inaccessible places to sleep in ; are
readily tamed, and even reproduce in captivity. Frederic Cuvier
studied one which, although very sensitive to cold, had thriven
during nineteen years' sojourn in France. During winter it drew so
THE PROPITHECUS.
539
near the fire as to singe its moustachios, and held its hand up before
its face Hke a human being.
Modern naturahsts reckon no fewer than ten species of Lemur ;
we will only mention the best known. These are : the Ruffled
Lemur (Z. varius), whose fur is varied with white and black spots ;
the Ring-tailed Lemur (Z. catta\ Fig. 234, easily recognisable by its
tail being marked with alternate white rings ; the Brown Lemur
(Z. rtifus), grey above, and white beneath, and the under parts of
the extremities of a brown colour ; the Red Lemur (Z. ruber), very
Fig. 236.- -Propithecus laiiiger.
remarkable for the brilliancy of its colours — the body is almost
entirely of a fine red, the muzzle, hands, breast, belly, and tail are
black, on the neck is a large white patch, and bracelets, also white,
on the wrists of the posterior members ; the White-fronted Lemur
(Z. albifrons) ; the Black-fronted Lemur (Z. nigrifrons) ; the White-
footed Lemur (Z. albimand), Fig. 235 ; and the Crowned Lemur
(Z. coronatus).
LichanotiLs. — This genus contains but one species (Z. brevicau-
datus). It is from Madagascar.
P7'opitheais (P. laniger), Fig, 236, was discovered, as well as the
Aye- Aye, by Sonnerat. The inhabitants of Madagascar call it the
Man of the Woods, because of its resemblance — though remote — to
our own species. When standing erect it measures twelve inches.
540
MAMMALIA.
Naturally of a mild temper, it readily submits to captivity, and can
even be trained to hunt.
The P. diadema (Fig. 237) differs from the preceding by its larger
size and by its tail, which is nearly as long as its body. Its coat
is yellow-coloured, varied with brown. A wide collar surrounds its
Fig. 237.— Proplthecus {P^-opitheciis diadema).
face, and terminates above the eyes in a kind of crown, which has
given it the name of the Diadem Propithecus.
Tarsius. — The Tarsiers are so named because of their long tarsi
(foot-bones). By this character, and by their general form, they
greatly resemble the Jerboas. They have a large head, big ears, and
the second and third toes of the hind-feet shorter than the others,
and provided with a subulated nail — that is, a long and acute claw,
as in the Lemurs. Only two species are known, of which one.
THE GAL AGO.
541
T, spectrum^ the Spectre Tarsier (Fig. 238) inhabits, besides Celebes,
the islands of Borneo and Banka. This animal is about the size of
a Rat : its movements are graceful, but slow. It feeds on insects.
It is ornamented with a long tail, partly nude, which terminates in a
Fig. 238.— Tarsier {Tarsius spectricni) .
silky tuft. Its coat is reddish-coloured, with patches of grey and
brown.
Galago. — The Galagos have much affinity to the Tarsiers. Like
these Quadrumana, they have a large head, the ears well developed,
and the tarsi elevated, though to a less degree. Their tail is long
and well furnished. They are nearly the size of Squirrels, whose
542 MAMMALIA.
elegant form and gracefulness they also possess. They inhabit the
great forests of Senegal, Guiana, Caffraria, and Abyssinia. They
particularly frequent the gum woods ; so that the Europeans in
Senegal call them the Gum Animals.
Among the principal species of Galagos are the Galago of Senegal
Fig. 239. — Moholi [Galago mohoU).
{G. Sefiegalensis), the Demidoff Galago (G. Demidoffi),2.n^ the Bushy-
tailed Galago {G. inG/wli), Fig. 239.
Perodictiais. — The P. potto (Fig 240) was discovered in Guiana,
in the seventeenth century, by Bosmann, a Dutch traveller. It differs
from the true Galagos in its tail, which is much shorter ; in its ears,
which are also less developed ; and also in its only possessing the
rudiment of a finger on its anterior extremities, so that it appears to
have only four fingers, one of which, the thumb, is very widely
THE MARMOSET. 543
separated From tlie others. This animal is thick-set in figure, and
sluggish in movement ; in size, it scarcely equals a domestic Kitten.
Stenops. — The Loris are characterised by a slender body, medium-
sized limbs, short hairy ears, and particularly by the complete
absence of a tail. Tlieir enormous eyes, with narrow transverse
pupils, denote nocturnal habits. In whatever places they are found,
whether on the ground or on trees, they move with a sluggishness
which has obtained for them the name of Sloth Monkeys. They
advance with extreme circumspection. Their food is composed of
eggs, insects, and fruits. Their size is that of a small Squirrel.
They are sometimes seen in European menageries ; they are in-
Fig. i^o.—Perodicticus potto.
offensive, and endure captivity without suffering. Their intelligence
is but little developed.
Only three species of Loris are known : the Slender Loris (6*.
gracilis)^ an inhabitant of the island of Ceylon and Southern India;
the Slow-paced Loris {S. tardigradtis), found in Bengal, Java,
Sumatra, and Borneo ; and the S. Javanicus^ found in Java.
Hapale. — The various Prosimise that we have passed in review
all belong, without exception, to the Old World ; the Marmosets,
on the contrary, live exclusively in the New. They form an inter-
mediate Hnk between the Lemurs and Monkeys. Several authors
have even included them in the latter family, although they are
separated from it by some peculiarities. They have no hands on the
anterior members, so far, at least, as that the thumb is not opposable
to the other digits ; and, in addition, their nails are veritable claws,
analogous to those of the Carnivora, from whence the name of
544 MAMMALIA.
Arctoplthecse, or Bear-handed Monkeys, was given to them by
Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire. They have a small round head,
and their brain does not show any convolutions. Their nostrils are
pierced laterally in the substance of the muzzle, and are consequently
well separated from each other. The muzzle is short, the ears large
and hairy. The teeth are thirty-two in number, and the molars are
furnished with points very like those which distinguish the Insec-
tivora. The tail is long, and completely covered with hair, and
the fur abundant and soft to the touch, and is usually of an agreeable
colour.
The Marmosets are widely spread in Guiana and Brazil; they
also inhabit, though in smaller numbers, Mexico, the Columbian
Republic, Southern Peru, and Paraguay. Keeping in small troops
in the forests, they suspend themselves to the branches of the trees
by means of their claws, like the Squirrels. They have several other
points of resemblance to these Rodents, especially in their size, their
active movements, and their gracefulness. Their food consists princi-
pally of insects, to which they add fruits, eggs, and even small Birds.
At intervals they emit a feeble cry, to the sound of which they owe
die name of Ouistitis.
These animals show little aversion to captivity, and easily bear
the rigours of our climate. The menagerie of the Jardin des Plantes,
at Paris, possesses specimens which have produced young. This
circumstance has established the fact that contrary to the majority of
the Quadrumana, in which the females do not produce more than
one or two, the females of the Marmosets have three young at a
birth. From the observations of Fr. Cuvier, it appears that the
mother does not manifest for her offspring much of that tender
solicitude so touching and beautiful in other animals.
A French naturalist, Audouin, has likewise submitted the
Marmosets in captivity to observation, and had proved that their
intelligence is not remarkable.
" Audouin," writes Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, " has assured
himself, by experiments several times repeated, that these Monkeys
were well able to recognise in a picture not only their own likeness,
but that of another animal. Thus, the drawing of a Cat, and, what
is yet still more remarkable, that of a Wasp, caused them manifest
dread ; while at the sight of any other insect, such as a Grasshopper
or a May Bug, they threw themselves on the picture as if to seize the
object represented.
"Audouin has also remarked that the Marmosets were very
curious j that they had acute vision ; that they perfectly recognised
THE MARMOSET.
545
the people who looked after them ; and, lastly, that their cries varied
considerably, according to the passions that animated them."
A gentleman who resided in Brazil for several years always
possessed during his sojourn there several Marmosets; from his
experience, he states that they very soon became tame, and much
attached to those who showed them attention, preferring to sleep in
his pockets or sleeve to retiring to their nest. "Their graceful
Fig. 241.— Common Marmoset {lacchus vulgaris).
tricks were always amusing, as they never were mischievous. With
my Cats and Parrots they were on terms of the greatest intimacy,
sharing, of their own accord, their food with the latter. They soon
learned to drink wine, and, after a short experience, exhibited so
marked a liking for the juice of the grape, that, if permitted, they
would indulge until perfectly intoxicated. Nothing alarmed them so
much as the appearance of a Snake, and several times, for the sake
of experiment, I had one brought into my residence to observe the
effect. On seeing their enemy, instantaneously they became power-
less, and the woe-begone expression of their countenance for the
54^ MAMMALIA,
time being was the perfect personification of utter helplessness, and
even after the object of their dread had been removed, it required
the lapse of many hours before they recovered their vivacity."
At present, about twenty species of Marmosets are knoAvn, and
these are divided into sub-genera. We will enumerate the principal
species of Marmosets, merely remarking that some among them,
which are in almost every respect alike, are probably only simple
varieties which further observation may reduce to a common type.
There are, first, six or seven species, provided with tufts of white
or black hair at the two sides of the head, among which are — the
Common Marmoset, H. {lacchus) vulgaris (Fig. 241); the Eared
Marmoset {H. (/.) aurita) ; the White-headed Marmoset {H. (/.)
penicillata) ; and the Black-tufted Marmoset (H. (/.) melanurd).
Then several species have the head covered with long hair similar to
a mane, and again, other species have the hair quite close and short.
The Monkeys. — With the Monkeys we begin the study of the
higher Quadrumana — those which have various points of resemblance
to man in their conformation. We have already mentioned, in
speaking of the general features of this order, the principal charac-
teristics in which Monkeys approach the human species. We now
complete these by saying that their dental system consists of thirty-
two or thirty-six teeth, that their nails are flattened, like those of
man, and that they have two pectoral mammae.
The dimensions of the tail, and the part it plays, vary conside-
rably according to the genera. With the Orang and the Anthro-
pomorphous Apes it is entirely absent ; with the Magot and some
species of Macacus it is a scarcely visible rudiment ; and it is very
short in the Mandrills.
The Cercopitheci and all the American Monkeys have, on the
contrary, a long and more or less bushy tail. But while the caudal
appendage is only in the Cercopitheci a kind of balancing instru-
ment, destined to maintain the equilibrium of the body as they
spring from one tree to another, this organ in the American Monkeys
occasionally becomes a real instrument of prehension, owing to its
property of firmly twisting round the objects on which the animal
throws it.
Monkeys possess in a high degree the gift of imitation : their
Latin name simiiis, from simulare, to imitate, indicates this. They
repeat, often with the greatest fidelity, human actions and attitudes.
Their conformation, so analogous to our own, renders the majority of
our movements easy to them, and what in certain cases is taken for
THE MONKEY, 547
the result of intelligence, is only the result ot their powers of imita-
tion.
Female Monkeys have only one offspring at a time — very rarely
two. During the whole period of suckling, they evince the liveliest
tenderness for their progeny ; but after weaning, and when the young
are capable of attending to their own wants, they can reckon no
longer on maternal assistance ; they then separate from their parents,
and adopt an independent life.
The senses of the Monkeys are highly developed : that of touch is
very perfect, and hearing, as well as sight, are usually good.
The greater part of the existence of these Quadrumana, in a
wild state, is passed on trees : it is only there that they can display,
to their full extent, the astonishing faculties with which nature has
endowed them. They feed on fruits, and at times on eggs and
insects.
There is an inconceivable vivacity in their movements, and their
activity is centered on twenty different objects in a minute. But
nothing can be said in this respect in the way of novelty to those
people who have observed them in their great cage at the Jardin des
Plantes in Paris, or in the Zoological Gardens in London.-
Some species of Monkeys vary considerably with age, both in
regard to their figure (principally in the shape of the cranium and
face) and their colour ; and, until lately, it was imagined in several
cases that the old and young of the same species belonged to
different races. This diversity in appearance in the same individual,
according to the successive phases of its existence, has given rise to
many errors in their scientific nomenclature.
Cuvier and the naturalists of his time believed that Monkeys
did not exist in the primitive ages of our globe. It was only in 1837
that fossil remains of this animal were found in the deep strata of the
earth. This discovery, made by M. Lartet in the soil of Sansan,
near Auch (Gers), of fossil Monkeys belonging to a species of
Gibbon, dispelled these conjectures, and proved that Monkeys were
in existence at least in the Tertiary period.
The family of Monkeys is divided into two great divisions, based
on well-defined characters — the Monkeys of the Old World, and
those of the New. It is to Buffon that the honour is due of having
made this distinction, which has been from day to day better justified
by the progress of zoology.
None of the American species are represented in the Old World,
and vice versa; this is an incontestable fact, which it is essential to
recollect in studying the history of Monkeys,.
548
MAMMALIA.
We will first examine the Monkeys of the New World, whose
position comes naturally after that of the Marmosets.
MONKEYS OF THE NEW WORLD.
The American Monkeys have the nostrils opening laterally, and
separated by a wide interval, like the Marmosets. Their teeth are,
when we exclude the Marmosets, thirty-six in number, and they
always include three pairs of molars in each jaw ; the number of
milk-teeth is constantly twenty-four. \Yq have already stated that all
Fig. 242.— Ursine Howlers [Mycetes nrsiints).
these MammaHa have the tail more or less long. We must add,
in order to describe them more fully, that they are slim and elegant
in form, that in youth they show themselves to be full of grace and
gentleness, and that age does not modify these qualities.
The American Monkeys are divided into two sections, according
as they possess a p7-ehensile or non-pre/ie?m/e tail.
Monkeys with Prehensile Tails.— The tribe of Monkeys
with prehensile tails includes the genera Mycetes, Lagothrix, Eriodes,
Ateles, and Cebus.
Mycetes. — The Howlers, called also Stentors and Alouates (Fig.
242), owe their name to the hoarse, deep-volumed cries thev utter at
THE MONKEY, 549
various periods during the day. Scarcely two feet in height, these
Monkeys have the most powerful voices of any known animal.
When gathered in troops they make the great forests re-echo again
with their sonorous noise, and produce a tumult that carries terror
into the soul of the bravest. The traveller who for the first time
traverses such forests, expects every moment to see a band of
howling demons dancing an infernal saraband. But soon the
hubbub ceases, and nature, lately so troubled, regains her usual
stillness.
It is at sunrise and sunset, and sometimes also at the approach
of storms, that the Howling Monkeys lend to the echoes their dis-
cordant voices. The traveller Azara compares their clamour to the
creaking of a great multitude of carts with badly-greased axle-trees ;
others have assimilated it to the rolling of a drum. However correct
this simile may be, it is certain there is something extremely un-
natural about their cries. Investigation has discovered the cause of
this strange physiological phenomenon. The hyoid bone (the bony
ring supporting the larynx) in the Howling Monkey is of an immense
size ; it is hollow, and forms a kind of drum with thin elastic walls,
which greatly increases the intensity of the sounds. This bone
occupies an enormous space between the lateral branches of the
lower jaw, and beneath it constitutes a voluminous prominence which
is hidden by a thick beard.
With the Howling Monkeys, the tail is very long, and eminently
prehensile. It is hairless on its lower surface towards its terminal
portion, and to this circumstance owes its great sensibility. It is, in
reality, a fifth hand, which the animal employs with surprising address,
either for suspending itself from the branches of trees, or to gather
fruits and carry them to its mouth.
The grasping power of this tail is sufiiciently shown in the
following trait. The Howling Monkey often darts from a great
height, and suddenly stops in the middle of its fall by twisting its
tail around some isolated branch; it thus balances itself in this
position for some seconds, and then taking a new spring, it carries
itself to a neighbouring limb. Sometimes one of these Monkeys,
shot dead, remains suspended by the tail, and thus disappoints the
hunter in search of its flesh or fur.
The Howlers are dull and ferocious, when placed in confinement,
they lose their voice, decline, and die. In a wild state, they con-
gregate in small bands, under the leadership of an experienced male,
who is intrusted with all the arrangements relative to the general
Scifety. Although timid> they readily allow themseb'es, to be
550 MAMMALIA,
approached; but if they discover any hostile intention, they flee
with rapidity from the intruder.
Certain authors have asserted that the females of the Mycetes
are devoid of maternal sentiment, and that they abandon their young
in order to fly more quickly if menaced by danger. Nevertheless,
all travellers do not think so. Spix was witness to a touching
incident to the contrary. He had mortally wounded a female, who
carried her progeny on her back. The poor parent fell from branch
to branch, and the young one would undoubtedly have perished with
her, had not she, collecting all her strength, and desperate in her
anxiety and tenderness, thrown it with a fast-failing arm, on to a high
branch, and in this way succeeded in preserving it from the unhappy
fate which befell herself.
Four or five species of Howling Monkeys are known, and all
are natives of Columbia, Guiana, Brazil, and Paraguay.
They are chiefly found on the banks of the great rivers, such as
the Orinoco, the Magdalena, &c.
Lagothrix. — The Lagothrixes (Hair-tailed Monkeys) are smaller
and not so robust as the Howlers ; they have also a feebler voice.
They live in troops in the forests of Columbia, Peru, and Brazil, and
are very gentle, intehigent, and easily tamed ; it is even said that
they are capable of affection for the person who is kind to them.
They have a soft coat, and stand well on their hind-legs.
Eriodes. — The Eriodes are distinguished from the other American
Monkeys by their nostrils, which are less apart than in the majority,
by the absence or rudimentary state of the thumb on the anterior
extremities, and by their nails, which are compressed and sharp, like
claws. Their habits are little known ; all that is certain about them
being that they bVe in bands, and that their chattering voices
are heard during the greater part of the day. Three species exist,
and are found in Brazil.
Ateles. — With the Ateles, as with the Eriodes, the anterior thumb
does not exist, or, which is very rare, it is represented as a simple
tubercle without any nail. It is this character which gives the name
to the genus, Ateles (from the Greek areATjs), meaning imperfect
or incomplete. Their nostrils are altogether lateral, and their nails
semi-cylindrical, as in nearly all the Monkeys. In addition, their
hair is long and silky, while that of the Eriodes is short and woolly.
The species of Ateles (Fig. 243) are recognisable by the excessive
length and slenderness of their limbs, which, in addition to their slow
and measured gait, have procured for them the denomination of Spider
M^onkeys. Like the Monkeys of the three preceding genera, they
THE MONKEY.
5:1
Fig. 243.— Group of Spider Monkeys.
have the tail very much developed, and callous at the point. With
it they seize and carry towards them objects placed behind thera
without making the slightest bodily movement, and without the eyes
co-operating in any way in this action. Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire
declares, however, that he has never seen these animals using their
tail to carry food to their mouth, as some travellers assert.
552 MAMMALIA,
Dampierre and Dacosta relate that, to clear a river or to pass
from one tree to another, the Ateles hook on to each other by
the tails, and thus form a long chain, to which they give an oscillating
movement towards the place they wish to' reach, until at last the end
of the file is in a position to gain it. The animal at the lower
end being fixed, the one at the other extremity lets go his hold,
and thus all gain the desired side.
The Spider Monkeys live in troops, and feed on insects which
they pursue on the trees. They occasionally descend to the ground,
to search for small fish and mollusks, which they find in the mud on
the banks of the rivers, and which they add to their food. Some
writers even assert that they venture on to the beds of rivers when
the waters are low, to capture Oysters and other bivalves, which they
know how to open with great adroitness. They are naturally gentle
and timid, but they acclimatise with difficulty in Europe. When
they do not perish during the voyage they die soon after their arrival,
and most frequently from the effects of cold. Their voice is soft and
sweet, like the notes of a flute.
About a dozen species of Ateles are known, and these inhabit
Guiana, Brazil, Peru, and Columbia. They are very plentiful in the
forests bordering on the rivers Amazon, Santiago, Orinoco, Magda-
lena, &c. Fig. 244 depicts a scene that not unfrequently occurs —
a descent of a tribe of Monkeys upon a plantation.
Cebiis. — The Sapajous mark the limit of the Monkeys with pre-
hensile tails ; they only possess in a feeble degree the long tail
so characteristic of this tribe. With them, in fact, the tail is unpro-
vided with any real callosity, and is only prehensile at its termi-
nation. Nevertheless, this organ is still somewhat developed, and
contributes to the steadiness as well as to the variety of the animal's
movements.
The Sapajous are sm?Jler, but not so slim, as the Spider Monkeys.
They live in bands in the forests of Columbia, Peru, Guiana, Brazil,
and Paraguay, usually keeping to the highest branches of the trees.
They feed on fruits, insects, worms, mollusks, eggs, and even small
birds. Several species of Carnivora and Serpents persecute them in-
cessantly ; the latter more particularly inspire them with terrible fear.
The Sapajous possess an unequalled amount of agility and petu-
lance, and are capricious to excess. At the same time they are very
intelligent, very gentle, and very familiar, and disposed to be affec-
tionate towards those who take an interest in them. Thus it is that
they are in demand in all civilised countries; in the hands of mounte-
banks and wandering musicians they become objects of amusement to
Fig. 244.— A descent upon a Plantation,
THE MONKEY.
555
the multitude. They are trained to a great number of exercises,
serious or burlesque, which they execute with imperturbable coolness
and comical gravity.
In ordinary circumstances the voice of the Sapajous is soft,
and somewhat like that of the Spider Monkeys ; but under the
influence of excitement, either anger or pleasure, it is the reverse.
"When teased, it emits a kind of plamtive wailing, which has obtained
for it the name of Weeper Monkey. They have also been designated
Musk Monkeys, in consequence of the musky odour they exhale.
Fig. 245. — The '^■ax {Cebus caj>2iciniis).
With regard to the denomination of Sajou, which is sometimes
employed, it is simply an abbreviation of Sapajou.
It is difficult to ascertain the number of species of Sapajous,
for there exists an immense variety of them, and it is rare to meet two
individuals which are exactly alike. Naturalists are, therefore, greatly
divided on this point, some taking for distinct species what others
will only admit to be varieties. Isidore Geoffroy Saint- Hilaire has
described fourteen species of Sapajous, divided into special groups,
according to their having the hair on the head lying smoothly,
disposed like a brush, or standing on end, erect like a plume,
or arranged in a circular tuft. The most common species are the
Brown Sapajou (C faiuelhis), and the Sai (C capuciniLs), Fig. 245.
In Paraguay an Albino of this latter species is found ; it is a nocturnal
556
MJA/ALIL/J.
animal, which is said to cry in the most lugubrious manner during
starry or moonlit nights.
Monkeys with Non-Prehensile Tails. — To the group of
Monkeys with non-prehensile tails belong the genera Callithrix.
Callithrix. — The species of this genus called Chrysothrix, Nycti-
pithecus, &c. &c., are nearly the same size as Squirrels ; their fur is
abundant, and their tail long and very hairy. They are nocturnal
Fig 246. — Collared Squirrel Monkey {(2alUtJu-ix torquaia].
or crepuscular animals, and live on trees or in brushwood, feeding
chiefly on insects. They are full of vivacity and gentleness, and
readily adapt themselves to captivity ; but their intelligence is only
of a medium standard. They are all natives of Brazil and Peru.
One pretty species, the Collared Squirrel Monkey (C torquafa),
Fig. 246, is remarkable for a thick white beard, which contrasts
strongly with the deep brown of the coat.
Chrysothrix. — These Squirrel Monkeys are little, quick-moving
animals with a sprightly countenance, and not unlike the Squirrels in
character and size, as their name implies. They have the brain well
developed, and are remarkably intelligent. Nocturnal, like the pre-
ceding, they live nearly in the same fashion, loving to seclude
THE MO^Kk^, 557
themselves in coppices and in well-wooded localities; they even
occasionally inhabit holes in rocks. They are carnivorous, for they
eagerly pursue not only small birds, but also certain species of
Mammals. Guiana and Brazil are their native country. Buffon
has justly declared that these are the. prettiest and most charming
of all the Monkeys ; they are much sought after, but as they are
very rare, few of them are seen in Europe. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire
speaks in the following terms of the only species of this genus
( C. sciurea) : —
" Its physiognomy is that of a child ; it has the same expression
of innocence, sometimes the same sly smile, and always the same
rapidity of transition from joy to sorrow; it feels disappointment very
acutely, and testifies it by crying. Its eyes become bedewed with
tears, when it is vexed or frightened. It is prized by the natives for
its beauty, its amiable manners, and the gentleness of its disposi-
tion. Its activity is astonishing, though its movements are always
full of grace. It is incessantly occupied in play, jumping, and
catching insects, especially spiders, which it prefers to all kinds of
food."
Humboldt informs us that this Squirrel Monkey listens with the
greatest attention to people who ask it questions, and that it even
stretches out its hands towards their lips, as if to catch the words that
escape from them.
Nyctipithec2is. — The name given by Fr. Cuvier and by Spix to
this genus indicate the essentially nocturnal or crepuscular habits
of the species. These little Monkeys sleep all the day, either in the
cavities of trees or in the midst of the thickest foliage, and it is only
towards sunset they come forth. Their eyes . are very large and
luminous in the dark. Humboldt says that these Monkeys are
monogamous, and always live in couples ; but Spix assures us they go
together in bands. They subsist on insects and small birds. Their
voice is powerful, and, according to Humboldt, resembles that of
the Jaguar. The best known species, the Douroucouli {Nyctipithecus
trivirgatus), takes its name from the cry it emits during the night,
when hunting in the woods. They inhabit the banks of rivers in
Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay.
Pithecus. — The Sakis bear much resemblance to the Sapajous ;
but they are distinguished from them by their non-prehensile tail,
which is covered with long and very bushy hair, a circumstance which
causes them to be called Fox-tailed Monkeys. They inhabit thickets,
solitary or in troops, and are more crepuscular than nocturnal. They
only leave their retreats in the morning and evening, spending the
55^
MAMMA Lf A,
remainder of the time in sleep. They hve 'on fruits and insects, and
are very partial to honey, which makes them anxiously search
for the hives of wild bees. The Sapajous. who are aware of this
weakness, follow them at a distance, looking out for an opportunity
to rob them of their booty. As soon as the Sakis sit down to eat
the honey they have discovered the Sapajous, profiting by their
physical superiority, spring upon them, and put them to flight ; after
which they enjoy the booty which they have obtained at so litde
expense. With these animals, as with mankind, there are always
Fi^. 247. — Bearded Saki {Pithccia satanas).
those who take the chestnuts from the fire that were meant for
others.
The Sakis are generally gentle, but excessively timid, and for this
reason are difiicult to tame, though they are not destitute of intelli-
gence. They manifest great sohcitude for their young, and both
male and female carefully occupy themselves in rearing them. But
after a certain time they chase them away, and make them provide
for themselves.
Among the Sakis, some are endowed with a plentiful beard and
a thick head of hair, which falls over their forehead. These orna-
ments contribute not a little in giving their physiognomy a cross and
repulsive aspect. Of the species we may mention the Bearded Saki
THE MONKEY.
559
(Fig. 247), the Hairy Scaki, and the Capuchin Saki. All these animals
are indigenous to Brazil, Guiana, and to Columbia.
Humboldt states that the Bearded Saki takes the most minute
precautions not to wet its beard. When it is thirsty it seats itself
Fig. 248.— The Brachyurus {Brachyurus nielanocephalus).
by the side of a stream, and scooping up the water in the hollow of
its hand, carries it to its m.outh, repeating these movements as often
as may be necessary to quench thirst, but without ever wetting or
rumpling its valued chin appendage.
Brachyurus. — These Monkeys are remarkable for the baldness
of their head, and their prominent forehead. A curious feature
^6o MAMMALIA,
observed in them is, that though their tail is very short, it is so very
bushy as to have the appearance of a ball. The Brachyures walk
very well on their hind paws. The Indians hunt them for their flesh,
which is tender. They are met with in Brazil and Peru, on the
banks of the Upper Amazon and the Orinoco. B. mela7iocephalus
(Fig. 248) is met with in New Granada and Ecuador.
MONKEYS OF THE OTD WORLD.
These Monkeys have the nostrils terminal and separated by a
very thin septum. Nearly all the species have cheek-pouches and
callosities.
The callosities are those salient, nude, and hard parts which exist
at the posterior portion of their body, and on which they rest when
sitting. The cheek-pouches, in which they place their food for safety,
are placed between the cheeks and the jaws.
An inspection of the jaws also discloses a very important pecu-
liarity : all the Monkeys of the Old World have the dental formula
of man, namely, eight incisors, four canines, and twenty molars,
equally divided between the two jaws ; in addition, they have, in
youth, twenty milk-teeth, like a child. Their tail is occasionally
long, but more frequently short or absent, and never prehensile.
Their nails are flat- shaped, and differ but little from our own.
In a word, their physical organisation, their mode of progression, and
their intelligence, place them next to man, and therefore give them
first rank in the animal hierarchy.
Cynocephaliis. — The Cynocephali (Dog-headed Monkeys — kvwv
Kvvos, Dog; KecpaK-n, head) are so named in consequence of the elongated
shape of their muzzles. They are large-sized animals, ungainly in
shape, and possessed of great vigour. These various advantages,
joined to their naturally brutal and ferocious disposition, make them
dangerous to man, especially when full grown. They have the
supra-orbital arch largely developed, deep cheek-pouches, and all
the limbs nearly of the same length. Their hands are well formed,
and all four are provided with an opposable thumb. In general the
coat is long and woolly, principally on the upper parts of the body.
The callosities, as well as their face, are often tinted with the most
brilliant colours. Their senses are highly developed ; that of smell
is particularly acute.
We have already had occasion to remark that the skulls of the
Old World Monkeys are capable of becoming altered to a considerable
degree as age advances. The Cynocephali afford us an admirable
THE MONKEY.
501
example in this respect ; and as they approach maturity of existence,
their early good quahties, their relative gentleness and intelligence, are
changed mto savageness and brutahty. In all their desires they then
Fig. 249. — A Mountain oi Baboons.
evince an incredible degree of violence and impetnoiisness, manifest-
ing their appetites by the most revolting acts and gestures. At this
period of their life they are really formidable ; for their upper canine
teeth become transformed into long sharp tusks, which they use with
such adroitness as to produce with them serious wounds. The dread
they inspire in the countries they inhabit is such, that the natives
^62 MAMMALIA,
will often permit their gardens to be ravaged by them, in preference
to running the danger of a conflict.
The Cynocephali or Baboons almost exclusively inhabit Africa, a
single species only (C niger) being found in Asia. They live either
in forests, or low mountainous rocky localities, and subsist on fruits
and insects. In captivity they are almost omnivorous.
The Cynocephali are sometimes found in innumerable bands in
Senegal. M. Mage, in his " Voyage dajis la Senegambie" published
in 1868, reports the following : —
" We had remarked that the mountains on the left shore sloping
down towards the river (the Senegal) were terraced at intervals. On
reaching here we found every landing-place literally covered with
Monkeys, in parts crowded one against another ; and as we passed,
they saluted us with incredible gambols and furious barkings. In
stating that this meeting-place did not contain less than six thousand
Cynocephali I beHeve I am not exaggerating." * (Fig. 249.)
The Mandrill (C mormon) is characterised in the first place by
a very short tail, and in the second by deep wrinkles on each side of
the nose, and which are more or less brilliantly coloured. Indeed, the
Mandrill (Fig. 250) is one of the Cynocephali whose colours are the
brightest. It has the face streaked with brilliant red, blue, and black
bands. The upper part of the thigh is of a bright red, mixed with
blue, and very peculiar in appearance. It is remarkable that these
diverse colourations are not permanent, but disappear when the animal
is in bad health.
The Mandrill, when old, is vindictive and malicious. Even when
taken young, and supposed to be tame, it should never be trusted,
more especially in the vicinity of females. Captivity does not in any
way tone down the violence of its character.
In the work entitled "Z^ Menagerie du Museum^' which was
published by Cuvier, concurrently with Lacepede and Etienne
Geoffrey Saint-Hilaire, the first of these authors gives some very in-
teresting details of the habits of the Mandrill. He states that the
sight of certain women, principally young ones, endowed it with fits
of veritable madness. " It recognised them," he says, " in a crowd,
and called them by voice and gesture, and there can be no doubt
that if it had been at liberty it would have done them harm."
Among these animals there are some which preserve their
docility for a long time. We have an instance of this in the one
which Mr. Cross exhibited in London, and which, in consequence
* '' Le Tour du Monde,'' 1868, ist half year, p. 20.
THE BABOON.
563
of its intelligence, acquired considerable reputation. This Monkey,
named Happy Jerry, seated himself with an air of hauteur in a carriage,
drank porter out of a pewter pot, and smoked a pipe with all be-
coming gravity
Fig. 250. — Mandrills (C. mormon).
The Drill {C. leiicophceus) much resembles the preceding; it is
only distinguished from it by its face being completely black, and a
slight difference in the colour of its fur. It also inhabits Guinea.
The Baboon (C baboiiin), Fig. 251, was known to the ancient
Egyytians, on whose monuments it often appears. It symbolised the
god Thoth, the inventor of the alphabet, and for this reason it was
5^4
MAMMAUA.
held in great veneration. Numerous Mtimmies of this animal have
been found in Egyptian burial-places.
At the present time they make a less noble figure in society. The
Fig. 252. — The Guinea Baboon {Cynocephahis sphmx).
Orientals train it to perform various tricks, and exhibit it m public.
It is a native of Abyssinia, Sennaar, and Arabia.
The Chacma ( C. porcarius) exclusively belongs to South Africa.
It is more particularly met with on Table Mountain, in the neigh-
THE MONKEY, 567
bourliood of Capetown, and on the Draakenberg range. Troops
of from twenty to thirty mdividuals frequent the ravines and
often enter cultivated grounds, where they commit the greatest
damage, especially during harvest. Kolbe relates that the Chacma
lias sometimes the audacity to steal from a traveller his provisions,
and, after getting a safe distance with them, impudently mocks by
grimaces the unfortunate individual it has robbed.
The Chacma is vindictive ; but as it is at the same time intelli-
gent, it may be" when taken young tamed to some extent, and made
useful. The inhabitants of the Cape employ it to watch their houses,
a task which it performs with the greatest vigilance. It is also em-
ployed, like trained Dogs, to find roots or even water ; it can be made
to blow the fire of a forge, or drive a pair of oxen attached to a plough
or conveyance. This animal has so acute a power of smell, that it is
almost impossible to destroy it by poison.
The Guinea Baboon (C. sphinx)^ Fig. 252, is the best known of
the Cynocephali, and is that which we most frequently see in
European menageries. It is very intelligent and gentle, easily sub-
mitting to confinement and domestication. It is, moreover, quite a
gourmand in taste ; this circumstance allows it to be easily captured.
It shows much affection for its progeny, and keeps on the best terms
with its companions in captivity. It rarely remains at rest ; its desire
for exercise is so powerful that it can only be confined at the expense
of its health. It is met with in West Africa.
Inuus. — The Magot (/. sylvanus)^ Fig. 253, has been known for a
very long time. The ancients named it Pithecus (TrierjKos). Strabo
and Aristotle have mentioned it. It was from its skeleton that Galen,
a celebrated physician of Pergamos, and who flourished at
Rome, A.D. 170, under the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, composed
his "Anatomy of Man.'' At that period, and indeed up to the
fourteenth century of our era, the dissection of human bodies was
sternly interdicted. Galen, seeing the great apparent analogy
between the skeleton of man and that of the Monkey, beheved he
could employ it in his work on human anatomy. What is very
strange is, that this '' Anatomy of Man," taken from the Monkey,
sufficed during a long period for the requirements of surgery and
medicine. When, in the sixteenth century, the illustrious anatomist,
Andreas Vessalius, demonstrated that Galen had described the organs
of the Monkey for those of man, he had much difficulty in getting
anyone to accept this truth. This proves two things : first, that the
structure of the Monkey, whatever may be said to the contrary, is
but little different from that of man ; and, secondly, that there is no
5^8
MAMMAUA
truth, however clear and simple it may be, which will not find its
opponents and its sceptics.
The Magots inhabit certain regions of North Africa, principally
Algeria and Morocco. They live in numerous bands on the wooded
Fig. 253. — Magots {Iniius sylvantis).
mountains which intersect these countries ; and make frequent
incursions into the gardens of the unfortunate natives, pillaging the
orange-trees and the fig-trees, as well as the melon and tomato-
beds. These depredations are carried on with much intelligence
and great precaution. They dispose themselves in echelon from the
wall of the inclosure to a certain part of the garden, passing the plunder
from one to another, as soon as collected by the most venturous.
Two or three vedettes, placed on an elevated spot, keep a look-out
Fig. 254. — Rhesus [Macaats eryihrmis).
in the neighbourhood. At the least sign of danger they give a cry of
alarm, when the whole band quickly decamp.
Magots are found in Europe, on the rock of Gibraltar, but their
number there is very limited. It is generally believed that they are
derived from individuals which had been imported from Africa and
escaped from captivity. Some authors, however, pretend that
570
MAMMALIA.
naturally tliey belong to the Spanish Fauna, and they explain this by
the supposition that the Straits of Gibraltar did not always exist, and
that the European and African Continents at one time were united
at this part by an isthmus ; but the hypothesis which allots the
Magot to the Iberian Fauna is scarcely probable.
ig. 255. — Bonnet Macaques {Macacus si?iicHs)
At whatever period of life it may be taken, the Magot has its
face wrinkled and old-looking. When young it is gentle and
submissive, and delights in the society of man and domestic
animals.
Macacus. — Certain anatomical details connected with dentition
and the form of the orbit separate the Macaques (or Macacus) from
the Magots ; but what most markedly characterises the Macaques is
the invariable addition of a tail, which is of variable dimensions,
THE MONKEY, 57 1.
according to the species. When it is long it is always pendent,
never being elevated, as in the other genera. Of the short-tailed
species may be mentioned M. memestrceus^ M. erythrceus (Fig. 254),
from India, M. silenus ; and of the long-tailed M. cynomolgus , and
M. si?iims (Fig. 255).
Cej'cocebiis. — The Mangabeys establish the transition between the
Macaques and the Guenons. They are almost the same size, and
have nearly the same gait as the Guenons ; but they are not so
nimble. Their tail is long, and they usually carry it raised above
their backs. Their habits differ but little from those of the majority
of the Macacus, and they scarcely offer anything more distinctive in
their character. All that can be positively said in this respect is
that in general, according to the results of the observations of Fr.
Cuvier on some of these animals, which had been placed in the
Jardin des Plantes in Paris, they are more gentle and familiar.
The Mangabeys inhabit the interior of Africa. Up to the present
time only three or four species are known.
Cercopithecus, — The Guenons are slender Monkeys, which have
the cranium depressed, and show no forehead — at least at an adult
period of life ; they have large paws, marked callosities, long, sharp
canine teeth, ^vell-formed extremities for prehension, a long elevated
tail, and a thick and more or less speckled coat. Naturalists usually
designate them by the name of Cercopitheci, which means Tailed
Monkeys [KepKos, "tail;" Tridrjicos, "Monkey"). The genus comprises
about thirty species.
These animals live in troops in the forests ; they are constantly
moving about from tree to tree, and with an extraordinary facility
execute the most wonderful capers. In each troop there is a sentry
intrusted to watch over the general safety. On the appearance of an
enemy, this vedette gives a particular cry, and all the band, collecting
in the highest places they can find, at once prepare to repel the
intruder. Fruits and branches are then hurled down at the aggressor,
who, disarmed and helpless against this aerial horde, is soon com-
pelled to take to flight. The negroes find these kind of skirmishes
but little to their taste, and, therefore, rarely trust themselves in those
parts of the forests where the Guenons have established their domicile.
The largest quadrupeds, not even excepting the Elephant, are not
exempted from these attacks, and find it advisable to evade by flight
the disagreeable, if not dangerous, consequences of such conflicts.
There are only two beings capable of contending successfully with
them : these are man, with his bow or firearm, and the Serpent, which
creeps in the darkness to the highest branches of the trees, and in
572 MAMMALIA,
this way contrives to circumvent and seize these dwellers of the
forests.
The food of the Cercopitheci is varied : they chiefly live on roots,
leaves, and fruits. They also eat the eggs of birds, insects, sometimes
even mollusks, and they are particularly partial to honey. They de-
vastate gardens and plantations, and appear impelled to commit these
acts of brigandage as much from an instinct for thieving and pillage
as from the demands of hunger, for they destroy and damage all that
they cannot carry off. They go about the destruction of gardens in
the same manner as the Magots : that is to say, they charge some one
of their number to collect the spoil, which is quickly passed from
hand to hand. The surprise of the planter who finds himself face to
face with this pillaging tribe may be left to the imagination.
The Guenons perfectly withstand the climate of Europe, and even
breed in our menageries. They have, therefore, been carefully studied,
and a number of interesting observations have been collected con-
cerning them.
It has been found that these Monkeys might be formed into two
groups, which are rendered very distinct from each other by the
characters and natural habits allotted to each. Those of the first
group resemble the Macacus in their long muzzle, their slightly squat
figure, their relatively short tail, and their aggressive temper in adult
life. The only means of taming them, when they have reached this
period of their existence, consists, according to Isidore Geoffroy
Saint-Hilaire, in sawing off their enormous canine teeth, the wounds
from which are dangerous. The animal has from this moment a con-
sciousness of its weakness, and, therefore, behaves better. To the
second group belong the Cercopitheci proper, more slender in figure,
with shorter muzzles, a longer tail, and a less ferocious disposition.
They are more sought after for pets than are the members of the pre-
ceding division.
Notwithstanding these physical and moral differences, all the
Monkeys belonging to this genus are formed on the same plan,
and possess the same fundamental organisation. We may cite, as
distinctive traits in their character, whatever the species may be, an
extreme vivacity and quickness of movement in their gait as also in
their sensitiveness.
Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire says : — *' They have a singular
aptitude in passing from gaiety, which is otherwise their usual state, to
melancholy, from melancholy to joy, and from joy to anger, in a
few seconds, and from the slightest causes. We see them ardently
desirous ot obtaining a certain object, testifying the liveliest pleasure
THE MONKEY,
573
if allowed to possess it, and almost immediately after throwing it
away with indifference, or breaking it in a fit of rage. We also see
them delighting in the society of another animal, evincing in their own
way the most tender regard for it, and then suddenly becoming
irritated, pursuing it with hoarse cries, and biting it as if it were an
enemy; immediately peace is made, and the caresses recommence
and continue, until a new caprice brings about the same results/'
Fig. 256. — White-nosed Monkey {Ccrcojdtktcus peta-ii7-ista).
The female of the Guenons shows much affection for its young.
During the first weeks of its existence she keeps it pressed against her
breasts, maintaining it there with her hands, after the manner of
other Monkeys. At a later period, however, the young one cfings by
itself to its mother, who goes about, climbing and jumping with
as much agility as if the load she bore had neither weight nor
substance. The male not only does not share with the female the
care of rearing their progeny, but he frequently maltreats both. So
that at this period it is sometimes necessary in menageries to lodge
th.em apart, to prevent violence.
574
MAMMALIA.
The fur of these Monkeys is nearly ahvays agreeably varied ; the
colours are vivid and the shades well assorted. It is owing to this
beautiful combination of tints that certain of their skins are valuable.
Among the species which are graceful in shape and naturally
pacific we will mention the Talapoin, the Green Monkey, the
AVhite-nosed (Fig. 256), the White-lipped, the Mona, the Vervet,
the Grivet (Fig. 257), the Moustache Monkey, the Patas, the Diana
Monkey, and the Nisnas.
The Talapoin and Mona are the gentlest and the most intelligent ;
Fig. 257. — Grivet {Cercopitheciis griseo-viridis) .
the most intractable are the Grivet and the Patas. The Grivet
and the Nisnas were known to the ancient Egyptians ; this is proved
by the figures engraved on their tombs and obelisks.
Semnopithecus. — The Semnopitheci (Grave Monkeys — aiii.v6s,
" grave;" irld-nKos, " Monkey ") are characterised by a very short muzzle,
a slender, lanky body, a muscular tail — surpassing in length that of
all the other Monkeys of the Old World — thumbs of the anterior ex-
tremity very short or entirely absent, callosities well marked, and by
the almost complete absence of cheek-pouches. Their coat is usually
long and abundant.
THE MONKEY.
575
They differ but little from the Guenons in their general habits,
though they sliow less petulance in their movements and more gentle-
ness in their character. Like them, they are very easily tamed when
young, but they much more rarely grow vicious when they grow old,
Fig. 258. — Proboscis jNIonkey {SemJioplthecus nasicd').
They then rather show symptoms of dulness, and this state increases
with years, until it terminates in a melancholy resignation, a kind of
mental depression, that only disappears with- the extinction of life.
They are very well endowed so far as intelligence is concerned.
TiiS Proboscis Monkeys {S. nasica), Fig. 258, are so named
576
MAMMALIA,
because of their nose, which surpasses in length that of mankind.
This is a pecuHarity which distinguishes them from all other known
Monkeys. They are also recognised by their hair, which is more
259. — Crested, Golden, and Mitred Semnopitheci.
developed beneath the chin and around the neck than on the other
parts of the body. These animals are the largest of the Semnopitheci,
measuring nearly four feet when standing upright. They are also the
most ferocious and least susceptible of training. They inhabit the
island of Borneo, and are found in numerous troops among the Avoods
THE MONKEY, 577
in the neighbourhood of streams. It is rare to see them on the
ground, nearly the whole of their lives being passed on trees. Up to
the present time only one long-nosed species has been discovered.
Fig. 259 represents the Crested, Golden, and Mitred Semnopitheci.
The natives of Borneo pretend that the Proboscis Monkey, or,
as sometimes called, Kahau, is a man who has retired to the woods
to avoid paying taxes, and they entertain the greatest respect for a
Fig. 260.— Entellus {S. entelhis).
being who has found such ready means for evading the respon-
sibiHties of society.
The SemnopitheciLS nemceiis is a native of Cochin-China. This
species is the finest, because of the bright tints of its coat, and takes
the first rank among the Semnopitheci. Its back, flanks, top of the
head and arms are grey, speckled with black ; the thighs and the
digits are black ; the legs and tarsi a bright red ; the fore-arms, the
lower parts of the legs, the buttocks, and the tail are a pure white ;
and the throat is white, encircled with a ring of bright red.
Then comes the Entellus (5. entellus), Fig. 260, or Sacred
Monkey of the Hindoos, which enjoys the privilege of ravaging the
gardens of its worshippers without running the slightest risk of injury
for its transgression.
5/8 MAMMALIA.
The Ursine Semnopitheci bear the strongest resemblance to the
true Semnopitheci; but while they have a thumb, on a small scale
certainly, these species, representing a sub-genus, Colohus^ are com-
pletely destitute of one. From this arises the name, which in Greek
signifies mutilated (koAo^SJj). They live and feed in the same manner
as the preceding. They are the representatives of the Semnopitheci
in Africa, inhabiting Abyssinia and Western Africa. Four or five
species are known, of which the most remarkable is Colobus giiereza
of Abyssinia.
Anthropomorphous Monkeys. — The Anthropomorphous Mon-
keys are those which most closely resemble the human species, a fact
which their name indicates (avdpcaTros, man ; /xopcp-fi, form), anthropo-
morphous signifying that which has the form of man.
These Monkeys have no tail. Their sternum is wide and
flattened, and their anterior members are much longer than the
posterior. Their body is consequently inclined and not vertical.
It is only when stationary that they can erect themselves like man
With regard to their dentition, the crowns of their molar teeth have
small rounded tubercles.
The Anthropomorphous Monkeys comprise the Gibbons, the
Orangs, the Gorillas, and the Chimpanzees.
Hylobates. — The Gibbons are the only genus among the
anthropomorphous Monkeys which possess gluteal callosities. They
are recognised by their slender limbs, their very long fingers
especially the anterior ones, and by their thick coat. Some species
offer the curious peculiarity of having the second and third toes
succeeding the great toe joined to each other by a narrow membrane,
throughout the entire length of the first phalanx; one of the
species has, for this reason, received the name of H. syndadyla.
These Monkeys are the least intelligent of the group we are
now examining : the structure and volume of their brain, as well as
their actions while in a state of captivity, put this fact beyond a
doubt. But it would not be just to say, as some naturalists have
done, that they are destitute of all intellectual faculties. The results
of experience are opposed to this assertion.
The Gibbons are generally quiet and timid. As their height
scarcely exceeds forty inches in the largest species, and as their
means of defence are very limited, they are able to offer but little
resistance. In order to pass from one tree to another, when the
distance is great, having obtained a certain height, they seize the
extremity of a Ccxible branch, swing with it three or foiir times to
THE MONKEY. 579
obtain impetus, and then, by an energetic muscular movement, shoot
themselves forward to another branch, sometimes clearing a space of
thirteen or fourteen yards. ^
The Gibbons live in numerous troops or families in the great
forests of Cochin-China, the kingdom of Siam, and the islands of
Sunda, Java, Sumatra, and Borneo. They are omnivorous, but prefer
fruits and roots. They are readily tamed, and, unlike the majority
of the Old World Monkeys, do not manifest any change of temper,
any malevolent disposition, when they have attained adult life. The
principal species of the genus are the Agile Gibbon, the Siamang,
and the Howling Gibbon or Hoolock.
Dr. Franklin, speaking of the Agile Gibbon, says : — " Some years
ago a female of this species was exhibited in London. The cries it
emitted when going through its performances naturalists decided to
be most musical. This individual was timid and gentle. It pre-
ferred the society of women to that of men. It was thought that this
circumstance was due to the bad treatment it had received at the hands
of the stronger sex. It was intelligent and observant : its piercing
eyes seemed to be always on the gui vive, scrutinising every one, and
missing nothing of what passed around. When any one gained its
confidence, it consented, after several invitations, to descend from its
perch and shake hands." *
The Siamang {H. syndactylus, so called because the first and
second fingers of the posterior limbs are united as far as the middle
of the second joint) has been well studied in its native country, by
the naturalist Duveaucel. The face and entire coat are quite black.
It is more particularly known by an enormous pouch which com-
municates with the larynx, and which it can distend at pleasure, by
introducing into it a certain quantity of air. Tliis is situated in
front of the throat, where it looks like the enlargement known as
goitre. According to Duveaucel, they collect in numerous troops,
under the leadership of an experienced chief, and greet the sun, at
its rising and setting, with cries which are heard for several miles
round. They are not very nimble, but their sense of hearing is ex-
tremely acute; the moment they notice the slightest sound they
decamp without delay. But if they are on the ground, and they
have not time to reach trees, they are easily overtaken. When one
of the mature animals is wounded, it is pitilessly abandoned by its
companions. Not so with a young one, for its mother halts, throws
herself before the enemy with fearful howhngs and every demonstra-
tion of grief.
* ^' La Vie des Animaicx ^'' (Mammiferes).
S8o
MAMMALIA.
An English naturalist, George Bennett, had in his possession a
Siamang, which was given him in the island of Singapore ; about this
Fig. 261.— Hoolocks [Hylobates hoolock).
Monkey, which he had called Ungka, he has published some
details full of interest. Unfortunately, this animal, after having
accomplished without any mishaps nearly the whole journey from
/Vsia to Europe, succumbed to an attack of dysentery, induced by
THE MONKEY. 58 1
change of climate. Otherwise it must have furnished many curious
and instructive lessons to the naturalist.
Mr. Bennett thus relates some instances of the mildness and
gentleness of this animal's disposition : —
" Going into the courtyard where this Monkey was tied up one
morning, 1 was sorry to see it occupied in trying to get rid of its
waistbelt and rope, while at the same time it uttered a sharp, plain-
tive cry. When unfastened, it went towards a group of Malays, and
after catching hold of the legs of some of them, it approached one
who was lying down, jumped on him, and closely embraced him
with an expression of recognition. I learned that this man in whose
arms the Monkey showed so much pleasure was its first master.
". . . . When the boy in waiting announced that dinner was
ready, Ungka never failed to enter the hut, take her place at the
table, and thankfully receive titbits. If by chance anv one laughed
at her during the meal, she showed her indignation by making a low,
barking noise, which was peculiar to her when angry. Distending
her cheek-pouches with air, she looked at her tormentors seriously,
until they had ceased to amuse themselves at her expense."
Mr. Bennett adds that Ungka preferred vegetables, such as rice
and onions, to flesh. She drank tea, coffee, and chocolate, but never
wine or spirituous liquors.
The Hoolock Gibbon {^H. hoolock)^ Fig. 261, has afforded the
same proofs of intelligence and affection. The testimony of various
people proves this. This species is very readily distinguished from
its congeners by the white superciliary band that encircles its face.
Simia. — The Orangs have much analogy with the Gibbons, but
they are more robust and more intelligent ; and, in addition, have
no glutal callosities. In figure they are squarish ; their body is
covered with reddish hair, and their face, partly nude, is fringed with
whiskers, which are prolonged beneath the chin in the form of a
beard. Like the Gibbons, they have above the sternum a pouch
which communicates with the larynx, and which is susceptible of dis-
tension by an influx of air. This in these animals, as in the pre-
ceding, appears to be useful in increasing the volume of their voice.
These animals are somewhat rare, and limited to a small region.
They inhabit the thick forests covering the low, damp lands in the
islands of Borneo and Sumatra; hence the name of Orang-outang,
or Man of the W^oods, which has been given to them by the
inhabitants of these countries. It is only by accident that they
appear in open places, and in the vicinity of habitations. But little
is known as to their habits in a wdld state. It is certain, however,
582 MAMMALIA,
that they dimb trees with extreme agility, passing from one to ail*
other with an astonishing degree of alacrity, and that they feed on
fruits. It also appears to be proved by the contests that have taken
place with some isolated individuals, that they are endowed with
prodigious strength, so as to be able to twist a spear or a gun from
its possessor; and that their vital power is so great that there is
danger in approaching them, even when they appear to be in the last
stage of exhaustion from loss of blood.
It is this which renders it so difficult a task to capture a living
adult Orang. With the young ones, however, it is different. These
creatures have proved a mine of interesting observation to naturalists,
who have been surprised to find so much gentleness, intelligence, and
affection in animals torn from their native woods and transported into
the society of man.
We will first borrow from a description, by Dr. Abel Clark, of
the habits of a young Orang which he had brought from Java to
England.
At Java, this Monkey lived under a tamarind tree, near the
Doctor's dwelling. There it had made a bed, composed of small
interlaced branches covered with leaves; on this it passed the
greater portion of its time, looking out for the people who carried
fruit, and, when they approached, descending to obtain a share. At
sunset it definitively settled itself for the night, and got up at dawn
to visit its friends, who always welcomed it.
When taken on board the vessel it was secured by an iron chain
to a ring-bolt ; but it unfastened itself and ran away, when, finding
the chain trailing behind an encumbrance, it threw it over its
shoulder. As it released itself in this manner several times, it was
decided to allow it to go at large. It became very familiar with the
sailors ; it played with them, and knew how to escape when pursued,
for it darted into inaccessible parts of the rigging.
" At first," writes Dr. Abel Clark, " it usually slept on one of
the upper yards, after enveloping itself in a sail. In making its bed
it took the greatest care to remove everything that might disturb the
smooth surface of the place on which it intended to lie. After
satisfying its tastes in this part of its domestic arrangements, it lay
down on its back, bringing the sail over the surface of its body.
Frequently, to torment it, I have beforehand taken possession of its
bed. In such a case it would endeavour to pull the sail from be-
neath me, or try to expel me from its resting-place, and would not
rest until it had succeeded. If the bed proved to be large enough
for two, it slept quietly beside me. When all the sails were unfurled,
The MoMkEY. 5 §3
it rambled here and there in search of some other couch, steahng
either the sailors' jackets and shirts which were hung out to dry, or
robbing some hammock of bedclothes.
" .... It willingly ate all kinds of meat, especially raw flesh.
It was very fond of bread, but always preferred fruit when procurable.
Its ordinary beverage at Java was water, but on board its drink was
as varied as its food. Above everything it liked coffee and tea, but
it also willingly took wine. One day it even showed a predilection
for strong liquors, by stealing a bottle of brandy belonging to the
captain. Since its arrival in London, though it drinks wine and
other liquors, it prefers beer and milk to all other fluids.
''.... One of the sailors was its special friend, and this man
shared his meals with it. I must say, however, that the Orang-
outang at times stole the grog and biscuit of its benefactor. He
taught it to eat with a spoon. It might have been seen more than
once at the door of its protector's cabin tasting his coffee, nowise
embarrassed by the presence of those who were observing it, and
affecting a grotesquely serious air, a perfect caricature of human
nature.
" This animal was a great glutton ; it would sometimes chase a
person along the vessel to obtain a dainty, and if its desire was not
satisfied, it would break out into a violent rage.
" Sometimes," adds Dr. Abel Clark, " I tied an orange to the end
of a string, and allowed it to descend on the deck from the mast-
head. Every time the Monkey tried to seize it I sharply pulled it
up out of his reach. After having been several times deceived in its
attempts, it changed its tactics ; assuming an air of indifference, it
ascended the rigging, when, by making a sudden spring, it seized the
cord that suspended the coveted prize. If it happened that it was
again deceived in this manoeuvre through the rapidity of my move-
ments, it showed symptoms of despair, retiring into a corner, and
giving way to grief."
A gravity mingled with gentleness and approaching to melan-
choly was the dominant expression in its physiognomy. It practised
forgiveness of injuries, and most frequently contented itself with
evading those persons whom it knew were disposed to do it harm.
But it strongly attached itself to people who showed it any affection ;
loved to sit beside them, to draw itself as closely as possible to their
breast, and to take their hands between its lips.
Dr. Abel Clark thus terminates his narrative : —
" Since its arrival in Great Britain, it acquired, to my knowledge,
two habits which it certainly never practised on board ship, where its
584 MAMMALIA,
education, I ought to say, had been very much neglected. One of
these was walking erect, or at least on its hind-feet, without resting
on its hands ; the second was to kiss its keeper. Some writers assert
that the Orang-outang gives real kisses, and they suppose that this
is a natural act of the animal. I believe that they are wrong ; it is
acquired from imitation, and even then it does not altogether give a
kiss like men, by advancing the hps."
Another Orang was brought to France in 1808, by M. Decaen, a
naval officer, who made it a present to the Empress Josephine. It
lived for some months at Malmaison, and it was there that Frederic
Cuvier studied it.
Its habits were very sociable, and it attached itself in the liveliest
manner to those who treated it kindly. Above all others it had a
great affection for M. Decaen. On several occasions it gave him
remarkable proofs of this. Being one day with its master, while the
latter was in bed, it jumped upon him, clasped him closely, and com-
menced to suck his chest, as it often did the finger of people who
pleased it.
In the following instance it gave proof, says Frederic Cuvier, of
a highly developed intelligence. It was once shut up in a place in
the vicinity of a saloon where it was usual for persons to assemble.
After a time solitude made it impatient, and it endeavoured to open
the door in order to get in. But the bolt was high and beyond its
reach. Ultimately it dragged a chair to the door, climbed up on it,
and having drawn back the catch, triumphantly entered.
These creatures attach themselves not only to man, but also to
other animals. The Orang of which we have been speaking took a
fancy to two kittens, which it usually carried under its arm, or
placed on its head. But it often happened that the Cats, fearing
lest they should fall, dug their claws into the Monkey's skin. It en-
dured with great patience the pain thus produced. Nevertheless, on
two or three occasions it carefully examined the feet of its small
companions, and tried to pull out their claws with its fingers ; but
not succeeding in this, it resigned itself to suffer the infliction rather
than lose their society.
In eating, it took food either with its hands or its lips ; it was
not very adroit in using table utensils, but its awkwardness was com-
pensated for by its intelligence. When it could not succeed in
getting the food on its plate into the spoon, it gave the instrument to
its neighbour to fill for it. It drank with ease out of a glass by
holding it between its two hands. One day, after laying its glass
down on the table, it perceived that it was not balanced and was
THE GORILLA, 585
about to fall; immediately it placed its hand on the side to which the
vessel leaned.
In consequence of its muscular power and ferocity it is very
difficult, if not impossible, to take an adult Orang alive. Otherwise
it is perhaps of all the Monkeys that which best justifies the law
previously established with regard to the transformation of character
in the majority of these animals, as years accumulate on their
heads. In proportion as we have seen them gentle and intelligent in
early life, so have they become ferocious and brutal when they have
attained the complete development of their physical faculties. They
then bear so little resemblance to their former selves, that they
might be taken for another species. We have previously observed,
that on the evidence of several of the most illustrious naturalists, it
was for a long time believed that the adult Orang was a distinct
species from the young animal. This error has only been recently
rectified.
Until the present time the greatest uncertainty has prevailed
relative to the number of species composing the genus Simla. To
obviate our advancing any hazardous hypothesis, we may say that in
the actual state of science only one species may with certainty be
admitted : this is the one whose history we have traced — the Orang-
outang.
Troglodytes Gorilla (Fig. 262). — It is but a short time since correct
information was obtained of the Gorilla. Until within a few years,
the history of this monstrous inhabitant of Equatorial Africa was
surrounded by mysteries and contradictions without number ; the
specimens that had been recently received in Europe and America
gave rise to great discussions. In 1864, a Frenchman by birth,
claiming American citizenship, M. Paul du Chaillu, son of a merchant
established at the Gaboon, published reports full of interest regarding
these extraordinary animals.
Returning to Africa, M. du Chaillu made some new observations
on this great Ape, which he has embodied in a second work,
published in 1867.
Before going further, however, we will relate in a few words the
history of this monstrous Monkey.
In the " Periplus, or Voyage of Hanno the Carthaginian, '' an
interesting passage, which appears to refer to this species of Monkey,
is found. The following is the translation given by Bishop
Maltby : —
"The third day, having set sail, and passed the fiery current, ^ve
come to the bay called the Southern Horn. In it was an island, in
586 MAMMAUA,
which was a lake, and in it another island full of savages, the
majority of whom were women, whose bodies were covered with
hair, and which our interpreter called Gorillas. We pursued these,
but could not capture any men ; all escaped by climbing up the
precipices ; but we took three women (females), who bit and
scratched those who overcame them, and whom they would not
follow. Having killed them, they were flayed, and we brought their
skins to Carthage."
This description could only apply to great animals similar to
man in size and shape — either to Gorillas, or Chimpanzees some-
what advanced in age.
A celebrated traveller, Andrew Battel, who, towards the end of
the sixteenth century visited tropical Africa, mentions two different
species of large Monkey, the Pongo and the Engeco. The first was
the Gorilla, while the second was the Chimpanzee or Nshiego,
of M. du Chaillu.
The first authentic information regarding the Gorilla was given
in a letter from Dr. Savage, dated from the River Gaboon, 24th
April, 1847, accompanied by a sketch of a cranium, which was
intended to be submitted to the inspection of Professor Owen. This
cranium had been confided to Dr. Savage by a missionary at the
Gaboon, the Rev. Leighton Wilson, of New York. This same mis-
sionary at a later period procured a second cranium, and part of a
skeleton, which he presented to the Natural History Society of
Boston, Mass.
Messrs. Savage, Jeftries, Wymann, and Owen published the first
scientific dissertations on the new Monkey, and to designate it,
they adopted the name of Gorilla, employed by Hanno. Their
writings have established the distinction between the Troglodytes
gorilla and the Troglodytes niger, or the Gorilla and the Chimpanzee.
From this period, the museums of London, Boston, Paris, Havre,
&c., have been enriched by skeletons and entire specimens of the
Gorilla. And as we have already mentioned, M. du Chaillu, during
several excursions into the forests of these regions, has observed and
killed a number of these animals.
The two works in which M. du Chaillu has published these
observations have appeared in English and French, the first in 1865,
the second in 1867.* From them we take the foUowing details.
The Gorilla attains a medium height of about five feet. Its
* " Voyages et A7)entures dans V Afrique Equatoriale." 8vo. Paris, 1865,
'Jind '' Africa Sauvage" Par Paul du Chaillu. 8vo. Paris, 1867.
] r —Tit r , Tn (r? i^'odytes goriUa),
THE GORILLA. 589
muscular power is prodigious, and is equal to the strength of a
Lion. It is king of the forest it inhabits, and perhaps hunts the
Lion. The negroes never attack it except with firearms; to kill
a Gorilla is an exploit which never fails to make the reputation
of a black.
The natural gait of the Gorilla is not that of a biped, but that of a
quadruped. Nevertheless it retains the vertical position more easily,
and for a longer time, than any other Monkey. When it stands
upright its knees are turned outwards, and the back is bent. When
it runs on its four feet, the length of its arms causes its head to be
much elevated above the rest of the body. The arm and leg of the
same side move at the same time, so that its pace resembles a kind
of oblique gallop. When pursued, the young Gorillas do not take
shelter in trees, but run along the ground ; their hind-legs advance
between their arms, which are a little inclined outwards.
The Gorilla lives in the loneHest and most sombre parts of the
dense forests of Western Africa, either in deep valleys, on rugged
heights, or on plateaux covered with large masses of rock. It always
keeps near a running stream, but being essentially a nomadic animal,
it rarely remains for many days together in the same place. The
reason for this wandering habit is to be found in the difficulty it
experiences in procuring its favourite food, which are fruits, seeds,
nuts, and banana leaves, also the young shoots of this plant, ihe juice
of which it sucks, and other vegetable substances.
Notwithstanding its powerful canine teeth and its extraordinary
strength, the Gorilla is really an exclusively frugivorous animal. As
it eats much, when it has devastated for its personal consumption a
somewhat extensive space it is forced to go elsewhere, in order to
provide for the exigencies of its stomach. This is the reason why it
periodically abandons certain regions to reach others which have
become more fruitful through changes in the seasons.
Not only does it not habitually dwell among trees, as has been
reported, but it never remains on them. M. du Chaillu has always
found it on the ground, and if it chanced to climb a tree to gather
berries or nuts, it descended again as soon as it had feasted. These
enormous animals would be incapable of jumping from branch to
branch like the small Monkeys.
Moreover, the aliment required by the Gorilla is found at a slight
elevation from the ground. It is particularly fond of the wild sugar-
cane, and a kind of nut with a very hard shell, which it breaks with
its powerful jaws, capable of crushing a gun-barrel. The young
Gorillas occasionally sleep on trees for safety, but the adults rest
596 MAMMALIA.
seated on the ground, their backs against a log, thus causing the hair
on this part to be worn.
Most frequently a male and female are found together, but
sometimes an old male is observed alone. These solitary individuals
are more vicious and dangerous than others, a peculiarity which
is also noticed in the Elephant. The young Gorillas sometimes go
about in groups of six or eight, more often four or five, but never in
greater numbers. Their sense of hearing is very deHcate, and on
the approach of the hunter they retire with loud cries, so that it is
difficult to get within gunshot of them.
" When I have surprised a couple of Gorillas," says M. du
Chaillu, " the male has usually been seated on a rock or against a
tree in the darkest corner of the jungle. The female sat eating
beside him, and, what was very singular, it was nearly always she
who gave alarm by taking to flight, uttering at the same time
piercing cries. But the male remained seated for a moment, and
knitting together his savage countenance, slowly stood upright.
Throwing a malicious glance at the invaders of his retreat, he com-
menced to beat his breast, to elevate his great head, and to utter
his formidable roars. The hideous aspect of the animal at this
moment it is impossible to describe. Looking at him, I forgave my
brave native hunters for being full of superstitious fears, and I ceased
to be astonished at the strange and marvellous stories current among
them with regard to the Gorillas."
It has been erroneously affirmed that the Gorilla makes use of a
stick or club as an offensive weapon. It only uses in its assaults its
arms, feet, and teeth ; and these are more than enough.
With a single blow of its enormous foot, armed as it is with
short, curved nails, it disembowels a man or fractures his skull.
Nothing can be more dangerous than a bad aim when attacking this
ferocious animal ; therefore it is that experienced hunters always
reserve their shot until the last moment. Moreover, the report of
firearms irritates this terrible beast. If the wound is not fatal, the
Gorilla precipitates itself with incredible violence on its aggressor,
crushing at the same moment both weapon and hunter (Fig. 263).
When the Gorilla is attacked it utters a short, jerking, and acute
bark, like that of an angry Dog ; to this succeeds a low growling,
which might be mistaken for distant thunder. The echoing of these
roars is so deep that they rather appear to come from the spacious
cavities of the chest and abdomen than from the throat. This growl-
ing is so strange, so threatening, that the bravest become awed. The
GIT of the female and of the young Gorilla is shrill and piercing.
THE GORILLA, 59 1
This terrible Monkey dies just as easily as a man ; a ball well
directed produces instant death.
The female does not attack the hunter ; she flies with her pro-
geny, which chngs around her neck, with its legs encircling her body.
The affection of these creatures for their young is so touching that a
European hunter has often not the heart to kill them. The negroes,
however, have none of these scruples, and hence it was that
M. du Chaillu has seen them on two or three occasions in pos-
session of httle Gorillas, which had been torn from their mothers.
These can not be kept alive for any length of time. No treatment
was successful in overcoming the natural ferocity and inherent
viciousness of the young. They remained huddled up in the
farthest corner of their cage, and when any one approached them
they sprang at him. This ferocious mood, however, did not ex-
clude the manifestation of a large amount of cunning. When
tamed by hunger they would stare at their master full in the
face, to attract his attention; then they would advance a foot,
and grasp his leg with the intention of throwing him down. In
approaching them to give them food the greatest precautions had to
be adopted.
Captivity at last so sours the natural savageness of the Gorilla
that it soon refuses all subsistence, and dies without showing any
apparent disease. The adult Gorillas are altogether untamable j M.
du Chaillu does not believe that it will ever be possible to capture
one without killing it, for the adult Chimpanzee, which is much less
ferocious than the Gorilla, has never been taken alive. The only
exception that can be admitted is where the animal has been so
dangerously wounded as to be unable to offer serious resistance.
The young Gorilla is of a jet-black colour. The skin is naked
on the face, the palms of the hands, and the chest. The hair of a
full-grown Gorilla is iron-grey.
Each hair is streaked in a circular manner with alternate bands
of black and grey, which give it a greyish appearance. On the arms
the hair is darker and longer ; it sometimes exceeds two inches in
length. The head is garnished with a crown of reddish, short hair,
which descends to the neck. The hair of the female is black, with
a red tint ; it is not streaked like that of the male ; neither has the
female the red-coloured crown until she is aged. The eyes of the
Gorilla are deeply buried beneath very prominent superciliary arches,
a disposition which gives the face a very sinister aspect. Its jaws are
enormous, and furnished with large canine teeth.
The neck ot this animal is so short that its head appears to be?
592
MAMMALIA,
Fig. 263.— Gorilla attacking a hunter.
buried between its shoulders. The forehead is very retreating. The
ears are very sraall, and nearly on a line with the eyes. The nosq
THE GORILLA, 593
is very flat, but a little more salient than in the other Monkeys. The
chest and shoulders are extremely wide. The abdomen is veiy
round and prominent. The great length of the arms and shortness
of the legs is one of the characters which most markedly dis-
tinguishes this Monkey from man. The lower Hmbs, besides, have
no calves ; the hands are massive and thick, and the fingers short
and stumpy. The back of the hands is hairy ; the finger-nails are
black, thick, and strong. The foot is proportioned, like the hand of
a giant. This foot is well adapted for maintaining the body in a ver-
tical position.
The habitat of the Gorilla is that part of Western Africa which
extends some degrees to the south of the equator, and is traversed
by rivers. The natives give it the name of Ngina.
The Gorilla has been the subject of lively discussions among
anatomists and anthropologists. Isidore Geofifroy Saint-Hilaire has
created for the Gorilla a separate genus, to distinguish it from the
Chimpanzee, a Monkey which, according to him, bears more re-
semblance to man than the Gorilla. Such is also the opinion of Mr.
Wymann.
Professor Owen, on the contrary, has claimed for the Gorilla the
honour of being placed next the human species, and M. du Chaillu
shares his opinion.
" It must be acknowledged," says this traveller, " that at first
sight the Gorilla offers in every one of its traits something more
bestial than the Chimpanzee or the Orang. All the characters of the
Gorilla, particularly of the male, are pushed to exaggeration : the
head is longer and narrower, the brain is behind, the cranial ridges
are enormous, the jaws are very prominent, and possess prodigious
strength, and the canine teeth are very thick. The skull is marked
by the immense development of the occipital crests ; but the other
parts of the Gorilla's skeleton resemble that of a man more than do
those of any other Monkey. After carefully studying the zoological
characters that I have just noticed, after having observed the kind of
life led by the Gorilla, and its mode of progression, I am convinced
that in all its movements it more nearly approaches the human spe-
cies than any of its congeners."
Even in the external resemblance of the Gorilla to man there is
something startling. M. du Chaillu confesses that he has never
killed a Gorilla without experiencing real uneasiness. He could
never bring himself to taste the flesh of these animals, because he
looked upon doing so as an act of cannibalism.
" I have never been able," he writes,, " before a slain Gorilla, tQ
594
MAMMALIA,
maintain the indifference, much less experience the triumphant joy
of a hunter. It always seemed as if a fellow-creature, a monstrous
one, it is true, but still having about it something human, was my
victim. It was a delusion ; I knew it ; but yet the feeling was stronger
than myself."
These moral impressions, however, can avail nothing against the
results of the comparisons and anatomical investigations which place
the Gorilla far below our species in the scale of being.
Troglodytes niger (Fig. 264). — Of all known Monkeys, the Chim-
panzee is certainly that which, in its gait, its anatomical organisation,
and the vivacity of its intelligence, comes nearest to the human species.
In the first place, its arms are not so long as those of the anthropo-
morphous apes of which we have been speaking, and scarcely de-
scend below the knee. Its hands and feet more resemble the types
of perfection realised in man, a circumstance which renders a ver-
tical attitude more easy than in the other Monkeys of the same
group. A vertical position is not at all times, however, its ordinary
attitude ; and it is only with the aid of a stick that it can maintain
itself erect for any length of time. Lastly, in the Chimpanzee, as in
man, we observe the presence of a calf, slightly developed, it is true,
but sufficiently characterised to justify this Monkey's holding the rank
it does among the Quadrumana.
The Chimpanzee inhabits the same regions as the Gorilla ; the
dense forests of intertropical Africa are the places where it is exclu-
sively met. Yet it is rare everywhere, except about the Gaboon and
in the neighbourhood of Cape Lopez. In a physical, and more par-
ticularly in a moral, point of view, it differs much from the Gorilla.
Its muscular power, although very remarkable, is less extraordinary
than that of the Gorilla, and it never resorts to it except in cases of
absolute necessity. If it finds itself in the presence of its pursuer,
and it sees any possibility of escaping from danger by flight, it does
not stay to offer resistance for a single instant, but promptly makes off.
This is very different to the Gorilla, which boldly accepts the combat.
It is much less ferocious than the latter ; taken young, and gendy
reared, it becomes familiar, and gives proofs of great intelligence.
Like the Gorillas, the Chimpanzees live in small troops while
they are young or isolated, and in couples in adult hfe. They are
essentially climbers, and pass nearly all their time on trees, seeking
fruits, which constitute their food.
According to M. du Chaillu, who has observed these animals in
his travels, there is a kind of Chimpanzee called by the natives
run CHIMPANZEE.
595
l^shiego-mbouve, which builds a kind of leafy nest among the
boughs of the loftiest trees. The nest is composed of small inter-
laced branches well thatched with leaves, and impenetrable to water,
fixed by firmly-tied bands ; it is generally from six to eight feet in
diameter, and presents the form of a dome, an arrangement which
readily throws off the rain. It is beneath this roof that the creature
Fig. 264. — Chimpanzee [Troglodytes niger).
passes the night. The male and female share in the labour of
building, though they lodge separately on neighbouring trees. If
there is a young one, it goes with the mother. These retreats are
only built for a very temporary residence, and are not used for more
than eight or ten days, and for the following reason : that when the
Nshiego has ravaged a certain extent of country around its habita-
tion, it betakes itself to another quarter, where it prepares a new
residence.
This species is distinguished from the ordinary Chimpanzee
(Troglodytes f tiger) ^ Fig. 264, by the absence of hair on the head;
59*5 MAMMAL/ A.
this is why M. du Chaillu has proposed to name it the Bald
Chimpanzee {Troglodytes calvus).
In one of his excursions, M. du Chaillu killed a female Nshiego,
carrying her young one in her arms, which he took to his residence.
In a few days it was so completely tamed that he could allow it to
wander at liberty without fear of it running away. He could not
move without being followed by the youngster ; neither could he sit
down without having the animal climbing on his knees, or hiding its
head in his bosom. The poor little thing found extreme pleasure in
being caressed and nursed.
Tommy — that was its name — was not long before it contracted a
very bad habit : it became a thief. It watched for the moment when
the inhabitants left their cabins, and then it would steal their fish or
bananas. It made no exception even in favour of its master,
although its unfortunate passion had on several occasions subjected
it to severe corrections.
Having remarked that the most suitable time for stealing was the
morning, it glided softly into its master's room, went up to his bed to
assure itself that his eyes were closed, and when it had satisfied
itself with this examination, hastened to carry off some bananas. If,
on the contrary, the sleeper moved in his bed, the Monkey disap-
peared like a flash of hghtning, and came in again a few minutes
afterwards to go through the same manoeuvres.
"If I opened my eyes," adds M. du Chaillu, " while it was in the
act of committing theft, it all at once assumed an honest air, and
came to caress me ; but I could readily detect it darting furtive
glances towards the bananas.
" My cabin had no door, but was closed by a mat. Nothing
could be more comical than to see Tommy quietly raising a corner
of this mat to see if I was asleep. Sometimes I feigned to be so, and
moved just at the moment when it was carrying off the object of its
covetousness, when it let it drop, and ran off in the greatest confusion.
'• On the approach of the dry season, the temperature being chilly,
Tommy began to be desirous of company during his slumbers in order
to keep himself warm. The negroes did not like him for a bedfellow,
although he resembled them so much ; neither did I care to give him
a place near me ; so that poor Tomm)^, repelled everywhere, found
himself badly situated. But I soon discovered that he watched until
everybody was asleep to creep furtively beside some negro friend ;
and there would sleep without stirring until daybreak, when he usually
decamped before found out. Several times he was caught in the act
and beaten, but he persevered.''
¥he CHI MP AK' zee J^J'
'rhis little Chimpanzee was endowed with great intelligence. Its
master entertained the most sanguine hopes of being able to s-end it
to America, when it died without any apparent cause ; but probably
its death was produced by languor and melancholy, which seem to
kill all the young Chimpanzees taken away from their native forests
and maternal care.
Bufifon has given some very interesting details regarding a young
Chimpanzee which was brought to Paris in 1740, He tells us that
this animal offered its hand to lead people about who came to visit it ,
that it promenaded with them in the gravest manner as if keeping
them company ; that it sat at table, spread out its napkin, wiped its
lips with it, and used its spoon and fork to carry food to its mouth ;
that it poured out its drink into a glass by itself, hobnobbed when
invited to do so ; that it would take a cup and saucer, put them on
the table, put sugar in the cup, and pour tea over it, leave it to cool
before drinking it, and all this without any other instigation than the
signs or words of its master, and often even without this.
Dr. Franklin mentions having seen, in the Zoological Gardens of
Antwerp, a Chimpanzee which sometimes dined at the table of the
Director, where on fete days it drank to the health of the company in
a glass of champagne. This Monkey showed a great regard for the
children of the house, and joined in their games. In summer it ac-
companied them into the garden, climbed up into a cherry-tree, and
gathered fruit for them.
A Chimpanzee about eighteen months old was obtained in 1835
by the Zoological Society of London; this animal sought to obtain
the sympathies of all who came near it. It was lively and full of play,
and not so malicious as the majority of Monkeys. It examined every-
thing with a sagacious air, which almost made one laugh. It was on
the best terms with its keepers, who treated it like a spoiled child,
and entered with good grace into all its pranks and gambols. Every
day they washed its face and hands, an operation it bore with much
gravity.
Its food was composed of farinaceous substances, fruits, and boiled
milk, and its usual drink was tea ; it always refused ferm.ented liquors.
Its favourites were the cook and the man whose special duty was to
attend on it. It recognised their step, and showed symptoms of great
pleasure at their approach. As soon as it perceived them it gave a
dull cry to express its satisfaction, ran towards them, climbed on their
knees or their shoulders, and made a great fuss over them.
Unfortunately, this specimen was prematurely removed from the
observation of naturalists, for it died after a few months' captivity.
INDEX,
Aard-vark, 326.
,, wolf, 347.
Agouti, 469.
Alcephalus bubalis, 258.
Alces machilis, 305.
Alpaca, 236.
Ambergris, 67.
Angora Goat, 267.
Ant-eaters, 327.
Antelopes, 251.
Anthropomorphous monkeys, 578,
Arctomys ludoviciana, 4S7.
,, marmota, 483.
Armadillos, 324.
Arvicola amphibius, 447.
,, arvalis, 445.
,, oeconomus, 446.
Ass, Domestic, 209.
A teles paniscus, 550.
Atherura Africanus, 463.
Auchenia huanaco, 236.
,, lama, 232.
,, paco, 236.
,, vicuna, 236.
Aulacodus Swinderanus, 46 1.
Aye-Aye, 535.
Babirussa alfurus, 176.
Baboons, 560.
Badger, 342.
Balaena Australis, 40.
,, mysticetus, 31 — 84.
,, ,, Enemies of, 40 — 85.
,, ,, Food of, 38.
,, ,, Habits of, 36.
Baltenoptera boops, 61.
,, rostrata, 58.
Bathyergus maritinnis, 455.
Bats, 517.
Bear, 428.
„ Black, 433.
Bear, Brown, 430.
„ Grizzly, 433.
„ Polar, 435.
Beaver, 470.
Beluga catodon, 81.
Bison Americanus, 281,
,, bonasus, 281.
,, grunniens, 281.
Bombonnel's Account of Encounter
with Leopard, 373.
Bos bubalus, 285.
,, Indicus, 285.
,, taurus, 285.
Boselaphus pictus, 256.
Brachyurus melanocephalus, 558.
Bradypus tridactylus, 324.
Brown, Robert, on Greenland Whales,
^3'
Cachalot, 63.
Cselogenys paca, 468.
Callithrix torquatus, 556.
Camelopardalis giraffa, 239.
Camels, 225.
Camelus bactrianus, 227,
,, dromedarius, 228.
Canidce, Family of, 393.
Canis aureus, 399,
,, cerdo, 399.
,, domesticus, 40G.
,, fulvus, 398.
,, lagopus, 39S.
,, lupus, 401.
,, vulpes, 393.
Capra segagrus, 259.
,, hircus, 260.
,, ,, varieties oi, 261.
,, ibex, 258.
Capreolus capra, 314.
Capromys, 461.
Capybara, The, 465.
6oo
INDEX.
Carnivora, Order of, 330.
,, Families of, 332.
Carpophaga, 22.
Cashmere Goat, 261.
Castor fiber, 471.
Castoridae, 470,
Cat, Domestic, 382.
„ Wild, 382.
Catoblepas gmi, 257.
Cavia aperea, 466.
Cavicornia, Families of, 246.
Cavid^e, 464.
Cebus capucinus, 555
Centetes ecaudata, 515.
,, semispinosus, 516.
Ceratorhinus Sumatranus, 148.
Ceratotherimii, 154.
Cercocebus, 571.
Cercolabes prehensilis, 464.
Cercoleptes caudivolvulus. 428.
Cercopithecus engythithia, 574.
,, petam-ista, 571.
Cervidc-e, Families of, 297.
Cervus Aristotelis, 314.
,, axis, 314.
,, Canadensis, 313.
,, elaphus, 308.
,, porcinus, 314.
,, Virginianus, 314.
Cetacea, Order of, 30.
,, Blowing, or Ordinary, 31.
,, Herbivorous, or Sirenia, 91.
Chamois, 248.
Cheetah, The, 389.
Cheiroptera, 517.
Chimpanzee, 594,
Chinchilla lanigera, 458.
Chinchillidae, 457.
Chiromys IMadagascariensis, 535.
Chironectes variegatus, 26.
Chlamydophorus truncatus, 327,
Cholrepus didactylus, 324.
Chrysochloris, 507.
Chrysothrix sciurea, 557.
Civets, 423.
Cladobates, 516.
Coati, 426.
Colobus polycomas, 578.
(^ondylura longicaudata, 507.
,, macrura, 507.
Cow, Domestic, 294.
Creatophaga, 26.
Cricetus frumentarius, 45a
Ctenomys, 461.
Cuscus, 22.
Cynocephalus babuin, 563.
,, leucophaeus, 563.
,, mormon, 562.
niger, 562.
,, porcarius, 566.
,, sphinx, 567.
Cynogale, 425.
Cystophora cristata, iii.
,, proboscidea, III.
Dama vulgaris, 314.
Dasyprocta agouti, 469.
Dasypus gigas, 325.
,, minutus, 326.
peba, 325.
Dasyurus ursinus, 28.
Deer, Fallow, 314.
,, Moose, 305.
„ Musk, 317.
„ Napu, 321.
„ Red, 308.
,, Roe, 314.
Delphinidae, 6%.
Delphinus delphis, 68.
Dendrolagus, 22,
Dicotyles labiatus, 177.
,, torquatus, 176.
Didelphys cancrivora, 27,
,, Virginiana, 26.
Digitigrades, 331.
Diprotodon, 22.
Dipus hirtipes, 455.
Dog, The, 406.
,, Setters, 415.
,, Sporting, 415.
,, ,, varieties, 42a
Dormouse, 452.
Duckbill, II.
Dysopes cestoni, 523.
,, torquatus, 523.
P^chidna aculeata, 12.
,, setosa, 14.
Edentata, Order of, 322.
Elephant, The Asiatic, 1 1 2.
,, African, 127.
„ Capture of, 122.
INDEX,
60 1
Elephant, Sagacity of, 1 16.
Elephas primigenius, 129.
,, Africanus, 112.
„ Indicus, 127.
Elk, 305.
Enhydra lutres, 334.
Entomophaga, 25.
Equinge, Family of, 177.
Equus asinus, 209.
,, Burchellii, 222-
,, cabal lus, 177,
,, hemionus, 219,
>» qi-iagga, 222.
,, zebra, 220,
Erethizon dorsatum, 464.
Erinaceus auritus, 515.
,, centetes, 511.
,, Europseus, 514.
Erinaceae, 511.
Eriodes, 550.
Ermine, 336.
Felidae, Family of, 347.
Felis caracal, 388.
,, cattus, 382.
,, concolor, 386.
,, jubata, 389.
,, leo, 348
,, leopardus, 370.
„ lynx, 387.
,, onca, 384.
,, pardalis, 387.
,, serval, 381.
,, tigris, 366.
,, uncia, 381.
Ferret, The, 336.
Fiber, zibethicus, 449.
Fox, Arctic, 398.
,, Common, 393.
,, Fennec, 399.
,, Flying, 524.
,, Hunting, 396.
,, ,, its cunning, 394.
„ Red, 398.
Galago moholi, 542.
,, senegalensis, 542.
Galeopithecus volans, 533.
Galidia elegans, 423.
Gazella dorcas, 251.
Genetta vulgaris, 424.
Gcnuina, Family of, 130.
Geomys bursarius, 457.
Gerard, Jules, Account of Encounter
with Lions, 36Q
Gibbons, 578.
Giraffe, 239.
,, Hunting the, 245.
Giossophaga, 529.
Gorilla, 585.
Gray, Dr. J. E., on Whales, 58-83.
Guinea Pigs, 466.
Gulo luscus, 340.
Gymnura Rafflesii, 516.
Halicore dugong, 93.
Hamster, 450.
,, Destruction caused by, 451.
Hapale vulgaris, 544.
Hare-hunting, 488.
Heart, Structure of Mammalian, 5.
Hedgehog, 511.
Herpestes ichneumon, 422.
Hippopotamus amphibius, 130.
Homo sapiens, 530.
Horse, The, 177.
„ Classes of, 192.
,, Principal Colours of, 184.
,, Principal Parts of, described,
181.
,, Teeth, Description of, 186.
,, Wild, 179.
,, Arab, 192.
,, Barbary, 202.
,, English Race, 196.
,, French Race, 198.
Hounds, 415.
Hyaena maculata, 344.
striata, 344.
Hyaenidse, Family of, 343.
Hydrochaerus capybara, 465.
Hydrophobia, 410.
Hylobates syndactylus, 578.
Hypsiprymnus, 22.
Hyrax capensis, 156.
,, syriacus, 157.
Hystrix cristata, 461.
Hystricidse, Family of, 461.
Indris brevicaudatus, 539'
602
INDEX.
Insectivora, Characteristics of Order,
500.
Inuus sylvanus, 567.
Ivory, 114.
Jackal, 399.
Jaguar, 384.
Jerboa, 455.
Kangaroos, i:
Koala, 22.
Koodoo, 256.
Lagomys Alpinus, 499.
Lagostomus trichodactylus, 460.
Lagothrix, 550.
Lagotis Cuvieri, 459.
Lemming, 447.
Lemurs, 536,
Lemur albifrons, 539.
,, albimana, 539.
„ catta, 539.
„ coronatus, 539.
„ ruber, 539.
„ rufus, 539.
„ varius, 539.
Leopard, The, 370.
,, Bombonnel's Account of En-
counter with, 373.
Leporidae, 487.
Lepus cuniculus, 494.
,, timidus, 487.
Lion, The, 348.
,, cubs, 358.
,, Jules Gerard's Account of En-
counters M'ith, 360.
,, Livingstone's Account of En-
counters with, 354.
Llama, The, 232.
Lungs in Mammalia, 5-
Lutra vulgaris, 232.
Lynx, European, 387.
Macacus erythrseus, 571.
,, sinicus, 571.
Macropus major, 18.
Macroscelides typicus, 510.
Mammalia, Characterislics of, I.
Mammalia, Orders of, 8.
Manatus latirostris, 92.
Mandril, 562.
Manis brachyura, 329.
Marmots, 483.
,, Hibernating, 486.
Marsupialia, Order of, 15.
,, Families of, iS.
Martes foina, 338.
,, martis, 339.
„ zibellina, 339.
Mastodon giganteum, 130.
Megaderma frons, 524.
„ lyra, 524.
Megaptera, 58.
,, longimana, 88, 89,
Meles taxus, 342.
Mellivora capensis, 343.
Mephitis, 340,
Merino, breed of Sheep, 275.
Meriones Burtoni, 454.
Mole, 501.
Mole-hill, 502.
„ rats, 454.
,, traps, 505.
Monkeys, 528 — 546.
,, anthropomorphous, 57S
„ of the New World, 548.
J, ,, with non-Pre-
hensile tails,
556.
„ ,, with Prehensile
tails, 548.
,, of the Old World, 460.
Monodon monoceros, 75.
Monotremata, Order of, 9.
Moose deer, 305.
Moschus moschiferus, 317.
,, pygmteus, 317.
Mouse, Common, 443.
,, Economic, 446.
,, Field, 445.
,, Harvest, 443.
Mus decumanus, 442,
,, minutus, 443.
,, musculus, 443.
,, rattus, 439.
,, sylvaticus, 442.
Musk deer, 317.
,, ox, 282.
,, rats, 449.
Mustela erminea, 336.
INDEX.
603
Miistela furo, 336.
,, putorius, 335.
vulgaris, 335.
Mustelidos, 332.
Mycetes ursinus, 548,
Myogale moschatus, 5 1 1.
,, Pyienaica, 511.
Myopotamus cuypus, 477.
Myodes lemmus, 448.
Myoxus muscardinus, 453.
nitela, 453.
Myrmecobius fasciatus, 29,
Myniiecophaga didactyla, 328.
,, jubata, 327.
Napu deer, 321,
Narwhal, 75,
Nasua fusca, 427.
Noctilio leporinus, 523.
Nototherium, 22.
Nycteris, 523.
Nyctipithecus trivirgatus, 557.
Nyl ghaie, 256.
Opossum-Virginian, 26.
Orders of Mammalia, 7, 8.
Ornithorhynchus paradoxus, i:
Orycteropus £ethiopiciis, 326.
,, capcnsis, 326.
Otaria jubata, 1 1 1.
,, ursina, iii.
Otters, 332.
Orang-outang, 581.
Ovibos moschatus, 282.
Ovis argali, 263.
,, aries, 264.
,, montana, 264.
,, musimon, 263.
,, tragelaphus, 264.
Pachydermata, Order of, 112.
,, Family of, 1 1 2.
Pangolins, 328.
Paradoxurus typus, 425.
Pedetes Caffer, 456.
Perameles doreyanus, 25.
,, lagotis, 25.
Perodicticus potto, 542.
Phacochrerus aethiopicus, 176.
Phalangista vulpina, 24.
Phascologale, 29.
Phascolomys latifrons, 18.
,, magnus, 18.
,, platyrhinus, 18.
,, wombat, 18.
Phoca vitulina, no.
Phocidae, loi.
Phocsena communis^ 73.
,, orca, 74.
Phyllostoma hastatum, 529.
,, spectrum J 526.
Physalus antiquorum, 90.
,, Indica, 58.
Physeteridae, 63.
Physeter macrocephalus, 63,
Pig, Domestic, The, 167.
,, Races of, 169.
Piiinipedia, Order of, 95.
Pithecus satanus, 557.
Plantigrades, 331.
Plecotus auritus, 523.
Poephaga, 18.
Pointers, 415.
Porcupine, The, 461.
„ Crested, 461.
,, Ant-cater, 12.
Porpoise, 68.
Prairie Dogs, 487.
Proboscidea, 112.
Procyon cancrivorus, 428.
„ lotor, 427.
Propithecus, diadema, 540.
_ ,, laniger, 539,
Prosimidas, 533.
Proteles balandi, 347.
Psammoi-yctidae, 460.
Pteromys petaurista, 481.
Pteropus edulis, 524.
,, Edwardsii, 526.
,, rubricollis, 526.
,, vulgaris, 526.
Puma, The, 386.
Quadiumana, 528.
P.abbit, 494.
Racoon, 427.
Rangifer tarandus, 300,
6o4
INDEX.
Rats, 439.
,, Black, 442.
,, Brown, 442.
„ Wa-er, 447.
Reindeer, 300.
,, Importance of, 304.
Rhinaster, 152.
Rhinoceroses, African, 152.
,, Asiatic, 142.
Rhinoceros bicornis, 139.
,, cucullatus, 140.
,, sondaicus, 142.
„ tichorhinus, fossil, 156,
,, unicornis, 135.
Rhinolophus euryale, 523
,, hippocrepis, 523.
,, luctus, 523.
Rhinopoma microphyllum, 524.
Rhynchocyoncirnei, 511.
Rhytina Stelleri, 94.
Rhizomys splendens, 455.
,, sumatrensis, 455.
Rhizophaga, 18.
Rodentia, Characteristics of Order, 438.
,, Sections of, 439.
Roe deer, 314.
Ruminantia, Order of, 224.
Ruminants, Hollow-horne'*, 246.
,, Solid-horned, 297.
Rupicapra tragus, 248.
Sable, 339.
Saccomys anthophilus, 457.
Saiga Tartarica, 251.
Scalops aquaticus, 507.
Sciuridae, 477.
Sciurus Europeus, 478.
Semnopithecus entellus, 577.
„ nasica, 574.
Setters, 415.
Sheep, Common, 264.
,, Varieties of, 265.
Shrews, 508.
Siamang, 579.
Simla satyrus, 581.
Sirenia, 91.
Simidae, 533.
Skunk, 340.
Sloths, 322.
Solenodon paradoxus, 51Q,
Sorex, Etruscus, 509.
Sorex, fodiens, 509.
,, Indicus, 509.
,, vulgaris, 509.
Soricinae, 508.
Spalax typhlus, 455.
Spermophilus citillus, 483,
,, Hoodi, 483.
Spermaceti, 68.
Sperm Whale, 63.
Spider Monkeys, 554.
Squirrel, 477.
Flying, 481.
Monkey, 556.
Stag-hunting, 310.
Stenops gracihs, 543.
,, Javanicus, 543.
,, tardigradus, 543.
Stomach in Ruminantia, 4, 224.
Strepsiceros kudu, 255.
Suina, Family of, 160.
Sus scrofa, 160,
,, Varieties of, 168.
Talpa Europ^ea, 501,
,, wogura, 507.
Talpinae, 500.
Taphozous, 523.
Tapirus Americanus, 158,
,, Indicus, 160
Tarsipes rostratus, 23.
Tarsius spectrum, 540.
Teeth, Structure of, 3.
,, of Horse, 184.
Thylacinus cynocephalus, 27,
Tigei-, 366.
Trichechidee, 99.
Trichechus rosmarus, 99.
Trichinosis, 174.
Trichosurus vulpinus, 25.
Troglodytes gorilla, 585,
niger, 594.
Tylopoda, Family of, 225.
Ur>inae, 426.
Ursus Americanus, 433.
,, Arctos, 430.
,, ferox, 433.
,, labiatus, 437.
,, Malayanus, 437.
,, maritimus, 435.
INDEX.
605
Vampire bats, 526.
Vespertilio auritus, 522.
,, murinus, 522.
,, noctula, 522.
Viverra civetta, 423.
,, Zibetha, 424.
Viverridae, 422.
Walrus, The, 99.
Wapiti deer, 313.
Weasel, The, 335,
Whalebone, 31.
Whale Fishery, Account of, 41.
,, Harpoons, 51.
„ Oil, 56.
,, Right or Greenland, 31.
Wolf, The, 401.
,, Varieties of, 406.
Wool, 266.
Yapock, 27,
Zebra, 22a
THE END.
Cassell Petxer. & Galpin, Belle .Sauvage Works, London, E.C
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