CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME 
 OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT 
 FUND GIVEN IN 1891 BY 
 
 HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE 
 
Cornell University Library 
 QL 706.N91 
 
 Wild animals photographed and de^^^^ 
 
 3 1924 024 782 561 ot,.,.. 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924024782561 
 
A LION. 
 
 {Felis leo.) 
 
 A LIONESS. 
 
WILD ANIMALS 
 
 PHOTOGBAPHED AND DESCEIBED. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY PHOTOTYPE REPRODUCTIONS OF 
 PHOTOGRAPHIC NEGATIVES TAKEN FROM LIFE 
 
 BY 
 
 Jo^nFORTUNfi NOTT, 
 
 MAJOR, CANADIAN ACTIVE MILITIA. 
 
 Hontion : 
 SAMPSON LOW, MAESTON, SEAELE, & EIVINaTON, 
 
 CROWN BUILDINGS, 183, FLEET STREET. 
 
 1886. 
 
 \_AIX rights reserved.'] 
 
LONbON : r 
 
 PRINTED BY GIIBEKT AND EIVINGTON, LIMITED, 
 ST. JOHN'S StJUARE. 
 
PBEFACE. 
 
 In issuing this volume to the public I beg leave here in the very 
 commencement to disclaim any idea of inviting attention to a 
 scientific or erudite work on Natural History, or one which will in 
 any way bear comparison with the many learned and valuable 
 books already extant upon the subject. 
 
 The object I have had before me while writing and compiling 
 the following pages is the one of furnishing some reliable infor- 
 mation about a few of the most important varieties of existing 
 wild animals in an entertaining and readable manner. 
 
 The greater number of existing works upon this subject can be 
 classified under two headings — the scientific and the educational. 
 "While acknowledging with all reverence the inestimable value 
 of, and the vast learning displayed in the scientific treatises, yet 
 it is no disparagement of them to say that their study can only 
 repay those who already possess some knowledge of the science, 
 for to the general reader a considerable portion of their contents 
 must be incomprehensible. It therefore follows that a man 
 anxious to peruse some interesting facts about animals and pur- 
 chasing one of these books with that object must feel as he would 
 had he possessed himself of a novel under the idea he would read 
 therein a truthful delineation of the acts and thoughts of men and 
 women amid certain given circumstances, and find instead that 
 under the guise of a story the author had written an elaborate 
 essay on anatomy, and, subdividing his charaisters into various 
 divisions according to the colour of their hair or the height 
 of their cheek-bones, had attached a cumbersome compound 
 Greek name to each of them. 
 
 A-2 
 
iv PREFACE. 
 
 The educational works are, of course, intended for the schools. 
 The value of many of these books must to the ordinary mind be 
 somewhat impaired by the taint of levity which characterizes the 
 style in which they are written. Their authors seem to have a 
 repugnance to calling an animal by its correct name ; thus they 
 very rarely refer to a bear as a bear, but as " master bruin, a 
 lion is styled " his Majesty, King Leo," and the other beasts 
 have similarly inappropriate appellations entirely unbecoming to 
 the dignity of the subject. 
 
 Being naturally fond of animals and interested in everything 
 appertaining to them, I have thought for some years past that 
 there was room for a book which would accurately describe their 
 salient features, distinguishing peculiarities, and specific habits, 
 and that by dropping as far as possible all scientific descriptions 
 and the general use of scientific nomenclatures, and adding 
 certain historical facts or interesting anecdotes in which they 
 prominently figured, that it might be made readable and enter- 
 taining as well as instructive. I consequently set to work upon 
 the following pages and, if so far I have failed in my intention, 
 the fault is entirely due to me personally, and not certainly 
 through any want of interest that is inherent in the subject. 
 
 It is obviously impossible for any one man to write from 
 personal experience or observation upon more than a few of the 
 various quadrupeds existing upon the globe. In consequence, 
 the direct information respecting the various members of the 
 animal world is to be found scattered over a large number of 
 travellers' and hunters' narratives. I have selected those that 
 were known to me from which according to my own judgment 
 the most trustworthy facts could be gleaned about the beasts in 
 their native haunts, and to the authors quoted in the following 
 pages I have to acknowledge my obligations. I am indebted to 
 works of this character that have appeared within the last few 
 years rather than to similar works of previous dates, wherein fable 
 and truth are so blended that they are practically useless for my 
 purpose. The " travellers' tales " of the past never tax our 
 credulity or insult our common sense so much as when their 
 hunting adventures are on the tapis, or wild animals under any 
 
PEEFACE. V 
 
 circumstances are the subject of their yams. However, amongst 
 so much chaff a few grains of wheat, in the shape of quaint or 
 curious information can now and then be gleaned, and, when 
 found, a note has been made of the fact, and the remarks utilized. 
 
 Respecting the illustrations, Not being able in nature to find 
 the vivid colours, the savage expressions, the glaring eyes, the 
 exaggerated dimensions or the ungraceful attitudes which I 
 had from a very tender age been led to associate with the 
 descendants of Noah's joint occupiers of the ark, and remember- 
 ing Dr, Livingstone's remark upon the subject wherein he 
 observes that painters generally make their lions' faces like old 
 women in night-caps, I came to the conclusion that on this point 
 at any rate I would try and inaugurate a new departure, and, 
 instead of illustrating the book with pictures of the animals as 
 many artists seem to think they oiight to be, I would portray 
 them as they are, and with this object use photographs wherever 
 possible. 
 
 The phototype reproductions of the negatives, as givenherewith, 
 have been made by the well-known artistic lithographers, Messrs, 
 I, and A. Lemercier, of Paris, 
 
 Except in the few instances elsewhere acknowledged, where I 
 am indebted to the kindness of others for certain pictures, the 
 actual photographs were taken by myself. Having to take them 
 instantaneously, often in comparatively dark places, has prevented 
 them, of course, from exhibiting the finish and care that might 
 have been bestowed on them had the animals been taken in a well- 
 lighted studio and behaved themselves with sufficient decorum to 
 do as they were told, look pleasant, and stand still. As specimens 
 of photography but little merit is claimed for them, but they must 
 be studied as the faithful portrayal of the animals represented, for 
 by the kind permission of the Secretary of the Zoological Society 
 the animals themselves stood for the pictures, "Stood" being used 
 in its photographic sense, for, as a matter of fact, they very rarely 
 stood still even for a second, being rather disobliging in that way. 
 
 To those readers who may possess but slight scientificinformation 
 respecting the brute creation, but nevertheless are lovers of the 
 animal world, I trust my book will afford a little pleasure and 
 
vi PREFACE. 
 
 some profit. I also hope it may be the means of luring a few 
 to the more extended study of a science which is doubtless the 
 most attractive of all sciences and the one that must have an 
 endless charm for those who delight in animated nature, for it 
 presents no view unimportant or uninteresting, no part that will 
 fail to reward diligent research and contemplation. Moreover, it 
 conduces to very different feelings being entertained for animals 
 than can be experienced by those members of the community who 
 knownothing whatever about them; and if a little more knowledge 
 respecting the brute creation were possessed by the public gene- 
 rally it would greatly tend to the diminution of cruelty to animals, 
 both tame and wild, which is a " consummation devoutly to be 
 wished." 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 Menageries . . . ,•■ . . _ _ '"^"J 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 Cats (genus Felidm) . , 2o 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 The Lion {Felis Leo) 2g 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 The Tiger (Felis Tigris) 42 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 The Leopard or Panther (Felis Pardus) .... .60 
 
 CHAPTER VL 
 
 The Jaguar and the Puma gg 
 
 CHAPTER VIL 
 The Cheetah or Hunting Leopard (Felis julata) 85 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The Hyenas (Hywnidw) . . . 102 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 The Wolf (Canis Lupus) 115 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 Bexus (Vrsidce) . 136 
 
PAGE 
 
 155 
 
 viii CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 Beabs (continued) , . . . • . 
 
 CHAPTER Xir. 
 
 Thb Camel (genus Camelus) . • . • • • • • .-13 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 197 
 The Camel (continued) ...■■■■•'' 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 The Giraffe (Gamelopardus Giraffa) 
 
 . 212 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 The Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) '^"^ 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 The Elephants (Elephantidce) 249 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 Elephants (continued) 275 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 The Tapirs (genus Tapirus) 309 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 The RHiNoeEEOS Fkuihr (Ehinoceridce) .321 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 Zebras 347 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 The Ass (Equus Asinws) .......... 360 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 The Bison (Bison Americanus) . . ■ . . . . . . • 375 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 The Buffalo (Buhalus) 397 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 IX 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 The Gnu and Oryx Antelopes ^421 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 The Moose {Alces malcliis) 429 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 The Eeindeee {Tarandus rangifer) 445 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 The Wapiti and the L hdorf's Dbee 457 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 Kangaroos {genus Macropodidce) ......... 463 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 Seals (PJiocidm) . 479 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 Eared-Seals (Otaria) ...494 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 Eared-Seals (continued) 510 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 Anthropoid Apes (Simiadce), Gorilla 518 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 Anthropoid Apes (continued), Chimpanzee ...... 539 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 Anthropoid Apes (continued), Ourang-outang .... . 549 
 
 INDEX . .... 563 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTEATIONS. 
 
 A Lion 1 
 A Lioness J 
 
 
 
 Frontispiece. 
 
 A Tiger , . . 
 
 . between pages 50, 51 
 
 A Leopard . . . . • . 
 
 . . „ ' 66, 67 
 
 A Jagnar 
 
 . . „ 76,77 
 
 A Puma ......... 
 
 80,81 
 
 A Cheetah . (coloured) 
 
 . . „ 86,87 
 
 Hunting on a Dromedary with a Cheetah 
 
 93 
 
 Hunting with the Leopard, from a stamp of Jean Straden 
 
 97 
 
 A Cheetah 
 
 . between pages 100, 101 
 
 A Polar Bear 
 
 138, 139 
 
 Bengalee with Dancing Bear ..... 
 
 
 I 
 
 172, 173 
 
 Exhausted Camels 
 
 
 ) 
 
 186, 187 
 
 Eecuperated Camels 
 
 
 J 
 
 188, 189 
 
 A Bactrian Camel 
 
 
 
 210, 211 
 
 A Giraffe . . (coloured) .... 
 
 
 
 220, 221 
 
 Giraffes 
 
 A Hippopotamus J 
 
 
 
 228, 229 
 
 An African Elephant (Jumbo) 
 
 
 
 264, 265 
 
 An Indian Elephant ....... 
 
 
 
 308, 309 
 
 A Tapir 
 
 
 
 318, 319 
 
 An Indian Khinoceros 
 
 
 
 326, 327 
 
 The Hairy-eared Rhinoceros 
 
 
 
 338, 339 
 
 An Afrinan or Two-horned Rhinoceros 
 
 
 
 342, 343 
 
 Group of Burchell's Zebras 
 
 
 
 352, 353 
 
LIST OP ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 XI 
 
 African Wild Ass 
 
 An American Bison ..... 
 A Yak ■) 
 
 A Leucoryx ' 
 Young Antelope rearing ) 
 AGnu . . . ^ ' 
 A Beisa Antelope ..... 
 Reindeer feeding . (engraving) 
 
 A Wapiti (with horns in the velvet) y 
 Do. (with horns fully developed) 3 
 
 A Liihdorf's Deer ..... 
 
 A Kangaroo (with young one in the pouch) 
 
 Group of Eed Kangaroos .... 
 
 A Greenland Seal ..... 
 
 A Sea- Lion ...... 
 
 A Performing Sea-Lion .... 
 
 A Gorilla (Pongo) 
 
 A Chimpanzee (Sally) -j 
 
 An Ourang-outang ) 
 
 PASE 
 
 hetween pages 372, -373 
 382, 383 
 
 420, 421 
 
 426, 427 
 
 428, 429 
 450, 451 
 
 458, 459 
 
 462, 463 
 472, 473 
 476, 477 
 490, 491 
 512, 513 
 516, 517 
 536 
 
 between pages 548, 549 
 
ERRATA. 
 
 Page 13, line 12,/o^ a formidable antagonist, read formidable antagonists. 
 „ 15, „ 20, omit which. 
 
 „ 41, lines 24 and 26, for is and It is, read are and They are. 
 „ 52, line 11, for speaking of, read states that. 
 „ 55, „ 20,/or the latter is, rea^ the hairs of the latter are. 
 „ 60, head-line, /or Felix, read Felis. 
 „ 89, line 16,/or deer's, read antelope's. 
 „ 100, „ 21,/or as gud as, read ar gud and. 
 „ 102, head-Une,/oj' Hyanidse, read Hysenidse. 
 
 „ 178, line 9,.for the prominent feature in, read prominent features of. 
 „ 188, „ 28,/or nourishment of vegetation, read vegetation of a nourishing character. 
 ,, 217, „ 2Z,for to the withers, read at the withers. 
 „ 259, „ ZO, for age, read ago. 
 „ 287, „ 5, /or yet there, read yet consider there. 
 „ 322, „ 23,/oj' hem, read them. 
 
WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 MENAGEEIES. 
 
 The origin of menageries must always remain pure matter of 
 conjecture, founded on the careful study of ancient history and the 
 deciphering of obscure traditions of primitive ages. Upon the 
 obelisks and monuments of the greatest antiquity are to be found 
 well-drawn representations of lions, elephants, dromedaries, and 
 other animals known to modern times ; as well as of many species 
 that have totally disappeared from the face of the earth. The 
 animals are mostly represented in combat, in movable cages, 
 or being hunted or led along with captive men in the train or pro- 
 cession that swelled the triumphal progress of some king or hero. 
 It is, therefore, a fair assumption thg,t the dangerous beasts 
 were confined in places strong enough to secure them, specially 
 constructed for the purpose, which would in course of time show 
 collections that might accurately be described as primitive 
 menageries. 
 
 In the barbarous ages wild beasts were employed in war- 
 fare, and in consequence of the awe and fear they inspired, 
 were the objects of veneration and worship ; but in the pro- 
 gress of the world along the path of civilization the minds of 
 men became capable of grasping new truths, and superstitions 
 began gradually to yield to more accurate and enlightened ideas. 
 Then the thirst for knowledge no doubt led to the study of 
 the wonders of the world around them, and in this way the 
 ianimal kingdom must have attracted attention, and from being 
 
2 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 the objects of terror the wild beasts of the earth became the 
 objects of curiosity ; ultimately, no doubt, their character and 
 habits becoming better known, their study was the subject of 
 closer and closer investigation. Thus natural history became a 
 science and obtained its first votaries — students who went to 
 nature for their teaching, and whose works, although primitive 
 and fabulous in the extreme, nevertheless became the foundation 
 of those vast storehouses of knowledge which are the heritage of 
 the present enlightened age. Mr. Bennett says in his short but 
 graphic description of this subject : — " What was at first a mere 
 sentiment of curiosity became speedily a love of science, known 
 objects were examined with more minute attention ; and whatever 
 was rare or novel was no longer regarded with a stupid stare of 
 astonishment and an exaggerated expression of wonder, but 
 became the subject of careful investigation and philosophic 
 meditation. Such was the state of things in civilized Greece, 
 when the Macedonian conqueror carried his victorious arms to 
 the bank of the Indus, and penetrated into countries not 
 altogether unknown to Europeans, but the natural productions of 
 which were almost entirely new to the philosophers of the West. 
 With the true spirit of a man of genius, whose sagacity nothing 
 could escape, and whose views of policy were as profound as the 
 success of his arms was splendid, Alexander omitted no oppor- 
 tunity of proving his devotion to the cause of science, and the 
 extensive collection of rare and unknown animals which he 
 transmitted to his old tutor and friend — in other words, the 
 menagerie which he formed— laid the foundation of the greatest, 
 the most extensive, and the most original work on zoology that 
 has ever been given to the world. The first of moral philosophers 
 did not disdain to become the historian of the brute creation, 
 and Aristotle's ' History of Animals ' remains a splendid and 
 imperishable record of his qualifications for the task." 
 
 It was otherwise in Eome. Pliny's "Natural History" has 
 but little zoological value. Any that it may possess was derived 
 from consulting the small collections of rare and curious animals 
 that were made by a few private individuals during the reign of 
 the later Opesars, His writings contain but little original infor- 
 
MENAGEEIES. 8 
 
 mation, however, and his descriptions are mostly fabulous. This 
 may appear strange, when it is considered that at the time he 
 w«)te, Rome had probably "the most extensive and magnificent 
 menagerie the world had ever witnessed." 
 
 But a love of science and a craving for knowledge formed no 
 part of the object the Eomans had, even in their most civilized 
 periods, in making those vast and stupendous collections, the 
 result of the labour of their Prastors, who caused animals to be 
 collected from the various regions that composed their mighty 
 empire, and these were constantly augmented by the donations 
 of other countries, who wished to conciliate or enlist the friend- 
 ship of the " Mistress of the World." Other feelings actuated 
 them, and these collections were used for the purpose of gratifying 
 the spirit of ferocity and barbarity which was a national trait. 
 The exhibition in the amphitheatre of terrific combats, animals 
 being slaughtered wholesale in numbers beyond conception, the 
 degrading spectacle of gladiatorial contests, or the execution of 
 criminals by enraged lions, these were the favourite pastimes of 
 the people, which were encouraged by their rulers, and conducted 
 with a savage and barbaric splendour almost beyond credence. 
 Titus, at the dedication of the amphitheatre he furnished, stained 
 its arena with the blood of upwards of 500O beasts, the carnage 
 being watched by over 100,000 Eomans; and Trajan destroyed 
 10,000 at the conclusion of the Dacian War. Caligula celebrated 
 his birthdays by contributing 400 bears, and 400 other wild beasts, 
 to be " butchered to make a Eoman holiday;" and several succeed- 
 ing wearers of the purple were even more lavish in the number 
 they supplied for these grand but brutal sports. 
 
 In the beginning of the twelfth century we hear of collections 
 of birds and animals, called "Parks of Intelligence," being 
 introduced into China ; later, at the commencement of the sixteenth 
 century, we have the historiographer of Philip II. of Spain, 
 Herrera y Tordesilla's description of the magnificent menagerie 
 Cortes and his followers found in Montezuma's palace of Tezeuoo, 
 showing that in that wonderful place which so amazed the Mexican 
 invaders birds of all sorts, snakes, alligators, and wild beasts 
 from the Western world were found, magnificently housed and 
 
 iJ 2 
 
4 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 cared for, testifying not only to the barbaric ostentation of the 
 
 Aztec king, but to the fact that his love for and cultivation of 
 
 natural history were far beyond the level of the European countries 
 
 at the time. An extract from the quaint account of this palace 
 
 may be worth quoting: — "In another apartment there were dwarfs, 
 
 crooked Persons, misshapen and monstrous, a great number 
 
 whereof he kept for his Diversions ; and it is reported that some 
 
 of them were purposely so deformed in their infancy, alleging 
 
 that it became a great monarch to have such things as were not 
 
 to be found elsewhere. Every sort of dwarfs, or other monsters, 
 
 were kept apart, with people to look after them. In the lower 
 
 rooms there were many strong cages, or Pens, in some whereof 
 
 there were Lyons, in others Tygers, in others Bears, in others 
 
 Leopards, and in others "Wolves. In short, there were all 
 
 sorts of four-footed Beasts, only that Montezuam (sic) might be 
 
 said to be so great that he had all wild Beasts shut up in 
 
 his house ; and they were fed with Turkeys, Deer, Dogs, and 
 
 other creatixres. "What is still more strange, in other rooms 
 
 there were vast great jars, Pans and such like vessels full of 
 
 water or earth, in which they fed and kept snakes thicker than a 
 
 man's thigh; very large Vipers, Alligators, Lizards, and Serpents 
 
 of several sorts, so fierce and venemous that the very sight was 
 
 frightful to such as were not well used to them. . . . The 
 
 Spaniards were very well pleased to see such variety of Birds, so 
 
 many fierce wild Beasts, the Fury of the hideous Serpents, though 
 
 they do not like to hear their hissing, the horrid roaring of the 
 
 Lyons, the dismal howling of the "Wolves, the disagreeable cries of 
 
 the Leopards and Tygers, and the dreadful noise of other 
 
 creatures, which they made either through hunger, or because they 
 
 were not at liberty to practise their savage temper. "When first the 
 
 Spaniards heard that frightful variety of noises in the night, they 
 
 were frightened, till it grew familiar to them, and they afl&rmed it 
 
 was so hideous that the House seemed to be a Eesemblance of 
 
 Hell and the Habitation of Devils." 
 
 At the end of the twelfth century Frederick the Second, in 
 Sicily, made a notable collection of wild animals, which was 
 exhibited in many parts of Italy, but the want of opportunities 
 
MENAGERIES. 5 
 
 in Europe, from this date to the expiration of the fifteenth cen- 
 tury, for studying the nature and habits of the living animals 
 was no doubt the reason that the science made but little if 
 any progress during that period, until, in fact, Louis XIV. 
 founded at Versailles the first establishment of modern days, 
 which became the school for Buffon and Daubenton. This 
 example was followed by other European Powers, but most of 
 the collections were small and of but little more scientific 
 interest than the collections that used to be made for hunting 
 purposes by the rulers of previous epochs. At the present day, 
 however, the Continent has several very fine zoological gardens, 
 notably those of Amsterdam, Antwerp, and Paris. The Parisians 
 discovered that one of the uses to which they could put a mena- 
 gerie was the supply of food, and the collection in the Jardin des 
 Plantes was nearly destroyed for some time, by the Parisians 
 having eaten up the animals during the siege of their city. 
 
 In England the first royal menagerie was at "Woodstock. It 
 was at his manor there that Henry I. established it. " He walled the 
 Park round," we learn, " with stone, seven miles in circumference, 
 laying waste much fertile land and destroying many villages, 
 churches, and chapels," and in the words of the old chronicle, 
 "he appointed therein, besides a great store of deer, divers 
 strange beasts to be kept and nourished, such as were brought to 
 him from far countries, as lions, leopards, linxes, porpentines, 
 and such other," with all of which he used to amuse his ladies 
 and courtiers. 
 
 During the reign of Henry III., in 1235, his new brother- 
 in-law, the Emperor Frederick II., having sent over three leopards, 
 in allusion to the three leopards which then adorned the royal 
 shield of England, but which were subsequently exchanged for 
 lions, as, strange to. say, were also their living representatives, 
 and these being foUowed by a camel from the same source, the 
 whole of the wild beasts were removed from Woodstock to the 
 Tower, and formed the beginning of the menagerie which existed 
 there till its transferrence to the Zoological Gardens in 1834. 
 
 The "National Kecords" contain many orders issued to the 
 sheriffs of London, Buckinghamshire, and Bedfordshire, to 
 
6 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 provide for tte animals and their keepers. In 1252 the London 
 sheriffs were ordered to pay fourpence a day for the maintenance 
 of a white bear, and to provide a muzzle and chain to hold him 
 while fishing or washing himself in the river Thames. In 1255 
 (same reign) they were directed to build a house in the Tower for 
 an elephant which had been presented to the king by Louis of 
 France, and in a second writ they were ordered to provide 
 necessaries for him and his keepers. This was the first elephant 
 ever seen in England since tbe Roman period. "We learn from 
 other orders that in the reigns of Edward I., II., and III., that 
 lions and leopards were allowed for at the rate of sixpence a day, 
 and their keepers' wages was three halfpence. During later reigns 
 the keeper of the Tower Hons was an important position held 
 by a person of quality about the king, and he received the sum 
 of sixpence a day, and the same amount for every animal under 
 his charge. 
 
 The post was at other times held by the Lieutenant or Constable 
 of the Tower, with the stipulation that he provided a sufficient 
 deputy ; for the office in the royal household of our ancient kings, 
 called " The Master of the King's Bears and Apes," had been 
 abolished at a much earlier date. 
 
 The menagerie in the Tower at no time contained many 
 varieties ; at one period it Only had six lions and no other 
 animals. In 1708 Strype enumerates eleven lions, two leopards 
 or tigers (it seems, the worthy historian did not know the 
 difference), three eagles, two owls, two cats of the mountain, and 
 one jackal. In 1754 the number had increased, but in 1822, when 
 Mr. Cops became keeper, it had dwindled down to a grizzly bear, 
 an elephant, and a few birds. Under his skilful management 
 the collection assumed much larger dimensions, and became a 
 really interesting and attractive spectacle, often alluded to in the 
 writings of the period. The sanitary conditions of the place were 
 improved, greater care was paid to cleanliness, and, as a con- 
 sequence, the mortality of the animals was very slight during his 
 rule. One death, however, is recorded, that of the secretary bird, 
 which was beheaded in the Tower, thus suffering the fate allotted 
 to traitors. While prying about, he incautiously introduced his neck 
 
MENAGERIES. 7 
 
 into the den o f the hyaena, and that animal constituted himself execu- 
 tioner by promptly depriving him of his head with one bite. 
 
 There were several small menageries in England at the com- 
 mencement of the present century, mostly of the travelling kind ; 
 but the Tower, and two small collections kept for exhibition, one 
 in the Surrey Zoological Gardens and the other in Exeter Change, 
 were the only places worth mentioning where our grandfathers 
 could get any sight of wild animals alive. It is curious to read 
 that the front of Exeter Change projected over the Strand, and 
 was daubed all over with pictures of monsters and wild beasts 
 between the Corinthian pillars, presenting a grotesque appearance 
 not easily forgotten by the " country cousins " who came in shoals 
 to see it, nor by the children who gazed upon the sham Yeoman of 
 the Guard stationed outside, inviting passers-by to step in and see 
 the lions, tigers, elephants, and monkeys. 
 
 Leigh Hunt, writing about Exeter Change, speaks of it as a 
 place where the animals had no air, and where he remembered an 
 elephant wearing boots, because the rats gnawed his feet. This was 
 the elephant " Chunee," which was a well-known animal, for he was 
 on exhibition from 1809 till 1826, when he met a tragic fate, which 
 will be described further on in the chapter on elephants. 
 
 In the present day Londoners are more favoured, for they now 
 possess two of the finest and most comprehensive collections 
 ever brought together in the world. One is in the magnificent 
 building of the natural history sectidn of the British Museum, 
 lately opened in the Cromwell Road, where the stufied collection 
 of animals, birds, and fishes include nearly every known variety; 
 and the method of arrangement, carried out under the superin- 
 tendence of its able chief, Professor Flower, allows the student 
 to study not only the outward appearance of the specimens, but 
 to a very large extent their anatomical structure. Here also can 
 be seen fossil remains and skeletons of strange and mighty animals 
 now extinct, and which even at a late period of our history 
 were said never to have existed, and their descriptions in ancient 
 writings considered mythical. 
 
 The other collection referred to is in the Zoological Society's 
 Gardens, in Regent's Park, where animals, birds, reptiles, and 
 
8 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 fishes can be seen and studied alive. This is, perhaps, the largest 
 menagerie in the whole world, and every part of the globe has been 
 laid under contribution to make it as perfect as possible; it is 
 certain that such a gathering together of the largest mammalia of 
 the world in pairs was never seen elsewhere, nor has such a collec- 
 tion ever been approached by other cities. Everything is done to 
 keep the specimens in as fine a condition as they would be if they 
 had not been deprived of their freedom, and to surround themj 
 as far as possible, by the same circumstances that would attend 
 them in their wild state. No wonder, therefore, that it is one of 
 the favourite attractions of a city noted for its attractions, and one 
 of the sights that remains the longest impressed on the memory of 
 travellers from other climes, and of excursionists who visit it by 
 hundreds during the holiday seasons. 
 
 The Zoological Society of London was first instituted in 1826, 
 and the gardens opened to the public in 1828, under the auspices 
 of Sir Humphrey Davy, Sir Stamford Eaffles, and other eminent 
 men, " for the advancement of zoology, and the iritroduction and 
 exhibition of the animal kingdom alive or in a state of preservation." 
 It is a question whether even the most sanguine of its founders 
 ever contemplated the society attaining the popularity it has done, 
 or that it would ever exhibit specimens of such rare and curious 
 animals as have been, or are now to be found in its care. 
 
 That it must require unceasing eflForts to keep renewing such a 
 varied assortment is obvious, for in this climate, in confinement, 
 and under such altered circumstances, the animals must succumb 
 to diseases unknown to them in their wild state, to say nothing of 
 those dying through accidental injuries and age. Mr. J. B. Sutton 
 is the authority for the information that the animals die frequently 
 from some unknown disease, but half of them are the victims of 
 lung disease, bronchitis, or pleurisy. " The larger carnivora — 
 lions, tigers, and leopards — are exceedingly vulnerable to attacks 
 of pneumonia, and bears frequently die from this affection, due to 
 the suppuration of the consolidated portion of the lungs. Pleurisy 
 is exceedingly common among them, as it is in the domestic cat. 
 This disease alone has caused the society the loss of several very 
 fine animals." 
 
MENAGERIES. 9 
 
 The gardens are constantly receiving presents of specimens, some 
 of them being very fine, but the rare animals have generally to be 
 purchased, and some of them are expensive. Thus we learn that a 
 rhinoceros cost 1250Z. ; three giraffes cost altogether nearly 2400L ; 
 an elephant and calf have been bought for 500L The first hippo- 
 potamus, which was such an attraction in 1851, although a gift, 
 cost nearly lOOOL for transport. Lions and tigers have cost the 
 society between 150Z. and 200Z. a piece, but are now cheaper. Some 
 birds are very expensive, viz. a pair of black-necked swans cost 
 SOI. ; and rare pigeons or ducks may cost anywhere, be- 
 tween 51. and 261. each. When the Knowsley collection of 
 birds was sold in 1851, the society invested nearly lOOOZ. in 
 purchases. Prices are by no means steady, even in the animal 
 market, and appear to fluctuate considerably ; presumably, like 
 everything else, the supply and demand regulating it. The 
 ignorance of prices and values is frequently exemplified, and we 
 hear of a sea-captain asking 6001. for a pair of pythons, that he 
 was glad ultimately to get rid of at 401. An American once 
 thought he had struck oil when he offered the society a grizzly 
 bear for 2000Z., they to pay, in addition, the carriage across the 
 Atlantic. More ridiculous still was an offer they had of a mori- 
 bund walrus which, for over two months, had been fed on salt 
 pork and meal, for the small sum of 700Z. ! These are, of course, 
 absurd prices, but the cost does not deter the society from obtain- 
 ning favourable specimens of any animals required to keep their 
 collection complete and unique in its perfection. It is therefore 
 now a matter of congratulation that we live iu an age when the 
 wild beasts of the forest and the fowls of the air are not caught 
 to furnish enjoyment by the sight of their destruction in savage 
 conflict, tending to arouse the worst passions of our nature, but 
 are made captive, so that they can be studied, the wonders of their 
 structure learnt, the beauty of their forms admired, and food for 
 the mind being supphed us by the contemplation of their exquisite 
 perfection and adaptation of their powers for the due fulfilment 
 of their part in the economy of creation. 
 
10 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 CATS-GENUS FULIDJU. 
 
 In the Zoological Society's Gardens are to be found a large number 
 of specimens of the fourjclasses of vertebrated animals^mammals, 
 birds, reptiles, and fishes,— but our attention will be devoted only 
 to the most important members of that class which are the 
 highest in organization, and known as mammals, so called because 
 they possess a set of organs that secrete milk by which their young 
 are nourished. Under the order of mammals, some two thousand 
 animals are specified — from man, monkeys, cats, dogs, horses, 
 &c., down to the sloth, the last on the list ; also bats that fly, and 
 whales and their allies inhabiting the seas. 
 
 The cats — FelidoB — are the most powerful and ferocious of all 
 predatory animals, and the majority of the visitors to any 
 zoological collection naturally turn first towards the house in 
 which the specimens of these creatures are to be found. The 
 tribe of cats have been divided by some writers into fifty or more 
 differeiit species, but in reality many of them are only varieties 
 slightly distinguishable in habits, colour, or size, and cannot in con- 
 sequence be described as distinct species, any more than similar 
 differences in men can be said to constitute any such division. 
 We shall only have 'occasion to notice certain varieties of these 
 terrible creatures, such as lions, tigers, leopards or panthers, 
 jaguars, pumas, and the cheetah or hunting leopard. Oats belong 
 to the flesh-eating order of animals, and are armed with the most 
 perfect development of the carnivorous type of dentition. " Their 
 functions being to seize and hold struggling animals, often of 
 great power, they are provided with formidable fangs and cutting 
 
CATS— GENUS FELWM. 11 
 
 teeth that permit tliem to firmly hold and tear their food." They 
 have not the power of chewing or masticating it, but they tear it 
 into small pieces, which they eat with a series of short, quick 
 bites. Another noticeable thing is the structure of their tongues, 
 which greatly differ from the well-known smooth, moist tongue of 
 a dog. The entire surface is covered with innumerable conical 
 projections sloping backwards, hard and rasping, enabling the 
 animal, by licking, to strip the flesh from the bones of its prey, an 
 economy of Nature that prevents their losing or wasting any of the 
 nutriment. These papillae are so firm and rough that a few steady 
 licks on the hand from one of the large species would remove the 
 cuticle and draw blood. Their hair is close and soft, often beauti- 
 fully smooth and sleek. They are armed in a terrible manner ; 
 their rounded muzzles, short sinewy neck, and firm massive 
 jaws exhibit muscular power, combined with supple grace, almost 
 in the highest degree. They possess the power of opening the 
 mouth to a comparatively greater width than any other species of 
 animal; and, moreover, they are endowed with talons or claws 
 made retractile, so that their efficiency will not be endangered 
 by coming in contact with the ground and so losing their sharp- 
 ness. The weight of the body resting altogether on the toes, and 
 not on the entire foot, they have a beautiful structure of the 
 tendons, enabling them to withdraw the talons backwards, thus 
 lifting them entirely from the ground, the weight of the body 
 resting only on the soft pads which stud and form the surface of 
 the foot. But when these creatures clutch at their victim, or strike 
 their powerful blow, the claws are thrown forward, sharp, pene- 
 trating, and rigid, with power sufficient to hold their prey and to tax 
 the efforts of the very largest animals to shake themselves free 
 and escape. 
 
 The cat tribe are also the most dreaded of the brute creation 
 for the peculiar silence of their tread ; no footfall gives notice of 
 their location, and in making their stealthy way no sound from 
 the leaves or branches ailarms their intended victim, but silently 
 and steadily they creep along through the thicket, guided by the 
 beautiful mechanism of their whiskers rather than their eyes, for 
 each individual hair is endowed with an exquisite sense of touch, 
 
12 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 enabling them to aroid all contact with obstacles that would emit 
 a sound, thus they draw nearer and nearer until they make that 
 terrible spring which is the mode of their attack, and appears to 
 exhaust their energy. 
 
 They seem to possess but little sense of smell, and their hearing 
 faculties are not very highly developed, but their vision is 
 keen and penetrating. Their eyes are adapted for the night as 
 well as for the day — being, however, peculiarly constructed for 
 nocturnal use, the Felidm rather dislike strong sunlight. Their eyes 
 in certain lights glow like balls of fire. It is thus explained. In 
 several species of animals, the inner surface of the back of the 
 eye presents a membrane called tapetum lucidum, which in the 
 cat tribe is of a yellow colour and of a brilliant metallic lustre 
 like a concave mirror ; it is the reflection from this which causes 
 the " glare of the eye " which so many hunters of the lion and 
 tiger describe as being so terribly startling and indicative of the 
 furious anger of the animal, when frequently it is nothing of the 
 sort. Mr. Power describing his examination of a cat's eye with 
 the ophthalmoscope, pronounces it the most beautiful thing he had 
 ever seen. " Imagine a dense yet luminous velvety blackness below, 
 bounded by a nearly horizontal line, just above which is a pearly 
 spot : the entrance of the optic nerve. This presents the usual 
 vessels emerging from it. The disc is surrounded by a sapphire-blue 
 zone of intense brilliancy, passing into metallic-green ; and beyond 
 this the tapetum shines out with glorious colours of pink and gold, 
 with a shimmer of blue and of green. It is really lovely." 
 
 The intellectual position of the cats in the order of animals is 
 an inferior one, and it is fortunate it is so, or their power for 
 mischief and for evil would be greatly increased, and would make 
 them more fearfully dreaded than they now are by the natives in 
 the, countries where they abound. 
 
 With the exception of the lion and one or two others of the 
 tribe, they have the power of climbing trees. They are not as a 
 rule gregarious, but seem to prefer hunting singly, and only 
 occasionally in pairs or families. In both continents certain 
 varieties are found, but apparently there are none in Australia. 
 The larger species are more numerous in tropical countries. 
 
CATS— GENUS FELIDM 13 
 
 Their limbs are only of moderate dimensions, but very powerful, 
 and so constructed that they can make bounds of astonishing 
 length. Their colour enables them to easily lie concealed, and in 
 secluded spots they crouch and await their prey, which they seize 
 by suddenly springing on it. 
 
 From the foregoing it will be readily seen that these animals 
 possess powers exquisitely adapted for the purpose of carrying 
 out their instincts and for self-preservation, either in obtaining 
 the food on which their existence depends, or in defending them- 
 selves from attack ; also that they are armed and fitted to wage 
 war and to maintain supremacy over other animals, and even to 
 be a formidable antagonist to man himself. 
 
 The animal of this group which we naturally look for first is 
 the lion, the one uniting all the powers of his tribe in a super- 
 lative degree, and in strength, ferocity, and size only equalled by a 
 few of the very largest varieties of the tiger. 
 
 Before passing on, however, it will be as well to say that it 
 would be far more instructive if writers would try and simply 
 describe the various members of the animal world as they are, 
 and not try to invest them with the same feelings and ideas that 
 actuate the human race, and then by drawing comparisons, 
 as it were, study them from that point of view, endeavour- 
 ing to create favourable or unfavourable impressions regarding 
 them as they approach or recede from the standard of man. Thus 
 writers frequently twist certain 'habits peculiar to certain indi- 
 vidual animals into acts denoting a generous or noble disposition, 
 or typical of the reverse, a vindictive or cowardly one, and so on, 
 up or down a gamut of adjectives that could only be correctly 
 applied to men exercising their powers in an identical manner, and 
 totally misleading when apphed to an animal simply acting after 
 its kind and obeying no laws but the laws of its nature. Thus 
 when perhaps merely exerting their faculties, or using the only 
 weapons Nature has provided them with in the capture of their 
 prey, the adjectives sneaking, bloodthirsty, and ferocious, can hardly 
 be applicable or convey the correct idea, any more than they could be 
 used to describe a butcher in his occupation, if the shambles did 
 not reek with blood spilt to gratify a savage nature or some other 
 
14 • WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 motive than the existing necessity of appeasing hunger. The 
 tribe of cats suffers considerably at the hands of a certain class of 
 writers in being thus qualified with all thei awe-inspiring adjectives 
 to be found in the dictionary, whereas if the necessity of their 
 supplying their own food is removed, many species can be easily 
 tamed, become domesticated, and friendly and affectionate to man. 
 But suppose they had the power of describing their ideas of the 
 human race from their point of view what adjectives would be 
 required when alluding to those members of it who slaughter them 
 for mere wantonness, wounding and crippling the poor beasts for 
 life, causing lingering and painful deaths in the animal world 
 simply for pleasure, or to enable them to boast of their per- 
 formances in public ? 
 
 It can hardly be questioned that it is far more satisfactory 
 to cast aside all these comparisons, and clearing the mind of 
 the prejudices they create, study the majority of all such animals 
 as wild beasts, a distinct and separate creation, endowed with no 
 reasoning power, but with characters, habits, and instincts sufficient 
 for them to perform those acts for which they exist. From this 
 point of view, new ideas and new lights must certainly be con- 
 tinually flashing across our mind as we learn the innumerable 
 powers they possess, view the manifold adaptations of their forms 
 for the purpose of carrying out the same object, or for the purpose 
 of fulfilling their mission in the world, and for which the creation 
 even of the Felidce was deemed necessary by the all-wise Creator. 
 
15 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 THE LION {FELIS LEO). 
 
 BuFPON says : " To study animals with, accuracy, we ought to view 
 them in their savage state, to accompany them into the retreats 
 which they have chosen for themselves, to follow them into the 
 deep cavern, and to attend them on the frightful precipices where 
 ttey enjoy unbounded liberty." This is so, no doubt, but as none 
 of us can study animals with this accuracy, we must be content to 
 watch them in captivity, and surely this fact need not diminish 
 our pleasure as we gaze on these splendid creatures. Then think 
 what art owes to them, not exactly as the royal patron, but as 
 the theme. " We can scarcely calculate," writes one of the 
 Reviews, " what sculpture would have missed without him, from 
 the gates of Mycene, the halls of Nineveh and Thebes, the throne of 
 Solomon and the courts of the Alhambra, down to Canova's monu- 
 ment in Rome — even when he is represented at the foot of the 
 Trafalgar Square column, with his forelegs (as shapeless as roUy- 
 poly puddings) stretched out straight, dog fashion, instead of 
 cat-elbowed, he is still a grand creature, albeit plethoric in his 
 dignity, like the porter in a ducal mansion or a Beef-eater in the 
 Tower." And remember the number of magnificent paintings he 
 has inspired, and which the grand similes his habits have suggested, 
 which, from the Bible downwards, enrich our literature. Even in 
 ancient Egypt lions appear to have been the object of special wor- 
 ship and devotion, for they are represented in Egyptian las-reliefs 
 to which an antiquity of 3000 years has been assigned. Again, 
 one of the most famous relics of ancient Greek art in the British 
 Museum — in fact, if we except the Marathonian tumulus, it is, 
 according to a writer in the Times, the only relic of the best 
 
16 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 days of Greek art— is tlie oast of the famous lion of Ch^ronea. 
 Of this lion we learn that a mile from the ruined city of Chaeronea, 
 on the right-hand side of the Kapurna road, is the sepulchre 
 of the Boeotians who fell in the battle of Chaeronea, fighting 
 against Philip of Macedon, B.C. 338. Pausanias, the Greek geo- 
 grapher, speaks of the tomb in his quaint but "touching language 
 as having " no inscription but a figure of a lion placed on it as 
 emblem of the spirit of these men." " There is no inscription," 
 he adds, " because the gods willed that their fortune should be 
 unequal to their valour." This marble lion, the masterpiece of 
 art, disappeared for a long time, but fortunately the fragments 
 were at last found and are now being put together. 
 
 Looking at these noble animals, we see their characteristic points 
 are the grand and massive face and front, the profusion of long, 
 thick, wiry hair that forms the shaggy mane, falling from the chin 
 and throat, over the head, neck, and shoulders, and below the body ; 
 also that they stand comparatively high on their fore.legs, but fall 
 away slightly at the withers. The fore-feet, it will be observed, 
 have five toes, and the hind ones only four. Their slow, heavy, 
 but silent tread exhibits power and grace, so attractively blended 
 that few can resist gazing on them with a sense of fascination as 
 they move to and fro in their well-barred cages ; and who can fail 
 to observe the calm indifference with which they regard the people 
 who parade before them, for they pay no heed at all, but seem to 
 ignore even their presence, as something unworthy their attention. 
 
 The lion's colour is a rich brown or tawny yellow, though it 
 may vary greatly from a reddish-brown to a lightish grey. The 
 tail is bare, ezcept at the tip, which is decorated by a conspicuous 
 tuft of black hair, a very distinguishing mark, for no other 
 member of the cat tribe possesses it. The mane is generally darker 
 than the rest of the body, sometimes being almost black; but its 
 tint varies according to the age, and possibly according to the 
 country, -of its owner's habitation; it does not begin to grow 
 until the third year, and is not properly developed until the com- 
 pletion of the fifth. This changing of colour and appearance at 
 certain periods seems to have given rise to the opinion that many 
 species exist ; but hunters who have had the best chance of beinff 
 
THE LION. 17 
 
 well informed upon the subject do not share this belief, although 
 they may admit there is considerable difference in size, and 
 apparently in habits, between the Asiatic and African lions, for 
 the latter have generally a more powerful form, and are of a 
 darker shade in colour than the former. It seems also to be their 
 opinion that the " maneless lion of Guzerat," once thought to be 
 an unmistakably distinct species, is nothing more than a young 
 animal whose mane has not shot forth, or a lion exhibiting an 
 individual peculiarity. 
 
 Unlike the larger majority of the other varieties of the cats, the 
 lion's eye has a pupil that does not contract into a vertical slit, 
 but is round and full. It is no doubt the want of this power of 
 contraction that makes him uncomfortable and uncertain in his 
 movements during the broad glare of sunlight in the daytime, 
 and has been to some extent the cause of his having fallen in 
 people's estimation from his former high and regal position in the 
 animal world. Mr. Frederick Courteney Selous, who is from his 
 experience most certainly an authority on the subject, writes : " It 
 has always appeared to me that the word majestic is singularly 
 inapplicable to the lion in his wild state, as, when seen by day- 
 light, he always has a stealthy, furtive look that entirely does away 
 with the idea of majesty. To look majestic, a lion should hold 
 his head high. This he seldom does. When walking he holds it 
 low, lower than the line of his back, and it is only when he first 
 becomes aware of the presence of man that he sometimes raises 
 his head and takes a look at the intruder, usually lowering it 
 immediately and trotting away with a growl. When at bay, 
 standing with open mouth and glaring eyes, holding his head low 
 between his shoulders and keeping up a continuous low growling, 
 twitching his tail the while from side to side, no animal can look 
 more unpleasant than a lion, but there is even then nothing 
 majestic or noble in his appearance." 
 
 Writers even in works of modern date destroy the value of 
 their labours by giving very exaggerated descriptions of this 
 so-called " King of Beasts," portraying him in such a manner 
 that travellers who come across him in his wild state, and find 
 his habits and character do not agree with those accounts, go to 
 
18 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 tile other extreme, and descinbe him with the adjectives mean, 
 cowardly, skulking, and indolent. Mr. Stanley in his book, "How 
 I found Livingstone," describing his first interview with a lion 
 and his endeavours to get a shot at him, says : " My surprise was 
 great when I cautiously laid my rifle against the tree and then 
 directed its muzzle to the spot where I had seen him stand. 
 Looking further away — to where the grass was thin and scant — I 
 .saw the animal bound along at a great rate, and that it was a 
 lion ; the noble monarch of the forest was in full flight ! From 
 that moment I ceased to regard him as the mightiest among the 
 brutes, or his roar as anything more fearful in broad daylight than 
 a sucking-dove's." Exactly, in broad daylight, but the animal, 
 being of nocturnal habits, is a very different character at night. In 
 a letter of Mr. 0. J. Andersson's, published some years ago, he tells 
 of a dangerous encounter he had with a lion. " One fine moon- 
 light night," he writes, " while watching for elephants, I encoun- 
 tered a troop of lions, and without any kind of molestation on my 
 part was suddenly attacked by the leader, a magnificent male. 
 Fortunately a well-directed bullet from my elephant rifle put him 
 at once hors de combat." 
 
 No one can look at a lion and not acknowledge that he is a 
 wonderfully fine animal, and almost the personification of power 
 and might ; but it must be remembered that he is after all but a 
 cat, a cat of powerful size, but, nevertheless, physically and 
 morally a cat, and can only be correctly studied from this point of 
 view. A lion is endowed with no other virtues than the feline attrir 
 butes he inherits, being cunning, suspicious, vindictive, and stealthy, 
 not prone to attack under other cir.cumstances than those of his 
 own planning, and rarely in the open. Again, he does not appear 
 as a rule to attack man, except attacked or under the influence of 
 extreme hunger. It is during the night that he roams about in 
 search of prey, but during the day he is accustomed to retire to 
 some solitary spot where he can sleep at ease ; and when he is 
 met in daytime, probably through his having been disturbed, and 
 is moving his quarters, a traveller is apt to forget the chances are 
 he has a full stomach, and in consequence has no cause or wish 
 to attack ; this does not constitute cowardice. 
 
THE LION. 19 
 
 Quoting Mr. Selous : " Wlien lions are met with in the day- 
 time they almost invariably retreat before the presence of man, 
 even when disturbed at the carcass of an animal which they have 
 just killed, and when they are presumably hungry. If pursued or 
 wounded, however, they may be expected to charge ceteris paribus. 
 I have found in my small experience that a far larger proportion 
 of them do charge than of any other animal in Southern Africa 
 with which I am acquainted, and as their power of concealing 
 themselves and their quickness and agility in attack are far 
 greater than in an elephant, buffalo, or rhinoceros, I pronounce 
 them to be more dangerous animals to meddle with than any of 
 these. As with men and all other animals, individual lions differ 
 so much in disposition one from another that it is impossible to 
 tell from one's experience of one what the next is likely to do, and 
 I do not consider that any man has a right to say that lions are 
 cowardly beasts because the two or three that he has shot have 
 not happened to show fight, but have exhibited great pusillanimity. 
 At night, and when urged on by hunger, lions are sometimes 
 incredibly daring, in fact, as old Jan Yiljoen once said to me, 
 • a hungry lion is a true devil and fears nothing in the world.' " 
 
 The lion is still to be found in large numbers in Northern 
 and Southern Africa, and in smaller numbers it is found over 
 the whole of the African continent. It is also to be found in 
 Persia and Arabia, and at Outch and Guzerat in Western India. 
 It formerly existed in South-eastern Europe, but has become 
 extinct there now. In Central India it is also getting rare, and 
 the price put on each animal by the Government, and the zeal of 
 sportsmen armed with such accurate and deadly weapons as are 
 now used, is making the lion a scarce animal in Asia, " and the 
 royal race of the forest, like other Indian dynasties," seems doomed. 
 
 The favourite prey of the lion is the various species of deer and 
 antelope which abound in the plains, but he wiU attack much larger 
 animals, such as giraffes, buffaloes, zebras, and even elephants. 
 His leap is terrific, and it is said on good authority that in 
 making his spring at a deer or other animal should he spring 
 short, or overspring, he usually gives np further pursuit, his 
 energy being apparently exhausted, and returns sulkily to his 
 
20 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 lair, there to await another victim, and the curious fact, which 
 seems corroborated by various travellers, is that at times he will 
 go carefully step by step over the ground, measuring it appa- 
 rently so as not again to make such a miscalculation of the 
 distance. At other times he appears to attack his prey by 
 seizing the animal by the flank, or hind-leg, or the throat below the 
 jaw. Sir W. 0. Harris says : " The weight of the hon's body, as 
 compared with its size, is very remarkable, and is accounted for by 
 the singular density of the muscles, and the compactness of the 
 principal bones ; which latter, like the teeth of the hippopotamus, 
 will produce fire with steel. The force with which he miist alight 
 after a bound of fifteen or twenty feet is, therefore, sufficiently 
 obvious, and his massy paw will batter in the skull of an ox 
 quite as effectually as if a sledge-hammer had been employed." 
 
 His strength is undoubtedly very great, and Thunberg states 
 that he will not only attack an ox of the largest size, but will very 
 nimbly throw it over his shoulder, and leap over a fence four feet 
 high with it, although at the same time the ox's legs hang 
 dangling on the ground. Montgomery Martin relates that a 
 young lion has been known to carry a good-sized horse a mile 
 from the spot where he 'killed him. Mr, Selous, however, 
 says : "I have never met with an instance of a lion carrying an 
 animal that it has killed, and, as far as I know, their invariable 
 practice is to drag the carcase along the ground, holding it the 
 while by the back of the neck. This they do with even the 
 smallest antelope, such as impala ; and I do not think the South 
 African lion would be capable of lifting such a heavy beast as a 
 bullock from the ground, as the North African species is said to 
 do. much less of springing over a high fence with one." 
 
 Mr, 0, J, Andersson remarks : " The quantity of flesh that a 
 lion in a wild state devours at a meal is something enormous. On 
 more than one occasion I have known him to dispatch the greater 
 part of a zebra in the course of a night." Mr. Moffatt also seems 
 struck with the same thing, for in describing an attack made on 
 his party by a lion, on which occasion it not only carried off a 
 cow, but ate up the poor beast within gunshot of the bivouac fire, 
 he writes : " I had often heard how much a large hungry lion 
 
THE LION. 21 
 
 could eatj but nothing less than a demonstration would have 
 convinced me that it was possible for him to have eaten, the flesh 
 of a good-sized heifer, and many of the bones besides, for scarcely 
 a rib was left, and some of the marrow-bones were broken as with 
 a hammer." 
 
 Unlike the habit of the hyaena, wolf, and other animals, the lion 
 does not bring home meat for his young cubs, but as soon as 
 they attain any strength at all, he takes them out with him on his 
 nocturnal prowls. 
 
 In size the average lion is between nine and ten feet in extreme 
 length, including the tail, which is generally about three feet 
 long, stands about three and a half to four feet high, has a foot 
 over six inches in diameter, and weighs between thirty-five and 
 forty stone. There are much larger animals existing than can be 
 generally seen in menageries, and hunters give measurements 
 considerablv beyond the above. 
 
 The lion's roar as given when he is in captivity is said to be but 
 a feeble echo of the awe-inspiring sound he utters in his freedom. 
 This, of course, can only be heard in its perfection when in 
 its natural place ; when, after prowling about in his favourite 
 haunts, the sandy plains or rocky places, or when crouching in 
 the rank grass skirting the edge of some spring that forms the 
 drinking-place of those herbivorous animals on which he delights 
 to make his meal, he is disappointed, and his patience becoming 
 exhausted, he is then said to resort to another stratagem; for 
 placing his mouth close to the earth he utters a roar that, 
 rolhng along the ground on all sides, startles every animal that 
 may be crouching in the neighbourhood. Bounding to their feet, 
 these terrified creatures rush forth from their lairs, and if one 
 of them happens to be near, the spring is made, the death-struggle 
 short, and the lion's appetite soon satisfied. This nocturnal 
 roaring is said to be a great nuisance to travellers in some dis- 
 tricts, for the oxen or horses, that do not appear to be afraid of a 
 lion in the daytime, are terribly frightened at his voice at night, 
 and rush frantically about in a complete state of fright and panic. 
 " Several times during my three years' wanderings," Mr. 
 Selous writes, " in the far interior of Southern Africa, have I, 
 
22 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 when camped in a patch of brush, or lying at a shooting-hole or 
 the edge of some lonely pool or river, thus heard a troop of 
 lions roar in my immediate vicinity, so close indeed sometimes 
 that I could hear the hiss of their breath after each purr, and 
 though it is now the fashion to deprecate the courage of the 
 lion, the power of his voice, and everything else concerning him, 
 yet it is a fact that, under such circumstances, several of them 
 roaring in unison will make the whole air in their immediate 
 vicinity vibrate and tremble, and I know of nothing in Nature 
 more awe-inspiring, or on a dark night more calculated to 
 make a man feel nervous." Upon this subject it is difficult to 
 resist giving the oft-quoted and graphic description of Grordon 
 Gumming : " One of the most striking things connected with 
 the lion is his voice, which is extremely grand and peculiarly 
 striking. It consists at times of a low deep moaning, repeated 
 five or six times, ending in faintly audible sighs ; at other times 
 he startles the forest with loud, deep -toned, solemn roars repeated 
 five or six times in quick succession, each increasing in loudness 
 to the third or fourth, when his voice dies away in five or six low 
 muffled sounds very much resembling distant thunder. . . . 
 On no occasion are their voices to be heard in such perfection 
 or so intensely powerful as when two or three troops of strange 
 lions approach a fountain to drink at the same time. "When this 
 occurs every member of each troop sounds a bold roar of defiance 
 at "the opposite parties; and when one roars all roar together, 
 and each seems to vie with his comrade in the intensity and power 
 of his voice. The power and grandeur of these nocturnal concerts 
 is inconceivably striking and pleasing to a hunter's ear." 
 
 The lion appears to be long lived, but there seems to be some 
 uncertainty about the average age they attain ; some say twenty 
 to thirty years, others thirty to forty in their wild state ; in cap- 
 tivity, however, they have been known to live much longer than 
 this. The famous lion " Pompey," which died in the Tower 
 menagerie in 1760, had been a prisoner there for seventy years ; 
 and another one that died there at a much later date, was said to 
 be sixty-three years old. 
 
 Delagorgue, the French traveller, makes some curfous assertions 
 
THE LION. • 23 
 
 on the character of the lion, and the following interesting fact which 
 he narrates has been to a certain extent corroborated by other 
 writers. Animals rendered by accident or wounds powerless to de- 
 fend themselves, or impotent to vent their rage, will turn their ire 
 on themselves and mutilate their own body. He says : " Certain 
 animals, when they have been mortally wounded, evince a weak- 
 ness resulting either from their inadequate means of defence, 
 or from the mildness of their dispositions ; some utter plaintive 
 cries, the like of which are never heard except at this critical 
 moment, 'others shed tears. The elan {Boselaphus oreas) especially, 
 patiently awaits the chasseur, whom it seems to implore, instead of 
 opposing to him its formidable horns. Others, again, simply resign 
 themselves to their fate, without showing any signs either of courage 
 or of weakness. The lion differs from all these. If the vital parts 
 of his body be pierced, so that it is unable to leave the spot and its 
 enemies keep at a distance, it abandons itself to despair, and its 
 teeth and claws are turned against its own person ; it crushes its 
 paws and it breaks its talons, as if it wished to be the author of 
 his own annihilation. It is a veritable suicide, but which the 
 weapons provided by nature do not permit it to consummate." 
 
 Nearly all travellers in Southern and Central Africa speak of 
 the terror with which a " man-eating " hon is regarded by the 
 inhabitants of the small native villages they come across. For it 
 is beyond dispute that, although naturally or at first the lion does 
 not show any liking for the flesh of man, he. will, through having 
 once tasted it, or through old age making him less capable of 
 procuring other food, and so driving him to attack man, become 
 in some instances like the much-dreaded tiger, a " man-eater." 
 Many most blood-curdling stories have been told by writers whose 
 veracity is unimpugned and beyond question of the havoc such a 
 creature can work, and of the horrors created by his nightly attack 
 on the huts where the poor and miserable people lie cowering with 
 fright. The power they have of suddenly springing without the 
 slightest warning on their victim, and instantly carrying the 
 wretched man, woman, or child away in the darkness before a 
 sign can be given or a scream uttered, and the terrible suspense 
 endured by those who have to sit by and hear the bones being 
 
24 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 crunched and the blood licked, and unable in the darkness 
 to raise a hand in defence, are the essentials of the appalling 
 tragedies enacted but too frequently in the native villages in 
 Africa, The history given by several hunters of the loss of some 
 faithful servant or camp-follower is nearly always similar : there 
 is a crash of a dead weight falling, and the terror-stricken people 
 round the camp become immediately aware that a lion has sprung 
 into their midst and one of them has been taken, and nothing but 
 the bones will be found on the morrow. 
 
 Dr. Livingstone, who considered the size, strength,, and majesty 
 attributed to the lion very much overrated, and who states that 
 he could not readily distinguish between his roar and the cry of an 
 ostrich, was nearly himself falling the victim of one he had wounded. 
 Quoting his own description : "I saw the lion's tail erected in anger, 
 and turning to the people, said, ' Stop a little, till I load again.' 
 When in the act of ramming down the bullets I heard a shout, and 
 looking half around, I saw the lion in the act of springing upon me. 
 He caught me by the shoulder, and we both came to the ground 
 together ; growling horribly, he shook me as a terrier does a rat. 
 The shock produced a stupor similar to that which seems to be 
 felt by a mouse after the first grip of the cat. It caused a sense 
 of dreaminess in which there was no sense of pain nor feeling of 
 terror, though I was quite conscious of all that was happening. 
 It was like what patients partially under the influence of chloro- 
 form describe : they see the operation, but do not feel the knife. 
 The placidity is probably produced in all animals killed by the carni- 
 vora, and if so is a merciful provision of the Creator for lessening 
 the pain of death. As he had one paw on the back of my head, I 
 turned round to relieve myself of the weight, and saw his eye 
 directed, to Mebalwe, who was aiming at him from a distance of 
 ten or fifteen yards. His gun, which was a flint one, missed fire 
 in both barrels. The animal immediately left me to attack him, 
 and bit his thigh. Another man, whose life I had saved after he 
 had been tossed by a buffalo, attempted to spear the lion, upon 
 which he turned from Mebalwe and seized his fresh foe by the 
 shoulder. At that moment the bullets the beast had received took 
 effect, and he fell down dead. The whole was the work of a few 
 
THE LION. 25 
 
 moments, and must have been Ms paroxysm of dying rage. In 
 order to take out the charm from him the Bahatla on the following 
 day made a huge bonfire over the carcase, which was declared 
 to be the largest ever seen. Besides crunching the bone into 
 splinters, eleven of his teeth had penetrated the upper part of my 
 arm. The bite of a lion resembles a gun-shot wound. It is gene- 
 rally followed by a great deal of sloughing and discharge, and 
 ever afterwards pains are felt periodically in the part. I had on a 
 tartan jacket, which I believe wiped off the virus from the teeth 
 that pierced the flesh, for my two companions in the affray have 
 both suffered from the usual pains, while I have escaped with only 
 the inconvenience of a false joint in my limb. The wound of the 
 man who was bit' in the shoulder actually burst forth afresh in 
 the same month in the following year. This curious point deserves 
 the attention of inquirers." So also does the remark made with 
 regard to the stupor produced by the lion's shake. 
 
 Gordon Gumming, prefacing an account of another terrible episode, 
 says : " Man-eaters occur, and in my fourth hunting expedition a 
 horrible tragedy was acted one dark night in my little lonely 
 camp by one of these formidable creatures." It is hardly to be 
 wondered at, therefore, that the poor villagers give vent to un- 
 bounded joy when any of the devastating pests are destroyed. 
 
 Similar facts were no doubt related to that worthy Lord Mayor 
 of London in 1646, Sir John Gayer, whose will necessitates the 
 preaching of the well-known lion sermon of the day, and shows 
 unmistakably his opinion regarding the danger he experienced 
 from being in too close proximity to one of' these beasts. He was 
 travelling in the desert of Arabia and met a lion face to face, 
 which, however, allowed him to pass unmolested. Wishing to 
 return thanks for this deliverance, he made provisions in his 
 will that at St. Catherine Cree Church in Leadenhall Street, 
 a sermon should be annually preached on the 16th of October, in 
 commemoration of the fact, and he further provided that the 
 minister was to have twenty shillings for the sermon, the clerk 
 and sexton three shillings, and the sum of eight pounds seventeen 
 shillings should be distributed amongst the necessitous inhabitants 
 of the parish. It is an ill wind that blows nobody good ! 
 
26 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 Sir W. C. Harris, writing in 1841 and speaking of the lion, 
 observes : " Those who have seen the monarch of the forest in crip- 
 pling captivity only, immured in a cage barely double his own length, 
 with his sinews relaxed by confinement, have seen but the shadow 
 of that animal which "clears the desert with his rolling eye." 
 This may be true of small menageries, but it is open to question 
 whether in large, airy, clean dens, regular food, and careful atten- 
 tion, some animals do not, under such conditions, improve in 
 personal appearance. They are no doubt to some extent tame 
 and enervated, and may have some faculties blunted or lost that 
 in their wild state would have to be constantly exercised. " I 
 have never seen the skin of the wild lion with a mane equal in length 
 to that attained by the greater part of the lions we see in mena- 
 geries," writes Mr. Selous. "All wild lions with a full mane have 
 two small tufts of hair, one at the elbows and the other in the 
 armpit ; but I never yet saw one with any long hair along the 
 belly, between the forearm and the flank, as may be seen in almost 
 all menagerie lions in this country. I do not say that cases do 
 not occur of wild lions becoming equally hairy, but they must be 
 very rare, otherwise I should have met with some amongst the 
 large number of skins I have seen. The coat of the wild lion is 
 very short and close, whilst the lions kept in this country become 
 very much longer, and usually of a redder colour, than the pale 
 yjellow or silvery grey hue of the wild animal. I could pick out 
 the skin of a menagerie lion from amongst a hundred wild ones. 
 Climate and regular feeding must, I think, have a good deal to do 
 with the luxuriant growth of mane almost invariably to be ob- 
 served in lions in confinement. . . . Nothing can be more disap- 
 pointing to the youthful sportsman fresh from England and 
 accustomed to the full fiowing manes of the lions in the gardens 
 of the Zoological Society, or the representations of the wild 
 animals to be seen in works of natural history or picture-books, 
 than to shoot him in his native haunts and find him almost desti- 
 tute of mane, for after all, -what is a lion without a mane but 
 the shadow of that noble beast one has mentally pictured to 
 oneself?" 
 
 i i 
 
THE LION. 27 
 
 It is now known, however, that lions vary, not only in shade 
 and hue, but also in the deyelopment of the mane and of the 
 hair along the flanks, and in Asia and Africa there are specimens 
 frequently seen that are maneless, or comparatively so, but it 
 has been shown to be only a peculiarity of the individual, for in 
 other respects they are similar to their congeners. 
 
 The usual pace of a lion is an apparently rather slow walk, but 
 the length of his body being so great, he covers considerable dis- 
 tance in a very short time. He can, however, accelerate his pace 
 into a trot, and often into a gallop or succession of bounds that 
 nearly equals the speed of the fleetest animals. 
 
 Lions do not as a rule live in dens or caves, but generally 
 choose a commanding rock or side of a mountain or hill for a lair, 
 or in -some parts of South Africa the top of the raised knolls or 
 Tiojpfies peculiar to that portion of the world. From these elevated 
 positions they are not only less liable to be disturbed, but they 
 can watch the movements of the game, plan an ambush, or slip 
 away unperceived on the approach of man. 
 
 The three lions and two lionesses now to be seen in the Zoo- 
 logical Gardens are no doubt very fair specimens of their species. 
 When we look on the tawny colour of their hide, we can readily 
 see how admirably adapted it is for concealment, and understand 
 how it was that Gordon Gumming, although blest with the 
 keenest vision, yet states that he often heard lions lapping water 
 at a less distance from him than twenty yards, and was unable 
 to make out even the outline of their forms. 
 
 Two of the lions were presented to the Society, and the third 
 was purchased. The one whose photograph has been selected as 
 an illustration is a Nubian lion, and is known by the name of 
 "Punch." Punch is about eleven years old, and is really a 
 magnificent-looking animal, his face being exceptionally fine and 
 massive. Like all the carnivorous animals in the gardens, they 
 get fed once a day, and are given about ten or eleven pounds of 
 raw meat at this meal. 
 
 For some reason or another, the lions that become the property 
 of the Zoological Society do not • live over twelve or fourteen 
 
28 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 years, which, is certainly not near the average age they should 
 attain. As before said, they suffer from peculiar ailments, and 
 lung disease has carried off several of them. 
 
 The lioness is a somewhat smaller animal, and her form is more 
 slender, lithe, and graceful. It can be seen at once that the chief 
 distinction in the appearance of the sexes is the total absence in 
 the lioness of the bushy mane' and long hair which adorn the body 
 of the lion, her hair being more sleek and softer. If watched while 
 she is moving about it will readily be observed that she displays 
 more agility, and is quicker and more impetuous in all her actions. 
 The expression of her countenance is also different, for it exhibits 
 a sullen and more crafty character, and one more like the inferior 
 species of the cat tribe. Although she differs but little in the 
 ferocity of her disposition to that of the lion while young, yet 
 directly she becomes a mother there is a marked increase in her 
 savageness, and from that time forth she is an animal more to be 
 dreaded than her mate. 
 
 Lions appear to breed more freely in captivity than any other 
 species of cat. The number of cubs born in a litter is generally 
 between two and four, and sometimes five. They are very hard 
 to rear. A large number used to be born in the Zoological 
 G-ardens with malformation of the palate, which rendered them 
 unable to obtain their food ; this defect disappeared when some 
 change was made in- the diet of the animals, but the mortality 
 among the cubs during the period they are shedding their milk- 
 teeth is, like it is in all carnivora, very great. They are born with 
 open eyes, but are helpless until they are four or five weeks old. ' 
 
 There was a curious legend of the Middle Ages that a lion's 
 whelp was born dead, and only first roused to or received life 
 at the expiration of three days by the roar of its sire, or by being 
 breathed on by him. It was often alluded to in consequence as 
 the natural type of the Resurrection, and from this fabulous history 
 of the animal he was made a symbol of one of the Four Evangelists, 
 namely St. Mark, who was called the historian of the Resurrec- 
 tion, — most probably from the fact that his Gospel is the one used 
 on Easter day, — and the lion being the symbol of the Resur- 
 rection, it was assigned him as an emblem. 
 
THE LION. 29 
 
 Like all cats, the lioness is very jealous of her young, and when 
 in captivity tries in- every way to keep them from being seen by 
 strangers. The cubs play about, and are as frolicsome as young 
 kittens. Their first fur is generally faintly striped and spotted ; 
 in this respect bearing some small resemblance to a tiger, though 
 the colouring is of course much less intense. 
 
 The lioness forming the subject of the illustration is an African 
 one about .three and a half years old, and is known by the name 
 of " Duchess." She is not nearly as good-tempered as the lion, 
 and the keepers have to be very careful with her ; for she occa- 
 sionally exhibits a disposition to be savage even to them. 
 
 In the Times of January, 1876, we read: " A favourite lioness has 
 lately died at the Dublin Zoological Gardens. ' OldGrirl' was of South 
 African race, and was born in the gardens, where she lived sixteen 
 years, brought up fifty cubs, and finally died of chronic bronchitis. 
 During her last illness ' Old Girl ' was much worried by rats, 
 which often swarm in the cages of the carnivora, and while the 
 beasts are in health, are rather an amusement than an annoyance. 
 The rats, however, began to nibble the toes of the lioness when 
 she could no longer defend herself, and accordingly a terrier was 
 placed in the cage to protect the sufferer. ' Old Girl ' at first re- 
 ceived the dog with a surly growl; when, however, she saw him kill 
 the first rat, she began to appreciate her visitor. The lioness coaxed 
 the terrier to her, folded her paws around him, and the dog slept 
 each night on her breast, enfolded with her paws, and protecting her 
 rest from disturbance." 
 
 In the Zoological Gardens at Pesth, one morning in March, 1877, 
 the visitors had an exhibition worthy of the old Roman days, a fight 
 to the bitter end between a lioness and a leopard, a veritable romance 
 of the animal world. It appears that a lion and honess were caged 
 next door to a female leopard, with whom the lion appeared to 
 be very friendly ; not so, however, the lioness, which showed her 
 •jealousy with savage growls whenever she caught sight of the 
 occupant of the next cage. One day the keeper accidentally left 
 the chain that was used to haul up the iron divisions suspended in 
 the lion's den. The lion caught the ring in his paws and in a 
 few minutes had drawn up the partition. The lioness, seeing her 
 
30 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 opportunity, bounded througli the opening, and sprang at the 
 throat of the leopard, who tried to escape by springing high up 
 on the bars. The Hon, attempting to follow his mate, let the 
 chain go, and the door fell back in its place, shutting him off and 
 preventing his taking part in the combat, which had now began 
 in earnest, and raged for nearly twenty minutes. At the ex- 
 piration of that time the leopard was thrown upon its back, and 
 in a second the sharp fangs of the lioness were deep in the 
 beautiful creature's throat, which died without a further effort, and 
 in half an hour nothing remained of her but a few torn and 
 mangled shreds. 
 
 Lions in confinement show not only regard but affection for 
 their keepers, and some remarkable instances of this are narrated 
 in several books of anecdotes on animal sagacity which are well 
 known, no doubt, to the majority of people. That he is capable of 
 instruction, and can be brought to perform divers tricks, and even 
 rendered so docile as to hold his mouth wide open while a man 
 thrusts his head therein, is demonstrated by the exhibitions fre- 
 quently seen at the performances of those so-called lion-tamers ; but 
 the number of accidents that have occurred should deter people 
 from encouraging such foolhardy exploits. Mr. Fairgrieve, the pro- 
 prietor of "Wombwell's menagerie, wrote a letter to t]ieGlohe,m 1872, 
 upon the subject of lion-taming — which was then attracting some 
 attention, through the fact that Macate, the lion-tamer in Maunder's 
 menagerie, had just been killed — in which he endeavoured to show 
 that under certain conditions, and with careful management, there 
 was no more danger in such exhibitions than in any other public 
 entertainments of the day, and went on to say that only three or four 
 deaths had occurred within his knowledge. There are, however, 
 a great many more recorded where the tame or performing lions 
 have killed their keepers or grooms. Many deaths are no doubt the 
 result of carelessness or over-confidence in their tameness, for 
 when too late it is found that the savageness of these wild beasts 
 is not entirely subdued but is only dormant, and despite their 
 apparent docility and obedience, it can be aroused by a trifling 
 cause. They are, in consequence, never safe. In Astley's Theatre, 
 one of the " lion-tamer " Crockett's lions broke loose and killed 
 
THE LION. 31 
 
 a stable-keeper named Jarvey. In 1861, at the same theatre, a 
 lion named " Havelock " tore off a heavy iron bar in front of his 
 c.9,ge, and burst open the door. An under-groom, named Smith, 
 entered the place and found the lions prowling about. " Havelock ' ' 
 sprang at him, pulled him to the ground, then fixing his teeth in 
 the poor fellow's throat, worried him to death. A lion that died 
 in the Central Park, New York, in 1876, named " Parker," was a 
 man-slayer of the worst kind. He was exhibited in Cook's circus in 
 1859, and on the second night of his performance he killed his keeper 
 Roberts ; afterwards in Glasgow he slew another keeper named 
 Stuart, a.nd badly mangled another man shortly afterwards else- 
 where. He was taken to America, and there killed a Miss Hardy. 
 Barnum then bought him, but deemed it prudent to lodge him 
 in the Park Menagerie, where he ended his career. The well- 
 remembered case of Ellen Bright' s death, who was killed by a 
 tiger while giving a private exhibition to some officers of her power 
 with her performing animals is alluded to by Mr. Fairgrieve, who, 
 attributing her death to the shock, writes : " The Lion-Queen fell to 
 the ground and the tiger sprang upon her. The tiger, however, 
 scarcely grazed her skin, and her death, which was instantaneous, 
 was caused almost solely by fright." (This was afterwards con- 
 tradicted, the tiger's tooth had torn the thoracic duct, which caused 
 her death.) "I may here mention," he continues, "as a curious 
 fact in natural history, that a full-grown lion named ' Eoyal 
 G-eorge,' which happened to be in the same den when the death 
 happened, took the sad event so much to heart, that it began to 
 pine away and hang down its head, and died in about three 
 months after his queen, to whom he was greatly attached." 
 
 A similar trait in the lion was exhibited by one at a menagerie 
 in Cassel. Another lion-queen who used to show her power by 
 putting her head in the jaws of a tame animal, had it bitten off 
 with a sudden snap, which is supposed to have been unintentional, 
 for the brute grieved over her death so much that he refused food, 
 pined away, and in a few days died also. 
 
 In the newspapers of the present day a paragraph is going 
 the rounds, giving the history of a poor man who had tamed a 
 Hon which he was in the habit of exhibiting. This man appears 
 
32 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 to have died suddenly in some lonely place in France, and wlien 
 found his faithful lion was crouclied by his side, dead also, having 
 remained with his master until he succumbed from starvation. 
 
 The forerunner of these lion-tamers, however, had other 
 dangers than mere brute ferocity to contend with. Hanno, a 
 Carthaginian, is the first on record who ever tamed a lion, and 
 he was condemned to banishment for what his fellow-citizens 
 deemed so great a crime. They asserted that the republic had to 
 fear the worst consequences from a man who had been able to 
 subdue so much ferocity. 
 
 A singular thing about the taming of lions is that men ex- 
 perienced in the business assert that it is much easier to tame a 
 " forest-caught lion " than one born in a menagerie, which is 
 certainly strange, and opposed to general theory. 
 
 A curious fact is narrated in an African paper, dated May, 1862, 
 which would lead us to infer that the lion, when not very hungry, 
 is not above amusing himself. Certainly, the behaviour of this 
 individual one, was, to say the least of it, very unusual. It appears 
 a woodcutter was proceeding from St. Charles to Gastonville, 
 when he suddenly saw " an enormous lion" crouched on the road 
 in front of him. Seized with terror he turned round and ran 
 back, but the lion jumping up, pursued him and went past him 
 on the road ; when some little distance in advance again, lay down 
 and waited the man's approach. The poor woodcutter again 
 turned round and fled back, the lion once more rushing past and 
 beyond him, then again lying down as before. This manoeuvre 
 was repeated by the creature several times until, in fact, the man 
 fell to the ground exhausted by fright and fatigue. The lion 
 then approached him, and after sniffing around, as though 
 examining him from head to foot, gave a friendly roar and walked 
 off, apparently satisfied at the trick it had played. The man 
 was confined to his bed for some days afterwards, and had 
 no further desire to meet a lion in the road, even when only on 
 " pleasure bent." 
 
 The part an old legend assigns the lions in the burial of 
 St. Paul may not be generally known. In the life of the 
 apostle, written by St. Jerome in 365, who received an account 
 
THE LION. 33 
 
 of his death from St. Anthony and others, we read: "After 
 two days' search St. Anthony found St. Paul, and a raven brought 
 a loaf, whereupon they took their corporal refection. The next 
 morning St. Paul told him he was going to die, and bid him fetch 
 a cloak given to St. Anthony by St. Athanasius and wrap his 
 body in it. St. Anthony then knew that St. Paul must have been 
 informed of the cloak by revelation, and went forth to fetch it, but 
 before his return St. Paul had died, and St. Anthony found two 
 lions digging his grave with their claws, wherein he^ buried 
 St. Paul, first wrapping him in St. Athanasius' s cloak, and pre- 
 serving as a great treasure St. Paul's garment, made of palm-tree 
 leaves stitched together." 
 
 Several historians of the habits and customs of the ancient 
 people of the world assert that among the various wild beasts that 
 have from time to time been trained for hunting purposes the lion 
 must be included. However remarkable this may appear, still it 
 must be remembered that men in past ages certainly possessed 
 powers of taming wild animals that have not descended to the 
 present generation ; and also that in hot or tropical countries 
 animal ferocity is more easily subdued than in colder ones. 
 
 Sir J. Gardner "Wilkinson ^ informs us that the ancient 
 Egyptians, who were most zealous sportsmen, not only "hunted 
 with hounds, but also with lions," which were brought up from 
 cubs in a tame state, and trained expressly for the chase, like the 
 cheetahs, or hunting leopards of India ; also that many Egyptian 
 monarchs were accompanied in battle by their favourite lions. 
 
 The first statement is not assented to by Mr. Francis Lenormant, 
 although he admits that lions were used in war. Nevertheless 
 it is borne out by MYian, the historian who wrote during the 
 third century, for he states that in India the natives knew how to 
 tame the black-maned lions, and to accustom them to the hunting 
 of boars, bulls, and wild asses, like dogs ; and he further makes 
 the startling assertion that the Indians tamed tigers and elephants, 
 and yoked them to the plough. 
 
 Sir John Ohardin, the French traveller, who visited the court 
 
 1 " A Popular Account of the Ancient Egyptians," new edition by Samuel Birch, 
 LL.D., D.G.L., 1878. 
 
 D 
 
34 Wild animals. 
 
 of Persia at the end of the seventeenth century, also mentions 
 trained lions as being employed in that country for a similar purpose. 
 
 The Assyrians appear to have been most enthusiastic lion- 
 hunters. Tiglath-Pileser I. (b.o. 1120), vv^ho was called the 
 "powerful king, king of the people of various tongues," because 
 during the first five years of his reign he subjugated forty-two 
 countries and took the kings captive, seems to have been most 
 successful also in sport, for it is recorded that he killed 920 lions 
 in his expeditions, besides strong and fierce bulls and buffaloes. 
 
 A visit to the room in the British Museum where those exquisite 
 and beautiful 6as-reh"e/s discovered in the years 1849-50 and 1854 
 by Sir A. H. Layard and Mr. Hormuzd Kassam are to be seen, will 
 amply repay the trouble. These slabs are historical chronicles 
 procured from the exploration of the entombed city of Mneveh, 
 and were found in that wonderful palace of Kouyunjik which was 
 built by Sennacherib. It must have been a truly magnificent 
 building, and its beautiful decorations were, and even now are, 
 marvels of man's workmanship. On many of the bas-reliefs will 
 be found faithful representations of several animals, especially on 
 those that portray the hunting scenes of Assurbanipal (Sardina- 
 palus I., or' Great, about B.C. 665, the grandson of Sennacherib, 
 B.C. 705). On them lions are to be seen under many circumstances 
 — caged, hunted, attacking, killed, and being skinned, and in various 
 attitudes, all carved with wonderful fidelity, and exhibiting such 
 exquisite art, that considering the period of their production, they 
 cannot fail to elicit admiration. The figure of the dying lioness, with 
 her hind-quarters paralyzed by the arrows of the hunters, is almost 
 perfect, and gazing on it, one is apt to doubt whether the skill 
 of using the chisel to such perfection in this style of work could 
 be very much surpassed even at the present day, although over 
 twenty-five hundred years have elapsed since the primitive artists 
 who executed the work have mouldered into dust or been embalmed 
 as mummies. 
 
 The Greeks and Romans knew how to tame wild animals 
 successfully, for, as before stated, Hanno had a lion at Carthage 
 which was so tame that it followed him everywhere like a dog, 
 and although we have not any records of their ever using the 
 
TH,B LION. • 35 
 
 lion for hunting purposes, they were employed to draw pro- 
 cessional cars in those stupendous pageants that awed the 
 multitude and flattered the vanity of the conquerors. 
 
 We read Hhat Ptolemy Philadelphus, King of Egypt, e.g. 285, in 
 his procession at Alexandria had twenty-four chariots drawn by 
 elephants, twelve by lions, seven by orixes, five by buffaloes, eight 
 by ostriches, four by wild asses, &c. 
 
 Mark Anthony used lions in this way. Grordian possessed 
 sixty tame lions and thirty leopards. Heliogabalus, Emperor of 
 Rome, A.D. 218-22, employed lions to draw his chariot, and also 
 converted them to other sources of amusement. It is related of 
 this capricious monster that he used for diversion to make his 
 guests intoxicated, and locking them up in this condition, would 
 let in upon them during the night tamed lions, bears, and 
 panthers, which had had their claws and teeth previously extracted. 
 On the guests regaining their senses some of them would be 
 struck dead with fright. 
 
 In the grand but degrading sports of the Roman emperors and 
 rulers, among the enormous numbers of wild animals turned into 
 their magnificent amphitheatres, lions were slaughtered by the 
 thousands. The wealth that must have been squandered in 
 procuring these animals, some of rare descriptions, from the 
 interiors of remote countries, the transporting of such stupendous 
 collections, to say nothing of the ingenuity exercised in their 
 capture, and the risk and loss of life involved, all simply for the 
 few days' carnage of a Roman revel, seems to border on the 
 incredible, and shows the wonderful power and opulence pos- 
 sessed by the men who could not only command such things to 
 be done, but think nothing of the expense involved. 
 
 Gibbon^ informs us that " the hunting or exhibition of wild 
 animals was conducted with a magnificence suitable to a people 
 who styled themselves masters of the world ; nor was the edifice 
 appropriated to that entertainment less expressive of Roman 
 greatness. Posterity admires, and will long admire, the awful re- 
 mains of the amphitheatre of Titus, which so well deserved the 
 
 2 Eankin's " Wars and Sports of the Mongols and Eomans." 
 
 3 "The Decline and Fall of the Eoman Empire." 
 
 D 2 
 
36 WILD .ANIMALS. 
 
 epithet of colossal.* It was a building of an elliptic figure, 564 
 feet in length, and 467 feet in breadth, founded on fourscore arches, 
 and rising, with four successive orders of architecture, to the 
 height of 140 feet. The outside of the edifice was encrusted 
 with marble, and decorated with statues. The slopes of the vast 
 concave which formed the inside were filled and surrounded with 
 sixty or eighty rows of seats, of marble likewise, covered with 
 cushions, and capable of receiving with ease about fourscore 
 thousand spectators. Sixty-four vomitories (for by that name 
 the doors were very aptly distinguished) poured forth the 
 immense multitude; and the entrances, passages, and stair- 
 cases were contrived with such exquisite skill, that each person, 
 whether of the senatorial, equestrian, or the plebeian order, arrived 
 at his destined place without trouble or confusion. Nothing was 
 omitted which in any respect could be subservient to the pleasure 
 of the spectators. They were protected from the sun and rain by 
 an ample canopy, occasionally drawn over their heads. The air 
 was continually refreshed by the playing of fountains, and pro- 
 fusely impregnated by the grateful scent of aromatics 
 
 In the decoration of these scenes the Eoman emperors displayed 
 their wealth and liberality ; and we read on various occasions that 
 the whole Eurniture of the amphitheatre consisted either of silver, 
 or of gold, or of amber .... the nets designed as a defence 
 ' against the wild beasts were of gold wire, that the porticoes were 
 gilded, and that the belt, or circle, which divided the several ranks 
 of spectators from each other, was studded with a precious mosaic 
 of beautiful stones." 
 
 It is stated, on the authority of Livy, that Cornelius Scipio 
 Nasica and 0. Lentulus (consuls of Kome, B.C. 191) were the 
 first who introduced combats between beasts and armed men; 
 and the first of these bloody battles that the Eomans so delighted 
 in took place between sixty-three lions, forty bears, and a number 
 of elephants. Scylla (consul B.C. 89) had one hundred lions, with 
 some men who were accustomed to fight them, sent him by 
 Bocchus, King of Mauritania, and the Romans were gratified by 
 the splendid shows that ensued. 
 
 * The Coliseum built a.d. 69. 
 
THE LION. 37 
 
 Pompey, the triumvir, and thrice consul, born 106 B.C., eclipsed 
 all previous exhibitions of lions, for at the opening of his theatre 
 the combat of wild beasts alone included the slaying of 500 of 
 them, it being recorded that the majority had manes and were there- 
 fore males, a feat which occupied five days in its consummation. 
 
 Putting aside the cruelty and barbarity of such an exhibition, 
 what a magnificent sight it must have been. The baiting of one 
 animal alone by a couple of frightened dogs has been known 
 within the present century to have worked up to a high pitch of 
 excitement an audience composed of comparatively cold-blooded 
 phlegmatic Englishmen. What must have been the feelings of 
 the thousands of excitable and passionate Eoman men and women 
 who suri^ounded that arena filled with hundreds of lions struggling 
 in mortal combat? The stupendous roaring of the savage 
 animals, mad with rage and wounds, red with gore, and writhing 
 in their dying paroxysms, heard even above the fierce shouting 
 of the audience, who doubtless looked in their excitement little 
 less ferocious than the beasts themselves, must have been a spec- 
 tacle appalling in its grandeur, and one that even now stirs the 
 blood to think of. 
 
 The Emperor Domitian (a.d. 81 — 96) exhibited in the circus a 
 woman in. combat with a hon, which shows to what a debased 
 condition popular feeling had sunk in the eagerness for amuse- 
 ments of a novel and exciting character. 
 
 The Emperor Probus (a.d. 281) had a great quantity of large 
 trees, torn up by the roots, transplanted into the midst of the 
 circus. " The spacious and shady forest was immediately filled 
 with a thousand ostriches, a thousand stags, a thousand fallow 
 deer, and a thousand wild boars ; and all this variety of game 
 was abandoned to the riotous impetuosity of the multitude. The 
 tragedy of the succeeding day consisted in the massacre of a 
 hundred lions and equal number of lionesses, two hundred 
 leopards, and three hundred bears." 
 
 Even this exhibition and the preceding ones, not exempting 
 the wanton butchery that distinguished the secular games of the 
 Emperor Philip (a.d. 248), were surpassed by the superior mag- 
 nificence of the Emperor Oarir^us (a.d. 284). 
 
38 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 Among the wild beasts slain by the unerring darts of Commodus, 
 ■when that dissolute emperor himself descended to become a 
 gladiator, were a hundred Hons ; and various other periods could 
 be mentioned when these noble animals were butchered for the 
 sport of the Roman people, and in such numbers on occasions 
 that it is a question if the whole world could produce as many at 
 the present day. 
 
 One of their laws refers to this animal, for in a note to Gibbon's 
 history he states : " The African lions, when pressed by hunger, 
 infested the open villages and cultivated country, and they in- 
 fested them with impunity. The royal beast was reserved for 
 the pleasures of the emperor and the capital ; and the unfortunate 
 peasant who killed one of them, though in his own defence, 
 incurred a very heavy penalty. This extraordinary game-law was 
 mitigated by Honorius, and finally repealed by Justinian." 
 
 In Europe, during the middle ages, lions were considered 
 appurtenances of royalty ; in fact, in France from the time of ' 
 Chilperic (a.d. 561) there were always lions in the possession 
 of the kings. Lacroix ^ states that in 1333, Philippe de Valois 
 bought a barn in the Rue Froidmantel, near the Chateau du 
 Louvre, where he established a menagerie for his lions, bears, 
 leopards, and other wild beasts. This royal menagerie still existed 
 in the reigns of Charles VII. and Francis I. Charles V. and his 
 successors had an establishment of lions in the quadrangle of the 
 Grand Hotel de St. Paul, on the very spot which was subsequently 
 the site of the Rue des Leons St. Paul. 
 
 " These wild beasts were sometimes employed in the combats, 
 and were pitted against bulls and dogs in the presence of the king 
 and his court. It was after one of these combats that Charles IX., 
 excited by the sanguinary spectacle, wished to enter the arena 
 alone, in order to attack a lion which had torn some of his best 
 dogs to pieces, and it was only with great difficulty ' that the 
 audacious sovereign was dissuaded from his foolish purpose. 
 Henry III. had no disposition to imitate his brother's example ; 
 for dreaming one night that his lions were devouring him, he had 
 them all killed the next day." 
 
 5 "Manners, Customs, and Dress during the Middle Ages," 1874. 
 
THE LION. 39 
 
 It was while watching the lions at the court of Francis I. that 
 the fine lady dropped her glove into their den, and requested her 
 lover to fetch it out, which he did, and restoring it said, coldly, 
 " Here is your glove, madam ; see if you can find any one else who 
 would do the same for you that I have done," and thereupon left 
 her, never to return ; an incident that forms the theme of many a 
 well-known story in prose and verse. 
 
 In England, as before mentioned, Henry III. (1235) first began 
 the practice of keeping lions in the Tower, which was continued, by 
 subsequent sovereigns, down to the time of William IV. Watching 
 combats between these animals and dogs, bulls, and bears, was 
 one of the favourite diversions of James I. 
 
 A curious superstition became popular with regard to these 
 lions. It was customary to name them after the reigning kings, 
 and the fate of the monarchs and the animals was thought to be 
 bound up together. Earl Stanhope, in his " History of England," 
 quotes Lord Chesterfield as remarking in reference to the serious 
 illness that attacked Greorge II., "It was generally thought his 
 Majesty would have died, and for a very good reason — for the 
 oldest lion in the Tower, much about the king's age, died a 
 fortnight ago ! " 
 
 Some superstitions regarding the hon exist even in England 
 at the present day, for Mr. Frank Buckland speaks of an appli- 
 cation being made but a few years ago to Mr. Bartlett, the 
 well-known Superintendent of the Zoological Gardens, for some 
 hairs off the back of the lion ; the woman who wanted them stated 
 they were to give to a child to drive away fits. 
 
 This belief must be of a very ancient date, probably from the 
 time of ^sculapius,^ although he says that the flesh— not the hair 
 
 of a lion being made into soup, will help those troubled with a 
 
 shaking of the joints or the palsie. According to Rasis, the 
 Arabian physician of the ninth century, the eye-teeth of a lion 
 hung about the neck of a young child, when he is forming his 
 second teeth, will prevent him from having any pain in them. 
 There were of course many other virtues attached to different 
 parts of these animals, as there were to every other species, by the 
 
 6 See Topsell's History. 
 
40 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 ancients, who do not seem to have been particular in their choice 
 of medicines. 
 
 A small prickle is occasionally found on the extreme tip of the 
 lion's tail, and some hunters have maintained that the animal uses 
 it to increase his rage by lashing it against his sides. This is 
 only a theory, however, for it is not to be found in all lions, 
 neither does this peculiar structure occur in any other of the Felidce 
 except the puma. The reason that all cats crouch and lash their 
 tails before springing is due to the necessities of their muscular 
 construction. The muscles of these animals are extraordinarily 
 powerful and massive, especially those used for progression and 
 propulsion. Some of the muscles of the thighs are employed to 
 extend the legs, others to flex .them, and others have a rotary 
 action. Professor Houghton,^ who dissected an adult lion, found 
 the combined weight of the extensor muscles to be nearly 91 
 ounces; of the flexors, 29 ounces; and the rotators of the thigh, 
 61 ounces; and he shows that the animal, when crouching on its 
 haunches, with its feet somewhat apart, makes all these muscles 
 available to assist its spring, which is further aided by the pro- 
 pulsion of the haunches upwards, and it is propelled forward by 
 the combined action of all the muscles of both legs. It therefore 
 follows that the bound will be governed by the amount of 
 extension, hence the advantage of the low crouched-up position; 
 and as there is an intimate relation between these muscles and 
 the vertebrae of the tail, they are tightened by the vibratory 
 undulating motion of that appendage before making a bound. 
 
 The muscles that govern the movement of the lion's jaw .are 
 also peculiar. Besides being exceptionally, strong, they are so 
 arranged that they not only close the mouth, but force the 
 condyles of the lower jaw backwards into their sockets. This 
 pressure gives these animals the power of carrying their prey the 
 long distances they are in the habit of doing before eating it; for 
 if some special provision was not made, the strain of the weight 
 of, say, a dead ox, would inevitably produce dislocation of the 
 jaw. 
 
 ? " Koyal Irish. Academy Proceedings," vol. ix. 
 
41 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE TIGER {FELIS TIGRIS). 
 
 From the Lions we turn naturally to the Tigers, for if the lions are to 
 be regarded as the chiefs of their order, tigers must certainly be 
 looked upon as the most typical specimens of the cat family, as these 
 animals combine in the most strongly marked manner all the 
 characteristics peculiar to the feline group, being cat-like in all 
 their actions and habits ; which fact, in conjunction with their 
 strength of limb, makes them the most dangerous and destructive 
 of all wild beasts. 
 
 The first thing noticeable about the tiger is its grand colouring 
 and vivid marking. The bright rufous fawn-colour forming the 
 groundwork of the head, legs, and upper part of the body ; the 
 black or dark stripes that vertically mark the back, limbs, tail, 
 and trunk, varying from twenty to thirty on each side, and form- 
 ino- the letter " W " on the face over the eyes, together with the 
 remarkable purity of the whites that shade the forehead, throat, 
 and ventral parts, all tend to give him that beautiful appearance 
 for which he is noted. On the face and ears the white mark- 
 ings are peculiarly well defined. These stripes or brindlings 
 constitute a distinguishing feature of the tiger, for they are not 
 seen on any other member of the Felidce. Another striking pecu- 
 liarity of these animals is the massive proportion of their fore- 
 paws as compared with their hind ones. 
 
 The depth and intensity of the colouring, however, and the 
 glossy, sleek appearance of the fur is subject to variations ; age, 
 condition, and the locality inhabited by the animal having a 
 great deal to do with it. It is also subject to changes through 
 climatic causes. Whatever the original shade of the animal may 
 
42 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 be, when old it becomes mucli paler; the young ones, when full 
 grown, being easily distinguishable by the richness of their colour. 
 
 Bright and vivid as the tone is generally, it is no less remark- 
 able for the perfect way in which it harmonizes with the grass or 
 jungle in which these creatures lurk and prowl, and they often baffle 
 the keenest eyes to discover or distinguish them even at the distance 
 of a few yards, a fact that adds considerably to the danger incurred 
 by the beaters and hunters in that favourite of all Indian sports 
 — tiger-shooting. For, as was remarked by one of the ablest of 
 writers in the Quarterly, the stripes, spots, and colour constituting 
 the characteristic markings of the larger feline animals are not 
 for ornament alone, but bear a direct relation to the circum- 
 stances under which they carry on their predatory pursuits. The 
 tawny colour of the lion harmonizes with the parched grass or yellow 
 sand along which he steals to stalk his prey ; the dark, vertical 
 stripes of the royal tiger, and the yellowish ground-colour of his 
 coat, render him less easily discerned as he glides along through the 
 straight stems of the underwood in the jungle. The leopard and 
 the panther derive a similar advantage from having the general 
 colour of their skins broken by dark spots, like the leaves around 
 them, as they crouch on the outstretched branches of the trees. 
 
 The striped and spotted fur, peculiar to these animals and 
 others of the cat family, as well as their general colouring, seems also 
 to be indicative of ferocity of character, for we see it generally 
 reproduced in those members of the animal world that exhibit 
 this trait, such as the most ferocious kind of dogs and birds ; 
 and a little careful inspection of the animals in any collection will 
 soon make it evident that there is a fundamental connection 
 between their colourings and markings, and their physical and 
 mental qualities. Thus the yellow of the lion and his congeners 
 is reproduced in the owl and several birds of prey, as well as 
 in numerous other predatory creatures which inherit savage and 
 comparatively untamable dispositions. 
 
 Both in size and strength the tiger competes with, if not actually 
 exceeds, the lion; and although lacking the dignity the mane 
 and imposing front confer upon the latter, yet in general beauty 
 of appearance most people consider the tiger far surpasses him. 
 
THE TIGER. 43 
 
 In the matter of courage and muscular power, it is hard to 
 decide, there being so much conflicting eTidence upon the subject. 
 Hunters and travellers in Africa extol the lion ; while those in 
 Asia generally, and India especially — the home of the tiger — 
 maintain the superiority of the latter. In ferocity and cunning 
 he is undoubtedly conspicuous. Buffon says that the tiger, with 
 an audacity superior to his nature, even braves the lion himself. 
 This is undoubtedly correct, for although there are but few if any 
 instances recorded where the lion has voluntarily attacked or 
 killed a tiger, there are several well-known cases of tigers having 
 killed lions. A tiger that belonged to Mr. Jamrack, the dealer in 
 wild beasts, was sold for £200 to Mr. Edmunds, who had soon 
 cause to regret his bargain, for the animal, being accidentally 
 enabled to get out of his own den into the adjoining one, attacked 
 the occupant, which was a most valuable lion, and catching him 
 by the throat killed him. 
 
 The movements of the tiger are quicker, and it is more agile 
 and stealthy than the lion, though the lioness in this respect is 
 somewhat similar. In its speed it partakes of the general 
 character of the cats, excelling in sudden rushes, quick bounds, 
 or succession of bounds, but is apparently incapable of sustained 
 speed or continuous exertion, though the distance one can 
 travel on occasions is considerable. 
 
 The writers who have made careful observations of the tiger 
 describe it as naturally a cowardly or cautiously disposed animal, 
 retreating generally unless provoked or wounded; cattle even 
 rushing in a body at one have frequently been known to make it 
 drop the prey that it had seized. 
 
 "When at bay, howevef , it will fight to the last ; one has been 
 known to combat a I'outrance with forty-six elephants. Mr. 
 Crauford states that he witnessed this in Cochin China, and that 
 the tiger was chained to a stake by a rope thirty yards long ; his 
 claws were cut, and his mouth sewed up, but this brave brute flung 
 himself again and again upon his foe, till many of the elephants 
 slunk terrified away, and the tiger met his death at last by the 
 sheer tossing he got from the trunks of certain of his opponents. 
 
 Tigers are only found in Asia, and begin to appear where the 
 
44 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 lion dies out, for these two large species of the same family 
 rarely exist together in the same district. The majority of the 
 specimens of the tiger that used to reach this country came from 
 Bengal, and hence the animal goes generally by the name of the 
 royal or Bengal tiger ; but it is not by any means confined to 
 one province or to one country, for it has a very wide range, from 
 Turkish Greorgia, through Persia, over India, China, and the East 
 Indian islands, Java and Sumatra ; but it is not found in Borneo 
 nor in Ceylon. Its true home is, however, India, where it is still 
 plentiful, especially in the western frontier of the Punjaub and 
 banks of the Indus ; it is rarely seen now in many of the districts 
 of the Deccan, but is frequently met with near Poonah and along 
 the base of the Himalayas. So far from it being only a tropical 
 animal requiring a warm climate for its habitation, which is 
 the general opinion, it is frequently found in the northern and 
 coldest parts of Asia, especially of China, which abounds with 
 tigers, which in many parts are noted for being of a very large 
 size, and clothed with longer and denser fur ; an instance of 
 nature adapting itself to the climate, for this variety is said to 
 live during the winter in burrows under the snow. 
 
 The tiger appears to have been but little known to the ancients ; 
 among the Creeks, Aristotle merely mentions it as an animal he 
 had heard of, and we learn from Pliny that the first tiger ever 
 seen in Rome was a tame one kept by Augustus, and was pre- 
 sented to him by the ambassadors from Pandion and Porus, kings 
 of the Indies, who were four years on their journey, bearing, 
 besides some magnificent jewels, live elephants, tigers, a serpent 
 twelve cubits long, a river turtle three cubits long, vipers of 
 prodigious size, and a vulture or busted. The majority of the 
 animals seen in Eome were African ones, hence the tiger was 
 always scarce. It appears that at a later date Claudius had four 
 of them, and they were shown at the opening of the Pantheon 
 (a.d. 47). It is surmised that, this fact being unprecedented and 
 so extraordinary, it was deemed a fitting event to commemorate, 
 and those wonderful mosaic pictures of four tigers discovered 
 some time ago in Rome, near the arch of Callicius, was the method 
 adopted of doing so. 
 
THE TIGBE. 45 
 
 Afterwards Heliogabalus (a.d. 218 — 222), caused his chariot to be 
 drawn by tigers ; and among the collection prepared for the 
 younger Gordian and his triumphs, and which his successors ex- 
 hibited in the secular games, were ten Indian tigers, who, with 
 thirty African hyenas, were confronted with ten elk and as many 
 harmless camelopards. Severus also had tigers, and imported 
 them with him to Britain, together with other rare animals. The 
 remains of wild beasts of this description were found in a cave 
 at Kirkdale, in Yorkshire, and Eankin ^ thinks it probable that 
 these bones belonged to the animals slain in an amphitheatre that 
 existed somewhere near York, or Bboracum, which was the Eoman 
 capital of Britain for above 300 years and the headquarters of 
 the Roman Empire for more than three years. 
 
 In modern times tigers have furnished the theme for many thrill- 
 ing narratives told by the various hunters who have given us their 
 adventures in the numerous books on Indian sports ; and there 
 are many families in England that mourn the loss of some 
 member who stimulated by the excitement attending it has paid 
 the penalty for his rashness in tiger-stalking. From these works 
 we soon learn that there is a great difference of opinion respecting 
 some of the habits of the tigers, from which we can only surmise 
 that their characteristics differ in the various districts, and that 
 each member of these crafty and terrible cats has an individuality 
 of its own. 
 
 Although tigers are occasionally hunted on foot, the danger 
 incurred is too great to make this form of sport very popular, and 
 the general method is to use elephants trained for the purpose ; 
 the hunter riding in the houdah with a man behind with spare 
 guns in readiness, and the mahout or driver in front on the 
 elephant's neck, armed with a pointed iron rod, with which he 
 guides the huge creature and keeps him steady. Even in this 
 comparatively secure position accidents often occur, especially when 
 the animal attacked happens to be a ferociously-inclined tigress 
 with her cubs, for under such circumstances she will frequently 
 charge with a snarling, coughing growl, and springing on to 
 the elephant, clutch at the mahout, and hold on firmly with her 
 ' " Wars and Sports of the Mongols and Komans." 
 
46 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 teeth or claws, until shaken off by the writhing and infuriated 
 elephant, or shot by the hunter. 
 
 The tiger can make terrible leaps, being so lithe and agile. He 
 crouches down, bending his back into a concave curve, contracts 
 the muscles of the limbs, especially the hinder ones, and with a 
 slight quivering of the tensioned sinews, takes his leap and lands 
 with tremendous force. The following account will give some 
 idea of their power in this way : — 
 
 In " The Bengal Sporting Magazine " for 1834, " Sheer Khan " 
 gives an account of an extraordinary leap of a tigress. He was 
 out hunting with a party of four, and they had just put their 
 elephants into the jungle, and had not advanced far when they 
 came upon something which moved on a short distance and then 
 stopped. " We could not see," he writes, " what it was from the 
 height of the jungle, but conjectured from the motion of the 
 nulls that it was a tiger, and we were not mistaken ; for on the 
 elephants coming upon it again, a fine tigress, with one bound, 
 sprang horizontally into the air, clear over the jungle, and lighted 
 with all four paws at once on the pad of the elephant nearest to 
 her. Never, I should think, in the annals of tiger-hunting was 
 such a spring heard of ; she leapt from the same level as the 
 elephant, had no advantage from any rising ground, rose in the 
 air higher than the pad, and lighted on it neatly and easily, with- 
 out the slightest scramble : the best Arab that was ever rattled 
 across country, never tossed a bank in such style. I could not 
 have imagined that it was in any animal to make such a spring ; 
 it almost equalled that out-and-out jump of King Arthur's steed, 
 when 
 
 ' Screaming with agony and fright. 
 He bolted twenty feet upright.' 
 
 And as in that case, it is asserted by the minstrel of the north 
 
 that 
 
 ' The peasant still can show the dint, 
 "Where his hoofs lighted on the flint,' 
 
 SO can I show in corroboration of the truth of my story the marks 
 of the four paws of the brute where she lighted on the pad. 
 
THE TIGER. 47 
 
 and also the traces of the teeth, for she shook it like a terrier 
 does a rat. At the moment she made her spring, the elephant 
 most fortunately swerving presented his broad side to the charge, 
 otherwise the mahout must have been killed on the spot ; as it 
 was, had we not been close by, if we had even been beating in 
 line, it is probable that his life would have been lost before we 
 could have put an end to the brute; but owing to the jungle 
 being so small, we were all clustered together on the spot, and 
 instantly firing knocked her off before she could reach him, though 
 certainly there was not a foot's space between her tusks, and Tiis 
 head. She fell dead into the mud, every shot having told ; and 
 the whole business was so instantaneous that I really believe the 
 mahout did not know the danger he had been in, more especially 
 as he had only one eye, and the tigress charged him on his blind 
 side." 
 
 The tiger preys chiefly on cattle, buffalo, and all kinds of deer ; 
 but it will catch the wild hog, and attack much larger animals ; and, 
 under the influence of hunger, there is no predicting what the 
 animal will or will not do in this way, it having been asserted 
 that they will occasionally eat one another ; and it is admitted that, 
 so far from invariably in its wild state only feeding on prey of its 
 own killing, it will at such times eat carrion. Captain Forsyth ^ 
 divided tigers into three classes, based on the prey they naturally 
 select — ^those who habitually live on game, those who lurk around 
 settlements and live on cattle,' and the few who become man-eaters. 
 
 The cattle-killers cause great destruction and loss in India, so 
 much so that the Government has frequently to step in, and by offer- 
 ing additional rewards and appointing special tiger-killers relieve 
 a district of the pests. Although they generally only kill a cow or 
 bullock apiece once in four or five days, yet this aggregates seventy 
 head in the year for each tiger— no light tax ; but it occasionally 
 happens that, through being interfered with, more than one 
 animal is killed at every attack, often three and four being 
 required to appease the wantonness of such a creature. Again, the 
 cubs seem frequently to be encouraged by the mother in the 
 sport of harrying and killing the harmless cattle, hunger being 
 
 2 " Ilighlands of Central India." 
 
48 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 no incentive, but prompted by what Artemus Ward -would 
 describe as " pure cussedness." 
 
 So far from groaning under the heavy loss, the natives in 
 many places submit to it from superstitious motives, tigers 
 being venerated animals ; but in other districts the Government is 
 constantly urged to encourage a war of extermination on the 
 destructive creatures. • Many experienced officials, however, state 
 this would be unwise, and declare that interference in the 
 balance of Nature in the country cannot be done with impunity. 
 This opens up too wide a question for argument in these pages ; 
 suffice it to say that their reasoning is drawn from the fact that in 
 certain parts of India, where the predatory animals have been 
 nearly exterminated, the wild hogs, deer, and other animals, upon 
 whom Nature intended them to prey, have multiplied to such an 
 extent that the crops are seriously damaged by the countless 
 herds feeding at night. It is asserted that a few tigers would 
 keep down that increase over a vast extent of country, and, by 
 preventing such devastation, do good instead of harm, and thereby 
 compensate for the indirect expense of their support. However, 
 tigers are getting scarcer year by year, and in some districts 
 where they formerly abounded but few, if any, are now to be 
 found. 
 
 Those tigers which prefer game mostly confine themselves to 
 the hill districts or the feeding-grounds generally of their prey. 
 They are noticeably lighter and smaller in every way than the 
 habitual cattle-killers. 
 
 Of the brutes which become man-eaters we hear a great deal ; 
 they appear to be chiefly old animals, and, strange to say, are 
 females in the majority of cases. One writer says : " When 
 goaded by hunger, nothing can daunt the temerity or repress the 
 ravages of this fierce marauder. Under this impulse the tiger will 
 quit his ambush in the woods for the public roads or highway, and 
 abandoning the failing chase of the wild beasts of the forest, 
 turn upon a surer and more noble prey, and from that moment 
 man becomes his favourite quarry. In a single district, of rather 
 limited dimensions, no fewer than 84 inhabitants had been de- 
 voured during the preceding year by the tigers of the neighbour- 
 
THE TIGER. 49 
 
 lug covers. The tiger, in short, is the scourge of an immense 
 portion of Southern Asia and of the Indian islands. Its swiftness 
 and its strength are such, that it will seize upon a man on horse- 
 back, pull him from his saddle, and, holding him in his mouth, 
 carry him by surprising bounds or leaps into the nearest coverts, 
 in spite of shouting or any other means of prevention — short of 
 musket-balls, sped with a just and deadly aim." A writer in the 
 Field for 1867, narrating the death of a man-eating tigress, which 
 exhibited the peculiarity of only eating the head of her victims, says, 
 when she was ultimately shot, which was soon after she had sprung 
 in among three young girls engaged in grinding corn, one of 
 whom she carried off, and was opened, the hands of the unfortunate 
 girl were found whole, and her hair had been swallowed down in 
 one mass, with the scalp and bones of the skull. 
 
 Major-General Burton,^ in his interesting book, gives several 
 accounts of these man-eating pests. He had a coolie with him 
 on one of his hunting expeditions, who disappeared, and as he 
 was never heard of afterwards, it was supposed that he had been 
 carried off by a tiger that was known to haunt the jungle through 
 which he passed. Of this animal he writes : " It was extra- 
 ordinarily bold in its murderous operations. On one occasion a 
 large party of Rohillas were passing from Ramaram to Kaissera, on 
 their way to the city, when the tiger sprang out from thick bushes, 
 and carried off the jemadar from the very midst of his men ; it 
 pulled him off his pony, and carried him away into the jungle, 
 leaving the terrified party to make the best of their way without 
 their leader." 
 
 Another tiger infested a jungle about fifteen miles from 
 Kamptee, up the river Pench, and destroyed half the population 
 of some small villages. The scared remnants of the imhappy 
 villagers at last deserted their homes, and sent for shikarries 
 (hunters) to destroy the dreadful beasts. The story went that 
 this tiger would walk up to a village in broad dayhght, enter 
 house after house, where doors were open, and, if they were 
 deserted and he found no game, would break all the earthen 
 cooking-pots, and return, grumbling fiercely, to the jungles. 
 ' "Reminiscences of Sport in India," 1885. 
 
 E 
 
So WILD ANIMALS.' 
 
 This animal was ultimately shot, on one of his devastating prowls 
 through the village, by the shikarries, who hid themselves on the 
 roofs of some of the houses, and waited for him. 
 
 He gives another account of a friend who shot two notorious 
 man-eating tigers which infested the jungle-track near Seeonee, 
 in the Central Provinces. One's death was under the follow- 
 ing circumstances : " He was out in the jungle, with his gun- 
 bearer with spare gun behind him, and was walking quietly 
 down the bank of a very tigerish nullah, a sudden rush, and a 
 despairing cry from the native, startled him, and he turned round, 
 only to see the tiger leap into the deep nullah, with the gun- 
 bearer in his jaws. He fired instantly, and wounded the tiger, 
 which thereupon left the unfortimate man and retreated into the 
 depth of the jungle. The victim's chest was crushed in, and he 
 lay a corpse in the nullah. The sportsman returned to camp for 
 his elephant, and followed up and killed the tiger." 
 
 The man-eaters are conspicuous even among tigers for their 
 cowardly and cunning natures, for their want of sleekness and 
 good condition^ and they seem to have the intuitive power of dis- 
 criminating between an armed and an unarmed man. Occasionally 
 young tigers have been known to take to man-eating. This is 
 accounted for by the fact that the mother was a man-eater, and 
 the cubs, which do not leave her until they are capable of pro- 
 curing their own prey, naturally acquire the taste, and adopt the 
 same food as the parent — hence become in early life "man-eaters." 
 
 The action of tigers in killing their prey has been variously 
 described, some stating that their usual way is to launch themselves 
 upon their victim, and, seizing it by the back of the neck (not the 
 throat), bring it to the ground, and then give the fatal wrench 
 or twist that dislocates the neck. Others, that they seize the nape 
 of the neck with their teeth, and with the paws so bold the victim 
 as to get a purchase for the wrench, which produces dislocation. 
 Mr. Sanderson, who, from having been a keen sportsman, and also 
 tiger-slayer to the Mysore Government, is undoubtedly a reliable 
 authority, contradicts these statements, and says that although 
 they do sometimes seize by the throat or neck, they most 
 frequently bring down the animal by striking savagely at the 
 
A TIGER. 
 
 {JFelis tigris.) 
 
THE TIGEE. 51 
 
 hind quarters or legs, trying to hamstring or upset their intended 
 victim. He also refutes the story so frequently narrated in 
 books of natural history, that the tiger kills its prey with the 
 stroke of the paw, and then sucks the blood from the jugular 
 vein with intense relish. He says that, judging from his large 
 experience, and from descriptions given him by men who had 
 seen the animals attack cattle scores of times, there is no founda- 
 tion for the story. There is, however, another well-known writer, 
 who describes having personally seen it done, and an extra- 
 ordinary case of the act being photographed seems to place it 
 beyond doubt that they do kill with the blow, if- not invariably, 
 at least occasionally. The following letter from a correspondent 
 appeared in a Madras paper a little over a year ago : — " So far as 
 I can ascertain, a photograph of a tiger in the act of striking 
 down a large animal was never taken until this week, when 
 I secured a negative of- a tigef killing a buffalo. I had focussed 
 on the buffalo, which was tied to the stump of a tree in the middle 
 of a field, and had just put a dry plate in the camera, when a tiger 
 came up and struck down the buffalo with a single blow of his 
 paw. My camera was not ten yards from the buffalo, and the 
 tiger might just as well have come at me if he had chosen to do 
 so ; but fortunately he selected the buffalo instead, and then I 
 took advantage of my position and released the spring shutter 
 just as he had given the buffalo his knock-down blow. The 
 negative, I am sorry to say, is not a good one ; but it is, neverthe- 
 less, interesting, because it throws some light on that vexed 
 question, ' How does a tiger kill his prey ? ' In the photograph, 
 which I have before me as I write, the tiger is seen standing on 
 bis hind-legs, which are bent ; his body is inclined to the ground 
 at an angle of about 45° ; his tail is straight, except the tip, 
 which is curled upwards ; and the right fore-paw is seen above 
 and the left below the buffalo's neck. The head of the buffalo 
 covers the shoulders and heart of the tiger, whose head appears 
 above his horns ; his back is nearly level, but his front legs are 
 doubled up under him, and he is just in the act of falling. The 
 head is drooping and lifeless, and the whole appearance of the 
 buffalo tends to confirm the generally-accepted opinion, that the 
 
 E 2 
 
52 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 tiger witli his knock-down blow dislocates the neck of his 
 victims." 
 
 The tiger's power to kill much larger animals than itself, 
 which is so frequently employed against the human race, 
 as well as their worldly possessions, condemns the animal as a 
 scourge, and despite its beauty, and the apologies and inter- 
 cessions we read so frequently from Anglo-Indian sportsmen on 
 its behalf, the tiger is a pest. It is impossible, to read the statistics 
 of the Government even at the present day and the accounts given 
 by unprejudiced writers without coming to this conclusion. James 
 Forbes, in his " Oriental Memoirs," 1813, speaking of the 
 Molungres, or salt-boilers of the Sunderbunds — the most wretched 
 caste of India, in a lower depth of misery and oppression than the 
 Pariars — who inhabit a sandy shore, surrounded by an immense 
 wilderness full of tigers and snakes, not having any arms to 
 defend themselves, are entirely at the meycy of the wild beasts ; 
 and when one of the lords of the jungle is seen approaching, tliey 
 have no alternative but to hide themselves in holes dug for the 
 purpose. But holes dug in sand are but a feeble protection for the 
 poor wretches, for long experience has taught the tiger these men 
 are his prey, and he therefore proceeds to dig them out with his 
 claws. The bloodshed, misery, and loss is fearful to contemplate. 
 In 1869, one tigress is reported to have killed 127 people, and 
 stopped a public road for weeks. In another case, a similar 
 creature was so destructive that the people deserted thirteen 
 villages, and, as a consequence, 250 square miles of country were 
 left uncultivated. In 1868, a magistrate of Godawary reports the 
 country was overrun with tigers, every village having suffered 
 from the ravages of man-eaters. No road was safe, and a few 
 days before his arrival at Kondola, a tiger charged a large body 
 of villagers within a few hundred yards of the civil station. The 
 Bengale^e, according to the Government reports, seem to be the 
 favourite food of these animals, for during the seven years ending 
 1881 they killed no less a number than 2535 persons, and 23,133 
 head of cattle in this province alone (a diminution in number 
 however, to the six years ending 1866, when the fearful figures 
 reached 4218 persons.) The total for all India during this period 
 
THE TIGER. 53 
 
 amounted to 5845 persons, and 98,897 head of cattle, as the levy 
 made by the tiger, for his support. The statistics of the reports 
 on the " Eesults of the Measures adopted in British India with a 
 view of Exterminating Wild Beasts and Snakes," shows that for 
 the years 1875—1881, 3501 tigers were killed in Bengal, and 
 rewards— amounting to £6450— claimed ^ while in the whole 
 presidencies and provinces 11,212 tigers were killed— barely two 
 animals for each human life ! — which cost the Government £26,957. 
 
 Near Salem, eighty miles north of Trinchinopoly, there is a 
 jungle, noted some years ago for man-eating tigers, all of which have 
 fortunately been killed ; and all along the right bank of the river 
 Cauvery are cairns of stones every few hundred yards, and often 
 closer even than this, marking the resting-place of the ill-starred 
 travellers upon whom the tigers had sprung from the jungle 
 bushes and high grass that fringes the road, and satiated their 
 appetite for human prey. 
 
 Tigers have an aversion to water, — a trait common to nearly all 
 the felidce — but when disturbed, or suspecting danger, they do 
 not hesitate to swim across a stream or river. 
 
 They seldom, if ever, roar ; but when charging and angered, 
 are said to utter a succession of rapid, startling, coughing growls. 
 A writer on the subject of the tiger says : — " I cannot call to 
 mind having met in any book with an accurate description of the 
 tiger's cries. The snarling and growling of the animal when 
 ' stirred up with a long pole ' is familiar to those who have visited 
 a menagerie, and appears to be the only noise the creature makes 
 when in a state of captivity ; but in his native forest, in the long 
 nights of the cold season, when the wood or the hill seems to 
 sleep in the moonlight, the tiger, striding along his lonely path, 
 and seeking his fierce mate, mews like an old tom-cat — or, 
 rather, like one hundred old tom-cats in chorus. It is a loud, and 
 harsh, and grating miau ; a sound of dread echoing along the 
 dreary jungle, making the sentry pause as he passes on his post 
 by the slumbering camp, and the solitary settler turns in his cot 
 and thanks the gods his little ones are safe within. It is seldom 
 heard more than twice or thrice. When the tiger is on the look- 
 out for food (usually in the evening), he lies silent and motionless 
 
54 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 in some dense covert close to water where animals resort to drink, 
 and when one of these approaches near enough, he bounds out on 
 his prey in perfect silence, or with an abrupt or sonorous growl, 
 terribly startling, which appears to paralyze the victim, and 
 deprive it of all power to fly or resist." 
 
 The average size of the tiger appears to be somewhere between 
 nine and ten feet, measuring from the nose to the tip of the tail, 
 and the girth of body behind the shoulders about five feet six 
 inches. Individuals attain, however, much larger dimensions, 
 and the stuffed animal in the zoological collection in the Natural 
 History department of the British Museum, presented by Mr. 
 Sanderson, is considerably above the figures here quoted ; and an 
 animal exhibited by Colonel Kamsay some years ago in London 
 was 12 feet long, and the tail 3 feet 9 inches ; the circumference of 
 the head of this noble beast was 3 feet 8 inches ; girth of fore-arm, 
 2 feet lOJ inches ; and girth of neck, 3 feet 7 inches. It is difficult 
 to estimate the age tigers attain. Mr. Cross, a former menagerie 
 owner of great experience, places twenty-five years as the average 
 duration of life in lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, and hygenas. 
 The natives of India have an idea that the lobes of the liver are a 
 sure indication of the age, there being one lobe for each year ; 
 but this theory is not accepted by the scientists of the day. 
 
 In appearance the tigress differs somewhat from the tiger, being 
 smaller, narrower, more lithe and slender generally, and the head 
 and chest less massive. She is also more savage, and, when 
 accompanied by her young, her ferocity makes her a more formid- 
 able creature than a male tiger. It seems to be an unaccountable 
 fact that tigresses are far more numerous than tigers. The cubs 
 generally number three or four, and are very pretty little animals, 
 being striped like the parents, but less distinctly; but when a 
 few weeks old they begin to display their cunning, and seem to 
 attack and worry cattle or game out of mere sport, so that a 
 tigress with cubs the natives find a particularly objectionable 
 visitor to have prowling around their village. When four or 
 five months old the young tigers become formidable in appearance 
 and power, so that when they have to be captured for exhibition 
 purposes they must be taken very young, and reared in the 
 
THE TIGER. 55 
 
 same way as one would a domestic orphan kitten. Tigers do not 
 often breed in confinement ; in tlie Zoological Society's gardens 
 they have, however, bred about half the number of times of the 
 lions. There have been several well-authenticated cases of tigresses 
 breeding with lions, and the hybrids hving and reaching 
 maturity. 
 
 The colouring of the tiger is so varied that occasionally indi- 
 viduals are found with a pale or creamy white fur, and the stripes 
 but faintly marked. They are called " white tigers," and are 
 not very numerous ; although specimens of this variety have been 
 exhibited in London somewhere about the year 1820, At a later 
 date Yan Amburgh, the whilom renowned lion-king, whose collec- 
 tion of trained lions, tigers, &c., used to be such a great attraction 
 to Londoners, and their performance a constant source of pleasure 
 to the Duke of WelHngton, had a black tiger, a colouring that is 
 rarely met with. 
 
 Amongst the natives of some provinces in India the fat of the 
 tiger is considered a specific against rheumatism, and the claws 
 and whiskers are considered charms, the former against the 
 attack of animals, and the latter is supposed to give power to 
 their possessor to obtain the love of any member of the 
 opposite sex he or she may select ; by others a necklet of claws 
 is deemed an antidote to the effects of the " evil eye," and the 
 whiskers contain a deadly poison, and must be made innocuous 
 by burning them off the animal immediately it is killed. 
 
 It seems strange to read that in a bygone age people possessed 
 the power of taming and subduing such ferocious animals as 
 tigers, so that they were able to use them for the chase. This 
 power is certainly among one of the lost arts; but that the 
 people of the East once possessed it seems to be beyond 
 question. Marco Polo* says: "The Emperor (Kooblai Khan 
 of Tartary, 1260—1294) hath numbers of leopards trained to 
 the chase, and hath also a great many lynxes taught in hke 
 manner to catch game, and hath also several great Kons (meaning 
 tigers) bigger than those of Babylonia; beasts whose skins are 
 
 4 "Ye Book of Ser Marco Polo, ye Venetian, conceining ye Kingdoms of ye 
 East." Newly done into English by Henry Ynle. 1874. 
 
56 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 coloured in a most beautiful way, being striped all along the sides 
 with black, red, and white. These are trained to catch boars and 
 wild cattle, bears, wild asses, stags, and other great or fierce 
 beasts ; and 'tis a rare sight, I can tell you, to see those lions 
 give chase to such beasts as I have mentioned ! When they are 
 to be so employed the lions are taken out in a covered cart, and 
 every lion has a httle doggie with him. [They are obliged to 
 approach the game against the wind, otherwise the animal would 
 scent the approach of the lion and be off."] 
 
 Colonel Yule, in a note referring to the tiger being called a lion, 
 writes : " The conception of a tiger seems to have dropped out of 
 the European mind during the middle ages. Thus, in a mediaeval 
 bestiary a chapter on the tiger begins, Une besto qui est apele'e tigre 
 c'est une maniere de serpent. Hence Polo can only call the tiger, 
 whose portrait he draws here not incorrectly, lions." 
 
 Tigers were also trained for hunting purposes in other countries, 
 although one can hardly realize that there was not a considerable 
 risk incurred by the hunters themselves of being converted into 
 the victims to be hunted. Sir John Chardin, in his " Travels in 
 Persia," says : " In hunting the larger animals they make use of 
 beasts of prey trained for the purpose — lions, leopards, tigers, 
 panthers, ounces." 
 
 In the cities of Persia it is no uncommon sight to see 
 tame lions, or generally lionesses, being led about the streets 
 with a chain, or asleep on the pavement in front of the reli- 
 gious mendicants who train these creatures for their purpose. 
 In India tame tigers are also frequently met with, being led 
 about by natives, who often use them in the same way, as an' 
 attraction for begging purposes. Major-G-eneral Burton, describing 
 the " Ooroos," a great Mahomedan festival he witnessed, writes : 
 " At intervals, along the sides of the street, several tame tigers 
 are sitting, held with long ropes and chains by their owners, a 
 peculiar tribe of religious mendicants or begging saints, who 
 tame these fierce animals in a wonderful manner. The crowd pass 
 close by them with perfect unconcern, and their masters, usually 
 three to each tiger, hold the side-ropes attached to their leather 
 collars, and incessantly jingle a shrill-sounding rattle, the noise 
 
THE TIGER. 67 
 
 of whicli appears to be in some way essential to the proper 
 management and subjugation of tte tiger. I rode my horse, a 
 nice little Arab, close up to one or two of tlie tigers, and neither 
 tiger nor horse manifested the least emotion. My httle Arab 
 pricked his ears, and the tom-tiger blinked his yellow eyes in a 
 lazy fashion, and that was all." 
 
 Regarding the use of the rattle of bells in taming the tiger, it 
 is of very ancient date. ^Han says, however, that the sound of 
 bells and timbrels causes the animals to grow into such a rage and 
 madness, that they tear their own flesh from their backs. Certain 
 sounds, colours, and perfumes have frequently an extraordinary 
 effect upon the senses of some animals. For instance, although 
 dogs dislike the smell of valerian, nearly all the cat-tribe, except 
 the cheetah, exhibit a strong liking for it. Mr. Austen reported 
 in Land and Water, in 1866: "I have been enabled to try the 
 eff'ects of valerian on feline and other animals, and to compare 
 the results produced. It appeared to have the strongest influence 
 on the lion, tiger, and jaguar ; these animals, when a drop was 
 spilt on a piece of paper, and placed in their cage, rolled over it 
 in a state of the utmost apparent enjoyment, the males in all cases 
 manifesting a stronger partiality than the opposite sex, and 
 evincing the greatest recognition of its presence." 
 
 Among the sports the English people delighted in during the 
 early part of the last century, from the lowest to the highest, was 
 the baiting of animals, and we have many descriptions of bull and 
 bear baiting in the various memoirs of the period ; but tiger-baiting 
 was such rare sport that, on perhaps the only time it took place, 
 the fight ^ was well attended. The Daily Advertiser, of November 
 28, 1747, called attention to the performance in the following 
 manner : — " We hear that there will be a large tiger baited on 
 Wednesday next, at Mr. Broughton's amphitheatre in Oxford 
 Road, being the first that ever was baited in England. He is the 
 largest that ever was seen here, being eight feet in length. He is 
 one of the fiercest and swiftest of savage beasts, and it is thought 
 will afford good sport. The doors to be opened at nine, and the 
 diversion begins at eleven." 
 
 " " History of the Dog." 
 
58 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 Lion-baiting was more often practised. Mr. Jesse refers to a 
 remark made by a foreigner wbo travelled in England at the 
 
 period : " To see cocks fight is a royal pleasure in England 
 
 Eyerytliing , that is called fighting is a delicious thing to an Eng- 
 hshman." These entertainments were given as a public exhibition 
 for profit, and it is curious to read in the advertisements occa- 
 sionally, "Any person who brings a dog will be admitted 
 gratis." 
 
 Mr. Jamrach had a rather ugly adventure with the tiger 
 before referred to, previous to its sale to Mr. Edmunds. 
 ® " Through some want of strength in the den in which the tiger 
 was confined, he managed to escape into RatclifE Highway, and 
 caught up a little boy, about nine years old, who was playing in 
 the street. Jamrach rushed up and caught the tiger by the loose 
 skin of her neck ; but, although a very strong and powerfully-built 
 man, he could not hold the beast, who immediately started off 
 down the street at a gallop, carrying the boy in her mouth as a 
 cat would a mouse, Jamrach holding on tight all the time to the 
 tiger's neck, and keeping up with loog strides by her side, like 
 the groom by the side of a runaway horse. Finding that his hold 
 was giving way, he managed to slip the tiger's hind-leg from 
 under her, and she fell to the ground. Jamrach instantly threw 
 his whole weight down on her, and letting go the skin of her 
 neck, fastened his two thumbs . behind her ears with a firm grip. 
 The tiger, man, and boy lay many minutes all together in a heap, 
 the man gripping the tiger, the tiger (still holding the boy in his 
 fangs) all the while suffering great pain from the pressure of 
 Jamrach's hands and from impeded respiration. After a time, 
 one of Jamrach's men was actually bold enough to put his head 
 round the corner to see if he could render his master assistance. 
 Jamrach cried out, ' Bring me a crowbar ! ' The man got the 
 crowbar, and struck the tiger three severe blows on the nose with 
 it, which made her drop the child from her mouth. Jamrach then 
 sent for some ropes ; these ropes, of course, in the confusion, be- 
 came entangled, and the tiger watching her opportunity, sprang 
 up, and getting loose, ran back again up the street, Jamrach after 
 ' See " Curiosities of Ifatural History," Third Series. Frank Buckland. 
 
THE TIGER. 59 
 
 her, crowbar in hand; she bolted immediately round the corner, 
 through the yard gate, and leaped into her den, from which she 
 had escaped. Once inside, she cowered down, and lay as quiet as 
 possible." 
 
 Strange to say, the boy escaped with such slight injury that he 
 was well again in about eight days, but he was so terribly 
 frightened that he never spoke for four hours after the occur- 
 rence. The lawsuit that followed cost Mr. Jamrach 300Z. So 
 the episode was an expensive one for him. 
 
 So many stories have been circulated condemnatory of tigers, that 
 one in their favour is certainly worth quoting, if only for its rarity. 
 In Bishop Heber's " Indian Journal " there is the following : — 
 " I asked the Jemautdar of Gurmukteser if there were many tigers 
 in the jungle around Tighree ? He said plenty : but there was a 
 very wonderful thing in the neighbourhood ; that there were two 
 Hindoo yogis [religious mendicants] who lived in different cells 
 in the wilderness, about two coss [coss — two miles] from the 
 village, in opposite directions ; of whom the one was never hurt by 
 the tigers, though living in the neighbourhood where they most 
 abounded, and where no other man would pass a night for half 
 Rohilcund, while, to the other, a tiger actually came every night 
 and licked his hands, and fondled and lay by him for hours. 
 .... He expressed himself very clearly that the saint was still 
 alive — that he was very old, and went quite naked, with a long 
 white beard and hair, — that his dwelling was a little hut among the 
 long grass, not far from the road-side in the way to Gurmukteser, 
 and that there were people who had been there at night, and seen 
 him and his tiger together. He added that he lived by charity, 
 but never asked for anything except he was actually hungry, 
 which was seldom the case, as from his high reputation he was 
 generally supplied." 
 
60 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE LEOPAED OR PANTHER {FELIX PAROUS). 
 
 This animal is also another typical specimen of the feline tribe, 
 and one of the most ferocious and courageous, although it 
 uses more precaution against danger and is a much more wary 
 animal than either the tiger or the lion. In the conspicuous beauty 
 of its fur it must rank second only to the tiger, except in some 
 cases where it may be eclipsed by certain varieties of the jaguar. 
 It is found in nearly all tropical parts of Asia, having much the same 
 geographical range as the tiger, but is also found throughout 
 Africa from Algeria to the Cape, which the latter is not. It does 
 not extend into Northern China or South Siberia, which are 
 the homes of the tiger. Having such a wide range and being so 
 variable in size, colour, and markings, many travellers maintain 
 there are several distinct species, or at any rate well-defined 
 varieties, and others contend that there are at least two, and apply 
 the name Panther {Felis Tardus), to the larger animal inhabiting 
 Asia, and Leopard {Felis Leopardus), to the smaller variety, which 
 is thought to be confined to Africa ; the leopard of India being 
 in reality the cheetah. In India, however, the majority of sports- 
 men contend that there is a leopard distinct from the cheetah, , 
 being a small, dark animal, very powerful and abominably vicious, 
 only about half the size and weight of the .panther. 
 
 In colour it is generally of a yellowish or rufous-fawn tint, 
 marked with numerous dark spots, grouped in rings or rosettes, 
 about the head, neck, and body. The tail is ringed, the limbs 
 spotted, and the general colour fades away to white on the 
 under parts. Occasionally, one or two cubs out of a litter of 
 Asiatic panthers will develop a very dark colour, and the spots 
 
THE LEOPARD OE PANTHER. 61 
 
 become indistinct or hidden in the general blackness of the coat ; 
 these are called black panthers, and at one time were con- 
 sidered a distinct race. It has been proved, however, that this 
 colouring is only accidental, being merely a melanoid form of 
 the species, and an animal of this kind now or lately in 
 the People's Park, Madras, had its young marked without any 
 pecuharity to distinguish the cubs from those of any ordinary 
 panther. There appears, however, to be a variety that is almost 
 completely black, and is an animal much dreaded in the islands of 
 Java and Sumatra. A few are also found in Equatorial Africa. 
 
 The average size of these creatures is about four feet, exclusive 
 of the tail, which generally measures between two and two and a 
 half feet. 
 
 Though so much smaller than the tiger, their powers of offence 
 and defence make them but little inferior in their capability of com- 
 manding caution when dealing with them in their natural state — in 
 fact, by many experienced hunters they are considered far the more 
 dangerous animals of the two. Like all cats, they will sneak away 
 from a man if they think they are not observed, but when 
 wounded or brought to bay, they will charge with more savage 
 impetuosity than the tiger, and on such occasions will not retreat 
 even when there is a way open for them, but will fight desperately 
 to the last, literally dying game. To extreme cunning and stealthi- 
 ness there is added the keenest powers of vision, hearing, and scent, 
 and l5he muscular strength they possess in conjunction with a pe- 
 culiar flexibility of spine and limbs, makes them unsurpassed in 
 agility, enabling them to make immense bounds perfectly clear of the 
 ground. One writer says, " Nothing either by day or night passes 
 with impunity within reach of a panther's spring, when the animal 
 is in its lair ; it then attacks men and animals without provocation 
 in a word, it leaps at anything it sees moving, sometimes con- 
 tenting itself with giving a wound with its claws, which either 
 maims or kills, and then walks away as if nothing had happened." 
 
 They are as quick as thought in all their movements, and 
 take to water if hard pressed, or to trees, which they climb 
 easily, and move fearlessly about on the branches, hiding behind 
 the limbs when not wanting to be seen; these habits make them 
 
62 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 among the hardest animals to kill, and their power of springing 
 from a height upon any passing object makes them a most for- 
 midable class of wild animal. A well-authenticated story is told 
 of a leopard taking a sportsman clean out of a high perch he had 
 made upon a tree, and killing him ; for although they prey on the 
 smaller deer, goats, antelopes, birds, with a special predilection 
 for monkeys and dogs, yet they readily become " man-eaters," 
 mostly attacking, howeyer, women and children ; in this respect, 
 again, being hardly second to the tiger in the havoc they can 
 create, and the terror they inspire. In some districts of India 
 panthers are reported to be more destructive to human life than 
 tigers or bears, for their climbing powers enable them to attack 
 and carry off the poor people who from the machavs or tree- 
 perches watch the grain. Amongst the smaller animals they are 
 also frequently more destructive, for they appear to kill victim 
 after victim merely to gratify their sanguinary and ferocious 
 taste, and apparently not from any inspiration of hunger. 
 
 Captain Torsyth writes,^ " When a panther takes to man-eating 
 he is a far more terrible savage than a tiger. In 1858 a man- 
 killing panther devastated the northern part of the Seoni district, 
 killing (incredible as it may seem), nearly a hundred persons before 
 he was shot by a shikari. He never ate the bodies, but merely 
 lapped the blood from the throat ; and his plan was either to steal 
 into a house at night, and strangle some sleeper on his bed, stifling 
 all outcry with his deadly grip, or to climb into the high plat- 
 forms from which watchers guard their fields from deer, and drag 
 out his victim froru there. He was not to be baulked of his 
 prey ; and when driven ofi" from one end of a village, would hurry, 
 round to the opposite side and secure another in the confusion ; 
 a few moments completed his deadly work; and such was the 
 devilish cunning he joined to this extraordinary boldness, that 
 all attempts to find and shoot him were for many months unsuc- 
 cessful. European sportsmen who went out, after hunting him in 
 vain all day, would find his tracks close to the door of their tent 
 in the morning." 
 
 Their night-cry is very similar to that of the tiger, but less 
 ' "The HigHands of Central India," 1871. 
 
THE LEOPARD OR PANTHER. 63 
 
 powerful, and somewhat more grating, being a series of measured 
 grunts or cougMng growls repeated four or five times in quick 
 succession, but it is not often heard, panthers being rather silent 
 animals. 
 
 The cubs when born are generally three in a litter and are blind, 
 continuing so for twenty or twenty-five days. Their size is about 
 the same as a kitten a month old, and they are of a pale-brownish 
 colour covered with irregular black spots, for they only attain the 
 tawny colour of the adult after the first year. The cubs are said 
 to be less playful than the young tigers, and to acquire ferocity 
 almost simultaneously with eyesight, and will spit and snarl even 
 at the keepers who feed them. They appear to be the most un- 
 tameable of the cat tribe, for even when taken in hand at a very 
 young age they exhibit uncertain tempers, which make them 
 dangerous. 
 
 Though they do not as a rule attack men, yet their liking 
 for children's flesh is unmistakable, and some cruel tales attain 
 publicity now and again about poor Indian women leaving their 
 children unprotected for a few minutes near some stream or 
 well-side, and returning to find a leopard growling over the 
 fragments of the babes. 
 
 An animal confined in a menagerie in India exhibited this taste 
 constantly. One writer refers to it as follows : " This leopard 
 paid no particular attention to adults who approached his cage, 
 but became immediately excited when children drew near. He 
 would then jump up and down, lie on his side or back, wag his 
 tail, and by a thousand tricks apparently endeavour to decoy the 
 child, lookino" all the time as innocent as a lamb. The manoeuvres 
 were often watched by us with curiosity, not unmixed with horror, 
 for the purpose for which the subtle creature exerted all these 
 blandishments was but too evident." 
 
 " One leopard, described as being but a small beast of its kind," 
 writes Major-General Burton, " infested a tract of country about 
 forty miles south of the city of Nagpore for more than two years, 
 and was known to have destroyed over a hundred women and 
 children. The villages in general, are situated close to water- 
 courses, which are fringed with bushes and high grass; very 
 
64 • WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 often, also, patclies of ttick jungle extend close up to tlie village ; 
 or the village itself may be built on tbe skirt of a rocky, jungly 
 hill, for the sake of a dry and well-raised site. In either case 
 there is good cover for marauding beasts of prey, whether their 
 object be human or quadruped life. This leopard roamed over 
 the ground occupied by eight or ten villages, with a circle of, 
 roughly, about ten miles diameter, and was one day at one 
 village, and another day, perhaps some miles away at another 
 place; he never remained two days together in one patch of 
 jungle. 
 
 " The village children would be at play in the village gardens, 
 or a group of girls and women would be drawing water from the 
 well sunk in the watercourse when, in the twinkling of an eye, 
 the spotted fiend would be in their midst, holding on with blood- 
 thirsty grip to the throat of a helpless victim; A burst of screams, 
 and frantic rush of women and children to the village, would 
 instantly follow ; but, by the time that the men who happened to 
 be at home could catch up clubs and spears and sally out, nothing 
 but a torn and blood-stained corpse ; or, should the victim have 
 been a small child, nothing but a little spilt blood would remain 
 to show the tragedy which bad just taken place." 
 
 This animal was subsequently shot or driven away by a police 
 constable, but the body of the creature, although unmistakably 
 wounded, was never found, and in consequence its death was not 
 assured. 
 
 Major-Greneral Shakspear relates the experience of a friend 
 of his who possessed two tame panthers that followed him 
 about and with whom he played like dogs. One day the dog- 
 boy who fed them, accompanied by a little girl, went into the 
 hut in which they were generally chained, and found one loose : 
 he rapidly retreated, but the animal fell upon the little girl and 
 killed her before any assistance could be given. 
 
 Another writer states that he knew an officer in India who had 
 a tame panther nearly full-grown that he usually kept chained up, 
 but, being apparently an amiable and good-dispositioned pet, it 
 was indulged occasionally with its freedom, so that it could get a 
 run. One day it was observed to be carefully stalking a small child 
 
THE LEOPAED OR PANTHER. 65 
 
 wto was playing in the stable, but fortunately the design of the 
 beast was seen in time for the impending fatahtj to be prevented. 
 
 A specimen of the black species that was on exhibition in the 
 Zoological Gardens, Kegent's Park, a few years ago, caught through 
 the bars of its cage, a young boy about nine years of age, and 
 severely tore him about the scalp and face with its claws ; on his 
 being conveyed to the hospital it was found that the wounds were 
 long, and extended down to the bone. His brother-in-law, who was 
 with him, was also severely scratched, and was afterwards mentally 
 and bodily prostrated from his exertions in rescuing the child, whose 
 preservation from death, or worse mutilation than he received, was 
 due to the efforts made on his behalf by his companion, who was 
 fortunately able to thrust his umbrella repeatedly down the 
 animal's throat, and, after a struggle of twenty or thirty seconds' 
 duration, to make it relax its hold, which it then did, and the lad 
 fell to the ground and was immediately carried away. 
 
 Another leopard, which was a well-known pet of the Tower 
 Menagerie during the time that Mr. Oops had charge of the 
 establishment, used to cause great destruction of property and 
 a general trepidation among the sight-seers of the fair sex by 
 " evincing a predilection for the destruction of umbrellas, parasols, 
 muffs, hats, and such other articles of dress as might happen to 
 come within her reach, seizing them with the greatest quickness 
 and tearing them into pieces almost before the astonished visitor 
 had become aware of his or her loss. To so great an extent had she 
 carried on this peculiar taste that the keeper declared that he has 
 no doubt that during her residence in the Tower she has made 
 a prey of at least as many of these articles as there are days in 
 the year." 
 
 Topsell writes in /'Ye History of Four-footed Beasts," 
 " that these animals were dedicated to Bacchus, partly on account 
 of being spotted, but the chief cause ' was for their love of wine;' 
 for all writers do constantly, and with one assent affirm that they 
 drink wine unto drunkenness: the manner and end thereof is 
 elegantly described by Oppianus in this sort: 'When the in- 
 habitants of Lybia do observe some little fountain arising out of 
 the sand, and faUing down again (as in the manner of small springs 
 
66 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 whicli cannot encrease into great rivers), whereat tlie pantTaers and 
 pardals use to drink early in the morning, before it be light ; after 
 they have been at their prey in the night-time, the hunters come 
 and pour twenty or thirty pitchers of old sweet wine into the said 
 fountain ; then a little way from it they lie down and cover them- 
 selves with clothes, or with straw, for there is no shelter either of 
 tree or bushe in that countrey. 
 
 " ' In the morning, the panthers ardently tbirsting, and being 
 almost dead for want of a drink, come unto the same fountain, 
 and tasting of the wine, drink thereof of great abundance, which 
 presently falleth to work upon their brains, for they begin first of 
 all to leap and- sport themselves, until they be well wearyed, and 
 then they lie down and sleep most soundly, at which time the 
 hunters that lye in wait for them, come and take them without 
 all fear or perill.' " 
 
 The fascination that certain odours have for the fehdee has 
 been alluded to before; but the leopards display a remarkable 
 instance of this, for they are said to exhibit an extraordinary pre- 
 dilection for the odour that attends the terrible disease of small- 
 pox, and on the authority of Sir Emerson Tennent, the medical 
 attendants at the smallpox hospitals have to take special pre- 
 cautions to protect the patients from these members of the spotted 
 cat family, for they invariably haunt the precincts of these places 
 if they happen to be anywhere within a district inhabited by the 
 creatures. 
 
 In the Zoological Gardens very fair specimens of the leopards 
 can generally be seen. Although they -occasionally breed there, 
 the cubs are rarely if ever reared, for the mother almost in- 
 variably kills and eats them when very young, a similar trait being 
 frequently exhibited by the domestic cat. The same difficulty 
 from the same cause occurs with the tiger's young. It is difficult 
 to account for this unnatural proceeding, and to assign a remedy. 
 The animals appear to be jealous of their cubs being even seen, and 
 try in every way to keep them out of sight, and they dislike at 
 such times being disturbed themselves in any way. Again, climate 
 may have something to do with it ; for animals which come from 
 tropical countries experience considerable discomfort from the 
 
A LEOPARD. 
 
 (^Felis tardus.) 
 
THE LEOPARD OE PANTHER. 67 
 
 artificially heated atmosphere they live in during the winter, and 
 get restless and uncomfortable ; they also frequently develop the 
 germs of diseases from which they would be perfectly free in their 
 wild state. 
 
 There is a species of leopard that inhabits the high regions of 
 Thibet, Eastern and Western Siberia, called the Ounce or Snow- 
 leopard {Felis irhis), distinguishable by its rougher coat which is 
 much paler in colour than is seen on the animal of more southern 
 districts, being somewhat of a greyish- white. Nature is here again 
 exhibiting an adoption of colouring to the surroundings, as is 
 exemplified in the ptarmigans and hares of the Highlands, which 
 change their colour with the seasons, donning a snow-white vest 
 when the ground assumes its winter garb, and resuming their 
 original greyish-brown when the sun has restored the natural 
 tints to the rocks around. 
 
 F 2 
 
68 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE JAGUAE AND THE PUMA. 
 
 Both these animals are inliabitants of the New World. The 
 JAGTTAE (Felis on(^a), frequently called tlie American tiger, and 
 by some the American panther, is one of the largest animals of 
 the feline group, and is by far the biggest, most powerful, and 
 dangerous representative of the purely carnivorous animals in 
 America : in fact, if it were not for the grizzly bear, it would 
 reign there without a peer and without a rival. It is larger 
 than the leopard, to which it bears a physical resemblance that is 
 very striking, being hardly inferior in size to the smaller varieties 
 of the tiger. Humboldt -^ met one in his travels that surpassed in 
 size any Bengal tiger he had ever seen in the museums of Europe. 
 It is a rather clumsily^built cat, lacking some of that grace and 
 suppleness which is so characteristic of the Felid^. It has a . 
 large but short head, with a somewhat prominent forehead, thick 
 massive body, and short robust limbs; while the tail does not 
 taper to the point, but is of equal thickness throughout, and 
 hardly long enough to touch the ground when the animal is 
 standing erect on its four feet. Jaguars vary in size and colour 
 considerably. Generally a full-grown animal will measure be- 
 tween four and five feet from the nose to the root of the tail, 
 but a very large specimen measured in total length six feet nine 
 inches, the tail being two feet two inches long. 
 
 Mr. Bennet, in " The Tower Menagerie," says : " On the whole 
 upper surface of the body of the jaguar the fur, which is short, 
 close, and smooth, is of a bright yellowish-fawn, passing on the 
 throat, belly, and inside of the legs into a pure white. On this 
 
 ' "Voyage aux Eegions Equinoxiales du Nouveau Continent fait en 1799 — 1804," 
 par Baron F. H. A. von Humboldt. 
 
THE JAGUAE AND THE PUMA. 69 
 
 ground tlie head, limbs, and under-surface are covered witt full 
 black spots of various sizes ; and the rest of the body with roses, 
 either entirely bordered by a black ring or surrounded by several 
 of the smaller black spots arranged in a circular form. The full 
 spots are generally continued upon the greater part of the tail, 
 the tip of which is black, and which is also encircled near its 
 extremity by three or four black rings. So far there is little to 
 distinguish the marking of the jaguar from that of the leopard : 
 we come now to the diflPerences observable between them. The 
 spots which occupy the central line of the back in the former, are 
 full, narrow, and elongated; and the roses of the sides and 
 haunches, which are considerably larger and proportionally less 
 numerous than in the leopard, are all, or nearly all, marked with 
 one, or sometimes two, black dots or spots of smaller size towards 
 their centre : an apparently trifling but constant and very re- 
 markable distinction, which exists in no other species. By this 
 peculiarity alone the jaguar may be at once recognized ; and this 
 external characteristic, together with the extreme shortness of his 
 tail, his much greater size, his comparatively clumsy form, and 
 the heaviness of all his motions, not to speak of the peculiarity of 
 his voice, which has the sharp and harsh sound of an imperfect 
 bark, are unquestionably fully sufficient to sanction his separation 
 from a race of animals, from which, however much he may re- 
 semble them in general characters, he differs in so many and such 
 essential particulars." 
 
 The jaguar is found in Texas and California, and through 
 Central and South America into Patagonia. It is rarely seen 
 in its northern limits, but is still quite common in the southern 
 countries, especially on the Patagonian coast, the pampas of 
 Buenos Ayres, and the northern parts of Paraguay, abounding 
 more particularly in the country of the Orinoco, where the deep 
 valleys and ravines that constitute the wild and awful scenery of 
 Mexico form his favourite lurking-places, Humboldt describes 
 these animals as being so numerous in some parts of South America, 
 that more than four thousand were killed annually in the Spanish 
 colonies, and two thousand skins were formerly exported every 
 season from Buenos Ayres alone. 
 
70 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 In an article on the Home o£ tlie Jaguar, written by Mr. Felix 
 L. Oswald, describing tbe swampy valley of tlie Rio Hondo that 
 rises towards the " Sierra del Tigre " or " Tiger Mountain," so 
 called from the number of jaguars that infest the jungles and 
 ravines, we read, " Animals, as well as the different races of man- 
 kind, have their favourite homes. . . . The jaguar has been seen 
 in the upper valleys of the Californian Alps, and manages to eke 
 out an existence in the dismal steppes of Southern Patagonia ; 
 but in no other regifln of our large and diversified continent does 
 he seem as thoroughly at home as in "Western Yucatan, in his 
 hunting-grounds on the upper Rio Hondo. The climate, the 
 quantity and quality of the food supply, and even the periodical 
 inundations, seem to suit his tastes exactly ; and the persecution 
 he has undergone elsewhere may enhance the territorial ad- 
 vantages which here more than outweigh the mental superiority 
 of his biped rivals, and make him the monarch of all he surveys 
 from the summit of the Sierra dedicated to his name. . . . 
 Eleven miles above Uxmal, the canon of the Rio Hondo is de- 
 veloped from a ravine which measures hardly twelve feet across 
 by sixty feet deep in its upper extremity, and retains these dimen- 
 sions for nearly half a mile down-hill, where its visible bottom 
 suddenly sinks into a yawning precipice, and only reappears four- 
 teen miles farther down, where the south fork of the river issues 
 from the mountain-gate of a stupendous glen. For a mile or two 
 above the mouth of this glen the water can be heard rushing and 
 foaming between its sunless banks, but farther up all is still, and 
 rocks tumbled over the edge of the abyss, thunder and reverberate 
 in their descent for second after second, till their last faint 
 rumblings seem to echo from the interior of the earth. 
 
 "In these fastnesses of Tartarus the female jaguar whelps her 
 cubs, true children of Chaos and Old Night, as far as the locality 
 of their birth is concerned. Bold hunters who have ascended 
 such ravines from below, or who have lowered themselves at the 
 end of a stout lariat, have succeeded in finding the lair of the 
 wary brute by following the sound of querulous moans which the 
 kittens utter almost incessantly for the first ten days of their 
 existence. Either on the shelf of a projecting rock, or on the 
 
THE JAGUAR AND THE PUMA. 71 
 
 spacious hollows whicli the dropping moisture of centuries has 
 worn in the walls and ledges of the inner mountains, the mother 
 arranges her childbed with such rude material as the situation 
 affords — a few rotten sticks fished from the dark current, lichens 
 clawed from the rocks, and a peck or two of soft sand scraped 
 together from the next hollows and fissures, to level the bottom 
 of the couch." 
 
 Jaguars appear to be somewhat braver animals than even lions 
 or tigers, and are not so easily driven from their prey. When 
 not goaded by hunger they retreat before man, but at other 
 times will charge quicker than the panther, and are described as 
 sometimes actually leaping into the water to attack the Indians 
 passing in their canoes. 
 
 They prey upon horses, tapirs, dogs, pigs, mules, all cattle, 
 and, strange to say, upon turtles and fish, their favourite food 
 being the capybara or water-hog, which is the largest gnawing 
 animal in the world ; and common on the banks of the Plata. 
 
 They attack from behind the animal, stealing up stealthily till 
 within springing distance, and they have the power of making tre- 
 mendous leaps. Their chief strength, however, lies in the fore- 
 paws and in those tendons that correspond to the wrist-sinews in a 
 man ; hence their power of killing their victims in the way they 
 are described as adopting. After pouncing on the neck, they 
 place one paw on the back of the animal's head, and seizing the 
 muzzle with the other, twist the head round with a sudden jerk 
 which dislocates the spine ; occasionally, when unable to do this, 
 they use their fore-paws and strike the victim to the ground. 
 
 Humboldt remarks, "We were shown large shells of turtles 
 emptied by the jaguars. These animals follow the arraus towards 
 the beaches when the laying of eggs is to take place. They surprise 
 them on the sand, and in order to devour them at. their ease, turn 
 them up in such a manner that the under shell is uppermost ; in 
 this situation the turtles cannot rise, and as the jaguar turns 
 many more than he can eat in one night, the Indians often avail 
 themselves of his cunning and malignant avidity. When we 
 reflect on the difficulty that the naturalist finds in getting out the 
 body without separating the upper and under shells, wo cannot 
 
72 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 enough admire the suppleness of the tiger's paw, which empties 
 the double armour of the arraus as if the adhering parts of the 
 muscles had been cut by means of a surgical instrument. The 
 jaguar pursues the turtle quite -into the water, when not very 
 deep. It even digs up the eggs ; and, together with the crocodile, 
 the heron, and the gallinazo vulture, is the most cruel enemy of 
 the little turtles recently hatched." 
 
 The Spanish naturalist, Azara,^ says, "It is very generally 
 asserted in these parts that the jaguar frequently goes into the 
 water a little way, and there discharges some saliva which attracts 
 the fish, which greedily snap at it ; when the jaguar, who is very 
 fond of them, by a stroke of his paw tosses them on the bank. 
 Various persons have assured me that they have seen them fishing 
 in this way, and have collected the fish which they have thrown 
 out; for they do not devour them immediately, but wait until 
 they have caught sufficient for a meal." 
 
 Jaguars are rarely seen in pairs, for they are very solitary animals; 
 and, unlike the panthers of the old world, they do not kill more than 
 is actually requisite for their food. Their strength must be some- 
 thing prodigious. Again quoting Azara : " I was one day shooting 
 on the plains, when I was told that one of these animals had just 
 killed a horse. I went instantly to the spot, and found that he had 
 already commenced his repast on the breast. I did not find the 
 jaguar, so I made my people drag the horse within a stone's throw 
 of a tree, where I proposed to return after taking some refresh- 
 ment, to wait for him. I had scarcely, however, gone half a mile, 
 when the sentinel whom I left behind came up and informed me 
 that the jaguar, having swum across a broad and very deep river, 
 had taken up the carcase in his mouth, and dragging it along, 
 without any apparent efiort, for seventy paces, had re-entered 
 the river, and carried it ofE to the woods on the other side. I 
 myself saw the marks of this operation as far as the water, 
 although I did not pass over to the opposite bank, having no dog 
 with me, nor any other assistance or defence than my gun. Every 
 one in this country asserts that the jaguar drags along a dead 
 
 ' " Natural History of the Quadrupeds of Paraguay and the Eiver la Plata," by 
 Don Eelix de Azara. 
 
THE JAGUAE AND THE PUMA. 73 
 
 horse or bullock witli tlie greatest facility, carrying it to the 
 "woods ; overcoming, at the same time, the resistance occasioned 
 by another bullock or horse being attached to the carcase." 
 
 These animals are similar in their tastes to the other powerful 
 members of the cat family, for if th.ey once happen to eat human 
 flesh, they prefer it to all other food, and certain individual jaguars 
 become in consequence as great a pest as the man-eating tigers 
 and panthers of Asia. While Azara was in Paraguay, six men 
 had been devoured by these creatures, two being carried off from 
 the midst of their companions, who were warming themselves by 
 the fire. 
 
 The woodcutters and Indians frequently meet their death at 
 the paws of these brutes. Senor Luiz Yalverde, the State 
 Surveyor of Yucatan, estimates that during his tenure of ofl&ce, 
 for the fourteen years prior to 1878,' eight human lives had 
 fallen a prey to the rapacity of jaguars for every jaguar that 
 had been killed. Again we read that in 1865, when the French 
 military authorities tried to construct an overland route from 
 Oampeche to Belize, they lost eleven soldiers and twenty-eight 
 Indian labourers in the attempt, all of whom came by their deaths 
 during a jaguar-hunt, in the presence of their companions, or 
 disappeared in the swamps infested by the animals. 
 
 Mr. Darwin teUs us that it was not many years ago since a very 
 large jaguar found his way into a church in Santa Fe, Soon after 
 a corpulent padre entered, and was at once killed by the animal : 
 his coadjutor, wondering what had detained the padre, went to 
 look after him, and also fell a victim to the jaguar ; a third priest 
 then sought them, and the creature made at him also, but he was 
 fortunately able to elude the attack, and, dodging the animal from 
 pillar to post, happily made his escape. The beast was ultimately 
 destroyed by being shot from a corner of the building, which was 
 unroofed for the purpose. 
 
 The energy of their movements, combined with their agility, 
 fearlessness, and power of fighting when even mortally wounded, 
 almost until they take their last gasp, constitute the jaguars 
 anything but pleasant antagonists. 
 
 The crocodiles that swarm in the rivers of South America wage 
 
74 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 perpetual war with the jaguars, whom they kill easily when they 
 can get the animals into the water, for they hold them under 
 until they are drowned; but when a jaguar surprises an alligator 
 on the hot sandbank asleep, he attacks and often kills his enemy. 
 
 Jaguars take especial delight in scratching the bark of trees, 
 it is said for the purpose of sharpening their claws, for 
 many travellers in the countries they inhabit speak of being 
 shown these marks, which are generally to be found on certain 
 trees only in a district, to which, strange to say, they all seem 
 to resort for this operation. Mr. Darwin speaks of three well- 
 known trees near the banks of the Uruguay, whereon the bark 
 was worn quite smooth in front, and on each side were deep 
 grooves extending in an oblique line nearly a yard in length, and 
 of different ages. The inhabitants said they could always tell, 
 by these trees having recent marks, when a jaguar was in the 
 neighbourhood. 
 
 Their powers of climbing appear to be greater than those of 
 any other cat. M. Sonnini illustrates this feature by remarking 
 in his book : " I have seen in the forests of Guiana the prints 
 left by the claws of the jaguar on the smooth bark of a tree, from 
 forty to fifty feet in height, measuring about a foot and a half in 
 circumference, and clothed with branches near its summit alone. 
 It was easy to follow with the eye the efforts which the animal 
 had made to reach the branches : although his talons had been 
 thrust deeply into the body of the tree, he had met with several 
 slips, but had always recovered his ground; and attracted, no 
 doubt, by some favourite prey, had at length succeeded in gaining 
 the very top." 
 
 The young cubs, which are generally born in the latter part of 
 August or early in September, are generally of a grey squirrel- 
 colour, and have the appearance of very pretty little kittens. 
 They grow in size rapidly, and their fur becomes smoother than 
 velvet ; their heads are rounded puppy-like and have tiny ears, 
 and nothing about their paws or appearance suggests the formid- 
 able efl&ciency of the full-grown animal. 
 
 A writer before quoted says, "During the first two months 
 after their birth, the mother is as ravenous as a Eussian wolf in 
 
THE JAGUAR AND THE PUMA. 75 
 
 mid-winter, and ransacks the neighbouring woods in search of 
 animals and vegetable products, which she would disdain to 
 touch at another season of the year. She mounts to the topmost 
 branches of the prickly caucho-trees to rob the nests of the crested 
 pigeon, tears bats from their retreats in hollow stumps, and 
 musk-rats from their deep burrows, and even stays her hunger 
 with monkey figs and the oily fruit of the myris palm. All 
 running and climbing quadrupeds of the larger species she pursues 
 with a headlong rage that often defeats its object, and gets her 
 nothing but a fall from a disagreeable height, or an involuntary 
 immersion in a quagmire for her trouble. 
 
 " The jaguar is not exclusively nocturnal, and has often visited 
 the cattle-yards of the mountain-farmers during the siesta hour ; 
 but in the lowlands where food is plentiful, it is probable that he 
 prolongs his own siesta through the larger part of the day. 
 Miles away from the haunts of man, where only the voice of the 
 flamingo or the splash of the swamp-otter reaches his ear, he 
 rests in the shade, careless of the insects that may buzz around 
 him but cannot penetrate his fur — careless, too, of the miasmatic 
 exhalations which animals breathe with an impunity that has 
 remained enigmatical to the ablest physiologists^ There he is 
 safe ; in the vast and intricate cordero thickets, the caucho groves 
 and cane brakes, he finds retreats into which his hereditary foe 
 can never follow him. Such swamps are the reservations of 
 Nature, to which she admits only her favourites — strongholds of 
 chaos against the inroads of civilization, and the last refuge of all 
 beasts " that yield to man but will not be his slaves." 
 
 Jaguars are rather, noisy cats, and their cry is frequently 
 heard at night during certain seasons of the year, and especially 
 before bad weather, their snarling growl being rather an un- 
 pleasant but an unmistakable sound. In the swampy regions that 
 are viewed from the peaks of the Tiger Mountains, which, accord- 
 ing to a superstition of the Yucatan Indians, is the assembly- 
 ground of the jaguar nation, where on moonlight nights they con- 
 vene their meeting, the feline symphonies which often emanate 
 from this territory are said to create a veritable pandemonium of 
 cacophonous sounds which cannot be appreciated until once heard. 
 
76 WILB ANIMALS. 
 
 Jaguars are described as being untamable, but this is some- 
 what of an error, for many eases of their being tamed are on 
 record ; however, they are very uncertain in their temper, and are 
 always dangerous in consequence. They are also to be mistrusted 
 from their propensity, in common with the leopard, to attack 
 children and dogs. 
 
 Mr. Oswald observes, " Only stupid brutes are untamable, and in 
 spite of his ferocious instincts the jaguar is not deficient in those 
 higher soul-elements which qualify animals for the coApanionship 
 of man. Under kind treatment and a judicious mixture of vege- 
 table and animal diet, the tigroncitos (Spanish young jaguars) 
 usually grow up into amicable and most interesting pets, and are 
 found in the peaceful fellowship of monkeys, dogs, and black 
 racoons, on many ranchos of Southern Mexico. They follow 
 their master like dogs, share his seat in the chimney-corner, search 
 his pockets for playthings, and greet his return from a journey or 
 a hunting expedition by embracing his knees and licking his 
 hands or the lapels of his coat with indefatigable fervour. They 
 climb and explore a stranger like a tree, and if he encourages their 
 familiarity, they have a curious way of encircling his neck with 
 their fore-paws, and hang thus for minutes together, expressing 
 their affection by a snoring purr, or by gently rubbing their ears 
 against his chin. In their rough-and-tumble gambols with dogs 
 they generously forbear to make use of their claws, but the spectacle 
 of a iond-fide fight seems to excite their dormant combativeness, 
 and, without any apparent cause for personal resentment, tame 
 jaguars have been known to rise from their couch with an ominous 
 growl and eyes expressive of murderous intent, if two urchins 
 fought or a dog got a thrashing in the opposite corner of the room. 
 In other ways, too, their savage instincts assert themselves now 
 and then ; and the proprietor of a wayside tavern in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Uxmal, told me that he had to part with a tame tiger 
 because in warm winter nights, when it heard the yells of its wild 
 brethren from the depths of the lagotasso, the creature frequently 
 took it into its head to answer these calls, and startled the inmates 
 of the farmstead from their midnight slumbers by a demoniac 
 scream, which was repeated by all the echoes of the surrounding 
 
A JAGUAR. 
 
 (^Felis onga.) 
 
THE JAGUAR AND THE PUMA. 77 
 
 sierra. Moonliglit nights seem to make ttem restless ; they prowl 
 about as if troubled by some unsatisfied want, or promenade on 
 the roof to the serious detriment of the weatherboards." 
 
 A full-grown and beautiful specimen of a jaguar, which had 
 been purchased in 1866 by the agents of the Zoological Gardens 
 of Marseilles, was being placed on board a French gun-boat, ia Belle 
 Rhone, in the harbour of Sisal, when he made his escape in 
 a manner that caused considerable excitement. The cage in which 
 he was confined was being lowered through the hatchway, when 
 he forced his paws through the bars and lacerated the shoulder 
 of one of the sailors with a succession of ripping blows. The man 
 jumping aside yelling murder, startled his mates so that they 
 lost their grip on the cage, and it fell fifteen feet into the hold, 
 on to a pile of pig-iron ballast, which fractured it in such a manner 
 that the jaguar was soon loose in the hold of the ship. The 
 brute, after attempting to regain the deck by a series of bounds, 
 managed at last to reach one of the rafters, and jumping from it 
 to another, reached the hatchway by a desperate leap. The 
 frightened sailors endeavoured to confine him by covering the 
 aperture with a trap-door, but the animal got his paws through, 
 then his head, and despite a shower of blows, enlarged the opening 
 sufl&ciently to free the rest of his body, and so reached the deck. 
 He stood there for a second, glaring on the sailors, who were 
 making a regular stampede, and then took a flying leap into the 
 water, clearing the gunwale at a bound. The boat, which was 
 under weigh, was about a mile or a mile and a half from shore, 
 and seeing the animal swimming towards it the crew fired rifles 
 and pistols at him, making the water fly around his head. The 
 marines were about to fire, when a lieutenant interfered, " Ges- 
 sez-(^a, mes cossacques ! a chap that could beat us fair and 
 square, on our own deck, ought not to be shot in the water like a 
 cowardly deserter; give him a chance." In consequence, and to 
 the disgust of the wounded sailor, they soon saw the animal land 
 on the opposite shore, shake himself, and disappear in the woods. 
 Thus our French neighbours lost what was no doubt a splendid 
 specimen of the jaguar. 
 
 The representatives of these animals now in the Zoological 
 
78 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 Gardens are thick, clumsy-looking creatures, but let them once be 
 roused, and they exhibit an agility that is surprising, and the 
 spectator will soon learn from the behaviour of these bad-tempered 
 cats why their species have been called the snarling jaguars. 
 
 Jaguar-skins, as well as those of all leopards, are imported 
 annually to England in great numbers, and are worth between 
 three and four pounds. They are used for mats and rugs, and 
 also for military purposes, for the officers of certain regiments 
 have their shabraques or saddle-coverings made of this fur. 
 
 Dr. Brehm mentions the fact that the jaguar always attacks 
 the Indians and negroes in preference to a white man. This trait 
 has been noticed in all the larger animals of the cat tribe, and was 
 well known to most of the ancient writers on Natural History. 
 Various sportsmen have also drawn attention to it, by referring to 
 the security they enjoy in consequence, for, if sleeping at night 
 in a locality rendered dangerous by these marauding beasts prowling 
 about, one of the dark-skinned natives, or hunters who accompany 
 them, are invariably selected by the man-eating lions, tigers, or 
 panthers for their victim, or, at any rate, for the object of their 
 attack. This may be due to the strong odour generally emanating 
 from the skin of the dark races born in tropical climates ; for if 
 such a one enters the Lion House in the Zoological Gardens the 
 animals seem to become excited even before they can possibly see 
 the visitor. This peculiarity was observable whenever one of the 
 attendants attached to the collection of animals brought by the 
 Prince of Wales from India which he deposited in the Gardens, 
 who was a black boy, entered the place, for all the felidce would 
 start to their feet and rush to the front of their dens, exhibiting • 
 unmistakable demonstrations of anger and ferocity. 
 
 The puma (Felis concolor), commonly called the cougar and by 
 some the American lion, is a most graceful animal, and ranks next 
 to the jaguar in size and importance among the carnivorous 
 animals of the new world. This animal seems to be more nearly 
 related to the lynx than to the lion, tiger, or leopard, and evidently 
 forms the connection between them. 
 
 It is confined to the American Continent, but inhabits a wide 
 geographical range from Canada to the Equatorial forests, it being 
 
THE JAGUAR AND THE PUMA. 79 
 
 reported to exist as far south as the cold latitude of Terra del 
 Fuego. It is to be found in the mountainous range of the Andes 
 at an altitude of 9000 feet. In its northern limits the increase of 
 population is making it a very scarce animal, but it is still 
 numerous in South America, for it is stated that 100 were cap- 
 tured in three months within one small district. Mr. Murphy' 
 observes it is quite common in the wooded regions around the 
 Rocky Mountains, and that its sharp high screams in early morn- 
 ing frequently send the blood bounding through the veins of the 
 wanderer amongst those forest depths. 
 
 The puma is of a reddish-brown or elegant grey colour, some- 
 what resembling a very small lioness or a very large domestic cat. 
 When young, it is marked with darkish-brown spots, but they 
 soon disappear, and the fur of the adult animal, which is soft and 
 dense, has no conspicuous markings. 
 
 Although called the American lion, it has but little resemblance 
 of structure to the African animal, and not only is it much 
 smaller, but it is devoid of both the mane and the tuft on the ex- 
 tremity of the tail. Its head is also small and unlike the larger 
 animals of the feline group. When full-grown it generally 
 measures about three feet, and the tail about two feet; but in 
 Florida and Texas it sometimes attains v§ry much larger pro- 
 portions, and one was shot in December, 1873, that measured nine 
 feet four inches in length and weighed 240 pounds. It is a pecu- 
 liarly silent animal when in captivity, for it rarely utters a sound, 
 and never when it does so giving vent to a roar or growl, but to 
 a low, hissing cry. In its wild state, however, it sometimes gives 
 tongue, for the above author says although it is " not often a dan- 
 gerous foe until brought to bay or roused by hunger, owing to its 
 natural cautiousness and timidity of character, yet its shrieks are 
 so loud and penetrating that no person can hear them without 
 feeling a thrill run through his body, and, if unarmed, without 
 taking excellent care to avoid an encounter with it if possible." 
 
 In their lithe and graceful movements they are perfect cats. 
 When lounging on the tree-trunks in their out-door cage, or when 
 gambolling about at playj their actions exhibit motion in one of 
 ' " Sporting Adventures in the Far West." 1879. 
 
80 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 its most attractive forms, their springs are taken so lightly, and 
 apparently without the slightest effort, but withal made so swiftly, 
 that occasionally the eye can scarcely follow their movements. 
 
 The variety of these animals found inLaPlata chiefly prey on deer, 
 ostriches, and small quadrupeds, and are not dangerous to man ; 
 but in Chili and some adjoining countries pumas sometimes 
 destroy horses, and even attack human beings. Their onset is 
 made in a similar manner to the jaguar's, that is by springing on 
 to the back and dislocating the neck with the paws. "When one 
 has eaten its fill it covers the remains of its feast with bushes and 
 lies down to protect it — a proceeding watched frequently by the 
 condors, which wheel and circle in the air above, and occasionally 
 swoop down upon the carcass, then being driven away, rise together 
 on the wing, which attracts the notice of the hunters, and from this 
 sign they know a puma is watching its prey, and so seek it out. 
 
 These animals are said to be exceedingly crafty, and when pur- 
 sued will often doable, and then suddenly make a vigorous leap to 
 one side, wait till the pursuer has over-shot the spot. They 
 are excellent climbers, and in Chili are generally treed and shot, 
 but in other parts the expert Gauchos frequently capture them 
 with the lasso. 
 
 The puma, or, as i1» is called there, the panther, is sometimes to 
 be met with in the wooded districts of the Adirondacks in New 
 York State. They used to be very numerous, but the State Go- 
 vernment in 1871 offered a reward of $20 for every animal killed, 
 and the slaughter that ensued in consequence has nearly extermi- 
 nated them. The hunters in these mountains, however, still tell of 
 hair-breadth escapes they experience from these crafty creatures. 
 The distance they can leap when springing upon a deer is described 
 as being so great that the measurements given would be almost 
 incredible if they were not attested by men of repute. A spring of 
 over twenty feet is by no means uncommon, and measurements 
 have been made that show they can spring upwards of sixty feet 
 from the vantage-point of rising ground or ledge of rocks. The 
 force of their blow after such an impetus can be understood ; it 
 frequently is sufficient to knock good-sized animals off their feet, 
 and send them flying some distance away. 
 

 ;1 *r-t •''' 
 
 
THE JAGUAR AND THE PUMA. 81 
 
 The settlers in the Adirondacks state that these creatures when 
 driven by hunger, and even at other times, for they seem to hke 
 the food, will destroy and eat porcupines. They certainly kill 
 large numbers of these rodents. The proprietor of an hotel in 
 one of the remote districts of the mountains declares that he has 
 frequently shot these animals and in several instances discovered the 
 mouth and throat regularly bristling with quills ; also that he has 
 found their dead bodies covered with these spikes, the beasts having 
 evidently been choked to death through trying to swallow them. 
 
 Mr. Mui-phy gives some interesting details of this animal in 
 his book. From it we learn that the favourite haunts of the puma 
 are amid the deepest recesses of the forest, where it can obtain 
 food and the close concealment so natural to its habits. It is 
 seldom seen abroad during the day> unless severely pressed by 
 hunger, and then it will go boldly anywhere, and occasionally when 
 in extremity will attack a man, or make a raid on a farmyard, despite 
 the protest of furious dogs. When lyiug in wait for its prey, it 
 seeks the shelter of a thicket, or crouches on the lower branches of 
 a tree, and the moment a hare, a deer, or even a wolf passes by, 
 it jumps on its back, and fastening its claws in the sides of the 
 poor captive, cuts open the neck or throat in a few seconds. 
 
 " Its courage is suflB.oiently great to induce it to face any foe, 
 from bear to man, in a case of emergency. I heard an old hunter 
 say that he once saw a fight between a black bear and a cougar, and 
 that the latter killed its adversary in less than twenty minutes, by 
 leaping on its neck and cutting the spinal cord with its lance-like 
 teeth. Bruin did not die, however,'without a severe struggle, and 
 inflicting such injuries on the other that it would undoubtedly 
 have died of its wounds had the hunter not shot it as it was 
 
 crawling into the shrubbery He saw on another occasion 
 
 a fight between a cougar and a wolf, and according to his state- 
 ment it was one worth beholding, as they tumbled over and over 
 each other, and caused the leaves to fly about as wildly as if two 
 moose were engaged in a deadly contest. Knowing which one 
 would win, he loaded his gun with buckshot, and approaching them 
 to within a distance of thirty yards, he flred both barrels at their 
 heads in rapid succession, and killed them in their tracks." 
 
82 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 He also describes tlie following incident wliich occurred in 
 Minnesota : — " A cougar leaped from a tree upon tlie driver of a 
 waggon who was carrying home some fresh meat from town. 
 "When the animal made the leap it knocked the man back in the 
 cart, but before it could do any more harm than claw him 
 severely, he tumbled out on the road at the tail-board, while the 
 horses bounded away at full speed, carrying the assailant with 
 them. They say the man was so frightened that he stayed in the 
 road all night, with- his nose stuck in the dust; and on being 
 rallied about his courage the next day, he nonchalantly replied 
 that he was not going to take any chances, and he would rather 
 lie in the dust than in the stomach of a cougar." 
 
 Their flesh is very good eating, being white and tender, like 
 veal, and in consequence much appreciated by the hunters and 
 Indians, who are unanimous in their praise of its excellence, 
 although there is a difference of opinion with regard to the gastric 
 qualities of the jaguar. 
 
 " A proof that the animalj in its wild state, can sometimes be 
 playful with mattj may be deduced from an incident that occurred 
 in "Washington territoi'y; A farmer on his way to Olympia, the 
 capital of the territory, was passing one evening over the road that 
 leads through the dense forests which stretch Southward for miles 
 from the town^ These are almost of Plutonian darkness after the 
 sun sets, owing to their density and towering altitude, so that one 
 cannot see ten paces ahead. While walking leisurely along, he 
 was surprised to feel something touch his legj and on looking down 
 was almost dazed to see a huge cougar rubbing its head against 
 him and purring pleasantly. Seeing that it was in evident good 
 humour, whilst he was defenceless in case of attack, he moved 
 onward in a sort of half- stupefied condition, for his heart was 
 beating violently, and he dared not utter a sound through fear 
 of arousing its anger. The animal accompanied him for a mile or 
 more and gambolled around him in the most playful manner, now 
 running ahead for several yards, then bounding back and rubbing 
 its head and side against him strongly, as a pet house-cat would. 
 Knowing the treacherous nature of the brute, he expected every 
 moment to be assailed, and the blood was often sent coursing 
 
THE JAGUAR AND THE PUMA. 83 
 
 violently and spasmodically through his body, and cold chills crept 
 over him whenever he saw it plunging into the woods, then come 
 leaping towards him at its best pace, and colliding with his legs so 
 vigorously that he feared sometimes that he would be knocked 
 down ; and if such an accident occurred, he was afraid that its 
 natural instinct would prevail, and that he would be pounced upon. 
 It began to get wearied after awhile of the gambolling, and kept 
 closer to him ; its taU also began to swing suspiciously from side 
 to side, and its loud purring was occasionally transformed into a 
 blood-curdling scream. Just as he was about giving up all hopes 
 of getting rid of it quietly, he heard the rumble of approaching 
 wheels, and taking courage from this indication of help, he gave a 
 loud and prolonged yell, in which there was more of fear than 
 defiance. The cougar was startled so much by this fierce and 
 unexpected cry that it fled into the woods terror-stricken, and 
 disappeared like magic in the shrubbery. When the driver of the 
 waggon approached the terrified man, he found him so weak from 
 excitement that he could hardly speak j but he recovered himself 
 after a little while and told his tale. He was driven to town, and 
 after taking a long pull at something stronger than tea, was 
 himself again ; but he will not probably to his dying day forget 
 his agonizing half -hour with a cougar." 
 
 The puma is easily tamed, having many of the habits of, and some- 
 what similar disposition to, the domestic cat. Kean, the celebrated 
 tragedian, owned a tame puma, which followed him about his garden 
 and house, and was frequently brought into the drawing-room 
 to be shown his guests. Many other people have kept pumas in 
 their houses^ and nearly all agree in reporting them as tame and 
 harmless animalSj even to dogs and monkeys^ their chief prey when 
 in a wild state. Mr. "Wilson, of Edinburgh, describing a puma 
 whose habits he attentively studied, gives many amusing par- 
 ticulars about them. " It rejoices greatly in the society of those 
 to whose company it is accustomed, lies down upon its back 
 between their feet, and plays with the skirts of their garments, 
 entirely after the manner of a kitten. It shows a great predilection 
 for water, and frequently jumps into and out of a large tub, rolling 
 itself about, and seemingly greatly pleased with the refreshment." 
 
 G 2 
 
84 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 Their extreme ferocity in devouring their food, however, is a 
 conspicuous trait of the pumas. Major Smith, according to Mr. 
 Swainson, describes a scene he once witnessed, which is a remark- 
 able illustration of this peculiarity : " A puma, which had been 
 taken and confined, was ordered to be shot ; and the time fixed 
 upon was immediately after the animal had received its food. 
 The first ball went through its body : the only notice he took 
 of it was by a shrill growl, at the same time doubling his 
 efforts to devour his food, which he actually continued to swallow 
 with quantities of his own blood until he fell." 
 
 Pumas are not, even when considered perfectly tame, always to 
 be trusted. In the Times of October, 1860, a case of one 
 creating considerable alarm in Nottingham is reported^ " The 
 animal was being exhibited in a menagerie during the goose-fair 
 holidays, and the African lion-tamer, Metani, was parading, the 
 creature — which was said to be a most harmless specimen, although 
 full-grown — on the stage, when it suddenly caught sight of a dog 
 held by a lad in the crowd. Breaking away from Metani, it 
 sprang off the stage on to the dog, and killed it almost instantly. 
 The people fled in all directions, and the puma seeing another 
 dog some distance off, rushed after it and despatched it as quickly 
 as he had done the first. He was at last recaptured and pacified, 
 being led back to the menagerie with the dead dog in its mouth. 
 Some difl&culty, it is stated^ was experienced in opening the 
 creature's jaws to get the dog away." 
 
85 
 
 CHAPTER VII. . 
 
 THE CHEETAH, OE HUNTING LEOPAED {FELIS JUBATA). 
 
 Of all the cat family, with the exception of the lion, this animal is 
 probably the most interesting, for its history takes us back to 
 a past age and proves how unchangeable are some of the customs 
 of the Eastern people; for, precisely as the cheetah was used 
 on the hunting-fields, at least eight hundred years before the 
 Christian era, so it is used in certain districts at the present day. 
 
 In form and habits it exhibits such a blending of the feline and 
 canine characteristics that many naturalists regard it as a distinct 
 family, possessing only this individual member; and others, 
 apparently with more correctness, as the link connecting these 
 two principal groups of the carnivorous animals. Its anatomical 
 structure, however, is a conclusive proof o£ its correct classification 
 among the Felidce, for it has all the distinguishing features of the 
 cats ; among them may be mentioned the roughened tongue, same 
 number and form of teeth and claws, and similar uniformity in the 
 organs of sense. Yet in outward appearance and in character it 
 has less in common with the typical members of the felines, for it 
 approaches much nearer to certain breeds of the dog family, 
 standing higher on the legs, which are elongated and slender, a 
 formation that fits it for the capture of its prey by speed rather 
 than by bounds ; the claws are only partially retractile, being 
 always visible, and consequently get blunted by contact with the 
 ground, and so are rendered unsuitable for the purely feline 
 method of attack. It is deep-chested. The head, although more 
 elevated and prominent in front, yet exhibits the broad lateral 
 expansion peculiar to cats, a contour rendered necessary by the 
 thick mass of muscles connected with their powerful and wide- 
 opening jaws. Its ears are short and round, but in figure it is 
 slender, being small in the loins, reminding one of the greyhound. 
 
86 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 Again, in character it is the one redeeming member of its family. 
 Instead of the sly, suspicious, and comparatively untamable 
 qualities the felidce generally exhibit, it possesses much of the 
 intelligence, teachableness, and fidelity of the dog ; hence from' 
 very remote times we read that, its good qualities being discovered, 
 it was domesticated and became the friend and helpmeet of man, 
 and it being found eminently fitted for hunting purposes, was 
 employed in that capacity. 
 
 Its general colour is a fulvescent cream, or bright nanhin, 
 covered with numerous round black spots, but not grouped in 
 rosettes, like the leopard or panther. The lower parts shade into 
 white, and the face has a black streak down it, obliquely from the 
 corner of each eye. The tail, which is long instead of tapering, 
 gradually thickens towards the end, and is spotted also, but has 
 three or four black rings at the tip ; its absolute extremity, how- 
 ever, being always white. There are several varieties of this 
 animal ; they differ in colour and appearance sufficiently to distin- 
 guish the country or district they come from. The Samaouan 
 cheetah is very handsome, paler in colour, less spotted, and 
 longer legged than the Syrian animal, which is of a larger size, 
 has a fierce expression, and is not so much esteemed. 
 
 The fur lacks that sleekness so attractive in the majority of the 
 cat tribe, for it is peculiarly crisp and coarse. The neck and 
 shoulders are surmounted by long, stiff, upright hairs that form a 
 regular mane. 
 
 The cheetah stands somewhat taller than the leopard, being only 
 a little under three feet in height. The body measures about 
 seven feet to the end of the tail, which is by itself about two and a 
 half feet in length. 
 
 It is found in Syria, Arabia, Mesopotamia, and in West and 
 Southern India. In the latter country it is, however, rather a 
 rare animal. It also inhabits Abyssinia, Senegal, and other places 
 of South Africa. 
 
 In Africa, where the natives seem unable to learn the art of 
 taming animals, the cheetah is only valued for its pelt. The 
 petty kings, tribal chiefs, and other savage potentates bedeck 
 themselves with robes made from the skins. In Senegal they 
 
A CHEETAH. 
 
 This is a facsimile, reduced in size, of the drawing on an Egyptian monument dating 
 
 about 1700 B.C. 
 
THE CHEETAH, OE HUNTING LEOPAED. 87 
 
 form an article of commerce, being exported thence to England 
 and other European countries — at one time in considerable numbers. 
 
 In Asia, however, the cheetah is regularly trained to hunt. 
 Many of the rajahs, princes, and wealthy natives in India still 
 keep large numbers of these animals in their hunting estab- 
 lishments, and, as before stated, the manner of their use seems 
 to have undergone but little change from that practised in the 
 very earliest periods. 
 
 Such importance have the Persians always attached to these 
 sports that according to Sir William .Jones, the great orientahst, 
 they record in their history that " Hushing, probably contem- 
 porary with Minos, and King of Persia, B.o. 865, was the first who 
 bred dogs and leopards for hunting, and introduced the fashion of 
 wearing the furs of wild beasts in winter." Hunting with the 
 cheetah afterwards became and continued a very popular form of 
 sport aiU over the Bast. The animal was employed in this capacity, 
 however, long before the above date, although, perhaps, not in 
 Persia, but it appears to have been used in some Eastern countries 
 from a very remote age, but where or when it was first trained 
 cannot be ascertained. On those wonderfully carved and beautiful 
 Assyrian bas-reliefs to be seen in the British Museum, a cheetah is 
 represented in the act of seizing an antelope, and it is also to be 
 seen.represented on an Egyptian monument, dating about 1700 years 
 before Christ, being brought, among other animals, as tribute to the 
 King of Thebes by the black tribes of the Upper Nile. It is led 
 in a slip, and has a very ornamental collar. A coloured facsimile 
 of the painting, reproduced in Rosellini's great work on Egyptian 
 monuments and antiquities, is given herewith. It represents an 
 Ethiopian leading the animal and carrying a log of very precious 
 black wood resembling eboiiy, the whole being copied from the 
 drawings on a tomb in Thebes. 
 
 The second Caliph, Yezid, son of Moaweeyah, who began to reign 
 in Damascus, a.d. 680, is said to have been the first who adopted the 
 method of carrying the cheetah to the field on horseback, sitting on a 
 pillion behind the hunter, a method that was subsequently followed 
 by others, and was the one introduced into Europe at a later date. 
 Marco Polo informs us : " The Kaan himself goes every week to 
 
88 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 see fhe birds sitting in mew, and sometimes he rides througli the 
 park with a leopard behind him on his horse's croup ; and then, if 
 he sees any animal that takes his fancy, he slips his leopard at 
 it, and the game when taken is made over to feed the hawks 
 in mew. This he does for diversion." 
 
 The Mogul emperors constantly used this animal, and kept 
 surprising numbers of them. Akbar the Great,^ Emperor of 
 Hindostan, 1556 — 1605, had one thousand cheetahs to accompany 
 him on his hunting expedition, forming in itself a large encamp- 
 ment, for they were kept with great state, and the chief one called 
 Semendmanick, used to be carried to the field in a palankin 
 attended by his appointed servants, and a kettledrum beaten 
 before him. 
 
 Sir John Ohardin ^ states that in Persia, for their great hunting 
 expeditions they used wild beasts that had been taught, such as 
 lions, leopards, tigers, and panthers, and they called them yowrze. 
 A horseman carried one of them behind him, but when he was in 
 Hircania in 1666, he was told that when the animals were too 
 big to be carried on horseback they were carried in iron cages, on 
 an elephant without the hood ; the keeper always had his hand 
 ready on the cage door, so that when the beast sighted any game 
 and " screamed," he was let out immediately, and leaping down 
 made for his victim. 
 
 In India cheetahs are frequently led about with a chain and 
 collar like a dog, and are often to be seen in the streets and bazaars, 
 as they are considered perfectly quiet and inoffensive creatures. 
 
 They have, however, to be caught wild and tamed to make good 
 hunters, and natives say that they must not be taken when too 
 young, for if caught as cubs they are useless for the purpose 
 through not having been taught by their parents how to pull down 
 their prey. 
 
 The way in which these animals are used is taken from descrip- 
 tions given by eye-witnesses of the sport. The cheetah is hooded, 
 like the falcon was in hawking, and is held by a chain or cord 
 attached to its collar, being conveyed to the ground in a common 
 
 " Ayeen Akbery, or the Institutes of the Emperor Akbar." 
 ^ " Voyage de Chardin en Perse." 
 
THE CHEETAH, OR HUNTING LEOPARD. 89 
 
 bullock-cart, whicli tlie antelope are accustomed to see passing 
 daily. He sits side by side witli tbe driver, who, on sighting the 
 quarry, takes off the hood, and, having cautiously approached as 
 near as is deemed advisable, the animal is loosed. The creature 
 leaps from the cart, sometimes on the opposite side to the prey, 
 and commences its stalk, availing itself of any inequality of 
 surface to enable it to approach unobserved to within a certain 
 distance of the antelope. As soon as in this stealthy manner it 
 gets near enough, it jumps up and springs forward with a 
 surprising velocity, said to exceed that of any living quadruped, 
 and singling out the biggest buck in the herd, it dashes at him, 
 and fastening on his throat, generally brings him to the ground. 
 If, however, the quarry happens to get too good a start, so that 
 the cheetah cannot overtake him, it gives up the chase, and 
 returns sulkily to be rehooded. After a successful kill, however, 
 the keeper runs up, and, cutting the deer's throats, fills a tin 
 bowl, which he carries on purpose, with blood, which he gives to 
 the cheetah to lap up, which then submits to having its hood 
 replaced and to be led back to the cart. Vigne, in giving a 
 description of this kind of sport, writes : " It requires strong 
 epithets to give an idea of the creature's speed. When slipped 
 from the cart, he first walks towards the antelope, with his tail 
 straightened and slightly raised, the hackles on his shoulders erect, 
 his head depressed, and his eyes intently fixed upon the poor 
 animal, who does not as yet perceive him. As the antelope 
 moves he does the same, first trotting, then cantering after him ; 
 and when the prey starts off the chita makes a rush to which (at 
 least I thought so) the speed of a racehorse was for the moment 
 much inferior. The chitas that bound or spring upon their prey 
 are not much esteemed, as they are too cunning ; the good ones 
 run it fairly down. "When we consider that no English greyhound 
 ever yet, I believe, ran fairly into a doe antelope, which is faster 
 than the buck, some idea may be formed of the strides and velocity 
 of the animal, who usually closes up with her immediately." 
 
 Colonel Barras, in his book,' describes cheetah-hunting as he 
 witnessed it in Kaladghi : " On arriving with my friends at the 
 3 " The new Shikari to our Indian Stations," 1885. 
 
90 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 place of meeting in the jungle we found a few rough-and-ready- 
 looking natives in charge of three carts, or rather small two- 
 wheeled platforms, drawn by bullocks. On each vehicle sat, in 
 an erect attitude, a beautiful leopard, strongly chained, and with 
 a hood over his eyes, similar to those used for hawks. We were 
 soon under way and driving towards the herd of antelopes, which 
 could be seen grazing in the distance, and which had been marked 
 down beforehand. There was no difficulty in getting the carts to 
 within a hundred and twenty yards of the deer. Then one of the 
 cheetahs, a fine male, was unhooded and set free. 
 
 " Its departure from the gharry, and its decision in choosing 
 the most covered line on the open plain for rushing on its prey, 
 were so instantaneous and rapid as to be quite marvellous. It 
 seemed to vanish from the cart and appear simultaneously half- 
 way towards the fine black buck it had singled out for attack. 
 
 " When at about thirty yards from the unsuspicious troop they 
 suddenly became aware of the deadly peril they were in. One 
 and all sprang into the air with galvanic bounds, and no doubt 
 expected to escape easily by flight, 
 
 " But our hunting-cheetah is, I suppose, for a hundred yards, 
 by far the fleetest of all wingless things ; and this one was soon 
 in the midst of the affrighted throng, which scattered wildly and 
 panic-stricken in all directions, as their leader — a fine black 
 buck — was struck down in their midst. There he lay, alone, in 
 his death agony, in the deadly clutch of his beautiful and relent- 
 lesp foe. We all ran as hard as we could, and were sooa 
 surrounding the strange group. Neither animal moved, for the 
 buck was paralyzed by fear — his starting eyeballs and dilated 
 nostrils alone gave evidence of life. The cheetah, on the other 
 hand, with his body spread out over the prostrate form of his 
 victim, seemed to strain every nerve in pressing his prey against 
 the earth as, with his long, sharp fangs buried in its delicate 
 throat, he continued the process of strangulation; he was very 
 motionless, but his eyes were fixed upon us with a glare of 
 extraordinary ferocity that became intensified as his keepers 
 rushed forward and seized the deer by the hind-leg. The brute 
 now growled fiercely, and, tightening his clutch, looked so 
 
THE CHEETAH, OR HUNTING LEOPAED. 91 
 
 extremely dangerous that I was far from envying those -who were 
 in such close proximity to him. But they knew their trade. 
 "With a long, sharp knife they cut the deer's throat, and caused 
 the warm blood to spout in torrents into the face of the half-wild 
 beast, whose whole frame now seemed to thrill with ecstasy. One 
 of the operators in the meanwhile caught a quantity of the crimson 
 life-stream in a wooden bowl, and forced the streaming fluid under 
 the very nose of the excited leopard, who, quitting his hold, at 
 once began to lap with avidity. Whilst engaged in this process, the 
 leather hood was swiftly clapped over his eyes, and the collar, 
 with two chains attached, was adjusted round his neck. 
 
 " Whilst this was going on, a third man had cut ofE one of the 
 buck's hind-legs, and this, the ' lion's share,' was held close to the 
 bloody chalice, which was no sooner emptied than the brute seized 
 the meat thus provided with a vice-like grip. Each chain was 
 now grasped by a different man, who, by keeping apart so that 
 the tether remained taut, kept the leopard between them in such 
 a way that neither was within reach of his claws or teeth. Then 
 the third individual, who had ever retained his hold of the shank- 
 bone of the leg of venison, gently drew the cheetah to the little 
 cart that had now been brought close up. As soon as the beast 
 felt himself against the edge of his own familiar chariot he sprang 
 lightly upon it, and proceeded to demolish his succulent morceau 
 
 at his ease. 
 
 "I now inspected the carcase of the deer, with a view to 
 ascertaining, if possible, how the cheetah had been able so 
 instantaneously to strike down such a powerful animal immediately 
 on getting up with it . I at once observed a single, long, deep 
 gash in the flank, which was evidently caused by the decisive 
 blow. But I could not imagine with what weapon the leopard 
 had been able to inflict this very strange-looking wound, for the 
 cheetah has a foot like a dog, and its claws are not retractile. 
 Turning then to the beast, as it sat on the cart, I inspected it 
 closely, and saw that the dew-claw, which in the dog appears 
 such a useless appendage, is represented in this brute by a terrible- 
 looking talon exactly suited to the infliction of such a gash." 
 
 Jerdon informs us that the natives assert if the ground is not 
 
92 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 very favourable for the creature when in his wild state to approach 
 his victim without being seen, " he makes a circuit to a place where 
 he thinks they will pass over, and if there is not grass enough 
 to cover him, he scrapes up the earth all around and lies flat while 
 they approach so near that by a few bounds he can seize on his 
 prey." 
 
 In the " Magazin Pittoresque " for 1842 there is an illustration 
 of a cheetah being used by an Arab, mounted on a dromedary, 
 which is engraved from a sketch taken from life by M. de Chacaton, 
 who had just returned from travelling through Asia Minor, and 
 visiting Cairo and Alexandria. A copy of this picture is inserted 
 on the opposite page. The accompanying letterpress remarks that 
 gazelles were frequently seen in the desert in great numbers, and 
 did not appear to be frightened by the passing caravans, to which 
 they had apparently become accustomed, unless any movement 
 was made in their direction, or they were alarmed by some unusual 
 noise. The Arabs employed several methods of killing them; 
 shooting under cover of holes, dug on purpose, was frequently 
 adopted, but the one most to their taste, because it is accompanied 
 by more action, excitement, and noise, which they like, was hunt- 
 ing them with cheetahs. For this purpose they keep animals 
 trained on purpose, which are generally the smaller-sized species, 
 as they are easier handled and lighter to carry. The hunter is 
 sometimes mounted on horseback, but more frequently on a fleet 
 dromedary, the cheetah being held in front, as seen in the 
 engraving, until it catches sight of the gazelles, when the animal 
 is dispatched on its mission, which it seldom fails to accomplish. 
 
 An Englishman, who had been the guest of an Indian Rajah 
 who owned a number of trained cheetahs, described hunting with 
 the animals as very poor sport. From the point of view of a 
 hunter who wishes to do his own killing, and takes delight in 
 muscular exertion, it can easily be imagined that this would be 
 a natural verdict ; but for natives, imbued with different ideas of 
 pleasure, it is full of excitement, or" it would not have continued 
 as a popular amusement for so many centuries. The careful 
 manoeuvring required to lessen the distance between the hunters 
 and the antelopes, without alarming them, then the loosening of 
 
THE CHEETAH, OR HUNTING LEOPAED. 93 
 
 the subtle animal, followed by the excitement of watching its 
 stealthy approach, in which cunning and agility are so wonder- 
 fully displayed, then the final bounds, made with lightning-like 
 rapidity, the flight of the terror-stricken animals, which become 
 probably too paralyzed when they see their enemy to employ 
 their full powers of speed, and the supreme moment having arrived, 
 there is the graceful but terrible spring, which brings the quarry in 
 the clutches of the cheetah. The whole sport is in fact an exhibi- 
 tion of animal powers exerted in their most attractive form to 
 Oriental races. It is enhanced possibly by the fact that it 
 can be pursued and enjoyed with little or no exertion on their 
 
 part. It is not difficult therefore to comprehend what an attraction 
 it must have for the inhabitants of some Eastern countries, 
 and also for many Europeans of particular temperaments. 
 
 In captivity cheetahs are peculiarly tame and affectionate animals. 
 They purr like a cat when noticed or fondled. "They are 
 extremely fond of play," quoting Mr. Bennet,* "and their 
 manner of playing very much resembles that of the cat, with the 
 difference, howevei*, that it never, as in the lattet animal, degene- 
 rates into mahcious cunning or wanton mischief. Their character, 
 indeed, seems to be entirely free from that sly and suspicious 
 
 * " Tower Menagerie." 
 
94 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 feeling of mistrust which, is so strikingly visible in the manners 
 and actions of all the cats, and which renders them so little 
 susceptible of real or lasting attachment. The cheetahs, on the 
 contrary, speedily become fond of those who are kind to them, and 
 exhibit their fondness in an open, frank, and confiding manner. 
 There can, in fact, be little doubt that they might with the greatest 
 facility be reduced to a state of perfect domestication, and rendered 
 nearly as familiar and as faithful as the dog himself." 
 
 Dr. Brehm ^ used to keep a tame cheetah that was so docile it 
 was frequently introduced in the drawing-room for ladies to pat and 
 caress, and he states that one was allowed to roam about the 
 streets of an English seaport, where it was a great favourite with 
 the sailors and workmen, who uSed to feed it. It afibrde'd amuse- 
 ment to the whole town, but the coldness of the climate affected 
 its health and it soon died. 
 
 There are exceptional specimens, howeverj and accidents have 
 happened by placing too much confidence in the harmless character 
 even of these animalsj for " Smoothbore," writing to the Field in 
 May, 1880i, describes a death through wounds inflicted by a 
 trained cheetah : " A sad occurrence is reported from Madras, 
 resulting in the death of one gentleman and serious injury to 
 another. Messrs. 0. B. Irvine, acting coUectoi* of Yizagapatam, 
 and Mr. Willock, also a civilian, went out with the ilajah of 
 Yizcanagrum to hunt antelope with a hunting cheetah. The 
 animal proved sulky and would not hunt, so Mr. Irvine proposed 
 they should hunt it. The cheetah was enlarged and was soon lost 
 sight of I but, whilst the party was following it Up, the cheetah 
 suddenly sprang from behind a bush, where it was crouching, on 
 Mr. Irvine, injuring him severely-, Mr^ Willock came to his 
 assistance, but he also was speedily rendered hors de combat. The 
 result was that Mr. Irvine died within a couple of days, and for 
 some time it was thought Mr. Willock would lose his foot. By 
 the last accounts^ however, Mr. Willock was recovering^ Mr. 
 Irvine's death is universally regretted, as he was well known and 
 a general favourite throughout the Presidency. I have never 
 heard of an accident of this sort before. The hunting cheetah 
 
 * " La Vie des Animaux." 
 
THE CHEETAH, OR HUNTING LEOPARD. 95 
 
 (Felis jubata) is generally a most good-tempered and tyaotable 
 animal, and is led about with a chain and collar like a dog." 
 
 Other accounts of accidents could be quoted. In B. Topsel's 
 " History of Four-footed Beasts," 1658, writing about the leopard, 
 but evidently referring to the species now called the cheetah, 
 we read : " This animal is sometimes tamed and used instead 
 of a dog for hunting both among the Tartarians and other 
 Princes, for they carry them behinde them on Horse-back, and 
 when they see a deer or hart, or convenient prey, they turn 
 them down upon them sodainly, who take them and destroy 
 them ; yet, such is the nature of this Beast, as also of the Pardal, 
 that, if he do not take his prey at the fourth or fifth jump, 
 he falleth so angry and fierce, that he destroyeth whomsoever he 
 meeteth-^yea, many times, his Huntei'. Thei'efore the Hunters 
 have always a regard to carry with them a Lamb or a iS^id, or some 
 such living thing, wherewithat they pacific him after he hath 
 missed his game ; for without bloud he will never be appeased^" 
 
 Andersson,® after describing the capability of the leopard for 
 being tamed and domesticated, for he had reared one of these 
 animals himself, writes about the cheetah of the Cape Colony : 
 "My own experiences, however j as to the teachable qualities of 
 the cheetah are altogether at variance with those generally 
 ascribed to it | and I had a good opportunity of judging of the 
 nature and habits of the animalj as an acquaintance of mine 
 brought up one in my immediate vicinity, than which a fiercer or 
 more intractable brute never came under my notice. Its disposi- 
 tion, in fact, was the very opposite of that of the leopard spoken 
 of. . . . But then it is not of course fair to judge of a whole 
 species by a single individual. Moreover, the animal in question 
 was much teased and annoyed, more especially by the natives, 
 whom he learnt to hate with the most deadly hatred, and, unfor- 
 tunately, several children were bitten by him in a fearful manner, 
 one, if not more of thetn, dying from the wounds it inflicted. But, 
 indeed, with the exception of myself and one or two others, not a 
 European dared to approach within his reach. Kindness and 
 gentleness had no effect upon this fierce brute, and it was only 
 " " Notes of Travel in South Africa," 1875. 
 
96 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 by conyjletely cowing his nature that we ventured to interfere 
 with him. Now and then he would manage to break, or other- 
 wise free himself, from his bonds, when, with fearful yells and 
 imprecations, the terror-stricken natives would be seen running 
 wildly to and fro in search of shelter ; but I never remember him 
 doing any mischief to the people on such occasions. Woe, how- 
 ever, betide any smaller animal, such as a puppy, a pig, or a fowl, 
 that then crossed his path. The cheetah in question unfortu- 
 nately succeeded one day in escaping, never to be recovered ; and 
 from its fearlessness of man and local knowledge it became more 
 destructive to the hen-roost and the sheep-fold than one in its 
 wild state would have been." 
 
 The fact is evident from sundry experiences of this nature that 
 the creature requires kind attention and a certain amount of 
 liberty ; under good treatment it will be a very exceptional animal 
 that will not become perfectly tame and free from dangerous 
 propensities. 
 
 Cheetahs do not breed readily in confinement, although they 
 are so freely domesticated in Arabia and India. Mr. Bartlett is 
 reported as saying that it has never to his knowledge bred in 
 England, but Dr. Giinther afl&rms that it has bred in the gardens 
 of Frankfort.^ The young animal is said to have its soft brown 
 hair free from spots, which is curious, and a reversal of the order 
 of things, for the young of the lion and puma and other unmarked 
 cats are distinctly spotted until their first far is changed. 
 
 The cheetah was known to the Greeks and Romans, as is evident 
 from a bas-relief in the Louvre ; but it could not have been exten- 
 sively employed. The Crusaders appear to have learnt the method 
 of hunting from the Mussulman princes in Syria, and to have 
 introduced it into Europe. 
 
 Frederick the Second, King of Sicily, in 1228 made a journey to 
 Jerusalem, and on his return, in 1231, adopted many of the 
 Saracen customs, among them that of hunting with the cheetah. 
 He also received from them some useful hints with respect to hawk- 
 ing, for in his Latin treatise on that art he claims the merit of having 
 introduced into Europe the hood to cover the falcon's eyes. In the 
 ' Cassell's " Natural History." 
 
 M 
 
THE CHEETAH, OE HUNTING LEOPARD. 
 
 97 
 
 history of his reign « we read that he astonished his guests by his 
 method of bringing down the deer: " The cheetahs, or hunting 
 
 Hunting with the Leopard, from a stamp of Jean Stradan (sixteenth century). 
 
 leopards of the Bast, are mounted on horseback behind their keepers, 
 
 these animals," as the Emperor says, " know how to ride." In this 
 
 ' " History of Frederick the Second," by T. L. Kington. 
 
 H 
 
98 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 manner they appear to liave accompanied him on all his marches, 
 or when he changed his residence. The animals in consequence 
 became well known to the Italians, and we see them represented in 
 the patterns of the silk damask and other textile fabrics of the 
 thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. 
 
 Boldensel speaks of the cheetah being used in Cyprus during 
 the first half of the fourteenth century. 
 
 In the middle ages everything appertaining to hunting came 
 into fashion again among the youth of the nobility, we learn 
 ■ from Lacroix's ® admirable work, and they adopted many strange 
 sporting devices, notably that of importing animals from other- 
 countries. " After having imported the reindeer from Lapland, 
 which did not succeed in their temperate climate, and the pheasant 
 from Tartary, with which they stocked the woods, they imported 
 with greater success the panther and the leopard from Africa, 
 which were used for furred game, as the hawk was for feathered 
 game. The mode of hunting with these animals was as follows. 
 The sportsmen, preceded by their dogs, rode across country, each 
 with a leopard sitting behind him on his saddle. ,When the dogs 
 had started the game the leopard jumped off the saddle and 
 sprang after it, and as soon as it was caught the hunters threw 
 the leopard a bit of raw flesh, for which he gave up the prey, and 
 remounted behind his master." This account is accompanied by 
 an excellent illustration of the hunter mounted, with the cheetah 
 sitting behind him, collared and chained, which by the kind 
 permission of the publishers is reproduced in this work, and will 
 be found on page 97. 
 
 Louis XI., King of France from 1461 to 1483, Charles YIII., 
 1483 to 1498, Louis XIL, 1498 to 1515, and Francis L, who 
 ascended the throne in 1515, all used hunting leopards in the 
 chase. Of this later monarch Topsell says : " I will add a true 
 narrative of two Panthers or Leopards nourished in France for the 
 king, whereof one was of the bigness of a great Calf, and the other 
 of a great Dog, and that on a day the lesser was brought forth 
 for the king to behold how tame and tractable he was, and 
 that he would ride behinde his keeper upon a cloth or pillow 
 ' " Manners, Customs, and Dress during the Middle Ages," by Paul Lacroix. 
 
THE CHEETAH, OR HUNTING LEOPAED. 99 
 
 .being tyed in a chain; and if a Hare had been let loose in his 
 presence, and he turned down to her, within a few jumps or leaps 
 he would attain and take her. When the keeper was to take up 
 the Leopard again he did come to him backward, lest if he 
 should see his face he should leap upon him and wound him (for, 
 as we have said, they are angry being chafed, and are ready to fly 
 into the Hunter's face) ; therefore he turneth his face away from 
 him, and betwixt his legs reacheth him a piece of bread or flesh, and 
 so he gently taketh him into his chain and collar again, leading 
 him away to his house, and as soon as the man was mounted the 
 Beast also knew his seat, and leaped up after him." This per- 
 formance must have been rather startling for the horse, and he no 
 doubt required some training to make him quiet under it. It must 
 also have been far from comfortable for the rider to have such an 
 uncertain beast behind him all the time. That this was so is 
 evident by a glance at the illustration, for the hunter's feeling is 
 cleverly shown by the wistful way in which he is trying to keep 
 his eye on the animal. This writer also speaks of two leopards, 
 probably the same ones, being reported to have escaped into the 
 woods, two years before the death of Francis I., " eyther by negli- 
 gence or the malice of their keepers, that is a male and a female, 
 and about Orleanes tore in pieces many men and women; at 
 last they came and killed a bride, which was that day to have been 
 marryed, and afterwards there were found many carkases of 
 women destroyed by them, of which they had eaten nothing but 
 only their breasts." 
 
 These kings of France kept the leopards which formed part of 
 their royal hunting establishments in an inclosure of the Castle 
 of Amboise, which is still existing, and called the gate des Lions, 
 no doubt in consequence of these animals being mistaken for lions 
 by the common people. 
 
 Cheetahs continued to be used by the French kings until the 
 reign of Henry IV,, when Marie de Medicis brought from Florence 
 in 1601 the last trained leopard seen in France ; Germany being 
 the only country in Europe where one was seen at a later date, 
 and there the sport was revived for a short time by Leopold I., 
 
 who died in 1705. 
 
 H 2 
 
100 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 In England we can find no trace of the animal being so used, 
 although, in an English MS. bestiary of the thirteenth century, 
 in the library of the British Museum, there is a representation 
 of a quadruped resembling a cheetah in pursuit of some animals, 
 apparently hares. It is' reasonable to suppose that the leopards 
 sent to Henry III. by his brother-in-law Frederick II., referred to 
 in the chapter on menageries, were in reality cheetahs ; for, as we 
 have seen, they were a favourite animal with the Sicilian king, and 
 both he and Henry III. had the same passionate fondness for 
 sport, and everything appertaining thereto. The leopards used on 
 the royal shield have more the appearance of the animals now 
 known as cheetahs than the ones we call leopards. If they were ever 
 employed in the chase in England the fact does not appear to have 
 been recorded, although the idea of carrying the animal upon the 
 saddle behind the hunter seems to have struck King James V. of 
 Scotland as a good one ; for we read in a correspondence between 
 this monarch and the Duke of Richmond, published in Jesse's^ 
 most excellent and exhaustive work, that he wanted to possess 
 blood-hounds which could ride behind men on horseback ; or, as he 
 expresses it in a letter from Holyrood, January 8th, 1526, "one 
 brais of blud hunds of y® leist bynd, yat as gud as will ryd 
 behynd men on hors bak ;" but the commission to procure them 
 appears to have been beyond the power of the Duke to fulfil. 
 
 Tippo Saib, Sultan of Mysore, who was killed at the storming 
 of Seringapatam, 1799, had several cheetahs, with which he used 
 to hunt, and five of these identical animals were kept by Sir 
 Arthur Wellesley. Subsequently three of them were sent to 
 England. Two only arrived, and they were presented by Lord 
 Harris to the Duke of Cumberland, brother to George IV., who 
 placed the animals in the menagerie at Windsor. 
 
 These cheetahs were accompanied by two Indian keepers who 
 used to treat them like pet dogs, and allowed them their full 
 liberty. However, against the wish of these men, they were sub- 
 sequently ordered by the king to be kept confined in a cage, and 
 the native attendants were dismissed. This treatment soon made 
 the creatures ferocious, and the Indians were reinstated as their 
 
 1 "Eesearches into the History of the British Dog," by Geo. E. Jesse, 1866. 
 
L^ 
 
A CHEETAH. 
 
 {J^elis Jubata.) 
 
THE CHEETAH, OR HUNTING LEOPARD. 101 
 
 guardians, but the loss of freedom, the want of exercise, and the 
 brutal treatment they appeared to have received during their short 
 confinement, had made them so savage that they attacked one of 
 the men on his entering their den and broke his arm, and they 
 were never again the docile animals they had previously been. 
 They were sent soon after this to the Tower menagerie. 
 
 The Duke tried the experiment of hunting with one of 
 them, but it ended in a fiasco, for having turned a stag loose in a 
 large inclosure in the park, made with strong netting about fifteen 
 feet high, the cheetah was introduced and unheeded by his Indian 
 attendants. The stag turned at bay, and lowering his horns to 
 charge, the cheetah bounded over the netting in among the 
 terrified crowd of spectators, who fled ia all directions; but 
 the animal, catching sight of some fallow deer in the distance, 
 pursued one of them and killed it. The experiment was not 
 repeated, and thus cheetah-hunting in England probably began 
 and ended. 
 
 The Zoological Society have been without a specimen of the 
 cheetah for some time, but have just received one. It was re- 
 ported that a snow leopard (Felis undo), which is an extremely 
 rare animal, had been captured in the valley of the Heri-Rud in 
 November, 1884, by Nawab Mahomed Hassan Ali Khan, of the 
 Afghan Boundary Commission, and would be sent at once to 
 England. On the animal's arrival, it turned out to be a fine 
 specimen of the cheetah, nevertheless it was extremely dis- 
 appointing. 
 
102 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE HYENAS {HTANIBJE). 
 
 The animals of this family are comprised in a single genus, and 
 consist of three species, containing, however, several varieties 
 — the striped hygena [Hycena striata) ; the spotted hy^na (Hycena 
 cr acuta) ; and the brown hyaena [Hycena rufa). 
 
 They resemble the Felidce, or cats, in several points, especially 
 in their dentition and in being carnivorous. They are completely 
 digitigrade — that is to say, walk only on the extremity of their 
 toes. In some respects they also exhibit a strong affinity to the 
 dog family (Ganidoe) ; but, authorities on the subject now agree 
 that they form a distinct genus. 
 
 The peculiarity first noticeable in the appearance of these 
 awkward, uncouth-looking brutes is tliat they stand higher in 
 front than they do behind ; a fact accounted for by the way in 
 which the hind legs are bent, and by the fore ones being probably 
 a trifle longer. This strange formation causes them to have that 
 shambling gait for which they are noted. Another remarkable 
 feature about their construction is that they have four toes on 
 each foot ; the members of the cat family having five toes 
 on tbe fore feet and four on the hind ones. The claws of the 
 hyaena are short, thick, pointed and very strong, and are not 
 retractile like those of the Felidce, but are exposed, similar to 
 the claws of a dog. The use to which these weapons can be put 
 in digging up the earth has conferred upon the hygenas an un- 
 enviable character in Eastern countries, for they are said, in com- 
 mon with the jackals, to despoil the graveyards and appease their 
 
THE HYENAS. • 103 
 
 ravenous appetite upon the bodies of the dead. This habit 
 makes these animals objects of aversion, and, as can be easily- 
 understood, has given rise to many superstitions regarding 
 them. 
 
 The hyaena in one respect resembles the civet. It is furnished 
 with a pouch. in which it secretes a peculiar matter that emits a 
 rather unpleasant odour, strong enough to make it a disagree- 
 able companion, and even render the neighbourhood of its den 
 an unpleasant place in which to tarry awhile. 
 
 The body of the hy^na is similar to that of the wolf, both in 
 size and shape. The head is large and broad, and terminates in a 
 short thick muzzle. It has large ears and the somewhat protruding 
 eyes have a repulsive scowling expression. The tongue is rough 
 and prickly, resembling that of the larger members of the cat 
 family. The jaws are endowed with enormous power. The teeth 
 are identical in number with the other members of the carnivorous 
 order. Their dental formula is — 
 
 Incisors I; canines i^:nolars 1^^=34. 
 6 ' 1 — 1 4 — 4 
 
 The two canines in each jaw are extremely well developed, and 
 are exceptionally strong. In fact the whole construction of the 
 head, dental organization, the great power of the jaws, and the 
 powerful muscle that gives strength to the neck, all combined 
 confer upon this animal the most remarkable ability to 
 break or crunch any article it may get between its teeth that 
 admits of such treatment. The very hardest bones are snapped 
 with ease, and the grip that an hyaena can take is so tenacious it is 
 next to impossible to drag anything away from the creature When 
 once it has been firmly seized. 
 
 Any one wishing to see an exhibition of their capacity in this 
 way has only to watch the animal in any zoological collection 
 when it is being fed ; or at any other hour to request the keeper 
 to place a large bone across the bars of the den, and, if seen for 
 the first time, the ease with which it will be snapped asunder and 
 drawn within will create surprise. 
 
 Dr. Buckland writes :' " I have had an opportunity of seeing 
 
 1 "Keliquise DeluvianEe," by the Kev. William Buckland, B.D., F.E.S., F.L.S., 
 
 1824. 
 
104 * WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 a Cape hysena at Oxford in the travelling collection of Mr, 
 WombweU. ... I was enabled also to observe tbe animal's 
 mode of proceeding in tbe destruction of bones ; the sbin-bone of 
 an ox being presented to this hy^na, he began to bite off with his 
 molar teeth large fragments from its upper extremity, and 
 swallowed them whole as fast as they were broken off. On his 
 reaching the medullary cavity, the bone split into angular frag- 
 ments, many of which he caught up greedily and swallowed entire : 
 he went on cracking it till he had extracted all the marrow, licking 
 out the lowest portion of it with his tongue : this done, he left 
 untouched the lower condyle, which contains no marrow, and is 
 very hard. ... I gave the animal successively three shin- 
 bones of a sheep ; he snapped them asunder in a moment, dividing 
 each in two parts only, which he swallowed entire, without the 
 smallest mastication. On the keeper putting a spar of wood, two 
 inches in diameter, into his den, he cracked it in pieces as if it had 
 been touchwood, and in a minute the whole was reduced to a mass 
 of splinters. The power of his jaws far exceeds any animal force 
 of the kind I ever saw exerted, and reminds me of nothing so much 
 as of a miner's crushing mill, or the scissors with which they cut 
 off bars of iron and copper in the metal foundries." 
 
 The striped hyaena {Hyoena striata) is the representative animal 
 of the family, and the one whose habits are the best known. 
 It is found throughout India (except the lower part of Bengal), 
 Persia, Turkey, Abyssinia, Egypt, Nubia, Libya, Algeria, Barbary, 
 West Africa, and the Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 The thick coat is of a dark yellowish-grey, marked with longi- 
 tudinal stripes of a darker hue, which are more distinct on the 
 lower part of the body. These stripes become oblique towards 
 the shoulders and haunches. The legs are transversely striped, 
 similar to the markings of a zebra. " The front of the neck," 
 says Mr. Bennett,^ " is completely black, as are also the muzzle 
 and the outsides of the ears ; the latter being broad, moderately 
 long, and nearly destitute of hairs, especially on the inside. The 
 hair of the body is long, particularly on the back of the neck and 
 on the spine, where it forms a full and thick mane, which may be 
 
 2 "The Tower Menagerie." 
 
THE HYENAS. 105 
 
 said to be continued even upon the tail, the latter organ being 
 furnished with strong tufted hair of considerable length. The 
 mane and the tail are both marked with blackish spots or stripes, 
 variously and irregularly placed. Much variety is indeed to be 
 met with as well in the ground colour of the whole body as in the 
 disposition of the markings, which are extremely different in 
 different individuals." 
 
 They are also subject to considerable diversity in size. An 
 ordinary fair-sized animal will measure between four and a half 
 to five feet in length from nose to root of tail, the tail in itself be 
 about ten inches, and . the height at the shoulder, two or three 
 inches under three feet. 
 
 The hygena is essentially a nocturnal animal and seldom, if ever, 
 moves abroad during the day, but prefers the gloom of rocky 
 caverns, the solitude of ancient ruins ; or, if resting-places of this 
 description are not available, he will burrow a hole in the ground 
 and there sleep till the sun sets, when forth he comes to seek 
 his food and make night hideous with his dismal and maniacal 
 howling. 
 
 The propensity of these animals to howl continually when 
 abroad is extraordinary, and the object they have is a mystery. 
 That it is not to call their mates is proved by the fact that they 
 continue their cries when separating from each other ; and, again, 
 the animals are not gregarious, but prefer hunting singly, 
 and only assemble in any number when an abundance of carrion 
 attracts them to a common centre. The atrocious noise they 
 delight in making certainly appears in one way to be detrimental 
 to their own interest, for it alarms the animals that might become 
 their victims, and renders the capture of living prey much more 
 difl&cult. This, however, may be their object, for hyaenas are said 
 to be most cowardly beasts, and will not attack even very much 
 smaller creatures than themselves, unless they are in full flight, 
 but slink away if they stand up and face them. Another purpose 
 the uttering of such dismal howls may serve is to inspire fear, 
 and in this way frighten other animals from their own lawful 
 prey, for by flying in their terror, they leave it for the prowling, 
 carrion-seeking hyenas. 
 
106 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 All writers agree that the hygena lacks courage, and is only 
 ferocious when he himself is secure from harm. McMaster,^ the 
 well-known Indian sportsman, illustrating the faint-heartedness of 
 these creatures, writes : " Shortly after daybreak I had shot> a 
 bear that died almost immediately; ere long, a large hyaena 
 blundered up the same path the bear had taken. I did not wish 
 to waste a shot on him, and he stumbled on for some distance in 
 the vacant-looking and undecided way of his race. Suddenly, 
 having caught the scent of blood or dead flesh, he became a 
 different and rather fine-looking creature, as he rushed with head 
 and tail well up, the latter waving almost in the style of a fox- 
 hound, while ' drawing ' direct to the spot, and in his hungry haste 
 jumped on a stone, beside which was the dead bear, and almost 
 on the carcase. All at once matters changed, and I shall not soon 
 forget the horror-struck look of the hyeena, as stiffened as if by 
 magic, too frightened to move back or forward, and with every 
 bristle erect, like a worried cat, he stood quivermg over the body ; 
 although I had spared it before, I could not resist taking his 
 worthless life as he stood." 
 
 Many sportsmen and travellers try to create a prejudice against 
 the hysenas, both on account of their habits, which, on the one 
 hand, they call cowardly, and on the other, unclean, and because 
 hunting them is not considered good sport : hence they very rarely 
 give any description of these animals, but only allude occasionally 
 to their being disturbed by their midnight howling, which, by-the- 
 bye, is often confounded with that of the jackals. Jules Gerard, 
 the lion-killer, in his book, first set this example, and he says the 
 Arabs have a saying, " as cowardly as a hy^na," and that they 
 scorn in attacking it even to use their guns, but that when one 
 finds a hyaena in a hole he takes a handful of dirt and presents it 
 to him, saying " Come and I will render you beautiful with henna." 
 " The hyaena holds out his paw, the Arab seizes it, drags him out, 
 then gags him, and causes him to be stoned by the women and 
 children of the douar as a cowardly and unclean beast." 
 
 That these animals prefer carrion of all description to other 
 food seems to be well authenticated ; but ' this very habit is of 
 
 ^ " Notes on Jerdon's Mammals of India," by A, C. McMaster. 
 
THE HYENAS. 107 
 
 great service in many parts of those countries they inhabit, both in 
 Asia and Africa, for they perform the duties of general scavengers, 
 ■which, from the unclean customs of the people, is a most useful 
 ofl&ce, even if to refined notions it is a loathsome one ; and 
 certainly those benefited by these creatures should be just and 
 acknowledge their utility ; for by removing dead animals, garbage, 
 offal, and other abominations, they prevent the atmosphere from 
 being polluted by the rapid decomposition of such matter under 
 the fierce heat of the noonday sun, which would engender pesti- 
 lential odours most detrimental to human health. 
 
 There is such a fact, however, as having too much of a good 
 thing. Bruce, in the appendix forming Volume Y. of his book,* 
 states : " I do not think there is any one that hath hitherto 
 written of this animal who ever saw the thousandth part of them 
 that I have. They were a plague in Abyssinia in every situation, 
 both in the city and in the field, and I think surpassed the sheep 
 in number. Gordar was full of them from the time it turned dark 
 till the dawn of day, seeking the different pieces of slaughtered 
 carcases which this cruel and unclean people expose in the streets 
 without burial, and who firmly believe that these animals are 
 Falasha, from the neighbouring mountains, transformed by magic, 
 and come down to eat human flesh in the dark in safety. Many 
 a time in the night, when the king had kept me late in the palace, 
 and it was not my duty to lie there, in going across the square 
 from the king's house, not many hundred yards distant, I have 
 been apprehensive they would bite me in the leg. They grunted 
 in great numbers about me, though I was surrounded with several 
 armed men, who seldom passed a night without wounding or 
 slaughtering some of them." 
 
 The strength they possess, already spoken of, allows them to 
 easily drag away to a considerable distance the dead bodies of 
 such large animals as donkeys, mules, or oxen. Major Dixon 
 Denham,^ in giving an account of the hysenas who were in legions 
 around Konka, states that they absolutely carried the town by 
 
 * "Travels between the Years 1765 and 1773, &c.," by James Bruce. 
 ^ Author of " Narratives of Travels and Discoveries in Northern and Central 
 Africa," 1826. 
 
108 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 storm on one occasion, and succeeded in destroying the defences 
 tlie natives had built against them, and dragged off two donkeys 
 in spite of the efforts of the people. 
 
 The hya3na,has a most peculiar gait, and although not giving one 
 the appearance of moving at a very rapid pace, yet contrives to get 
 over the ground in such a surprising manner, that it taxes the power 
 of a good horse to overtake it, and in spearing it the hunter finds 
 some difficulty both on account of the speed and the habit it has 
 of turning and doubling when overtaken. They appear some- 
 times as though they had suffered an injury that caused them 
 to limp, but this seems to be a habit that both the jackal, wolf, 
 and other dogs occasionally exhibit. Captain Beechey also notices 
 this singularity, for he says the hy^na " not only walks away very 
 slowly when advanced upon, but appears at the same time to have 
 a limping motion, as if he were lame of one leg." ® Dr. Shaw 
 writes : " A remarkable peculiarity in the hyaena, but which is some- 
 times observed in other dogs, &c., is that, when it is first dislodged 
 from cover, or obliged to run, it always appears lame for a con- 
 siderable space, and that sometimes to such a degree, according 
 to Mr. Bruce, as to make the spectator suppose one of the hind 
 legs to be broken ; but after running some time this affection goes 
 off, and he runs swiftly away." '' 
 
 Hyaenas very rarely attack human beings. Occasionally when 
 compelled by absolute necessity, they will do so however, but their 
 victims are generally women and children. Major-General Burton 
 narrates an unusual attack made by one of these beasts : " A 
 woman at the Shervarvy hUls was fetching water from a stream 
 near her village when a hyaena rushed out of the jungle and 
 seized her by the arm, and endeavoured to drag her away. The 
 woman dropped her water- vessel ; but the hyaena would not let 
 her go, and she in her turn seized the beast by its long ears, and 
 tried to drag it towards the village. The villagers, attracted by 
 her frantic cries, rushed up, and found her on the ground 
 struggling with the hyeena. They attacked it with clubs, but it 
 
 ^ " Proceedings of the Expedition to Explore the Northern Coast of Africa," by 
 Captain F. W. Beechey, E.lsr., F.E.S., and H. W. Beechey, Esq., F.S.A. 
 "> " General Zoology," by Geo. Shaw, M.D., F.E.S., &c. 
 
THE HYENAS. 109 
 
 would not quit its hold until they had slashed it about its head 
 with knives. Even then it released one arm only to grip the 
 other ; but they at last overpowered it and killed it. The woman 
 died. The hyaena was a female, and most likely had cubs not far 
 off J which might account for the unusual ferocity of this ordinarily 
 cowardly animal." 
 
 In the Indian Grovernment returns hyaenas are reported to have 
 killed, during the seven years ending 1881, 221 people, a smaller 
 number than any other animal, except the elephant. Bengal and 
 the North-West Provinces with Oudh seem to harbour the largest 
 number of ferocious hyaenas. The cattle killed during the same 
 period numbered 14,711 head, while the number of hygenas de- 
 stroyed totals 11,768, for which the Government paid in rewards 
 2,038L 8s. 
 
 The partiality hyenas have for stealing around and haunting 
 ruins is noticeable in both the animals of Africa and Asia. 
 Travellers who have visited the remains of those ancient temples 
 and palaces of India which tell of the bygone power of the Mogul 
 rulers frequently speak of the fright they received by suddenly 
 encountering one of these animals prowling about with stealthy 
 tread, or by the weird sounds of their howls being echoed amoag 
 the decaying walls of the moonht ruin. 
 
 The crumbling cities on the northern coast of Africa explored 
 by Captain Beechey, which once were the abodes of wealth and 
 splendour when the Ptolemies and Osesars were the rulers of the 
 land, and exhibited the ostentatious magnificence of that bygone 
 age, are now but the abodes of desolation and gloom, the residence 
 of the jackal and the hyaena, who slake their thirst on the water 
 collected in the basins of the crumbhng fountains, and break the 
 oppressive stillness by their dismal laugh that, reverberating, 
 startles into life the owls and the bats. 
 
 The spotted hyaena (Hycena crocuta), although possessing a 
 generic resemblance to the striped hyaena, both anatomically and 
 in size, is nevertheless specifically distinct. It is confined in its 
 habitat to Southern Africa, where it takes the place of the striped 
 animal, and is called the tiger-wolf by the colonists. It is this 
 8 " Eeminiscences of Sport in India," 1885. 
 
110 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 creature whose howl when excited resembles the maniacal laughter 
 that has given rise to its cognomen of " laughing hyaena." Instead 
 of being marked in stripes, it has the yellowish ground colour 
 of its coat covered with round black spots. A conspicuous 
 distinction between the two species is the almost entire absence 
 of the mane in this one, which, however, has its blackish-brown 
 tail covered with long bushy, hair. 
 
 It is a much more savage beast than its congener of Northern 
 Africa and India. It is also more voracious and destructive, for it 
 not only feasts on carrion, but, driven by hunger, readily takes to 
 the hunting of living prey, such as the antelope and small deer, 
 and frequently commits great havoc among the animals the 
 farmers may happen to leave unprotected. 
 
 The description given in " Knight's Bncyclopzedia," which is 
 taken from the first catalogue of the African Museum, says : " It 
 also often succeeds in killing or mutilating such of the large kind 
 of animals that have not been secured before dusk." Sickly 
 animals, it appears, are less liable to suffer from the voracity of 
 this creature than those that are in full health ; the latter by their 
 rapid flight inspiring their enemy with a courage of which by 
 nature he is destitute; whereas the sickly face him, and thus 
 intimidate him from attacks, which might be successful if made. 
 So anxious is he for the flight of the animals, as a preliminary to 
 his onset, that he uses all the grimace and threatening he can 
 command to induce them to run, and never dares to assail them 
 unless they exhibit great fear. " The character of this hy^na," 
 continues our author, " makes his destruction an object of no small 
 importance to the farmers, whose ingenious snares for him call forth 
 amazing cunning and dexterity on the part of the animal to render 
 them of no avail. The more common methods employed against 
 beasts of prey, such as spring-guns, traps, &c., do not succeed in 
 his case. During his nocturnal wanderings he minutely examines 
 every object that presents itself to his notice with which he is 
 not perfectly familiar ; and if he see reason to suspect that it can 
 injure him he will turn back and make his way in an opposite 
 direction." 
 
 Presumably from tasting the flesh of the dead left upon 
 
THE HYENAS. Ill 
 
 the field of battle in those frequent wars that occur between the 
 
 various tribes in the interior of South Africa, which the natives 
 
 never think of burying, but leave scattered over the plains, soon to 
 
 become food for the vulture and hygena, certain animals get the 
 
 taste for human flesh, and when it is not available in one form seek 
 
 it in another, and become " man-eaters." They generally, however, 
 
 confine their tastes to children, whom they seek out with a stealthi- 
 
 ness and cunning that has something of the awful in connection with 
 
 it, for they even pass over every other sort of prey to get the human 
 
 one. Mr. Steedman® tells us of the terrible injuries sustained by 
 
 two children that came within the knowledge of Mr. Shepstone, 
 
 " Who," he says, " in a letter from Mamboland, relates that the 
 
 nightly attacks of wolves, as the hyaenas are generally called, have 
 
 been so destructive among the children and youth as to form quite 
 
 an anomaly in the history of this animal ; for within a few months 
 
 not fewer than forty instances came to his own knowledge, wherein 
 
 that beast had made most dreadful havoc. To show clearly," he 
 
 says, " the preference of the wolf for human flesh it will be 
 
 necessary to notice that when the Mambookies build their houses, 
 
 which are in form like beehives, and tolerably large, often eighteen 
 
 or twenty feet in diameter, the floor is raised at the higher or 
 
 back part of the house, until within three or four feet of the front, 
 
 where it suddenly terminates, leaving an area from thence to the 
 
 wall in which every night the calves are tied to protect them from 
 
 the storms or from wild beasts. Now it would be natural to 
 
 suppose that, should the wolf enter, he would seize the first object 
 
 for his prey, especially as the natives always lie with the fire at 
 
 their feet. But notwithstanding this the constant practice of this 
 
 animal has been in every instance to pass by the calves in the 
 
 area, and even by the fire, and to take the children from under 
 
 the mother's kardos, and this in such a gentle and cautious manner 
 
 that the poor parent has been unconscious of her loss until the 
 
 cries of her little innocent have reached her from without, when 
 
 a close prisoner in the jaws of the monster." 
 
 The brown hyaena (HycBua rufa) also inhabits the southern 
 
 9 '' Wandering and Adventures in the Interior of Soutliein Africa," by Andrew 
 Steedman, 1835. 
 
112 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 portion of the African continent, being generally found nearer the 
 sea-coast than the other species. It differs from them in having 
 the long, coarse, shaggy hair of the body of a grizzled brown 
 colour. 
 
 Nearly all the then known wild beasts of any size appear at one 
 time or another to have been exhibited in Rome when she was in the 
 zenith, of her power, and the hysenas were no exception ; but these 
 animals do not seem to have made their appearance until a 
 comparatively late period, for they are first spoken of as being 
 seen in that collection of remarkably rare animals prepared for 
 the younger Gordian, but which were left for his successor, the 
 Emperor Philip, to exhibit in the secular games at the thousandth 
 anniversary of Rome (a.d. 248). 
 
 In the cave at Kirkdale, Yorkshire, discovered by Professor 
 Buckland, previously spoken of, the remains of a large number of 
 hyenas were found, and their bones have been also found in many 
 similar places both in this country and in France and Germany. 
 
 A hy^na was reported in the last century to have committed 
 great ravages in France. The following extract from Dodsley's 
 " Annual Register " for 1766, seems to refer to the animal. 
 " This time twelvemonth a wild beast began to make its appear- 
 ance in the south of France, especially in the Yivavais and 
 Gevaudan, so uncommonly wily as seldom to attack any but 
 children or women when he could meet them alone, and of such 
 uncommon speed as to be seen in the same day in many and very 
 distant places, so as to prevent people's travelling, and greatly 
 obstruct all country business heretofore carried on by children or 
 single persons. Several parties of dragoons having been sent 
 against him to no purpose, the king, in February last, offered a 
 reward of six thousand livres for killing him ; and even public 
 prayers were put up in several churches to be delivered from this 
 terrible animal, which the coming up of the corn now rendered it 
 almost impossible to discover or pursue, without doing more damage 
 than could be apprehended from the creature itself, whom several 
 traps had been laid for to no purpose, and many of the dragoons, 
 by dressing themselves in women's apparel, had in vain endea- 
 voured to entice to a fair engagement. Having once attacked 
 
THE HYENAS. 113 
 
 seven boys, the eldest not eleven, and seized on one of them, the 
 three eldest, by beating him with sticks armed at the end with 
 iron, obliged him to part with his prey, but not till he had bit off 
 part of the child's cheek, which he devoured in their presence. 
 He then seized another of the children, but his companions pur- 
 sued him to a marsh, where he sunk up to the belly, and they 
 belaboured hini so that he let go the child, who, though under his 
 paw, received but one wound in his arm and a scratch in his face. 
 At length, a man coming up to their assisbance, the animal thought 
 proper to retreat. These children were rewarded by the king, 
 and ordered to be provided foi*. At last, having devoured more 
 than fifty woulen and children, he was on the 20th of this month, 
 discovered in the woods of Pommieres by Monsieur Antoine de 
 Beauterme, a gentleman of a distant province, remarkable for his 
 skill and boldness in hunting and the goodness of his dogs, who 
 had come of himself to the assistance of the terrified country, 
 and shot by him in the eye at the distance of about fifty paces. 
 But though the creature fell on receiving the wound, he soon 
 recovered himself, and was making up to M. de Beauterme with 
 great fury when he was shot dead by the Duke of Orlean's game- 
 keepef, named Beinhard. Sevei'al inhabitants of the Gevaudan, 
 who had been attacked by him, having all declared him to be the 
 same animal which had caused such terror and consternation in 
 that country, M. de Beauterme set out with the body for Yer- 
 sailleg, in otder to present it to the king. This animal was 
 32 inches high, 5 feet 7^ inches long, 3 feet thick, and weighed 
 130 lbs. The surgeons Who dissected him say that he was more 
 of the hygena than the wolf kind. He had forty teeth, whereas 
 wolves have but twenty-Sis:. The muscles of his neck were very 
 strong ; his sides so formed that he could bend his head to his 
 tail ; his eyes sparkled so with fire that it was hardly possible to 
 bear his look ; his tail was very large, broad, thick, and bristled 
 with black hair; and his feet armed with claws extremely strong 
 and singular. When killed he sent forth a very disagreeable 
 stench. In his body several sheep's bones were found. The king 
 ordered him to be embalmed and stuffed with straw, and to 
 remain in the custody of young Monsieur de Beauterme." 
 
114 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 At one time — in fact the idea lias hardly died out yet — the 
 hyaena was considered to be a perfectly untamable animal, 
 being of so cruel and fierce a disposition that kindness of treat- 
 ment was entirely lost upon it ; but this is entirely an error, for 
 no wild animal submits to man's control more readily. In India 
 it is frequently domesticated and trained to perform the duties 
 of a watch- dog. In Africa, at the Cape, the spotted hyaena 
 is also very easily tamed, and the colonists treat it exactly as 
 they would a dog. It is also a much more, agreeable companion 
 than the Indian's friend, for it does not possess the subcaudal 
 gland, and, as a consequence, is not so offensive to the olfactory 
 nerves. Barrow^ states that the cadaverous crocuta had lately 
 been domesticated in the Snewberg, South Africa, and that it 
 was considered to be a splendid hunter after game, and as 
 faithful and diligent as any of the common sort of domestic dog. 
 
 These tame hyenas exhibit one feature in a very marked 
 manner : they require complete liberty of action, which, strange 
 to say, they show no signs of abusing ; but if confined or couped 
 up in dens or cages they become surly at once and get dangerous 
 from irritation. Hence, probably, the general idea respecting 
 their untamableness, for the animals seen in menageries are fre- ' 
 quently madly ferocious in consequence of their cruel confinement 
 in the limited space usually allotted to them. 
 
 " A hygena at Exeter change some years ago was so tame 
 as to be allowed to walk about the exhibition-room. He was 
 afterwards sold to a person who permitted him to go out with him 
 into the. fields, led by a string. After these indulgences, he 
 became the property of a travelling showman, who kept him con- 
 stantly in a cage. From that time his ferocity became quite 
 alarming ; he would allow no stranger to approach him, and he 
 gradually pined away and died." ^ 
 
 ' " An account of Travels in South Africa," 1801. 2 " The Menagerie." 
 
115 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE WOLF (CANIS LUPUS). 
 
 The animals wMcli are classified under this heading are the most 
 important representatives of the dog family (Ganidce) now existing 
 in a wild state ; for with the exception of the jackal nearly all 
 the other members have been domesticated, and the various species 
 included in the generic title of " the dog." It is not within the 
 province of a work on wild beasts to describe that most affec- 
 tionate and faithful friend to man, which was probably one of the 
 first of the created animals to become attached and evince 
 afEection for him. It has been weU said that " the dog is the most 
 complete, singular, and useful conquest ever made by man over 
 the brute creation : each individual is devoted to his particular 
 master, assumes his manners, knows and defends his property, 
 and remains attached to him till death ; and all this neither from 
 constraint nor want, but solely from the purest gratitude and 
 truest friendship. The swiftness, strength, and scent of the dog 
 have rendered him man's powerful ally against all other animals, 
 and have perhaps mainly contributed to the establishment of 
 society." 
 
 One of the most puzzling problems to naturalists is to define 
 the number of species of dogs now existing, and their origin. 
 Some contend that they all acknowledge the same ancestor, and 
 even the wild species, the wolf, the jackal, and others are the 
 offspring of dogs once domesticated, but which have relapsed to 
 their primitive condition. Others maintain that the woK is the 
 true father of the tribe, while a few claim this honour for the 
 
 I 2 
 
116 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 jackal. Against these arguments it has been proved that those 
 dogs, the outcast curs of Mahammedan towns, which become wild 
 again, never revert to the one species or to the other. The 
 domesticated species do not now exist in a natural condition, and 
 there are no records of their true ancestors available, for they 
 must have been lost among those of the primitive people of the 
 world ; what manner of animal or animals they were will there- 
 fore, in all probability, be one of those questions that will perplex 
 the mind of students in natural history till the end of time. 
 
 That the wolf and the dog, or rather several species of the dog, 
 have many points in resemblance is beyond question, and conclusive 
 proof that they belong to the same family. The dingo and other 
 wild dogs have the same shaped head and ears, the same rough 
 thick hair, long and bushy tail. Their lounging gait is identical, 
 and the fact that they never bark, but utter a sharp cry, or long, 
 melancholy howl similar to that of the wolf, is peculiar ; but they 
 have other points that unmistakably establish their distinction, 
 
 " The ears of wild animals are always pricked, the lop or drop- 
 ping ear being especially a mark of civilization : with very rare 
 exceptions, their tails hang more or less and are bushy, the 
 honest cock of the tail, so characteristic bf a respectable dog, 
 being wanting. This is certainly the rule ; but, curious enough, 
 the Zoological Gardens contain at the present moment a Portu- 
 guese female wolf, which carries her tail as erect and with as bold 
 P an air as any dog. Wolves and wild dogs growl, howl, yelp, and 
 cry most discordantly, but, with one exception, do not bark ; that 
 exception being the wild hunting dog of South Africa, which, 
 according to Mr. Gumming, has three distinct cries .; one is 
 peculiarly soft and melodious, but distinguishable at a great dis- 
 tance ; this is analogous to the trumpet call, ' halt and rally,' of 
 cavalry serving to collect the scattered pack when broken in hot. 
 chase. A second cryj which has been compared to the chattering 
 of monkeys, is emitted at night when the dogs are excited ; and 
 the third note is described as a sharp, angry barkj usually tittered 
 when they behold an object they cannot make oiit, but which 
 differs from the true, well-known bark of the domestic dog;" ^ 
 
 ' See "Bantlev's MisceUanv." Vol. 29. 
 
THE WOLF. 117 
 
 The dog and tlie wolf seem to be natural enemies, and seldom 
 meet without immediately flying at each other. The difference 
 between the disposition of the two animals becomes then apparent, 
 for if the wolf proves the victor he devours his victim; but, should 
 the dog kill the wolf, he disdains to touch the carcase. 
 
 The wolf on many accounts holds a prominent position among 
 wild beasts. Some interest attaches to him in aU probability 
 from the close analogy of the essential features he presents to the 
 dog ; but his habits, instincts, and ferocious char acter, cornbined 
 with the fact that he is the most formidable representative of the 
 carnivora to be found in the more temperate r^giops of the world, 
 have more to do with it. He is the theme of many a bloodr 
 curdling recital ; history, poetry, and fiction being all indebted to 
 him for many thrilling pages. 
 
 Some of the differences in structure between the canine tribe 
 and the cfi,t family are visible at a glance. The broad head tapers 
 suddenly into a slender and pointed muzzle, a,nd the eyes have a 
 peculiar compression, owing to their obliquity. The ears are erect, 
 being straight and pointed. The limbs are larger in proportion, 
 but the bones are of a more slender character, it being evident 
 that these animals are better adapted to speed than for taking those 
 extraordinary bounds noticeable in the larger species of the cats. 
 The neck is longer and more flexible. The tongue is smooth, and 
 the claws nou'^retractile. 
 
 Wolves have five toes on the fore feet, and four on the hind 
 ones. They usually have twelve molar teeth in the upper jaw, 
 and fourteen in the lower, which both in size and power are 
 comparatively greater than the teeth of any dog of similar pro- 
 portions. They possess great strength, especially in the muscles 
 of the neck and jaws. 
 
 Their lank form and gaunt appearance indicate the ]:'estless 
 activity, the ferocious character, and the untamable habits that 
 are characteristic of the animals, 
 
 Wolves are said to carefully train their cubs, for they accustom 
 them to flesh gradually, and when strong enough make them join 
 in the chase. They are also described as inuring them to suffer-| " 
 ing and pain by biting, maltreating, and dragging them about by! 
 
118 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 V tlie tail, and teaching tliem to be mute by punishing them if they 
 \howl or utter a cry. 
 
 ^ They associate together in packs for hunting purposes, and 
 rely on their swiftness of foot to run down the deer and other 
 animals on which they prey, and, if in the neighbourhood of farms, 
 commit great ravages among the sheep-folds. They also fre- 
 quently attack calves, but the full-grown animals are generally 
 safe from their molestation. Their food depends to a great extent 
 upon the country they inhabit ; but they easily kill rats, hares, 
 foxes, badgers, roebuck, stag, reindeer, and elk, which they gene- 
 rally seize by the throat. Under certain circumstances they will 
 also kill and devour one of their own species. 
 
 p When pressed by hunger, wolves readily attack man, and at 
 all times are dangerous animals to encounter. However, a traveller 
 can keep them at a distance by the display of something unusual ; 
 for the peculiarly cautious instinct they exhibit not only serves 
 their own purpose, but enables any one pursued by them to 
 easily avaO. himself of it and alarm them. They are not readily 
 trapped, for they are so crafty and sagacious that it is almost 
 impossible to allure them into any snare, and as one writer says, 
 they appear to understand the nature and purpose of a trap 
 almost as well as those by whom it is set. 
 
 In the gardens of the Zoological Society are to be found repre- 
 j sentatives of the three principal varieties of these animals — viz., 
 I the common wolf (canis lupus), the American wolf (canis 
 I oGcidentalis), and the Japanese wolf (canis hodophylax). 
 
 The common wolf is an inhabitant of Europe and Northern 
 Asia, extending from the arctic regions to the northern parts of 
 Africa and India. It is of a yellowish or tawny-gi^ey colour, having 
 black hairs interspersed over the coat, the under parts are white, 
 and the tail, although not bushy, is well developed ; but many 
 diversities appear in these animals suflBcient to identify the part 
 of the world from which they come. It is a powerfully-built beast, 
 and has a morose, determined aspect. When full grown it attains 
 a length of fully four feet. Nearly every variety of the wolf bas 
 a black stripe in the front of the forelegs of the adult. 
 
 The French wolf differs from the German in being somewhat 
 
THE WOLF. 119 
 
 smaUer, and of a browner colour. There is the small brownish 
 grey wolf of the Alps, and the large, long-haired wolf of Russia; 
 m Italy and Turkey they are of a more tawny colour. White 
 wolves are sometimes seen in southern countries, but in the arctic 
 regions they frequently become white in winter. The most noted 
 variety existing in Europe are the black wolves, large and strong 
 animals, frequenting Spain and the Pyrenees, where they often 
 attack the strings of mules that travel through the passes. 
 
 Wolves are still very plentiful in some parts of Europe, in 
 Russia especially, where the returns annually submitted to the 
 Imperial Government show that they inflict a large amount of 
 injury. In one year alone, within a limited district of about 20,000 
 square miles, they destroyed 1800 horses, nearly 16,000 sheep, 
 over 1700 oxen, and large numbers of calves, lambs, goats, kids, 
 swine, pigs, dogs, geese, and fowl. The report for 1877 stated""! 
 that the whole country contained 200,000 wolves. In 1875 they 
 killed 161 people, in addition to 108,000 cattle, in European 
 Russia alone, besides poultry and dogs, the former being the diet 
 preferred by the young wolves. The loss is estimated at 
 15,000,000 roubles or 2,50O,O00Z. per annum. In Siberia it must 
 also be very considerable, especially in reindeer, for large numbers 
 of these animals fall victims to the voracious appetite of the 
 wolves. 
 
 In a Russian pamphlet published at St. Petersburg, as an 
 appendix to the Government official report, a comparison is in- 
 stituted between the losses occasioned by cattle plagues and fires, 
 and against those caused by wolves. Extraordinary as it may 
 seem, the proportion of damage done by wolves as compared with 
 cattle plagues is as 200 to 240, and it must be further taken into 
 consideration that, while the epidemic may leave the peasant the 
 skin of his cow, the wolf carries away his prey irreclaimably. The 
 damage is naturally looked upon as a serious national calamity. 
 " Their strength is very great, and the amount they will eat is 
 enorlnous. In two or three hours, it is stated, a pair will eat half 
 a horse weighing 350 kilogs, they themselves not weighing more 
 than 50 kilogs." ^ 
 
 2 See The Times, 1876. 
 
120 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 An extremely dangerous peculiarity is their cunning trick of 
 appearing to be dead. A Russian peasant found a wolf lying on the 
 ground apparently defunct ; after beating him on the head with a 
 cudgel, to make sure of the fact, he placed the animal on his sledge 
 and took it home, for the sake of the skin. In the night he was dis- 
 turbed by hearing some unusual noise, and looking up saw the 
 wolf alive, standing on the table. Immediately the animal saw him 
 move, it sprang at his throat. His wife jumped up and rushed out 
 of the house for help. When she returned she found her husband 
 lying dead in the room, and the wolf had escaped, 
 
 Captain Lyon ^ noticed a similar exhibition of feigning death, in 
 a wolf of the high northern latitudes. Having caught one of 
 these animals, and it being to all appearance dead, the body was 
 dragged on board his ship. " The eyes, however, were observed 
 to wink whenever any object was pHced near them ; some pre- 
 cautions were therefore considered necessary, and the legs being 
 tied, the animal was hoisted up with his head downwards. He 
 then to our surprise made a vigorous spring at those near him, 
 and afterwards repeatedly turned himself upwards so as to reach 
 the rope by which he was suspended, endeavouring to gnaw it 
 asunder, and making angry snaps at the person who prevented 
 him. Several heavy blows were struck on the back of his neck, 
 and a bayonet was thrust through him, yet above a quarter of an 
 hour elapsed before he died, having completely convinced us that 
 for the future we should not too easily trust to the appearance of 
 death in animals of this description." 
 
 Many ghastly facts are narrated in history about the Russian 
 wolves that followed in the wake of Napoleon's army in the 
 memorable retreat from that country, numbers of the Siberian 
 species even continuing their pursuit to the borders of the Rhine. 
 The French army ir^ the Austrian campaign, when in the vicinity 
 of Vienna, were again troubled with wolves, and had several 
 videttes carried off by them. 
 
 -- In certain districts of France wolves are still very abundant. 
 
 In the Ardennes they are regularly hunted every winter, and 
 
 the Pyrenees are generally full of these animals in the cold seasons, 
 
 A correspondent to the papers, a few years ago, stated -that the 
 
 ' " Private Journal of Captain G. F. Lyon," 1824. 
 
THE WOLF. 121 
 
 bathing stations were buried under snow, and presented a curious^ 
 aspect, for the houses being shut up and abandoned by the inhabi- 
 tants, the wolves roamed through the streets, uttering mournful 
 howls. This spectacle was to be witnessed even at Bagneres de 
 Luchon. 
 
 In the winter of 1867 a cattle train on the Luxembourg rail- 
 way was stopped by the snow between Libramont and Poix, and, 
 quoting from the Nord, " The brakesman was sent forward to try 
 and clear the line. The guard, firemen, engine-driver, and the 
 officer of customs set to work to get the snow out from under the 
 engine. They were startled by five wolves, who made a descent 
 upon the train, attracted no doubt by the scent of the cattle and 
 sheep penned up in the carriages. The men had not any weapons-^ 
 but the fire utensils belonging to the engine. The five wolves 
 formed a semi-circle a few yards distant, and looked keenly on. 
 The men let off steam, blew the whistle, waved lanterns to and 
 fro to try and frighten the brutes, but they sat still and did not 
 move, The men then tried to make their way to the guard's 
 carriage, but the wolves at once followed them. Three reached 
 it safely ; but the fourth was not so fortunate, for while his foot 
 was on the step one of the animals sprang at him, succeeding 
 only, however, in tearing his coat. All the wolves now joined in 
 the attack, but were beaten off, and by a dexterous blow on the 
 head one of them was killed, Thus they remained for two hours 
 before assistance arrived ; the wolves during this time made 
 several ineffectual attempts to get at the sheep in the trucks, but 
 fortunately none of them were injured. The adventure, however, 
 was a curiqus one to meet with on such a well-known line of 
 railroad." 
 
 The winter of 1879 was a very cold one in Paris, and some of 
 the papers at the time gave a remarkable illustration of the 
 severity of the weather, by stating that the gendarmes, who were 
 going their rounds on the Bois de Boulogne, were informed that 
 three wolves had been seen near the Nouveau Chalet ; and, sure 
 enough, before long the animals were sighted — a she-wolf and two 
 nearly full-grown young ones. Directly the brutes saw they 
 were being pursued, they quickly disappeared into the woods, but 
 their presence in the neighbourhood was a startling phenomenon. 
 
122 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 In Hungary, wolves commit many depredations. According to 
 the Pester Lloyd, in January, 1880, a pack ,of tliem passed through 
 Jemesvar, and destroyed every animal which was not housed. The 
 same paper also gives an account of a melancholy accident to 
 a clergyman there. He was beset by a pack of wolves while 
 returning home in a sledge from a neighbouring town. The 
 driver made all possible speed to escape them, but at a turning 
 the sledge was ups6t, and the occupants thrown out. The animals 
 at once seized on the clergyman, and literally tore him to pieces, 
 before the eyes of the terrified driver. In one village a few wolves 
 came boldly at midday into the inn-yard and devoured an ass, and 
 at Szalouta they killed and ate a shepherd who was walking along 
 the road at night. 
 
 Again, this last year (1885), we learn that the excessive coldness 
 of the winter and the heavy snowstorms that accompanied it, drove 
 herds of wolves from the Carpathian mountains into the cultivated 
 districts, where in some cases they spread terror among the people. 
 ' At Homonna, in North Hungary, a pack of these brutes entered 
 the village while the inhabitants were in church, and they could 
 not be driven away until a squadron of Uhlans were sent to the 
 assistance of the villagers, and attacked them with their swords 
 and carbines. 
 
 An article in All the Year Round says : " Nor are wolves, while 
 in possession of every brutal vice, free from that of intoxication. 
 Henri de Criquelle, in a French work upon the " Natural History 
 of Le Morvan " (a district of France), tells us that " in the summer 
 the wolves, like the gipsies, have no fixed residence. They may 
 be met with in the stamding barley or oats, the vineyards, and 
 fields ; they sleep in the open country, and seldom seek the friendly 
 shelter of the forest, except during the scorching hours of the 
 day. Towards the end of August I have often met them in the 
 vineyards^ apparently half drunk, scarcely able to walk — in short, 
 quite unsteady on their legs, almost ploughing the ground up with 
 their noses and staring stupidly about them." He then proceeds to 
 narrate how he shot one in this condition, which could hardly stand 
 up : " The fact was he was quite drunk, although not disorderly." 
 
 " This inclination in wolves for intemperate indulgence in the 
 
THE WOLF. 123 
 
 juice of the grape is vouched for by several authorities. It would 
 appear that the wolves during the ardent heats of August suffer 
 greatly from thirst, and in the absence of water take to the vine- 
 yards, and there endeavour to assuage it by eating large quantities 
 of grapes— very cool, and, no doubt, very dehghtful at the time ; 
 but the treacherous liquid ferments, bacchanalian fumes soon 
 upset the brain, and for several hours these four-legged topers are 
 literally as drunk as beasts, and entirely deprived of their senses." 
 
 The wolf used to be common in Britain, and the Saxon name 
 for January was wolf-month, significant of the fact that " people 
 are wont always in that moneth to be more in danger to be de- 
 voured of wolves than in any season else of the yeare ; for that 
 through the extremity of cold and snow, these ravenous creatures 
 could not find other beasts sufficient to feed upon." * 
 
 That they must have been formidable beasts of prey in England 
 is evident from the nature of the edicts passed for their extinction ; 
 but the vast wild tracts and the numerous deer forests preserved 
 by the , kings and nobles of ancient Britain afforded such secure 
 haunts for these animals that the most vigorous measures for their 
 extirpation did not accomplish the purpose till the end of the 
 fifteenth century. During the reign of Athelstan (a.d. 925) iri 
 becam^ necessary to build a refuge at Flexton, in Yorkshire, where 
 travellers might seek shelter from being devoured by these gaunt 
 brutes, for they had become a terrible source of danger to the 
 wayfarers in that district. 
 
 Edgar applied himself resolutely to free the country of the~~l 
 scourge, and adopted several curious methods of doing so ; one 
 being the commutation of the punishments awarded English 
 criminals to their delivery of a certain number of wolves' tongues. 
 He also liberated the Welsh from their annual payment of the tax 
 of gold and silver imposed on the Princes of Cambria by Ethelstan, 
 to a tribute of three hundred wolves. This wise policy had the 
 effect intended, for according to " Malmsbury's Chronicle," Jenaf, 
 PrmCe of North Wales, ceased paying the tribute on the fourth 
 year for want of wolves. 
 
 ■> Verstigan's " Eestitution of Decayed Intelligence in Antiquities concerning the 
 Most Noble and Kenowned English Nation." Antwerp, 1 605. 
 
124 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 In the reign of Edward I. tlie following mandamus was 
 
 issued, — 
 
 " The King to all BailiflFs, &c.,— 
 /- " Know je that we have enjoined our beloved and faithful Peter 
 Corbet, that in all forests and parks and other places, within our 
 counties of Gloucester, Worcester, Hereford, Salop, and Stafford, 
 in which wolves may be found, he may take wolves with his men, 
 dogs, and engines, and may destroy them by all methods that may 
 seem to him expedient. 
 
 " And we therefore command you that, in all things which relate 
 to the capture of wolves in the aforesaid counties, ye be aiding 
 and assisting, as often as it shall be needful, and the aforesaid 
 Peter shall make it known to you on our part. 
 
 " In the possession of which privilege he is to remain as long as 
 it shall be our pleasure, 
 
 " "Witness the King at Westminster. " 
 
 " 14th May, 1281, of Edward I." ' 
 
 This appointment, and the rewards given for a wolf's hgad by 
 the monarch, soon caused a very perceptible and welcome diminu- 
 tion in their numbers, 
 z' In the reign of Edward II. certai];:^ lands in Derbyshire were held 
 by tenants, on condition that they " should hunt the wolves that 
 harboured in that county ; " and in the following reign many other 
 estates were so held, notably certain lands in Pitchleyor Pytchley, 
 called then Pightesle, in Northamptonshire, which, according to 
 Blount, were given to Thomas Engaine on the stipulation that he 
 was to find at his own proper cost certain dogs for the destruction 
 of wolves, foxes, martins, cats, and other vermin within the 
 counties of Northampton, Eutland, Oxford, Essex, and Bucking- 
 ham. On this tenure the manor, built on the^e lands, appears to 
 have been held down to the time of Queen Eli^iabeth's reign, and 
 became the origin of the well-known Pytchley Hunt. 
 
 The date that wolves ceased to exist in a wild state in England 
 has not been ascertained exactly, but the last one is said to have been 
 killed at Pytchley. 
 
 In Scotland they continued to commit serious ravages until the 
 5 "Eymer," vol, i. part ii., page 192. 
 
 L 
 
THE WOLF. 125 
 
 end of the sixteentli century, and among the efforts to get rid'^i 
 them, was the burning of the beautiful forests of the bonnie land. 
 Mr. James Hay Allan, in a note appended to his poem, entitled 
 " The last deer of Beann Doran," pubhshed in 1822, writes upon 
 this subject, " Almost every district of the Highlands bears the 
 traces of the vast forests with which at no very distant period the 
 hills and heaths were covered. Some have decayed with age, but^ 
 large tracts were purposely destroyed in the latter end of the six- 
 teenth century. On the south side of Beann Nevis, a large pine- 
 forest, which extended from the western braes of Lochabar to the 
 black water and the mosses of Eanach, was burned to expel the 
 wolves. In the neighbourhood of Loch Sloi, a tract of woods, 
 nearly twenty miles in extent, was consumed for the same 
 purpose.*' 
 
 The last wolf killed in Scotland, according to the opinion of 
 numerous writers, was an animal slain by Sir Ewan Cameron, of 
 Lochiel, in 1680. 
 
 This date, however, does not appear to be correct, and has 
 been copied probably from Pennant's " Tour in Scotland." The 
 wolf killed by Sir Ewan Cameron in 1660, in Loch-Aber, was the 
 last in ihat district, not of its species in Scotland, for Messrs. 
 Stuart, ill an article on the " Extinct Animals of Scotland/' which 
 forms one of the notes to " The Lays of the Deer Forestj" mention 
 several as having been killed at a later date. According to the 
 account here given, the last, there was then every reason to believe, 
 was killed in the district of the Findhorn, in the ancient forest of 
 Tarnaway, in Morayshire, at a place between Fi-Guithas and Pall- 
 a-chi-ocain, according to popular chronology no longer ago than 
 1743, by MacQueen of the latter place. Sir Thomas Dick Lauder, 
 in his " Account of the Moray Floods of August, 1829," describes 
 this incidentj and as it refers to the last wolf of Scotland, 
 whose death made the species extinct, the story is interesting. 
 " Immediately within the pass (of Eanack), and on the right-hand 
 bank (of the Findhorn) stand the ruins of the interesting httle 
 mansion-house of Pollochock. MacQueen, the laird of this little 
 property;, is said to have been nearer seven than six feet high, 
 proportionately built, and active as a roebuck. Though he was 
 
126 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 alive within half a century, it is said that ""n his youth he killed 
 the last wolf that infested this district. ,The prevailing story is 
 this : — A poor woman, crossing the mountains with two children, 
 was assailed by the wolf and her infants devoured, and she escaped 
 with difficulty to Moyhall, The chief of Mackintosh no sooner 
 heard of the tragical fate of the babes, than, moved by pity and 
 rage, he dispatched orders to all his clan and vassals to assemble 
 the next day, at twelve o'clock, to proceed in a body to destroy 
 the wolf. PoUochock was one of those vassals, and being then in 
 the vigour of youth, and possessed of gigantic strength and deter- 
 mined courage, his appearance was eagerly looked for to take a 
 lead in the enterprise. But the hour came, and all were assembled 
 except him to whom they most trusted. Unwilling to go without 
 him, the impatient chief fretted and famed through the hall ; till 
 at length, about an hour after the appointed time, in stalked 
 PoUochock, dressed in his full Highland attire. ' I am little used 
 to wait thus for any man,' exclaimed the chafed chieftain, ' and 
 still less for thee, PoUochock, especially when such game is afoot 
 as we are boune (i.e. going) after ! ' ' What sort of game are 
 ye after. Mackintosh ? ' said PoUochock, simply, and not quite 
 understanding his allusion. ' The wolf, sir,' replied Mackintosh ; 
 'did not my messenger instruct you?' ' Ou aye, that's true,' 
 answered PoUochock, with a good-humoured smile ; ' troth, I had 
 forgotten. But as that be a',' continued he, groping among the 
 ample folds of his plaid, ' there's the wolf's head ! ' Exclamations 
 of astonishment and admiration burst from chief and clansmen, 
 as he held out the grim and bloody head of the monster at arm's 
 length, for the gratification of those who crowded around him. 
 ' As I came the Slochk (i.e. the ravine) by east the hiU there,' said 
 he, as if talking of some every-day occurrence, ' I foregathered wi' 
 the beast. My long dog there turned him. I buckled wi' him and 
 dirkit him, and syne whuttled his craig (i.e. cut his throat), and 
 brought away his countenance for fear he might come alive again, 
 for they are very precarious creatures.' ' My noble PoUochock,' 
 cries the chief in ecstasy ; ' the deed was worthy of thee ! In 
 memorial of thy hardihood, I here bestow upon thee Sennachan, 
 to yield meal for thy good greyhound in all time coming.' " 
 
THE WOLF. 127 
 
 .Seannachan, or " the old field," is directly opposite to PoUocliock. 
 The ten acres, of which it consisted, were entirely destroyed by 
 the "flood" (the Moray floods in August, 1829), and the then 
 owner died of despair. 
 
 There is also another account of a wolf being killed in the High- 
 lands of Scotland later than Sir Bwan Cameron's exploit in 1680, 
 which was also considered to be the last of the race. In a book " The 
 Art of Deer-stalking," * the exciting details are narrated. The erent 
 took place on the east coast of Sutherland, where, in consequence of 
 some ravages among the flocks, the inhabitants turned out in a body 
 to search for the animal. A man named Poison, accompanied by his 
 son and an active herd-boy, resolved to seek for him in the wild 
 recesses of Glenshoth. " Poison was an old hunter, and had much 
 experience in tracing and destroying wolves, and other predatory 
 animals. Forming his own conjectures, he proceeded at once to the 
 wild and rugged ground that surrounds the rocky mountain-gully 
 which forms the channel of the Burn of Sledale. Here, after a 
 minute investigation, he discovered a narrow fissure in the midst 
 of a confused mass of large fragments of rock, which, upon 
 examination, he had reason to think might lead to a larger open- 
 ing or cavern below, which the wolf might use as his den. Stones 
 were now thrown down, and other means resorted to, to rouse 
 any animal that might be lurking within. Nothing formidable 
 appearing, the two lads contrived to squeeze themselves through 
 the fissure, that they might examine the interior, whilst Poison 
 kept guard on the outside. The boys descended through the 
 narrow passage into a small cavern, which was evidently a wolf's 
 den, for the ground was covered with bones and horns of animals, 
 feathers, and egg-shells ; and the dark space was somewhat en- 
 livened by five or six active wolf-cubs. Not a little dubious of 
 the event, the voices of the poor boys came up hollow and anxious 
 from below, communicating this intelligence. Poison at once I 
 desired them to do their best, and to destroy the cubs. Soon 
 after he heard the feeble howling of the whelps as they were 
 attacked below, and saw, almost at the same time, to his great 
 » "The Art of Deer-stalking ; illustrated by a Narrative of a Few Days' Sport in 
 the Forest of Atholl," by William Sorope, Esq., F.L.S., and Member of the Academy 
 of San' Luca, Eome. London, 1838. 
 
128 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 / horror, a full-grown wolf, endentlj the dam, raging furiously at 
 the cries of her young, and rLow close upon the mouth of the 
 cavern, which she had approached unobserved, among the rocky 
 irregularities of the place. She attempted to leap down at one 
 bound from the spot where shg was first seeBL. In this emergency. 
 Poison instinctively threw himself forward on the wolf, and suc- 
 ceeded in clutching a firm hold of the animal's long and bushy 
 tail, just as the forepart of the body was within the narrow en- 
 trance of the cavern. He had unluckily placed his gun against a 
 rock when aiding the boys in their descent, and could not now 
 reach it. Without apprising the lads below of their imminent 
 peril, the stout hunter kept fir'm grip of the wolf's tail, which he 
 wound round his left arm; and although the maddened brute 
 scrambled and twisted, and stt-ove with all her might to force her- 
 self down to the rescue of her cubs. Poison was just d;ble, with the 
 exertion of all his strength, to keep her from going forward. In 
 the midst of the singular strilggle, which passed in silence — for 
 the wolf was mute, and the hunter, either from the efigrossing 
 nature of his exertions, or from his unwillingness td alarm the 
 boys, spoke not a word at the commencement of the conflict — his 
 son within the cave, finding the light excluded from above, asked 
 in Gaelic, and in an abrupt tdne : ' Father, what is keeping the 
 light from us ? * 'If the root of the tail break,' replied he, 
 ' you will soon know that.' Before long, however, the man 
 contrived to get hold of his hunting-knife, and stabbed the wolf 
 in the most vital parts he could reach. The enraged animal now 
 attempted to turn and face her foe, but the hole was too narrow 
 to allow of this ; and when Poison saw his danger, he squeezed 
 her forward, keeping her jammed in, whilst he repeated his stabs 
 as rapidly aS he could, until the animal, being mortally woUndedj 
 Was easily dragged back and finished." 
 
 In Ireland, go late as the year 1710, money was levied on the 
 presentments of the Grand Jury in Cork, for the destruction of 
 wolves in that country ; and this was supposed to be the last 
 record of these animals being seen in that island ; but in Notes and 
 Queries reference is made to a paper written by " H. D. R.," 
 and inserted in the Irish Peiirty Journal, published in Dublin, in 
 
THE WOLF. 129 
 
 1841, wherein the statement is made : " I am at present acquainted 
 with an old gentleman between eighty and ninety years of age, 
 whose mother remembered wolves to have been killed ia the county 
 of Wexford, about the years 1730-40; and it is asserted by many 
 persons of weight and veracity, that a wolf was killed in the 
 Wicklow Mountains, so recently as 1770." 
 
 The American wolves, of which there are many varieties, are, as 
 a rule, similar to the wolves of Europe in shape and colour, but are 
 not quite so large ; neither are they so ferocious, for it is only in 
 severe weather and when suffering extreme hunger that they will 
 attack a man. They are domestic animals with the Indians, 
 who had no other dogs before the Europeans introduced them, since 
 which time the wolf and dog have mixed and become prolific. 
 Catesby says : " It is remarkable that the European dogs that have 
 no mixture of wolves' blood have an antipathy to those that have, 
 and worry them wherever they meet. The wolf-breed acts only 
 defensively, and, with his tail between his legs, endeavours to 
 evade the other's fury. The wolves in Carolina are very numerous 
 and more destructive than any other animal." 
 
 Tom Lawson,® the Surveyor-General of North Carolina, thus 
 describes the wolf of that country : — " The wolf of Carolina is the 
 dog of the woods. The Indians had no other curs before the 
 Christians came among them. They are made domestic. When 
 wild, they are neither so large nor so fierce as the European wolf. 
 They are not manslayers, neither is any creature in Carolina unless 
 wounded. They go in great droves in the night to hunt deer, 
 which they do as well as the best pack of hounds ; nay, one of 
 these will hunt down a deer. They are often so poor that they 
 can hardly run. When they catch no prey, they go to a swamp 
 and fill their belly full of mud ; if afterwards they chance to get 
 anything of flesh, they will disgorge the mud and eat the other. 
 When they hunt in the night, and there are a great many together, 
 they make the most hideous and frightful noise that ever was 
 heard. The fur makes good muffs. The skin, dressed to a parch- 
 ment, makes the best drum-heads, and, if tanned, makes the best 
 sort of shoes for the summer countries." 
 
 » " History of Carolina," 1714. 
 
-^^K^ 
 
 130 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 ^ In some parts of North America the wolves are very numerous, 
 bands of them used to be seen hanging on the buffalo herds ; for 
 although they rarely ventured to attack the full-grown animal, yet, 
 by preying on the sick and struggling calves, they considerably 
 lessened the number of these useful creatures, and were, if for no 
 other reason, a perfect pest. Many people advocated their ex- 
 termination in consequence, and agreed with Cuvier that : " No 
 nimal so richly merits destruction as the wolf." 
 There is also a species of wolf inhabiting the prairie-lands of 
 the New World called the coyote or cajote, which resembles the 
 fox in shape and appearance. 
 
 The amount of noise that a single wolf is capable of pro- 
 ducing," writes Dr. Meriam," '' is simply astonishing, and many 
 amusing episodes of camp-lore owe their origin to this fact. More 
 than one " lone traveller " has hastily taken to a tree, and remained 
 in the inhospitable shelter of its scrawny branches for an entire 
 night, believing himself surrounded by a pack of at least fifty 
 fierce and hungry wolves, when in reality there was but one, and 
 (as its tracks afterwards proved) it was on the further side of a 
 lake, a couple of miles away." 
 
 G-eneral Grant ® gives an amusing account of a similar experience 
 with wolves while on an excursion with a brother officer during his 
 Mexican campaign : " On the evening of the first day out from 
 Groliad we heard the most unearthly howling of wolves, directly in 
 our front. The prairie grass was tall, and we could not see the 
 beasts, but the sound indicated that they were near. To my ear 
 it appeared that there must have been enough of them to devour 
 our party, horses and all, at a single meal. The part of Ohio that 
 I hailed from was not thickly settled, but wolves had been driven 
 out long before I left. Benjamin was from Indiana, still less 
 populated, where the wolf still roamed over the prairies. He 
 understood the nature of the animal, and the capacity of a few of 
 them to make believe there was an unlimited number of them. 
 He kept on towards the noise, unmoved. I followed on his trail 
 lacking moral courage to turn back and join our sick companion 
 
 ' " Transactions of the Linntean Society of New York." 
 8 "Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant," 1885. 
 
THE WOLF. 131 
 
 I tave no doubt that if Benjamin had proposed returning to 
 Goliad I would not only have ' seconded the motion,' but have 
 suggested that it was very hard-hearted in us to leave Augur sick 
 there in the first place. When he did speak it was to ask : ' Grant, 
 how many wolves do you think there are in that pack ? ' Know- 
 ing where he was from, and suspecting that he thought I would 
 over-estimate the number, I determined to show my acquaintance 
 with the animal by putting the estimate below what possibly could 
 be correct, and answered : ' Oh, about twenty ! ' very indifferently. 
 He smiled and rode on. In a minute we were close upon them, 
 and before they saw us. There were just two of them. Seated 
 upon their haunches, with their mouths close together, they had 
 made all the noise we had been hearing for the past ten minutes. 
 I have often thought of this incident since, when I have heard the 
 noise of a few disappointed politicians who had deserted their 
 associates. There are always more of them before they are counted." 
 
 Wolves used to be very abundant in the Adirondacks some years'^ 
 ago, and are described as having been most destructive and 
 wasteful brutes, causing the farmers and settlers much annoyance 
 by destroying their sheep and pigs. They also made the hunters 
 their enemies by killing the deer in numbers utterly beyond the 
 power of their appetites to consume. In the winters, when the 
 snow was deep, a small pack of them would sometimes kill 
 hundreds of deer, taking a bite here and there, but leaving many 
 of the bodies untouched. Comparatively few wolves are now to be 
 found in this district, for " in the year 1871 the State put a 
 bounty on their scalps," says Dr. Merriam, " and it is a most 
 singular coincidence that a great and sudden decrease in their 
 numbers took place about that time. What became of them 
 is a great and, to me, inexplicable mystery, for it is known that 
 but few were killed. There is but one direction in which they 
 could have escaped, and that is through Clinton County into Lower ' 
 Canada. In so doing they would have been obliged to pass around 
 the north end of Lake Champlain and cross the Eiver Eichelieu, 
 and before reaching any extensive forests would have had to travel 
 long distances through tolerably well-settled portions of country. 
 And there is no evidence that they made any such journey." 
 
 K 2 
 
132 
 
 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 The wolf of Asia lias a reddisli fulvous colour, and is found in 
 Arabia, Syria, certain parts of China, and throughout the ■whole 
 of India, being most abundant in the Deccan and central provinces. 
 The Indian species are described aa being usually- rather silent 
 beasts, barking only occasionally just like pariah dogs, but seldom 
 heard howling after their prey like the European animals. They, 
 however, have a most fearful record, being classed next to the 
 tiger in their destruction of human life and property, their victims 
 being generally helfiLess-girls and young children. "We append 
 herewith ail extract from the Indian Grovernment returns, which, 
 at a glance, will show the human and cattle tribute levied by the 
 various animals and by snakes in the Presidencies and Provinces 
 collectively of Bengal, Assam, North-West Provinces and Oudh, 
 Punjab, Central Provinces, British Burma, Ajmere and Mhairwara, 
 Berar, Mysore and Coorg, Madras and Bombay : — 
 
 Number of persons and cattle killed in British India by wild 
 beasts and venomous snakes during the years 1875-81, and the 
 results of the measures adopted with a view to their extermi- 
 nation : — 
 
 
 Persons killed. 
 
 Cattle killed. 
 
 Wild beasta 
 destroyed. 
 
 Government 
 rewards paid. 
 
 Elephants .... 
 Tigers ■. . -. . . 
 Leopards .... 
 Bears ..... 
 Wolves .... 
 Hysenas .... 
 Other -wild beasts . 
 Snakes 
 
 334 
 5845 
 1637 
 
 690 
 4452 
 
 221 
 
 9358 
 
 121,813 
 
 186 
 
 98,897 
 114,743 
 4293 
 78,493 
 14,710 
 29,865 
 20,840 
 
 23 
 11,212 
 23,599 
 8499 
 36,490 
 11,768 
 51,370 
 328,514 
 
 £ t. d 
 30 10 
 
 26,957 6 
 20,532 12 
 3097 1 
 11,507 3 
 2008 8 
 2418 7 
 8017 13 
 
 Total 
 
 144,350 
 
 362,027 
 
 1,471,475 
 
 74,569 
 
 The slaughter of predatory wild beasts now being encouraged by 
 the Indian Government seems to produce but little effect, foi* the 
 analysis of the returns shows a but very slight annual diminution 
 in the number of lives lost, except noticeably in the caSe of the 
 wolf In 1875, 1061 people were killed by these brutes, but in 
 1881 only 256. 
 
 With regard to the returns of deaths by snake^bites it is 
 
THE WOLF. 133 
 
 currently believed in India that they conceal a frightful amount of 
 secret assassination, and that an enormous number of deaths, 
 especially in the case of women and children, who are poisoned 
 for family reasons, are set down as due to snake-bites, it being 
 a convenient way of hiding the fact that they were murdered. 
 
 We are all acquainted with the historical fable that affirms the 
 twin founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus, were suckled by 
 wolves, a fiction arising from the simple circumstance of their 
 nurse's name having been " Lupa," but that as a matter of fact 
 they do so nurture children is gravely asserted in a pamphlet 
 published in Plymouth in 1852, called " An Account of "Wolves 
 Nurturing Children in their Dens," by an Indian official, who it 
 was stated was Colonel Sleeman, the exterminator of the Thugs, 
 and the author of several works on India. At the time it created a 
 sensation, and some correspondents to the newspapers mentioned 
 several other instances than the ones therein narrated that had 
 come within their own experience. 
 
 Most of these " wolf-children " seem to have been reared in the 
 county of Oude ; but the fact of the idiots who are said to have 
 been nourished in this way ever having been taken away originally 
 by wolves, or even been found in their dens, is not authenticated by 
 the testimony of any reliable eye-witness, and the facts narrated 
 simply rest on hearsay evidence. A great many stories of this 
 character are of ancient date, but some errors die hard, and we 
 are therefore not surprised to find them occasionally being re- 
 peated with modern versions. Thus prefacing an account of one 
 of these young Indian Romuluses narrated to the writer of the 
 article by an officer in the Company's service, the Illustrated News 
 in 1858 has the following : — " An English traveller, who visited the 
 menagerie of the King of Oude some years ago, relates his having 
 seen in a cage adjoining that of some tigers a maramiferous animal 
 of the gems homo, or something very nearly allied to it ; the keeper 
 pointed it out to him as a jtmglee he admee, or wild man, a biped 
 which for many years had been one of the chief -ornaments of the 
 menagerie, and whose habits were perfectly similar to its four- 
 footed companions. Mute as the hygena of the adjoining cage, he 
 never failed, like his neighbour the tiger, to take a siesta regu- 
 
134 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 larly after his repast on raw flesb. This denizen of the woods 
 had been found in a wolfs lair in the depths of a forest on 
 the frontiers of the kingdoms of Oude and Nepaul. The wolves 
 which abound in these countries often carry off children from the 
 villages, but the little captives do not always fall a prey to the 
 
 i tooth of their captor. Many instances are recorded of children 
 
 I being carried off by a she-wolf to her cubs, all the habits of which 
 
 \ (poor humanity !) the little stranger acquired." 
 
 t When it is remembered that the race of wolves is older than 
 the flood, a fact proved by their remains being found in ante- 
 diluvian deposits, and that they are met with in all countries both 
 in the new world as well as the old, also that men of all ages and 
 all nationalities, have waged war against these animals or been the 
 victims of their ferocity, it can hardly be wondered at that history 
 is full of fictions, superstitious and exaggerated descriptions of 
 the brutes. The wolf's habit of secreting food beneath the earth, 
 burying it for future use, a custom common to all the dog tribe, 
 led to the belief that he ate earth to increase his weight, a state- 
 ment often made in ancient books. Thus " Pierce Penilesse " 
 says,® " a wolfe, being about to devour a horse, doth balist his 
 belly with earth, that he may hang the heavier upon him, and then 
 forcibly flyes in his face, never leaving his hold till he had eaten 
 him up." 
 
 In Hone's Year Book, an extract is given from another curious 
 
 old work entitled " The Majick of Kirani, King of Persia, and of 
 
 Harpocration," printed in the year 1685, which is quaintly de- 
 
 \ scribed as a work sought for by the learned, but seen by the few : 
 
 \ ■ — " A wolf is a savage, crafty animal ; if any one, therefore, 
 
 1 drink his blood, he will go mad, and can never more be cured ; 
 
 'l its right eye carried privately about one performs great things, 
 
 for all four-footed creatures, wild and tame, will fly from the 
 
 bearer ; and he will pass through the midst of his enemies, and no 
 
 man will touch him. It also enables a man to conquer in every 
 
 cause ; it puts away all phantoms ; it also expels all fits of agues; 
 
 and a sheep will never tread upon the shin of a wolf. Also the eye 
 
 " " Pierce Penilesse, Ms Supplication to the Diuell/' written by Thomas Nash, 
 sent., 1592. 
 
THE WOLF. 135 
 
 of a wolf, and the first joint of his tail, carried in a golden vessel, 
 will make the bearer powerful, and glorious, and honourable and 
 rich and acceptable." 
 
 BufEon says, " There is nothing good in the wolf, he has a base 
 look, a savage aspect, a terrible voice, an insupportable smell, a 
 nature brutal and ferocious, and a body so foul and unclean, that 
 no animal or reptile will touch his flesh. It is only a wolf that 
 can eat a wolf." 
 
 This is somewhat of a libel, or at any rate a gross exaggeration 
 of the facts, but it being the French naturalist's opinion, the 
 following paragraph describing a wolf-hunter's feast, also ema- 
 nating from a Trench source, is amusing : — 
 
 " A grand wolf-hunt was organized at Genis (Dordogne), by 
 M. Piston d'Aubonni, master of the wolf-hounds, and a party of 
 about twenty gentlemen on horseback and some four hundred 
 persons on foot, most of them armed with guns. They first pro- 
 ceeded to a wood which a litter of young wolves was known to 
 frequent. The hounds soon found one of them and killed it after 
 a short run. The next day not a wolf could be found anywhere, 
 but on the following morning several of them were discovered, 
 and one of them was shot. At a dinner given by one of the 
 sportsmen, he treated his friends to a dish of cutlets, which were 
 found rather tough and insipid. He afterwards told them that 
 what they had eaten, had been cut from the animal killed that 
 day. Most of the party seemed to think that the sport had been 
 carried rather too far." 
 
 Wolves under kind treatment can be tamed, but are dangerous 
 pets even when reared carefully from cubs, for they instinctively 
 attack dogs and poultry when they get any liberty, and are apt to 
 turn dangerous to children, in fact, are unreliable. Mr. Bell 
 speaks of a wolf at the Zoological Gardens which Avould always 
 come to the front bars as soon as he, or any other person whom 
 she knew, approached : " she had pups too, and so eager, in fact, 
 was she that her little ones should share with her in the notice of 
 her friends, that she killed all of them in succession, by rubbing 
 them against the bars of her den, as she brought them forward to 
 be fondled." 
 
136 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 BEAES (UESID^). 
 
 The bears, genus TJrsidse, belong in Natural History to the sub- 
 order Garnivora and to tbe Plantigrade tribe, so called because 
 tbej walk on tbe whole sole of the foot, in contradistinction to 
 the Digitigrades, such as cats and dogs, who rest their weight only 
 upon the toes or front part of the paws. The animals belonging 
 to this subdivision are remarkable for their thick-set, clumsy 
 appearance. They entirely lack the slender shape, supple beauty, 
 and agile gait of the Digitigrades, but have a heavy shuffling mode 
 of progression, due to the construction of their limbs, which unfits 
 them for speed or for leaping. The bears have solid-looking, 
 peculiar shaped bodies, with a conspicuous massiveness of the 
 hinder parts, thick and long far, short legs and such small tails, 
 that they appear to be almost destitute of the appendage. The 
 young bears when born are very small — most disproportionately 
 so in some species — and in such an undeveloped condition, that 
 they are not even covered with hair, nor do their eyes open for 
 more than a month. 
 
 There are several species or varieties of the bear family, the 
 principal ones being the Polar bear {Ursus maritimus), the Grizzly 
 bear {Ursus ferox) , the Black bear (Ursus Americanus), and the 
 Brown bear (Ursus arctos). 
 
 With the exception of the Sloth or Honey bear, the dental 
 formula of all varieties is the same. As they are thoroughly omni- 
 vorous animals, their digestive organs and teeth are so constructed 
 that they are enabled to select either food, but the majority of 
 
BEARS. 137 
 
 tliem prefer a vegetable diet to flesh of any description. They 
 have forty-two teeth, six incisors and two canines in each jaw, 
 twelve molars in the upper and fourteen in the lower. The incisors 
 and canines closely resemble those of the purely carnivorous 
 animals, while the molars are very large, especially the true ones, 
 and are tuberculous, a formation adapted for the grinding of 
 the vegetable food. 
 
 Their senses of hearing and sight are not particularly good, 
 but the one of smell is wonderfully acute ; by it they can discover 
 insects deep under ground, honey in trees overhead, and are able 
 to detect a man to windward at a considerable distance. 
 
 They have five toes on each foot. Their claws are not retractile, 
 like those of the Felidoe, and are used by the animals to dig up the 
 earthy seize their prey, and to attack or defend themselves ; also 
 to climb trees, for they occupy the pre-eminent position of being 
 the largest animals that can do this. In climbing they do not 
 display any of the agility noticeable in the members of the cat 
 family, but ascend in a slow, lumbering fashion, and make their 
 descent backwards. Their great weight, of course, prevents them 
 from ascending to the tree-tops or climbing far out on the branches. 
 When attacking or defending themselves, they erect the body and 
 stand upon the hind-feet, vigorously using their fore-paws, with 
 which they can inflict terrible wounds ; in the case of a man, 
 •often removing the entire scalp from the head with a single 
 
 blow. 
 
 They never willingly attack, but prefer to retreat before human 
 beings. If, however, they are forced to fight, or if wounded, they 
 never attempt to escape, but exhibit a tenacity of purpose and 
 will continue the combat until they have killed their opponent or 
 are themselves slain. 
 
 A remarkable peculiarity of the bears is the habit and power 
 they have of hibernating during the winter months, which is 
 especially noticeable in those animals that inhabit northern coun- 
 tries Their custom is to retreat into some cavern or the natural 
 hollow of a tree, or in the absence of either of these conveniences, 
 they make a habitation for themselves by digging up the ground 
 or burrow into the snow, and collecting branches of trees or moss. 
 
138 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 build themselves a nest as it were, and there retire, remaining 
 dormant till tlie ensuing spring warms into vitality their sluggish 
 blood. 
 
 Before hibernating in this manner the animals get very fat, 
 and it is upon the gradual consumption or absorption into their 
 general system of this fat that they sustain life during the period 
 of their retirement, their digestive organs undergoing an extra- 
 ordinary change, while the stomach contracts into a small space, 
 adapting itself to the altered conditions of the animal's existence. 
 It is said by those who are acquainted with the habits of these 
 animals, that if they do not succeed in getting fat prior to the 
 setting in of winter they do not hibernate. 
 
 Bears of one species or another are to be found in nearly all 
 parts of the world, excepting Australia. In Africa the family is 
 represented by one solitary species, and that one is a very scarce 
 animal, only inhabiting one section of the country. Mount Atlas 
 and its vicinity, in the north-west corner. 
 
 The polar or white bear (Ursus maritimus) is found in the 
 Arctic regions of both hemispheres. It is in its natural state the 
 most carnivorous of all bears, the part of the world it inhabits 
 not allowing it much choice of vegetable food, except at certain 
 seasons when berries and roots are procurable and are readily 
 eaten. When, however, it is captured and transported from its 
 icy home to warmer latitudes it wiU subsist and thrive on a 
 purely vegetable diet. In its native haunts the foods most easily 
 obtainable are the carcasses of whales, birds and their eggs, any 
 of the smaller animals it can capture, and fish ; occasionally, even 
 a walrus, it is said, becomes a victim to its skill and formidable 
 strength. Its favourite food is the seal, and it persecutes these 
 animals most indefatigably. 
 
 Its powers of swimming are very great, not only in the distance 
 it can accomplish, but in its agility while in the water. It is so 
 rapid in its movements that it can dive from a block of ice and 
 catch a passing salmon or other fish. In the capture of the 
 seal the bear displays considerable sagacity and patience. When 
 it sees one of these animals basking on the ice, it cuts off retreat 
 to the water by diving in some distance away, and swimming 
 
A POLAR BEAR. 
 
 ( Ursus maritimus.) 
 
BEARS. 139 
 
 underneath in tlie right direction, coming up occasionally to the 
 surface for air, ultimately lands close to the victim, which, unable 
 to escape, falls an easy prey to its powerful adversary. Should 
 it, however, elude the attack, the bear is said to become furious with 
 rage, roars hideously, and tossing the snow in the air, shambles 
 away to a more suitable locality for its purpose. 
 
 The feet of the polar bear display a beautiful adaptation of nature 
 to the requirements of an animal living so much on ice, for they 
 differ from those of land bears in having their large soles covered 
 with thick, close-set hairs that prevent their sliding on the slippery 
 surface. This provision makes the brute sure-footed, and also 
 enables it to move over the ground much more rapidly than one 
 could imagine possible, for although the pace is a clumsy kind of 
 shuffle, yet it is very quick. 
 
 In the periodical breaking up of the ice, polar bears are liable 
 to be carried on the floating blocks or icebergs away to more 
 southerly latitudes, and in this way they are frequently trans- 
 ported out to sea and must perish, although they are such powerful 
 swimmers that Captain Sabine relates having seen one swimming 
 vigorously forty miles from the nearest shore, and with no ice in 
 sight to afford it rest. 
 
 They often reach Iceland in this manner ; it being reported that 
 in one winter alone some years ago twelve of them arrived on the 
 island, and that they committed such ravages on the flocks that 
 the inhabitants had to resort to vigorous measures for their 
 destruction. 
 
 Only the female polar bears hibernate. They generally scrape 
 a hole into the snow, and burying themselves therein pass the 
 winter months. During this period the cubs are generally born. 
 They usually are two in number. Towards them the mother 
 evinces great affection ; if they are threatened with any danger 
 she will defend them to the last, and if they should be killed, 
 will exhibit her grief in a most affecting manner. 
 
 In appearance the polar bear is a handsomer and better pro- 
 portioned animal than the other members of the family. Although 
 moving with a lumbering, flat-footed gait, it does not appear to 
 progress in the same shambling, awkward way peculiar to the land 
 
140 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 animals. The head is somewhat flattened and elongated, and sur- 
 mounted by small, erect ears. The mouth is not large, but the 
 jaws are verj powerful. The fur constitutes their beauty. It is 
 very fine, long, and of a yellowish-white colour, which, harmonizing 
 with the snow of its frigid habitation, enables the animal to lie 
 concealed, and so not alarm its prey, a power very essential to its 
 well-being in a climate where the atmosphere is so clear, that a 
 coloured object moving about at very long distances would be 
 easily discernible by contrast with the uniform background. The 
 fur is so long and thick that it does not easily become wet and 
 as a resultance freeze into a mass of ice whenever the animal 
 quits the water for the land in the winter. It is also said to have 
 a peculiarly repellent power of snow, and pieces of the animal's 
 skin are in consequence used by the Esquimaux to remove the 
 snow from their clothes before entering their huts. 
 ■ A large specimen of a polar bear will measure over eight feet 
 in length, and weigh anywhere between 1000 and 1600 lbs. 
 
 The late Frank Buckland says in one of his books that his friend. 
 Captain Gray, wrote him the following letter: — ■" Bears attain a 
 very large size. I shot one in 1870 eleven feet from nose to tail, 
 and eleven feet across the hind-legs. I would not say that this 
 was by any means the largest I have seen, but it was the most 
 perfect I have ever come across. Males, before they attain this 
 size, are generally destroyed in encounters among themselves. 
 Bears are great swimmers, and it takes a smart pull in a whale- 
 boat to come up with one if it is any distance away. They only 
 use the fore-paws in swimming ; the hind-legs are at rest, and 
 stretched out behind them. They can dive, too, like a whale, 
 down on one side of a piece of ice and up at the other, when 
 pursued or hunting for food. I was very much amused on one 
 voyage at a certain bear : he was upon a sheet of very thin ice, and 
 when he came to a place which could not bear him, he lay down 
 flat, stretching out his legs both behind and before, and pulled 
 himself along by his fore-paws, thus covering as great a surface 
 of ice as possible ; and when he did fall through, which he did 
 frequently, he dived for some place where he found firmer 
 footing." 
 
BEARS. 141 
 
 The polar bear does not readily attack man, but when it 
 does, is a very formidable antagonist. Unlike some of its congeners, 
 it does not hug, but bites. Dr. Brown states that it will not eat 
 its prey until it is dead, but plays with it like a cat does with a 
 mouse. "I have known several men," he continues, "who, 
 while sitting watching or skinning seals, have had its rough hand 
 laid on their shoulder. Their only chance has been then to feign 
 being dead, and manage to shoot it while the bear was sitting at 
 a distance watching its intended victim." The appalling accounts 
 so frequently given by the early navigators of the animal's strength, 
 ferocity, and daring are pure fiction, or, at any rate, gross 
 exaggeration ; although there are well- authenticated accounts of 
 bears having attacked, the occupants of small boats, and forced 
 them to seek safety by taking to the water. 
 
 Captain Scoresby relates an accident to a sailor that resulted 
 from imprudently attacking one of these animals on the ice : "A 
 few years ago, when one of the Davis's Strait whalers was closely 
 beset among the ice at the ' south-west,' or on the coast of 
 Labrador, a bear that had been for some time seen near the 
 ship, at length became so bold as to approach alongside, probably 
 tempted by the ofiFal of the provisions thrown overboard by the 
 cook. At this time the people were all at dinner, no one being 
 required to keep the deck in the then immovable condition of the 
 ship. A hardy fello\r, who first looked out, perceiving the bear 
 so near, imprudently jumped upon the ice, armed only with 
 a hand-spike, with a view, it is supposed, of gaining all the honour 
 of the exploit of securing so fierce a visitor by himself. But the 
 bear, regardless of such weapons, and sharpened probably by 
 hunger, disarmed his antagonist, and, seizing him by the back 
 with his powerful jaws, carried him off with such celerity that, on 
 his dismayed comrades rising from their meal and looking abroad, 
 he was so far beyond their reach as to defy their pursuit." 
 
 The bear now in the Zoological Gardens, whose portrait is used 
 as an illustration, is a remarkably fine animal, and an ornament to 
 the whole collection. The poor brute, however, with his restless 
 movements, lying down in one place, then getting up and changing 
 his position, or pacing backwards and forwards in front of the 
 
142 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 bars, always produces the feeling, especially in the summer 
 months, that he is a most unhappy quadruped, although he has a 
 roomy den, comfortable place to sleep in, and a large tank or 
 swimming-bath all to himself. Yet he appears to miss the frozen 
 regions of his home, where the snow-storms, glittering ice- 
 banks and arctic cold, which to him are welcome and delightful, 
 would be death to many of his present neighbours. One has only 
 to watch him taking a bath to see how thoroughly he is at home 
 in the water. He rolls over on his back, with his feet uppermost, 
 dives under, and plays about, and his occasional snorts on coming 
 to the surface seem to be sounds expressive of thorough satisfac- 
 tion. The duration of the Hfa of these animals when in their wild 
 state cannot accurately be ascertained, but in the care of the 
 gardens they live on an average for about eighteen years. 
 
 This bear is a rather savage specimen, and it would be dan- 
 gerous to venture too near. The beast, previously on exhibi- 
 tion was, unintentionally probably, the cause of an accident 
 to a French lady who was visiting the gardens. She was feeding 
 him with a bun, and in snapping at it, he bit off one of the poor 
 woman's fingers. The top of the cage it will be observed is well- 
 barred, a precaution shown to be necessary by an animal escaping 
 some years ago over a high, spiked and inward-curved fence, over 
 which it was considered an impossibility for any beast to climb. 
 
 In the early part of 1877 a crowd was gathered round the pit 
 in the Jardin des Plantes, Paris, where the polar bears are kept, 
 when a nurse-girl, with a five years' old child in her arms, allowed 
 it to slip from her grasp into the den. The two bears then 
 occupying the place sprang forward, but were startled by the cry 
 of horror from the crowd. Nobody for the moment, however, 
 attempted the poor little thing's rescue, but at last a gentleman 
 courageously allowed the keepers to lower him into the pit, and 
 he succeeded in bringing up the child in safety ; but he was not a 
 moment too soon, for the bears quickly recovered from their sur- 
 prise or alarm, and made a furious charge at him and his burden. 
 As it was, several bruises and a broken arm were the only injuries 
 the child sustained. 
 
 The white bear was known to the ancient Greeks. Ptolemy 
 
BBAES. 143 
 
 exhibited one to the people of Alexandria in the feast which he 
 gave on his accession to the throne (b.o. 323), and his son seems 
 to have imported a considerable number of them, which he caused 
 to be killed at the celebrated entertainments given in honour of 
 his father. The Egyptian author of the third century, Athenaeus 
 in his " Deipnosophists," gives an account of these marvellous 
 entertainments, and of the procession. It was at this fite the 
 triumph of Bacchus was represented, and a very great number of 
 animals were exhibited, among them being elephants, stags, ante- 
 lopes, 130 Ethiopian sheep, 300 Arabian sheep, 20 Buboean sheep, 
 some white hornless cattle, 26 Indian cows, 8 ^Ethiopian oxen, 1 
 immense white hear, 14 leopards, 16 panthers, 4 lynxes, 3 arceti, 
 1 camelopard, and 1 rhinoceros from Ethiopia, a pack of 2400 
 dogs, 24 enormous lions, and a vast number of beasts, herds of 
 animals and horses. 
 
 How he procured the white bears seems to have puzzled 
 naturalists, for until lately it was not known that these animals 
 were to be found anywhere but in the frozen seas. Kueppel, 
 however, found them near Mount Lebanus, and this explained 
 how Ptolemy procured them, for it was easy work to bring them 
 from that region.-' 
 
 On the authority of Dr. Henry Kink,^ the Danish traveller, 
 killing a bear is considered one of the most distinguishing feats of 
 sportsmanship in Greenland; an idea that has descended from 
 ancient times, when the spear was the only weapon the inhabi- 
 tants possessed; now, however, the animal is surrounded and 
 held at bay by dogs until shot, an enterprise fraught with 
 more danger to the hounds than the men. 
 
 The capturing of animals, however, for exhibition purposes is an 
 employment fraught with considerable danger, and has been the 
 source of many thrilling adventures. It is generally undertaken 
 by the intrepid whalers in the northern seas, who bring them home 
 on their return journey, hooped up in a cask or case, in which it 
 must require some ingenuity to incarcerate them without injuring 
 the animals or being injured by them. 
 
 1 M. Marcel de Sems in Edinburgh New PMlosopMcal Journal, 1834. 
 
 2 " Danish Greenland : Its People and its Products," 1877. 
 
144 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 King Svend, of Denmark, in the year 1060, had a bear pre- 
 sented to him by an Icelander, named Audun, who procured it by 
 going to Greenland and giving all his property in exchange for the 
 animal. The king gave him in reward an honourable maintenance 
 for Ufe, and he also discharged his chamberlain for having tried 
 to extort money from Audun before permitting him to be 
 admitted to the presence of the king. 
 
 The bear that King Henry III. possessed, and kept in the 
 Tower, referred to on page 6, was a polar bear, and as there is 
 no record of one having been brought to these shores previously, 
 it is a fair assumption that this animal Was the first of his species 
 ever seen in England. He was certainly highly prized by. the 
 monarch, and considered a curiosity by the people, who were 
 taxed for his support; the sheriffs of London being ordered to 
 see that fourpence a day was forthcoming for that purpose, and 
 also that he was supplied with a muzzle and a strong rope long 
 enough to permit him to swim and fish in the Thames — an enjoy- 
 ment that probably would be of little service to his successors of 
 the present day, even if they could be so indulged, either for 
 bodily refreshing purposes or for food supply. 
 
 Queen Elizabeth owned two white bears, and the old his- 
 torian ' states that in April, 1559, " The queen, in great pomp, 
 rode from the Spittal through the city, attended by 1000 men in 
 coats of mail, with corselets, morrice pikes, and ten large pieces 
 of ordnance, with drums, flutes, and morrice dancers, and twa 
 white bears in a cart.*' The reason of this particular display is 
 not given. 
 
 And here let a lover of animals enter a plea against unnecessary 
 cruelty. Polar bears are very active beasts, and the oflEicers of the 
 Zoological Society, recognizing this, have wisely and humanely 
 portioned off an extra large cage for their specimen ; but in some 
 perambulating menageries that still exist in various parts of the 
 world, they are kept cooped up in so small a space that exercise be- 
 comes impossible, and constitutes gross cruelty. Such a case was 
 noticeable in a collection of wild animals, bearing a well-known 
 name, that was lately exhibiting in the north of London. Here this 
 ' See Maitland's " History of London.'' 
 
BEARS. 145 
 
 large bear was railed ofE to a compartment in tlie end of a van, -which, 
 was so small that the wonder was how the animal could ever turn in 
 itjif he ever did. The only way he could get any exercise was by keep- 
 ing up an incessant, painfully monotonous movement of the head, 
 which he swung backwards and forwards from one side to the other. 
 To watch the creature at this performance for any length of time 
 was maddening, and was terribly suggestive that the poor brute 
 was already suflFering from brain disease himself. His coat was so 
 dark, or dirty, that few people recognized the animal as a polar 
 bear. The keeper said he was daily drenched with buckets of 
 water, but for all that he bore a very unhappy appearance, and 
 was, without doubt, the most dejected, spiritless quadruped in the 
 collection ; and the conditions under which he is kept might surely 
 come within the province of the officers of the Society for the Pre- 
 vention of Cruelty to Animals to investigate. All caged animals 
 must unavoidably suffer a little from the nature of their confine- 
 ment ; but to imprison in such close quarters so large a beast as a 
 polar bear, whose nature requires such very different conditions 
 for his well-being, is inexcusable. He might be given a van to 
 himself for exercise, which might also be provided with a movable 
 bottom, that would allow him occasionally to roll about in a tank 
 of water that should accompany it. He would then become an 
 attractive addition to any menagerie, as at present he is the reverse, 
 and a badly-stuffed skin would be a pleasanter sight. 
 
 The GEizzLT BEAR {Ursus ferox) comes next in size to the polar 
 bear, but in ferocity and strength is said to actually surpass him. 
 In the enormous size of its soles, the length of its claws, the 
 breadth and depth of the head, it most certainly does. This animal 
 inhabits the Rocky Mountains and the districts to the east of 
 them, often being found as far south as Mexico. It is un- 
 doubtedly the most formidable and savage beast on the American 
 continent ; exercising, apparently, an absolute terrorism over every 
 other living creature it comes in contact with. 
 
 Grizzly bears feed only occasionally on fruits and roots when 
 flesh is absolutely unprocurable, for they prefer a diet completely 
 carnivorous, which they endeavour to obtain by attacking the 
 buffalo of the prairies whenever they can get the chance. They 
 
146 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 are possessed of such, muscular strength, that, after overpowering 
 one of these large animals, they can drag away the huge carcase, 
 which sometimes weighs over 1000 pounds, and digging a pit for 
 its reception, deposit it therein, and to this hoarded supply they 
 repair whenever hungry, until it is completely consumed. 
 
 The skin of this formidable bruin is highly prized, for the fur is 
 thick, long, and fine. Its colour is not uniform, but varies from a 
 light-grey to a blackish-brown, the latter shade being by far the 
 most common. It is always more or less grizzled by having the 
 hair tipped with grey or by an intermixture of individual hairs 
 greyish-coloured. Its legs are covered with dark and coarse fur, 
 while the hair on the muzzle is very short and so pale in colour 
 that it confers on the animal an appearance of baldness. The 
 feet are very large, the fore-paws frequently measuring nine inches 
 in breadth and the hind ones being still larger. They are orna- 
 mented with tremendous claws, those on the fore-feet being the 
 largest, measuring over five inches in length, and are thick up to 
 the very point. The size of these talons, combined with the great 
 weight of the body, unfits the grizzly for climbing trees, but they 
 enable it to dig up the ground easily and to kill larger animals 
 than the other bears would venture to attack. Its gait is a curious, 
 shambling one. When going at any speed the fore-limbs seem to 
 canter and the hind ones to slide along in a most peculiar manner, 
 while the head is kept swaying from side to side all the time. 
 The grizzly has a massive skull, much larger in proportion than in 
 other members of the JJrsidce; small eyes, pointed muzzle, powerful 
 jaws, and a set of most formidable-looking teeth. These bears 
 do not hug their victims, but standing up on their hind-legs, 
 strike with their terrific paws and inflict frightful wounds. 
 
 In size a full-grown male will measure from eight and a half to 
 nine feet in length, his girth be about the same, and he will weigh 
 about 800 pounds. Sometimes an individual animal will attain 
 much larger proportions ; one that was exhibited in the United 
 States was said to have turned the scale at 2000 pounds. 
 
 A grizzly will in ordinary cases avoid an encounter with man, 
 unless startled suddenly, cornered, or hungry, when it seems to lose 
 all fear and charges vigorously. It has a deep gruff growl, which is a 
 
 J I 
 
BEAES. 147 
 
 bass-drum-like "huff, huff." Its prowess as an antagonist has 
 given rise to many superstitions among the Indians, and they 
 have a wholesome terror of the animal. The trappers and hunters 
 in its domain tell over the camp fire and their pipes, some extra- 
 ordinary narrations of " b'ar-fights." Probably of no other wild 
 animal have such exaggerated and highly-coloured stories been 
 circulated as of the grizzly, till a " bear story " has passed into a 
 current phrase as a term to denote any narration somewhat too 
 " big " even for the people that delight in exaggeration. 
 
 A remarkable feature about grizzly bears, which perhaps ac- 
 counts for many of the red man's stories concerning them, is their 
 extraordinary vitality. Unless shot directly through the brain, they 
 are not killed, which fearfully increases the risk incurred by a 
 man venturing to attack them even if he is well-armed. For with 
 ten bullets in his body, five of them through the lungs, an animal 
 was reported to have swum a considerable distance, and survived 
 more than twenty minutes ; and another actually ran a quarter 
 of a mile after a bullet had torn its way through his heart. An 
 encounter with a bear is therefore generally a hazardous under- 
 taking, and one fraught with peril, safety resting entirely upon 
 the accuracy of the aim and the reliability of the weapon. Daniel 
 Boone's celebrated prayer, when he found himself face to face with 
 a grizzly, and armed only with a scalping-knife, " Lord, here's 
 a-going to be one of the biggest b'ar-fights you ever did see; and 
 if you can't help me, for God's sake don't help the b'ar ! " showed 
 that famous pioneer's opinion of his equal chances with his 
 
 opponent. 
 
 Parker Gillmore* had a narrow escape from a " grizzly" during 
 his wanderings in the West. He came suddenly upon the animal 
 and was at once attacked, the bear advancing with his nose 
 curled up, showing his formidable teeth, which gave him anything 
 but a pleasant expression. " Ten— more probably eight— yards 
 intervened between us," writes this hunter ; " my gun was pointed 
 for his heart; bang went one barrel, but the foe did not fall; 
 rapid as lightning the left was put in, and the huge creature fell. 
 Stepping a few paces back, I hastened to load; the right bullet 
 
 ' "An Hunter's Adventures in the Great West," 1871. 
 L 2 
 
148 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 went down smootMy, but tlie left was obstreperous. The tem- 
 porarily suspended animation in my antagonist was rapidly becom- 
 ing restored; the more I hurried, the worse I succeeded, and 
 while making renewed efforts, the bear gained his feet. In an 
 instant he comprehended the situation, and sprang at me. The 
 right barrel was fired without my gun being brought to my 
 shoulder ; for an instant the assailant staggered, but only for an 
 instant, and I received a blow that knocked me almost out of time, 
 sending my gun from my hands with the rapidity of electricity. 
 However, I avoided for a second the effort that was made to lay 
 hold of me ; the next instant my right hand drew my revolver ; 
 one — two shots were fired in rapid succession into the creature's 
 mouth and chest, which was almost within touching distance, 
 when he heeled over, quivered for a moment, gave several convul- 
 sive struggles, and what had possessed animation became a corpse." 
 
 As a rule, the male grizzly bear does not hibernate, but only the 
 female when with young. 
 
 These animals are not easily tamed unless they are caught 
 when mere cubs, and even then their strength and the rough- 
 ness they display make them dangerous. Occasionally in the 
 United States and Canada at the present day, men may be seen 
 exhibiting them in the streets, leading them about with a chain, and 
 secured by a strong muzzle ; but the last one seen by the writer 
 in Canada, attacked and killed his owner a few days afterwards. 
 
 The Zoological Society have possessed several very fine speci- 
 mens of these animals, but, in common with all the other bears 
 in confinement, they are particularly subject to cataract, and are 
 thereby rendered blind ; sometimes, however, after an operation 
 conducted by the aid of chloroform, the disease has been partially 
 removed. 
 
 The BLACK BE AE (Vrsus Americanus) is also a dweller on the 
 American continent, extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific, 
 and from OaHfornia to the Arctic Ocean, and is occasionally to be 
 found as far south as Yirginia. In the wooded districts, before 
 civilization had made such gigantic strides over the country, they 
 were to be found in large numbers, and were eagerly hunted for 
 the sake of their fur. In one year alone, at the beginning of the 
 
BEARS. 149 
 
 present century, over 26,000 skins of this animal were exported, 
 their value being then anywhere from $100 to $200 each ; now they 
 are only procurable in much smaller numbers, and their value has 
 diminished a quarter of the above prices. The fur is composed 
 of soft smooth hairs, black and glossy, presenting a very fine 
 appearance. 
 
 In size they are much smaller than the previously described 
 animals, as they seldom exceed five feet in total length. They 
 live chiefly on roots and berries, being especially fond of cherries, 
 and only when these are not procurable resort to fresh eggs, 
 insects (particularly ants), birds, and small quadrupeds ; and 
 although their diet is by preference a vegetable one, hunger will 
 compel them to become carnivorous, and occasionally to steal a 
 pig, or even, exceptionally, to kill a cow. They are said to be very 
 destructive animals in the maize and melon fields, and they search 
 with great assiduity for honey, in which they delight. Their keen 
 powers of scent enable them to locate the trees where the bees 
 have made a hive. Clambering up, for this species are great 
 climbers, they soon find its correct position. They will then pro- 
 ceed to gnaw the trunk until an aperture is made large enough to 
 admit the paws, which are inserted, and the honeycomb and bees 
 are scooped with avidity into the capacious maw. 
 
 Purchas,^ in his collection of travels, gives Champlain's account 
 of his explorations in "Nova Francia," and his penetrating 
 to the " Great Lake," on whose shores he found " a store of 
 bears " and many tribes of Indians. " But I dare not," he adds, 
 "give for current that which Monsieur de Monto hath recited 
 unto me, that these nations have tame bears which they teach 
 to carry them upon trees for want of ladders." 
 
 Bears are excellent swimmers, and take readily to the water for 
 the purpose of attaining the opposite side of a river, or even a 
 broad lake. 
 
 "As a rule these bears den up in winter," says Dr. 0. H. 
 Merriam,* in his able and accurate description of this animal, from 
 
 5 " Purchas, his Pilgrimes." 
 
 6 " The Vertebrates of the Adirondack Region," in the "Transactions of the Linpaean 
 Society of New York." 
 
150 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 personal study of its habits, " but their hibernation is not pro- 
 found, and it is prudent not to take too many liberties with them 
 when in this condition. The exact period when the event takes 
 place is determined by the food supply and the severity of the 
 season. If the beech-nut crop has been a failure, and deep snows 
 come early, they generally den near the commencement of winter. 
 If, on the contrary, there has been a good yield of mast, and the 
 winter a mild one (and it is a fact that with us good beech-nut 
 years are commonly followed by open winters), the males prowl 
 about nearly, or quite, all winter, and the females only den a 
 short time before the period of bringing forth their young. 
 Indeed, it can be set down as a rule that so long as the male bear 
 can find enough to eat he will not den, be the weather ever so 
 severe ; for it is evident that he does not den to escape either the 
 low temperature or the deep snows, but to thus bridge over a 
 period when, if active, he would be unable to procure suflBcient 
 food. And the female, under similar circumstances, remains out 
 till the maternal impulse prompts her to seek a shelter for her 
 prospective offspring ; and in this wilderness they have been found 
 travelHng as late as the middle of January. 
 
 " The den is not commonly much of an affair. It is generally a 
 partial excavation under the upturned roots of a fallen tree or 
 under a pile of logs, with perhaps a few bushes and logs scraped 
 together by way of a bed, while to the first snowstorm is left the 
 task of completing the roof and filling the remaining chinks. Not 
 unfrequently the den is a great hole or cave dug into the side of a 
 knoll, and generally under some standing tree whose roots serve 
 as side-posts to the entrance. The amount of labour bestowed 
 upon it depends upon the length of time the bear expects to 
 hibernate. If the prospects point towards a severe winter, and 
 there is a scarcity of food, they den early, and take pains to make 
 a comfortable nest ; but when they stay out late, and then den in 
 a hurry, they do not take the trouble to fix up their nests at all. 
 At such times they only crawl into any convenient shelter, with- 
 out gathering so much as a bunch of moss to soften their bed. 
 Snow completes the covering, and as their breath condenses and 
 freezes into it, an icy wall begins to form, and increases in thick- 
 
BEARS. 151 
 
 ness and extent day by day, till they are soon unable to escape 
 even if tbey would, and are obliged to wait in this icy cell till 
 liberated by the sun in April or May." 
 
 These bears commonly have two or three cubs at a birth, and 
 occasionally four ; it is doubtful if they have young oftener than 
 every other year. The cubs are, we learn, of such diminutive size 
 that they are not six inches in length, weigh less than a pound, 
 and it is necessary for their preservation that the mother should 
 cover them nearly the whole time for the first two months. 
 
 Mr. Frank J. Thompson, Superintendent of the Zoological 
 Garden at Cincinnati, published in "Forest and Stream," in 1879, 
 an account of the early development of a litter of black bears in 
 confinement, In which he states : — 
 
 " About the middle of January last, the female black bear in 
 the society's collection refused to come out of her den into the 
 open pit, and would not allow the male to approach her. She 
 was immediately closed in and furnished with an abundance of 
 hay, with which she busied herself in making a nice warm bed. 
 At 4 p.m. on January the 26th, the young ones were born, and I 
 did not see them until the third day after, when I was surprised 
 by the keeper informing me that she would allow him to enter her 
 den. On going with him, he unlocked the door, fearlessly walked 
 in, and quickly began feeding her with bits of bread, which he 
 sliced from a loaf held in his hand. By holding the bread just 
 over her head he finally tempted her to sit up on her haunches, 
 when I obtained a clear vievsr of the two young ones, lying asleep 
 just back of her front paws. From where I stood, about six feet 
 distant, they did not seem to exceed six inches in length, were a 
 dirty-whitish colour, and appeared entirely bare of hair. In 
 about ten days their coats began to show and were of a greyish 
 tint, which gradually passed through the various shades until they 
 became a brownish-black. It was just forty days before the 
 first one's eyes opened, and two days after the second followed 
 suit. From that time forward I watched very closely to ascertain 
 the exact time that would elapse before the young ones would 
 leave the nest, and on the seventy-first day after birth, when the 
 mother, as was her habit, came to the grating to be fed, one of the 
 
152 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 youngsters left the nest and followed hev. So soon as she found 
 it out she immediately drew it gently back, and on its second 
 attempt she cuffed it soundly, which put a stop to its wandering 
 propensity. After a few days she allowed them to wander about 
 at will, provided no one was immediately in front of the den ; 
 but so soon as a visitor put in an appearance they were driven 
 back into the nest, and not allowed to emerge until the strangers 
 were out of sight. . . . They soon became expert climbers, 
 taking advantage of the slightest inequalities of the stone walls 
 and the cracks between the heavy oaken planks to reach the 
 ceiling of the den on three sides, whilst the grating in front served 
 capitally for their skylarking. Occasionally they would have a 
 regular sparring bout, standing erect, feinting, countering, and 
 making use of many of the tricks of old votaries of the P. E. 
 These frolics would generally end in a clinch, fall, and a regular 
 rough-and-tumble fight, when the mother would abruptly put a 
 stop to it by suddenly knocking both of the contestants com- 
 pletely out of time. In fact, as they grew apace, the parental 
 visitations increased so rapidly I began to fear she would put an 
 end to my bear investigations by chastising the lives out of them ; 
 but of late she has slackened in her attentions." 
 
 Dr. Merriam says that, " In traversing unfrequented portions 
 of the wilderness one occasionally meets with a tree whose bark 
 has been scratched and torn at some little height from the ground, 
 in a manner that cannot fail to excite his attention and surprise. 
 This is the work of the bear, but the object of it is not known. 
 Hunters claim that whenever a bear passes one of these trees he 
 stops, stands on his hind-legs, and gnaws and scratches it before 
 resuming his journey. The only account of the strange pro- 
 ceeding that I have seen is given by Audubon and Bachman,' who 
 state, ' At one season the bear may be seen examining the lower 
 part of the trunk of a tree for several minutes with much atten- 
 tion, at the same time looking around and snifl&ng the air. It then 
 rises on its hind-legs, approaches the trunk, embraces it with the 
 fore-legs, and scratches the bark with its teeth and claws for 
 several minutes in continuance. Its jaws clash against each other 
 ' " Quadrupeds of North America," 1854. 
 
BEARS. 153 
 
 until a mass of foam runs down on both sides of the mouth. 
 After that it continues its rambles.' " 
 
 The black bear is also the subject of certain superstitions among 
 some of the tribes of North American Indians, who are said 
 never to slay an animal of this species except through necessity, 
 and even then express in many curious ways their sorrow for 
 the act. 
 
 There is a variety of this bear to be found in California and 
 west of the Eocky Mountains, which differs in colour considerably, 
 and is called, in consequence, the cinnamon bear ( Ursus occidentalis). 
 
 The two specimens of black bears in the possession of the 
 Zoological Society are kept in the bear's pit. They have been 
 so much over-fed with buns by the children and visitors to the 
 Gardens, and have become so fat and lazy, that it is with 
 diflBculty they can now be enticed to climb the pole provided 
 for the purpose of exhibiting their agility this way. 
 
 The following incident, which, although amusing, might have 
 had a tragical termination, occurred at this pit. The scene was 
 witnessed by a visitor to the Zoological Gardens, who says, in a 
 letter to the Times of July, 1867, which he wrote thinking the 
 account might be interesting as an illustration of the sim- 
 plicity of the nineteenth century : " A youth, about twenty years 
 of age, was amusing himself with the bears, and by some mis- 
 chance let his hat fall into the bear-pit ; not liking to lose his 
 ' covering,' he gently let himself down into the pit, and on his 
 descent one of the bears hugged him, threw him on his back, 
 and tried to drag him into his den. A cry was immediately 
 raised by the bystanders, and the keeper, who was fortunately 
 near at the time, shouted to the animal, and he released his 
 victim ; the keeper then handed a stick to the youth to keep the 
 bears in abeyance while he fetched the key. This was speedily 
 done, and the young man was liberated uninjured in body, his 
 coat only having suffered in the encounter, being slightly torn by 
 the claws of the animal. When asked by the keeper how he came 
 to do such a thing, he quietly replied, ' He did not know their 
 nature.' I saw the young man in the Gardens a considerable 
 time afterwards, without his hat (the bears having made a 
 
154 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 meal of that), enjoying himself, apparently as if nothing had 
 happened." 
 
 How easily that youth's ignorance might have made him a 
 victim of a tragedy can be gleaned from the narration of the 
 following sad accident which happened in Berne, in March, 1861, 
 and caused considerable sensation at the time. The victim was 
 a young English oflScer who had served with distinction in the 
 Crimea. The Times states that " On the 7th inst. Captain Lorts 
 took a walk after dinner in Berne with the Secretary of the 
 Embassy and visited the bear-pits. The pib was separated into 
 two compartments : in one was a he-bear, arid in the other the 
 female and several cubs. While bending over the railing. Captain 
 Lorts overbalanced himself and fell over into that part of the pit 
 in which the old bear was confined, breaking his arm in the fall. 
 One hour elapsed before any assistance was obtained and brought 
 to the spot. Efforts were made to hoist him up with ropes ; up 
 to this, the bear, although a savage animal, did not attempt to 
 injure him, but while he was half-way up the bear attacked him 
 and tore him down, and, after a terrible struggle of nearly an 
 hour's duration, the captain was killed. One of the party of 
 Englishmen would have jumped into the pit to his friend's aid 
 had he not been forcibly restrained by the bystanders. A police- 
 man, against whom the greatest indignation was expressed, re- ' 
 fused to render any assistance or even give up his gun to others 
 for that purpose." 
 
155 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 BEARS (Continued). 
 
 The brown beae (Ursus arctos) is an animal very widely dif- 
 fused, one or otter of its varieties being found in tlie north and 
 south of Eutope, Siberia, Kamtcbatka, and even in Japan. 
 
 Its fur is generally brown-coloured, but is subject to Variations ; 
 some animals being quite black, and others having a yellowish 
 coat. 
 
 It is a solitary animal, hibernating during the winter, and 
 living by preference on a vegetable diet. It exhibits but little 
 hostility to man, but when forced to fight, through being unable 
 to retreat, or when it has to defend its offspring, it will do so 
 with great courage, despite its timid disposition, and rising on its 
 hind-legs endeavour to grasp its antagonist in an embrace. 
 
 The brown bears, as a rule, are comparatively harmless animals, 
 and instead of the savage look of the grizzly bears, they have 
 rather a mild and good-humoured aspect, which in a great measure 
 is due to their eyes being larger and more pleasing in ex- 
 pression. 
 
 The fat of the brown bear constitutes the " bear's grease " of 
 the barber's shop, which is supposed to possess some attractive 
 qualities for those people who delight in anointing their heads 
 after the manner of the ancients, and against whose destructive 
 powers the chairs and couches had to be disfigured with those 
 abominations called " anti-maccasars." It is hardly possible that 
 this special fat can have any virtues not common to some other 
 fatty substances, but the use of it for this purpose dates very far back 
 
156 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 for it was recommended by Dioscorides, the Greek physician of the 
 first century; also by Galen, the medical author of the second 
 century, and even before these writers, Pliny mentions it in his 
 "Natural History," "as being very useful in preventing the hair 
 from falling oflF." 
 
 An amusing article on the " advertising system," in the Edin- 
 burgh Review for 1843, states that the first English vendor of bear's 
 grease cautioned his customers " to wash their hands in warm 
 water after using it, to prevent them from assuming the hirsute 
 appearance of a paw." Perhaps this was the enthusiastic tradesman 
 mentioned by Mr. Samuel "Weller in "Master Humphrey's Clock:" — 
 
 " His whole delight was in trade. He spent all his money in 
 bears, and run in debt for 'em besides ; and there they wos a-growl- 
 ing away down in the front cellar all day long, and inefiectually 
 gnashing their teeth, vile the grease of their relations and friends 
 wos being retailed in gallipots in the shop above, and the first-floor 
 winder was ornamented with their heads; not to speak o' the 
 dreadful aggrawation it must have been to 'em to see a man always 
 a-walkin' up and down the pavement outside, with the portrait of 
 a bear in his last agonies, and underneath, in large letters, ' Another 
 fine animal was slaughtered yesterday at Jenkinson's ! ' How- 
 s'ever, there they wos, and there Jenkinson wos, till he wos took 
 very ill with some inward disorder, lost the use of his legs, and 
 wos confined to his bed, where he laid a very long time ; but sich 
 wos his pride in his profession even then, that wenever he wos 
 worse than usual the doctor used to go downstairs and say, 
 ' Jenkinson's very low this mornin' ; we must give the bears a 
 stir;' and as sure as ever they stirred 'em up a bit, and made 'em 
 roar, Jenkinson opens his eyes, if he wos ever so bad, and calls 
 out ' There's the bears ! ' and rewives again." 
 
 This species was at one time common in the British Isles, and 
 large numbers were exported to Eome for exhibition and combat 
 in the amphitheatres. It was one of the Welsh beasts of 
 chase ; and Pennant is the authority for the statement that it 
 infested the mountainous parts of Scotland up to the year 1057. 
 
 Among the Kamtchatkans the brown bear is almost a neces- 
 sity, for they put its skin to divers uses and rely upon its capture 
 
BBAES. 157 
 
 for a great portion of tteir food ; the flesh they describe as being 
 delicious eating. " The skin of the bear," says a traveller, " forms 
 their beds and coverlets, bonnets for their heads, gloves for their 
 hands, and collars for their dogs. The flesh and fat are their 
 dainties. Of the intestines they make masks or covers for their 
 faces to protect them from the glare of the sun in the spring, and 
 use them as a substitute for glass by extending them over their 
 windows. Even the shoulder-blades are said to be put in 
 requisition for cutting grass." 
 
 The humming noise made by the telegraph-wires, seems to 
 puzzle the brown bears of Scandinavia, for they mistake it for 
 the buzzing of bees, and by report do considerable damage 
 through persistently scratching away the earth around the tele- 
 graph-poles under the deluded idea that they will discover honey. 
 
 These bears when kept in confinement have to be approached 
 with caution. In the Rosherville Q-ardens some few months ago, 
 one lacerated the arm of a man who was feeding him, in a fright- 
 ful manner. The bear caught him with its paw, and then seized 
 his arm in its jaw. On assistance arriving, a large rake was 
 procured and the animal beaten over the head with it, which only 
 made matters worse, for it became infuriated to such an extent that 
 it gripped tighter and absolutely scrunched the arm till the 
 muscles were destroyed and the bone splintered. The man fainted, 
 and was taken to the hospital. His arm was useless afterwards. 
 In a suit he brought against the owners of the bear, the jury 
 awarded him 500Z. damages. His accident was due partially to 
 his own ignorance and the idea which seems to prevail among a large 
 section of the public that animals when confined lose all their 
 ferocious attributes and cease to be dangerous, whereas it is 
 frequently the other way ; the incarceration makes them savage 
 and willing to attack. 
 
 Another exhibition of ignorance or daring took place at these 
 gardens. A sailor's hat fell into the pit where a brown bear was 
 kept. Jack immediately lowered himself after it. The animal 
 at once commenced in its lumbering, heavy fashion to make to- 
 wards him, but the cat-like agility of the sailor saved him, if not 
 from death, from an ugly scrape, for seizing hold of a water-pipe 
 
158 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 that ran down the side of the den, he swung himself clear and 
 clambered out before the animal had time to do him an injury. 
 
 The following incident is narrated by the British Medical 
 Journal of May, 1873 : " The generosity of an Irish labourer was 
 met in a most grasping manner a few days ago by one of the 
 brown bears in the Zoological G-ardens. The foolish fellow 
 passed his arms through the bars of the cage and offered the 
 animal a biscuit. Bruin being not unmindful of the fact that he 
 belonged to the carnivora, preferred the upper extremity of the man 
 to the biscuit which he presented, and accordingly proceeded to 
 avail himself of the rare opportunity. It was with the greatest 
 difficulty, and after the severest punishment of the bear with an 
 iron rod, that the man could be extricated from his dangerous 
 position. The poor fellow was at once taken to the Middlesex 
 Hospital, when his arm was found to be terribly mutilated. He 
 is, however, we are informed by Mr. Lewis, senior house-surgeon, 
 doing well, and is not likely to lose his arm." 
 
 The animal that, in former times was regularly baited as a 
 popular amusement, which was enjoyed not only by the lowest 
 riff-rafE of the community, but by all classes, even to royalty itself, 
 was the brown bear. This sport, although continued untU a very 
 late date, was of ancient origin, for in the twelfth century bear- 
 baiting was one of the favourite holiday pastimes of Londoners ; 
 and although Edward III, seems to have disapproved of it, for he 
 included it in a proclamation among " dishonest, trivial, useless 
 games," the sport continued to increase in popularity with all 
 classes. It was thriving in the time of Henry YIL, for Crowly, 
 the printer, in his epigram written when that monarch was on the 
 throne, mentions the bear-garden on the Bankside in Southwark, 
 close to the Thames, as drawing full assemblies; that the ex- 
 hibitions were on Sundays, and the price of admission was one 
 halfpenny. 
 
 Gilpin in his " Life of Cranmer " tells us : " Bear-baiting, 
 brutal as it was, was by no means an amusement of the lower 
 people only. An odd incident furnishes us with a proof of this. 
 An important controversial manuscript was sent by Archbishop 
 Cranmer across the Thames. The person entrusted bade his 
 
BEAES. 159 
 
 waterman keep off from the tumult occasioned by baiting a bear 
 on the river hefore the Icing; be rowed, however, too near, and 
 the persecuted animal overset the boat by trying to board it. 
 The manuscript, lost in the confusion, floated away, and fell into 
 the hands of a priest, who, by being told that it belonged to a 
 privy counsellor, was terrified from making use of it, which might 
 have been fatal to the head of the reformed party," 
 
 In the romantic age of Queen Elizabeth it even formed one of 
 the favourite amusements, and one that seems to have afforded 
 special delight to the queen. She is reported in the chronicles 
 of her period to be frequently " commanding the heares, the bulls, 
 and the ape to be bayted in the tilt-yard " or in other places, for 
 she used to entertain foreign visitors and ambassadors with the 
 sport, and it is stated on one occasion that " the Queen's Grace 
 herself stood on the gallery looking on the pastime till six at 
 night." 
 
 When she visited Kenilworth Castle in 1576, bear-baiting was 
 among the princely pleasures provided by the Earl of Leicester 
 for her entertainment ; and in an account of this visit, written 
 by an author of the period, one Robert Laneham, a droll letter 
 to Mr. Martin, a mercer of London, is printed, which gives an 
 amusing history of the performance. 
 
 In the present day when the popularity of the theatres is perhaps 
 greater than at any period of English history, and acting has 
 become a profession, it sounds strangely to read that three hun- 
 dred years ago the queen, who was the royal patron of Shakespeare, 
 and inclined to favour all players in every way she could, yet waxed 
 indignant when the attractions of the bear-garden were eclipsed by 
 those of the theatre. In 1591 she caused an order to be " issued 
 from the privy council forbidding plays to be acted on Thursdays, 
 because bear-baiting and such pastimes had usually been practised 
 on that day. This order was followed by an injunction from the 
 Lord Mayor to the same effect, in which his lordship complained 
 ' That in divers places the players do use to recite their plays to 
 the great hurt and destruction of the game of bear-baiting and such- 
 like pastimes, which are maintained for her Majesty's pleasure.' " 
 
 Sunday had been the great day for bear-baiting, but in 1583 an 
 
160 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 accident befell the spectators; tlie scaffolding gave way, and 
 miserably maimed many people. There are several accounts of 
 this occurrence : one in Vaugban's " Golden Grove," 1608 ; and the 
 other in that quaint work, " The Anatomie of Abuses, — containing 
 a description of such notable vices and enormities — made dialogue- 
 wise by Philip Stubs, gent; and imprinted in London, 1595." 
 "Upon the 13 day of Januarie last, being the Sabaoth day, 
 anno 1583, the people, men, women, and children, both yonge 
 and old, an infinite number flocking to these infamous places, 
 where these wicked exercyses are usuallie practised (for they have 
 their courts, gardens, and yards for the same purpose), when 
 they were all come together and mounted aloft upon the scaffolds 
 and galleries, and in middest of all their jolytie and pastime, all 
 the whole building (not one stick standing) fell down with a 
 most wonderfuU and fearefull confusion ; so that either two or 
 three hundred men, women, and children (by estimation), whereof 
 seven were killed dead, some were wounded, some lamed, and 
 other some brused and crushed almost to death. . . . This wofuU 
 spectacle and heavie judgement pitifull to heare of, but most 
 ruefull to behold, did the Lord send down from heaven, to show 
 unto the whole world how greevously He is offended with those 
 that spend the Sabaoth in such wicked exercyses ; in the meane 
 tyme, leaving His temple desolat and emptie. God graunt all men 
 may take warning hereby to shun the same for feare of like or 
 wo rser judgement to come ! " 
 
 This accident was looked upon by many other people as a 
 judgment for the continued breach of the Sabbath, and ^ '* afforded 
 the Puritans an opportunity for declaring the popular sport to be 
 under the ban of heaven — a mode of argument anticipated years 
 before by Sir Thomas More in his ' Dialogue.' ' At Beverley late, 
 much of the people being at a bear-baiting, the church fell sud- 
 denly down at evening time, and overwhelmed some that were in 
 it. A good fellow that after heard the tale told, ' So,' quoth he, 
 ' now you may see what it is to be at evening prayers when you 
 should be at the bear-baiting ! ' " 
 
 Edward Alleyn, the actor, who performed Shakespeare's principal 
 
 1 Chambers' " Book of Days." 
 
BBAES. iQi 
 
 characters, owned the bear-garden at Bankside (where this 
 accident happened), and the sport was so popular during his time 
 that he accumulated a considerable portion of his fortune there 
 He subsequently founded Dulwich College with a part of the 
 money, so it was put to a good use, and the present generation 
 are benefitting by it. 
 
 Shakespeare, who knew Alleyn well, no doubt frequently 
 visited the bear-garden; at any rate he makes use of the sports 
 practised there as similes or illustrations in many of his plays; 
 for instance in the second part of "King Henry VI.," act v., there 
 is the following dialogue : — 
 
 ToBK : " Call hither to the stake my two brave beares, 
 
 That with the very shaking of their chaines, 
 They may astonish these fell lurking curres ; 
 Bid Salisbury and Warwicke come to me. 
 
 [Enter "Warwicke and Salisbury.] 
 
 Clifford : " Are those thy beares ? we'll baite thy beares to death ; 
 And manacle the bear-ward in their chaines, 
 If thou dar'st bring them to the bayting-place. 
 
 EiCHARD : " Oft have I seen a hot o'erweening curre, 
 
 Eun, bucke, and bite, because he was withheld ; 
 "V^Tio being suffer'd with the beare's fell paw, 
 Hath clapt his taile between his legges and cry'd." 
 
 And again in the third part of " King Henry YI.," act ii. : — 
 
 " Or as a beare, encompass'd round with dogges ; 
 Who having pincht a few, and made them cry. 
 The rest stand all aloof e, and barke at him." 
 
 In 1598 Paul Hentzner, tutor to a young German nobleman, 
 visited England, and in an account of his journey which he pub- 
 lished when describing London remarks : " There is still another 
 Place, built in the form of a theatre, which serves for the baiting 
 of Bulls and Bears. They are fastened behind and then worried by 
 great English Bull-dogs, but not without great Eisque to the Dogs, 
 from the Horns of the one, and the Teeth of the other ; and it 
 sometimes happens they are killed upon the spot : fresh ones are 
 immediately supplied in the Place of those that are wounded or 
 
 M 
 
162 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 tired. To this Entertainment there often follows that of whipping 
 a blinded Bear, which is performed by five or six Men, standing 
 circularly with Whips, which they exercise upon him without any 
 mercy, as he cannot escape from them because of his chain ; he 
 defends himself with all his Force and Skill, throwing down all who 
 come within his reach, and are not active enough to get out of it, 
 and tearing the Whips out of their Hands and breaking them. At 
 these Spectacles and everywhere else, the English are constantly 
 smoking Tobacco. The general drink is Beer, strong, and what 
 soon fuddles. They are good Sailors and better Pirates — above 
 300 are said to be hanged annually at London. If they see a 
 Foreigner very well made or particularly handsome, they will say, 
 ' It is a Pity he is not an Englishman.' " 
 
 In 1623 a white bear was baited for the amusement of the 
 Spanish ambassador.^ Chamberlain writes : " The Spanish am- 
 bassador is much delighted in bear-baiting. He was the last 
 week at Paris Garden, where they showed him all the pleasure they 
 could both with bull, bear, and horse, besides jackanapes, and then 
 turned a. white bear into the Thames, where the dogs baited him 
 swimming, which was the best sport of all." 
 
 This episode was evidently not known to the individual who 
 inserted the following notice in the Daily Advertiser, January 29th, 
 1747 : " At the particular request of several persons of distinc- 
 tion, the celebrated white sea-bear, which has been seen and 
 admired by the curious in most parts of England, will be baited 
 at Mr. Broughton's amphitheatre, this day being the 29th instant. 
 This creature is now supposed to be arrived at his utmost strength 
 and perfection, and though there never yet was any one of this 
 kind baited in Europe, it is not doubted from his uncommon size, 
 excessive weight, and more than savage fierceness, but he will 
 afford extraordinary entertainment, and behave himself in such a 
 manner as to fill those who are lovers of diversion of this kind 
 with delight and astonishment. Any person who brings a dog 
 will be admitted gratis." 
 
 James I. did not discourage the sport, but he prohibited it on 
 the Sunday. Still it continued to flourish, except during the period 
 
 2 Nichol's " Progresses." 
 
BEARS. 163 
 
 of the CornmoQwealth, when Cromwell set his face against it and 
 had the bears killed. 
 
 In Dr. Zachery Grey's edition of " Hudibras," 1744, there is a 
 foot-note in part i., canto i., which gives an extract from a paper 
 called " A Perfect Diurnal of some Passages of Parliament, and 
 from other parts of the Kingdom, from Monday, July 24th to 
 Monday 31st of July, 1643," It refers to an incident of the 
 period illustrating Cromwell's antipathy to the sport of " Gynarc- 
 tomachy, which is, as Dr. Johnson remarks, a word apparently 
 coined by Butler to signify a fight between dogs and bears. 
 "Much less did any think that brute and savage beasts should 
 be fetched from foreign parts to be a terror to the English 
 Nation, to compel their obedience to the king, and yet we 
 find it true, and are credibly informed that upon the queen's 
 coming from Holland she brought with her, besides a com- 
 pany of savage Russians, a company of savage bears, to what 
 pu)!"pose you may judge by the sequel, for these bears were left 
 about Newark, and were brought into country towns constantly 
 on the Lord's Day to be baited .... but some of Colonel Crom- 
 well's forces coming by accident to Uppingham town, in Rutland, 
 on the Lord's Day, found those bears playing there in their usual 
 manner and in the height of their sport, caused them to be seized 
 upon, tied to a tree and shot." 
 
 The following two jeering lines from the " Loyal Songs " of the 
 period are also quoted : — 
 
 " We tax'd you round, Sixpence in the Pound, 
 And massacred your Bears." 
 
 The Rump Parliament passed an Act in 1647 to suppress pubHc 
 playhouses, dancing on the ropes, and bear-baiting, and in 1655 
 instructions were given their major-generals to enforce it. 
 
 In a quaint little book " Mercurius Rusticus," printed in 1646, 
 one of the "complaints" alludes to a curious incident of the 
 times, wherein a bear declared for the cavahers. It is stated that 
 the rebels murdered a barber and stole his bear. They then 
 forced it upon old Mr. Jones, vicar of Wellingborougb, and 
 the animal " running between his legs took him upon her back, 
 ahd laying aside the untractableness of her nature grew patient of 
 
 M 2 
 
164 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 her burthen ;" biifc when the Rebels dismounted him, and one of 
 their Ringleaders bestrode the Bear, she at once threw her rider, 
 "and as if she had been robb'd of her whelps, did so mangle, 
 rend and tear him with her teeth and paws, that the presumptuous 
 wretch died of these hurts suddenly after." 
 
 When the reaction from Cromwell's puritanic rule set in the 
 sport of bear-baiting was revived. 
 
 During the reign of Charles II. a grant was made to Sir Sanders 
 Buncombe " of the sole practising and profit of the fighting and 
 combating of wild and domestic beasts within the realm of England 
 for the space of fourteen years." Despite this monopoly, bear- 
 baiting was very popular during this reign, and continued so 
 for several succeeding ones, until, having fallen in public esti- 
 mation through the upper classes gradually abandoning the sport, 
 a bill was passed in 1835 for its suppression, " and, after an 
 existence of at least seven centuries, it ceased to rank among the 
 amusements of the English people." 
 
 In 1802 the sport of bull and bear-baiting gave rise to a strange 
 debate in parliament, on a bill being introduced for the suppression 
 of the practice altogether. " Mr. Windham opposed the measure 
 as the first result of a conspiracy of the Jacobins and Methodists, to 
 render the people grave and serious, preparatory to obtaining their 
 assistance in the furtherance of other anti- national schemes, and 
 argued as if the British constitution must stand or fall with the 
 bear-garden ; and Colonel Grosvenor asked if ' the higher orders 
 had their Billington, why not the lower orders their bull ? ' This 
 extraordinary reasoning prevailed against the sarcasm of Courtenay, 
 the earnestness of Wilberforce, and the eloquence of Sheridan, 
 and the House refused, by a majority of thirteen, to abolish what 
 the last-named orator called ' the most mischievous of all amuse- 
 ments.' The decision of the legislature doubtless received the 
 silent approval of Dr. Parr, for that learned talker was a great 
 admirer of the sport. A bull-baiting being advertised in Cam- 
 bridge, during one of his last visits there, the doctor hired a garret 
 near the scene of action, and taking ofi" his academic attire and 
 changing his notorious wig for a night-cap, enjoyed the exhibition 
 incog, from the windows. This predilection was unconquerable. 
 ' You see,' said he on one occasion, exposing his muscular hirsute 
 
BEARS. 165 
 
 arm to tte company, ' that I am a kind of taurine man, and must, 
 therefore, be naturally addicted to the sport.' " 
 
 That the sport sank to a very low ebb is evident from a letter 
 in liotes and Queries for 1871, wherein the writer remarks : " I was 
 never a witness of a bear-bait, but I well remember a poor brute 
 
 who was kept alive for this sole purpose at F in Lancashire. 
 
 He was confined, as a general rule, in a small back yard, where 
 sightless, dirty, stinking, and perhaps half-starved, his sole and 
 constant exercise appeared to be moving his head and forequarters 
 from side to side. When taken to other villages to be baited, his 
 advent there was announced by a wretched fiddler, who walked 
 before him and the bear- ward. Upon one occasion, the story goes 
 
 that he and a second champion of the like kind, arrived in W on 
 
 the wakes-day, before the evening church service was completed. 
 This, however, was rapidly brought to a close by the beadle calling 
 to the preacher from the church door : ' Mestur, th' bear's come, 
 and what's more, there's two of 'em.' This freedom of speech in 
 a holy place is less to be wondered at when it is known that the 
 good rector and a party from the rectory usually witnessed the 
 bear-bait from the churchyard adjoining the village green." 
 
 In Doctor Giles Fletcher's treatise on Russia, to which country 
 he went as ambassador from Queen Elizabeth to the Emperor 
 Theodore in 1588, which is published in " Purchas: his Pilgrimes," 
 1625, with the quaint note, "I have in some places contracted, in 
 others mollified the biting, and moi-e bitter stile, which the author 
 useth of the Russian government, that I might do good at home 
 without harme abroad" (which careful consideration might be 
 followed by editors at the present day), there is a description of 
 the beare-bayting enjoyed by the emperor, which shows the kind 
 of sport the Russians loved in those days. " One other special 
 recreation is the fight with wild beares, which are caught in pits 
 or nets, and are kept in barred cages for that purpose, against 
 the emperor be disposed to see the pastime. The fight with the 
 beare is on this sort. The man is turned into a circle walled 
 round about, where he is to quite him self e as well as he can, for 
 there is no way to flye out. When the beare is turned loose, he 
 commeth upon him with open mouth ; if at the first push he misse 
 his ayme, so that the beare come within him, he is in great 
 
168 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 danger. But the wilde beare being very scare, hath this quaHty, 
 that gaineth advantage to the hunter. His manner is when he' 
 assayleth a man, to rise up right on his two hinderlegs, and so to 
 come roaring with open mouth upon him. And if the hunter 
 then can push right into the very brest of him betwixt his fore- 
 legs (as commonly he will not misse), resting the other end of 
 their boare-speare at the side of his foot, and so keeping the pike 
 still towards the face of the beare, he speedeth him commonly at 
 one blow. But many times these hunters come short, and are 
 either slaine or miserably torne with the teeth and talents of the 
 fierce beast. If the partie quite himselfe well in this fight with 
 the beare, he is carried to drinke at the emperour's seller door : 
 when he drinketh himselfe drunke for the honour of Hospodare. 
 And this is his reward for adventuring his life for the emperour's 
 pleasure. To maintayne this pastime, the emperour hath certayne 
 hunting men that are appointed for the purpose to take the 
 wilde beare. This is his recreation commonly on the holy dayes." 
 
 In the " Everyday Book " for November, 1827, among the notices 
 appears the following : " ' Bears ' are seen on the Stock Exchange 
 in human shape ; natural ones are kept by fiseurs to supply grease 
 for the hair. ' The Black Bear,' in Piccadilly ; Taylor's ' Bear,' 
 in Whitechapel ; ' The White Bear and Ragged Staff,' as a 
 punster would say, are hear-able enough ; but I reprehend the 
 ' dancing bears ' being led through the streets to perform antics 
 for money. Two have appeared this month, each with two 
 monkeys, a camel, dromedary, and organ. Travellers have told 
 of their sagacity, we believe them ; but that bears are made to 
 stand upon hot iron and undergo the severest discipline before 
 they are fit for public exhibition, is a truth which harrows the 
 feelings, and makes me wish the dancing bears unmuzzled and 
 let loose upon those who have the guidance of their education. 
 The ursa major of the literary hemisphere. Dr. Johnson, might 
 have been a match for them." 
 
 The cruelty that was practised in teaching the tame bears 
 which used to be led about the country to dance and go through 
 their amusing antics becoming known, the public refused to en- 
 courage it. Performing bears became in consequence an invest- 
 ment of labour that did not pay, and might lead to a prosecution. 
 
BEAES, 167 
 
 helice the Britisli nomads ceased to keep them, and very few are 
 now to be seen in England, though in some places on the Continent 
 they are occasionally to be met with. 
 
 Eobert Southey ^ observes : " At Bristol I saw a shaved monkey 
 shown for a fairy, and a shaved bear, in a check waistcoat and 
 trousers, sitting in a great chair as an Ethiopian savage. This 
 was the most cruel fraud I ever saw. The unnatural position of 
 the beast, and the damnable brutality of the woman-keeper, who 
 sat upon his knee, put her arm round his neck, called him husband 
 and sweetheart, and kissed him, made it the most disgusting 
 spectacle I ever witnessed." 
 
 However easily bears may be tamed, yet they are rough pets, and 
 have generally to be confined when they are full-grown. In the 
 Field for 1867, " Old Log " gives an account of a bear he owned 
 that had been captured -when a cub. " It was perfectly good- 
 natured and full of frolic, and though apt to scratch suddenly 
 when young, lost all propensity to violence as it grew big 
 and powerful. Its great delight was to wrestle with any one 
 who would so indulge it; standing bolt upright, when its muzzle 
 was about level with a man's chin. On such occasions it would 
 never put forth its great strength, but appear to enjoy rolling 
 over on its broad, bushy back. One of the ofl&cers of the Ram- 
 gurh battalion had a rough, stumpy "tangun" or hill-pony, 
 between which and the bear a singular friendship was struck up, 
 and to watch their antics together was a frequent source of 
 amusement with us. The bear would receive the pony standing 
 upright, in ursine fashion, and after some mutual snuffing and 
 gamboling about, administer a tolerable whack on the latter's face, 
 which was usually returned by a vigorous pawing out of the 
 pony's fore-hoofs, sending the bear head over heels. Sometimes 
 this kind of sham-fight waxed warm, and the squealing and 
 roaring of the combatants prodiiced shouts of laughter even 
 amongst the staid native servants looking on." 
 
 In the year 1847, when Frank Buckland was at Christchurch, 
 Oxford, a hamper arrived for him by the railway, and on its 
 being delivered he proceeded to open it, being unaware of the 
 contents. On the lid being removed there jumped out a creature 
 
 3 " Common-Place Book." 
 
168 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 about the size of an Englisli sheep-dog, covered witli long, shaggy, 
 brownish-coloured hair. This was a young bear, born on Mount 
 Lebanon, in Syria. Directly he found himself free, he proceeded 
 to make the most of his liberty, and the door beiog open, away 
 he rushed down the cloisters and made straight for the chapel, 
 where service was being performed. As soon as he had reached 
 the door, the verger, who was standing there, made a tremendous 
 flourish with his silver wand, and darting back into the chapel, 
 bolted himself into a tall pew. The bear then amused himself 
 by scampering about the large quadrangle and frightening all 
 the dogs that used to congregate there ; at last, after a sharp 
 chase, he was recaptured, a gown being thrown over his head, and 
 led back and secured. This bear, named Tiglath-pileser, being both 
 a goodnatured and amusing beast, full of tricks, became a great 
 favourite with the undergraduates. A cap and gown were made 
 for him, and to the great scandal of the dons, he used to be 
 attired in these articles whenever he accompanied his master to 
 breakfast and wine parties, where he was said to have contributed 
 greatly to the diversion of the company, while he regaled him- 
 self on the good things procurable, his favourite dainties being 
 muffins and ices. Tig, as he was familiarly called, used often to 
 accompany his master when he took walking exercise, and at other 
 times rode on horseback with him. Despite Tig's amiable dispo- 
 sition, he was subject to fits of rage, during which his violence 
 was extreme, but a little humouring soon brought him round. 
 When left alone he would cry for hours. This propensity soon 
 brought him into disfavour with the authorities, and it resulted in 
 his master being informed that " he or the bear must leave 
 Oxford the next morning;" accordingly, there being no other 
 way out of the difficulty, the animal had to go. He was first 
 sent to Islip, a living held by Dean Buckland, near Oxford, and 
 getting into mischief there, was shipped off to the Zoological 
 Gardens, but the change was too great, he refused food, paced 
 restlessly up and down his cage, trying to escape, and had hardly 
 become reconciled to his altered circumstances when one morning 
 he was found dead. 
 
 The collection of bears in the possession of the Zoological 
 
BEARS. 169 
 
 Society is generally very complete, and usually contains, besides 
 specimens of the foregoing animals, fine examples of some of the 
 rarer species, such as the Sloth bear {Ursvs lahiatus), Syrian 
 bear {JJrsus syriacus). Spectacled bear (ZJrsiis ornaiiis), Malayan 
 bear {JJrsus malayanus), Himalayan bear {JJrsus tibetanus), and 
 the Hairy-eared bear {JJrsus lascotis). 
 
 The Sloth bear {JJrsus Lahiatus) is rather an uncouth-looking 
 animal, very little smaller than the brown bear. It is found 
 throughout India and Ceylon, being very abundant in some parts, 
 and affords good hunting to the sportsmen, by whom it is called 
 the Indian black bear. In some districts it is spoken of as the 
 sloth bear, and in others as the jungle bear ; in fact it is an 
 animal of many names. It lives in the natural caverns and re- 
 cesses of the rugged hills or rocky places that occur in many 
 parts of the peninsula. Its food consists of honey, fruits, and 
 the white ants, also the larvse of huge longicorn beetles, which 
 issue from the ground on the top of the high ranges of mountains 
 during certain seasons. 
 
 These bears are dangerous, and can inflict fearful wounds; 
 they often attack the wood-cutters and others who come acci- 
 dentally across them when returniug to their lairs in the morn- 
 ing, or at other times when moving their quarters in consequence 
 of being disturbed, and they sadly maul and often kill these 
 unfortunate people. 
 
 When they are pursued, they carry their cubs on their backs, 
 and can travel at considerable speed with them in this position. 
 
 Tickell* states, " The power of suction in the bear, as well as 
 of propelling wind from its mouth, is very great. It is by this 
 means it is enabled to procure its common food of white ants and 
 larvEB with ease. On arriving at an ant-hill, the bear scrapes 
 away with the fore-feet until he reaches the large combs at the 
 bottom of the galleries. He then with violent pufEs dissipates 
 the dust and crumbled particles of the nest, and sucks out the 
 inhabitants of the comb by such forcible inhalations as to be heard 
 at 200 yards' distance or more. Large larvae are in this way 
 sucked out from great depths under the soil. Where bears abound, 
 
 * See Jerdon's " Mammals of India." 
 
170 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 their vicinity may be readily knowa by numbers of these uprooted 
 ants'-nests and excavations, in which the marks of their claws are 
 plainly visible. They occasionally rob birds'-nests and devour the 
 eggs. In running, the bear moves in a rough canter, shaking up 
 and down, but gets with great speed over very bad ground, re- 
 gardless of tumbles down the rough places. The sucking of the 
 paw accompanied by a drumming noise when at rest, and especially 
 after meals, is common to all bears, and during the heat of the 
 day they may often be heard puffing and humming far down in 
 caverns and fissures of rocks." 
 
 The animals in the Regent's Park collection can often be heard 
 making this purring or humming sound, which is a continuous and 
 monotonous note, not entirely unmusical, and in consequence 
 has been termed "the singing of the bears." When it is heard 
 they can always be seen either sucking their own paws or the 
 paws of their companions, and when in a tame state will whine 
 in the same way if they are allowed to suck any person's hands. 
 
 Another characterizing feature of these bears is their extensible 
 lips, which protrude considerably when they require to seize 
 something a little distance beyond the reach of the nose. At an 
 early age they lose the front teeth or incisors, and the cavities 
 close up, hence the front of the mouth has a smooth and toothless 
 appearance. 
 
 " The specific name, labiatus, meaning lipped, is well given, for 
 emphatically it is a much-lipped creature. In fact, as a show 
 animal, its fortune consists in its labial opulence. No other of 
 the whole ursine tribe can produce such facial grimaces as can 
 this our jungle bear. Not only are its lips long and flexible, but 
 there is a singular mobility in the snout. Sitting on its hind-feet, 
 with this curious labial and nasal dexterity, it will attract atten- 
 tion. The nose, as if gifted with a caudal capacity, perhaps to 
 make amends for the absence of that member from its proper 
 place, will move from side to side, a genuine nasal wag, and the 
 lips will go up and down, then shoot out to an extraordinary 
 length ; then will come a labial clap, or smack, if an actual slap 
 of the Hps may be so called. This series of contortions of the 
 countenance is irresistibly comical, and the entire performance 
 
BEARS. 171 
 
 constitutes a grotesque beseecliment wliicli is sure to win a cake 
 from the laughing spectators." ^ 
 
 They readily submit to taming, but their clumsy forms convey 
 the idea that they are deformed. They are often to be seen 
 accompanying the Indian mountebanks or jugglers, wh.o put them 
 through many amusing performances, to the delight of the crowd 
 "which inevitably gathers on such occasions. 
 
 The Syrian bear {JJrsus Syriacus) is a yellowish-brown coloured 
 bear which is found in the mountains of Palestine, and it was 
 probably one of this species that was slain by David when a shep- 
 herd-boy. And the two she-bears which came out of the wood 
 and " tare forty and two " children, the mockers of Elisha, must 
 have been Syrian bears ; they are therefore the oldest animals of 
 their family of which there is any record. 
 
 The quaint chronicler, Roger of Wendover, in his " Flowers 
 of History," also gives an account of an historical bear-fight with 
 one of these animals, for he tells us that Godfrey (Dux Gode- 
 fridus), riding for recreation during the siege of Antioch, saw a 
 man loaded with a bundle of dry wood flying from an angry bear, 
 and on his going to the rescue was unhorsed, and the horse being 
 terribly lacerated by the bear, Godfrey fought then on foot. 
 After a severe struggle, in which the bear hugged the duke with 
 its fore-paws and tried to throw him down that it might 
 tear him in pieces, the duke being a strong and athletic soldier, 
 plunged his sword up to the hilt in the ferocious animal and killed 
 it, but not before he had been himself most dangerously mauled. 
 His injuries were so severe that he had to be carried back to camp. 
 The historian informs us that on his recovery there was great joy 
 
 in the army. 
 
 The Spectacled bear {JJrsus ornatus) is an American animal, 
 restricted to the mountainous regions of Chili. It has a smooth, 
 shining, black fur, except on some parts of the throat and neck, 
 which are whitish, and the muzzle which is yellowish or buff 
 coloured. It derives its name from the peculiar rings of the 
 same hue that surround both eyes, which convey the idea to the 
 observer of spectacles. 
 
 = "The Standard Natural History." 
 
172 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 The Malayan bear {Frsus Malay anus) comes from Burmah, 
 Malayan Peninsula, and the Bornean Islands. It is a smaller 
 species of bear than any of the foregoing, and has a grotesque 
 appearance. Its claws are of great length. The tongue is very 
 flexible and has considerable power of extension, which enable it 
 to reach the honey in the depth of the wild bees' nests. These 
 bears exhibit great sagacity, and are very fond of delicacies of 
 all kinds. The animal now in the Gardens is a great favourite 
 with the visitors, owing to his funny tricks to draw attention 
 and solicit the buns with which they feed him, perhaps to too 
 great an extent. He either turns somersaults over and over on 
 the bars of his den, dances about or waddles on his short bandy 
 legs round and round in a small circle in a most ludicrous 
 manner, and apparently is a perfectly tame and harmless animal. 
 He is certainly the most amusing creature in the Gardens, with 
 the exception perhaps of one or two of the monkeys. 
 
 The Himalayan bear (Ursus tibetanus) is an animal of moderate 
 size, called by some writers the Thibet bear, but it is rather rare 
 in that country, being more common in the mountainous districts 
 of India, on the Himalayas and hill-ranges of Assam. Jerdon de- 
 scribes this bear as being generally found in summer at a consider- 
 able elevation, 9000 to 12,000 feet or so, and often close to snow, but 
 in the winter it descends to 5000 feet, and sometimes even lower. 
 
 It has a remarkably thick neck and a flattened head, so much 
 so that the muzzle and forehead form almost a straight line. The 
 ears are large, the body compact, and supported on thick and 
 clumsy limbs. Its general colour is black, but the lower lip is 
 white, and there is a large crescentric mark of the same colour on 
 the breast, which branches out on each side in front of the shoulder, 
 forming a letter Y. 
 
 It lives chiefly on fruits, roots, grain, and other things of the 
 same nature. Bennett says in his " Tower Menagerie " that the 
 one exhibited there, which had been brought from Sumatra, could 
 never be prevailed on to touch flesh, either raw or cooked, and 
 bread and fruits were the substances on which he was constantly 
 fed. In disposition he was moderately tame and particularly fond 
 of play. 
 
BENGALEE WITH DANCING BEAR. 
 
 From a photograph taken by Messrs. Lambert and Co., of Singapore. 
 
BEARS. 173 
 
 Jerdon states, however, that in their wild state they will now 
 and then kill sheep, goats, &c., and are said occasionally to eat 
 flesh. "This bear has bad eyesight, but great power of smell, 
 and if approached from windward is sure to take alarm. A 
 wounded bear will sometimes show fight, but in general it tries to 
 escape. It is said sometimes to coil itself into the form of a ball 
 and thus roll down steep hills if frightened or wounded. If met 
 suddenly where there is no means of escape, it will attack man at 
 once ; and, curious to say, it always mauls the face, sometimes 
 taking off most of the hairy scalp and frightfully disfiguring the 
 unfortunate sufferer. There are few villages in the interior, 
 where one or more individuals thus mutilated are not to be met 
 with. It has been noticed that if caught in a noose or snare, if 
 they cannot break it by force, they never have the intelligence to 
 bite the rope in two, but remain till they die or are killed. In 
 captivity this bear, if taken young, is very quiet and playful, but 
 is not so docile as the black bear. Like others of its kind it is 
 fond of sucking its own or its neighbour's paws." 
 
 Bears seem to have been favourite beasts with the Eomans 
 for their sports in the circus, and evidently were the first animals 
 used for the purpose of combats, for the introducers of this form 
 of entertainment, Scipio Nasica and Publius Lentulus, exhibited 
 more than fifty at a time ; and subsequently Caligula, the Roman 
 Emperor (37 — 41), alone caused 400 to be slaughtered. Pliny 
 states that the head of the bear is extremely weak, and in the 
 arena of the circus they are often to be seen killed by a blow on 
 the head with the fist. He further adds that it is recorded in 
 their annals that in the consulship of M. Piso and M. Messala, 
 Domitius Ahenobarbus, the curule sedile, brought into the circus 
 one hundred Numidian bears and as many Ethiopian hunters 
 
 (61 B.C.). 
 
 Du Halde states the bear's flesh was much esteemed by the 
 ancients, and was at the time he wrote served up at the table of 
 princes. The Emperor of China would send a hundred leagues 
 to procure bears for an entertainment. There is also strong 
 evidence that in early times the barbarous nations of Germany 
 bred and fed bears simply for the supply of food. 
 
174 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 The Romans were fond also of keeping tame bears which were 
 led about by their keepers, and upon some lamps of the period 
 they are depicted being exhibited by showmen; upon one the 
 bear is seen mounted upon a ladder. The great families among 
 them kept servants called Ursarii, who attended to the feeding, 
 breeding, and had general care of their bears. The English 
 nobility had also retainers of this kind, for it is recorded that the 
 Earl of Northumberland paid a salary of twenty shillings to one 
 of them. 
 
 The taste for these amusements or shows has undergone very 
 little change, and bears are as much a delight to children and 
 even to grown-up people in the present day as they were in the 
 most remote periods. For the love of sight-seeing is inborn in 
 the human race, and any exhibition in which animals take a pro- 
 minent part will always prove attractive, probably for all time. 
 Bears have generally been popular beasts, and, as Down Piatt ^ says, 
 " Consult any number of boys as to the favourite animal, and nine 
 out of ten will cast their free suffrage in favour of Bruin. There 
 is something about the bear that fascinates a boy. The little 
 four-year-old, climbing upon your knee, will call for a story 
 about bears, and after hearing the thrilling recital, he will get 
 down behind a chair and act the part, to the mute amazement 
 of his little sister. This interest in the clumsy creatures seems 
 to be as instinctive as our horror of snakes." 
 
 6 " Galaxy," 1871. 
 
]75 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE CAMEL (GENUS CAMELUS). 
 
 A COLLECTION of Wild animals would be but a poor one tliat did not 
 contain some specimens of camels ; yet, as a matter of fact, these 
 animals can hardly be said to have existed in a wild state for 
 centuries or even for thousands of years. 
 
 The Russian traveller, Colonel N. Prejevalsky, reports having 
 seen the two-humped camel (Gamelus bactrianus) wild in the moun- 
 tain ranges of Central Asia; and lately camels in a feral state have 
 been seen in Spain by Mr. Abel Chapman, which, as he states, are 
 probably the descendants of domesticated animals that some 
 comparatively short time ago were allowed to roam free. In a 
 communication to the Field lately on the subject of these wild 
 creatures in Europe, the writer says : " Mr. Saunders has recently 
 informed us that he believes the introduction of the camel into 
 the district is antecedent to the time stated by Mr. Chapman, 
 carrying it back to the date of the expulsion of Godoy, the Prince 
 of Peace, about 1810, when the populace broke up his menagerie 
 at St. Lucan de Barrameda and scattered the camels, which had 
 been rather extensively employed by him." In this case they 
 can hardly be described as wild or ownerless animals, for they are 
 the property of the heritors of the prince's estate. 
 
 The camel must in any case remain the one species of animal 
 that has been man's most thorough conquest from the very earliest 
 ages. There are no records now existing that give any clue to their 
 wild ancestors. All assertions on the subject made by ancient 
 writers, such as Diodorus and Strabo, are entirely of a hearsay 
 character, and unreliable. And as other animals that are in complete 
 
176 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 subjection to man's controlling power, such as horses, asses, sheep, 
 oxen, pigs, &o., have still numerous congeners in a state of nature 
 roaming free, the camels, when even the small herd of wild ones 
 are taken into account, remain man's most complete slaves of the 
 animal world. And of all creatures that God made to have a co- 
 existence with him on this earth none have been so useful, or so 
 necessary; neither are there any to whom he is indebted more 
 than to these most ancient and laborious servants. 
 
 If, as it has been asserted by some historians, human civilization 
 has in a great measure been dependent on the presence or absence 
 of animals capable of domestication, camels must have contributed 
 very considerably to the world's progress, as from time immemorial 
 they undoubtedly have to its wealth. In the earliest chapters 
 of the Bible we are told that Jacob divided " his flocks and herds 
 and camels into two bands," and that he gave his brother Esau 
 " thirty milch camels with their colts." 
 
 This animal, so aptly called " the ship of the desert," was even 
 then a beast of burden and the medium of commerce, for when 
 Joseph was sold into captivity by his brethren " they lifted up their 
 eyes and, behold, a company of Ishmaelites came from Gilead with 
 their camels, bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it 
 down to Egypt." In fact it was a trading caravan, and the camels 
 were the most conspicuous objects in it, just as they are at the 
 present day. And not only did they carry merchandise and produce 
 to other countries, but they were the means whereby information 
 and news were disseminated, and by enabling intercourse were 
 instrumental in uniting different tribes and people; and in this way 
 an interest in each other's welfare was fostered, the concomitant 
 result being that enterprise was stimulated, knowledge spread, and 
 civilization advanced. 
 
 These strange and uncouth-looking animals are, in fact, wonderful 
 and unaltered links in the chain that binds us to the past. Eeview- 
 ing ancient history from our present standpoint, it is difficult to 
 surmise what the world would have done without them. By their 
 subjection those most interesting dwellers of the desert, the 
 nomadic people of the Eastern plains and those merchant princes 
 of olden times, who were the first traders from the great cities, 
 
THE CAMEL. 177 
 
 were able to communicate with each other, to barter goods, and to 
 travel and extend their sphere of operations. Even in this the 
 nineteenth century the deserts of the globe and the arid plains of 
 Egypt> Persia, and Arabia would be rendered impassable by their 
 extinction. The animals still are,'in fact, an indispensable necessity 
 to the mundane existence of the teeming population of certain 
 places in the world which, without their aid, would become unin- 
 habitable, and of necessity revert to the lonely and desolate 
 condition of the pre-adamite age. Their importance in the economy 
 of desert life is beyond calculation, and their wonderful aptitude 
 for the life they are intended to lead, and for thriving under 
 circumstances and among surroundings that would mean misery, 
 prolonged suffering, and death to other animals not similarly 
 constituted, forms one of the marvels of creation. 
 
 Camels are not only patient and indispensable beasts of burden, 
 but in many other ways contribute to the comfort of their masters. 
 To the thirsty traveller the female animals yield their milk, which 
 is a sweet and nourishing beverage. From the hair they shed, 
 which is spun upon hand-spindles, most useful articles of clothing 
 and of luxury are made. Even when dead they still continue to 
 be useful, for the flesh is eaten, being sweet and nutritious ; their 
 hides make tent-covers, water-bottles, and clothing ; their bones 
 are shaped into weapons of defence, or carved into articles of 
 domestic utility, and the hair is exported for manufacturing 
 purposes, being largely used for artists' brushes. The raiment of 
 John the Baptist is described as having been of camel's hair. 
 Many beautiful fabrics are made with cloth of this material; but the 
 finest and most expensive of those wonderful shawls, with their 
 exquisite colourings, that not only adorn the sultanas and beauties 
 of the East, but are deemed fit covering for the shoulders of the 
 highest and the wealthiest ladies of the Western world, although 
 called "camel's hair," are not in reahby from the hair of this 
 animal, which is too coarse, but are made fi-om the selected hair of 
 the goat. It is said they are so fine they can be drawn through a 
 wedding-ring; certain it is that our modern delicate machinery, 
 aided by the latest discoveries in chemistry, have failed to weave 
 a more dehcate web or secure more brilliant colouring. 
 
 N 
 
178 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 When we read of the number of camels men in former ages 
 were enabled to assemble together at one time for special purposes 
 it becomes obvious that these animals are gradually becoming 
 scarcer, although they are still numerous in many places. Bag- 
 dad's celebrated ruler of the eighth century, Haroun-al-Raschid, 
 made nine pilgrimages to the prophet's shrine with a caravan of 
 120,000 camels. It would be almost impossible to collect so many 
 together at the present day. 
 
 The uses and abuses of the camel have been the prominent 
 feature in the East from time immemorial to the days of Lord 
 Wolseley and the futile Soudan campaign. The history of this 
 animal is woven in the web of the history of the world. From 
 the earliest age of which we have any record we find the camel 
 associated with either the commerce, conquest, or civiUzing 
 influences of the people. The wealth of the Jewish forefathers, 
 those dwellers on the plains, was not in gold or silver, but in flocks 
 and camels. The Reubenites, when they made war on the 
 Hagarites, the Arabs of the "Western Beka took 50,000 camels, 
 and when the Midianites and the Amalekites invaded Israel in the 
 days of Gideon, " Their camels were without number, as the sand 
 by the sea-side for multitude." The conqueror of Scinde, some 
 thousands of years later, marching to the conquest of the Ameer's 
 stronghold, used them, and cursed them, exclaiming, " Oh ! the 
 baggage, the baggage ! it is enough to drive one mad ! We have 
 fifteen hundred camels, with their confounded long necks, each 
 occupying fifteen feet ! Fancy these long devils in a defile, four 
 miles and a quarter of them ! " 
 
 And again he pities them, for describing an Indian army on 
 the march, with its enormous baggage-train, requiring perhaps 
 20,000 camels, he writes : " Here they are jostling — crowding in 
 now — spreading widely then — at times the strong animals far in 
 front — the weaker as far in rear — some dying — some throwing 
 their loads and running away — the tired servants labouring after, 
 and often — very often getting slain, or, losing the column, perish- 
 ing miserably — thousands of camels dying, not only from fatigue, 
 but from ill-usage by both soldiers and the drivers, and from being 
 always overloaded. Such is the picture of the baggage of an 
 
THE CAMEL. 179 
 
 Indian army; SmitMeld Market alone can rival it!" On tlie 
 effects of the camels being overloaded, he continues : " Down — 
 down — down the poor animals go, one after another, under their 
 crushing loads, all along the march. Their ears and their tails 
 are immediately cut off by the drivers, to prove that they are dead 
 or useless ; a cruel precaution, but said to be requisite to prevent 
 the cheating tricks played by the contractors, who get paid for 
 the camels that die, on producing the ears and tails. The 
 animals are often not quite dead, but are unable to stand ; and 
 where the camel falls, there this ill-treated, patient creature lies, 
 bleeding, and without food or water, till death puts an end to its 
 sufferings. If there happen to be trees or other forage for him 
 near where he falls, and that in despite of the mutilation and 
 fatigue, he recovers a little, he may live ; but he is of course stolen 
 by the country people, who find him afterwards, and without 
 a master. However, camels when overworked rarely recover, as 
 horses and other animals do, by rest ; they are generally observed 
 to become daily weaker till they die, and when a camel dies the 
 loads of his survivors increase, as I have stated, and the more 
 they are laden, the slower they move ; and the slower they move, 
 the more they are beaten ; and the more they are beaten, the 
 faster they perish. Sticks, stones, butts of muskets, points of 
 bayonets, are all vigorously put into action to urge the overloaded 
 camels on their weary march, which is tracked by their dead 
 
 bodies." ^ 
 
 History in some of its phases keeps repeating itself. The 
 Soudan campaign resounds with cruelty to these animals, some 
 of it unavoidable, but a great deal of it that could have been 
 prevented. The habits of the beasts were not taken into account, 
 and they died like sheep with the murrain in consequence, and 
 still the telegrams kept pouring in to headquarters from the front : 
 " More camels wanted — more camels wanted ! " 
 
 Despite their ungainly, stupid-looking appearance, the events 
 
 connected with these animals cast a certain reverence around them, 
 
 even when we see them shambling along with their burden of 
 
 children in the gardens of the Zoological Society. In the coun- 
 
 1 « Letter to Sir J. Hobhouse," by General Sir Charles James Napier. 
 
 N 2 
 
180 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 tries, towever, -wliere they are indigenous, namely, the hot, sterile 
 regions of the earth, they are different-looking creatures altogether. 
 It certainly requires some effort of the imagination while gazing 
 at the animals in Europe to fully understand the picturesque and 
 appropriate objects they become when seen in their proper sphere 
 ■ — their desert home — accompanying the Arabs on their peregrina- 
 tions, and, harmonizing with their surroundings, forming part and 
 parcel of the scenery. In "An Officer's Sketches in Egypt,"* 
 there is a description of the animal's appearance under these cir- 
 cumstances. " The grazing camel, at the hour wh.en the desert 
 reddens with the setting sun, is a fine object to the eye which seeks 
 and feeds on the picturesque — his tall, dark form, his indolent, 
 leisurely walk, his ostrich neck, now lifted to its full height, 
 now bent slowly and far around, with a look of unalarmed inquiry. 
 Tou cannot gaze upon him without, by the readiest and most 
 natural suggestions, reyerting in thought to the world's infancy — 
 to the times and possessions of the shepherd-kings, their tents and 
 raiment, their journeyings and settlings." 
 
 Mark Twain ^ sketches their appearance and the train of thought 
 they suggested when, seen in Smyrna. It being a thoroughly 
 Eastern scene, it is worth quoting. " These camels are very much 
 larger than the scrawny specimens one sees in the menagerie. 
 They stride along these streets in single file, a dozen in a train, 
 with heavy loads on their backs, and a fancy-looking negro in 
 Turkish costume, or an Arab, preceding them on a little donkey, 
 and completely overshadowed and rendered insignificant by the 
 huge beasts. To see a camel-train laden with the spices of Arabia 
 and the rare fabrics of Persia, coming marching through the narrow 
 alleys of the bazaar, among porters with, their burdens, money- 
 changers, lamp-merchants, alnaschars in the glass-ware business, 
 portly cross-legged Turks smoking the famous narghili, and the 
 crowds drifting to and fro in the fanciful costumes of the East, is 
 a genuine revelation of the Orient. The picture lacks nothing. It 
 casts you back at once into your forgotten boyhood, and again you 
 dream over the wonders of the ' Arabian Nights ;' again your 
 companions are princes, your lord is the Caliph Haroun-al-Raschid, 
 2 Published in 1824. ^ «The New PUgrim's Progress." 
 
THE CAMEL. 181 
 
 and your servant? are terrific giants and genii, that come with 
 smoke, and lightning, and thunder, and go as storm goes when 
 they depart." 
 
 The camel's area of servitude is a wide one, embracing Arabia, 
 Persia, India, all the country from North Tartary to the confines 
 of China and the coast of the Persian Grulf; the Canary Islands, 
 and a large portion of Africa, from the Mediterranean to the 
 equator, and from the Eed Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. 
 
 In the sixth century the animal was frequently used in Gaul, 
 and the Moors, while ruling in Grrenada, introduced it into Spain. 
 
 In recent days both the American and the Australian Govern- 
 ments tried to naturalize it in their countries, but so little success 
 attended their ventures that they were practically failures. 
 
 Why this should be so does not appear, for in certain countries 
 of South America, and in many parts of Australia, they ought to 
 thrive and be profitable. In 1856 the newspapers of Texas spoke 
 in a most favourable manner respecting the experiment of intro- 
 ducing the animals into their state. A writer from Indianola 
 remarks : " It has become quite a common sight to see camels and 
 dromedaries marching through our streets. The camels are now 
 employed in carrying Government freight from Powder Horn to 
 the depot. They carry the enormous weight of 1600 lbs., and 
 with the greatest ease. The sight of them stampedes all the 
 
 horses and mules that come within sight of them A horse 
 
 at a brisk trot can scarcely keep up with the camels when in a walk. 
 They apparently go slowly, with their long and measured tread, 
 but in reality they are moving along rapidly. The dromedaries, 
 with the riders and gorgeous trappings, move along at a brisk 
 trot at the rate of 100 miles a day." Lieut. Beale, in his explo- 
 ration from New Mexico to the Colorado river, reports enthusiasti- 
 cally about the service the camels rendered. He says also that 
 he did not find any diflaculty in making them swim, for " they not 
 only swam with ease," he writes, " but in this particular, as in 
 others, they seemed to outdo the horses and mules." Sir Charles 
 Wilson, in describing the camels crossing the river, when he was 
 making his way to Khartoum, says they swam readily enough, 
 but their heads had to be supported to prevent them drowning. 
 
182 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 In a late number of the weekly paper, Colonies and India, there 
 is tlie following paragraph respecting the employment of the 
 animal in Queensland. " Camels versus Horses. — The heavier 
 animal of burden is preferred to the lighter one in the back 
 districts of Queensland, where the police are being supplied with 
 camels, and pastoralists in the north and north-west are employing 
 them in preference to horses for the conveyance of rations and 
 water to out-stations and well-sinking parties. A number of 
 camels are employed on the Hergott and Strangways Eailway 
 works, and the other day the resident engineer, Mr. Mann, 
 inspected, passed, and took delivery of fifteen camels imported by 
 Mr. T. H. Scott (whose name is familiar to all South Australians 
 in connection with exhibitions in divers countries on the Buce- 
 phalaus) . The camels are from the Bikanier district of Rajpootana, 
 where the soil, climate, and herbage are very similar to those of 
 the northern country, the pasturage being chiefly salsolaceous and 
 closely allied in nutritive properties to the Colonial salt blue and 
 cotton bush. The only drawback to the extensive employment of 
 camels is the initial expense, which, as a matter of course, is not 
 light. But it should be remembered that camel-breeding is highly 
 profitable, and offers far better returns than can be obtained from 
 horse stock. The substitution of camels for horses for all heavy 
 work in the interior can only be a question of time, and as the 
 demand .increases those who go in for breeding early will reap a 
 rich reward." 
 
 At St. Eoque, near Pisa, the camel has been acclimatized for 
 several centuries, the original stock, according to tradition, having 
 been brought over by the Crusaders, but more likely it was intro- 
 duced about the middle of the sixteenth century ; but the breed 
 has become degenerated, dwarfed, and miserable-looking, the fact 
 being evident that the animals are constructed and constituted to 
 thrive only on a dry, sandy soil, and when transported from such 
 elements they lose many of their peculiar uses, and do not answer 
 the expectations formed of them. 
 
 The whole family of Camelidce belong to the ruminant order of 
 mammalia. The camel of the East, and the llama, guanaco, and 
 vicuna of the New "World, are the only existing species. The 
 
THE CAMEL. 183 
 
 members of this limited family all show a wonderfully complete 
 adaptation to the peculiarities of those regions where they exist. 
 Their dentition differs in some respects from the other ruminants, 
 and they seem in consequence to form a link between the Bumi- 
 nantia and Pachydermata. Camels have thirty-four teeth, sixteen 
 in the upper jaw, namely two incisors, two canines, and twelve 
 molars ; eighteen in the lower jaw, namely, six incisors, two 
 canines, and ten molars. The incisors of the upper jaw are conical, 
 compressed at the sides, pointed, and somewhat curved or hooked, 
 bearing in consequence a close resemblance to canine teeth. 
 
 There are two species of camels, the one known as the Arabian 
 camel {Gamelus dromedarius), with only one hump on its back, 
 and the Bactrian camel, with two humps {Gamelus Badridnus). 
 Many people are still in confusion on this subject, calling the one- 
 humped animal the dromedary, and the two-humped one the 
 camel. They are both camels, the word dromedary being only 
 applied to a particularly graceful and slender variety of the one- 
 humped species that are used for speed on account of their 
 greater fleetness. 
 
 Mr. "W. G. Palgrave * explains the difference. " The camel and 
 the dromedary in Arabia are the same identical genus and 
 creature, excepting that the dromedary is a high-bred camel, and 
 a camel a low-bred dromedary, exactly the same distinction which 
 exists between a race-horse and a hack — both are horses, but the 
 one of blood, the other not. The dromedary is the race-horse of 
 his species, thin, elegant (or comparatively so), fine-haired, light 
 of step, easy of pace, and much more enduring of thirst than the 
 woolly, thick-built, heavy-footed, ungainly, and jolting camel. 
 But both and each of them have only one hump, placed immediately 
 behind -their shoulders, where it serves as a fixing-point for the 
 saddle or burden. Owing to this similarity they are often con- 
 founded in the common appellations of ' Baa'reer ' or ' Kok,' male 
 or female, though yet more often the dromedary enjoys the 
 special title of ' hejeen ' or ' dolool.' For the two-humped beast, 
 it exists indeed, but it is neither an Arab dromedary nor camel; 
 it belongs to the Persian breed called by the Arabs ' Bakhtree,' or 
 
 * " Narrative of a Year's .Tourney through Central and Eastern Arabia." 
 
184 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 Bactrian. Perhaps there may be a specimen of it at the Zoo- 
 logical Gardens, and thither who chooses may go and have a look 
 at it, only let him not profane the name of ' dromedary ' by 
 applying it to the clumsy, coarse-haired, upland Persian beast 
 before him. To see real live dromedaries my readers must, I fear, 
 come to Arabia, for these animals are not often to be met with 
 elsewhere, not even in Syria, and whoever wishes to contemplate 
 this species in all its beauty must prolong the journey to 'Oman, 
 the most distant corner of the peninsula, and which is for 
 dromedaries what Nejed is for horses. Cashmere for sheep, and 
 Thibet, I believe, for bull-dogs." 
 
 The most conspicuous points about the camel, besides its 
 uncouth appearance and its hump, are the long neck, prominent 
 eyes, and peculiar feet. But in all these outward deviations from 
 other animal types, as well as in sundry anatomical distinctions, 
 we see the wondrous adaptation of their structures, so that their 
 wants and requirements can be supplied in the localities they 
 frequent. In such places they are speedy, untiring, sure-footed, 
 and capable of subsisting where vegetation is scanty and water 
 scarce. Their spare, sinewy form is devoid of all superfluous 
 weight, but possesses muscular power and strength in one of its 
 highest developments. The head is small, and carried rather 
 high and horizontally, about nine feet from the ground, away 
 from the reflected heat of the sandy plain. The neck is long and 
 slender, and being set well down, seems to grow out of the lower 
 part of the body, between the fore-legs. The ears are short and 
 small, a distinct advantage in countries where sand-storms are 
 prevalent. The eyes, which are bright and sparkling, have a 
 considerable range of vision, for they are placed on the sides of 
 the head in such a manner that the animal is enabled to see on 
 every side, also before and behind to a certain extent, but its 
 upward view is limited, for the brow hangs well over the eye, 
 which is in this manner sheltered from the blinding rays of the 
 sun. The tail is short, with a small bunch at the end. The legs, 
 which are long and slender, are provided with callosities about the 
 knees, the animal having seven altogether, one on the breast, two 
 on each fore-leg, and one on each of the hind ones, which protect 
 
THE CAMEL. 185 
 
 the various parts from injury, and prevent tlie skin from cracking 
 ■while it is kneeling down, or otherwise in contact with the hot 
 sand. The feet are divided in a somewhat similar manner to 
 those of an ox, but the toes are not externally separated, and 
 have hoofs on the extreme points. The soles are soft, elastic, 
 remarkably broad, and are made spongy or like a cushion to pre- 
 vent the animal sinking in the yielding sand, on which it is con- 
 sequently enabled to advance with only a slight impression. They 
 also give the creature that silent tread for which it is noted. 
 Mr. Charles MacFarlane ^ says about this peculiarity: "What 
 always struck me as something extremely romantic and mysterious 
 was the noiseless step of the camel, from the spongy nature of his 
 foot. Whatever be the nature of the ground, sand or rock, or turf, 
 or paved stones, you hear no footfall ; you see an immense animal 
 approaching you stilly, as a cloud floating in air, and unless he 
 wear a bell your sense of hearing, acute as it may be, will give 
 you no intimation of his presence." 
 
 Camels have long joints, which give them a lofty step and a con- 
 sequent rapid progression over soft surfaces. The nostrils, which 
 are narrow, oblique slits defended with hair at their margins, are 
 further provided with a beautiful muscular arrangement that 
 enables the animal to open or close them at will, after the manner 
 of the eyelid, and it is thus in a position to contract the apertures 
 and exclude from the tender air-passages the burning particles of 
 sand that sweep across the desert in those terrible simooms or 
 sand-storms common in the Bast. The upper lip, it is worthy of 
 notice, is split from the nostril to the mouth by a deep fissure. 
 
 The powerful upper incisor teeth with which the jaw is provided 
 confer on the animal the ability of gathering the prickly shrubs 
 or dry, stunted herbage of the desert. The tough stems are 
 easily cut by their aid, and they can eat as they go along. 
 
 Camels are said to be endowed with an acute sense of smell, 
 which is often strikingly displayed on the long and weary marches 
 across unknown tracts, for they have been known to break away 
 and make straight for a spring some distance off" that remained 
 undetected by other animals or by the accompanying men. Their 
 
 * " Constantinople in 1828." 
 
186 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 discovery of water in this way lias sometimes saved human beings 
 from perishing with thirst. 
 
 The colour of the hair of the camel varies considerably from 
 white to such a dark-brown that it approaches black, but it is 
 more often either of a light or darkish grey; the prevailing 
 colour being one that very closely resembles sand. Pure white 
 animals of the dromedary breed are occasionally seen, and are 
 considered very valuable. The hair is shed and renewed once a 
 year about the commencement of the summer. 
 
 The average camel stands between seven and eight feet at the 
 shoulder, and measures between ten and eleven feet in length. 
 The hump or humps certainly do not confer elegance to the 
 animals, but they are, nevertheless, most useful for their welfare. 
 In the highly-bred species it is considered the aristocratic mark 
 of beauty and blood, as it is only developed in perfection in these 
 animals. When certain varieties of the camel are well cared for, 
 the hump has been known to weigh one quarter of the animal's 
 whole body. It is merely a protuberance on the back composed 
 of gelatinous fat, unsupported by any bony formation, and by 
 reabsorption into the system assists materially in nourishing the 
 animal when the nature of the country or unfortunate contin- 
 gencies deprive it of a supply of food proportionate to its exer- 
 tions, " So well is this understood in the Bast that the condition 
 of an animal after a long and trying journey is measured by it. 
 It is not uncommon to see camels come in from such expeditions 
 with backs almost straight, showing but little if any hump. 
 Indeed, the condition of the animal is, throughout camel-land, 
 invariably denoted by the development of this singular excre- 
 scence. When after a journey of extraordinary hardship a 
 caravan has suffered great privations, the Arabs are accustomed 
 to say, ' the camels have lived on their humps.' " 
 
 In other ways the hump does not appear to be intimately con- 
 nected with the vitahty of the animal, for it is said that large 
 portions can be removed without in any manner injuring the 
 beast or disturbing its general hea-lth. 
 
 This disappearance of the hump prior to the complete ex- 
 haustion of the animal, and its reappearance when thoroughly 
 
THE CAMEL. 187 
 
 recuperated, is admirably exhibited in the two illustrations given 
 herewith, which are reproductions of photographs taken by- 
 Messrs. Briggs and. Son, of High Street, St. John's "Wood. The 
 first one was taken a few days after the animals, at present in the 
 Zoological Gardens, arrived there, which they did in a fearful 
 condition of sickness and prostration. Their history is this : 
 After the battle of El Teb, and the complete rout of Osman 
 Digna's brave Soudanese, an officer observed among the dying 
 and the dead that lay scattered over the battle-field, several 
 wounded animals^ and noticeably a fine female camel, with the 
 blood flowing from several cuts, and by her side was the young 
 one, who appeared to have been untouched. He determined to 
 try and save the poor beasts, and succeeded so far that he had 
 them conveyed to the steamer and shipped home to the care of 
 the Zoological Society. On their arrival at Portsmouth they 
 were met by a man sent down on purpose. They were absolutely 
 so exhausted they were unable to stand up, and had to be placed 
 in slings before they could be moved. In this way they were 
 taken off the ship and placed on a railway car, ultimately, after 
 considerable trouble, reaching the gardens alive. The wounds 
 on the older animal refused to heal ; she was merely a bag of 
 bones, could not stand on her feet, and was a most unpleasant 
 object in every way to contemplate. It was decided at last to put 
 her out of her misery, and Mr. Bartlett had reluctantly to tele- 
 graph to her owner, Mr. J. T. St. Aubyn, for permission to do so. 
 He was, fortunately, away on leave, so the telegram did not reach 
 him until ten days afterwards; for meanwhile the careful attention 
 and humane treatment shown the poor beast had begun to tell, 
 and she showed signs of increasing strength, and ultimately ab- 
 solutely recovered. Both these animals now do their daily share 
 to amuse the visitors to the gardens by carrying the children 
 about on their backs, and they are in splendid condition, as is 
 shown by their appearance in the second photograph. 
 
 A camel requires to drink about once in three days, and it 
 generally imbibes from thirty to forty pints at once. It will drink 
 anything that can be called fi^esh water, however foul it may be. 
 The animal's stomach is beautifully constructed to hold water in 
 
188 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 reserve for its requirementSj and according to Cuvier it can also 
 secrete it. In common witli all ruminants it has four stomachs ; 
 one of these is a congeries of cells that form a reservoir wherein 
 about twenty pints can be stored away, and it is said, retained 
 there for a considerable time without undergoing deterioration. 
 One celebrated traveller asserts that three pints of not unpleasant 
 water were found in the stomach of an animal that had been dead 
 ten days. Another states that the camels are frequently killed by 
 their thirsty masters for the water they contain, but this fact has 
 not gained credence. 
 
 Camels exhibit a peculiarity in their motion which is unlike that 
 of the majority of animals. Both feet on the same side are 
 lifted successively similar to the stride of the felidoe, and not alter- 
 nately, like the horse for instance. Each step equalling therefore 
 two of the latter animals, the exertion required to go over an 
 equal distance is considerably less; but it gives their pace a curious 
 amble, which as it combines a rolling and pitching motion becomes 
 very exhausting to their riders when they are unaccustomed to it. 
 
 The mistake is frequently made by artists of drawing the 
 camel bounding along with the same swinging stride and move- 
 ment of the limbs exhibited by the horse ; which is of course 
 incorrect. Elijah Walton, in his delineation of the various move- 
 ments of the camel, made after careful study from life, shows that 
 the animal has a very distinct action, in many respects, totally un- 
 like that of any other quadruped not belonging to the same family. 
 
 Camels being so organized that the desert is their appropriate 
 home, they are necessarily capable of living in regions where but 
 scanty nourishment of vegetation can be found, and when in good 
 pasturage they will eat enough in two hours to satisfy them for a 
 whole day. They are said to eat as they go along ; stretching 
 their lengthy necks from one side to the other, they browse on any 
 herbalge the earth produces in their route and they can find within 
 their reach. They also ruminate during the night or the noonday 
 halts of the caravan, for they require only about four hours' sleep 
 or rest during the twenty-four. They appear to have a preference 
 for gathering their own food, and only become fastidious when it 
 is given them ready cut, under these circumstances refusing to 
 
m * 
 
 THE TWO SOUDAN CAMELS. 
 
 (Recuperated.) 
 
THE CAMEL. . 189 
 
 eat anything but thistles and tender herbs ; but when green food 
 cannot be procured they have to remain content with barley and 
 straw broken up. 
 
 Camels are taught to kneel to receive their packs. They will 
 travel along patiently thirty or forty miles per day for weeks at a 
 time with loads varying according to their size and strength from 
 500 to 800 lbs. For a shorter journey very much heavier burdens 
 can be put upon them, but this matter of weight is altogether one 
 of breed and the condition of the animals. In the Soudan, Sir 
 Charles Wilson says 700 lbs. was the weight allotted to each camel, 
 but the baggage animals appear to have been poor creatures and 
 ill-treated. 
 
 Camels are subject to attacks of great excitement at certain 
 seasons, especially the male animals, when besides getting obstinate 
 and unmanageable they become absolutely dangerous. The utility 
 or cause of a peculiarity they exhibit at such periods has never 
 been accurately accounted for by scientists. They project from 
 the mouth a peculiar bladder, which is apparently the loose mem- 
 braneous lining of the throat, and this unpleasant exhibition is 
 accompanied by a low bubbling noise made by the passage of the 
 air with which it is inflated. 
 
 The duration of a camel's life is between forty and fifty years. 
 
 Away from their native haunts the camels lose some of their 
 advantageous qualities and exhibit many drawbacks by comparison 
 with our domestic beasts of burden. They are vicious, and to 
 some extent untameable, and the construction of their feet causes 
 them to slip about terribly on any firm soil with a wet clay or 
 muddy surface, and in this way they frequently disjoint their hips. 
 They do not bear cold or wet weather well. Their recuperative 
 powers are not very great, for even on the desert marches, when 
 thoroughly exhausted, they succumb altogether, and are left to 
 become the prey of the jackal and vulture. Nearly all camels 
 may be said to Hterally die in harness, for the bleached bones of 
 thousands of them mark the paths of the caravans across the 
 otherwise trackless deserts of Africa and Arabia. They also emit a 
 powerful and unpleasant odour, which is said to be a subject on 
 which few travellers who have experienced it can talk with patience. 
 
190 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 Long ages of servitude and harsh, treatment have made the 
 camel anything but a docile or intelligent animal. Yet that he 
 was not always the stupid, obstinate, revengeful brute which 
 modern writers now say he is, becomes evident from the accounts 
 given of him in ancient histories, for we do not read of the camel 
 being described in any way different to the horse or dog, although 
 the old travellers were not prone to under-estimate the bad or 
 savage qualities of the animals they described, but had rather a 
 tendency to exaggerate these points on purpose to arouse interest 
 and fear. In Gesner's account we read : " The epithets given to 
 this beast are not. many among authors, for he is termed by them 
 rough, deformed, and thirsting." 
 
 John Leo, surnamed Africanus, the Moorish geographer of the 
 sixteenth century,^ writes : " A camel is a gentle and pleasant 
 tame beast, whereof there are plenty, especially in the deserts of 
 Lybia, Numidia, and Barbary, by which Africans estimate their 
 own wealth; for when they contend who is the richest prince or 
 ■ nobleman among them, they say he was worth or hath so many 
 thousand camels, and not so many thousand crowns. And he 
 that hath camels liveth among them like a gentleman, because he 
 can at his pleasure travel into the deserts, and fetch merchandise 
 from far, which the greatest prince or nobleman cannot without 
 them, by reason of the drought of those places." 
 
 It would only be natural that, after the ages of ill-usage and 
 cruelty to which they have been subjected, their breed as well as 
 their temper and intelligence should degenerate. 
 
 Mr. Palgrave, in common with many modern travellers, found 
 the camel, to his surprise, anything but the patient servant 
 
 " "Purchas, his Pilgrimes," 1655. This Leo appears to have had a most 
 adventurous life. Born in Grenada, he left that city for Africa, from whence he 
 procured his surname, on it being conquered by JTerdinand and Isabella in 1492. 
 He learnt the Arabic language so thoroughly that he wrote a book in it. After 
 travelling in Europe, Asia, and Africa, he fell into the hands of pirates on the island 
 of Zerb and was sold as a slave. His master presented him to Leo X. That Pope, 
 finding out the knowledge and learning possessed by his slave, received him graciously, 
 converted him, and gave him his own names in baptism. Before Leo's death he 
 mastered the Italian language and translated into it his African work, from whence 
 both the Latin and French versions of his travels were made. 
 
THE CAMEL. 191 
 
 that writers in former days were so fond of describing. " I have 
 while in England," he says, " heard and read more than once of 
 the ' docile camel.' If ' docile ' means stupid, well and good ; 
 in such a case the camel is the very model of docility. But if the 
 epithet is intended to designate an animal that takes an interest 
 in its rider so far as a beast can, that in some ways understands 
 his intentions, or shares them in a subordinate fashion, that obeys 
 from a sort of submissive or half fellow feeling with his master, 
 like the horse or elephant, then I say that the camel is by no 
 means docile, very much the contrary ; he takes no heed of his 
 rider, pays no attention whether he be on his back or not, walks 
 straight on when once set agoing, merely because he is too stupid 
 to turn aside ; and then, should some tempting thorn or green 
 branch allure him out of his path, continues to walk on in this 
 new direction, simply because he is too dull to turn back into the 
 right road. His only care is to cross as much pasture as he 
 conveniently can while pacing mechanically onwards ; and for 
 effecting this his long flexible neck sets him at great advantage, 
 and a hard blow or a downright kick alone has any influence on 
 him whether to direct or impel. He will never attempt to throw 
 you off his back, such a trick being far beyond his hmited com- 
 prehension ; but if you fall off, he will never dream of stopping 
 for you, and walks on just the same, grazing while he goes, with- 
 out knowing or caring an atom what has become of you. If 
 turned loose, it is a thousand to one that he will never find his 
 way back to his accustomed home or pasture, and the first 
 comer who picks him up will have no particular shyness to get 
 over. Jack or Tom are all the same to him, and the loss of his 
 old master and of his former cameline companions gives him no 
 regret and occasions no endeavour to find them again. One only 
 symptom will he give that he is aware of his rider, and that is when 
 the latter is about to mount him, for on such an occasion, instead 
 of addressing him in the style of old Balaam's more intelligent 
 beast, ' Am not I thy camel upon which thou -has ridden ever 
 since I was thine unto this day ? ' he wiU bend back his long, 
 snaky neck towards his master, open his enormous jaws to bite if 
 he dares, and roar out a tremendous sort of groan, as if to com- 
 
192 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 plain of some entirely new and unparalleled injustice about to be 
 done Mm. In a "word, he is from first to last an undomesticated 
 and savage animal, rendered serviceable by stupidity alone, with- 
 out much skill on his master's part or any co-operation on his 
 own, save that of extreme passiveness. Neither attachment nor 
 even habit impress him ; never tame, though not wide-awake 
 enough to be exactly wild. 
 
 " One passion alone he possesses, namely, revenge, of which he 
 furnished many a hideous example, while in carrying it out he 
 shows an unexpected degree of far-thoughted malice, united mean- 
 while with all the cold stupidity of his usual character. One in- 
 stance of this I well remember ; it occurred hard by a small town 
 in the plain of Ba'albec, where I was at the time residing. A lad 
 of about fourteen had conducted a large camel, laden with wood, 
 from that very village to another, at half an hour's distance or so. 
 As the animal loitered or turned out of the way its conductor 
 struck it repeatedly, and harder than it seems to have thought he 
 had a right to do. But not finding the occasion favourable for 
 taking immediate quits, it ' bode itS' time,' nor was that long in 
 coming. A few days later the same lad had to reconduct the 
 beast, but unladen, to his own village. When they were about 
 half-way on the road, and at some distance from any habitation, 
 the camel suddenly stopped, looked deliberately round in every 
 direction to assure itself that no one was within sight, and, finding 
 the road far and near was clear of passers-by, made a step forward, 
 seized the unlucky boy's head in its monstrous mouth, and lifting 
 him up in the air, flung him down again on the earth, with the 
 upper part of his skull completely torn off, and his brains 
 scattered on the ground. Having thus satisfied its revenge, the 
 brute quietly resumed its pace towards the village as though 
 nothing were the matter, till some men who had observed the 
 whole, though unfortunately at too great a distance to be able 
 to afford timely help, came up and killed it." 
 
 "We have inserted this story exactly as it is narrated, and no 
 doubt the main incidents were just as Mr. Palgrave states, and 
 are certainly sufficient to prove that individual camels can develop 
 treacherous and savage traits. Travellers, however, destroy the 
 
THE CAMEL. 193 
 
 value of these histories by not confining themselves to the facts, 
 but, after the manner of the modern novehst, must inform their 
 readers what the animals, — their heroes and heroines, — not only- 
 do but what they think, and the chain of reasoning by which they 
 arrive at their conclusions. No villain of a "penny dreadful" 
 could have matured and perpetrated a better revenge than this 
 camel. Mr. PalgravBj who appears to have been a Cumberland or 
 " thought-reader " among camels, tells us that the animal thought 
 the boy had no right to strike it hard ; having arrived at this 
 conclusion it resolved to take revenge, but it would dissemble for 
 the present and bide its time^ There was no certainty that it 
 would again have an opportunity, for the boy might never again 
 have been its driver ; but perhaps camels may have the power of 
 seeing into the future as well as of reasoning. "When at last, 
 after brooding over its wrongs, the opportunity for the denouement 
 of its plot arrives, the camel, the villain of the melodrama, peers 
 carefully around in every direction to see no one was looking, and 
 finding the road apparently clear, perpetrates the crime, and, as 
 usual, made some fatal blunder that led to its own undoiag. 
 
 Animals will undoubtedly take dislikes and hatreds to certain 
 human beings, and evince it by attacking or even killing them ; 
 but whether they are capable of concocting plots, reasoning from 
 deductions, logically thinking out the method of their revenge, 
 patiently and with self-communion awaiting their opportunity, 
 and behaving generally as though their reasoning powers were 
 greater than those of a large portion of the human race, is one 
 that on the face of it is absurd, for if it were the case, the horse, 
 elephant, and camel would never be subservient to man at all, 
 and the animals would soon gain the ascendency, for they could 
 never be kept in subjection. The dog, that most intelligent of 
 all animalsj does not exhibit any such powers, although its in- 
 stincts enable it to perform duties and deeds that are in full 
 sympathy with those of its master. Camels are, moreover, the 
 most stupid perhaps of all domesticated beasts. Mr. Palgrave 
 
 proves too much. 
 
 Some few years ago a correspondent of the Ttmes, probably 
 Dr. W. H. Russell, writing from India, remarks : " The utile was 
 
 
 
194 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 never so little mingled with, the dulce as in the instance of the 
 camel. He is a horribly necessary animal, ungainly in his gait, 
 disagreeable in his disposition, misanthropical and dyspeptic and 
 teetotal in his habits, sharp and unrelenting in his bites, of 
 unaccountable phantasies in his likings and dislikings, unreason- 
 ably susceptible of pressure and oppression — a sort of inborn 
 animal democrat, of a querulous and morose turn of mind — and 
 possessed of the power, which he delights to use, of making the 
 most horrible noises with his throat, his jaws, his tongue, and his 
 stomach. With loud protestations they submit to monstrous 
 cruelties from their keepers, and bite innocent, well-meaning 
 people who are like to take an interest in them. They will allow 
 without anything more than a grunt, their leader to tear open 
 their nostrils with a jerk of the String which is passed through 
 the cartilage'; ten to one they will spit at you spitefully if you 
 approach to offer them a piece of bread. They will march for 
 days, the nose of one fastened to the tail of another in endless 
 procession, and never seek to escape from bondage ; and yet the 
 same creatures will gnash their tushes awfully at an unhappy 
 European who ventures to rub their rugged sides. However, 
 they form an institution of India— -possibly a part of the tradi- 
 tional policy — and they must be respected accordingly." 
 
 Mark Twain after his experience of the camel in the Holy 
 Land, spoke of him in anything but a complimentary manner; 
 he says, describing the journey from Tabor to Nazareth: — 
 " In this part of the country his load is oftenest in the shape of 
 colossal sacks — one on each side. He and his cargo take up as 
 much room as a carriage. Think of meeting this style of 
 obstruction in a narrow trail ! The camel would not turn out for a 
 kingw He stalks serenely along, bringing his cushioned stilts 
 forward with the long, regular swing of a pendulum, and what- 
 ever is in the way must get out of the way peaceably or be wiped 
 out forcibly by the bulky sacks. I cannot think of anything now 
 more certain to make one shudder than to have a soft-footed 
 camel sneak up behind him and touch him on the ear with its 
 cold, flabby underlip. A camel did this for one of the boys, who 
 was drooping over his saddle in a brown study. He glanced up 
 
THE CAMEL. 195 
 
 and saw the maiestic apparition hovering above him, and made 
 frantic efforts to get out of the way, but the camel reached out 
 and bit him on the shoulder before he accomplished it. This was 
 the only pleasing incident of the journey." 
 
 Camels are said to be strangely influenced by musical sounds, 
 which certainly seem to soothe their savage breasts. When they 
 are fatigued with the day's long march and no amount of beating 
 will make them hasten their speed, the singing by the driver of 
 some Arabian melody, will so revive their dejected spirits, that, as 
 John Leo writes, " they set forward so fast, forgetting their tired 
 limbs, to their journey's end, that their keepers can hardly 
 follow." 
 
 Camels are trained when extremely young for the labours which 
 they are afterwards to perform in the way of bearing burdens. 
 Their limbs being folded under their body, they are kept lying 
 down whilst they are loaded with a weight which is gradually 
 increased as they grow stronger, and in this way they become 
 accustomed to it. They are often employed in heavy work before 
 they are mature, which is another species of cruelty to which they 
 are subjected, for in reality they are not fitted to bear burdens 
 until they are nearly five years old. 
 
 According to General Sir Charles W. Wilson's ' account of the 
 behaviour of the camels in the fight for the Nile after Abu Klea, 
 they must be peculiarly insensible to pain, for he says while 
 going his rounds in the zeribah being formed, he could not help 
 noticing and feehng for the wretched animals tied tightly down. 
 " The most curious thing was," he remarks, " that they showed 
 no alarm and did not seem to mind being hit ; one heard a heavy 
 thud, and looking round, saw a stream of blood oozing out of the 
 wound, but the camel went on chewing his cud as if nothing at 
 all had happened, not even giving a slight wince to show he was 
 in pain." On another occasion, a gun in the enemies' battery 
 opened fire on the square ; luckily only one blind shell came into 
 it. " I heard the rush of the shot through the air," he writes, 
 " and then a heavy thud behind me. I thought at first it had 
 gone into the field-hospital, but on looking round found it had 
 ' " From Korti to Khartoum." 1886. 
 2 
 
196 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 carried away the lower jaw of one of the artillery camelSj and 
 tlien buried itself in tlie ground. The poor brute walked on as 
 if nothing had happened, and carried its load to the end of the 
 day." This either shows that camels have little nervous organi- 
 zation, or they were too completely exhausted on this occasion to • 
 exhibit pain or alarm* 
 
197 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE CAMEL {Continued). 
 
 There are several breeds of camels, for in this respect they exhibit 
 nearly as many distinctions as those observable in horses. The 
 higher bred animals of the dromedary class are finer shaped and in 
 no way so coarse as the common camels. They have a speed that 
 outstrips the best Arab horses, and their astonishing powers of 
 endurance make them capable of travelling such long distances 
 in so short a space of time that the descriptions given of certain 
 performances in this way would be incredible if not corroborated by 
 reliable authorities. John Leo,^ in enumerating the three kinds of 
 camels, says the Eaguahills, which are a small species, and unfit for 
 burden, are so swift "that in the space of one day they will 
 travel one hundred miles, and will so continue over the deserts 
 for eight or ten days together with very little provender, and 
 these do the principal Arabians of Numida and the Moors of 
 Libya usually ride upon. When the King of Tombuto is desirous 
 to send any message of importance unto the Numidian merchants 
 with great celerity, his post or messenger, riding upon one of 
 these camels, will run from Tombuto to Darha or Segelmesse, 
 being 900 miles distant, in the space of eight days at the farthest." 
 The speed of the breed Heirie, Bl Heirie, or Maherry of the desert 
 is also unquestionably very great. "When thou shalt meet a heirie," 
 the Arabs remark in .their poetical mode of expression, "and 
 say to the rider ' Salem Aleik,' he will be afar off, and nearly 
 out of sight, for his swiftness is like the wind." ^ 
 
 Modern writers have also asserted from their personal experience 
 that these animals are so hardy, they can travel in the desert 
 1 " Purchas, his Pilgrimes." 1625. ' Knight's " Cyclopedia." 
 
198 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 for eiglit or ten days at the rate of from 125 to 150 miles a day, 
 during wliicli time tliey require Yery little food or water. This 
 fact required very strong evidence to substantiate it before it 
 would gain belief. Mr. Heap, who reported on the subject for the 
 American Grovernment, states in the appendix to his book,* that he 
 saw a party of Arabs mounted on dromedaries arrive in Tunis in 
 four days from TripoH, a distance of 600 miles. On these journeys 
 they do not of course bear heavy loads, but the weight of the 
 rider, with his arms and provisions, is equivalent to about 250 lbs. 
 
 Captain William Peel refers frequently to the camel and its 
 utility in his book, " A Ride through the Nubian Desert." Sailor- 
 like, he appears to have kept a log that enabled him to calculate 
 the speed and position of " the ship of the desert." He writes : 
 " In crossing the Nubian desert I paid constant attention to the 
 march of the camels, hoping it might be of some service hereafter 
 in determining our position. The number of strides in a minute 
 with the same foot varied very little, only from 37 to 39, and 
 38 was the average; but the length of the stride was more 
 uncertain, varying from sis feet six inches to seven feet six inches. 
 As we were always urging the camels, who seemed, like ourselves, 
 to know the necessity of pushing on across the fearful tract, I 
 took seven feet as the average. These figures give a speed of 
 2*62 geographical miles per hour, or exactly three English miles, 
 which may be considered as the highest speed that camels lightly 
 loaded can keep up on a journey. In general it will not be more 
 than two and a half Bnghsh miles. My dromedary was one of 
 the tallest, and the seat of the saddle was six feet six inches above 
 the ground." 
 
 A little further on he observes : " We met once, at a hollow 
 where some water still remained from the rains, 2000 camels 
 altogether, admirably organized into troops, and attended by only a 
 few Arabs. On another occasion we passed some camels grazing at 
 such a distance from the Nile that I asked the Arab attending 
 where they went to drink. He said he marches them down all 
 together to the Nile, and they drink every eleventh day. It is now 
 the cool season, and the heat is tempered by fresh northerly 
 
 3 " Central Eoute to the Pacific." 1854. 
 
THE CAMEL. 199 
 
 breezes. The Arab, of course, brings water-skins for Ms own 
 supply. All these camels were breeding-stock. They live on 
 thorns and the top shoots of the gum-arabic tree, although it is 
 armed with the most frightful spikes. But very little comes amiss 
 to the camel ; he will eat dry wood to keep up digestion, if in 
 want of a substitute. Instinct or experience has taught him to 
 avoid the only tempting-looking plants that grow in the desert, 
 — ^the green rusha-bush, which is full of milk-coloured juice, and 
 a creeper that grows in the sand where nothing else will grow, and 
 which has- a bitter fruit like a melon. I was surprised to learn 
 that the leopard does not dare to attack the camel, whose tall and 
 narrow flanks would seem to be fatally exposed to such a supple 
 enemy. Nature, however, has given him a means of defence in 
 his iron jaw and long powerful neck, which are a full equivalent 
 for his want of agility. He can also strike heavily with his feet, 
 and his roar would intimidate many foes. I never felt tired of 
 admiring this noble creature, and through the monotony of the 
 desert would watch for hours his ceaseless tread and unerring 
 path. Carrying his head low, forward, and surveying everything 
 with his black, brilliant eye, he marches resolutely forward, and 
 quickens his pace at the slightest cheer of his rider. He is too 
 intelligent and docile for a bridle ; besides, he lives on the march, 
 and with a sudden sweep of the neck will seize, without stopping, 
 the smallest straw. When the day's march is over, he passes the 
 night in looking for food, with scarcely an hour to repose his 
 limbs, and less than that for sleep. He closes the eye fitfully, the 
 smallest noise will awake him. When lying down for rest every 
 part of the body is supported ; his neck and head lie lightly along 
 the sand, a broad plate of bone under the breast takes the weight 
 off his deep chest, and his long legs lay folded under him, sup- 
 porting his sides like a ship in a cradle." 
 
 Captain Peel overrated their intelligence, or other travellers 
 underrate it. Sir Samuel Baker in his work, "The Albert 
 N'Yanza," gives from personal experience quite a different account 
 of the animal. On one occasion a man ran into his tent with the 
 news that one of the camels had dropped down and was dying ; and 
 he writes, " The report was too true. He was poisoned by a well- 
 
200 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 known plant that lie had been caught in the act of eating. In a few 
 hours he died. There is no more stupid animal than the camel. 
 Nature has implanted in most animals an instinctive knowledge of 
 the plants suitable for food, and they generally avoid those that are 
 poisonous ; but the camel will eat indiscriminately anything that 
 is green ; and if in a country where the plant exists that is well- 
 known by the Arabs as the ' camel poison,' watchers must always 
 accompany the animals while grazing. The most fatal plant is a 
 creeper, very succulent, and so beautifully green that its dense 
 foliage is most attractive to the stupid victim, The stomach of 
 the camel is very subject to inflammation, which is rapidly fatal. 
 I have frequently seen them, after several days of desert march- 
 ing, arrive in good pasture, and die, within a few hours, of 
 inflammation caused by repletion. It is extraordinary how they 
 can exist upon the driest and apparently most non-nutritious food. 
 When other animals are starving the camel manages to pick up a 
 subsistence, eating the ends of barren, leafless twigs, the dried 
 sticks of certain shrubs, and the tough, dry, paper-hke substance 
 of the dome-palm, about as succulent a breakfast as would be a 
 green umbrella and a Times newspaper. With intense greediness 
 the camel, although a hermit in simplicity of fare in hard times, 
 feeds voraciously when in abundant pasture, always seeking the 
 greenish shrubs. The poison-bush becomes a fatal bait. . . , 
 Their peculiarity of constitution enables the camel to overcome 
 obstacles of nature that would otherwise be insurmountable. Not 
 only can he travel over the scorching sand of the withering 
 deserts, but he never seeks the shade. When released from his 
 burden he kneels by his load in the burning sand, and luxuriates 
 in the glare of a sun that drives all other beasts to shelter. The 
 peculiar spongy formation of the foot renders the camel exceed- 
 ingly sure, although it is usual to believe that it is only adapted 
 for flat sandy plains. I have travelled over mountains so preci- 
 pitous that no domestic animal but the camel could have accom- 
 plished the task with a load. The capability is not shared gene- 
 rally by the race, but by a breed belonging to the Hadendowa 
 Arabs, between the Red Sea and Taka. There is quite as great 
 a variety in the breeds of camels as of horses. Those most 
 
THE CAMEL. 201 
 
 esteemed in the Soudan are the Bisliareen ; they are not so large as 
 others, but are exceedingly strong and enduring. 
 
 " The average value of a baggage camel among the Soudan 
 Arabs is fifteen dollars, but a good ' hygeen,' or riding drome- 
 dary, is worth from fifty to a hundred and fifty dollars, according 
 to his capabilities. A thoroughly good hygeen is supposed to 
 travel fifty miles a day, and to continue this pace for five days, 
 carrying only his rider, and a small water-skin, or groba. His 
 action should be so easy that his long, ambling trot should 
 produce that peciiliar movement adopted by a nurse when hushing 
 a child to sleep upon her knee. This movement is delightful, and 
 the quick elastic step of a first-class animal imparts an invigo- 
 rating spirit to the rider, and, were it not for the intensity of the 
 sun, he would willingly ride for ever. The difference of action 
 and of comfort to the rider between a common camel and a high- 
 class hygeen is equal to that between a thoroughbred and a heavy 
 dray-horse," 
 
 McMaster, in his "Notes on Jerdon's Mammals of India," 
 writes : " Like many human beings, camels get credit for good 
 qualities which they do not possess; for example, patience is 
 popularly supposed to be one of their virtues. Now I do not 
 know a more discontented, fidgetty, ill-behaved animal than a 
 camel when being detailed for duty, 
 
 " Some Indian traveller — if I mistake not, Eussell, of the * thin 
 red line ' fame, gives an excellent description of the objections 
 raised by baggage camels to being laden ; but the impatience of 
 one of these is trifling to that shown by many of the highly.bred 
 and light animals, kept solely for saddle work, most of which are 
 really very beautiful, game, and blood-looking creatures, in 
 appearance as different from a baggage camel as a thoroughbred 
 from a dray-horse. Unless a saddle camel is Yevj well broken, 
 the moment the rider's foot is in the stirrup up springs the 
 camel, hind-quarters first, so that, as the beast's knees are still on 
 the ground, the rider is shot well forward, to be the next moment 
 as rapidly jerked back, as the fore-legs are brought into play ; then 
 probably the beast makes a bolt for a hundred yards or so, per- 
 fectly regardless of the reins, or whatever may be the proper term 
 
202 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 for the tiller-rope-like guiding strings attached to the wooden 
 studs let into his nostrils. Then they give themselves as many 
 airs, and they are as fanciful about the particular objects they 
 elect to shy at, or to object to, as many horses, and to make one 
 go pleasantly a light hand is even of more consequence than in 
 horsemanship, for these beasts have as many peculiarities of 
 tender or hard nostril as a horse has of mouth. This, however, 
 once understood, I do not know a more pleasant hack, or one of 
 greater service to a sportsman than a well-broken riding camel ; 
 one that will sit quietly while being mounted, and .will not pull. 
 The exertion, so often spoken about, of camelmanship, if there be 
 such a word, is only imaginary; the rider has only to sit as 
 loosely as possible^ — ^that is, not to grip the saddle, and to give 
 his arms, legs, and body any play that will prevent their resisting 
 the motion of the huge animal ; to sit native-like ; in fact, all 
 ' legs and wings.' This once accomplished, he may ride for 
 hours and for days together without feeling fatigued. . . . 
 
 "A camel must be a very tender- skinned animal, for the slightest 
 prick with a hunting spur will cause blood to spring from the 
 shoulder, the place where the rider's heels naturally come to. 
 The enforced acknowledgment of the rank of my dog was the 
 only act of intelligence I have ever known any camel display. 
 Much as we were together, I could never get my camel to feed 
 from my hand, an expression of confidence in me that I have 
 gained from every other animal that I have tried to be on good 
 terms with except all the camels I have ever been acquainted 
 with, some members of a herd of Burman buffaloes I possessed 
 while at Tounghoo, and a wild dog. The most ridiculous instance 
 of this impatience of camels I have ever seen was at an inspection 
 of that well-known regiment, Ross's Camel Corps, by a general on 
 whom I was in attendance as a staff officer, 
 
 " The corps, consisting, if I remember right, of four troops of 
 one hundred men each, two of British soldiers — picked, I beheve, 
 principally from the Rifle Brigade — and two of Seikhs, the most 
 warlike race in India, was a sight to gladden the eye of any man 
 proud of being a soldier. They were drawn up in column and 
 dismounted, with their four hundred camels, also in column of 
 
THE CAMEL. 203 
 
 troops, seated, each animal witli its driver, about one hundred 
 yards to a flank. 
 
 " The ordinary infantry inspection being over, the men were 
 ordered to file to their camels, which up to this time had been 
 sitting most demurely, and to all appearance quite unconscious of 
 what was to take place. As the men approached, each camel 
 pricked up its head in great excitement, and looked most ludi- 
 crously like a gigantic turkey. 
 
 " The men having taken post, and ' prepare to mount ' being 
 ordered, the anxiety of the animal increased fifty-fold, and almost 
 every one of the four hundred commenced that wonderful and 
 horrible turkey-like gobble all camels delight in; the uproar 
 increased at the word ' mount,' and continued until the comman- 
 dant, on. seeing every man in his place, ordered the 'rise,' when 
 in a second every animal returned to its normal state of quiet," 
 
 Men of all nations and all ages seem to delight in watching 
 animals fighting, and camel-combats furnish one of the favourite 
 hohday amusements of the Turks of Asia Minor. MacParlane 
 describes one of these curious encounters : — " An enclosure is 
 made, and two camels, previously muzzled so that they cannot 
 hurt each other much, are driven in and incited to fight with each 
 other. Their mode of combat is curious ; they knock their heads 
 together (literally), twist their long necks, wrestle with their fore- 
 legs, almost like bipeds, and seem to direct their principal atten- 
 tion to the throwing down of the adversary. During this combat, 
 the Turks, deeply interested, will back, some one camel and some 
 the other ; and they will clap their hands and cry out the names 
 of their respective favourites, just as our amateurs do with their 
 dogs, or as the Spaniards, at their more splendid and more bloody 
 bull-fights, will echo the name of the' hardy bull or the gallant 
 matador. The Pasha of Smyrna used frequently to regale the 
 people with these spectacles in an enclosed square before his 
 palace ; and I saw them besides, once, at a Turkish wedding at the 
 village of Bournabah, near Smyrna, and another time on some 
 other festive occasion at Magnesia." 
 
 John Leo, before quoted, gives a description of another way in 
 which these animals used to afford amusement. He writes:— 
 
204 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 "I have also Been, in Alcair, a camel that could dance at the sound 
 of a timbrel, being thereunto taught when he was young ; by this 
 means — first he was brought into a room like a stable, the pave- 
 ment whereof was made hot by a fire underneath it, and without 
 door stood a musician playing on his timbrel ; the camel, not for 
 love o£ the musick, but for the heat under his feet, lifted up first 
 one foot and then another, as they do which dance, and so, the 
 heat increasing, he likewise did lift up faster, whereunto he was 
 accustomed for the space of ten months, at every time one hour 
 and a half, during which time the timbrel still sounded, so that at 
 last use fained nature to such a strain that, hearing a timbrel, he 
 instantly remembered the fire that was wont to punish his feet, 
 and so presently would leap to and fro like a dancer in publick 
 spectacle, to the admiration of all beholders." 
 
 Camel races are often held in eastern countries. The various 
 festivals of the Mahomedans are generally celebrated by this form 
 of sport. But the powers of the camels as well as the skill of the 
 riders are exhibited in perhaps their highest perfection in those 
 wonderful warlike games practised by the desert Arabs, in which 
 the speed, grace, and velocity of the various movements have elicited 
 the admiration of every traveller who has been fortunate enough 
 to witness one of these interesting and truly eastern spectacles. 
 
 It is a singular thing that although the camel was known in 
 Egypt from the earliest antiquity, yet no ancient sculpture or 
 painting has been discovered in which it is represented. On the 
 Assyrian bas-reliefs it is, however, frequently depicted. In the 
 volume on '* Menageries " in the " Library of Entertaining Know- 
 ledge " this question, which is a very interesting one, is discussed, 
 and for those who do not possess the work it is worth while 
 quoting some portion of the article. " In a building at Ghirza, in 
 the state of Tripoli, Major Denham found the remains of a Eoman 
 temple, probably executed after the Christian era, of which he has 
 given a drawing ; and upon the frieze of the entablature we 
 observe a delineation of the camel. Near Mount Sinai, in Syria, 
 there are rude representations upon the rocks, which are described 
 by Niebuhr and Burckhardt, of goats, antelopes, and camels. But 
 with regard to Egypt, Burckhardt says, in a note to the passage 
 
THE CAMEL. 205 
 
 wh.ere he mentions these figures, which appear to have been cut 
 by the shepherds of the country, ' Among the innumerable 
 paintings and sculptures in the temples and tombs of Egypt, I 
 never met with a single instance of the representation of a camel.' 
 .... Whether we are to infer from this circumstance that the 
 camel was only partially known in Egypt, and did not cross the Nile 
 till a period more recent than that of the Egyptian templeSj we will 
 not undertake to determine. M. Desmoulins, however, has written 
 a very learned, and in most respects satisfactory, essayj to prove 
 that the camel was not spread over Africa till after the Christian 
 era. He considers that the question of existence, or the absence 
 of the camel in Africa, at the periods of the great prosperity of 
 that country, inasmuch as it belongs to the history of civil society, 
 and to the theory of the means by which society is established 
 and perfected, demands an especial solution. He shows on the 
 one hand, that, from the highest antiquity, the camel was em- 
 ployed in the domestic and military service of the Asiatic people ; 
 and that the ancient writers constantly speak, both incidentally 
 and directly, of this animal when they notice Asia generally, or 
 Arabia particularly. On the contrary, he affirms that all the 
 Greek or Latin writers from the time of Herodotus, in describing 
 the wars with Africa, or the peaceful voyages that were made 
 thither — whether their descriptions be given as geographers or 
 naturalists— whether they describe the singularities of the country;, 
 or enumerate its animals— never once mention the camel. M. 
 Desmoulins maintains that the necessity of the subject would have 
 compelled such notices, if the animal had existed on the African 
 continent. He goes on to show, from various authorities and 
 inferences which appear sound, that until the third century of the 
 Christian era there were no camels west of the Nile; and these 
 animals did not pass the isthmus of Suez until the first excursions 
 of the Arabs or Saracens, whOj about the middle of the fourth cen- 
 tury, according to Ammianus Marcellinus, wandered with their 
 camels upon the deserts which extend from Assyria to the cataracts 
 of the Nile. The appearance of camels on the west Nile took 
 place, he affirms, for the first time when the Vandals and Moors 
 revolted, after the departure of Belisarius for the reconquest of 
 
206 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 Italy. It has often been remarked as singular that Procopius 
 first notices camels in Africa, -when lie describes the Moors in 
 arms against the lieutenant of Belisarius as mounted on them ; 
 this was in the middle of the sixth century. M. Desmoulins con- 
 cludes that from the time of their first introduction by the wander- 
 ing Saracens, two centuries before they had multiplied over the 
 great desert of Africa, Sahara, in the same proportion as the Arab 
 tribes had spread thereon ; and he shows that there is nothing to 
 be thought extraordinary in this rapidity of their multiplication, 
 when we consider the immense increase of horses and oxen in ihe 
 Pampas of Buenos Ayres and the Llanos of Apuria, from the 
 period of the discovery of America. M. Desmoulins contends 
 from these circumstances that the camel is not a native of Africa, 
 but that the original species came from Arabia, where it existed 
 in a wild state in the time of Artemidorus, as mentioned by 
 Diodorus and Strabo. 
 
 " At the time when the camel was unknown in Africa beyond the 
 Nile, the country was overrun with lions. Many hundreds of 
 them were annually sent to Rome by the kings and proconsuls of 
 Africa, for the brutal amusements of the circus. About the 
 middle of the third century, which corresponds with the period of 
 the Arabian migration into Africa, the number of lions diminished; 
 and their destruction became so rapid, that the chase of the lion 
 was forbidden, except to particular individuals, lest the circus 
 should want its victims* This game law of the Eomans was abro- 
 gated under Honorius. The destruction of the lions then became 
 in great measure complete ; the people could cultivate the land, 
 without being exposed to danger from this fearful beast ; and they 
 introduced camels, to facilitate the communication from one place 
 to another, without the apprehension that these, the most valuable 
 of their servants, would be devoured in the plains where they 
 sought their subsistence. The civilization of mankind is advanced 
 or retarded by apparently trivial causes; the vast number of 
 lions in Africa checked, in all probability, the progress of civili- 
 zation in the interior of that country, at the period when Carthage 
 was powerful and Egypt enlightened ; and it is not unreasonable 
 to conclude that the influence of these causes may have been felt 
 
THE CAMEL. 207 
 
 througli centuries, in perpetuating the ignorance and wretclied- 
 ness of many of the African tribes. The lion is represented as 
 having an especial partiality for the flesh of the camel. Herodotus 
 states that while Xerxes was on the march for the invasion of 
 Greece, lions came down from the mountains and devoured the 
 camels which carried his luggage, without attacking either horses 
 or men." 
 
 The possibility of the existence of a herd of wild camels some- 
 where on the face of the earth has been surmised by many 
 naturalists, for since Shah Rukh's ambassadors to China 
 (a.d. 1420) reported having seen wild camels in the great desert 
 other statements of their existence have been circulated. For in- 
 stance, Du Halde, in his account of China and Chinese Tartary, 
 compiled from data furnished him by the Jesuit missionaries who 
 had resided in the various parts of these extensive countries 
 during the seventeenth century, writes that in the northern terri- 
 tories " the wild camels are so swift that the hunters can seldom 
 reach them with their arrows." 
 
 Pallas, the Grerman naturalist of the eighteenth century, also 
 stated — on Tartar evidence — that there were camels existing in a 
 wild state in Central Asia, and Cuvier accounted for them by 
 showing it was the Buddhist custom to give liberty to domestic 
 animals. But as geographical and other explorations were rapidly 
 being extended, and no trace of them were discovered, it began to be 
 assumed that the race of camels were completely domesticated, 
 and disbelief in the reports to the contrary were strongly expressed. 
 
 In a letter from Dr. 0. Tinch, of Bremen, dated Saissan, south- 
 west Siberia, May, 1876, which was read at a meeting of the 
 Zoological Society, the first intimation was given that these wild 
 camels had again been heard of, and some information respecting 
 them, which was not from personal observation, but from evidence 
 collected from a native, was added. This only, however, cor- 
 roborated the opinion which had been previously expressed, 
 that these wild animals were merely the descendants of camels 
 which had once been domesticated, and were not from the 
 original stock, for an intelligent and experienced Kirgiz is 
 reported to have said : " According to an old legend there was a 
 
208 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 rich. Kirgiz, who had bo many horses and camels in his possession 
 that he was unable to take care of them. A great number escaped 
 and the camels became wild." In a subsequent account of these- 
 animals we are told that caravan camels have been known to elope 
 with their wild mates and never return to their owners. 
 
 Colonel N. Prejevalsky,* the Russian traveller, in his journey 
 saw one wild camel, which he did not succeed in killing, for 
 firing at it when 500 paces away he missed it, which, as he says, 
 was a memorable miss for a sportsman. His inquiries on the 
 subject of these animals elicited considerable information, from 
 which we quote the following: — "The chief habitat of the wild 
 camel at the present day is the desert of Kumtagh, to the east of 
 Lake Lob ; this animal is also occasionally found in the Lower 
 Tarim, in the Kuruk-tagh mountains, and more rarely still in the 
 sands bordering with the Cherchen-daria ; beyond the town of 
 Cherchen, in the direction of Khoten, its existence is not known. 
 Twenty years ago wild camels were numerous near Lake Lob,, 
 where the village of Ohargalik now stands, and further to the east,, 
 along the foot of the Altyn-tagh, as well as in the range itself. 
 Our guide, a hunter of Chargalik, told us that it was not unusual 
 in those days to see some dozens, or even a hundred, of those 
 animals together. He himself had killed upwards of a hundred 
 of them in the course of his life (and he was an old man) with 
 a flint-and- steel musket. With the increase of population at 
 Chargalik, the hunters of Lob-nor became more numerous, and 
 camels scarcer. Now the wild camel only frequents the neigh- 
 bourhood of Lob-nor, and even here in small numbers. Years 
 pass without so much as one being seen; in more favourable 
 seasons again the native hunters kill their five and six during the 
 summer and autumn. The flesh of the wild camel, which is very 
 fat in autumn, is used for food, and the skin for clothing. . . . 
 Unlike the domesticated animal, whose chief characteristics are 
 cowardice, stupidity, and apathy, the wild variety is remarkable 
 for its sagacity and admirably developed senses. Its sight is 
 marvellously keen, hearing exceedingly acute, and sense of smell 
 wonderfully perfect. The hunters told us that a camel could 
 
 * " From Kulja across the Tiaii Shan to Lob-nor." 1879. 
 
THE CAMEL. 209 
 
 scent a man several versts off, see him, ho-wever cautiously he 
 might approach, from a great distance, and hear the slightest 
 rustle of his footsteps. Once aware of its danger, it instantly 
 takes to flight, and never stops for some dozens or even hundred 
 of versts. A camel I fired at certainly ran twenty versts without 
 stopping, as I saw by its traces, and probably farther still, had 
 I been able to follow it, for it turned into a ravine, off our line of 
 march. One would suppose that so uncouth an animal would be 
 incapable of climbing mountains ; the contrary, however, is actually 
 the case, for we often' saw the tracks and droppings of camels in 
 the narrowest gorges, and on slopes steep enough to bafl&e the 
 hunter. Here their footprints are mingled with those of the 
 mountain sheep (Pseudo Nahoor) and the arkari (0ms PoZi). So 
 incredible did this appear that we could hardly believe our eyes 
 when we saw it. The wild camel is very swift, its pace being 
 almost invariably a trot. In this respect, however, the domesti- 
 cated species will, in a long distance, overtake a good galloper. 
 It is very weak when wounded, and drops directly it is hit 
 by a bullet of small calibrcj such as the hunters of Lob-nor 
 use." 
 
 That there are camels of the Bactrian or two-humped species 
 in small numbers roaming wild, does not rest on Colonel 
 Prezhevalsky's evidence alone, for other writers of a later date 
 have seen them ; but whether they belong to the original stock 
 that existed in a state of nature is still, and probably will remain, 
 an unanswerable question. Arguments are freely used on both 
 sides, and even dogmatic assertions appear occasionally in the 
 public prints upon the subject, but invincible proof is wanting. 
 
 The Bactrian camel (Gamelus Bactrianus), besides having the dis- 
 tinguishing sign of the two humps, is a coarser-looking animal 
 than the Arabian beast. It is also stouter and more muscular, 
 and is covered with shaggy hair, which is very long under the 
 throat, and generally of a dark or dirty brown colour, but it also 
 varies, not only in colour, from dark to light, but in size, 
 strength, speed, and endurance, according to the breed and 
 
 climate. 
 
 They are much rarer camels than their one-humped brethren. 
 
 p 
 
210 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 They ai;e inhabitants of Persia, Northern and Central Asia from 
 Turkestan, the ancient Bactria, to China, and are occasionally to 
 be found in Arabia. 
 
 Colonel Prezhevalsky, who for three years was never separated 
 from his Bactrian camels, and had ample opportunity of study- 
 ing their nature and habits, describes them as being the 
 most characteristic and remarkable animals of Mongolia. They 
 are the constant companion of the nomad and often the source of 
 his prosperity, and are invaluable to the traveller who wishes to 
 cross that northern and inhospitable des6rt. The good points of 
 this animal are a well-ribbed body, wide feetj and high, upright 
 humps far apart. The first two qualities denote strength, and 
 the upright humps show the beast is fat and capable of under- 
 taking a long journey. This writer states that the camel's hump 
 is sometimes brokeUj and, in consequencej will not stand erect ; 
 but this accident is of no importance, provided it remains hard 
 and large. " The boundless steppe or desert is the home of the 
 camel ; here, like its master, the Mongolj it can be perfectly happy. 
 Both the man aiid the beast shun fixed abodes. Confined in an 
 enclosure^ although supplied with an abutidance of the best food, 
 the camel will pine and die ; excepting, perhaps, a few kept by the 
 Chinese to transport coal, corn, or other loads. But they are 
 poorj miserable creatures, compared with their fellows of the 
 steppe ; and even they will not bear confinement all the year 
 round, and must be let loose in summer to pasture on the neigh- 
 bouring plains and recruit their strength, 
 
 " The habits of the camel are very peculiar. It is anything 
 but dainty in its food, and may serve as a model of moderation | 
 but this is only t]?ue on the desert ; take it to pasturage such as 
 we have at home, and instead of becoming fat it grows leaner 
 every day-. It cannot thrive without salt, and eats with avidity 
 the white saline efflorescence called gudjif, which covers all the 
 mafshes, and often exudes from the soil on the grass steppes of 
 Mongolia. . If there be none of this it will eat pure saltj which 
 however, is not so beneficial and shoilld only be given twice of 
 thrice a month. If kept without salt for any length of time 
 camels will get out of condition, however plentiful food may be, 
 
A BACTRIAN CAMEL. 
 
 {Camelus Bacirianus.) 
 
THE CAMEL. 211 
 
 and they have been known to take wHte stones in their mouths, 
 mistaking them for lumps of salt. 
 
 " We ought also to mention that some camels are omnivorous, 
 and will eat almost anything; old bleached bones, their own 
 pack-saddle stuffed with straw, straps, leather, &c., &c. Ours 
 once ate up some gloves and a leathern saddle belonging to our 
 Cossacks ; and the Mongols told me of camels which had been 
 without food for a long while, and which devoured an old vest 
 of their master's in the coolest manner possible. They will even 
 eat meat and fish ; one stole meat we had hung up to dry ; one 
 voracious brute actually made off with the bird-skins ready for 
 stuffing, and relished dried fish and the remains of the dog's food ; 
 but this was a singular instance, and his eccentric tastes were not 
 shared by the others." 
 
 The intelligence of these camels is described as being of a low 
 order ; they are stupid and timid ; anything out of the common, 
 even a hare starting from beneath their feet, has been known to 
 throw a whole caravan into confusion. When attacked by a wolf, 
 the animal never attempts to defend itself, although one of its 
 powerful kicks would kill its enemy. 
 
 Between March and June they shed their coats, and the skin 
 becomes quite bare, which renders them susceptible to cold. 
 The new coat is not fully grown before the end of September. 
 Although they may possess a constitution as strong as iron, they 
 are so accustomed to dry atmosphere that a few nights on damp 
 or moist ground will give them cold and start them coughing, and 
 cause other complaints to which they are susceptible. 
 
 p 2 
 
212 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE GIEAFFE {CAMELOPARBUS GIRAFFA). 
 
 Giraffes, wliicli are certainly the most ornamental animals of 
 the African deserts, must, from their extraordinary height and 
 peculiar structure, cause astonishment to any person who sees 
 them for the first time. One has only to look at them to under- 
 stand why the descriptions originally given of these creatures by 
 those travellers in olden times who had seen them during their 
 peregrinations were received with incredulity and ridicule. Cer- 
 tainly, as was their wont, they were not content to give a truth- 
 ful narration of facts, but must furnish exaggerated accounts 
 even of these animals, which certainly d6 not require any mag- 
 nifying to make them marvellous enough. John Leo, in ' his 
 " Ninth Booke of the Historie of Africa,"^ states : "Hares, goats, 
 harts, boars, elephants, camells, buffals, lions, panthers, tigres, 
 rhinoceroses, and other creatures are there seen, and one so huge 
 that a man sitting on horsebacke may pass upright under his 
 belly ; his shape is like a camell, but his nature divers, feeding on 
 leaves, which he reacheth from the tops of trees with his necke 
 stretched forth," and in the margin it is stated " This seemeth to 
 be the camelopardalis," In the index of the same book a page 
 reference is given thus : " GamelopardaliSi a huge wilde beast." 
 It would have to be a very little man on a Very little horse to 
 pass upright under a giraffes and Leo's astonishment on seeing 
 the animal must have caused the magnified impression he carried 
 away with him. Nevertheless, although the elephants are the 
 largest animals on the face of the globe, the giraffes are un- 
 
 ' " Purchas, his Pilgrimes." 1625. 
 
THE GIRAFFE. 213 
 
 doubtedly tlie tallest, for they stand between fifteen and sixteen 
 feet high, and attain in some instances a height of eighteen feet. 
 
 Griraffes belong to the ruminant order of mammals, and the 
 present existing species form in themselves a distinct family. In 
 some respects, however, they appear related to the deer tribe 
 {Gervidce), and in others to the oxen (Bovidce) and also to the camel. 
 
 Fossil remains of extinct animals, apparently of the same species 
 as the giraffe, have been found in certain parts of Europe and 
 Asia. These beautiful creatures are now confined in their habita- 
 tion entirely to Africa. They are scarce animals, even in their true 
 home, and are only to be found on the great plains of the interior of 
 the southern part of the continent. Although they are to a certain 
 extent gregarious, they are nowhere to be met with in great 
 numbers. Some travellers report having seen herds containing 
 thirty and even forty individuals, but these are exceptional ones, 
 for they are more often described as varying from twelve to six- 
 teen. It is feared that the annihilation of these animals is not 
 far ofi", for they are even now rapidly disappearing through both 
 European and native sportsmen so constantly hunting them, the 
 latter class for the sake of the flesh, which they hold in high 
 esteem, and the thick skin, from which they make divers useful 
 articles, such as straps, and bottles to hold their supply of water, 
 and the former merely for the sake of killing. 
 
 Gordon Gumming,^ describing the girafi"e, states : " Some writers 
 have discovered ugliness and a want of grace in the giraffe, but I 
 consider that he is one of the most strikingly beautiful animals in 
 the creation ; and when a herd of them is seen scattered through 
 a grove of picturesque parasol-topped acacias, which adorn their 
 native plains, and on whose uppermost shoots they are enabled to 
 browse by the colossal height with which Nature has so admirably 
 endowed them, he must indeed be slow of conception who fails to 
 discover both grace and dignity in all their movements. There can 
 be no doubt that every animal is seen to the greatest advantage in 
 the haunts which Nature destined him to adorn, and amongst the 
 various living creatures which beautify this fair creation I have 
 often traced a remarkable resemblance between the animal and 
 2 " Five Years of a Hunter's Life." 
 
214 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 the general appearance of the locality in wticli it is found." The 
 harmony these large creatures exhibit to their surroundings gives 
 them the power of remaining inconspicuous to a far greater 
 extent than would be generally supposed. "In the case of 
 the girafEe," continues Gumming, "which is invariably met 
 with among venerable forests, where innumerable blasted and 
 weather-beaten trunks and stems occur, I have repeatedly been 
 in doubt as to the presence of a troop of them until I had 
 recourse to my spy-glass ; and on referring the case to my savage 
 attendants I have known even their optics to fail, at one time 
 mistaking these dilapidated trunks for camelopards, and again con- 
 founding real camelopards with those aged veterans of the forest." 
 
 It is obvious that to see them in their natural condition on the 
 level plains, or in the mimosa woods of Africa, they must appear 
 to more advantage than they do in any zoological collection, where 
 everything around them seems so strangely out of proportion and 
 unsuitable to these dignified but inoffensive-looking animals, and 
 they appear in consequence more out of harmony with their sur- 
 roundings than any of the other quadrupeds. 
 
 They are strange-looking because so unlike any other animal, in 
 their peculiar shape, and in the extraordinary length of limb and 
 neck which gives them their exceptional height. Inoffensive 
 looking, consequent on the expression of their large, dark, lustrous 
 eyes, which beam with such a peculiarly mild and fearless expres- 
 sion ; also because of their comparatively small head, which is 
 crowned with two apparently useless horns. They are not, how- 
 ever, so useless as they look, for at certain seasons of the year , 
 they fight furiously apiong themselves. Two of the male animals 
 in the Zoological Gardens once had a desperate encounter ; when 
 the horns of the one were actually driven into the head of the 
 other. Precautions are now taken to prevent such conflicts in 
 the future. The way they fought was described as being very 
 singular. They stretched out their legs behind and before, and 
 then swung their heads the full length of the neck, and with 
 sledge-hammer blows battered away at each other, their heads 
 being kept in a slightly twisted position, so as to bring the full 
 force of the horns to bear in the blow. 
 
THE GIRAFFE. 215 
 
 In Pliny's account of these animals, lie says tliat as they are 
 more remarkable for the singularity of their appearance than for 
 their fierceness, they have obtained the name of " wild sheep." 
 But this was only an epithet apphed to them to signify the mild- 
 ness of their dispositions. 
 
 They are not, however, perfectly defenceless, but occasionally 
 prove themselves no mean adversaries for even their greatest 
 enemy — the prowling lion. They have tremendously powerful 
 feet, which they can use with remarkable rapidity. Frank Buck- 
 land makes the statement that the kick of a giraffe is the second 
 most powerful thing in nature, the first being the blow of a 
 whale's tail, and the third the pat of a lion's paw. 
 
 In the muzzle and the beautiful structure of their nostrils, the 
 giraffes resemble camels, for they are also not only provided with 
 hair growing from the margins, but with cutaneous sphincter 
 muscles that enable them at will to close the narrow apertures and 
 defend the air-passages and delicate membrane-lining from the 
 injurious effects of the penetrating sand-storms. 
 
 They differ from every other member of the ruminating family 
 in the shape of the mouth, The upper lip, which is unlike that 
 of the camel in not being bifid or cleft, has a prolonged shape and 
 is covered with hair, but has not the elegant and tapering form of 
 the elk. They possess six molar teeth on each side of both jaws, 
 and eight incisors on the lower, but none on the upper one ; their 
 dental formula being in fact identical with that of deer, sheep, 
 goats, oxen, and antelopes. 
 
 The head has the two ears shaped something like those of the 
 common deer, and, moreover, possesses two short bony append- 
 ages or horns, which are not, however, naked, but are completely 
 covered with the skin of the forehead, and have short tufts of 
 black hair or bristles on their summit. These horns, which are 
 common to both sexes, though somewhat larger in the male 
 animal, bear but little resemblance to the horns of the ox or deer 
 tribe ; they are attached partly to the parietal bones, and in the , 
 front of them there is a protuberance which Mr. Spencer Cobbold 
 declares is a third horn. Dr. Kuppel also described the Nubian 
 male giraffes as possessing a third horn occupying the middle of 
 
216 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 the frontal suture. As the Cape giraffe, or at least the skulls that 
 have been examined, have no such horn, this peculiarity in the 
 Nubian animal, if not an accidental deformity, would certainly 
 make them specifically distinct, " The existence of this third 
 appendage is considered to furnish a complete refutation to 
 Camper's theory with regard to the unicorn, namely, that such an 
 occurrence is contrary to nature, and to prove at least the 
 possibility of the existence of such an animal." ^ 
 
 In the food these animals live upon we see the reason for many 
 of their peculiarities of structure. This is the leaves, shoots, 
 blossoms, and small topmost branches of the mimosa, acacia, and 
 other trees common in their native haunts from Nubia to the Cape, 
 for they confine themselves to the regions where such trees are 
 abundant, and their long necks enable them to reach, and their 
 prehensile tongues to grasp, the tender shoots. 
 
 The neck, although so long, has only seven joints, requiring, 
 therefore, but little muscular effort to keep it erect. It has none 
 of the flexibility peculiar to the neck of the swan, but seems to 
 move on a pivot only. In the articulation of the skull to the neck, 
 however, considerable flexibility is apparent, for the animal is 
 able to throw back the head until it is almost in Kne with the 
 neck, thus forming a prolongation that confers upon it the power 
 of reaching to a greater height than would otherwise be possible. 
 The tongue is particularly worthy of notice, for its elasticity and 
 prehensile powers. According to Sir Everard Home's description 
 of it, besides being the organ of taste, it has many of the pro- 
 perties of the elephant's trunk, one being an elongation of the 
 organ of smell, the other of taste. The proboscis is incapable of 
 elongation, he observes, beyond one inch in extent, in consequence 
 of its cartilaginous tubes, while the giraffe's tongue can be ex- 
 tended to such an extent that one measured seventeen inches long 
 in a dead animal, yet when living could lie so diminished in size as 
 to be enclosed within the mouth. It can also be tapered to so 
 , fine a point that Mr. Davis says it can be inserted into the ring of 
 a very small key. The tongue is smooth, but at will can be made 
 rough by the raising of the papillse. The power of thrusting it so 
 
 3 Knight's " Cyclopedia." 
 
THE GIRAFFE. 217 
 
 far out of tlie mouth is to enable the animal to curl it around the 
 branches, twigs, or other things it wishes to draw within the lips. 
 It can also be used for the examination and selection of its food as 
 well as to grasp things that it were otherwise impossible for the 
 animal to secure. The tongue would be liable to blister while 
 being so constantly exposed to the fierce rays of the sun when the 
 animal is feeding if Nature had not supplied a preventative in 
 the shape of a black rete mucosum with which it is covered pre- 
 sumably for this purpose. 
 
 The eyes of the giraffe, which are large and beautiful, are 
 so situated as to confer on the animal a wide range of vision. This 
 provision enables it to not only see what is passing on all sides, but 
 even behind it, without turning the head. It is in consequence, 
 even when feeding, able to detect the approach of its enemies, and, 
 if surprised, to direct with accurate aim the rapid storm of kicks 
 which, as before stated, is the mode of its defence. 
 
 At first appearance the hind-legs of the animal appear to be 
 shorter than the front ones, and many naturalists, including 
 Buffon, describe them as being so in reality. The statement is, 
 however, an erroneous one, for if anything, the hind ones are 
 slightly the longer. The shortness of the body, which is only 
 about seven feet from the neck to the tail, together with the great 
 falling away from the neck to the withers, and the still more rapid 
 slant at the extremity, produces the peculiarity in shape which 
 gives rise to the false impression. 
 
 The construction of the foot is a divided hoof, resembling that 
 of an ox, and as beautifully proportioned as that of the smallest 
 gazelle. The colour of the giraffe is a lightish orange-red, which 
 deepens considerably as it advances in age, and mottled over with 
 numerous triangular or oblong spots of a still darker tint, which, 
 however, are not found on the under part or inside of the limbs, 
 where the colour shades into almost pure white. The female is 
 distinguished by being of a hghter tinge, more approaching to 
 yellow, and shorter than the male. The neck is furnished with a 
 short black mane, and the long tail which nearly reaches to the 
 ground is terminated with a luxurious tuft of dark hair that enables 
 the animal to keep itself, to some extent, free from the pestering 
 
218 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 flies and stinging insects that sw^arm in their millions in 
 Africa. 
 
 Mr. Selous, describing these animals quenching their thirst, 
 observes, " It is a curious sight to watch these long-legged animals 
 drinking, and one that I hare had several opportunities of enjoy- 
 ing. Though their necks are long, they are not suflBciently so to 
 enable them to reach the water without straddling their legs wide 
 apart. In doing this, they sometimes place one foot in front, and 
 the other as far back as possible, and then by a series of little 
 jerks widen the distance between the two, until they succeed in 
 getting their mouths down to the water ; sometimes they sprawl 
 their legs out sideways in a similar manner." 
 
 They have to go through the same performance when feeding 
 from the ground, through being unable to reach there except by 
 divaricating the fore-legs or straddling, which gives them an 
 awkward appearance when so engaged. 
 
 They are peculiarly silent animals, and have never been heard 
 under any circumstances to utter a cry or sound of any descrip- 
 tion. Their hide is very tough, and being an inch and a half 
 thick, a rifle-ball does not easily penetrate it, unless it is fired from 
 a rather short range. - 
 
 The gait of a giraffe is generally an amble and a very peculiar one, 
 due to their moving both legs on the same side together in each 
 stride, which gives them a singular and yery ungainly mode of 
 progression ; it is made still more clumsy-looking by the habit 
 they have of stretching forward their long necks when galloping. 
 Sir W. 0. Harris says, " The rapidity with which these awkwardly- 
 formed animals can move is beyond all things surprising; our 
 best horses being unable to close with them under two miles. 
 Their gallop is a succession of jumping strides, the fore and hind- 
 leg on the same side moving together, instead of diagonally as in 
 most other quadrupeds, the former being kept close together, and 
 the latter so wide apart, that in riding by the animal's side 
 the hoof may be seen striking on the outside of the hors*e, 
 threatening momentarily to overthrow him. Their motion alto- 
 gether reminded me rather of the pitching of a ship, or rocking of 
 a rocking-horse, than of anything living ; and the remarkable 
 
THE GIEAFPB. 219 
 
 gait is rendered still more automaton-like by the switching at 
 regular intervals of the long black tail, which is invariably curled 
 above the back and by the corresponding action of the neck, 
 swinging as it does, like a pendulum, and literally imparting to 
 the animal the appearance of a piece of machinery in motion." 
 
 The senses of sight, hearing, and smell appear to be acute, but 
 the animal is incapable of any continued speed or exertion what- 
 ever ; Dr. Livingstone is the authority for the statement that 
 when pressed hard by a good horse for even two or three hundred 
 yards it has been known to drop down dead without any wound 
 being inflicted at all. 
 
 For a considerable period of comparatively modern times, this 
 strange and rare animal was deemed a myth, and despite the 
 descriptions and even illustrations of it that were extant, it was 
 classed with the unicorn and sphinx of the ancients, being con- 
 sidered as a fantastic creature that only had had existence in their 
 imaginations. Gesner stated authoritatively that it was without 
 question such a beast existed, because it had been seen in Europe, 
 yet he continued to attach to it the fabulous origin from whence it 
 derived the name of camelopard, by saying it was the production 
 of a cross between the camel and the leopard. 
 
 In 1769 Captain Carteret, in a letter addressed to Matthew 
 Matty, Esq., M.D., published in the "Philosophical Transactions," 
 there was an enclosed drawing of the camelopardalis caught near 
 the Cape, about which the writer observes, " As the existence of this 
 fine animal has been doubted by many, if you think it may afford any 
 pleasure to the curious, you will make what use of it you please." 
 
 Although not a sacred animal with the Egyptians, yet it is 
 figured on their monunients. It is seen on the walls of the sekos 
 or cell of the Memnonium, and on the back of the temple of Ermento. 
 Again on the walls of the vestibule of the rock-hewn temple of 
 Beit-e'-wellee, or Beit-oualli, near Kalabshe, in Nubia, made by 
 Barneses IT., who reigned in Egypt about 1300 years before Christ, 
 the battles and conquests of the king are depicted in basso and 
 cavo-relievo. A cast of these scenes, made and coloured by Mr. 
 Bonini, is in the British Museum. In one place the king is seen 
 receiving the tribute of Kush or Ethiopia. The first bearers 
 
220 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 bring two green monkeys, a log of ebony, and some panther 
 skins, suspended from a pole carried on the shoulders ; the second 
 has a cheetah, held by a leash, and a gazelle ; the third a giraffe, 
 which is being driven with a cord round- his neck. The drawing 
 of the stately animal is excellently done, and conveys an exact 
 idea of its figure and appearance ; the only fault being that the 
 man is out of proportion, being represented as of the same height 
 as the giraffe, this being due, no doubt, to the limited space 
 at the artist's disposal not allowing him to delineate the true 
 proportions of the animal. Other men and animals follow, and 
 the last are two negroes with a gazelle, logs of ebony, and another 
 cheetah or panther, also an ostrich ; this being the only repre- 
 sentation yet discovered of this bird on an Egyptian monument. 
 
 Ippolito Rosellini in his exhaustive work * also gives a coloured 
 reproduction of a giraffe as figured in that wonderful tomb of 
 Beni Hassan, which is the oldest drawing of the animal that has yet 
 been discovered. The giraffe is portrayed, being led by men who 
 are holding cords attached to the animal's legs below the knees. 
 Climbing up the giraffe's neck is a green monkey with a long 
 tail and a red face. The outline is very accurate, but the spots 
 are too numerous and close together. A facsimile of this drawing 
 is given herewith. It is the exact reproduction in every way of 
 the figure as found within the tomb, but is drawn on scale to a 
 quarter the size. 
 
 The giraffe must have been known to the Greeks, for although 
 Aristotle does not speak of it — unless the Hippardion can be 
 accurately identified to mean it — it was described by Agathar- 
 chides, the Grecian geographer and historian (e.g. 130), A 
 camelopard is also enumerated among the rare animals seen in 
 the procession of Ptolemy Philadelphus at Alexandria by one of 
 the Deipnosophists.^ 
 
 In the ruins of the temple dedicated to Fortune in Prjeneste, 
 now Palestrina, a town in Campagna di Roma, about twenty-three 
 miles south-east of Eome, was found the celebrated mosaic which 
 was transferred in 1640 by the Cardinal Francis Barberini to a 
 hall of his palace. This wonderful pavement, which is the finest 
 
 * " I Monumenti dell' Egitto e della Nubia." = " Athenaus," lib. v. 
 
A GIRAFFE. 
 
 Reduced facsimile of the drawing found in a tomb at Beni Hassan. 
 
THE GIRAFFE. 221 
 
 and most perfect ancient mosaic in existence, apparently represents 
 an Egyptian festival held on the annual inundation of the Nile, 
 and on it are to be seen numerous figures of men and animals ; 
 among the latter are the hippopotamus and the giraffe. This 
 last animal is seen both grazing and browsing. It has been 
 variously ascribed to the time of the later Ptolemies, and by 
 some to the reign of Hadrian; others state it was made by the 
 direction of Sylla, who held the ofl&ce of qu^stor in Numidia, the 
 name given by the Romans to the territory on the north coast of 
 Africa corresponding to some extent with the modern Algiers. 
 The opinion has, therefore, been formed that the artists who 
 executed this and other mosaic work both in Italy and Spain, 
 were Egyptian Glreeks. 
 
 Although thus figured in a temple close to their capital, the 
 Romans do not appear to have seen the animal itself until a 
 few years before the^ Christian Bra. Heliodorus, writing in the 
 fourth century, speaks of the camelopard being brought to Rome 
 among other presents by the Ethiopian ambassadors. Pliny 
 states it was first seen in the Circensian games held by Caesar the 
 Dictator (b.o. 46). But after Egypt belonged to the Romans, 
 these graceful beasts were more frequently conspicuous at the 
 games or shows, but at no time were they ever there considered 
 common animals or seen in large numbers. The third Gordian 
 Emperor, from a.d. 238 to 244, exhibited ten at one time, which 
 was probably the largest number ever collected together away 
 from their native land. 
 
 These animals can be traced through the various writers until 
 " the great blank of literature intervenes," Gibbon " describes the 
 Emperor Commodus slaying in the amphitheatre, in addition to 
 lions, elephants, and rhinoceros, several animals which had been seen 
 only in the representations of arts, or perhaps of fancy, and says in 
 a note, " Commodus killed a camelopardalis or giraffe, the tallest, 
 the most gentle, and the most useless of the large quadrupeds. 
 This singular animal, a native only of the interior parts of Africa, 
 had not been seen in Europe since the revival of letters ; and 
 though M. de Buffon has endeavoured to describe, he has not 
 
 6 "Eise and Fall of the Eoman Empire.'' 
 
222 'WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 ventured to delineate tlie giraffe." The first part of this state- 
 ment, it has been pointed out, is incorrect, for in 1472, Mr. 
 Grilbert says, in his " Life of Lucrezia Borgia," a giraffe, the first 
 seen in Europe in modern days, was brought to Ferrara by the 
 Sultan of Egypt's ambassador. 
 
 The collection of animals made by the Emperor Frederick the 
 Second in Sicily (1198 — 1227), included giraffes which were pre- 
 sented to him by the Prince of Damascus, and are described by 
 Albertus Magnus, and referred to by Raumer in his work 
 " Geschichte der Hohenstaufen." These animals must therefore 
 have been known to the Sicilians, for the emperor's menagerie 
 was exhibited for the popular amusement [in many places ; in 
 the early part of the thirteenth century, we consequently find 
 them represented upon the tapestries and fabrics woven at that 
 and a somewhat later period. 
 
 Specimens of work so figured can now be seen in the South Ken- 
 sington Museum, and from Dr. Book's able catalogue we learn that 
 the Sicilians were taught the art of spinning silk by Mohammedans 
 from Africa, and that " from the east to the uttermost western 
 borders of the Mediterranean, the weavers of every country had 
 been in the habit of figuring upon their silk those beasts and birds 
 they saw around them." 
 
 Colonel Yule states that a giraffe was sent by Birbars to the 
 Imperial Court in 1261, and several to Barka Khan at Sarai in 
 1263. The king of Nubia was bound by treaty in 1276 to deliver 
 to the Sultan three elephants, three giraffes, and five she- 
 panthers. These animals, which were called " seraphs " by the 
 Italians, must therefore have been well known in Europe about 
 this period. 
 
 Gibbon is correct in his remark that Buffon, although he 
 described the animal, had never seen one. Levaillant, the 
 French traveller, who sacrificed his fortune in journeys made 
 in the interest of natural history, sent the Jardin des Plantes 
 the first stuffed giraffe which the Parisiennes ever saw. In his 
 description of how he obtained this specimen, after describing 
 the chase and his success in killing the giraffe with his first shot, 
 he continues, " Who would believe that a success like this could 
 
THE GIRAFFE. 223 
 
 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 disappeared, 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 ; and 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." 
 
 At the end of the fifteenth century the giraffe that was in Flo- 
 rence and belonged to Lorenzo di Medici, and the one represented in 
 the frescoes of a villa belonging to the Grand Duke of I'uscany, 
 Poggio Acajano, between Florence and Prato was, we learn/ very 
 familiar with the inhabitants of the city. It lived on the fruits of the 
 country, particularly apples, and when led about used to stretch up 
 its long neck to the first floor of the houses, to implore a meal. 
 
 A giraffe was not again seen in Europe from this date until 1827, 
 when the Pasha of Elgypt presented one to the Sultan, another he 
 sent to Venice, a third to King George, and a fourth to Paris. 
 The consuls of each nation drew lots for the choice, and the 
 French people seem to have got the most satisfaction out of their 
 giraffe ; it was the healthiest, and lived the longest. The account 
 given of the arrival of this creature is amusing, and the fwore 
 created by it is curious reading in 1S85, for the animals 
 are now acclimatized and regulary bred in Europe. The Penny 
 Magdeim for 1832 says : — " The female giraffe brought to France, 
 after passing a winter at Marseilles, in order to accustom 
 her to a still more rigorous climate, was conveyed to the Garden 
 of Plants, in Paris, where she is now in high health and beauty. 
 Her arrival created the greatest satisfaction and enthusiasm. A 
 professor from the garden went to conduct her to the capital, and 
 watch over her welfare during the march. The prefect of Mar- 
 seilles caused the arms of France to be embroidered in silver on her 
 body-cloth, which, with her hood;, was made of black oiled-silk, 
 7 " Library of Entertaining Knowledge." Menageries. 
 
224 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 bordered witli red ; deputations from the various towns met her on 
 her way ; the cows sent from Egypt with her, to supply her with 
 milk during the passage, accompanied her ; and she was not only 
 escorted by the before-mentioned gentlemen, but by Atie, her 
 Darfour negro, Hassan, her Arab attendant, a Marseillois groom, 
 and a mulatto who served as an interpreter to the two former. 
 The Archbishop of Lyons being very desirous that she should pay 
 him a visit, the prefect of the city and several horsemen set out to 
 meet the cavalcade, and lead it to his Grace's house ; but unfor- 
 tunately, the giraffe, frightened at their appearance, broke from 
 her conductors and fled. The horsemen pursued, when turning 
 suddenly round, she in her turn frightened the horses ; the prefect 
 rolled on to the professor, the professor on to the ground, and the 
 confusion was complete. The innocent cause of it, however, quietly 
 walked back to the stable she had left in the morning, and no 
 further attempt was made to introduce her to the archbishop. A 
 party from Paris met her at Fontainebleau, and her entrance to 
 the Garden of Plants resembled a triumphal procession ; she was led 
 by her four attendants, was surrounded by the professors, troops 
 kept the public from pressing on her, and her three cows and the 
 antelope who came with her from Egypt, followed in a carriage. She 
 was first placed in a large building called the Orangery, and was 
 only suffered to walk out in that division of the garden named 
 the School of Botany, when the weather was warm and sunny. 
 Nothing could exceed the- curiosity she excited. Her place of 
 exercise was generally surrounded by 10,000 persons at a time, and 
 13,000 more than the usual number of passengers daily crossed 
 over the Pont d'Austerlitz, which is opposite to one of the gates 
 of the garden. This eagerness lasted for many weeks, and not 
 only all the people of Paris, but of the environs, went to behold 
 the giraffe. A fresh portrait of her was published every week ; 
 representations of her in various attitudes decorated every box, 
 every fan, and even the ribbons of the ladies ; and men and women 
 wore gloves, shoes, waistcoats, gowns, and bonnets of the same 
 colour as the spots on her sides." 
 
 In England there is no record of the animal ever having been 
 seen until the one that fell to the lot of George the Fourth arrived. 
 
THE GIRAFFE, 225 
 
 It was the shortest and weakest of the four, and was roughly 
 treated. It was kept at Windsor, in the king's menagerie, but it 
 died in 1829. It had always been a poor sick specimen, and was 
 so far gone in the legs that at one time a pulley had to be sus- 
 pended from the ceiling, whereby the animal could be raised from 
 the ground on to her feet, for she had apparently become incapable 
 of the exertion herself. 
 
 Phil Ilobinson, in his amusing book, " Noah's Ark," considers it 
 terrible to think what a giraffe's seven feet of sore throat must be 
 like. It requires, however, but little imagination to picture the 
 ridiculous appearance presented by such a long, stilt-legged 
 animal when afflicted with the complaint from which human giants 
 are said to suffer, namely, " weak in the knees ! " At any rate 
 a giraffe " gone in the legs " was not an attractive sight, and on 
 her demise very little regret seems to have been expressed. 
 
 It inspired the Zoological Society, however, with some energy, 
 for they determined to procure animals of this species for their 
 gardens, and accordingly entered into a contract for the purchase 
 of any specimens that could be procured. This resulted in 1836 in 
 the importation of four young giraffes all at one time, three males 
 and one female. This event was considered an era in the annals 
 of natural history. 
 
 Mr, Broderip ^ gives the following account of the circumstances 
 attending their capture : — " M. Thibaut quitted Cairo in April, 
 1834, and after sailing up the Nile as far as Wadi Haifa, the 
 second cataract, took camels and proceeded to Debbat, a province 
 of Dongolah, whence he started for the desert of Kordof an. Being 
 perfectly acquainted with the locality, and on friendly terms with the 
 Arabs, he attached them still more by the desire of profit. All were 
 desirous of accompanying him in the pursuit of the giraffes, for up 
 to that time they had treated them solely for the sake of their flesh, 
 which they ate, and the skin of which they made into bucklers and 
 sandals. The party proceeded to the south-west of Kordofan, and 
 in August were rewarded by the sight of two beautiful giraffes ; a 
 rapid chase of three hours, on horses accustomed to the fatigues 
 of the desert, put them in possession of the largest of these noble 
 
 8 " Zoological Anecdotes." 
 
226 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 animals ; unable to take her alive, tlie Arabs killed lier with, blows 
 of the sabre, and cutting her to pieces, carried the meat to their 
 headquarters, which had been established in a wooded situation — 
 an arrangement necessary for their own comfort, and to secure 
 pasturage for their camels. They deferred to the following day 
 the pursuit of the motherless young one, knowing they would have 
 no diflSculty in again discovering it. The Arabs quickly covered 
 the live embers with slices of the meat, which M. Thibaut pro- 
 nounces to be excellent. 
 
 " On the following morning the party started at daybreak in 
 search of the young giraffe, of which they had lost sight not far 
 from the camp. The sandy desert is well adapted to afford indi- 
 cations to a hunter, and in a very short time they were on the 
 track of the object of their pursuit ; they followed the traces with 
 rapidity and in silence lest the creature should be alarmed whilst 
 yet at a distance ; but after a laborious chase of several hours 
 through brambles and thorny trees, they at last succeeded in 
 capturing the coveted prize. It was now necessary to rest for 
 three or four days, in order to render the giraffe sufficiently tame ; 
 during which period an Arab constantly held it at the end of a 
 long cord ; by degrees it became accustomed to the presence of 
 man, and was ' induced to take nourishment, but it was found 
 necessary to insert a finger into its mouth to deceive it into the 
 idea that it was with its dam, it then sucked freely. When 
 captured its age was about nineteen months. Five giraffes were 
 taken by the party, but the cold weather of December, 1834, killed 
 four of them in the desert on the route to Dongolah. Happily, 
 that first taken survived, and reached Dongolah in January, 1835, 
 after a sojourn of twenty-two days in the desert. 
 
 "Unwilling to leave with a solitary specimen, M. Thibaut 
 returned to the desert, where he remained three months, crossing 
 in all directions, and frequently exposed to great hardships and 
 privations; but he was eventually rewarded by obtaining three 
 giraffes, all smaller than the first. A great trial awaited them, as 
 they had to proceed by water the whole distance from Wadi 
 Haifa to Cairo, and thence to Alexandria and Malta, besides the 
 voyage to England. They suffered considerably at sea during a 
 
THE GIRAFFE. 227 
 
 passage of twenty-four days in very tempestuous weather, and on 
 reaching Malta, in November, they were detained in quarantine 
 twenty-five days more; but despite all these difficulties they 
 reached England in safety, and on the 25th of May were con- 
 ducted to the gardens. At daybreak the keepers and several 
 gentlemen of scientific distinction arrived at the Brunswick wharf, 
 and the animals were handed over to them. The distance to the 
 gardens was not less than six miles, and some curiosity, not 
 unmingled with anxiety, was felt as to how this would be accom- 
 plished. Each giraffe was led between two keepers by means of 
 long reins attached to the head ; the animals walked along at a 
 rapid pace, generally in advance of their conductors, but were 
 perfectly tractable. It being so early in the morning few persons 
 were about, but the astonishment of those who did behold the 
 unlooked-for procession was ludicrous in the extreme. As the 
 giraffes stalked by, followed by M. Thibaut and others in Eastern 
 costume, the worthy pohcemen and early coffee-sellers stared with 
 astonishment, and a few revellers, whose reeling steps proclaimed 
 their dissipation, evidently doubted whether the strange figures 
 they beheld were real flesh and bone, or fictions conjured up by 
 their potations ; their gaze of stupid wonder indicating that of the 
 two they were inclined to the latter opinion. 
 
 " "When the giraff'es entered the park, and first caught sight of 
 the green trees, they became excited, and hauled upon the reins, 
 waving the head and neck from side to side, with an occasional 
 caracole and kick-out of the hind-legs, but M. Thibaut contrived 
 to coax them along with pieces 6f sugar, of which they were very 
 fond,; and he had the satisfaction of depositing his valuable 
 charges without accident or misadventure in the sanded paddock 
 prepared for their reception. The sum agreed on with M. Thibaut 
 was 250Z. for the first giraffe he obtained, 200Z. for the second, 
 150Z. for the third, and 1001. for the fourth— in all 7001; 
 but the actual cost to the Society amounted to no less than 
 2386Z. 3s. id., in consequence of the heavy expenses of freight, 
 conveya.nce, &c." 
 
 These animals soon became accHmatized. One of the males 
 died shortly after its arrival, but the others bore their confinement 
 
 Q 2 
 
228 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 very -well, and the breed has been perpetuated ever since. The 
 Society has sold several of the young ones, which are now 
 scattered over various parts of the world. Some new blood was 
 imported in 1850, but since then all the Zoological Society's 
 giraffes have been of their own breeding. 
 
 In 1866 a sad accident happened to the animals that were 
 then in the gardens. On the 7th November of that year the straw 
 in their house caught fire through some unexplained cause, but 
 supposed to have been due to a match being mixed with the 
 litter under their feet, and ignited by one of the animals treading 
 upon it. Two of the beautiful creatures were suffocated or burnt 
 to death, but another two were fortunately saved by the exertions 
 of Mr, Nurce, the anatomical prosector of the Society, who 
 happened to be near the giraffe-house at the time, and was 
 able, at considerable personal risk, to get them out into the yard 
 at the back of their apartment. 
 
 The gardens now possess three animals — father, mother, and 
 child, all good specimens of their species, which show that the 
 careful attention, airy and well- ventilated pens, and out-door life 
 in the summer sunshine suit the animals, and prevent them fi'om 
 degenerating. The average age they attain in the keeping of the 
 Society is ascertained to be sixteen years. They are fed on the 
 best hay, carrots, onions, and some lump sugar now and then by 
 way of a treat, which they seem to appreciate. They eat altogether 
 about eighteen pounds of food each a day, and drink four gallons 
 of water. 
 
GIRAFFES. 
 
 {Camelopardus giraffa.) 
 
 HIPPOPOTAMUS. 
 
 {^Hippopotamus antphibius. ) 
 The well-known '• Guy Fawkes " belonging to the Zoological Society. 
 
229 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE HIPPOPOTAMUS {HIPPOPOTAMUS AMPHIBIUS). 
 
 This strange and uncouth-looking animal, belongs to tlie pachy- 
 dermatous order of mammals, and is partially amphibious, for, as a 
 rule, it lives during the day-time, submerged in its native waters, 
 rising every few minutes to the surface for the purpose of breathing 
 and only comes to the land during the night to feed. 
 
 There are two species of the hippopotamus now existing, both 
 belonging to the same family, Hippopotamidce. At one time the 
 race was more numerous, and their range much more diffused, for 
 the remains of other species, one as small as the domestic hog, are 
 found in the tertiary formation of Europe. And in Asia, at the 
 base of the Himalayas, the bones of another extinct species were 
 discovered that had six incisor teeth in each jaw. 
 
 The two varieties are known as the Liberian hippopotamus and 
 the Hippopotamus amphibius. They differ in several minor points, 
 the principal ones being that the former animal is much smaller 
 in size, and possesses only one pair of incisor teeth instead of two. 
 It is a very rare beast, and the only specimen ever brought to 
 this country was a young one in a moribund condition. 
 
 The hippopotamus at the present day is only found in Southern 
 and Central Africa, where it abounds in the various rivers and 
 lakes ; but, with the exception of that part of the Nile that runs 
 through Upper Egypt, it is not to be found in any waters that 
 have their outlet in the Mediterranean. 
 
 The specimens of these beasts now in the Zoological Society's 
 gardens, occupy the adjoining apartments to the giraffe, where 
 they have a roomy tank in which they pass most of their time. 
 No greater contrast could be exhibited than is apparent between 
 
230 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 tHese two different species of mammals, both of great size in tlieir 
 respective ways, and related by being inhabitants of the same 
 continent. In the one instance, we see a creature beautifully 
 marked, soaring gracefully aloft, mild featured, and of timid dis- 
 position ; in the other, when on land, a shapeless beast resembling 
 an immense Grerman sausage, with formidable fangs, stupid appear- 
 ance, and its cumbersome body grovelling on the earth. 
 
 The hippopotamus is undoubtedly the ugliest and most ill- 
 favoured-looking quadruped that will come under our considera- 
 tion. It is huge-bodied, short-limbed, immensely large-headed, 
 and presents altogether an unwieldy, massive, and withal stunted 
 appearance. These creatures measure when full-grown somewhere 
 between twelve and thirteen feet from the snout to the tail, and 
 round the body a little over ten feet. This great length and 
 girth is supported on very short and feeble-looking legs, which 
 are only a little more than eighteen inches high, so that the 
 animal's body is barely lifted off the ground. Its full height 
 at the shoulders is under five feet, which by the standard of the 
 majority of other members of the animal creation, is out of all 
 proportion. Their feet have each four toes, which are, however, 
 enclosed in hoofs. 
 
 The huge head is ornamented near the summit with two very 
 small ears, which are perpetually twitching, and is terminated by 
 a heavy, massive jaw with thick upper lips bulging over and com- 
 pletely covering the mouth. Its eyes, which are very small, are 
 situated but a little way apart, and in protruding sockets. The 
 nostrils, ears, and eyes are nearly all on the same plane, the flat 
 surface of the massive head. This very remarkable feature in the 
 construction of this singular beast permits it to breathe, and use 
 the senses of hearing, seeing, and smelling by only exposing a 
 very small part of its body; hence the custom it adopts of 
 floating in the water with only the upper level of the head resting 
 a little above the surface. Its slow respiration enables it to 
 remain under the water for long intervals at a stretch. It is, in 
 fact, in every way adapted to live both in the water and on land. 
 The massive body, ungainly as it may be, floats easily, and when 
 beneath the surface the hippopotamus can exclude the water by 
 
THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 231 
 
 hermetically closing the nostrils, for they are supplied mth a 
 wonderful valve arrangement that enables the animal to do this at 
 will. The mammals that are amphibious only possess this power ; 
 but, as already described, the camel and giraffe have a similar 
 construction as a protection when breathing the sand-laden air. 
 
 The hippopotamus has a tremendous gape, for it can open the 
 jaws to a wider extent than can readily be believed without 
 occular demonstration. It has, in fact, far and away the largest 
 mouth of any known animal. In this cavernous receptacle it 
 displays six molar teeth on each side of both jaws, very strong 
 and enormous ripping canines, forming the tusks, the upper ones 
 being nearly straight, but the lower ones curved and working upon 
 each other, so as to produce a chisel-like' edge with which the 
 animal can cut grass, vegetables, and river weeds, or uproot 
 them with the ease of an agricultural implement. It has also 
 four incisors in each jaw, the upper ones bent forward, the under 
 ones long and cylindrical. The tusks, of the lower jaw especially, 
 are harder and even of more commercial value than the ivory of 
 the elephant. Tusks of the hippopotamus have been known to 
 weigh twenty-one pounds; this is of course exceptional, but 
 conveys the idea of the formidable teeth that are hidden in the 
 closed jaws of this singular-looking beast. No ivory keeps its 
 colour so well, and large quantities of these tusks are imported 
 into England, where dentists highly value them for making artificial 
 teeth, and they are used for many other purposes. The skin is 
 destitute of hair, except a few tufts on the lips, edges of the ears, 
 and on the short thick tail. The colour is a dark pinkish-brown, 
 and marked all over with dark spots, which are almost invisible, in 
 some instances, without close inspection. The skin exudes some 
 thick, oily matter from its numerous pores, which evidently acts as a 
 protector against any injurious effects that might result from long 
 immersions in the water. 
 
 Although the hippopotamus swims and dives with an agility 
 that is astonishing considering its bulky form, it is far from an 
 active beast when on land ; for the weight the dumpy legs have to 
 support renders its gait anything but a rapid one. The consequence 
 is that when out of the water it is not by any means a dangerous 
 
232 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 animal, althougli, quoting Dr. Livingstone, " certain elderly males, 
 wtich liave been expelled tte community, become soured in 
 theu- temper, and attack every one tbat passes near them. One 
 of these ' bachelors ' issued out of his lair, and putting down his 
 head ran after our company with considerable speed; another 
 before we arrived had smashed to pieces a canoe by a blow from 
 his hind-foot. I was informed by my men that, in the event of a 
 similar assault, the proper course was to plunge to the bottom of 
 the river and remain there a few seconds, because the animal after 
 breaking a canoe always looks for the people on the surface, and 
 if he finds none soon moves off. I have seen some frightful 
 gashes made on the legs of men who were unable to dive. The 
 hippopotamus uses his teeth against foes as an offensive weapon, 
 but is altogether a herbivorous feeder." 
 
 Mr. Robert Moffat, the African missionary, states that on one 
 occasion he was attacked by one of these animals, and another 
 time, when speaking of a man he saw trying to escape an en- 
 raged hippopotamus, says " the sea-lion seized him, and literally 
 severed his body in two with its monstrous jaws." 
 
 When in the water the animals are so formidable that care has 
 to be taken to avoid passing near or through a herd of them, and 
 in approaching near their haunts the greatest caution has to be 
 exercised, for they have the power of grasping a canoe in their 
 extensive jaws, and so wrecking it. 
 
 In a letter dated Zanzibar, 18th of February, 1873, reporting 
 the progress of Sir Bartle Frere's expedition, which was published 
 in the Times about a month later, there is the following para- 
 graph : " With regard to the hippopotami, their numbers in the 
 coast rivers make navigation in small boats anything but safe and 
 easy. Not content with occasionally attempting an entrance over 
 the gunwale of the boat, they often try to stave the boat in from 
 underneath. An accident of this sort happened to two gentlemen 
 of Sir Bartle Frere's suite in the river near Dar-es-Salkam. The 
 boat was suddenly stove in from underneath, two large tusks 
 made two gaping holes, through which the water rushed in, and 
 they had barely time to reach the shore before sinking, not having 
 been able to get a shot at their invisible enemy." 
 
THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 233 
 
 Dr. Livingstone also met. with a mishap, for he writes : " While 
 proceeding down the river a female hippopotamus struck the 
 canoe with her forehead, lifting one half of it quite out of the 
 water, so as nearly to overturn it. The force of the butt she 
 gave tilted Mashauana into the river; the rest of us swam to the 
 shore, which was only about ten yards off. . . . There were eight 
 of us in the canoe, and the shake it received shows the immense 
 power of this animal in the water." 
 
 The hippopotami are gregarious, company-loving beasts. They 
 associate together in herds numbering from five and six to thirty 
 or forty ; but it is impossible to accurately ascertain their num- 
 bers, for as they are generally hidden under the water, and only 
 keep rising in constant succession, they cannot well be counted. 
 They exhibit considerable intelligence in avoiding danger when 
 once they are aware of it, for if shot at many times they profit by 
 the experience, and are wont thereafter for some time to remain 
 hidden and breathe quietly, which is the opposite to their custom 
 prior to being disturbed, for then their heads are held well out 
 of the water, which gives the rivers they frequent the appearance 
 of being dotted over with small rocks, and they blow the water 
 about in every direction, while they utter loud snorting grunts 
 which may be heard a mile off. 
 
 Schweinfurth, in his book " The Heart of Africa," in describing 
 the hippopotamus gives the following particulars : " The colour of 
 nearly all these animals was a dark fleshy red, almost like raw 
 meat, marked irregularly with large black spots. I also saw 
 specimens of a lighter shade, but never of a pure white; in 
 the sunshine their damp bodies assumed quite a bluish-grey hue. 
 Half of the hippopotamuses that I noticed at this deep part of 
 the river, which extended for about a mile, were females carrying 
 their young, which at this season seemed very weak and unde- 
 veloped, and sat astride on the short necks of their mothers. The 
 females appeared to rise to the surface of the water for the sake 
 of their young far more frequently than was necessary for their 
 own accommodation, and, unlike the males, which usually show 
 their mouth and nostrils, they only lifted their young above the 
 water, whilst their own heads generally remained invisible. The 
 
234 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 animals seem to utter different sounds at different seasons ; they 
 now snorted and grunted, or rather groaned, and the sharp 
 rattHng gurgle was less distinct than in the spring. In the sun- 
 light the fine spray emitted from their nostrils gleamed like a ray 
 of light. 
 
 " Now and then, with a frightful roar that resounded far away, 
 the males would leap violently from the water, displaying all the 
 forepart of their huge body; they seemed to be scuffling together; 
 but whether they were quarrelling for a monopoly of the limited 
 space, or whether they had been hit by some of my bullets, I 
 could not determine. Their small pointed ears were remarkably 
 flexible, and were continually moving to and fro as the animals 
 listened to distant sounds or flapped away the setthng insects." 
 
 Dr. Emil Holub ^ writes : " Of all the larger mammalia of South 
 Africa I am disposed to believe that to an unarmed man the 
 hippopotamus is the most dangerous. In its normal state it can 
 never endure the sight of anything to which it is unaccustomed, 
 or which takes it by surprise. Let it come upon a horse, an ox, 
 a porcupine, a log of wood, or even a fluttering garment, suddenly 
 crossing its path, and it will fly upon any of them with relentless 
 fury ; but let such object be withdrawn betimes from view, and the 
 brute in an instant will forget all about it, and go on its way entirely 
 undisturbed. (This peculiarity may perhaps be physiologically 
 accounted for by the sniall weight of the brain as contrasted with 
 the ponderous size of the body.) Although in some cases it may 
 happen that an unprotected man may elude the attacks of a lion, 
 a buffalo, or a leopard, except they have been provoked, he 
 cannot indulge the hope of escaping the violence of a hippo- 
 potamus that has once got him within reach of its power. . . . 
 While I was in Sesteke I heard of a sad casualty that had occurred 
 near the town in the previous year. A Masupia, on his way down 
 the river, saw a hippopotamus asleep on a sandy bank, and believing 
 that he might make it an easy prey, approached it very gently, 
 and thrust his spear right under the shoulder. The barb, how- 
 ever, glinted off its side, inflicting only a trifling wound. In a 
 second, before the man had time to get away, the infuriated 
 ' " Seven Years in South Africa," 1881. 
 
THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 235 
 
 brute was up and after him. In vain he rolled himself over to 
 conceal himself in the grass ; the beast seemed resolved to trample 
 him to pieces ; he held up his right hand as a protection, and it 
 was crushed by the monster's fangs ; he stretched out his left, and 
 it was amputated by a single bite. He was afterwards found by 
 some j&shermen in a most mutilated state, barely able to recount 
 his misfortune before he died." 
 
 Sir Samuel Baker, in his book " Ismailia," relates the circum- 
 stances attending an unprovoked attack made on his boat by a 
 ferocious hippopotamus in the White Nile. Quoting his own 
 words : " The night was cold, and the moon clear and bright. 
 Every one was wrapped up in warm blankets, and I was so sound 
 asleep that I cannot describe more until I was suddenly awoke by 
 a tremendous splashing quite close to the diahbeeah, accompanied 
 by the hoarse, wild snorting of a furious hippopotamus. I jumped 
 up, and immediately perceived a hippo, which was apparently 
 about to attack the vessel. The main-deck being crowded with 
 people sleeping beneath their thick mosquito curtains, attached to 
 the stairs of the poop-deck and to the rigging in all directions, 
 rendered it impossible to descend. I at once tore away some of 
 the lines, and awakened the sleepy people. My servant, Suleiman, 
 was sleeping next to the cabin door. I called to him for a rifle. 
 Before the affrighted Suleiman could bring the rifle, the hippo- 
 potamus dashed at us with indescribable fury. With one blow he 
 capsized and sank the zinc boat with its cargo of flesh. In 
 another instant he seized the dingy in his immense jaws, and the 
 crash of splintered wood betokened the destruction of my favourite 
 boat. 
 
 " By this time Suleiman appeared from the cabin with an 
 unloaded gun in his hand and without ammunition. This was 
 a very good man, but he was never overburdened with presence of 
 mind; he was shaking so fearfully with nervousness that his 
 senses had entirely abandoned him. All the people were shouting 
 and endeavouring to scare the hippo, which attacked us without 
 ceasing, with a blind fury that I have never witnessed in any 
 animal except a bull-dog. 
 
 " By this time I had procured a rifle from the cabin, where they 
 
236 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 were always kept fixed in a row, loaded, and ready for action, 
 with bags of breech-loading ammunition on the same shelf. 
 
 " The movements of the animal were so rapid, as he charged and 
 plunged alternately beneath the water in a cloud of foam and 
 wave, that it was impossible to aim correctly at the small but 
 fatal spot upon the head. 
 
 " The moon was extremely bright, and presently, as he charged 
 straight for the diahbeeah, I stopped him with a No. 8 Reilly shell. 
 To my surprise, he soon recovered, and again commenced the 
 attack. 
 
 " I fired shot after shot at him without apparent effect. The 
 diahbeeah rocked about upon the waves raised by the efforts of so 
 large an animal. The movement rendered the aim uncertain. At 
 length, apparently badly wounded, he retired to the high grass ; 
 there he lay by the bank, at about twenty-five yards' distance, 
 snorting and blowing. 
 
 " I could not distinguish him, as merely the head was above 
 water, and this was concealed by the deep shadow thrown by the 
 high grass. Thinking that he would die, I went to bed; but 
 before this I took the precaution to arrange a white-paper sight 
 upon the muzzle of my rifle, without which night-shooting is very 
 uncertain. 
 
 " We had fallen asleep ; but in half an hour we were awoke 
 by another tremendous splash, and once more this mad beast 
 came charging directly at us as though unhurt. In another 
 instant he was at the diahbeeah ; but I met him with a ball in the 
 top of his head, which sent him rolling over and over, sometimes 
 on his back, kicking with his four legs above the surface, and 
 again producing waves which rocked the diahbeeah. In this 
 helpless manner he rolled for about fifty yards down the stream, 
 and we all thought him killed. 
 
 " To our amazement, he recovered, and we heard him splashing as 
 he moved slowly along the river through the high grass by the 
 left bank. There he remained snorting and blowing, and as the 
 light of the moon was of no service in the dark shadows of 
 the high grass, we waited for a considerable time, and then went 
 to bed, with a rifle placed in readiness on deck. 
 
THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 237 
 
 " In a short time I heard louder splashing. I again got up, and 
 I perceiyed him about eighty yards distant, walking slowly across 
 the river in the shallows. Haying a fair shot at the shoulder, 
 I fired right and left with the No. 8 Reilly rifle, and I distinctly 
 heard the bullets strike. He nevertheless reached the right bank, 
 when he presently turned round and attempted to re-cross the 
 shallow. This gave me a good chance at the shoulder, as his body 
 was entirely exposed. He staggered forward at the shot, and fell 
 dead in the shallow flat of the river 
 
 " On the following morning I made a postmortem examination. 
 He had received three shots in the flank and shoulder ; four in 
 the head, one of which had broken his lower jaw ; another had 
 passed through his nose, and passing downward, had cut off one of 
 his large tusks, I never witnessed such determined and unprovoked 
 fury as was exhibited by this animal — he appeared to be raving 
 mad. His body was a mass of frightful scars, the result of con- 
 tinual conflicts with bulls of his own species ; some of these wounds 
 were still unhealed. There was one scar about two feet in length, 
 and about two inches below the level of the surface skin, upon the 
 flank. He was evidently a character of the worst description, but 
 whose madness rendered him callous to all punishment. I can 
 only suppose that the attack upon the vessels was induced by the 
 smell of the raw hippopotamus flesh, which was hung in long 
 strips about the rigging, and with which the zinc boat was filled. 
 The dead hippopotamus that was floating astern, lashed to the 
 diahbeeah, had not been molested. 
 
 " We raised the zinc boat, which was fortunately unhurt. The 
 dingy had lost a mouthful, as the hippopotamus had bitten out a 
 portion of the side, including the gunwale of hard wood; he had 
 munched out a piece like the port of a small vessel, which he had 
 accomplished with the same ease as though it had been a slice of 
 
 toast." 
 
 The hippopotamus is a vegetable feeder, living entirely on 
 grass, young reeds, and roots, and is very particular in its choice 
 of a good pasturage, for it often travels a considerable distance 
 along the river-bank to obtain it. During its nocturnal visits on 
 shore in search of food it commits sad havoc in the rice and grain 
 
238 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 plantations, if there are any in the district, for not only is its 
 voracity great, its stomach having a capacity of containing five or 
 six bushels, but it breaks down and tramples under feet large 
 quantities, and, as a consequence, its destructive powers cause 
 a great deal of hardship to the poor inhabitants of the river-side 
 villages, which is frequently expressed by doleful lamentations and 
 Hottentot maledictions. This habit of laying waste the standing 
 corn is mentioned in Phny's " Natural History," with the additional 
 remark that the animal determines beforehand what part it shall 
 ravage on the following day, and enters the field backwards, to 
 prevent any ambush being laid for it on its return. 
 
 They rarely trespass far inland, but prefer to keep near the 
 water, which is their retreat in case of danger. Occasionally, 
 however, stray animals are found asleep in places ten miles or more 
 away from a river, for as they are entirely dependent on their 
 scent as a guide to the right direction, if they wander off the 
 beaten track and a heavy rain-fall ensues they are apt to get 
 bewildered, and lose their way. Under these circumstances they 
 become easy victims to the native hunters, who are always on 
 the look-out for them. 
 
 Nearly all travellers in Africa speak of the conspicuous tracks 
 these animals make in their nocturnal journeys. In course of time 
 they become so well worn that they form clearly-defined roads. 
 Selous,^ describing a place he visited, writes : " Aboiit here the river 
 runs through a succession of rocky gorges, dashing over huge 
 boulders of granite (?) rock. Through these ravines hippopotami 
 must have wandered for countless ages, for in one place where a 
 ledge of rock ran along the bank of the river, they had worn a 
 path for about twenty yards across it, at least four inches deep 
 into the hard stone. This path worn into the solid stone was the 
 very facsimile of those recently made in soft ground, having the 
 slight ridge along the centre. Now from the nature of the river, 
 and the sparseness of vegetation along its banks, I do not think 
 the hippopotami could ever have been much more plentiful about 
 here than they are at the present day ; so that as they do not 
 every night make use of the same path, the time required by them 
 
 ^ " A Hunter's Wanderings." 
 
THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 239 
 
 to wear a track four inches deep with their soft feet in this 
 excessively hard rock seems almost beyond calculation." 
 
 Sir W. C. Harris, in his " Field Sports of Southern Africa," 
 says, speaking about his first experience of hippopotamus shoot- 
 ing : " Throughout the night the unwieldy monsters might be 
 heard snorting and blowing during their aquatic gambols, and we 
 not unfrequently detected them in the act of sallying from their 
 reed-grown coverts to graze by the serene light of the moon ; 
 never, however, venturing to any distance from the river, the 
 stronghold to which they betake themselves on the smallest alarm. 
 Occasionally, during the day, they were to be seen basking on the 
 shore amid ooze and mud ; but shots were more constantly to be 
 had at their uncouth heads when protruded from the water to 
 draw breath, and if killed, the body rose to the surface. Vulner- 
 able only behind the ear, however, or in the eye, which is placed 
 in a prominence, so as to resemble the garret-window of a Dutch 
 house, they require the perfection of rifle practice, and after a few 
 shots become exceedingly shy, exhibiting the snout only, and as 
 instantly withdrawing it. The flesh is delicious, resembling pork 
 in flavour, and abounding in fat, which in the colony is deservedly 
 esteemed the greatest of delicacies. The hide is upwards of an 
 inch and a half in thickness, and being scarcely flexible, may be 
 dragged in strips like the planks from a ship's side. Of these are 
 manufactured a superior description of sjamboh, an elastic whip, 
 an indispensable piece of furniture to every Boer proceeding on a 
 
 journey." 
 
 This gelatinous skin, when roasted, is considered a delicacy, 
 though many European hunters do not like it. In addition to 
 the articles made from it described by Harris, it is said, by another 
 traveller when in its raw state to make excellent handles for 
 knives and workmen's tools, for it shrinks as it dries and takes 
 firm hold upon the metal. Herodotus and Aristotle both assert 
 that the hide is so hard that spears and other missiles are formed 
 from it. This is doubtful; but Pliny's statement is probably 
 more correct, for he says that the hide is impenetrable except 
 after it has been soaked with water, and it is used for making 
 shields and helmets. All these ancient writers give, however, 
 
240 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 very inaccurate descriptions of the animal, sufficiently so to prove 
 tliat they never saw it, although the portraits of it on the coins of 
 the period are almost without exception fairly good representa- 
 tions of the animal. 
 
 Schweinfurth also gives some information regarding the eating 
 qualities of the hippopotamus flesh, and the uses to which the 
 skin is put ; for he states in his travels that, on a certain occasion 
 after killing one of these animals ; " We were hard at work on 
 the following day in turning the huge carcase of a hippopotamus 
 to account for our domestic use. My people boiled down great 
 flasks of the fat which they took from the layers between the ribs, 
 but what the entire produce of grease would have been I was 
 unable to determine, as hundreds, of natives had already cut off 
 and appropriated pieces of the flesh. When boiled, hippopotamus- 
 fat is very similar to pork-lard, though, in the warm climate 
 of Central Africa, it never attains a consistency firmer than that 
 of oil. Of all animal fats it appears to be the purest, and at 
 any rate never becomes rancid, and will keep for many years 
 without requiring any special process of clarifying ; it has, 
 however, a slight flavour of train oil, to which it is difficult for a 
 European to become accustomed. It is stated in some books that 
 hippopotamus-bacon is quite a delicacy, but I can by no means 
 concur in the opinion ; I always found it unfit for eating, and 
 when cut into narrow strips and roasted, it was as hard and tough 
 as so much rope ; the same may be said of the tongue, which I 
 often had smoked and salted. The meat is remarkably fibrous, 
 and is one continuous tissue of sinews. 
 
 " Several hundred mule-whips, or kurbatches, can be made from 
 the hide of a single animal ; and afterwards, in Egypt, my servants 
 made a profitable little market by selling the whips, for which 
 they found a ready demand. By a proper application of oil, heat, 
 and friction, they may be made as flexible as gutta-percha. The 
 fresh skin is easily cut cross- wise into long quadrilateral strips, 
 and when half dry the edges are trimmed with a knife, and the 
 strips are hammered into the round whips as though they were 
 iron beaten on an anvil. The length of these much dreaded 
 " knouts " of the south is represented by half the circumference 
 
THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 241 
 
 of the body of tlie hippopotamtis, tlie stump end of the whip, 
 •whicli is about as thick as one's finger, corresponding to the skin 
 on the back, whilst the point is the skin of the belly." 
 
 The destruction of the hippopotamus by the Africans is accom- 
 panied by all the cruelty that is characteristic of the people — 
 spearing, poisoning, maiming, and pitfalls, being the methods most 
 frequently adopted. 
 
 In the Natural History observations made by the Swedish 
 naturalist Hasselquist, who published an account of his " Voyages 
 and Travels in the Levant in the years 1749, '50, '51, and '52," 
 some most extraordinary particulars are given for facts con- 
 cerning the hippopotamus, and a remarkable method of destroying 
 the animal adopted by the people of the country is narrated. 
 His statement was made, he writes, on the authority of a 
 " credible person " who lived twelve years in Egypt. 
 
 " The hide of a full-grown hippopotamus is a load for a camel. 
 
 " The river-horse is an inveterate enemy to the crocodile, and 
 kills it whenever he meets it. This, with some other reasons, 
 contributes much to the extirpation of the crocodiles; which, 
 otherwise, considering the many eggs they lay, would utterly 
 destroy Egypt." 
 
 He goes on to say that in consequence of the animal only 
 appearing in Upper Egypt, where no European understanding 
 natural history has travelled, " we know little of the history of 
 this animal; such as have travelled in India, have had better 
 opportunities of informing themselves in this matter. . . . 
 
 " The river-horse does much damage to the Egyptians in those 
 places he frequents. He goes on shore, and in a short space of 
 time destroys an entire field of corn or clover, not leaving the 
 least verdure as he passes, for he is voracious and requires much 
 to fill his great belly. They have a curious manner of freeing 
 themselves in some measure from this destructive animal ; they 
 remark the places he frequents most, and there lay a large quantity 
 of peas ; when the beast comes on shore, hungry and voracious, 
 he falls to eating what is nearest him, and filling his belly with 
 the peas, they occasion an insupportable thirst ; he then returns 
 immediately into the river, and drinks upon these dry peas large 
 
242 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 draughts of water, whicli suddenly cause his death. ; for the peas 
 soon begin to swell with the water, and not long after the 
 Egyptians find him dead on the shore, blown up as if killed with 
 the strongest poison. 
 
 " The oftener the river-horse goes on shore, the better hopes 
 have the Egyptians of a sufficient swelling or increase of the 
 Nile." 
 
 The behemoth, as described in the book of Job, so accurately 
 applies to the hippopotamus that the identity of the two animals 
 has been accepted as a matter of fact, and Linnseus, in his 
 " Systema Nature," calls the hippopotamus " Behemot Jobi." 
 
 The hippopotamus waS known and exhibited to the Eomans. 
 It is evident that no trouble or outlay on their part was ever 
 spared to procure at some time or another every, animal that was 
 known to exist, the rarer and more uncommon it was, the greater 
 glory to the Emperor who exhibited it or slew it as an incident 
 of "a holiday." How these various animals were transported 
 from their native homes is a question that has not received a 
 satisfactory answer, but the fact remains that, like the lion, 
 elephant, and giraffe, the hippopotamus and crocodile were made 
 to add their share' to the Eoman craving for amusement. 
 They were first brought to Eome, on the authority of Pliny, by 
 .(Emilius Scaurus, 58 B.C., during his edileship, when one of the 
 former and five of the latter were exhibited at the games in a 
 temporary canal built for their accommodation. On another 
 authority, though one not so reliable, Augustus C^sar was the 
 first to exhibit a hippopotamus and rhinoceros to the Roman 
 people in the year 29 B.o. as an appropriate memorial of his victory 
 over Cleopatra. The next account of the animal being exhibited 
 is given by Oapitolinus, who states that Antoninus Pius imported 
 them with various other foreign animals between a.d. 130 and 
 180, Commodus (a.d. 180 and 192), in his character of Gladiator, 
 slew as many as five of these creatures at different times in the 
 amphitheatre. Hehogabalus (a.d. 218-22) displayed some of these 
 animals in public as part of his state. Firmus, the Egyptian 
 pretender to the Empire in the time of -Aurelian (a.d. 273), 
 distinguished himself by riding on a hippopotamus. But this 
 
THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 243 
 
 curious feat was most probably performed in Alexandria, where 
 he assumed the purple. 
 
 The 1000th anniversary of Eome (a.d. 248) was celebrated by 
 the Emperor Philip in incessant games, continued for three days 
 and three nights, when the animals collected by Gordianus Pius 
 were exhibited. Among them, we learn, were 32 elephants, 10 
 tigers, 1 elks, 60 lions, 30 leopards, 10 hyenas, 1 hippopotamus, 
 10 giraffes, 1 rhinoceros, 40 wild horses, and 20 wild asses, 
 a vast number of deer, goats, antelope, and other beasts, and this 
 sight was crowned by brutal carnage, 2000 gladiators being 
 matched in mortal affray. The hippopotamus which was exhibited 
 on this memorable occasion was considered such a rare novelty, 
 that its appearance was commemorated on the medals of Queen 
 Otacilla Severa, the wife of Philip, and on the coins of their son 
 Philip Junior. 
 
 In the middle of the sixteenth century a living hippopotamus 
 was seen in Constantinople by two French travellers and described 
 by Belon, but, with this exception, there is no record of any speci- 
 mens of this animal being seen in Europe from the Roman period 
 till the year 1850, when the council of the Zoological Society came 
 to the conclusion that if the Romans could successfully transport 
 the animal alive from its native river nineteen hundred years ago, 
 the feat might surely be performed at the present day, and 
 accordingly accepted the offer which the Yiceroy of Egypt, Abbas 
 Pasha, made of his assistance in the capturing of a hippopotamus 
 for their gardens. Mr. Mitchell says in his "Popular Guide" to the 
 Society's menagerie : " The difficulty of obtaining such an animal 
 may be conjectured from the fact, that after the Viceroy of Egypt 
 had determined to present one to the Society, it became necessary 
 for his Highness to despatch an expedition to the Upper Nile for 
 the purpose of making the capture, and that success was only 
 achieved after two thousand miles of the river had been ascended. 
 In the month of July, 1849, the chief huntsman of the party, in 
 searching the reedy margin of an island in the "White Nile, called 
 Obaysch, at last discovered a little hippopotamus calf which, as 
 he conjectured, had then been born about two days. It was so 
 small that in his delight at having accomplished the Pasha's 
 
 E 2 
 
244 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 orders, he seized it in his arms and would have carried it to the 
 boat, which waited on him, had not the slimy exudation which is 
 lavishly poured forth from innumerable pores in the skin of the 
 young hippopotamus, rendered it so slippery that he was entirely 
 unable to retain his hold. The animal having thus slipped from 
 his grasp, all but escaped into the Nile, where the mother doubtless 
 was lying near at hand. The hunter, however, with the presence 
 of mind which characterizes a good sportsman, seized his spear, 
 and with a sharp side-hook, which has been the fashion in Egypt 
 for three thousand years or more, he succeeded in arresting the 
 headlong plunge of his prize, without inflicting greater injury 
 upon him than a skin-wound, which is marked by the scar upon 
 his ribs to this day." 
 
 Dr. Sclater's " Guide," now being used, also gives an account of 
 this interesting event, from which the continuation of the narra- 
 tion is quoted,- — " From Obaysch, many hundred miles above 
 Cairo, the hippopotamus travelled down in charge of the hunters 
 and a company of infantry, who finally landed him at the British 
 Agency in the month of November, 1849. 
 
 " By the obliging and liberal co-operation of the Peninsular and 
 Oriental Company, an apparatus was constructed on board their 
 steamer, the Bipon, by which the peculiar requirements of the 
 animal were perfectly accommodated, and the result was, that on 
 the 25th of May, 1850, the first living hippopotamus, since the 
 tertiary epoch, was landed on English soil. A special train con- 
 veyed him to London ; every station yielding up its wondering 
 crowd to look upon the monster as he passed — fruitlessly, for they 
 only saw the Arab keeper, who then attended him night and day, 
 and who, for want of air, was constrained to put his head out 
 through the roof. 
 
 " The hippopotamus, thus acquired, and called ' Obaysch ' from 
 the place of his capture, continued to be a prime favourite with 
 the public, and the arrival of his mate, ' Adhela,' in 1853, did 
 not diminish his attraction. 
 
 "For many years our hopes and expectations that the pair 
 would breed together were doomed to disappointment. At length, 
 in the spring of 1871, the female produced her first calf, and a 
 
THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 245 
 
 second about nine months afterwards. Botli these, however, 
 were lost shortly after their birth, in spite of every care and pre- 
 caution. With the third calf, born on the 5th of November, 1872, 
 more successful results were obtained. The little animal sucked 
 freely shortly after its birth, and gave every sign of health and 
 vitality. She increased rapidly in size and strength, and has 
 continued to thrive up to the present time, when she is now nearly 
 as large as her mother. Old ' Obaysch ' died of a good old 
 age in March, 1878, and ' Adhela ' on the 16th December, 1882, 
 after having lived thirty years in these Gardens. There is, how- 
 ever, still a pair in the collection, as the Society acquired in 1877, 
 as a mate for the youthful ' Cleopatra,' a young male (' Anthony ') 
 born in the Gardens of the Zoological Society of Amsterdam, on 
 July 3rd, 1876." 
 
 The arrival of " Obaysch," the first hippopotamus which it 
 is said had breathed on English soil since the Deluge, created 
 nearly as much furore in London as the giraflFe had previously 
 done in Paris ; and perhaps, with the exception of a subsequent 
 period when the public had the " Jumbo-fever," the Gardens were 
 never so thronged by visitors, in fact, the fortanes of the society 
 which had been anything but flourishing previously, began to 
 revive in consequence, and have continued healthy ever since. 
 
 In the " Life of Frank Buckland," by his brother-in-law, 
 George C. Bompas, there is a good story told apropos of this 
 animal: — " Obash, the first hippopotamus once got loose. It 
 was early in the morning before the gardens were opened, when a 
 keeper rushed into Mr, Bartlett's house, exclaiming, ' Obash is 
 out ! ' and sure enough there came Obash down the long walk, 
 his huge mouth turned into a ghastly smile, as if he meant 
 mischief. The cunning brute had contrived to push back the 
 door of his den, while his keeper had gone for the carpenter to 
 mend some defect in it. Having warned every one to keep out of 
 the way, Mr. Bartlett called his keeper, who tried to coax the 
 hippopotamus back with sweet hay. The brute munched the 
 hay, but showed no sign of going back. What was to be done ? 
 Mr.' Bartlett is a man of unfailing resource. There was one 
 keeper Obash hated, and ran at him whenever he came in sight. 
 
246 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 'Scott,' said Mr. Bartlett, putting a bank-note in his hand, 
 ' throw open the paddock gate, and then show yourself to Obash 
 at the end of the path and run for it ! ' The man looked at the 
 note, and then through the trees at the beast, and going into the 
 middle of the path shouted defiantly, ' Obash.' ' Ugh ! ' roared 
 the beast, viciously, and wheeling his huge carcase suddenly 
 round, rushed with surprising swiftness after the keeper. Scott 
 ran for his life, with the hippopotamus roaring at his heels, into 
 the paddock and over the palings, Obash close to his coat-tails ; 
 bang slammed the gate, and the monster was caged again." 
 
 When"Adhela" arrived she was about four months old and 
 weighed about a ton ; and we learn from a description of this 
 creature, that she was fed by the keeper opening her mouth and 
 thrusting his hand covered with milk and corn-meal down her 
 throat. She was not insensible to music, for it was noticed that 
 when any of the musicians on board the vessel in which she was 
 brought over, played his instrument near her, she invariably raised 
 her head in the attitude of listening. " The keeper, also an Arab 
 snake-charmer, was in the habit of exciting the attention of his 
 charge, by a kind of musical call, which it answered by vibrating 
 its great bulk to and fro with evident pleasure, keeping time to 
 the measure of her keeper's song." 
 
 The female hippopotamus watches very carefully and jealously 
 over her young when in a wild state, but in captivity she seems 
 to lose some of the maternal instincts and exhibits a tendency to 
 destroy her calf, either intentionally or by accident, when in one 
 of the periodical fits of bad temper she suffers from if disturbed 
 at such periods. When in the water, the young calf is supported 
 by standing on the neck of the dam which brings its small head 
 first to the surface whenever the mother rises to breathe the 
 air. 
 
 After the successful arrival of a hippopotamus in England, the 
 Jardin des Flantes in Paris procured two specimens, the first one 
 died a few months after its arrival, but the second one lived and was 
 exhibited for some time. The first animal of this species probably 
 ever born out of Africa since its range was confined to that 
 country, was born on the 10th May, 1858, in Paris, but the 
 
THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 247 
 
 little thing was accidentally killed by its mother. In the same place 
 another little animal was killed at a later date, and it became evi- 
 dent that the mother could not be relied on to bring up her young, 
 it was therefore doubtful if a hippopotamus would ever be reared 
 in Europe. Up to the birth of " Guy Fawkes,"— which was the 
 name given to the little creature born onthe 5th November, 1872— 
 there had been eight hippopotami born in Europe ; only one of these 
 survived its birth for any time, and that exception however lived 
 to be the most unfortunate of them all. It was born in Amster- 
 dam, and when it was a year old was sold to an American for 
 800Z., who intended transporting it to his own country. On its 
 way through England he deposited it in the Crystal Palace, and it 
 was burned to death in the disastrous fire that occurred there in 
 1868. 
 
 The photograph of " Guy Fawkes " accompanies this work. 
 When she was born she excited as much interest as a young prin- 
 cess; periodical bulletins were issued regarding her health, and 
 through the careful attention she received from Mr. Bartlett and 
 the keepers, she was successfully reared, much to the satisfaction 
 of the Society and their friends. Profiting by the experience 
 gained, other zoological societies have since this event also suc- 
 ceeded in rearing these shapeless, uncouth denizens of the Nile. 
 
 In the summer of 1870 the bathers and pleasure-parties rowing 
 on the river Seine, in Paris, were surprised and terribly alarmed 
 by discovering a hippopotamus was enjoying himself in their 
 midst, and the panic that ensued can be imagined ; the bathers in 
 particular did not stand upon the order of their going, but went at 
 once. Happily this curious scene had no injurious consequences, 
 but it attracted crowds of people to the banks of the river, and 
 the bridges near the Jardin des Plantes were thronged. The reason of 
 this alarm was, quoting from the description in a French newspaper, 
 that, in consequence of the long drought, the reservoirs and basins 
 of the Jardin des Plantes contained only a little stagnant water, 
 quite insufficient for the requirements of some of the animals, espe- 
 cially the hippopotamus. It therefore became necessary to take 
 this creature to bathe every day in the Seine. A car drawn by 
 two horses conducted the amphibious beast to the river-bank, and 
 
248 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 witli a strong chain attached to his neck, he was allowed to enjoy 
 his pastimes, without being able to evade the watchfulness of the 
 keepei'. On this occasion, however, he succeeded by a vigorous 
 effort in breaking one of the rings of his chain, gained his 
 liberty, and started off to enjoy it. After frightening the bathers, 
 and sending them flying to the shore, the playful African paid a 
 visit to the passenger-steamer which was just starting ; the crew 
 received him with loud shouts, but he took very little notice of 
 them. Leaving the steamer he went to a smaU washing-barge, 
 where the women were washing clothes, and, to their great terror, he 
 lifted it up and shook it. He finished his " promenade " by an excur- 
 sion to the Etahlissement des Bains at the Pont d' Austerlitz, which 
 was deserted in the twinkling of an eye ; and it became evident 
 that, for once, the Parisian ladies that were therein paid but little 
 attention to the fashionable details of their appearance when 
 making their exit. Meanwhile about fifty boats had been sent in 
 pursuit of their disturber. Many of the keepers even took to the 
 water as he had done, but they could not get any hold on his 
 slippery hide ; and when one of them managed to climb upon him, 
 he disengaged himself by taking a dive. At last, after more than 
 an hour's labour, they succeeded in seizing the end of the chain, 
 which was made fast to a strong cord ; and the first hippopotamus 
 that had roamed free in Europe for a few thousand years beyond 
 even the far-back-reaching memory of the oldest inhabitant, was 
 again a captive, and restored to his usual domicile. 
 
 In captivity a hippopotamus consumes daily about one hundred 
 pounds weight of hay, chaff, corn, roots, and green food. The 
 young animals are fed upon cows'-milk and Indian-corn meal 
 finely ground. They become very much attached to their keepers, 
 and are not nearly so stupid and sluggish as their appearance would 
 seem to indicate. 
 
249 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE ELEPHANTS {ELEPHANTID^. 
 
 We now come to the contemplation of the animals that are, 
 to many people, the most interesting of ail living mammals. 
 Elephants belong in natural history to the pachydermatous, or 
 thick-skinned order, and to the section proboscidea. They are the 
 only representatives of a family that were once more numerous, the 
 other members being now extinct ; their fossils or skeleton remains, 
 Avhich are occasionally found, being all that are left of a mighty 
 race of giant animals, ancestors or near relations of the existing 
 elephants, which roamed about on the face of the globe in a bygone 
 age, had their day and disappeared, leaving but a few bones • as 
 memorials of their temporary existence for scientists to speculate 
 about and ponder over. 
 
 And in these days of mighty hunters, armed with most deadly 
 weapons, and of enterprising merchants ransacking all creation for 
 supplies to meet the demand of their teeming markets, the one 
 slaughtering ruthlessly for the mere sake of killing, and the other 
 for the sake of skins or hides, or for horns and ivory — the elephants, 
 among other animals, the descendants of a race older than the hills 
 or the forests through which they roam, were becoming scarce 
 and seemed doomed. In India, where their massacre was wanton, 
 owing to the existence of a class of young sportsmen who killed 
 for killing's sake, shooting females ruthlessly and not for ivory 
 or food, the Government had at last to interfere and prevent the 
 annihilation of their native elephants, being urged so to do 
 by Lord Napier, the Governor, who pleaded most fervently in a 
 minute on the subject for the noble animals' protection against 
 the wholesale butchery. He pointed out the absolute necessity of 
 
250 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 a law for the preservation of an animal so useful for the purposes 
 of labour and so indispensable in India for military operations. The 
 wise policy thus inaugurated being followed in other places, their 
 numbers ceased diminishing; but civilization and wild animals 
 cannot exist together, and the race must die off gradually as the 
 country gets opened up and settled. When this happens, it is to 
 be hoped the elephant will be found domesticated like the horse, 
 dog, or camel, thriving and multiplying under man's protection as 
 they have done. 
 
 In a work published in Leipsio forty years ago, " Travels in 
 India," by Captain S. von Orlich, which was translated by .Mr. 
 H. E. Lloyd, we read : " In the neighbourhood of Sumalka, a 
 town not far from Delhi, lying amongst ancient and beautiful 
 tamarind-trees, fig-trees, and acacias, is the encampment of one 
 hundred and twenty elephants. To this place I frequently and 
 gladly go for the purpose of watching the sagacious beasts. By 
 reason of the persecution it has endured from man, either merely 
 for the pleasure of the chase or that when tamed it might increase 
 the splendour of state, or serve as a beast of burden, and render 
 assistance in battle, the elephant has nearly disappeared from 
 the interior of India, and is found wild only in the less elevated 
 portion of the Himalayan chain ; namely, in the forest of Dshemna, 
 Nepaul, some part of Ghauts, Tarvai, the Kingdom of Ava, and 
 Ceylon. On the Upper Indus, near Attoch, where Alexander the 
 Great had his first elephant-hunt, in the Punjab, and on the banks 
 of the Jumna, not far from Kalpy, where the Emperor Baber was 
 annually accustomed to enjoy the chase and capture many of 
 these animals, there is not now a trace of this noble animal to be 
 found." 
 
 Thanks, however, to the protection now given these noble crea- 
 tures by the Indian and Ceylon Governments throughout those 
 parts of the world over which they exercise jurisdiction, the Asiatic 
 elephants seem to be in no immediate danger of extermination. 
 Mr. Sanderson assured the public in a paper he read before the 
 Society of Arts in March, 1884, that the Madras Presidency, with- 
 drawing the reward previously given for the destruction of the 
 animal, "and the representations of humane officials having further 
 
ELEPHANTS. 251 
 
 led to the curtailment of the wasteful methods of trapping them 
 practised by native hunters, the wild elephant now enjoys perfect 
 immunity throughout the Western Ghauts and those boundless 
 forests extending for hundreds of miles along the foot of the 
 Himalayas into Burmah and Siam. The number annually caught 
 by the Government hunting establishment in Dacca (the only one 
 at present in India), and by licensed native hunters is, com- 
 paratively speaking, very small ; and there is no doubt that all 
 the forest ground that can be legitimately allowed to the wild 
 elephants is as fully occupied at present as is desirable. The 
 elephant-catching records of the past fifty years attest the fact 
 that there is no diminution in the numbers now obtained in 
 Bengal, whilst in Southern India elephants have become so 
 numerous of late years that they are annually appearing in places 
 where they had never been heard of before." The concluding 
 paragraph of his valuable and satisfactory communication is one 
 that should find a response in the hearts of all interested in the 
 animal world. He says : " I am sure it will be regarded as a 
 matter for hearty congratulation by all that so grand, interesting, 
 useful, and harmless an animal as is the elephant is in no danger 
 of becoming extinct in India. Though small portions of its haunts 
 have been cleared for tea and coffee cultivation, the present forest 
 area of the country will probably never be practically reduced 
 for reasons connected with the timber supply and climate ; and 
 as long as its haunts remain, the elephant must flourish under 
 due regiilations for its protection." 
 
 In Ceylon, some years ago, the elephants were also being per- 
 petually hunted by sportsmen and shot by the native hunters, who 
 were anxious to get the Government reward which was then paid 
 as an encouragement to the slaughter of the animals, that they 
 were rapidly being exterminated from this island. The Government 
 fortjmately saw their error in time, withdrew the inducement for 
 their destruction, and, in its place, issued strict rules for the 
 protection of the remaining elephants. Under this altered state 
 of affairs, the Ceylon animals are again becoming somewhat more 
 
 plentiful. 
 
 The necessity of this change of law was shown in an entertaining 
 
252 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 article written in tte Times of May 25, 1875 :— " By tlie laat 
 accounts from Ceylon we hear that the Governor, with the full 
 concurrence of the Secretary of State, has issued a prohibition 
 against the destruction of elephants. This has already caused 
 disappointment to sundry sporting travellers, and it is as well that 
 it should be generally known, that others who are intent on the 
 slaughter of big game may direct their steps elsewhere. The 
 wholesale and wanton destruction of these useful and intelHgent 
 animals, which has too long prevailed, has at length aroused 
 the attention of the Colonial Government. They ought to be 
 largely employed in public works. Their strength, which enables 
 them to draw stones of huge magnitude, and to place them with ease 
 wherever required, renders elephant work far more valuable and 
 substantial than that of the weak Indian labourers employed on 
 the roads and irrigation works in Ceylon. It is particularly in the 
 construction of bridges that the value of elephants is manifest. 
 Nothing can be more interesting than to watch the docility and 
 intelligence of these great creatures in the performance of their 
 task, now dragging, now pushing, to the exact spot, gigantic 
 stones, and placing them in their appointed position with the 
 accuracy of a mason. 
 
 " Of late, unfortunately, the strength of the elephant department 
 in Ceylon has dwindled down to the half of its full complement, 
 and from every Province where works of any importance were 
 going on demands come in for the assistance of elephants, but in 
 vain. Formerly well-trained elephants were not diflScult to pur- 
 chase; many were owned by private persons, but still more by 
 the representatives of the Buddhist temples, who let them out for 
 hire when not wanted for religious processions. Now none of any 
 value can be procured. The native headmen report that elephants 
 are disappearing, and the wanton massacres of them in those pai-ts 
 of the island where there is sufficient population to capture them 
 by kraal have rendered it unlikely that the public want can be 
 supplied by this means. No doubt they can be supplied by the 
 employment of elephant-catchers, but the cruelties practised on 
 the wretched animals by this process, in which hardly one in 
 three survives the tying-up operations after the elephants are 
 
ELEPHANTS. 253 
 
 noosed, induce the Government to resort to it as seldom as 
 possible. 
 
 "In former days the number and boldness of elephants rendered 
 their destruction a matter of necessity; now they are fully alive 
 to their danger, and instinctively keep away as a general rule from 
 villages where they know they will be encountered with fire-arms. 
 Complaints, no doubt, sometimes come in that an outlying crop has 
 been ravaged, in which case the punishment of the invaders is 
 permitted. Rewards are also given for the destruction of rogue- 
 elephants, who occupy for a time some particular road, put to 
 flight the post-runners and tear open the bags, which are 
 abandoned to them to divert their attention. The letters scattered 
 about are shown by the runners in attestation of their story. It 
 has, however, been remarked that though ordinary letters in 
 such cases are recovered, the registered letters have some 
 particular attraction to the animal and are carried off by him into 
 the jungle. 
 
 " In these circumstances it has been found necessary to put a 
 stop to the issue of licences to shoot and capture, except for 
 Government purposes, for some time to come ; and it is desirable 
 that sporting adventurers should be apprised that their only 
 chance of being allowed a shot at an elephant in Ceylon is in the 
 case of a notorious rogue, or a herd indulging in too frequent 
 visits to irrigation works, and consequent destruction of the 
 
 dams." 
 
 In the Cape Colony the capture or destruction of elephants has 
 also lately been forbidden by law, and Dr. Bmil Holub ^ informs 
 us that in consequence several wild herds, numbering twenty or 
 thirty head, still exist there, whilst in the Transvaal, the Orange 
 and the Bechuana country the race has been totally annihilated. In 
 the whole of Africa no such law can be universally apphed, hence 
 it is now the one "happy hunting-ground" of elephant-shooters, 
 both Hottentot and white man, and the race of the African 
 
 animal is doomed. 
 
 A cursory view of the published trade-returns will soon give any 
 one curious upon this point some idea of the wholesale slaughter 
 I " Seven Years in South Africa." 
 
254 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 that, even for commercial purposes, annually takes place. 
 England alone imports over a million and a quarter pounds of 
 ivory every year, which is mostly African, and represents the 
 death of thirty thousand elephants. Several other countries are 
 but a little way behind in their demand for this beautiful and 
 valuable commodity ; an estimate can, therefore, soon be made of 
 the fearful numbers that are slain for ivory, add this to the 
 numbers that are hunted for the sake of the flesh only by the 
 Kaffir and Hottentot hunters, and the reported disappearance of 
 the elephant in districts where formerly they abounded can hardly 
 cause any surprise. The elephant is, moreover, the slowest 
 breeder of all animals and, therefore, the more easily exter- 
 minated. The native Africans resort to most cruel methods of 
 killing animals, especially those of the larger kind. One writer 
 asserts that even now they sometimes adopt the horrible and 
 barbarous practice of burning whole herds of elephants in the 
 jungle simply to obtain the ivory. 
 
 This mode of procuring the article is described by Dr. George 
 Schweinfarth.^ He writes that when the dry, thick and high grass 
 is fired " the elephants have no possible escape from certain death. 
 The destruction is carried on by wholesale. Thousands of hunts- 
 men and drivers are gathered together from far and wide by means 
 of signals sounded on huge wooden drums. Every one who is 
 capable of bearing arms at all is converted into a huntsman, just 
 as every one becomes a soldier when the national need demands. 
 No resource for escape is left to the poor brutes. Driven by the 
 flames into masses, they huddle together, young and old ; they 
 cover their bodies with grass, on which they pump water from 
 their trunks as long as they can; but all in vain. They are 
 ultimately either suffocated by the clouds of smoke, or over- 
 powered by the heat, or are so miserably burnt that at last and 
 ere long they succumb to the cruel fate that has been designed 
 for them by ungrateful man. The coup de grace may n6w and 
 then be given them by the blow of some ready lance, but too 
 often, as may be seen from the tusks that are bought, the 
 miserable beasts must have perished in the agonies of a death by 
 2 "The Heart of Africa," 1878. 
 
ELEPHANTS. 255 
 
 fire. A war of annilailation is this, in whicli neitlier young nor old, 
 neither the female nor the male, is spared, and in its indiscriminate 
 slaughter it compels us sorrowfully to ask and answer the question 
 ' Cui bono ? ' No other reply seems possible but what is given 
 by the handles of our walking-sticks, our billiard-balls, our 
 pianoforte-keys, our combs and our fans, and other unimportant 
 articles of this kind. No wonder, therefore, if this noble creature, 
 whose services might be so invaluable to man, should even 
 perhaps some time during our own generation be permitted to 
 rank in the category of the things that have been, and to be as 
 extinct as the ure-ox, the sea-cow, or the dodo." 
 
 What grand animals they are, these huge monsters with their 
 massive heads, enormous bodies, colossal limbs, small but kindly 
 eyes, and with what wonderful dexterity that wonderful trunk of 
 theirs can be used, being equally available for picking up a crumb, 
 or lifting an enormous weight. What relics of the past they seem 
 with their majestic walk and solemn gravity, their imperturbable 
 temper and dignified bearing, contrasting so strongly with the 
 restless movements of the other animals around. Just think of 
 their veritable age, the record of their ancestry lost in the pre- 
 historic times. The lion with his imposing mane, and his deep- 
 toned growl, even man himself is but of yesterday compared with 
 these animals, their pedigree coming down to us from the long 
 enduring and pre-adamite ages. Yet, with all their ponderous 
 weight and fearful strength, how quiet and how docile they can be, 
 how readily they obey their master, at one time his dutiful servants, 
 at another his protector, now assisting him in his labour and anon 
 ministering to his comfort or pleasure. The subjugation of these 
 noble beasts should be one of man's proud boasts, and their race 
 loyally protected, not exterminated. 
 
 The elephant is the ' largest land animal now existing, its 
 height varying between eight and ten feet at the shoulder, its 
 extreme length being between sixteen and twenty feet, and its 
 weight somewhere between three and five tons. The head is 
 very massive and unwieldy, in consequence of the neck being so 
 short, a formation necessary to support the enormous weight ; in 
 fact without the animal kneels down, the head cannot be made 
 
256 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 to toucli the ground, and it is therefore dependent on the 
 tapering proboscis or trunk, which is its most striking feature. 
 This wonderfully-constructed appendage is a prolongation of the 
 nose or upper lip, and is generally between six and seven feet in 
 length. With it the animal can readily reach any article it requires, 
 either from the ground or from a height above the head, for the 
 extremity, besides having the two openings of the nostrils through 
 which the animal can breathe when necessary, is furnished with a 
 finger and thumb arrangement, a small upper prolongation, which 
 opens from or shuts on to an under tubercle, the pressure 
 firmly holding anything it grasps, or the trunk can be wound 
 round an article too large to be lifted in this way, and in the coil 
 or folds the grip is of the most powerful kind. The trunk is 
 endowed with such an exquisite sense of touch that, even without 
 the aid of the eye, it can quickly find the most minute article; 
 indeed, so sensitive is it, that in cases where animals become blind 
 it enables them to move about and travel without much difficulty 
 and at a considerable pace, for they can feel their way with the 
 trunk and avoid all obstacles, so promptly can any little impedi- 
 ment or irregularity in the ground be detected. 
 
 This trunk is composed of a mass of interlacing muscles, 
 marvellously arranged, numbering, Cuvier estimates, nearly forty 
 thousand. Some running longitudinally and others radiating 
 from the centre to the circumference, all so beautifully combined 
 and adjusted to give it flexibility and strength, enabling it do be 
 expanded or contracted, or wielded with that diversity of motion, 
 and used in those manifold ways that must excite amazement 
 when first seen, and from time immemorial have made the 
 elephant's trunk an object of wonder and admiration. Some 
 have described it as " the elephant's hand," others as " the snake 
 hand," and the poor Kaffirs regard it with such superstitious awe, 
 that when they kill an elephant they solemnly inter the trunk. 
 It does, in fact, perform many of the offices of the hand ; all the 
 animal's food is lifted by it and conveyed to the mouth, the water 
 by which its thirst is quenched, or that it stores up in that 
 interior cistern it possesses, is all first sucked up into the trunk, 
 which when filled is discharged into the mouth. 
 
ELEPHANTS. 257 
 
 It can easily be seen how necessary the trunk is to the 
 elephant's existence. Wild animals quickly die from starvation 
 if it is severed from the body or otherwise incapacitated for use, 
 so that its preservation is a matter of vital importance, and their 
 sagacity is perpetually being exerted to preserve it from injury. 
 They use it cautiously and rarely as a weapon of defence or 
 offence, but if attacked hold it aloft and try in every way to keep 
 it from being harmed. When they have to use it offensively, 
 which they rarely do, as they rely more on their tusks or weight, 
 they do not strike with it extended, or wield it as is generally 
 imagined, but, rolling it up tightly, they suddenly unroll the 
 vertical coils and send the trunk straight at the object of their 
 attack " as scientifically as a well- trained boxer hits out from the 
 shoulder." If they attack a man they seize the victim by the 
 trunk, and throwing him beneath their feet, soon trample him 
 into a mass of gory flesh that has little semblance of anything 
 human left in it. Animals, such as tigers, lions, buffaloes, and 
 others are treated in the same way when actually attacked ; but 
 elephants are, as a rule, very quiet and inoffensive beasts. Dogs, 
 probably from their quick movements, sharp bark, and habit of 
 snapping at the trunk, are objects of dread to an elephant, but if 
 the animal has never suffered from being clawed by a tiger, which 
 generally makes it fear these striped cats ever after, a rhinoceros 
 is the only quadruped of which it is really afraid, or in a contest does 
 not prove the victor. The trunk is also occasionally employed to 
 throw any missile that can readily be seized upon, atthe object of their 
 enmity ; and the beast has the power of aiming in this way with 
 great precision and hurling with considerable force. Even in the 
 case of a tame elephant, an injury inflicted to the trunk will make it 
 so furious with rage and pain that its mahout or keeper will be 
 powerless to control or quiet it. -In fact, it is so sensitive that the 
 animals never willingly use it for extremely rough work, and 
 an authority on the subject • says that the anecdotes told about 
 elephants dragging timber, or using the trunk for similar purposes, 
 convey erroneous conceptions and are misstatements of facts. 
 " Elephants engaged in such work," he writes, " as dragging timber 
 invariably take the rope between their teeth, they never attempt 
 
 s 
 
258 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 to pull a heavy -weight with, the trunk. In carrying a light log 
 they hold it in the mouth as a dog does a stick, receiving some 
 little assistance in balancing it from the trunk." 
 
 The tusks constitute another striking feature of this strange 
 animal, and in them we see the reason the head is made so 
 massively. The brain appears to occupy but a small space, being 
 far from large for so huge a creature and weighing only about 
 nine pounds, the rest of the gigantic skull, which is not as heavy 
 as is generally supposed, consists not only of huge bones, but 
 is also largely composed of air-cells that form the mechanical 
 support for the tusks and supply the extensive surface required 
 for the attachment of the numerous muscles. 
 
 " Dentition in the elephant is very curious and interesting," 
 remarks Mr. Andersson. " Besides the tusks, which correspond 
 mth the canine teeth in other quadrupeds, he has only grinders — 
 the incisors or cutting-teeth being entirely absent. The total 
 number of grinders consist of from twenty to twenty-three teeth, 
 or rather laminae, in each side of either jaw, but from the whole 
 being enclosed in a bony case they have the appearance of forming 
 only a single tooth or grinder. A very great number of years 
 are supposed to be requisite for the full development of a set of 
 grinders ; indeed they may be said never to be completed, for as 
 one set gradually wears away another is forming, a process which 
 continues till the end of life. They are never supplied from 
 beneath (as in animals in general), but from behind, from which 
 circumstance they are not shed." The elephant may, therefore, 
 be said to be in a constant state of teething. 
 
 A strange argument has been carried on for some years upon a 
 point that stUl seems to be unsettled — some writers assert that 
 the small milk teeth in the young animal are shed at the expiration 
 of the second year and replaced by the permanent tusks, but this 
 is denied by others, among them no less an authority than Mr. 
 Sanderson, who says it is an error, the first tusks are permanent, 
 and that he himself made particularly careful inquiries from 
 experienced elephant attendants, and found them unanimous in 
 dissenting from any such process of renewal, and he has many 
 young elephants in his charge and never noticed anything of the 
 
ELEPHANTS. 259 
 
 change alluded to. In the "Philosophical Transactions of the 
 Rdyal Society" for 1799, there is an able paper on the elephant 
 by Mr. Corse, accompanied by a number of plates, and he seems to 
 have made a close and careful study of the teeth. He writes : "A 
 young elephant shed one of his milk tusks on the 6th November, 
 1790, when near thirteen months old, and the other on the 27th 
 December, when above fourteen months old, they were merely two 
 black-coloured stumps, when shed, but two months afterwards the 
 permanent ones cut the gum. Another young elephant did not shed 
 his milk tusks till he was sixteen months old; which proves that 
 there is considerable variety in the time at which this happens." 
 This, Mr. Sanderson says, is incorrect, and if the skull does show 
 at one period the milk teeth and the tusks (which fact is visible 
 in one of the skulls in the Museum of the Royal College of 
 Surgeons in London), that the desiduous teeth are not shed, 
 but are absorbed in the gum. The tusks continue to grow 
 during the animal's lifetime, and the strength required to 
 sustain such enormous adjuncts can be imagined when it is 
 remembered that they frequently weigh over sixty pounds, and 
 occasionally considerably over two hundred pounds. Mr. Oswell 
 killed an African elephant whose tusks weighed two hundred and 
 twenty-four pounds, and near the head they measured twenty-three 
 inches in circumference, their length being only one inch short of 
 eight feet. Gordon Cumming shot one whose tusks were ten feet 
 nine inches in length along the curve, their weight being over one 
 hundred and seventy-three pounds. There are also numerous 
 instances recorded in which these sizes and weights have been 
 considerably exceeded. The greatest weight, however, known to 
 modern times is that of a tusk which was sold in Amsterdam some 
 time age, for it turned the scale at three hundred and fifty pounds. 
 Think for a minute of the strength required to carry such a 
 weight, and in doing so remember that although a considerable 
 portion of the tusk is embedded in the jaw and runs up into bone 
 sockets to the forehead, yet the greater and weightier portion stands 
 out unsupported from the head. 
 
 From the Ceylon species being nearly always tuskless and 
 not in any way evincing the want of them. Sir Emerson 
 
 s 2 
 
260 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 Tennent ' came to the conclusion that they were useless appendages 
 to an elephant, and even of little service for offence ; this opinion 
 has, however, been contradicted, and the fact proved that they 
 rank among the most formidable weapons with which nature has 
 furnished any of her creatures, and none are employed with more 
 address. They can be used almost at any angle, and in a herd of 
 elephants the tuskers maintain the height of discipline. " Every 
 individual gives way before them," writes Mr. Sanderson, " and 
 in serious fights amongst themselves one or other is frequently 
 killed outright. So great is the dread entertained by all elephants 
 of a tusker, that our staunchest tame females shrank if any of the 
 tame tuskers turned suddenly in their direction. Superiority in a 
 herd appears to attach to the different tuskers in proportion to 
 the size of their tusks ; no tusker thinks of serious rivalry with 
 one of heavier calibre than himself." 
 
 The domesticated animal uses his tusks in various ways, such as 
 the lifting of weights, carrying timber, piling stones, &c., and the 
 strength they possess can be imagined when it is stated that a 
 powerful animal will carry upon them a log weighing half a ton or 
 more. 
 
 Although lions are frequently alluded to in the Bible, and 
 the Psalmist describes their habits accurately, yet, strange to 
 say, no mention is made of elephants, although ivory is often 
 spoken of, and we learn therein that Solomon in all his glory 
 deemed it no unworthy material for his throne. Ahab built a 
 palace of it, and the Phoenicians of Tyre, those merchant princes 
 of antiquity, had their couches made of it. The Assyrians used 
 it for works of art and for their ornaments, and the specimens 
 brought to light by Layard, which are to be seen in the British 
 Museum, elicit admiration for their skill and beauty, even when 
 compared by the standard of the present day. The Romans used 
 ivory and the Greeks delighted in employing it. At the hands 
 of their sculptor Phidias, it was converted into a statue of 
 Olympian Jupiter, the masterpiece of his productions and one 
 of the wonders of the world. The exposed parts of the figure 
 were of ivory and the drapery of gold. The god was seated on a 
 
 3 "The Elephant." 
 
ELEPHANTS. 261 
 
 throne formed of gold, ivory, and cedar wood, adorned with 
 precious stones ; the whole being of snch marvellous beauty and 
 such imposing majesty that to die and not have seen it was con- 
 sidered a misfortune. He also used ivory for another of his 
 masterpieces, the colossal statue of Minerva in the Parthenon at 
 Athens, which was forty feet high. In fact, the world has never 
 lost its admiration for ivory, and even at the present day, exactly 
 as it was of old, objects made of this material or carved in it by 
 the cunning workers of the East are among the most treasured 
 possessions of the wealthy or the lovers of the beautiful. Alas ! that 
 it should be the cause of the recklessand cruel slaughter of such noble 
 beasts as elephants. Still more is this fact to be deplored when it is 
 remembered that ivory, beautiful as it undoubtedly is, can neverthe- 
 less easily be dispensed with for it is a luxury and not a necessity. 
 Certainly the cruel massacre of so grand an animal for so trumpery 
 a possession can only truthfully be described as an act bordering on 
 the fiendish, and its encouragement in this the nineteenth century 
 as a blot on civilization. 
 
 The skin of the elephant is very thick and of a dirty or dark- 
 brown colour, and nearly destitute of hair, the small tail, however, 
 which does not generally reach to the ground, and when it does 
 is considered in India a great beauty, has a tuft of coarse bristles 
 at the end. The skin is very tender, and when wounded heals 
 very slowly, often ulcerating, and in the case of domesticated 
 animals incapacitating them for work for months at a time. As 
 the back is an especially tender part, great care has to be taken 
 in harnessing them, or in placing the howdah in position, con- 
 sequently cushions of hair or other soft material are used to guard 
 against friction or injury. Although the hide is very thick, yet 
 the pores being so large, flies of all sorts can suck blood through 
 them, and in this manner are a constant source of annoyance to 
 the animals. It is to get rid of these pests that elephants so 
 frequently squirt dust over their backs or delight in covering them- 
 selves with mud, and when these methods are not available and trees 
 are near, will break down branches, which, being swung backwards 
 and forwards by the trunk, give them some temporary rehef. 
 
 Elephants possess a delicate sense of hearing and a remarkably 
 
262 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 keen power of scent ; these two senses enable them to keep clear 
 of and detect danger, for their eyes are small and not very- 
 long-sighted, and the neck being so short the range that can be 
 given their vision is somewhat limited. This fact is probably the 
 reason that they express so much alarm at trivial noises or at 
 indistinct objects, which necessarily must excite suspicions for their 
 safety, and arouse the instincts given these huge creatures for 
 their self-protection. The object of the eyes being so small may 
 probably be found in the fact that they are comparatively less 
 exposed to injury from the branches in the thick forests through 
 which the animals have to force their way. Dust, dirt, or small 
 insects that may accidentally get in the eyes are easily dislodged, 
 for the nictitating membranes with which they are provided clear 
 them at once. " Solid and imperturbable as the countenance of the 
 elephant is, the eye is very eloquent of the animal's feelings," re- 
 marks a writer on this subject. " In a state of calm it is exceedingly 
 mild and gentle in appearance, being shaded and softened by the 
 ample lashes above and below, but when the animal is alarmed 
 or angry the veil of hair is at once withdrawn and the eye-ball 
 protrudes with a peculiarly keen look in its glittering iris." It is 
 always well, therefore, in approaching a strange animal to look 
 first at the eye, wherein you can at once detect whether the feel- 
 ings with which it regards you are friendly or the reverse. 
 
 The legs of an elephant are peculiarly adapted for sustaining 
 the enormous weight of such a ponderous body, for they are of 
 solid construction and the joints so formed that each bone rests 
 vertically upon the one beneath it. Owing to the apparent want 
 of flexibility caused by the elbow and knee being so very near the 
 foot, and to the fact that elephants lie down less than any other 
 quadrupeds, it was for ages supposed that they were jointless, and 
 lying down was an impossible position for them to assume. This 
 is gravely stated in more than one natural history book of the 
 present century. Elephants lie down to sleep every third or fourth 
 night, but will occasionally sleep for months without doing so. 
 An animal, owned by the Zoological Society in London, named 
 Jack, "whose amusing tricks and docile manner," says the Times 
 of June, 1847, " had rendered him everybody's favourite," died 
 
ELEPHANTS. 263 
 
 in the summer of 1846, and he had not lain down to rest for two 
 years previously. Certainly he was suffering from a disease of 
 the joint of the fore-leg, but it proves how little necessity there 
 is for elephants to assume such a position of rest. In fact, so 
 little are they inclined to take it in that way, that when they do 
 so in the day-time, even after hard labour, the keepers are 
 generally led to suspect illness as the cause. 
 
 In lying down, which it does rather reluctantly when com- 
 manded, another peculiarity of the elephant is exhibited. It 
 extends the hind-legs backwards instead of drawing them under 
 the body like other animals. These legs are bent in the same 
 manner that a man bends his legs when kneeling. The reversal 
 of this action enables it to resume the standing position with 
 little perceptible effort, much less than that exhibited by a 
 horse trying to get up ; similar exertion if rendered necessary 
 in the case of such a heavy weighing animal as the elephant, 
 would subject the muscles to a dangerous straining. This 
 same formation gives the elephant that peculiar, clumsy shuffle 
 its gaifc exhibits when increased from the walk, and although it 
 cannot gallop — such a motion would be too violent for so huge 
 a creature — yet it can increase its speed to one that will tax a 
 fleet runner to keep up with it. An elephant can also easily ascend 
 or descend steep aclivities, climb rocks, or traverse precipices 
 where a mule would hardly venture ; this it is enabled to do by 
 exercising considerable intelligence in testing the capacity of the 
 ground or projection on which it intends the feet to rest for bear- 
 ing its weight, making sure upon this point before trusting to it. 
 We learn that the Ceylon elephant actually delights in frequenting 
 the most rugged localities, rambhng about rocky hills and moun- 
 tains with a nimbleness that, Sir S. Baker says, cannot be under- 
 stood without personal experience. 
 
 The feet are composed of a succession of layers that act like 
 springs and so break the jar of the animal's tread, and when 
 travelling at any speed prevent the concussion it would otherwise 
 sustain from the' great weight of the body. They are divided 
 into five large toes or rounded hoofs, all nearly covered with 
 a thick protective skin, the whole being admirably adapted 
 
264 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 by nature for the animal's safe progression in hilly or rough 
 ground. The massive proportions of the feet can be imagined 
 when it is stated that in nearly every case the measurement of 
 twice round a full-grown animal's foot will give its height. The 
 elephant's make and bulk will not allow it to perform any move- 
 ment necessitating the raising of all the feet from the ground at 
 once. Hence it is precluded from clearing objects by springing or 
 jumping in any way. 
 
 Many things about the elephant are surprising, and one of them is 
 that so clumsy a looking animal should exhibit such peculiar 
 grace in its movements and that its tread should be so exceed- 
 ingly light and inaudible. The spongy character of the large 
 flat pads or layers that compose the foot enables it to move 
 almost noiselessly and even stealthily when requisite ; for instance, 
 when escaping from a pursuer. "When suddenly disturbed in 
 the jungle," says a well-known hunter, " it wUl burst away with 
 a rush that seems to bear down all before it ; but the noise sinks 
 into absolute stillness so suddenly that a novice might well be led 
 to suppose that the fugitive had only halted within a few yards of 
 him, when further search will disclose the fact that it has stolen 
 silently away, making scarcely a sound in its escape, and, stranger 
 still, leaving the foliage almost undisturbed by its passage." 
 
 It is also a capital swimmer, taking readily to the water when 
 necessary, and easily crossing the widest rivers. It can, and in 
 fact generally does, go completely under, carrying its trunk well 
 out, however, so that the organ can be used for breathing purposes. 
 This, the elephant's favourite way of swimming is, in the case of a 
 tame animal one fraught with danger to the rider, for in order to 
 keep his own head above water it necessitates his standing up. on 
 the back of theanimal in anything but a comfortable or safe position. 
 It also makes it difficult work to keep the animal in a proper 
 direction, and to get one safely across a river requires considerable 
 dexterity even for a mahout. When the animal is a female, and 
 is followed by a very young calf, the mother supports it with her 
 trunk, or when able the young one is made to scramble on her 
 shoulder, and hold on with its legs ; if, however, it is a few 
 months old and strong enough she makes it swim by itself. 
 
AN AFRICAN ELEPHANT. 
 
 ("Jumbo.") 
 From a photograph taken by Messrs. Briggs and Son, High Street, St. John's Wood. 
 
ELEPHANTS. 265 
 
 Mr. Sanderson tells us that in November, 1875, he despatched 
 a batch of seventy-nine elephants from Dacca to Barrackpur, near 
 Calcutta, and that they had the Ganges and several of its large 
 tidal branches to cross. In the longest swim they were six hours 
 without touching the bottom; after a rest on a sand-bank they 
 completed the swim in three more. Not one was lost, and he 
 adds that he has heard of more remarkable swims than this. He 
 also states that he saw an elephant swim a river three hundred 
 yards wide with his hind-legs tied together, which proves that 
 these massive animals have buoyant bodies. 
 
 Before quitting the water, and at other times when it gets 
 the opportunity, it is curious to watch an elephant taking up 
 a supply for future use; for its stomach somewhat resembles 
 that of a camel in its conveniences, and possesses a chamber 
 that can be cut off by a valvular arrangement from the one 
 devoted to the process of digestion. In this receptacle the 
 animal can store about ten gallons of water., which it can take 
 back into the trunk at pleasure, and either employ it to assuage 
 its thirst by re-swallowing it, or use it for the purpose of cooling 
 the body by sprinkling the water over it, a species of shower-bath 
 that seems to be very enjoyable judging from the number of 
 times an elephant will indulge in it when water is plentiful. 
 
 The elephant utters a considerable variety of sounds, some 
 through the trunk, and others through the throat. The one 
 generally heard, which seems at one time to be indicative of 
 pleasure, at another of anger, is a shrill, trumpet-like sound 
 produced by blowing through the trunk ; if, however, brooding 
 by itself, it signifies its anger by a continued hoarse grumbling 
 from the throat. Fear is expressed by a shrill, brassy trumpeting, 
 or by a roar from the throat. Pleasure, we learn from one 
 experienced in the matter, is manifested by a " continued low . 
 squeaking through the trunk, or an almost inaudible purring 
 sound from the throat. Want — as a calf calling its mother — is 
 chiefly expressed by the throat. A peculiar sound is made use of 
 by elephants to express dislike or apprehension, and at the same 
 time to intimidate, as when the cause of some alarm has not been 
 clearly ascertained, and the animal wishes to deter an intruder. 
 
266 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 It is produced by rapping the end of the trunk smartly on the 
 ground, a current of air, hitherto retained, being sharply emitted 
 through the trunk, as from a valve, at the moment of impact. 
 The sound made resembles that of a large sheet of tin rapidly 
 doubled. It has been erroneously ascribed by some writers to 
 the animals beating their sides with their trunks." 
 
 The average size of the elephant depends on its species and the 
 locality of its habitation. The African animal varies between ten 
 and twelve feet, being generally over a foot larger than the Indian, 
 which seems to average between eight and ten feet. Mr. Sanderson, 
 after saying there is little doubt there is not an elephant ten feet 
 at the shoulder in India, continues, " The usually received notions 
 of the height which elephants attain are much in excess of fact ; 
 out of some hundreds of tame and newly caught elephants which 
 I have seen in the south of India and in Bengal, also from 
 Burmah and different parts of India, and of which I have care- 
 fully measured all the largest individuals, I have not seen one ten 
 feet in vertical height at the shoulder." Subsequently he did see 
 one ten feet seven and a half inches in vertical height at the 
 withers, but he pronounced it to be not less phenomenal than a 
 human being eight feet high. 
 
 Captivity reduces the longevity of the elephant considerably. 
 There seems to be little doubt that in a wild state they will live to 
 attain any age between a hundred and twenty and a hundred and 
 fifty, but when deprived of freedom they very rarely live to be a 
 hundred, occasionally attaining eighty, but more often dying at a 
 considerably earlier age, the death-rate among the newly captured 
 animals being very great after they have been subjected to the 
 change of life for two or three years. 
 
 A writer in " Notes and Queries " says : " Lord Northbrook, 
 .in 1874, made public entry into Agra seated on the same elephant 
 which since 1797 had borne Sir J. Shore, Lord Wellesley, Lord 
 Hastings, and all the other Governors-General of our Indian 
 possessions down to the present time. As in 1797 to take part in 
 such an imposing ceremony as the public entry of a Governor- 
 General into the second city of the old Mogul Empire the elephant 
 would be at least twenty-five years old, it foUows that now he 
 
ELEPHANTS. 267 
 
 must be at least a centenarian." The only way of discovering 
 approximately tlie age of an elephant is by the appearance of the 
 ear. Until the sixth or seventh year the top of the ear does not 
 curl, but in advancing years it does so and laps over, while its 
 lower edges become ragged and torn. Elephants continue to grow 
 until they are twenty-five years of age, and arrive at maturity 
 during the next ten years. 
 
 A very singular thing, noticed by nearly every hunter and 
 explorer in India and Africa, is the extreme rarity with which 
 dead animals, or even any of their remains are found, and this is 
 especially remarkable in the case of such a large beast as the 
 elephant. So strange a fact has, of course, been the parent of 
 many conjectures, but a true solution of the mystery has not 
 yet been found. Some of the natives of both Africa and India 
 say the elephant never dies; others, that there is a place in 
 the hills, as yet unseen by human eye, where they retire to end 
 their days. Be this as it may, the position of this Pisgah of 
 the animal world has not yet been ascertained, and no man 
 knoweth of their sepulchre unto this day. As a matter of fact, 
 the complete disappearance of the bones of the thousands of 
 animals that must die annually is a strange natural phenomenon. 
 
 Apropos of this subject, in Hone's " Bvery-Day Book " is the 
 following : " If elephants meet with a sick or wounded animal of 
 their own species they afford him all the assistance in their 
 power. Should he die, they bury him and carefully cover his body 
 with branches of trees." This is a popular belief among the 
 natives of certain districts of India, and was also recorded as a fact 
 by the G-reeks in olden times, and some incidents that have been 
 witnessed and commented on by modern travellers who were close 
 observers of these animals' habits and peculiarities tend to prove 
 there is more truth in it than at first may be supposed. 
 
 Elephants associate together in herds or famihes that may 
 number only a few individuals, or be composed of much larger 
 numbers, herds that contain even one hundred or more not being 
 by any means uncommon. When the animals congregate together 
 in such profusion they will occasionally subdivide for certain 
 periods and in localities where their food is not very plentiful. 
 
268 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 The wonderful growtli and thickness of a tropical jungle can be 
 imagined from the fact that a herd of elephants can be completely 
 hidden in it, and wounded animals frequently baffle the hunter to 
 discover their whereabouts by keeping quiet in the dense grasses 
 although he may track them to a few yards of their hiding-place. 
 Colonel Kinlock writes : " The marvellous growth of the long grasses 
 and reeds, which spring up during the rainy season in the long 
 belt of country lying along the foot of the Eastern Himalayas, 
 and on the ' churs ' in the valley of the Brahmaputra and other 
 great rivers, has often been described, and the accounts received 
 with incredulity by those who have never seen how vegetation 
 thrives under the combined influences of a tropical sun and 
 abundance of rain. Let those doubt who may, however, the fact 
 remains that, year after year, in the short space of two or three 
 months, these giant grasses shoot up to a height of from twenty 
 to thirty feet, forming, with the wild Cardamum, various other 
 broad-leaved plants, and numerous creepers, a tangled cover 
 which shelters the elephant, the rhinoceros and the buffalo, as 
 effectually as a field of standing corn affords concealment to the 
 partridge or the quail, 
 
 " I have seen a line of about fifteen elephants beating a strip of 
 reeds not more than two hundred yards in width, and I could 
 hardly see the grass shake. There was not as much commotion 
 or indication of what was going on, as would be caused by a pack 
 of beagles drawing a gorse covert," 
 
 Mr. Andersson describes in his book, "The Okavango 
 River," a grand scene he witnessed on one occasion, for at 
 rather close quarters he watched over one hundred of these 
 huge beasts all drinking at a stream together. " I had 
 returned," he writes, " but a short time to my ambush, when 
 a large herd of female elephants with their calves came on, 
 perfectly heedless of the firing which had previously taken place. 
 With a rush they gained the water, exactly opposite to where I 
 was perched on my ant-hill. Soon afterwards they were joined by 
 several other troops pouring in fi:-om different directions, consisting 
 of cows and bulls intermixed. It was quite remarkable to observe 
 how they ranged themselves closely side by side, like a line of 
 
ELEPHANTS. 269 
 
 infantry. They drew themselves up in single file, occupying the 
 entire width of the water (which at that point was three hundred 
 yards broad). I estimated their numbers at from a hundred to a 
 hundred and fifty. The moon was just then nearly at its zenith, 
 and shed a glorious and dazzling light on the huge creatures 
 below. I felt no inclination to disturb so striking a picture, and, 
 indeed, if I had been so disposed it would httle have availed me, 
 as the valley in the direction occupied by the elephants was 
 totally destitute of cover. So all I could do, and did, was to look 
 on, sigh, and admire." 
 
 Sir "W. 0. Harris also speaks most glowingly of the magnificent 
 sight presented by a herd of these noble animals in their true 
 home and in a state of liberty in the wilds of Africa. " A grand 
 and magnificent panorama was before us which beggars all 
 description. The whole face of the landscape was actually 
 covered with wild elephants. There could not have been fewer 
 than three hundred within the scope of our vision. Every height 
 and green knoll was dotted over with groups of them, whilst the 
 bottom of the glen exhibited a dense and sable living mass — their 
 colossal forms being at one moment partially concealed by the 
 trees, which they were disfiguring with giant strength, and at 
 others seen majestically emerging into the open glades, bearing in 
 their trunks the branches of trees with which they indolently 
 protected themselves from the flies. The background was filled 
 by a limited peep of the blue mountainous range, which here 
 assumed a remarkable precipitous character and completed a 
 picture at once soul-stirring and sublime." 
 
 These herds are generally led by one animal, and, on the 
 authority of Mr. Sanderson, this animal is always a female, in 
 India at any rate, and never a male as generally stated. When 
 travelhng from one district to another they march in strict Indian 
 file. During the day the herds are generally quiescent, except so 
 far as the perpetual fidgeting of the individual members, in the 
 way peculiar to the animal, is concerned ; for, though a heavy and 
 sedate beast, the elephant is never entirely at rest while awake, 
 neither when wild or in captivity. It will move its head round, 
 flap its ears, the tail is switched, or the feet will be swung back- 
 
270 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 wards and forwards, the legs crossed or swayed to and fro, or it 
 will fan itself witt a leafy brancli, more it seems for the sake of 
 motion than for the coolness it may derive from the operation. 
 The jaws are incessantly munching or grinding, and the trunk, 
 when not busy conveying something to the mouth or spurting 
 water about, is kept in a perpetual movement, twisting and 
 turning in every direction. 
 
 How these herds are governed or the method of communication 
 existing between the leader and its followers cannot be ascertained. 
 In Sir B. Tennent's book there is the copy of a letter written 
 by Major Skinner, giving the details of a fact the author mentions, 
 which is certainly worth quoting : " The case you refer to struck me 
 as exhibiting more than the ordinary brute instinct, and approached 
 nearer to reasoning powers than any other instance I can now 
 remember. I cannot do justice to the scene, although it appeared 
 to me at the time to be so remarkable. that it left a deep impression 
 in my mind. In the height of the dry season, in Neuera-Kalaiva, 
 you know the streams are all dried up, and the tanks nearly 
 so. All animals are then sorely pressed for water, and they con- 
 gregate in the vicinity of those tanks in which there may remain 
 ever so little of the precious element. During one of those seasons 
 I was encamped on the bund or embankment of a very small tank, 
 the water in which was so dried that its surface could not have 
 exceeded an area of five hundred square yards. It was the only 
 pond within many miles, and I knew that of necessity a very large 
 herd of elephants, which had been in the neighbourhood all day, 
 must resort to it at night. On the lower side of the tank, and in 
 line with the embankment, was a thick forest, in which the 
 elephants sheltered themselves during the day. On the upper side, 
 and all around the tank, there was a considerable margin of open 
 ground. It was one of those beautiful, bright, clear, moonlight 
 nights, when objects could be seen almost as distinctly as by day, 
 and I determined to avail myself of the opportunity to observe 
 the movements of the herd, which had already manifested some 
 uneasiness at our presence. The locality was very favourable for 
 my purpose, and an enormous tree projecting over the tank 
 afforded me a secure lodgment in its branches. Having ordered 
 
BLBPHATSITS. 271 
 
 the fires of my camp to be extinguislied at an early hour and all 
 my followers to retire to rest, I took up my post of observation on 
 the overhanging bough ; but I had to remain for upwards of two 
 hours before anything was to be seen or heard of the elephants, 
 although I knew they were within five hundred yards of me. At 
 length, about the distance of three hundred yards from the water, 
 an unusually large elephant issued from the dense cover, and 
 advanced cautiously across the open ground to within a hundred 
 yards of the tank, where he stood perfectly motionless. So quiet 
 had the elephants become (although they had been roaring and 
 breaking the jungle throughout the day and evening) that not a 
 movement was now to be heard. The huge vidette remained in 
 his position still as a rock, and then made three successive stealthy 
 advances of several yards (halting for some minutes between each, 
 with ears bent forward to catch the slightest sound) and in this 
 way he moved slowly up to the water's edge. Still he did not 
 venture to quench his thirst, for though his fore-feet were partially 
 in the tank, and his vast body was reflected clearly in the water, 
 he remained for some minutes listening in perfect stillness. Not a 
 motion could be perceived in himself or his shadow. He returned 
 cautiously and slowly to the position he had at first taken up on 
 emerging from the forest. Here in a little while he was joined by five 
 others, with which he again proceeded as cautiously, but less slowly 
 than before, to within a few yards of the tank, and then posted 
 his patrols. He then re-entered the forest and collected around 
 him the whole herd, which must have amounted to between eighty 
 and one hundred individuals, led them across the open ground with 
 the most extraordinary composure and quietness, till he joined the 
 advanced guard, when he left them for a moment and repeated his 
 former reconnaissance at the edge of the tank, after which, having 
 apparently satisfied himself that all was safe, he returned and 
 obviously gave the order to advance, for in a moment the whole 
 herd rushed into the water with a degree of unreserved confidence, 
 so opposite to the caution and timidity which had marked their 
 previous movements, that nothing will ever persuade me that 
 there was not rational and preconcerted co-operation throughout 
 the whole party ; and a degree of responsible authority exercised 
 
272 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 by the patriarch, leader. When the poor animals had gained 
 possession of the tank (the leader being the last to enter), they 
 seemed to abandon themselves to enjoyment without restraint or 
 apprehension of danger. Such a mass of animal life I had never 
 before seen huddled together in so narrow a space. It seemed to 
 me as though they would have nearly drunk the tank dry. I 
 watched them with great interest until they had satisfied them- 
 selves as well in bathing as in drinking, when I tried how small a 
 noise would apprise them of the proximity of unwelcome neigh- 
 bours. I had but to break a little twig and the solid mass 
 instantly took to flight like a herd of frightened deer, each of the 
 smaller calves being apparently shouldered and carried along 
 between two of the older ones." 
 
 Sir Samuel Baker says that in Ceylon he seldom met old bulls 
 in parties, but in Africa large herds are met with consisting 
 entirely of bulls, and he had frequently seen sixteen or twenty 
 splendid bulls together, "presenting a show of ivory most exciting 
 to a hunter." 
 
 For some reason or another, which has hardly been satis- 
 factorily explained although variously accounted for, a single 
 animal, generally a young male, will leave or be driven from the 
 herd, and become in consequence that dreaded creature, " a rogue 
 elephant," developing nearly always a very objectionable malicious- 
 ness, becoming savage, very destructive, and an object of terror to 
 the villagers or tribes in his vicinity. 
 
 The most vulnerable place of the elephant that can be reached 
 by a buUet is the brain, and hunters have to aim for certain 
 particular places, such as the only opening between the bones that 
 exists in the forehead, or some other exposed parts. The different 
 methods are called the front shot, the side shot, the temple shot, 
 and the shot behind the ear. If one of these spots is not reached 
 the animal will become infuriated and charge, and elephant- 
 hunting assumes at once a dangerous aspect, for it frequently 
 becomes " hunting by the elephant," which often has a tragic 
 termination. The opinion of several experienced hunters could be 
 quoted on the subject. Gordon Oumming writes : "It is the 
 fashion for some people to say the elephant is an innocent and 
 
ELEPHANTS. 273 
 
 harmless creature, that like the giraffe it is almost a sin to destroy. 
 I can only say that during eight years' experience in Ceylon 
 and nearly five years in Africa I have found that elephants are 
 the most formidable animals with which a sportsman has to 
 contend. The African species is far more dangerous than the 
 Indian." Mr. Andersson, in a letter to a friend, which was pub- 
 lished in the Times in 1859, writes : "I have had some perilous 
 adventures with these animals (elephants), and I have been taught 
 some severe lessons, which I am not likely to forget, and if I have 
 not got a great deal of ivory, I have gained a great deal of 
 experience and some interesting insight into the natural history 
 of the African elephant. 
 
 " The more I see of these stupendous animals the more I am 
 surprised. I should very much like to know the real strength of 
 a full-grown male ; it must be something almost incredible. 
 Nothing gives a person a better idea of their stupendous powers 
 than a day's walk through one of their favourite haunts. There 
 may be seen whole tracts of forest laid prostrate, and such trees 
 sometimes ! The trees, which are for the most part of a brittle 
 nature, are usually broken short off by the beasts ; but when they 
 meet with a tree that seems to them too tough to snap at once, 
 up it goes, root and all. If they can do this in mere play, or for 
 the sake of feeding on the branches, &c., of the prostrate trees, 
 what will they not effect in a paroxysm of rage ? " 
 
 On one occasion he met a herd of these animals and fired at 
 one of them, upon which the troop charged at him ; but, for some 
 reason, they stopped short. " I felt very much inclined to take to 
 my heels," he remarks, " but a moment's reflection convinced me 
 that safety lay in keeping close ; and it was as well I did so, for in a 
 few moments the paterfamilias made an oblique rush through the 
 jungle with such force as actually to send a whole tree that he 
 had uprooted in his headlong course spinning in the air. A huge 
 branch remained fixed to one of his tusks. His head he carried 
 aloft ; his huge ears were spread to the full ; while with his trunk 
 he snuffed the air impatiently. In this position, when within less 
 than a dozen paces of me, he remained, I should say, about half 
 a minute. I think it was the most striking and thrilling sporting 
 
 T 
 
274 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 scene that I ever saw; my assailant looked the very picture of 
 grandeur and rage." 
 
 Dr. Holub writes that in the Cape Colony " the elephants' immu- 
 nity from pursuit gives them an overweening assurance that is in 
 striking contrast with the behaviour of the animals of their kind 
 in Central and Northern South Africa. There a shot, even if two 
 or three miles away, is enough to put a herd to speedy flight, 
 and they seldom pause until they have placed the best part of 
 twenty miles between themselves and the cause of their alarm; 
 and although within the last twenty years 7500 elephants have 
 been killed by Europeans, it is the very rarest occurrence for one 
 of them to make an unprovoked attack upon a human being. 
 Here, on the contrary, between Port Elizabeth and Grahamstown, 
 it is necessary to be on one's guard against meeting one of the 
 brutes. Just before I returned to Port Elizabeth, on my home- 
 ward journey, a sad accident had happened in the underwood by 
 the Zondago River, which flows practically through the forest. 
 A black servant had been sent by his master to look for some 
 cattle that had strayed ; as the man did not return, a search was 
 made for him, but nothing was found but his mangled corpse. 
 From the marks all around it was quite evident that a herd of 
 passing elephants had scented him out, and diverging from their 
 path had trampled the poor fellow to death. It should be men- 
 tioned that, although ordinarily living under protection, these 
 ponderous creatures may be slain by consent of the Government." 
 
275 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 ELEPHANTS— [Continued) . 
 
 Thebe are three or four varieties of elephants, eacli possessing 
 some peculiarity or mark ttat denotes the country of its habita- 
 tion, but there are only two species now existing having prominent 
 and conspicuous differences of structure. The one is the inhabi- 
 tant of Asia (Elephas Indicus), the other has its home in Africa 
 {Elephas Africanus). 
 
 Both these species are represented in the collection of the 
 Zoological Society in Regent's Park, and in the illustrations that 
 accompany this work some of the differences in their appearance 
 can be seen. To the unobservant eye there may appear to be but 
 a few minor points whereby the two species can be distinguished, 
 but a closer scrutiny will reveal the fact that there are a number 
 of important variations, and not only are these in their appearance, 
 size, and colour, but they also differ somewhat in their habits 
 and characters. 
 
 The Indian elephant has only comparatively small ears, while 
 the African animal has ones more than three times the size, and 
 that frequently overlap the whole shoulder and descend to the 
 legs. They have been known to measure forty -two inches in 
 length, and thirty inches in width. Some idea may be formed 
 of the great size of these appendages, Andersson remarks, from 
 the fact that when a full-grown bull-elephant advances in full 
 charge, with his ears cocked, his head measures about fourteen 
 feet from the tip of one ear to that of the other, in a direct line 
 across the forehead. Another writer speaks of them as frequently 
 completely hiding the mahout or rider on his back. Dr. Living- 
 stone's party killed one whose ears measured four feet in 
 
 T 2 
 
276 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 horizontal breadtL., and four feet five inclies in depth, and he says 
 he has frequently seen a native creep under one and be quite 
 covered up by it. 
 
 Another distinction can be seen when the animals open their 
 mouths, for their molar teeth are very different, the Indian 
 species having wavy, parallel, transverse ridges, while the African 
 one has fewer divisions in the crown of the tooth, and they are 
 broader and slightly curved, or lozenge-shaped. 
 
 There is also a slight difference in the structure at the end or 
 aperture of the trunk. The African elephant has not the 
 " finger " arrangement previously described, but the end is cleft 
 horizontally into two equal divisions, an upper and lower part, 
 which are pressed one on to the other. This formation confers 
 greater strength and grasping power to the animal than is 
 possessed by the Asiatic species. There is also a distinction in 
 the appearance of the eye, which is easily detected when the 
 animals are seen together. 
 
 Their heads are not alike in conformation, the forehead of 
 the African animal being completely convex from the trunk to 
 the back of the skull, while the Indian one has a more elongated 
 or perpendicular head, being flat or slightly concave at the root of 
 the trunk. The African variety has a concave back, the concavity 
 behind the shoulder being succeeded by a sudden rise of the spine 
 above the hips ; the back of the Indian elephant being exceedingly 
 convex. Other distinctions exist : the African animal has three 
 toes on his hind-feet, while the Indian has four ; but, to make up 
 for his loss this way, he is compensated by having twenty-one 
 pairs of ribs, while the Indian has only nineteen. The caudal 
 vertebrae of the African animal number twenty-six, while the 
 Indian one possesses thirty-three. 
 
 No attempt has ever been made to tame the African elephant 
 at the Cape, but in ancient days the North African animal was 
 undoubtedly domesticated and used by the Romans, and also by 
 the Greeks, a fact clearly attested by the figures on their 
 medals. They were used by the Carthaginians in their wars with 
 Rome, and thirty-seven of these animals crossed the Alps with 
 Hannibal. At the dedication of the Temple of Venus Victrix, 
 
ELEPHANTS. 277 
 
 Pompey caused a number of tliem to be slain by tlie javelins of 
 the Gffitulian archers. It was on this occasion that the populace 
 showed some feeling ; for both Dion, the historian, and Pliny relate 
 that the gallantry of the animals and the sagacity manifested in the 
 rescue of a wounded companion, as well as the piteous agony 
 they exhibited, so affected the stern Romans that the whole 
 amphitheatre rose and, with imprecations against the consul, in- 
 sisted that the fight should cease. The Dictator, Julius Caesar, in 
 his third consulship, opposed twenty of them against five hundred 
 foot-soldiers. At another time the same number had towers 
 placed upon their backs, each defended by sixty men, and both 
 foot-soldiers and horsemen were ordered to the attack, with what 
 result is not stated. Afterwards, under the Emperors Claudius 
 and Nero, elephants were also frequently seen in the circus with 
 gladiators fighting them single-handed, either as a crowning 
 exploit of the performance, or as a feat of valour undertaken by the 
 men themselves for the purposeof securing theirmanumission, which 
 was the reward generally grantedf or an extraordinary deed of daring. 
 
 Csesar brought one of these animals with him to Britain (b.c. 54), 
 and it contributed to the conquest of this country. In the " Strata- 
 gems" of Polysenus we read that " Csesar attempted to pass a 
 great river (in all probability the Thames) ; Cassivelaunus, king of 
 the Britons, opposed his passage with a large body of horses and 
 chariots. Csesar had in his company a vastly large elephant, a 
 creature before that time unknown to the Britons. This elephant 
 he fenced with an iron coat of mail, built a large turret on it, and 
 putting up bowmen and shngers ordered them to pass first into 
 the stream. The Britons were dismayed at sight of such an 
 unknown and monstrous beast ; they fled, therefore, with their 
 horses and chariots, and the Romans passed over without opposi- 
 tion, terrifying their enemies by this single creature." 
 
 African elephants were frequently used for the Roman sports 
 and military pageants, but after the Punic wars their employment 
 gradually lessened until the age of the later Roman emperors, 
 when their use was finally discontinued— why or wherefore does 
 
 not appear. 
 
 From the date of the Roman occupation until 1865, when 
 
278 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 " Jumbo " and " Alice " were procured by the Zoological Society, 
 African elephants were never seen in England. 
 
 In London in 1730 or 1731 some workmen, engaged in digging 
 the great sewer in Pall Mall, " over against the ' King's Arms 
 Tavern,' " at th.e depth of twenty-eight feet, came across several 
 bones of an elephant ; and some years previously elephant- bones 
 were found in St. James's Square, but whether they were the 
 remains of animals of the African species which bad been brought 
 over by the Romans was not ascertained. 
 
 The African elephant was formerly believed to be a fierce and 
 untamable beast of no other use but to supply ivory, but this 
 theory had no foundation. There seems to be no valid reason 
 assigned why, at the present day, African elepbants should not 
 be caught, tamed, and utilized in the same manner as their Indian 
 and Ceylon congeners. That they are fully capable of being 
 domesticated is shown by the behaviour of tbe animals of this 
 species now exhibited in various collections. They appear to have 
 some advantages, for not only are tbey more active animals, bat 
 are apparently more capable of enduring the fatigue of long 
 marches or hard work, and they delight in being exposed to the 
 burning sun even during the hottest hours of the day, while the 
 Indian animals dislike it, and invariably retreat to the shady places 
 when left to themselves. 
 
 The experience gained by the keepers in the Zoological Gardens 
 with respect to the African animals is that they are more self- 
 willed and intelligent than the Indian ones, but as they cannot be 
 coaxed or driven into doing anything they dislike, are in conse- 
 quence harder to handle. 
 
 " The barbarous tribes," says one writer, " that people 
 Southern Africa have never dreamt of the possibility of rendering 
 this lordly quadruped serviceable in a domestic capacity; and 
 even amongst the colonists there exists an unaccountable super- 
 stition that his subjugation is not to be accomplished. His 
 capture, however, might readily be achieved, and as he appears 
 to possess all the aptitude of his Asiatic relative, the only 
 diflBlculty that presents itself is the general absence within our 
 territories of sufficient food for his support." 
 
ELEPHANTS. 279 
 
 Another writer observes tliat even to this day in most parts of 
 Africa the assurance that in other countries elephants are tamed 
 and ridden passes among the Hottentots and Kaffirs as one of the 
 " white man's " lies. 
 
 There are exceptions to nearly every rule, and even to the one 
 that the African natives cannot, or will not, tame the elephant,. 
 an exception has been made public in the Field newspaper of 
 1880. Quoting the paragraph that contains this information : " It 
 has been asserted that the natives of Africa are unable to tame 
 any of the wild beasts with which they are surrounded, and that, 
 though many of them are the best hunters in the world, they 
 never make an attempt to reduce them to subjection. Mr. 
 Mitchinson, who has travelled much among the natives near the 
 "West Coast, states that he saw the nucleus of a menagerie of 
 domesticated wild animals which had been tamed by the natives. 
 On the Cunene river, which enters the Atlantic in latitude 18° 
 south, he found two perfectly tame cow hippopotami, which came 
 at the call of the natives, and allowed them to milk them regu- 
 larly. The animals were not confined in any way, but roamed at 
 will up and down the river, returning to the village where they 
 had been tamed. Their milk, somewhat thicker and sweeter than 
 cow's milk, was used by the natives as a purgative medicine. At 
 the village of Bite, Mr. Mitchinson saw an African elephant which 
 had been tamed, and was perfectly under control. Decorated 
 with rude ornaments, it took part in ceremonial processions, and 
 served otherwise as a symbol of the sovereignty of the chief. 
 This animal was about seven feet high. This is a proof not only 
 of the possibility of taming African elephants, but of the fact that 
 the natives can be taught to capture and train these animals." 
 
 Elephants live entirely on vegetable food, but the African 
 species are more decided tree feeders than the Indian, and in con- 
 sequence are more destructive animals in a forest, though the 
 devastation an Indian herd can encompass in a rice-field is often 
 very great. Exaggerated accounts of the loss inflicted are, how- 
 ever, frequently given, for careful investigation often reveals the 
 fact 'that the actual damage done is less than at fir^t supposed. 
 Dr. Livingstone makes the following remarks on this subject : 
 
280 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 " Great numbers of the trees have been broken ofi by elephants a 
 foot or two from the ground, in order that they may feed on the 
 tender shoots at the top ; the trees thus seem pollarded from that 
 point. In spite of the practice, the elephant never seriously 
 lessens the number of trees; indeed, I have often been struck 
 by the very httle damage he does in a forest. His food con- 
 sists for the most part of bulbs, tubes, roots, and branches." 
 
 The Indian species, are essentiajUy grass-feeding animals, 
 living on different kinds of herbage, and are particularly partial to 
 the cultivated crops, such as rice, corn, and all sorts of grain. 
 Consequently, if these are grown near their haunts in the forest, 
 the poor husbandman has frequently serious loss inflicted on him, 
 which sometimes amounts to the total demolition of his harvest. 
 
 The African species are not only conspicuous by the size of 
 their ears and height, but also by the length and beauty of their 
 ivory, for both sexes possess magnificent tusks, which appear to be 
 almost a necessity to them, in order that they may be enabled to 
 obtain their food. Sir Samuel Baker states : " The general food 
 of the African elephant consists of foliage of trees, especially of 
 mimosas. In Ceylon, although there are many trees that serve as 
 food, the elephant nevertheless is an extensive grass feeder. The 
 African variety, being almost exclusively a tree feeder, requires 
 his tusks to assist him in procuring food. Many of the mimosas 
 are flat-headed, about thirty feet high, and the richer portion of 
 the foliage confined to the crown ; thus the elephant, not being 
 able to reach to so great a height, must overturn the tree to 
 procure the coveted food. The destruction caused by a herd of 
 African elephants in a mimosa forest is extraordinary, and I have 
 seen trees uprooted of so large a size that I am convinced no 
 single elephant could have overturned them. I have measured 
 trees four feet six inches in circumference, and about thirty feet 
 high, uprooted by elephants. The natives have assured me that 
 they usually assist each other, and that several engage together in 
 the work of overturning a large tree. None of the mimosas have 
 tap-roots, thus the powerful tusks of the elephant applied as crow- 
 bars to the roots, while others pull at the branches with their 
 trunks, will effect the destruction of a tree so large as to appear 
 
ELEPHANTS. 281 
 
 invulnerable. The Ceylon elephant, rarely possessing tusks, 
 cannot destroy a tree thicker than the thigh of a man." 
 
 Again referring to Dr. Livingstone's remarks on this subject, 
 he writes : " In estimating the amount of food necessary for large 
 animals, sufficient attention has not been paid to the kinds chosen. 
 The elephant, for instance, is a most dainty feeder, and particu- 
 larly fond of certain sweet-tasted trees and fruits, such as the 
 mohonous, the mimosa, and other trees, which contain much 
 saccharine matter, mucilage, or gum. He may be seen putting 
 his head to a lofty palmyra, swaying it to and fro to shake off 
 the seeds ; he then picks them up singly, and eats them. Or he 
 may be seen standing by the masuka and other fruit-trees, 
 patiently picking off the sweet fruits one by one. The selection 
 of these kinds of food account for the fact that herds of elephants 
 produce but small effect upon the vegetation of a country, quality 
 being more requisite to them than quantity." 
 
 The Asiatic elephant, besides having the distinguishing points 
 previously described, possesses as a rule much smaller tusks ; the 
 female animal being always born with tusJies only, or short down- 
 ward prongs in the upper jaw ; these whilst present are used for 
 stripping bark off trees, &c., but they are seldom retained long, 
 being generally broken off early in life, and are never renewed ; 
 in fact they do not appear to be at all necessary. A curious fact, 
 referred to already, is that neither sex of Ceylon elephants possess 
 tusks, or at least not one in a hundred — and the very few excep- 
 tions to this rule that have been seen are exclusively males — and 
 even these conspicuous individuals generally have only stunted 
 tusks or tushes, about ten or twelve inches in length and one or 
 two in diameter ; while in India muclcnas — as the male elephants 
 born without tusks are called — are decidedly rare. 
 
 Mr. Sanderson, who, in consequence of his being the great 
 authority of the present day on the Indian elephant, it is necessary 
 to frequently quote, says that the tusks are not used to assist 
 the animal in procuring food. Small trees are overturned by 
 pushing with the curled trunk, or feet, if necessary ; and to get 
 at the core of a palm-tree or to beat out the plantain, the pressure 
 of the feet alone is used. 
 
282 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 In India elephants are generally caught at the present day by 
 being driven into a stockade, which is built after a herd have been 
 surrounded in a forest by the hunters and their assistants. It is 
 rather dangerous work, and men are frequently killed while en- 
 gaged in it. Formerly elephants were driven into pitfalls, which 
 was the old native method of trapping the animals, but so much 
 cruelty and suffering resulted from this modus operandi that 
 it has been discontinued by order of the Government; and 
 although various other plans are occasionally resorted to, yet the 
 one above described is by far the most simple and effective. 
 Mr. Sanderson invariably resorts to it in his wonderfully suc- 
 cessful operations undertaken for the Indian Government. The 
 following quotation is from an account of the work given by 
 himself : — 
 
 " Sometimes drives are conducted by torchlight, and these 
 seldom fail, owing to the elephant's fear of fire. The scenes on 
 these occasions are exciting beyond description. The elephants, 
 in rushing along, tear down large branches of trees that are 
 connected with the imdergrowth by climbing plants, and even 
 sometimes upset dry trees bodily in their passage. The cries of 
 the young, and the deep, thunder-like growls of the elders of the 
 herd, the continued crashing of the jungle, and the shots and 
 incessant cries of the men, form, with the unnatural light of the 
 fires and of torches moving through the forest paths, a scene that 
 cannot fade from the memory of any one who has witnessed it. 
 
 " "When a herd has been driven into the stockade the gate is 
 closed and barricaded, and men with firebrands and spears repel 
 any attack upon it or the palisades ; but the trench is usually 
 suflBcient to deter the elephants from crossing it. On the same or 
 following day ten or twelve tame elephants are admitted with a 
 mahout and rope-tier upon each, and it is a very remarkable fact 
 that the wild ones very rarely attempt to dislodge the riders, as 
 they easily might. They naturally fail to comprehend anything 
 so foreign to their experience as a man upon an elephant's back. 
 I never knew a case, except one that happened to myself, of any 
 rider being attacked by a wild elephant. The mahouts separate 
 the wild elephants one by one from their companions, when their 
 
ELEPHANTS. 283 
 
 hind-legs are tied by men who slip to the ground for the purpose. 
 A rope is then secured round each captive's neck and to its hind- 
 legs, and it is led out and picketed in the forest near. . . . New 
 elephants are trained as follows : — They are first tied between 
 two trees, and are rubbed down by a number of men with long 
 bamboos, to an accompaniment of the most extravagant eulogies 
 of the animal, sung or shouted at it at the top of their voices. The 
 animal, of course, lashes out furiously at first ; but in a few days 
 it ceases to act on the offensive, or, as natives say, ' shurum lugia 
 haV It becomes ashamed of itself, and it then stands with its 
 trunk curled up, shrinking from the men. Eopes are now tied 
 round its body, and it is mounted at its picket for several days. 
 It is then taken out for exercise, secured between two tame 
 elephants. The ropes still remain round its body to enable the 
 mahout to hold on should the elephant try to shake him off. A 
 man precedes it with a spear to teach it to halt when ordered to 
 do so ; whilst as the tame elephants wheel to the right or left the 
 mahout presses its neck with his knees, and taps it on the head 
 with a small stick to train it to turn in the required direction. 
 To teach an elephant to kneel, it is taken into water five feet deep, 
 when the sun is hot, and upon being pricked on the back with a 
 pointed stick it soon hes down, partly to avoid the pain, partly 
 from inclination for a bath. By taking it into shallower water 
 daily it is soon taught to kneel even on land. 
 
 " Elephants are taught to pick up anything from the ground by 
 a rope, with a piece of wood attached, being dangled over their 
 foreheads, near to the ground. The wood strikes against 
 their trunk and fore-feet, and to avoid the discomfort the 
 elephant soon takes it in his trunk, and carries it. It even- 
 tually learns to do this without a rope being attached to the 
 
 object.'' 
 
 With the exception, we are told, of elephants that come from 
 Burmah or Siam, almost every animal to be seen in India has 
 been wild at one time ; the reason assigned for their not being 
 bred while in captivity is that the young ones would have to be 
 kept for ten years before being of any service, and by that 
 time the expenditure for food alone would exceed their value, 
 
284 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 and the total outlay be far more than the cost of catching and 
 training a mature wild animal. 
 
 Referring again to Von Orlich's travels, he informs his readers 
 that neither in the mythology nor in the sculptured representations 
 at Allora is the first taming of the elephant recorded, for like all 
 the commencements of Indian civilization it was assumed to be 
 already existing. However, the method adopted in training it 
 appears to have been different in different places, and to have 
 been changed during certain periods, as also the stratagems 
 adopted for its capture, for in the time of Jumaway, the king of 
 the Avances (who reigned from 1330 to 1306, B.C.), he, on being 
 driven into Hindostan, is said to have taught the people the best 
 method of catching the elephant. It appears, therefore, that even 
 at that date elephants were not reared in a domestic state, although 
 the " one-handed " animals, as they are called in the Sanscrit, were 
 employed in far greater numbers than they are now, both for 
 general work and in war, and it is recorded that they rendered 
 thorough obedience. 
 
 The words of command that elephants are taught to obey, being 
 translated, are " go, go along;" " go carefully;" "avoid, or pass 
 clear ;" " sit down ;" " sit quite down ;" " get up ;" " don't squirt 
 water ;" " break down " (anything) ; " stop ;" " come ;" "remove 
 with the tusk;" "lift up the fore-leg ;" "pick up;" "swim;" 
 stride over;" "look carefully," &c. 
 
 Von Orlich, referring to the elephant's sagacity, says : " So full 
 of reasons are his actions that he serves the Indians as the symbol 
 of the highest knowledge, Ganesa, the god of art and science, 
 being represented with an elephant-head : more especially is this 
 animal honoured by the Hindoos, who make it the companion of 
 the gods, the warder of the porch of the temple, the caryatide 
 and ornament of their architecture. They believe that the souls 
 of princes and Brahmins do penance in the bodies of elephants, 
 and the Hindoo of low caste may hold one of them to be higher 
 than himself" 
 
 From elephants being such universal favourites with people gene- 
 rally, any anecdote redounding to their credit, even if it portrays 
 them as exhibiting superhuman intelligence, is accepted readily 
 
ELEPHANTS. 285 
 
 without investigation. There is in consequence an undoubted 
 tendency existing to overrate their mental powers, and, in fact, to 
 confer upon them the highest order of reasoning faculties, that of 
 drawing deductions and correct conclusions from facts coming 
 within their own observation, and of which they could have had no 
 previous knowledge or experience. This would place them far 
 beyond other animals, dogs not excepted, in the scale of intelli- 
 gence, and almost upon a par with man himself. Those who are 
 well acquainted with the habits and natures of these creatures 
 deny them any such place, and pronounce the tales told in many 
 natural history books, and books of anecdotes about animals, as 
 mere fables gathered together from different unauthentic sources ; 
 and if any particle of truth exists in them as a foundation the 
 facts are so exaggerated and travestied that they are not even fit 
 ■ to amuse children, for they have a tendency to fill their minds 
 with spurious knowledge. 
 
 In Hone's " Bvery-Day Book for 1825," there is a copy of 
 Atkins's advertisement of the elephant to be seen in his " Royal 
 Menagerie," which reads as follows : " The colossal animal : the 
 wonderful performing elephant, upwards of ten feet high ! Five 
 tons weight ! His consumption of hay, corn, straw, carrots, 
 water, &c., exceeds 800 lbs. daily. The elephant, the human 
 race excepted, is the most respectable of animals." 
 
 What Atkins meant by respectable is left for every one to 
 form their own opinion, but the adjective may be certainly used 
 to describe his intellectual position among animals; in fact, accord- 
 ing to Sanderson, instead of being an exceptionally wise animal, 
 its sagacity is of a very mediocre description : " The truth of 
 this opinion no one who has lived amongst elephants can doubt." 
 He writes : " One of the strongest features in the domesticated 
 elephant's character is its obedience. It may also be readily 
 taught, as it has a large share of the ordinary cultivable intelU- 
 gence common, in a greater or less degree, to all animals. But 
 its reasoning faculties are undoubtedly far below those of the dog, 
 and possibly of other animals ; and in matters beyond the range 
 of its daily experience it evinces no special discernment. "Whilst 
 fairly quick at comprehending anything sought to be taught to it. 
 
286 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 the elephant is decidedly wanting in originality. To begin with, 
 the elephant displays less intelligence in its natural state than 
 most wild animals." After describing the stupidity exhibited by 
 the creatures in allowing themselves to be driven into an ill-con- 
 cealed enclosure, which no- other forest creatures could be got to 
 enter, and then in not attempting to escape by the very easy 
 process of destroying the stockade, he shows that they readily 
 fall into pits dug for them, and have not sufficient wisdom to 
 ever profit by experience, for escaped elephants are retaken 
 without trouble, and continues : " In its domesticated state one 
 of the elephant's chief characteristics is, as before stated, its 
 obedience; and it does many things, at the slightest hint from 
 its mahout, which must impress the on-looker unacquainted with 
 the craft of elephant-guidance. The driver's knees are placed 
 behind an elephant's ears as he sits on it, and it is by means of a 
 push, pressure, and other motions, that his directions are com- 
 municated, as with the pressure of the leg with trained horses in 
 a circus. It would be as reasonable, however, to credit perform- 
 ing dogs, which spell out replies to questions, with knowing what 
 they are saying, as elephants with appreciating the objects to 
 be gained by much which they do under the direction of their 
 riders. 
 
 " All who have to deal with elephants will agree that their good 
 qualities cannot be exaggerated ; that their vices are few, and 
 only occur in exceptional animals; that they are neither 
 treacherous nor retentive of an injury ; and that they are obedient, 
 gentle, and patient beyond all other domestic animals. But it is 
 no traducement of the elephant to say that it is, in many things, 
 a decidedly stupid animal." 
 
 This is a very sweeping assertion, and entirely does away with 
 the preconceived notions existing in' the minds of the public 
 respecting the animal, and although made by one whose know- 
 ledge is, probably, second to no other Englishman living respecting 
 elephantSj many think that Mr. Sanderson has, in correcting pubhc 
 opinion on the subject, exhibited a tendency to deprive the animals 
 of even the common attributes of all quadrupeds considered worth 
 taming. They may be stupid in allowing themselves to be easily 
 
ELEPHANTS. 287 
 
 trapped, and then in not using their terrific strength and powers 
 to crush their captors or effect their escape ; and most people, 
 while agreeing that the tales generally told about them, especially 
 the one Mr. Sanderson quotes of the tailor and the needle, and 
 the dirty water, are on the face of them absurd, yet there are 
 others which are well authenticated that show elephants to be 
 anything but stupid beasts. Dogs, with whom they are com- 
 pared, are not over-gifted with sagacity in their wild state, and 
 perhaps if thoroughly domesticated, and careful attention paid to 
 their breeding, the elephants' intellectual powers might ultimately 
 undergo considerable improvement, and increased mental capacity 
 be transmitted to the future race. It is within the bounds of possi- 
 bility that intelligent attributes of a high order might be developed, 
 which would confer on the elephant a capacity for performing 
 duties that would be of the greatest assistance to mankind. 
 
 No doubt many people have themselves seen children when 
 feeding an elephant with buns accidentally drop some portion of 
 one out of the animal's reach, which, after trying in various ways 
 to get its trunk near enough to grasp the coveted morsel, has 
 resorted to the stratagem of blowing through that organ with 
 force suflB.cient to cause the bun to strike the nearest post or wall 
 with such vigour that it rebounded near enough to be easily seized. 
 Surely this is anything but a stupid manoeuvre, and exhibits some 
 intellectual power. The fact is that it is a mistake to make any 
 sweeping assertion respecting animals, for the instinctive capacity 
 is not the same in every specimen; each individual varies in the 
 possession of its own peculiar endowments. 
 
 Again, with regard to their being neither treacherous nor 
 retentive of an injury, well-authenticated cases have occurred 
 that prove if this is the rule with regard to elephants in general 
 there are many exceptions to it in individual cases. Several 
 instances could be quoted to prove this, all narrated by eye- 
 witnesses whose veracity is beyond question. One case was 
 related of an elephant belonging to his Excellency the Governor 
 of Bombay, who sent the animal to take part in the Durbar 
 held at the proclamation of the Queen as Empress of India. 
 This elephant had six years previous to this date a mahout 
 
288 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 wlio had been in the habit of treating the animal with great 
 brutality, but "whom it had not seen for that period of time. On 
 the road, among several other elephants, was one ridden by this 
 identical man. Immediately the animal in question saw him it 
 rushed at the elephant he was riding, upset the man, and, taking 
 him in its trunk, dashed his brains out on the ground ! It then 
 walked round and round him kicking his body repeatedly. In 
 the panic created by this act, the other elephants and their drivers 
 fled, but shortly afterwards the infuriated animal was found to be 
 perfectly quiet, and gave no further trouble, for it was of an 
 inoffensive disposition and was not must. 
 
 Another case occurred in 1866 in a circus that was performing 
 in St. Heliers, Jersey. From the report in the Times newspaper 
 we learn that a man named Williams, a groom in the circus, 
 in the discharge of his duty, went to the stable after the evening 
 performance to attend to the horses. " While giving water to 
 the horse placed next to the elephant, the latter, wishing to 
 drink, reached out his trunk, which Williams struck a violent 
 blow, refusing the animal any water. He then, to show a com- 
 panion — a soldier of the 69th Regiment — his mastery over the 
 elephant, commanded the animal to perform some of his usual 
 tricks. This was done, until the patience of the docile beast 
 being exhausted at the unreasonable demands of Williams, he 
 threw his trunk round him and pressed him against the stable wall 
 with such force that when the unfortunate man fell to the 
 ground and was picked up he was half dead and bleeding pro- 
 fusely. He was conveyed at once to the General Hospital, 
 where he was attended to ; but it is feared that the internal 
 injuries he has received may terminate fatally." These two cases 
 read in conjunction with others that have periodically occurred, 
 show that individual animals can be revengeful, and some possess 
 a retentive memory of injuries received. 
 
 Their capability of receiving instruction is undoubtedly very 
 great. The little clown elephant "Tom Thumb," owned by 
 Barnum, which nearly shared the fate of "Jumbo" last year, 
 exhibits probably the highest training that can now be given any 
 animal, for it appears to act independently of any word of com- 
 
ELEPHANTS. 289 
 
 mand or touclij and its amusing antics, clothed in a clown's 
 dress, keep the audience in roars of laughter 
 
 In former ages men were greater adepts at training animals 
 than they are at the present day. The secret of their skill and 
 method of procedure have not been transmitted to their successors 
 of the nineteenth century. The Eomans taught elephants to per- 
 form dances, imitate the combat of gladiators, and walk upon the 
 tight rope, and afterwards to dine at a table, reclining upon 
 couches which were filled with people ; but the animals were 
 so well trained that they did not touch or injure them in any way. 
 These and several other incidents that exhibit the skilful train- 
 ing to which the animals were subjected can be found narrated by 
 Pliny, ^lian, Seneca, Dion Cassius, and others, so that the facts 
 are fully corroborated. 
 
 The wonderful manner that elephants perform the varied 
 labours allotted to them in India and Ceylon, such as placing 
 stones in exact positions in the building of the various public 
 works, or in collecting and piling timber, and in various other 
 ways, has always elicited admiration. 
 
 In moving about elephants are very careful, and rarely, even by 
 accident, tread upon a man or child, which is a very fortunate 
 trait in their character, for their great weight which crushes all 
 life out of a human being subjected to it would make their em- 
 ployment one fraught with perpetual danger. An animal did, 
 however, back on to a keeper in the Zoological Gardens and 
 cause his death ; but it was purely an accident. 
 
 So much reliance is placed on the animals displaying caution 
 that in India the native women when busy often compel the 
 elephants to act as nurses, and watch over the children. Mr. 
 0. T. Buckland, in Land and Water, states : " There is nothing 
 by any means uncommon or incredible in the stories which 
 have been reported about the children of a mahout being cared 
 for by the mahout's elephant. It is always expedient to 
 employ a married mahout if you can, with a hard-working 
 wife and two or three children. The whole family become, 
 as it were, parasites to the animal by whom they earn their 
 living. It is only a question of degree to what extent an 
 
 u 
 
290 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 elephant may be trusted with, a baby, but I have seen a baby 
 placed by its mother systematically under the elephant's care, and 
 within reach of its trunk, whilst the mother went to fetch water 
 or to get wood and materials to cook the family dinner. No 
 jackal or wolf would be likely to pick up and carry of£ a baby 
 who was thus confided to the care of an elephant; but most 
 people who have lived a life in the jungle know how very possible 
 it is for a jackal or wolf to carry off a baby, even when lying in 
 a hut, when the mother's back is turned. The children thus 
 brought up in the companionship of an elephant become ridi- 
 culously familiar with it, and take all kinds of liberties with it ; 
 which the elephant seems to endure on the principle that it does 
 not hurt her, while it amuses the child. You see a little naked 
 black imp about two feet high standing on the elephant's bare 
 back, and taking it down to the water to bathe, vociferating all 
 the time in the most unbecoming terms of native abusive language. 
 On arriving at the water the elephant, ostensibly in obedience to 
 the imp's command, lies down and enjoys itself, just leaving a 
 part of its body, like a small island, above water, on which the 
 small imp stands and shouts, and shouts all the more if so be 
 that he has several companions of his own age, also in charge of 
 their elephants, all wallowing in the water around him. If the imp 
 slips off his island the elephant promptly replaces him in safety. 
 These little urchins as they grow up become, first, mates 
 to mahouts, and eventually arrive at the dignity of being 
 mahouts." 
 
 According to Mr. Sanderson half a ton is a good load for 
 an elephant for ordinary work, and seven hundredweight is 
 enough for him to carry in a hilly country, but the animals em- 
 ployed in the Abyssinian Expedition were given heavier loads, 
 some as much as 1800 pounds. The amount of fodder they will 
 consume is between 600 and 800 pounds every eighteen hours, but 
 the capacity or appetite of one elephant is no gauge to that of 
 another, for individuals vary considerably in their requirements, 
 as is shown by the difference in the allowance fixed for each 
 animal by the Commissariat Departments of Bengal and Madras. 
 The cost of the food, coupled with the wages of the men required 
 
ELEPHANTS. 291 
 
 to attend to elephants, make these animals expensive ones to keep, 
 and their labour too dear for general use. 
 
 Male elephants (occasionally females also) are subject to 
 periodical paroxysms that vary in duration from a few weeks 
 to three or four months, and occur regularly in some animals 
 or only at intervals in others. They are then said to be must, 
 or mad. During this period they are either very violent and 
 intractable, or else drowsy and lethargic. Mahouts can easily tell 
 the approach of must by the flow of an oily matter from the small 
 gland in the temple on each side of the head to be seen in elephants 
 of either sex. At this period they have to be handled and 
 approached^ with great care, for they frequently exhibit a most 
 decided tendency to attack every one that comes within their 
 reach, and at such times kill their keepers as readily as they 
 kill any one else. 
 
 Elephants being in consequence of this infirmity so uncertain 
 in their dispositions, for the ordinarily most docile animal may be- 
 come the most furious of beasts when 7nust, and as so many homi- 
 cides have been committed by elephants when in this condition, 
 they must be pronounced the most dangerous of all animals that 
 are now employed by men. A number of cases could be in- 
 stanced in support of this opinion ; one or two are worth quoting. 
 In 1872 the Times informs us : " An interesting beast has just 
 passed away at Chicago. The New Yorh Herald announces the 
 death in that town on the 8th June of the celebrated performing 
 elephant ' Romeo,' the largest and most valuable of his species 
 ever brought to America, and more famous than any who have 
 gone before him. The occurrence, says the Herald, will excite 
 interest in almost every city, town, or village in America ; but to 
 judge by the account given of the career of the deceased, the news 
 of his death must, we imagine, be received with some sense of 
 relief. ' Romeo,' it seems, has killed five keepers since his advent 
 in America, ' besides destroying any number of fences, barns, 
 garden-patches, cornfields, orchards, &c.' He was bought in 
 Calcutta about twenty-five years ago, having been taken from a 
 brickyard, where he was used in grinding clay. The price paid 
 for him was $10,000 in gold, and he was brought to America with 
 
 TJ 2 
 
292 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 nine others. In 1852, while south of New Orleans, he killed his 
 keeper, known as ' Long John,' whose successor, called ' Frenchy,' 
 shared the same fate near Houston, Texas, in 1855. A third 
 keeper, Stewart Craven, was killed in 1860, near Cedar Rapids, 
 Iowa ; the fourth, Ben Williams, was sent to his last account at 
 Philadelphia in 1867; and the fifth, named McDewett, in Ohio, 
 in 1869, completed the illustrious roll of ' Romeo's ' victims. 
 Although from the affectionate nature of the animal there can be 
 no doubt he bitterly mourned the loss of the keepers whom in his 
 hasty moments he destroyed, yet his cheerful temperament enabled 
 him to survive sorrows that would have crushed more sensitive 
 elephants ; indeed his playfulness sometimes exceeded the limits 
 of convenience. In the winter of 1868 he alarmed the inhabitants 
 of Chicago by tearing to pieces the building in which he was con- 
 fined, on the site of the present City Hall. On this occasion a 
 cannon was brought out to cope with him, but he was fortunately 
 recaptured before any further damage was done. His left eye 
 was, however, shot out in 1865 near Philadelphia, and his hide 
 bore the scars of numerous bullets and red-hot iron used to 
 subdue him at various times when he insisted on committing 
 depredations. He stood 11 feet 2^ inches in height, and is sup- 
 posed to have been 100 years old." 
 
 In India individual animals have killed more men in their day 
 than " Romeo " did, but out of Asia he was probably accountable 
 for more deaths than any other of his species of which there is 
 any record. But sundry elephants that have been used for 
 exhibition purposes, both in England and on the Continent, have 
 been man-slayers. 
 
 Judging from the accounts given in old newspapers, our grand- 
 fathers experienced some difficulty in destroying these " monstrous 
 creatures" as they were called. An animal that had belonged 
 to the King of Wurtemberg was destroyed about sixty years 
 ago in Venice — where he tried to kill his keeper, and did succeed 
 in killing another man, whom he threw down with his trunk, and 
 trampled to death. In order to execute this murderer, it was neces- 
 sary to employ the agency of " 150 musket-balls and three cannons." 
 In 1820 a performing elephant which had previously been exhibited 
 
ELEPHANTS. 293 
 
 « 
 
 in London, was being shown in Geneva, when lie went mwst. 
 Escaping from control, he tried to kill his keeper. After causing 
 considerable excitement to the good people of the city, he 
 was persuaded to enter an enclosure near the barrack-yard, and 
 the business of killing him commenced. First poison was tried, 
 three ounces of prussic acid with ten ounces of brandy. This 
 only made him more playful than ever, so three boluses each 
 containing an ounce of arsenic, mixed with honey and sugar, were 
 given to him, which he ate readily enough, but they also failed to 
 produce the desired eflFect. Ultimately the soldiers made a breach 
 in the wall, and inserting therein the mouth of a cannon, fired a 
 ball at the animal, which passed completely through him, and did 
 considerable damage afterwards. The people seem to have been 
 sincerely sorry at the death of this elephant, for he had occasioned 
 them much amusement, but they appear to have assuaged their 
 grief by eating up the body, for we read in the account given of 
 the affair that the fleshy parts of the beast " were given to the 
 public, who were extremely eager and anxious to eat elephant's 
 flesh, and much tempted by its excellent appearance, dressed as it 
 was in every variety of sauce. They seemed perfectly regardless 
 of the poison, which indeed had not time to develop itself in the 
 muscular system. Three or four hundred persons ate of it without 
 injury, excepting one or two individuals, who brought on a fit of 
 indigestion by indulging in excess." 
 
 The " Jumbo " of a previous date, as far as popularity and 
 size are concerned, was an elephant named " Chunee," which was 
 exhibited from 1814 to 1826 at Exeter Change, and was a favourite 
 animal with the British public. Previously to his transfer to this 
 menagerie he had taken part in a pantomime, called " Harlequin 
 Padmanaba," performed at Covent Garden Theatre, which drew 
 crowded houses. Mr. Harris, the manager, gave 900 guineas for 
 the animal for this purpose, a joint interest being owned by Mr. 
 Parker, the husband of the celebrated columbine " who played up 
 to " the animal, which during the performance was ridden by the 
 graceful rider, Mrs. Henry Johnstone. 
 
 This animal had occasioned considerable trouble at several 
 periods by recurring paroxysms and his having to be kept in such a 
 
294 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 confined enclosure in tte menagerie. In March, 1826, he appears 
 to have had a worse fit than usual, and the whole place being 
 endangered by his great strength and destructive tendency, his 
 owner had reluctantly to order him to be killed. This the men 
 carried out probably to the best of their ability, but with dis- 
 gusting cruelty. Some soldiers were called in, and the attendants 
 being armed with rifles, an hour's incessant fusillade was kept up 
 before they succeeded in killing him, and no less than 152 shots 
 were fired at the poor brute. 
 
 The extraordinary details of this execution are given in Hone's 
 " Every-Day Book," and constitute a chapter in history that is 
 probably unique, at least let all humane people hope so. As soon 
 as the fury of the animal made it apparent that his death was an 
 imperative necessity, " Mr. Tyler went down to Mr, Clarke, and 
 acquainting him with the danger arising out of the immediate 
 necessity, suggested the instant removal of every person from the 
 Change below, and the closing of the Change gates. Mr. Clarke, and 
 all belonging to his establishment, saw the propriety of their speedy 
 departure, and in a few minutes the gates were barred and locked. 
 By the adoption of these precautions, if the elephant had broken 
 down the floor, no lives would have been lost, although much 
 valuable property would have been destroyed ; and in the event 
 contemplated, the animal himself would have been confined within 
 the basement. Still, however, a slight exertion of his enormous 
 strength could have forced the gates. If he had made his entry 
 into the Strand, it is impossible to conjecture the mischief that 
 might have ensued in that crowded thoroughfare, from his 
 infuriated passion. 
 
 " On Mr. Tyler's return upstairs from Mr. Clarke, it was evident 
 from the elephant's extreme rage, that not a moment was to be 
 lost. Three rifles therefore were immediately loaded, and 
 Mr. Herring, accompanied by Mr. Stevens's assistant, entered the 
 menagerie, each with a rifle, and took their stations for the 
 purpose of firing. Mr. Tyler pointed out to the keepers the 
 window places, and such recesses as they might fly to if the 
 elephant broke through, and enjoining each man to select a 
 particular spot as his own exclusive retreat, concluded by showing 
 
ELEPHANTS. 295 
 
 the danger of any two of them running to the same plape for 
 shelter. The keepers with their pikes, placed themselves in the 
 rear of Mr. Herring and his assistant, who stood immediately 
 opposite the den, at about the distance of twelve feet in the front. 
 Mr. Herring requested Cartmell to call in his usual tone to the 
 elephant, when he exhibited him to visitors, on which occasions, 
 the animal was accustomed to face his friends with the hope of 
 receiving something from their hands. Cartmell's cry of 
 ' Chunee ! chunee ! chuneelah ! ' in his exhibiting tone, produced 
 a somewhat favourable posture for his enemies, and he instantly 
 received two bullets aimed from the rifles towards the heart ; they 
 entered immediately behind the shoulder blade, at the distance of 
 about three inches from each other. The moment the balls had 
 perforated his body, he made a fierce and heavy rush at the front, 
 which further weakened the gates, shivered the side bar next to 
 the dislodged story-post, and drove it out into the menagerie. 
 The fury of the animal's assault was terrific, the crash of the 
 timbers, the hallooing of the keepers in their retreat, the calls for 
 ' rifles ! rifles ! ' and the confusion and noise incident to the 
 scene, rendered it indescribably terrific. The assailants rallied 
 in a few seconds, and came pointing their spears with threats. 
 Mr. Tyler having handed two other rifles, they were discharged as 
 before ; and, as before, produced a similar desperate lunge from 
 the enraged beast at the front of his den. Had it been effective, 
 and he had descended on the floor, his weight must have 
 inevitably carried it, together with himself, his assailants, and 
 the greater part of the lions, and other animals, into the Change 
 below, and by possibility have buried the entire menagerie in 
 ruins. ' Eifles ! rifles ! ' were again called for, and from this 
 awful crisis it was only in the power of Mr. Tyler and some 
 persons outside, to load quick enough for the discharge of one 
 rifle at a time. The maddened animal turned round in his den 
 incessantly, apparently with the design of keeping his head. from 
 the riflemen, who after the first two discharges, could only obtain 
 single shots at him. The shutter inside of a small grated window, 
 which stood in a projection into the den, at one of the back 
 corners, was now unstripped, and from this position Mr. Herring 
 
296 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 fired several shots througli the grating. The elephant thus 
 attacked in the rear as well as the front, flew round the den with 
 the speed of a race-horse, uttering frightful yells and screams, 
 and stopping at intervals to bound from the back against the 
 front. The force of these rushes shook the entire building, and 
 excited the most terrifying expectation that he would bring 
 down the entire mass of wood and iron-work, and project himself 
 among his assailants. 
 
 " After the discharge of about thirty balls, he stopped and sunk 
 deliberately on his haunches. Mr. Herring, conceiving that a 
 shot had struck him in a vital part, cried out : ' He's down, boys ! 
 he's down ! ' and so he was, but it was only for a moment ; he 
 leapt up with renewed vigour, and at least eighty balls were 
 successively discharged at him from different positions before he 
 fell a second time. Previous to that fall, Mr. Joshua Brookes had 
 arrived with his son, and suggested to Mr. Herring to aim 
 especially at the ear, at the eye, and at the gullet. 
 
 " The two soldiers despatched from Somerset House by Mr. 
 Cross, came in a short time before Mr. Brookes, and discharged about 
 three or four rounds of ball-cartridge, which was all the ammunition 
 they had. It is a remarkable instance of the animal's subjection 
 to his keeper, that though in this deranged state, he sometimes 
 recognized Oartmell's cry of ' Chunee ! Chunee ! Chuneelah ! ' by 
 sounds with which he was accustomed to answer the call, and that 
 more than once, when CartmeU called out ' Bite Chunee ! bite ! ' 
 wliich was his ordinary command to the elephant to kneel, he 
 actually knelt, and in that position received the balls in the parts 
 particularly desired to be aimed at. CartmeU, therefore, kept 
 himself as much as possible out of view as one of the assailants, 
 in order that his voice might retain its wonted ascendency. He 
 and Newsam, and their comrades took every opportunity of 
 thrusting at him. CartmeU, armed with a sword at the end of a 
 pole, which he afterwards affixed to a rifle, pierced him several 
 times. 
 
 " On the elephant's second fall, he lay with his face towards the 
 back of the den, and with one of his feet thrust out between the 
 bars, so that the toes touched the menagerie floor. At this time 
 
ELEPHANTS. 297 
 
 "he had from a hundred and ten to a hundred and twenty balls in 
 him ; as he lay in this posture, Cartmell thrust the sword into his 
 body to the hilt. The sanguinary conflict had now lasted nearly 
 an hour; yet with astonishing alacrity, he again rose, without 
 evincing any sign that he had sustained vital injury, though it 
 was apparent he was much exhausted. He endeavoured to conceal 
 his head by keeping his rear to the front ; and lest he should 
 either make a successful effort at the gate, or on receiving his 
 death-wound, fall backwards against it, which would inevitably 
 have carried the whole away, the keepers availed themselves of 
 the juncture to rapidly lash the gates of his den, with a chain and 
 ropes so securely, that he could not force them without bringing 
 down the entire front. 
 
 " Mr. Herring now directed his rifle constantly to the ear ; one of 
 these balls took so much effect, that the elephant suddenly rushed 
 round from the blow, and made his last furious effort at the gates. 
 Mr. Tyler describes this rush as the most awful of the whole. If 
 the gates had not been firmly lashed, the animal must have 
 come through ; for, by this last effort, he again dislodged them, 
 and they were kept upright by the chain and ropes alone. Mr. 
 Herring from this time chiefly directed his fire at the gullet ; at 
 last he fell, but with so much deliberation, and in a position so 
 natural to his usual habits, that he seemed to have lain down to 
 rest himself. Mr. Herring continued to fire at him, and spears 
 were run into his sides, but he remained unmoved, nor did he stir 
 from the first moment of his fall. Four or five discharges from 
 a rifle into his ear produced no effect : it was evident that he was 
 without sense, and that he had dropped dead, into the posture 
 wherein he always lay when alive. 
 
 " The fact that such an animal, of such prodigious size and 
 strength, was destroyed in such a place, without an accident, from 
 the commencement to the close of the assault, is a subject of real 
 astonishment." 
 
 In the present time, when we read of hunters shooting elephants, 
 two at a time, with the right and left barrel, the above description 
 is sickening, and exhibits gross stupidity and ignorance, Barnum, 
 only a couple of years ago, it must be supposed more for an 
 
298 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 advertisetoent than for anything else, applied for a company of 
 State Militia to destroy an animal lie wanted killed ; so in some 
 respects history repeats itself in these matters, but in this latter 
 instance the execution was expeditiously accomplished. 
 
 The most extraordinary and almost marvellous shot that pro- 
 bably ever killed an elephant was recorded in the Colombo Observer 
 in January, 1858, in the following paragraph : " Although it is 
 still deemed unsafe to move Major Milman from Kapregan, we 
 rejoice to hear that he is in no danger. It seems an elephant 
 charged him, and was within a few feet of him, when Mr. Tyn- 
 dale, determined to save his friend's life, fired. The bullet went 
 through Major Mil man's left shoulder, splintering a small portion 
 of the bone. But the end was answered ; the bullet which had 
 thus disabled Major Milman killed the elephant, which fell within 
 a few feet of him. So narrow an escape and under such circum- 
 stances is unprecedented." 
 
 In Siam and Burmah the elephant, or at least the variety 
 called a " white elephant," is held in great veneration and kept at 
 Court as the sacred appendage of royalty. Many people are 
 under the impression that the people worship the animal, but this 
 is a mistake. They have peculiar superstitions regarding it, one 
 being that it is the incarnation of some future Buddha, and will 
 therefore bring blessings on the country which possesses so great 
 a treasure, in consequence of which, at the Court of Siam, the 
 principal white elephant ranks next to the princes of the blood. 
 In Burmah a similar animal takes rank immediately after the 
 king.^ 
 
 As a matter of fact these elephants are not white, but only a 
 light coffee-colour, somewhat lighter in shade than the ordinary 
 animal. Some naturalists contend the colour is the result of a 
 disease or of albinoism. 
 
 In 1883, Barnum, at a considerable cost, secured one of these 
 
 1 This was -written before the annexation of Burmah and the imprisonment of the 
 king, occurrences followed by the death of the royal white elephant, but whether 
 its demise was due to natural causes or to its having been killed by command of the 
 king before his departure in order to rouse the prejudices of the people against the 
 British, has not been ascertained. 
 
ELEPHANTS. 299 
 
 animals as an attraction for his circus. This specimen was tem- 
 porarily lodged on its way through England in the Zoological 
 Gardens, and became at once an object of great curiosity ; the chief 
 opinion, however, was that the animal was disappointing and not 
 very much out of the common, and hints that it was not a genuine 
 " white elephant " were freely expressed by visitors who went 
 there under the impression they were going to see an extraordinary 
 beast with a snow-white skin. 
 
 The Madras Mail published a copy of the compact made by 
 Barnum's agent with the Burmese owners of this animal, which 
 concluded thus: "We have sworn him (Barnum's agent) before 
 God and under the Boe (holy) tree on the hill, he promised that 
 he will take him (the elephant) straight to his master to love and 
 protect him from misery ; if not he knows that the sin cannot 
 escape hell. We have got from Muilikin Master Rs. 15,000 to 
 repair our God's images and monastries. We write and give 
 this document with our free will and consent." 
 
 Individual elephants are occasionally born, or afterwards become, 
 coloured out of the ordinary, for Robert Knox in his " Historical 
 Relations of the Island of Ceylon " (wherein he was a captive for 
 nearly twenty years), written in 1681, says that in the collection of 
 animals belonging to the King of Kandy, there was a black tiger, 
 a milk-white deer, and he " hath also an elephant spotted or speckled 
 all the body over, which was lately caught ; and though he hath 
 many and very stately elephants, and may have as many more as 
 he pleases, yet he prefers this before them all." Andreas Boues, 
 writing in 1600, relates that the King of Pegu hath four white 
 elephants, and if any other hath any he will seek them by favour 
 or force. . . . He had also hlach elephants nine cubits high, and 
 five thousand elephants of war. 
 
 The whole history of Asia is full of the history of the elephant. 
 The large number that were kept by the various emperors of 
 China, Hindoostan, and Persia, either for war purposes or to swell 
 the magnificence of their personal retinue, is truly incredible. 
 But no chapter of this history is so strange as that wherein is 
 recorded the account of the wars undertaken for one particular 
 white elephant in the sixteenth century. We read that King 
 
300 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 Aleager of Pegu had a walled park, where he kept all sorts of 
 beasts, without regard to their cost, as was evidenced by the cruel 
 and costly war he undertook to obtain one animal of a particular 
 kind to dignify this oriental menagerie. In 1648 the King of 
 Siam possessed seven white elephants, which so raised the cupidity 
 of King Aleager that he imperiously demanded the gift of two or 
 even one especial animal, which, being refused, he determined 
 to obtain it by force and invaded the country with a million 
 men, two hundred- thousand horse, five thousand elephants, and 
 three thousand camels. " He sacked and ruined Siam or Lagi, 
 which was reputed twice as big as Paris. The siege lasted 
 twenty-two months. He took the king's treasure, wife and 
 children, and brought them and the white elephants to Pegu, 
 sixty-five days' journey, by camels. The King of Siam cast 
 himself, in despair, from a turret of his own palace. Some 
 of his daughters made away with themselves. . . . This fatal 
 white elephant hath cost five kings their lives and estates. The 
 last King of Pegu had it taken from him by the King of Aracan, 
 through the treachery of the King of Tangut, his brother-in-law. 
 The coach of the King of Pegu was drawn by four white elephants. 
 I believe that in all the Bast there were not more to be found." 
 
 The intoxication of three hundred elephants is another very 
 curious episode narrated in the " History of Hindostan." In 
 1023, Mamood, Emperor of Ghizni, marched against Nunda, 
 the Prince of Callinger, with a great army. He besieged the city, 
 but agreed to terms of peace on Nunda offering him 300 elephants 
 and other presents. To try the bravery of the Sultan's troops, 
 the Prince intoxicated the animals before sending them into the 
 camp. Mamood, who saw them advancing, perceived the trick by 
 the extraordinary wildness of their motions, and ordered them to 
 be attacked, killed, or driven away, which was accordingly done ; 
 some were mounted by the Turks, emulous to display their 
 bravery, and others were driven into the adjacent woods, where 
 they were soon reduced to obedience. 
 
 Vincent Le Blanc,^ in writing about Pegu, gives an account of 
 
 ' "The "World Surveyed, or the Famous Voyages and Travels of Vincent Le 
 Blanc," 1660. 
 
ELEPHANTS. 301 
 
 an elephant, in conjunction with, other beasts, being instrumental 
 in having a church built, as their clemency was considered 
 miraculous : " There is a park for lions, tigers, and other fierce 
 beasts, called Siparo, and 'tis a sad and daily sight to see criminals 
 devoured by them. There was a church founded there, in memory 
 of a miracle that happened to a Christian in the year 1572, who 
 was exposed to the lions, nest to the elephants, and thirdly, to 
 the tigers, the fiercest of the three, and came off from them all 
 safe and entire, none of the beasts would touch him ; he was 
 presented to the king (who gave him a pension during his life), 
 and inquiring who he was (he replied) he was a poor Christian 
 pilgrim, come out of France, with intention to visit the holy 
 sepulchre at Jerusalem ; that since he had travelled into Mount 
 Sinay, with the caravane, whence he, through devotion, came to 
 the town of St. Thomas, to visit the shrine of that glorious saint ; 
 there he was bidden to go to Caranganor, where that 'saint suffered 
 martyrdom ; and that then he had a curiosity to see the court of 
 that great monarch, so famous throughout the Indies, and was 
 not permitted to cross the river of Pegu without money (which 
 he was but slightly stored withall), but 'cast himself into the 
 water to swim it over, and being retaken, was condemned to the 
 beasts." 
 
 Some French Jesuits obtained leave of the King of Pegu to 
 erect a church in memory of this Daniel of the sixteenth century 
 whom the animals would not touch. 
 
 Arabs are said to be particularly fond of elephant's flesh, it being 
 described as juicy but extremely coarse, the foot and trunk being 
 excellent if properly cooked ; but in some parts of India, Mysore, 
 for instance, the lowest class of natives, who have no objection to 
 carrion, will not eat the flesh of the elephant. 
 
 Elephants do not appear to breed readily when in cap- 
 tivity, and it is only within the last half -century that we hear 
 of young animals being reared by the various zoological societies, 
 or by menagerie owners. Even in India the birth of an elephant 
 in servitude was such a rare event, that it was spoken of as a 
 most exceptional occurrence when it happened. 
 
 Elephants have always been singularly attractive animals to 
 
302 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 children, and to sightseers generally j and especially to tlie dwellers 
 in the towns of the New World for crowds flock to the circuses or 
 menageries at their periodical visits for no other purpose but to 
 see these beasts. The popular excitement on such occasions 
 even affects the judges on the bench, according to the amusing 
 account given in the Louisville Journal of 1857, wherein it 
 is shown how an American lawyer utilized this curiosity for 
 the purpose of carrying his own point. " It seems on the day 
 in question a menagerie was expected in Frankfort, U.S., and 
 the people were naturally on the qui-vive for the approaching 
 sight — an interest in which, as the sequel shows, his Honour the 
 judge keenly participated. JN'otwithstanding the Court was held 
 on that day, though not exactly usual. In the progress of the 
 morning's business a case of continuation arose, which the judge 
 was evidently not at all inclined to favour; his countenance, 
 indeed, grew absolutely stern with disfavour. The lawyer in 
 charge having urged his plea with all the ingenuity and ability at 
 his command, was at length in the act of yielding the point in 
 despair, when a brother lawyer whispered to him that the mena- 
 gerie had arrived, and the elephant would swim the river. The 
 suggestion was big with relief; he drew himself up', and deferen- 
 tially addressing the court, said : ' May it please your Honour, 
 I have at this moment learned that the great American menagerie 
 has reached this city, and the elephant will immediately swim the 
 Kentucky river. The. people, I am informed, are already throng- 
 ing upon the banks to witness this extraordinary feat.' The hit 
 was palpable, but the bearing of his Honour underwent a complete 
 transformation. His stern countenance at once relaxed into the 
 most genial complacency, and in a tone of generous excitement, 
 he remarked : ' Gentlemen, I grant this continuance, and adjourn 
 the court. I have never seen an elephant swim a river ; as I am 
 an old man, it isn't likely that I'll ever have a better opportunity. 
 The court's adjourned !' and the next thing seen of the judge, 
 he was making for the river at a speed never contemplated by 
 the Hfe insurance company. Verily there is no resisting the 
 elephant ! " 
 
 The ridiculous excitement occasioned some few years ago in 
 
ELEPHANTS. 303 
 
 England by the sale of the African elepliant named " Jambo " to 
 Barnum by the Zoological Society is fresh in the memory of most 
 people, and it has been revived by the news of his tragic fate 
 on a railway in Canada some few months ago. While being led 
 along the line, an engine ran into him, and striking him on the 
 skull, killed him. 
 
 This animal was of the African species, and was received from 
 the Jardin des Plants in Paris, in exchange for a rhinoceros, when 
 he was about five years old. As before stated, he was the first 
 African elephant that had ever been seen in England since the 
 Roman conquest, and in consequence his arrival created consider- 
 able curiosity. In 1865 another one, a female, still in the gardens, 
 called " Alice," was purchased as a mate for Jumbo, from Mr. Rice, 
 the animal dealer, for 500Z., who had imported her from Nubia.^ 
 She is now a few inches above nine feet high, but was then only a 
 little thing of four feet. " Jumbo " thrived so well that he grew 
 to be nearly eleven feet before he left England, and afterwards 
 added some seven or eight inches to his stature in America. He 
 was the largest known elephant in existence, and was a most 
 popular favourite in England, especially among the children, whom 
 he carried about daily in the gardens to their great delight. 
 In consequence of the authorities of the gardens thinking he 
 had exhibited signs of must, and might become dangerous, the 
 Society reluctantly resolved to sell him. Barnum stepped in as 
 a purchaser, and offered 2000L for the animal, and when the fact 
 became known an extraordinary outcry was raised, and the most 
 absurd and fantastic exhibitions made of sorrow. Children 
 poured in their pence as subscriptions towards a fund to compen- 
 sate the Society for the loss of the purchase-money if they would 
 keep him, and some grown-up children tried to invoke the law to 
 their aid, and compel the Zoological Society to retain the animal 
 in their possession. Barnum had better facilities for securing 
 elephants; and as many animals during the paroxysms become 
 man-slayers, the council deemed it prudent, in their own interest 
 and for the safety of the visitors to the gardens, to part with 
 
 » " Alice " has, since this was written, been also purchased by Barnum to replace 
 " Jumbo " in his menagerie and circus, the price paid for her being. 200Z. 
 
304 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 Jumbo, and despite the strenuous exertions of Londoners to 
 make them alter their determination, the sale was ratified. 
 They were really afraid of him ; his strength was so pro- 
 digious, that when he became excited, the damage he inflicted 
 on the house built for his accommodation was incredible. The 
 Times, writing on the subject, said : " The door leading from the den 
 into the open air is closed with massive beams of oak, eight inches 
 square ; these are further strengthened by plates of stout sheet- 
 iron on both sides, and are so heavy that two men can scarcely 
 raise one of them from the ground ; nevertheless these beams 
 have been not merely bent, but positively broken through, both 
 iron and wood, by the muscular power of the animal." This was 
 certainly not the kind of creature to have mad and unrestrained 
 in the gardens. 
 
 " Alice " can generally be heard long before she is seen, for 
 she is a particularly noisy animal, and also a rather unfortunate 
 one, for she has succeeded in maiming herself in an extraordinary 
 manner, once by breaking a few inches off her trunk, and on another 
 occasion by doing the same thing to her tail. She was always 
 very fidgetty and restless, and had been tethered to the corner 
 of the stall by a chain which was attached to a ring round one 
 of her fore-feet. In 1875, while the keepers were working in the 
 elephant-house, they heard "Alice" calling out suddenly, as if 
 in great pain, and on running up to her, they found she had 
 actually torn off the top of her trunk. She appears to have 
 caught it in the ring, and the pressure of her leg as she pulled 
 against it hurt her so much that it caused her to exert all her 
 force in order to withdraw it, and in the effort the end of the 
 trunk was torn completely off. She was in great pain for some 
 time afterwards, and was very uneasy, but she soon began to feed 
 again ; ultimately the end healing over, she recovered the use of 
 the organ, and now appears none the worse for her extra- 
 ordinary mishap. Her tail was injured by being wagged with 
 such force against the sharp edge of a post that a few inches were 
 knocked off it. 
 
 The editor of the London Magazine for 1761, who appears to have 
 seen an elephant in his travels abroad, and to have been astonished 
 
ELEPHANTS. 805 
 
 by its enormous consumption of food remarks, "As the keep- 
 ing of an elephant is so expensive, we may conclude that no 
 full-grown one will ever be brought here for show," which was an 
 ^Ssuinption remarkably wide of the mark, for within the same 
 century elephants became quite a common sight in England, and 
 one hundred years later the Zoological Society exhibited five at one 
 time. In the United States, last year, a visitor to Barnum's circus 
 would have seen " Jumbo " and thirty others, all taking part in 
 the performance together which terminated by the animals at the 
 word of command, lying down, within a ring, while their owner, 
 standing on the stomach of the centre one proclaimed the sight a 
 unique one that he defied the world to beat, and that the money 
 value of the beasts was represented by a fabulous amount of dollars, 
 which was an evident and indisputable fact. 
 
 In England or even in Europe, however, prior to the end of the 
 last century, elephants were rarely seen and the artists who drew 
 the representations of these animals in many of the mediaeval 
 bestiaries now extant, must have rehed upon their imagination 
 rather than their vision for their models, for the trunk is geuerally 
 represented as trumpet-shaped, widening towards the end until 
 it looks like a huge funnel or post-boy's horn. No doubt they 
 were led into this error through the elephant being reported as 
 " trumpeting" whenever it utters a sound, and their minds being 
 unable to grasp the fact, that it could do this without it had a 
 trunk shaped like the human instrument, they accordingly 
 furnished the animal with the article. 
 
 In the middle ages wild beasts of every description were 
 deemed of great value for presents— among the nobility especially. 
 The Sultans and eastern rulers were constantly soliciting the 
 goodwill and friendship of western potentates by sending them 
 specimens of the rare beasts they had imported or that were 
 natives of their countries, and elephants were occasionally to be 
 seen at European courts, which their owners had obtained in this 
 -way. The Soldan of Babylon presented one to the Emperor 
 Frederick the Second, and guarded by a troop of Saracens, it 
 became the adventurous monarch's standard-bearer. One was 
 also sent about the same time to our Henry III. by Louis IX. of 
 
306 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 France, whicli probably bad been procured by bim wben he 
 invaded Palestine. This animal must have made a great sensation 
 in England, for it is referred to by all the chroniclers of the period. 
 The king was very proud of his gift, and in 1256 issued the 
 following order to the sheriff of London. "We command you, 
 that, of the farm of our city, ye cause, without delay, to be built 
 at our Tower of London, one house of forty feet long, and twenty 
 feet deep for our elephant." 
 
 After this date other elephants are mentioned at different periods 
 as having been presented by European kings to their contem- 
 poraries, but no English monarch appears to have been the 
 recipient of such a gift until King James I., to his intense dehght, 
 had one sent him. Chambers' " Book of Days " gives the following 
 description of the circumstances attending the receipt of this 
 animal by the king. " About the year 1629, the king of Spain 
 effected an important diversion in his own favour by sending the 
 king — ^priceless gift ! — an elephant and five camels. ' Going 
 through London, after midnight,' says a state-paper letter, ' they 
 could not pass unseen,' and the clamour and outcry raised by 
 some street-loiterers at sight of their ponderous bulk and 
 ungainly step, roused the sleepers from their beds io every 
 district through which they passed. News of this unlooked- 
 for addition to the Royal Zoological Garden in St. James' Park, 
 is conveyed to Theobalds as speedily as horse-flesh, whip and 
 spur could do the work. Then arose an interchange of missives to 
 and fro — betwixt the king, my lord treasurer, and Mr. Secretary 
 Conway — grave, earnest, and deliberate, as though involving the 
 settlement or refusal of some treaty of peace. In muttered 
 sentences, not loud but deep, the thrifty lord treasurer shows 
 ' how little he is in love with royal presents, which cost his 
 master as much to maintain as would a garrison.' No matter. 
 Warrants are issued to the ofl&cers of the mews, and to 
 Buckingham, master of the horse, ' that the elephant is to be 
 daily well-dressed and fed, but that he should not be led forth to 
 water, nor any admitted to see him, without directions from his 
 keeper, which they were to observe and follow in all things 
 concerning that beast, as they will answer for the contrary at 
 
ELEPHANTS. 307 
 
 tlieir uttermost peril.' The camels are to be daily grazed in the 
 park, but brought back at night, with all possible precautions to 
 screen them from the public gaze. ' In the blessed graciousness 
 of his Majesty's disposition,' 1501. was to be presented to 
 Francisco Eomano, who brought them over, though the meagre 
 treasury was hardly able to yield up that sum, and her Majesty's 
 visit ' to Bath ' must be put off to a more convenient season, for 
 want of money to bear her charges. Then Sir Eichard "Weston 
 was commissioned by Mr. Secretary Conway, to estimate the 
 annual cost of maintaining the royal quadruped, his master 
 having decided to take the business into his own hands. He sug- 
 gested economy, but does not seem to have succeeded, for the state- 
 papers for August, 1623, furnish the following ' breefe noate what 
 the chardges of the elephant and his keepers are in the yeare : — 
 
 ifeeding for the elephant at 10s. per diem is per an. ^180 
 To the 2 Spaniards that keep him XXs. per week . 52 
 To the 2 Englishmen, his keepers, XVIs. per week 41 
 
 Sum per aun. in toto . . . .£275 12 5" 
 
 Such is the gross amount, according to the manuscript, but it 
 evidently contains a clerical or copier's error. These items, 
 however, do not represent the total outlay on this animal, for the 
 manuscript adds, ' his keepers aflBrme that from the month of 
 September until April, he must drink (not water) but wyne — and 
 from April unto September, he must have a gallon of wyne the 
 daye.' 
 
 This elephant had therefore no reason to regret the destiny 
 that made him the property of King James I. 
 
 The value of an elephant varies considerably. " Scarcely any 
 limit," says Mr. Sanderson, " can be placed on the price of a 
 really perfect hoomeriah (thorough-bred) ; 2000Z. is not an un- 
 known figure. Tuskers of any pretensions at all command from 
 800Z. to 16001. The price of good females of the working class 
 is from 200Z. to 300L" The elephant that was used by the Duke 
 of Edinburgh in his shooting trip was purchased for the purpose 
 by Sir Jung Bahadoor for 1800Z., but in this case the animal was 
 a noted one and famous as a hunter. 
 
 X 2 
 
308 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 The two Indian elephants now used daily to give children their 
 " elephant-ride " in the gardens belong to the Prince of "Wales, 
 and were brought over by him from India and deposited with the 
 Zoological Society. They came from Nepaul, and arrived on the 
 15th of May, 1876. Their names are " Suffa OuUi " and "Jung 
 Perchad." A photograph of the latter which is a fine male 
 animal will be found illustrating this chapter. " Jung Perchad " 
 was presented to his Royal Highness by Sir Salar Jung Bahawdur, 
 and " Suffa Culh," by his Highness the Maharajah of Bulrampore. 
 In 1882, this couple were the parents of the first elephant ever 
 known to have been born in Europe, at any rate in modern times. 
 In America, however, one was born in 1881 in a travelling 
 menagerie. 
 
 The British rustic frequently evinces considerable ignorance 
 regarding the nature and strength of the wild animals he occa- 
 sionally sees exhibited. A rather absurd illustration of this is 
 recorded in the Blackburn Standard of June, 1860. The article 
 states, "A curious scene occurred here on Monday evening 
 during the performance in the menagerie. A young man, who 
 had for some time been carefully observing the monster elephant, 
 determined, like a mighty gladiator of old, to try the strength of 
 the huge bulk of flesh with his own. There is at the ends of the 
 elephant's tusks, which are of large size, an iron rod, binding one 
 tusk to the other. Our hero seized hold of this, and began to 
 lean his whole weight upon it. The elephant, not altogether 
 liking this sort of treatment, determined for his part to punish 
 the audacious antagonist. He raised his great head aloft and 
 the young fellow was swung from the ground until he almost 
 touched the canvas covering, and was no doubt much higher than 
 his most wild ambition ever carried him. The animal repeated 
 this, and a second time he descended to the ground, when the 
 elephant wrapped his trunk round the hapless and now thoroughly 
 bumbled youth, and very unceremoniously laid him in the mud 
 that overstrew the floor. The wrestle was ended, the elephant 
 coming off" the victor, while his combatant picked himself up, and 
 amidst the hearty laughter of the spectators, vanished." 
 
AN INDIAN ELEPHANT. 
 
 {Elephas Indicus!) 
 
 "Jung Perchad" was presented to the Prince of Wales when in India by Sir Salar Jung 
 
 Bahawdur. 
 
309 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE TAPIES {GENUS TAPIRUS). 
 
 The quiet, inoffensive, and gentle-looking animals bearing this 
 name also belong to the family Pachydermata. At first sight they 
 might be, and in fact frequently are, mistaken for a species of hog 
 of large and powerful build. They are, however, a very distinct 
 race of animals, and form one of the links that unite the elephant 
 to the rhinoceros and pig family. They have a somewhat heavy 
 and bulky body, supported on legs of moderate length. Their 
 skin is very thick and tough, and is covered with short, fine hair. 
 They have four divisions or toes upon the fore-feet, and only three 
 upon the hind ones, each encased in a hoof. The tail is short, 
 being a mere tubercle. The neck is thick, muscular, and laterally 
 compressed ; it has a short mane of stiff bristles about an inch 
 and a half in length. The ears are short and pointed. The eyes 
 are small and deep set, but are very brilliant during the night. 
 
 The most noticeable feature of the tapir is the elongated muzzle, 
 -which, by the prolongation of the nose, forms a short flexible pro- 
 boscis or modified trunk. In this respect the head resembles that 
 of no other known animal, for it is the only existing quadruped 
 that even in a limited extent has an organ that in any way can be 
 said to approach the elephant's trunk. 
 
 Quoting the author of " Menageries :" " A peculiar mobility of 
 the upper lip, connected with a more or less marked development 
 of it, is seen in all the Pachydermata (the hyrax excepted, which 
 in many points closely resembles a rodent) ; but in none is this 
 development carried to such an extent as in the elephant : here 
 we find the nasal tubes continued to the extremity of a cylindrical 
 flexible organ termed proboscis. Next to the elephant, though still 
 
310 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 at a considerable distance, comes the tapir. In these animals ^ 
 find the proboscis short but flexible, and capable of considerab 
 extension ; as in the case of the elephant, the tapir uses it as a 
 organ of prehension, but by no means to so great an extent; no 
 as in that gigantic beast, is it employed as an organ of suction, c 
 as a pump. The muscular fasciculi, however, with which it : 
 formed are similar to those composing the proboscis of the eh 
 phant, and there are also strong levator muscles, rendering th: 
 elongated snout well adapted for the purpose of searching in th 
 ground for roots. The proboscis of the elephant, depending froi 
 an elevated forehead, gives a grave and even imposing air to th 
 animal's physiognomy. The flexible snout of the tapir, on th 
 contrary, terminating a head shaped much like that of a hog, bu 
 more compressed, and elevated into a ridge above, produces n 
 such impression ; it is neither terrific as a weapon, nor does it Si 
 well fulfil the place of a hand and arm. Yet it is extremely use 
 ful as an organ of prehension, by means of which the anima 
 assists itself in the procuring and appropriation of its food." 
 
 When full grown, tapirs generally stand about four feet i] 
 height, and measure about six in length, their weight being near!; 
 equal to that of a small bullock. 
 
 In former times there existed more varieties of this family o 
 mammals than are now known, which is attested by the fossi 
 remains that have been found in America and Europe. At th( 
 present day there are only three or four well-defined specie 
 living, but these have again been subdivided into several differen 
 varieties. 
 
 From the curious distribution of the family Tapirus, the animali 
 have a peculiar interest to zoologists, for they form the soL 
 example of a pachydermatous genus that are distributed betweei 
 a very limited portion of the Old World and the southern countriei 
 of the American continent. A writer on this subject in th( 
 " Library of Entertaining Knowledge " says : " All other extan 
 pachydermatous genera yet known as Mephas, Rhinoceros, ffippa 
 potamus, Equus, Stts, Babirussa, and Hyrax, are indigenous in th( 
 older continents. There is abundant room for speculation on th( 
 present paucity of living Pachydermata in America, the more so as 
 
TAPIRS. 311 
 
 the superficial strata in various parts of that continent present us 
 with the relics of several PacJiydermata, some of colossal magni- 
 tude, among which we may notice those of an extinct elephant, and 
 of the gigantic mastodon, with allied species, viz., the Mastodon 
 Cordillerarum, discovered by Humboldt in Queto, at 1200 feet 
 above the level of the sea ; Mastodon Eumboldtii, and if. Tapiroides. 
 Very recently the fossil cranium of a huge animal, belonging appa- 
 rently to this order, has been brought to England by Mr. C. 
 Darwin from South America, and has received the name of toxodon. 
 Why it IS that a series of animals of the pachydermatous type which 
 existed at a very late geological period should have passed away, 
 and that in the present era so few should appear as their repre- 
 sentatives in the regions they tenanted, is a problem not easy of 
 solution. The fact, however, is incontestable, that we there find 
 but two forms of this order now extant, viz., that of the genus 
 Tapirus (of which America possesses two species, animals of only 
 second-rate magnitude), and that of the genus Dicotyles (of which 
 the two known species are inferior to the hog)." 
 
 Ndne of the tapir family are very well known to naturalists. 
 Being shy and solitary beasts, haunting the depths of forests 
 situated far beyond the borders of civilization, which are generally 
 impenetrable by human beings, and their active life being mostly 
 nocturnal, they offer but few opportunities for observation of their 
 habits in a wild state ; in consequence their natural history has 
 to be gathered in a piecemeal manner from various sources. 
 
 The best known animal, because the one most frequently 
 seen, is the American tapir (T. Americanus). Murray, in his 
 book, ^ says : " It has a very wide distribution in South 
 America, extending from east to west, from the foot of the Andes, 
 that is the inner or eastern range (the range known by the name 
 of Cordillera being the western), to the Atlantic Ocean, and from 
 north to south from Central America to Buenos Ayres." M. 
 Eoulin ^ dwells upon it as a singular fact that though it occurs as 
 low as 40° to the south of the equator it ceases suddenly at about 
 8° north, in a situation where it is extremely abundant, and where 
 
 1 " Geographical Distribution of Mammals.'' 
 
 2 Bennett's " Zoological Gardens." 
 
312 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 no adequate cause has yet been assigned to bar its farther pro- 
 gress, no large rivers nor lofty mountains intervening, nor any 
 change in the vegetation of the country being manifest. The left 
 bank of the Atrato, near its mouth, and the part of Darien in- 
 habited by the independent Indians may be considered as its 
 northern limit. Its highest range, in the province of Maraquita 
 at least, appears to be from 3000 to 3600 feet above the level of 
 the sea, while the new species discovered by M. Eoulin is only 
 met with at a much greater elevation. 
 
 These tapirs, in common with their Asiatic relatives, exhibit 
 quiet, peaceable, and timid dispositions. They select retired spots 
 in the inmost recesses of the deep forests, to which they resort 
 during the day, in order to sleep free from disturbance, and at 
 night they immerge to find the water in which they delight and 
 to search for food. They feed on the shoots of trees, buds, grass, 
 and water-melons, or other fruits abounding in the countries they 
 inhabit. Azara ^ informs his readers that the tapir devours vast 
 quantities of nitrous clay, and it drinks like the pig ; eats flesh 
 both raw and cooked ; all herbs, and indeed whatever it meets 
 with, not even excepting pieces of linen, wool, and silk ; so that 
 it appears to be even more gluttonous than the pig, and to possess 
 a palate incapable of distinguishing anything. They are dirty 
 and indiscriminate feeders even when kept in captivity or when 
 domesticated. A specimen gnawed in pieces a silver snuff-box 
 belonging to Azara, and not content with this it actually consumed 
 the contents. In menageries they are reported by the keepers as 
 frequently exhibiting their omnivorous and depraved appetites by 
 swallowing rags, paper, or any rubbish they can get down that 
 may incautiously be left within their reach. 
 
 The whole contour of this animal is hog-like. The skin is of a 
 dark-brown colour, approaching to black, and is covered with 
 short and scanty hair ; it is of great density, being, according to 
 the statement of M. Roulin, seven layers thick on the back, and 
 eight or nine on the cheek, and he asserts that bullets have been 
 seen to glance ofi" their bodies without inflicting any material 
 injury. Sonnini also draws attention to the toughness of the 
 3 " The Natural History of the Quadrupeds of Paraguay." 
 
TAPIES. 313 
 
 hide, and he exemplifies it by narrating as a fact that he frequently- 
 fired at a female animal, which was crossing the river with her 
 young one, without apparently in any way injuring or even dis- 
 turbing her, for she continued on her course without taking any 
 notice of the shots, although he saw the impression on her cheek 
 which the ball had made. This was of course in the days of old- 
 fashioned weapons ; but even then it is, as Sir W. Jardine states, 
 a point upon which most people will be sceptical whether the skin 
 of any of these animals would resist a ball directly fired from a 
 properly loaded and efiicient gun. 
 
 Although the colour of an adult tapir of this species is a uniform 
 one, the young animal has its rich brown-black hair beautifully 
 variegated with lightish-fawn coloured spots and stripes. 
 
 The tough skin, by being so impervious to injury, and the great 
 muscular strength possessed by the tapir, which in proportion to its 
 size is said to be as great as that of a rhinoceros, account for some of 
 the peculiar habits of the animal in its wild state. It is described 
 as never frequenting a pathway that may already have been made 
 by other animals or by men, but makes a road for itself by break- 
 ing and pushing with its head, which is carried low, through the 
 obstacles it encounters. It has a most wonderful power of forcing 
 its way through places that appear impenetrable, such as the 
 most densely wooded forests, where the creepers, thorny vines, 
 and the rank vegetation abounding in tropical profusion, form by 
 their perfect network a tangled undergrowth that laces together the 
 trimks of the great trees whose crowned heads intermingle their 
 leaves and branches so as to form a close roof which, being im- 
 pervious to sunhght, keeps a perpetual gloom reigning over the 
 land they cover. In the depths of such a covert the tapir finds a 
 haunt congenial to its taste, and selecting a dry spot for its lair, 
 it proceeds to clear a track to the bank of the nearest pool or 
 river, and thereafter always uses the same road going and 
 returning. It is an amphibious animal, and when it reaches 
 a river plunges in, and diving to the bottom commences feeding 
 on the roots and stems of the water-plants. It can remain 
 underneath for two or three minutes, and then by rising to the 
 surface and elevating the prolonged snout take a breath, and 
 
314 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 again disappear beneath tlie surface. In fact it appears almost as 
 much at home in the water as the hippopotamus, and seeks refuge 
 therein when pursued or in danger as the place in which it feels 
 the greatest safety. 
 
 Travellers easily recognize the paths they make, and frequently 
 select them for their own use as affording the easiest passage 
 through the woods. From the description of the animal's habits, 
 as given by M. de la Borde, and quoted by BuflFon, it is requisite 
 for persons to beware of these beasts in the forests, and especially 
 to avoid pitching a camp on their paths, for the animals never 
 turn aside but move briskly on, and without intending mischief 
 dash violently against every obstacle in their course. " The dis- 
 tricts bordering the upper parts of the rivers in Guiana," he writes, 
 " are inhabited by a considerable number of tapirs, and the banks 
 of the waters are intersected by paths which they wear ; and so 
 beaten are they that the most desert places appear, at first sight, 
 as if peopled and frequented by human beings." 
 
 " A traveller informed me that he had nearly fallen a victim to 
 his want of experience respecting their beaten tracks. On his 
 arrival in the country he had attached his hammock to two trees, 
 in which to pass the night ; it happened, however, that his 
 hammock passed across one of these beaten ways. About ten 
 o'clock in the evening he heard a loud noise in the forest ; it was 
 occasioned by a tapir on his route : he had just time to throw 
 himself out of his hammock and stand close against a tree; the 
 animal did not stop, but tossed the hammock into the branches 
 and bruised him as he stood ; then, without turning aside from its 
 path, it passed in the midst of some negroes who were sleeping on 
 the ground near a large fire, without doing them any injury." 
 
 Sometimes during rain it is said to leave its den even at mid- 
 day. " On such occasions," one writer stajpes, " it proceeds to the 
 river or the adjacent swamp, where it delights to wallow in the 
 mud after the manner of hogs, and often for hours together. 
 Unlike the hog, however, the tapir is a cleanly animal. After 
 wallowing it never returns to its den until it has first plunged into 
 the clear water and washed the mud thoroughly from its skin. It 
 usually travels at a trot, but when hard pressed it can gallop. Its 
 
TAPIRS. 315 
 
 gallop is peculiar. The fore-legs are ttrown far in advance, and 
 the head is carried between them in a very awkward manner, 
 somewhat after the fashion of a frolicsome donkey." 
 
 Tapirs are far too timid to ever provoke an attack, in fact they 
 are almost defenceless, for although they have such great strength, 
 and their jaws are well furnished with teeth formidable enough to 
 do serious injury to any foe they might seize, yet they rarely use 
 them, but when molested or injured in any way utter a shrill, 
 hissing cry, which is a sound that by no means corresponds with 
 their size. When hard pressed they sometimes defend themselves 
 by kicking violently, and occasionally will seize hold of dogs by 
 the loins, and shaking them violently tear off the skin. 
 
 The greatest enemy they have, next to the hunter, is the jaguar, 
 but with this animal they seem able to cope, for the claws of the 
 formidable cat cannot make very powerful impressions on the 
 thick hide, and the tapir has a habit, when it is pounced upon, of 
 at once rushing through narrow and intricate places or of plunging 
 into the thickest part of the woods, if there are any adjacent, 
 until owing to the perpetual bruising and constant succession of 
 blows inflicted by the tree limbs, their foe is forced to quit its hold. 
 
 Mr. Bennett says, " It is frequently hunted for its flesh, which, 
 although coarse, dry, and unsavoury to a European palate, is 
 regarded as a great luxury by the native Indians and negroes. Its 
 skin is also highly valued on account of its great thickness and 
 strength. The lasso is seldom employed to take it ; for it snaps 
 asunder at a single effort a cord strong enough to interrupt a bull 
 in the height of his headlong course. The most common mode 
 of catching them is to attract them by an imitation of their voice, 
 consisting in a short but not very shrill whistle, and thus to bring 
 them so close to the huntsman that his shot rarely fails of its 
 effect. The Indians use poisoned arrows for the same purpose. 
 Another plan, which is frequently pursued, is for the hunters to 
 station themselves towards evening with their dogs by the side of 
 the tapir's path, to intercept him in his passage to the water, of 
 which, like most animals of his tribe, he is particularly fond, 
 constantly indulging in a bath as soon as he rouses himself for 
 the business of the night, and wallowing at all times in the water 
 
316 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 with peculiar delight. The dogs are, however, frequently worsted, 
 the tapir defending himself with great courage, seizing his enemies 
 with his teeth, and inflicting on them very severe wounds. When 
 thus attacked he usually endeavours to gain the water, where, 
 standing up to his breast, he defies the largest dogs; his assailants 
 being compelled to swim and unable to bring into action their full 
 agility and strength, while the tapir, quietly watching their 
 motions, seizes them successively as they advance, by the back of 
 their necks, and shakes them off from him with the loss of large 
 portions of their flesh." 
 
 A good description of a tapir hunt is given in " Chambers's 
 Journal " for 1854. The writer informs us that it is one of the 
 amusements or employments of the South American Indians. 
 " Not that the flesh of the animal is so eagerly desired by them ; 
 on the contrary, it is dry and has a disagreeable taste, and there 
 are some tribes who will not eat of it, preferring the flesh of 
 monkeys, macaws, and the armadillo. But the part most prized 
 is the thick, tough skin, which is employed by the Indians in 
 making shields, sandals, and various other articles. This is the 
 more valuable in a country where the thick-skinned and leather- 
 yielding mammalia are almost unknown. 
 
 " Slaying the tapir is no easy matter. The creature is shy ; 
 and having the advantage of the watery element, is often enabled 
 to dive beyond the reach of pursuit, and thus escape by concealing 
 itself. Among most of the native tribes of South America, the 
 young hunter who has killed a tapir is looked upon as having 
 achieved something to be proud of." 
 
 Martinhez, described as an intelligent Brazilian trader, gave the 
 writer of the article the account of a hunt in which a whole tribe 
 of Indians, the Jumnas, took part. The following is condensed 
 from the original description. Twenty or thirty canoes or " dug- 
 outs " were filled with the hunters, accompanied by many of the 
 women and boys of the tribe, and a score or two of dogs. " These 
 dogs were curious creatures to look at," Martinhez remarks. " A 
 stranger, ignorant of the customs of the Jumnas, would have been 
 at some loss to account for the peculiarity of their colour. Such 
 dogs I had never seen before. Some were of a bright scarlet, others 
 
TAPIRS. 317 
 
 were yellow, others blue, and some mottled with a variety of tints. 
 What could it mean ? But I knew well enough. The dogs were 
 dyed ! Yes, it is a custom among many tribes of South American 
 Indians to dye not only their own bodies, but the hairy coat of 
 their dogs, with brilliant colours obtained from vegetable juices, 
 such as the red huitoc, the yellow rocoa (annoto), and the blue of 
 the wild indigo. The light grey, often white, hair of these 
 animals favours the staining process; and the effect produced 
 pleases the eye of their savage masters. On my eye the effect 
 was strange and fantastical. I could not restrain my laughter 
 when I first scanned these curs in their fanciful coats. Picture to 
 yourself a pack of scarlet, and orange, and purple dogs ! " 
 
 The Chief and Martinhez were armed with a light fusil and 
 rifle respectively ; the others with guns, bows and arrows, and 
 some had arrows dipped in curarie poison. They paddled up 
 the river to a place that was studded with islands and known to 
 be a favourite resort of the tapirs. The narrator was struck with 
 the appearance of the party, and observes, " No ' meet ' in the 
 hunting-field of civilized countries could have equalled us in pic- 
 turesqueness. The ubas (canoes), strung out in a long irregular 
 line, sprang up-stream in obedience to the vigorous strokes of the 
 rowers, and these sang in a sort of irregular concert as they plied 
 their paddles. The songs were improvised : they told the feats 
 of the hunters already performed, and promised others yet to be 
 done, I could hear the word ' tapira ' (tapir) often repeated. 
 The women lent their shrill voices to the chorus ; and now and 
 then interrupted the song with peals of merry laughter. The 
 strange-looking flotilla — the bronzed bodies of the Indians, more 
 than half-nude — ^their waving black hair — their blue-bead belts 
 and red cotton armlets — the bright tangas (aprons of the women) 
 — ^their massive necklaces — the macaw feathers adorning the heads 
 of the hunters — ^their odd arms and equipments — all combined to 
 form a picture which, even to me, accustomed to such sights, was 
 full of interest." 
 
 The tracks of a tapir having been discovered on the sandy shore 
 of one of the islands, it was surrounded, and the hunt began. At 
 a given signal several hunters leaped ashore, followed by the 
 
318 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 bright-coloured dogs, and commenced to force themselves through 
 the dense thicket, but the net-work of creepers so choked up the 
 path that every step of the way had to be cleared by the hunters 
 with the matchets carried for the purpose. The Indians that 
 remained in the canoes kept perfect silence, and sat with arms 
 ready and eyes keenly fixed on the foliage of the underwood 
 opposite their station. At last a tapir was driven out. The 
 chief exclaimed, " This time, the tapir, look yonder ! " "I 
 looked," continues Martinhez, " in the direction pointed out. I 
 could perceive something in motion among the leaves — a dark 
 brown body, smooth and rounded, the body of the tapir ! I 
 caught only a glimpse of it, as it sprang forward into the opening. 
 It was coming at full gallop, with its head carried between its 
 knees. The dogs were close after, and it looked not before it, but 
 dashed out and ran towards us as though blind. It made for the 
 water, just a few feet from the bow of our canoe. The chief and 
 I fired at the same time. I thought my bullet took effect, and so 
 thought the chief did his ; but the tapir, seeming not to heed the 
 shots, plunged into the stream and went under. The next 
 moment the whole string of dyed dogs came sweeping out of the 
 thicket, and leaped forward to where the game had disappeared. 
 There was blood upon the water. The tapir is hit, then, thought 
 I; and was about to point out the blood to the chief, when, on 
 turning, I saw the latter poising himself, knife in hand, near the 
 stern of the canoe. He was about to spring out of it. His eye 
 , was fixed on some object under the water. I looked in the same 
 direction. The waters of the Zingu are as clear as crystal; 
 against the sandy bottom, I could trace the dark-brown body of 
 the tapir. It was making for the deeper channel of the river, but 
 evidently dragging itself along with difficulty. One of its legs 
 was disabled by our shots. I had scarcely time to get a good 
 view of it before the chief sprang into the air, and dropped head 
 foremost into the water. I could see a struggle going on at the 
 bottom — turbid water came up to the surface — and then up came 
 the dark head of the savage chief. 
 
 "'Ugh!' cried he, as he shook the water from his thick tresses, 
 and beckoned me to assist him — ' Ugh ! Senhor Martinhez, you 
 
i.-S>'' 
 
 -w mr^- 
 
A TAPIR. 
 
 {Tapir Amerkanus.) 
 
TAPIES. 319 
 
 eat roast tapir for dinner. Si-bueno — here tapir.' I pulled him 
 into the boat and afterwards assisted to haul up the huge body of 
 the slain tapir. As was now seen, both our shots had taken 
 effect; but it was the rifle-bullet that had broken the creature's 
 leg, and the generous savage acknowledged that he would have 
 had but little chance of overtaking the game under water had it 
 not been previously crippled." 
 
 These animals are easily domesticated in consequence of their 
 mildness of disposition and sluggishness of character. Soninni 
 states that tame tapirs are allowed to wander at liberty through 
 the streets of the towns of Guyana and to wander off if so dis- 
 posed into the adjacent woods, from whence they return in the 
 evening to the houses where they are kept and fed. According to 
 his description of them, they are capable of attachment to their 
 owners, and he expresses the opinion that the strength, patience, 
 and docility of the animals might be utilized by converting 
 them into beasts of burden. It is very doubtful, however, 
 whether any advantage could be gained by such an experiment, 
 for although they are usually quiet and peaceful creatures, they 
 are said to be subject to fits of irritation and rushing madly about 
 blindly dash at any object that may impede their wild career. 
 The experience of the keepers in the Zoological Gardens with 
 these animals tends to show that they are very delicate and of 
 peculiar habits. Water, in which they can plunge, is an absolute 
 necessity, for without it they get ill and soon die, and for people 
 not prepared to accommodate them in this manner the keeping of 
 tapirs would be an impossibility. They are also such timid beasts 
 that anything occurring out of the ordinary terrifies them, in fact 
 they are not in any way to be depended upon; consequently 
 must be pronounced as totally unfitted for any useful domestic 
 
 purpose- 
 In 1704 a living tapir was exhibited in Amsterdam, where it 
 was called a sea-horse, and was the first ever brought to Europe 
 in modern days. At a subsequent period two of them were carried 
 from town to town through Holland. There is no information 
 that can be found of any tapir being brought to England prior to 
 1828. In that year Lieutenant Maw presented a young tapir to 
 
320 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 the Zoological Society, but it died soon after it came into their 
 possession. 
 
 Another smaller species was discovered in South America by 
 M. Roulin (Tapirus Boulinii). Both in appearance and habits it 
 is similar to the previously described animal. Murray mentions it 
 as inhabiting the higher regions of the Andes at an altitude of 
 seven or eight thousand feet. It "possesses peculiar interest from 
 being clothed with long, thick, close, felted blackish-brown hair, 
 giving us an instance exactly corresponding to the warm coating 
 of the species of Pachyderms which have been adapted for living 
 in cold climates. The mammoth had a ponderous fleece of long 
 hair and felted wool; and the northern rhinoceros was also 
 woolly-haired. And here, where the conditions of its life call for 
 the provision, we have their congener, the tapir, similarly 
 protected." 
 
 The Asiatic tapir (Tapirus Indicus) is confined in its habitation 
 to Sumatra, Malacca, and the South-west province of China. In 
 habits it differs but little from the tapirs of the New World, but in 
 its appearance there is considerable dissimilarity. 
 
 In the first place it has not any mane on the neck, and, 
 secondly, its colour makes it very distinct. Its head, neck, and fore- 
 legs, instead of being dusky brown like the American species, are 
 quite black, so also are the hind-quarters, but its body is lightish- 
 grey, almost white. The two colours are separated by a defined 
 line, and the sharp contrast between the black parts and the white, 
 which are not softened off by any mingling of tints, gives the 
 animal the appearance, from a short distance, of having a white 
 cloth covered around the body. 
 
 It is a larger animal than its American congeners, and its 
 proboscis is stronger and capable of greater extension. 
 
 This species was only discovered in 1805 by Major Parquhar, 
 and from a specimen he forwarded Sir Stamford Raffles the first 
 account of it was given to the pubhc. The depths of the forests it 
 inhabits and its retiring habits can be surmised from the extra- 
 ordinary fact that so large an animal should have so long escaped 
 the observation of naturalists. 
 
321 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE EHINOCEEOS FAMILY {RHINOCERID^). 
 
 In size and strength tlie members of this extraordinary family 
 of quadrupeds rank next to the elephants; they are, therefore, 
 the second largest and most powerful of terrestrial mammaha. 
 Although there are seven or eight recognized species still exist- 
 ing, yet, as more than this number have become extinct, the 
 family must at one period have been an extensive one. Their 
 range must also have been a much wider one than it is at present, 
 for in a former epoch these animals were well distributed over 
 the world's surface ; but at the present day they only inhabit two 
 comparatively small areas, widely separated, one in Asia and the 
 other in Africa. The structural aflEinity of the various species 
 peculiar to either of these quarters of the globe is unmistakable, 
 and the distinctions between the Asiatic and African animals are 
 well defined and easily discernible. The race to which an animal 
 belongs is therefore to be determined at a glance. 
 
 The Asiatic rhinoceros, of which four species are recognized, 
 form a distinct group, distinguishable from their African brethren 
 by the thick folds in the skin, and the presence of incisor teeth. 
 They are known as follows : — The Indian rhinoceros (E. Indicus) ; 
 the Javan rhinoceros {B. Javanicus); the Sumatran rhinoceros 
 (E. Swmatranus), and the hairy-eared rhinoceros {B. Lasiotis). 
 
 The African species are all found in Africa proper, that is south 
 of the Sahara; none are found in north Africa, and they fall 
 naturally into two groups — those which browse on trees, and 
 those that graze, distinguished readily by the prehensile or non- 
 prehensile upper lip.' Zoologists have subdivided these animals 
 '' " GeograpHcal Distribution of Animals." 
 
 .T 
 
322 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 again into five species, ttree black ones and two white.' The two 
 white rhinoceroses {B. 8imus) and (B. OsweUii) ; the black rhino- 
 ceros (-B. Bicornis); the keitloa rhinoceros (jB. Kdtloa), and 
 another (E. Gucullatus). The adult animals have no incisor teeth, 
 and scarcely any appearance of the peculiar folds of the iutegu- 
 ment which is such a characteristic feature of the Indian species. 
 
 The rhinoceros has a large, unwieldy body, supported on short, 
 thick legs, and its appearance in consequence is clumsy and 
 uncouth. The legs terminate with large callous pads, divided 
 into three toes, which are covered with broad, hoof -like nails. 
 The tail is short, and has a small tuft at the end. The whole 
 body, head, and limbs are covered with an extremely hard and 
 thick skin, which in none of the existing animals exhibits more 
 than mere traces of hair, although there is evidence that some of 
 the extinct species were covered with fur. 
 
 The head of a rhinoceros is large and surmounted by moderately 
 long ears. The eyes are very small. The muzzle is prolonged, 
 and the fleshy covering of the upper lip can be protruded so much 
 that the animal employs it to collect and draw its food into the 
 mouth. Their senses of hearing and scent appear to be acute, 
 but their sight is somewhat limited, for the position of the eyes, 
 which are set far back, prevents them from clearly discerning 
 objects that are exactly in front of hem. 
 
 The nasal bones curve into an arch that forms the support for 
 a horn, or in some instances two, which is the most remarkable 
 peculiarity of these strange beasts, and one that is unique in 
 mammalia. It is from this feature of the animal the name rhinoceros 
 has been given it, a word derived from two Glreek ones, meaning 
 nose and horn. 
 
 In neither species does the horn connect directly with the skull- 
 bones, but it simply grows from the skin, and can easily be 
 removed from the hide by separating it with a sharp knife. 
 
 From the very earliest times many superstitions have existed 
 among the natives in India regarding the horn of the rhinoceros. 
 It was supposed that water drunk from a cup made from it had 
 wonderful medicinal qualities ; but the idea most firmly rooted 
 in the Aryan mind is that the horn is an antidote to poison, and 
 
THE EHINOOBROS. 323 
 
 IS not only useful in curing a person who may be its yictim; but 
 efficacious in detecting its presence. Indian rulers have for centuries 
 used drinking-cups made of it, under the notion that " it sweats at 
 the approach of any kind of poison whatever." Upon this subject 
 Thunberg writes : " It is generally believed that goblets made of the 
 horns, in a turner's lathe, will discover any poisonous draught that 
 is put into them by making the liquor ferment till it runs quite out 
 of the goblet. Such goblets are frequently set in gold and silver, 
 and are regarded as suitable presents to .kings, persons of distinc- 
 tion, and particular friends ; or else they are sold at a high price, 
 sometimes at the rate of fifty-six dollars a goblet. When I tried 
 these horns, both wrought and unwrought — both old and young 
 horns — with several sorts of poison, weak as well as strong, I 
 observed not the least motion or efEervescence ; and when a 
 solution of corrosive sublimate, or other similar substance, was 
 poured into one of these horns there arose only a few bubbles, 
 produced by the air that had been enclosed in the pores of the 
 horn, and which was now disengaged from them." 
 
 The horn is a very remarkable structure, for it is not a bony 
 formation like the horns of deer, antelope, or oxen, but is com- 
 posed simply of agglutinated hairy filaments, rigidly compressed 
 into a dense substance. When this fact is taken into account, 
 its weight appears astonishing. The tip becomes polished and 
 smooth from use. The animal employs this weapon to dig up 
 roots and loosen things in the earth that it may require for its 
 sustenance. 
 
 All natural history books describe the horn as being employed 
 also for a weapon of offence or defence, and the way in which it 
 is attached to the head — namely, in such a manner that it has no 
 direct connection with the skull, is said to be a beautiful arrange- 
 ment of nature to prevent the injurious consequences to the brain 
 that might otherwise result from- the violent concussions it would 
 undoubtedly be subject to when so used. 
 
 Of all large animals the rhinoceroses in their wild state are the 
 ones about which there exists the smallest amount of information. 
 The salient features of their appearance, peculiarities, and 
 habits have been frequently described, but there is ample room 
 
 Y 2 
 
324 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 for more accurate and closer study of these creatures in their 
 native haunts. Upon this subject of their using the horn for 
 combative purposes opinions are divided, and no' positive state- 
 ment can be made. That they may occasionally have to so use 
 it is quite probable, but that they invariably do so is open 
 to doubt. That hard blows can be struck with it is obvious, but 
 that it is used to rip up their opponents in the same way as the 
 wild hog uses his tusks is the point upon which 'more information 
 is required. Its large circumference, and the loose way in which 
 it is attached to the animal, would hardly allow it to be driven in 
 with any force, or it could not be withdrawn, and would be torn 
 from its roots. One of the animals in the Zoological Gardens, in 
 1870, was the victim of self-mutilation by using his horn for work 
 beyond its capacity. He was let out for exercise in the paddock 
 provided for the purpose, and tried to upheave the massive iron 
 railings that divide the enclosure by placing his horn under- 
 neath. It, of course, resisted his efforts, but he kept on making 
 repeated attempts until at last the thick, massive horn was torn 
 away from the head and fell into the yard. At first there was 
 considerable loss of blood, and the animal roared lustily for a few 
 minutes, but soon beoanie quiet. The wound was doctored by 
 Mr. Bartlett, who applied some neat's-foot oil to keep away the 
 flies, and in a short time his patient was as well as ever. A new 
 horn began to appear shortly afterwards. 
 
 Colonel Kinlock, who is an authority on Indian sport, in the new 
 edition of his work,^ when describing the great Indian rhinoceros 
 remarks : "Contrary to general behef the rhinoceros does not 
 make use of his horn as a weapon of offence ; the wounds which it 
 occasionally inflicts on elephants are caused by its long, sharp 
 incisors, with which it can give a very formidable bite." 
 
 Captain Williamson^ describes the rhinoceros as being the 
 inveterate enemy of the elephant, which he attacks whenever 
 he can get a favourable opportunity, ripping without mercy. 
 " The, apparent bluntness of the horn," he writes, " which is about 
 as broad at the base as it is high, would appear to render it an 
 
 2 " Large G-ame Shooting," Calcutta, 1885. 
 
 3 " Oriental Pield Sports," 1807. 
 
THE RHINOCEROS. 325 
 
 lasigmficant weapon, and inadequate to penetrate any hard or 
 tough substance." That this, however, is not the case, he thinks 
 proved by the fact that elephants have often been found dead, 
 obviously from wounds received from the horn of a rhinoceros. 
 This evidence rests only on native statements, for Williamson 
 himself does not state he ever saw a dead elephant so wounded. 
 He mentions, however, that Major Lally, an ofllcer of the Indian 
 army, whose veracity was beyond question, while engaged in a 
 hunting expedition, saw a desperate encounter between a rhino- 
 ceros and a large male elephant, in which the latter animal 
 was beaten ; but the method of attack adopted by the rhino- 
 ceros in this fight is not stated, and the narration only proves 
 that these two animals are natural enemies and occasionally 
 fight. 
 
 All varieties of the rhinoceros, are subject to violent fits of 
 temper, which are frequently exhibited, even when they have 
 not received any apparent provocation. Their strength and the 
 poAver of uprooting fences, or attacking animals, make them 
 dangerous and troublesome at such periods, and care has to be 
 exercised to prevent them from committing serious damage, for 
 they appear to have but Httle method in their madness, judging 
 from the extraordinary series of antics they indulge in, such as 
 rushing about with the horn in the earth, making deep furrows as 
 though cut with a plough, or with loud grunts commencing to rip 
 or trample some bush or other object against which they appear 
 to take a spite, or other equally meaningless proceedings. When 
 in a wild state when in this condition they will furiously attack 
 any object they may see moving. 
 
 These beasts appear to be fond of haunting river-banks and , 
 wallowing in the mud. They generally have their hide well coated 
 with a thick layer of this substance, for it is surmised that in this 
 way they endeavour to shield themselves from the attack of the 
 flies which plague the animal world of Asia and Africa. Thick- 
 skinned animals, through having such large pores, are particu- 
 larly vulnerable and sensitive to these stinging insects. 
 
 The best known animal of the family is the large Indian 
 rhinoceros (B. Unicornis, called by some naturaHsts B. Indicus). 
 
326 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 In fact, until a comparatively short time ago, it was the only 
 species with which Europeans were acquainted. 
 
 It inhabits the regions of the East Indies beyond the Ganges, 
 and the open valley along the base of the Himalayas from Bhotan to 
 Nepal, and is found in the province of Assam along the valley of 
 the Brahmapootra ; it is also reported as having been seen in 
 Bengal, Siam, and Cochin China. These animals appear in 
 former times, according to Kinlock, " to have inhabited the Terai 
 throughout its whole length, but it has been gradually driven 
 eastwards, until at the present day the Nepal Terai is its western 
 limit. Even there its numbers have been much thinned, and it 
 has lately been so highly prized that it has been reserved as 
 Royal game ; the late Sir Jung Bahddoor permitting no one to 
 shoot it but himself. 
 
 " Many rhinoceros have been shot within the last few years in 
 the vicinity of Julpigoree; but there, partly owing to being 
 constantly hunted, and partly owing to the clearance of large 
 tracts for tea cultivation, they are rapidly becoming scarcer, and 
 the sportsman must travel still further east before he finds them 
 at all plentiful. In the eastern portion of the Bhiitan Dooars, 
 and in Assam, wherever there are heavy reed jungles on the banks 
 of rivers or on the margin of swamps, rhinoceros may be met 
 with, and occasionally several congregate in one covert. I have 
 myself known six to be roused in a belt of ' nul ' not more than 
 half a mile long and three or four hundred yards wide." 
 
 This species has a single horn on the nose, which is pointed and 
 slightly curved backwards. This horn sometimes measures two 
 feet in length, but the average size it attains is some inches less. 
 
 The skin of the Indian rhinoceros constitutes one of its most 
 striking peculiarities. It is very dense and hard, so much so that 
 it has not pliancy enough to permit the movements of the animal, 
 but has to be in a manner jointed by means of folds behind the 
 shoulders, in front of the thighs on the limbs, and these creases 
 are very ample around the neck where it joins the head. These 
 massive folds and the hard appearance of the hide were so 
 frequently described as the well-adjusted pieces of a complete suit 
 of armour, that nearly all the ancient illustrations of the animal. 
 
AN INDIAN RHINOCEROS. 
 
 (fi. Indims.) 
 
THE RHINOCEROS. 327 
 
 actually portray it as covered with sucli a defensive covering. 
 The hide is said to be exceedingly easy to detach from the body, 
 as the quality is so hard and stiflivthat it separates from the flesh 
 like the peel of a ripe orange. The skin is of a deep purplish- 
 grey colour, and is nearly if not perfectly bare, except on the tail 
 and the ears which have a few coarse and stiff hairs. Bach shield 
 of the hide is thickly studded with slightly raised tubercles, nearly 
 circular in shape, and which again convey the idea of armour by 
 giving the skin the appearance of being covered with innumerable 
 bolts whose heads are visible. 
 
 The skin, from having these thick and tough-looking folds, is 
 generally described as being nearly invulnerable, even to modern 
 weapons, and that it is only by firing at the joints in the harness 
 that a bullet can be made to penetrate. 
 
 Colonel Kinlock refutes this idea by the narration of the follow- 
 ing incident : " I recollect," he writes, " an amusing story of a 
 soldier in the Mutiny, who was placed in the guard-room for 
 shooting a tame rhinoceros which had been captured by his 
 regiment. His defence was that he had read in a book that the 
 hide of the animal was bullet-proof, and being of an inquiring 
 turn of mind, had determined to put the theory to the test ; as the 
 shot was well directed, the unfortunate subject of the experiment 
 fell dead, and the prize fund was several thousand rupees the poorer. 
 
 " As a matter of fact the skin is quite soft when fresh ; a bullet 
 will penetrate anywhere with the greatest ease, and a hunting 
 knife can be driven through it with the slightest amount of force. 
 When dried, of course, it becomes extremely hard, and used to be 
 in great request for the manufacture of shields. The hide when 
 pohshed is very handsome and semi-transparent, and when held 
 up to the light looks exactly like tortoise-shell, the tubercles 
 giving it a beautiful mottled appearance." 
 
 This well-known sportsman gives several other interesting 
 particulars regarding the animal. He states that, despite it 
 being such an ungainly beast, it is possessed of considerable speed, 
 and although its usual gait when disturbed is a long, swinging 
 trot, it occasionally breaks into a lumbering gallop, the pace of 
 which is surprising. 
 
328 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 " Owing to their formation rhinoceros do not readily roll over 
 on their sides, and when shot they almost always die in a 
 recumbent position, as if they had quietly sunk down to sleep. 
 
 " The flesh is excellent, and cannot easily be distinguished from 
 beef ; indeed it is better than most beef one sees in India. 
 
 " The following are the measurements of an old male which I 
 shot, but larger specimens are to be met with : — 
 
 Height at withers ... 5 feet 9 inches, or 17 hands 1 inch. 
 Length from nose to root of tail 10 „ 6 „ 
 Length of tail . . . • 2 ,, o „ 
 
 Girth 9 „ 8 „ 
 
 Girth of fore-arm . . . 3 ,, 2 „ 
 
 It is a questio'n that has often been discussed whether the 
 animal designated unicorn in the Bible and other ancient writings 
 is not intended for the one-horned rhinoceros; but it has never 
 been satisfactorily settled. 
 
 Agatharchides, the Greek peripatetic philosopher, who lived 
 about 130 B.C., was the first writer who described the animal 
 under the name rhinoceros ; he speaks of it ripping up the belly 
 of an elephant. 
 
 Athenseus, in "The Deipnosophists," speaks of a rhinoceros 
 figuring in that marvellous procession of Ptolemy Philadelphus 
 (king of Egypt, B.C. 285 — 247) to which previous reference has been 
 made. It was an Ethiopian animal, and appears to have marched 
 last in the line of wild animals; it has been surmised that this 
 was probably on account of its superior rarity. It came imme- 
 diately after the camelopard, and before the wain bearing the 
 image of Bacchus, wearing a golden crown, fleeing to the altar of 
 Rhea from the persecution of Juno. 
 
 Pliny states the one -horned rhinoceros was first exhibited at 
 the games of Pompeius Magnus, and afterwards was frequently 
 seen in Rome. A rhinoceros and a hippopotamus were killed in 
 the circus as part of the show given by Augustus to celebrate his 
 victory over Cleopatra. From a statement made by Dion Cassius 
 we are led to infer that this animal was of the one-horned species. 
 Martial speaks of Domitian having one with two horns, which was 
 evidently an African animal. This writer seems also to have been 
 acquainted with the single-horn species, for he alludes to it in one 
 
THE RHINOCEROS. 329 
 
 place.^ Pausanias also speaks of the two-horned animal; but he 
 calls it an Ethiopian bull. The Eomans must frequently have 
 seen these animals, for we read that the Emperors Antonius, 
 Heliogabalus, and Gordian III., all exhibited them at the various 
 periods of their reigns. 
 
 Although their strength and blind ferocity must make these 
 animals terrific opponents of other large and savage beasts when 
 actually engaged in combat, yet when kept in captivity they 
 require urging and angering before they will attack, and if left to 
 themselves seem^ only to act on the defensive. It is not upon 
 record whether the Romans managed to get more excitement 
 out of these animals than their sporting imitators the princes 
 in India do, for according to accounts given by several writers 
 of the animal combats, that used frequently to be seen at 
 the native courts, the rhinoceros is not a satisfactory beast. 
 Captain Mundy * in his description of the wild animal contests 
 witnessed by him in 1827 in the King of Oude's park in Lucknow, 
 writes : " A rhinoceros was next let loose in the open court- 
 yard and the attendants attempted to induce him to pick a 
 quarrel with a tiger who was chained to a ring. The rhinoceros 
 appeared, however, to consider a fettered foe as quite beneath his 
 enmity; and having once approached the tiger and quietly 
 surveyed him as he writhed and growled, expecting the attack, 
 turned suddenly round, and trotted awkwardly off to the yard- 
 gate, where he capsized a palankeen which was carrying away a 
 lady fatigued with the sight of these unfeminine sports." 
 
 For centuries after the downfall of the Roman empire no speci- 
 men of a rhinoceros of either the Asian or African species was 
 brought to Europe. The first that was again seen was an animal 
 that was sent from India to Emanuel, King of Portugal, in the 
 year 1513. It was subsequently sent by Emanuel as a present 
 to the Pope, but during the journey the animal became so furious 
 and ungovernable that it absolutely sunk the vessel on which it 
 was being transported. 
 
 A sketch of this creature was sent from Lisbon to Nuremberg 
 for Albert Diirer, who made an engraving from it, and this was 
 * " Pen and Pencil Sketches." 
 
330 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 copied generally in works on natural history of subsequent date, 
 notwitlistanding the absurd way it was represented — among other 
 monstrosities it was depicted as having a small horn projecting 
 from the top of the shoulders, and appears to be absolutely clad 
 in a loose kind of apparently forged mail armour. 
 
 In 1684 one of these beasts was brought to England, and was 
 advertised in the London Gazette of October 12th in that year as 
 the first rhinoceros that had ever been brought to Great Britain. 
 Evelyn says in his diary, under date the 22nd of October : " I went 
 with Sir William Godolphin to see the rhinoceros, or unicorn, 
 being the first that I suppose was ever brought into England. 
 He belonged to some East India merchants, and was sold (as 
 I remember) for above 2000L" 
 
 Roger North ^ relates an anecdote about this animal and the 
 Lord Keeper, Guilford, which is given in the racy language 
 peculiar to this author : — 
 
 " To show that his lordship's (the Lord Keeper Guilford's) 
 Court enemies, the Earl of Sunderland in particular, were hard put 
 to it to find, or invent, something to report tending to the diminu- 
 tion of his character, I shall give an account of the most impudent 
 buffoon lie raised upon him, and with brazen afl&rmations of truth 
 to it, dispersed from the Court one morning, that ever came into 
 fools' heads ; and Satan himself would not have^ owned it for his 
 legitimate issue. It fell out thus : a merchant of Sir Dudley 
 North's acquaintance had brought over an enormous rhinoceros, 
 to be sold to showmen for profit. It is a noble beast, wonderfully 
 armed by nature for offence ; but more for defence, being covered 
 with impenetrable shields, which no weapon would make any im- 
 pression upon; and a rarity so great, that few men, in our 
 country, have in their whole lives opportunity to see so singular 
 an animal. This merchant told Sir Dudley North that if he, 
 with a friend or two, had a mind to see it, they might take the 
 opportunity at his house, before it was sold. Hereupon Sir 
 Dudley North proposed to his brother, the Lord Keeper, to go with 
 him upon this expedition ; which he did, and came away exceed- 
 ingly satisfied with the curiosity he had seen. But whether he 
 
 « North's " Lives," 1744. 
 
THE RHINOCEROS. 331 
 
 was dogged, to find out wliere lie and tis brother housed in the 
 city, or flying fame carried an account of the voyage to Court, I 
 know not ; but it is certain that, the very next morning, a bruit 
 went from thence all over the town, and (as factious reports used 
 to run) in a very short time, viz. that his lordship rode upon the 
 rhinoceros ; than which a more infantine exploit could not have 
 been fastened upon him. And most people were struck with 
 amazement at it; and divers ran here and there to find out 
 whether it was true or no. And soon after dinner some lords and 
 others came to his lordship to know the truth from himself; for 
 the setters of the lie affirmed it positively, as of their own know- 
 ledge. That did not give his lordship much disturbance, for he 
 expected no better from his adversaries. But that his friends, in- 
 telligent persons, who must know him to be far from guilty of any 
 childish levity, should believe it, was what roiled him extremely ; 
 and much more, when they had the face to come to him to know if 
 it were true. I never saw him in such a rage, and to lay about 
 him with affronts (which he keenly bestowed upon the minor 
 courtiers that came on that errand) as then ; for he sent them 
 away with fleas in their ear. And he was angry with his own 
 brother. Sir Dudley North, because he did not contradict the lie 
 in sudden and direct terms, but laughed, as taking the question 
 put to him for a banter, till, by iterations, he was brought to it. 
 For some lords came, and because they seemed to attribute some- 
 what to the avowed positiveness of the reporters, he rather chose 
 to send for his brother to attest, than to impose his bare denial. 
 And so it passed ; and the noble earl, with Jeffries, and others of 
 that crew, made merry, and never blushed at the lie of their own 
 making ; but valued themselves upon it, as a very good jest." 
 
 The rhinoceros has been used for riding purposes, however, for 
 Bishop Heber, in his "Indian Journal," describing the sights of 
 Lucknow, writes : " There is a menagerie, with a great number 
 of scarce and curious animals, but in far worse order than that at 
 Barrackpoor ; and on the other side of the river Goomty, in a well- 
 wooded park, is a large collection of different varieties of cows, 
 camels, and deer, and five or six very large rhinoceroses, the first 
 animals of the kind I ever saw, and of which I found prints and 
 
332 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 drawings had given me a very imperfect conception. They are 
 more bulky animals and of a darker colour than I had supposed, 
 and the thickness of the folds of their impenetrable skin much 
 surpasses all which I had expected. These at Lucknow are gentle 
 and quiet animals, except that one of them has a feud with horses. 
 They seem to propagate in captivity without reluctance, and I 
 should conceive might be available to carry burthens as well as the 
 elephant, except that, as their pace is still slower than his, their 
 use could only be appHed to very great weights, and very gentle 
 travelling. These have sometimes had howdahs on them, and 
 were once fastened to a carriage, but only as an experiment, 
 which was never followed up." 
 
 Again,, when he was in Baroda, he saw while passing through 
 the city two very fine hunting tigers in silver chains, and a rhino- 
 ceros (the present of Lord Amherst to the Guecwar), which was 
 so tame as to be ridden by a mahout, quite as patiently as an 
 elephant. 
 
 A specimen of the Indian rhinoceros was brought from Bengal 
 and exhibited in London in 1739, and afterwards travelled 
 throughout a great part of Europe, where it was considered an 
 extraordinary curiosity. It was only a yoixng animal, but an 
 expensive one for its owners, for it was recorded at the time that 
 the outlay for its food and voyage amounted to nearly lOOOZ. In 
 1749 a female rhinoceros was seen in Paris, and was the subject of 
 a painting by Oudri, and some engravings by other artists. The 
 menagerie at Versailles contained a rhinoceros that was kept there 
 from 1771 to 1793, and formed the subject of Buffon's notes. 
 
 In the year 1790 a rhinoceros was presented to Mr. Dundas, it 
 having been sent from the East Indies for that purpose. Not 
 being prepared for the reception of gifts that took this form, he 
 was glad to pass it on to some one else. Subsequently Piddock 
 purchased it for 700L, and used it for exhibition purposes. When 
 not being engaged in travelling about the country for the edi- 
 fication of the gaping rustic, it was kept at Exeter Change. 
 
 Even in captivity, and after they have been to some extent 
 tamed, all species of the rhinoceros are unsafe animals to handle. 
 Their strength being so great, their temper so uncertain, and 
 
THE EHINOOBROS. 333 
 
 their dispositions lacking the docility which is generally dis- 
 played under similar circumstances by the majority of quadrupeds, 
 render them the most dangerous of beasts. They evince a disposi- 
 tion on all occasions to attack their keepers as readily as strangers. 
 In the gardens of the Zoological Society the Indian rhinoceros was 
 some years ago nearly the cause of a serious calamity by charging 
 suddenly into his compartment at some of the men who were 
 engaged in cleaning it. He knocked them right and left, but for- 
 tunately, although one man was badly hurt, no fatality resulted 
 from this attack. It, however, taught the men the necessity of 
 exercising great cautioil when having in any way to deal with 
 these animals. 
 
 The first rhinoceros which was exhibited in the United States 
 broke loose, and, besides making great havoc in a circus, killed 
 two men. The following account of this affair is taken from an 
 American paper. The accident happened in the summer of 
 1872 : *' A letter from Red Bird, a small town in Monroe county, 
 Illinois, gives a thrilling account of the escape from its keepers 
 of the rhinoceros belonging to Warner and Co.'s menagerie and 
 circus on the occasion of its being brought into the ring for the 
 first time. The showmen had prepared the animal for exhibition 
 by attaching to a ring on its nose two strong wire ropes, and 
 twenty-four men were deemed sufficient to control the beast. It 
 submitted quietly to being led from the cage, but on entering the 
 arena suddenly threw up its head, and plunging madly to the right 
 and left, broke loose from the men and dashed forward through the 
 tents. Its first victim was a canvas-man, who was knocked down, 
 and the beast trampling upon his breast he was killed instantly. 
 It next ran its nose against another canvas-man, striking him in 
 the stomach, ripping out his bowels, and kiUing him on the spot. 
 It then made a dash in the direction of the seats, which by this 
 time were cleared by the frightened spectators, and knocked down 
 nearly all of the seats on one side of the tent, dislocating the 
 shoulder of one of the employes, and breaking the arm of a 
 spectator. Eunning next into the menagerie tent, it upset 
 Mr. Forepaugh's den of performing animals, after which it struck 
 the centre-pole with its head, bringing it down with a crash upon 
 
334 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 the cages of the tiger and leopard, but not breaking them so as to 
 allow the animals to escape. Dashing into the museum tent, it 
 broke all the curiosities, frightened 'all the people in the neigh- 
 bourhood, and rushed out through the canvas into the street, 
 finally stopping in a vacant house, the door of which stood open. 
 Here the men succeeded in capturing the animal and getting it 
 into a cage. The damage to the show was about 3000 dollars." 
 
 The Javan Bhinoceros (B. Javanicus). This is a much smaller 
 animal than the Indian species. Its head and limbs are longer 
 and more slender in their proportions, and the folds of the skin are 
 fewer and are not so prominent. The hide is not so thickly 
 covered with tubercles, and they are proportionately smaller in 
 diameter, being square and angular. In length this animal is 
 between seven and eight feet, and in height about three and a half 
 to three and three-quarters. 
 
 Jerdon calls it the lesser Indian rhinoceros, and says it is found 
 in the Bengal Sunderbunds, and a few individuals are stated to 
 occur in the forest tract along the Mahanuddy river, and extending 
 northwards towards Midnapore ; and also on the northern edge 
 of the Kajmahal hills near the Ganges. It occurs also more 
 abundantly in Burmah, and thence, through the Malayan penin- 
 sula, to Java and Borneo. Several have, he states, been killed 
 quite recently within a few miles of Calcutta. 
 
 Animals of this species are frequently to be seen in India, taken 
 about the country as a show. In 1874 the Zoological Society 
 succeeded in procuring a specimen, and their visitors have ever 
 since had the opportunity of studying the difference between the 
 two varieties. 
 
 In many places this animal is gregarious. Dr. Horsfield ® states 
 that it is not limited to a particular region or climate, but that its 
 range extends from the level of the ocean to the summit of moun- 
 tains of considerable elevation. He noticed it on Tangung, near 
 the confines of the southern ocean, in the districts of the native 
 princes, and on the summit of the high peaks of the Priangan 
 regencies. It is reported to prefer high situations. Dr. Horsfield, 
 while residing at Surakarta, the capital of the Javanese Empire, had 
 
 ^ " Zoological Eesearch.es in Java." 
 
THE RHINOCEROS. 335 
 
 many opportunities of studying a specimen of this species, for one 
 which, appears to have grown into a very large animal of its kind, 
 was kept there in confinement, or rather in a state of domesti- 
 cation. It was taken while very young in the forests of the 
 province of Keddu, and was conveyed to the residency at Magellan 
 in the year 1815 or 1816. It was afterwards removed to the 
 capital of Surakarta, where it was confined in the large area or 
 square which bounds the entrance to the royal residence. " A deep 
 ditch," says the doctor, " about three feet wide, limited its range, 
 and for several years it never attempted to pass it. It was per- 
 fectly reconciled to its confinement, and never exhibited any symp- 
 toms of uneasiness or rage, although on its first arrival harassed 
 in various ways by a large proportion of the inhabitants of a 
 populous capital, whose curiosity induced them to inspect the 
 stranger of the forest. Branches of trees, shrubs, and various 
 twining plants were abundantly provided for its food ; of these, 
 the species of cissus, and the small twigs of a native fig-tree were 
 preferred. But plantains were the most favourite food, and the 
 abundant manner in which it was supplied with these by numerous 
 visitors tended greatly to make the animal mild and sociable. It 
 allowed itself to be examined and handled freely, and the more 
 daring of the visitors sometimes mounted on its back. It required 
 copious supplies of water, and when not taking food, or intention- 
 ally roused by the natives, it generally placed itself in the large 
 excavations which its movements soon caused, in the soft earth 
 that covered the allotted space. Having considerably increased 
 in size, the ditch of three feet in breath was insuflScient for con- 
 fining it, but, leaving the enclosure, it frequently passed to the 
 dwellings of the natives, destroying the plantations of fruit- 
 trees and culinary vegetables which always surround them. It 
 likewise terrified those natives that accidentally met with it, and 
 who were unacquainted with its appearance and habits. But it 
 showed no illnatured disposition, and readily allowed itself to be 
 driven back to the enclosure, like a buffalo. The excessive exca- 
 vations which it made by continually wallowing in the mire, and 
 the accumulation of putrefying vegetable matter, in process of 
 time became offensive at the entrance of the palace, and its 
 
336 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 removal was ordered by the Emperor to a small village near the 
 confines of the capital, where, in the year 1821, it was accidentally 
 drowned in a rivulet." 
 
 The Sumatrian rhinoceros {B. Swmatranus) is a two-horned 
 animal, and a native of Sumatra, and the whole range of the 
 Malay peninsula as far as Chittagong. It is the smallest of 
 existing rhinoceroses ; its skin, which is comparatively a delicate 
 one, and almost destitute of the folds pecuHar to the one-horned 
 animals, is slightly covered with stifE brown hairs. Its head is 
 elongated in shape, and the upper hp pointed and curved down- 
 wards. The first horn is the larger one, and is bent backwards ; 
 the second one, which is situated a Httle in front of the eyes, is 
 erect and smooth. Although this animal has two horns, it is not 
 otherwise related to the African species, for it has the incisor 
 teeth and other cranial characters of the Asiatic division. 
 
 These animals are, like all their brethren, very fond of wallowing 
 in the mud. A curious result sometimes follows from this habit, 
 as may be seen from the following extract from the Journal of 
 the Indian ArcMpelago. The extreme cruelty of the natives of 
 these islands is also forcibly illustrated. " This animal, which is 
 of solitary habits, is found frequently in marshy places, with its 
 whole body immersed in the mud, and part of the head only 
 visible. The Malays call the animal ' Badak-Tapa,' or the recluse 
 rhinoceros. Towards the close of the rainy season they are said to 
 bury themselves in this manner in different places ; and upon the 
 dry weather setting in, and from the powerful efiects of a vertical 
 sun, the mud becomes hard and crusted, and the rhinoceros 
 cannot effect its escape without considerable difficulty and exer- 
 tion. The Semangs prepare themselves with large quantities of 
 combustible materials, with which they quietly approach the 
 animal, who is aroused from his reverie by an immense fire over 
 him, wTiich, being kept well supplied by the Semangs with fresh 
 fuel, soon completes his destruction, and renders him in a fit state 
 to make a meal of." 
 
 In 1872, an animal, classified as one of this species, which had 
 been captured at Chittagong in January, 1868, was purchased by 
 the Zoological Society for 1250L, the largest sum ever given for 
 
THE EHINOCEEOS. 337 
 
 any one animal. Soon after this expensive quadruped took up 
 his residence in the gardens alongside his Sumatrian brother already 
 there, Dr. Sclater recognized the fact that they were specifically 
 distinct, and he called the new animal the hairy-eared rhinoceros 
 (B. lasiotis). It had long hairy fringes on the ears, and the body 
 was covered with long, fine, reddish hair. The tail was shorter, 
 and the skin finer, than the Sumatrian animal. These, however, 
 are only outward difierences, and it has yet to be proved whether 
 there is any anatomical distinction that wiU justify the separation. 
 The singular circumstances attending the capture of this 
 animal were narrated by a Calcutta newspaper.' " The quiet 
 station of Chittagong," the article stated "has been lately 
 enlivened by the presence of a rhinoceros. It appears that 
 some natives came into Chittagong, and stated that a rhinoceros 
 had been found by them in a quicksand, and was quite 
 exhausted with the efforts to relieve herself. They had attached 
 two ropes to the animal's neck, and, with the assistance of about 
 200. men, dragged her out, and, keeping her taut between two 
 ropes, they eventually made her fast to a tree. The next morning, 
 however, they found the rhinoceros so refreshed, and making such 
 efforts to free herself, that they were frightened, and made appli- 
 cation to the magistrate of Chittagong for protection. The same 
 evening Captain Hood and Mr. H. W. Wickes started with eight 
 elephants to secure the prize, and, after a march of about sixteen 
 hours to the south of Chittagong, they came up with the 
 animal. The elephants, at the first sight of the rhinoceros, were 
 very much afraid, and bolted one and all, but, afber some exertion, 
 they were brought back, and made to stand by. A rope was now, 
 with some trouble, attached to the animal's hind-leg, and secured 
 to an elephant. At this juncture the rhinoceros roared ; the 
 elephants again bolted, and, had it not been for the rope slipping 
 from the leg of the rhinoceros, that limb might have been pulled 
 from the body. The rhinoceros was, however, eventually secured 
 with ropes between elephants, and marched into Chittagong in 
 perfect health. Two large rivers had to be crossed; first, the 
 Sungoo river, where the animal was towed between elephants, for 
 7 See " Proc. Zoological Society," 1872. 
 
 Z 
 
338 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 slie could not swim, and could only just keep lier head above water 
 by paddling with, the fore-feet like a pig; and secondly, the 
 Kurnafoolie river, when the ordinary cattle ferry-boat was used. 
 Thousands of natives thronged the march in, which occupied a 
 few days, the temporary bamboo bridges on the Government road 
 invariably falling in with the numbers collected thereon to watch 
 the rhinoceros crossing the stream below, and sometimes the pro- 
 cession was at least a mile in length. The ' Begum,' as the 
 rhinoceros has been named, is now free from all ropes, and kept 
 within a stockade enclosure, having therein a good bath excavated 
 in the ground, and a comfortable covered shed attached. She is 
 already very tame, and will take plantain leaves or chuppattees 
 from the hand, and might almost be led about by a string." 
 
 About the same time that " Begum " arrived in England, the 
 Hamburg Zoological Society procured a specimen of a similar 
 beast. It was landed in England and transhipped. A paragraph 
 in the Times, referring to this animal, says : " AJthough it is only 
 two years old, it is about the height of a small horse, but is more 
 bulky. It is," the writer continues, " apparently so healthy, 
 happy, and tame that any one having the courage may safely not 
 only place his hand in its huge, ungainly-looking mouth, but may 
 leisurely take it out again. We saw this demonstrated." 
 
 As before stated, the animals known to inhabit Africa have been 
 divided into five species, but the slight differences existing 
 between them barely warrant this separation, for many of them are 
 only individual variations. However, it may truly be said that 
 several varieties have been recognized, and that on this vast con- 
 tinent there may be others not yet described is within the bounds of 
 probability. In Capello and Ivens' ' book there is the following 
 paragraph : "Apropos of the rhinoceros, our entertainers furnished 
 us with such extraordinary information that we took note of it, 
 and record it here, but we of course do so with the utmost reserve. 
 According to their account there are no fewer than five (some 
 said six) varieties of the animal upon the African continent. Two 
 black, with one or two horns, which of course are the JR. Ucornis 
 and the B. queitloa ; two dark grey, some of which possess two 
 * " From Benguella to the Territory of Yaoca." 
 
THE HAIRY-EARED RHINOCEROS. 
 
 {jR. /asioiis.) 
 " Begum," captured in Chittagong. 
 
THE EHINOCEEOS. 339 
 
 horns, one very large and another small, probably the B. simus ; 
 and two other smaller ones, quite unknown to us. Several of the 
 hunters spoke of an asb-coloured beast with three horns, and a 
 black one without any ! " However, these varieties differ only in 
 certain ways that are of interest to zoologists, but for non-scientific 
 readers it is sufficient to bear in mind that there are only two 
 well-defined species, which differ entirely in their habits, appearance, 
 and food, and are commonly known as white rhinoceros and black 
 rhinoceros, from the prevailing colour of tbeir skins, which, as 
 Dr. Sclater remarks, " although by no means strictly white and 
 black respectively, are, according to those autborities who have 
 become acquainted with them in their native wilds, strongly con- 
 trasted in hue, and render the two varieties easily recognizable. 
 Another trenchant difference between these forms is in the shape 
 of the upper lip. This, in the white rhinoceros, is quite short and 
 rounded, being formed for grazing, like that of a cow. From this 
 feature Dr. Burchell, the first scientific traveller who met with 
 the white rhinoceros, named the animal Rhinoceros simus. In the 
 black rhinoceros, on the contrary, the upper lip is long and 
 prehensile, forming a short proboscis, well fitted for taking hold 
 of the small branches of trees, upon which it subsists. Besides 
 this there is a great difference between the horns of the black and 
 white rhinoceroses. In the white rhinoceros the front horn is 
 enormously produced in the adult, reaching in old individuals to 
 three and a half or four feet in length, and curving gently back- 
 wards, but the hinder horn always remains small and slightly 
 developed. In the black rhinoceroses the front horn never attains 
 anything like this length, but the hinder horn is longer — ^in some 
 cases nearly as long as the front one. There are also well-marked 
 characters in the bones of the cranium, which render the white 
 and black rhinoceroses readily distinguishable, so that no doubt 
 can remain as to the perfect distinctness of Bhinoceros simus from 
 the Bhinoceros bicornis of Linnaeus, or black rhinoceros." 
 
 The white rhinoceros {B. simus) is probably the beat known 
 animal to African hunters, but, strange to say, is not known to 
 Europeans, for a specimen has never yet been exhibited by any 
 zoological society or menagerie. 
 
 z 2 
 
340 WILD ANIMALS 
 
 This animal measures a little over twelve feet in length and 
 stands about five feet ten inches in height. The skin is smooth 
 and has none of the folds conspicuous in the large Asiatic 
 rhinoceros. In a limited extent these beasts are gregarious, for 
 they are frequently seen congregated in small herds. Their chief 
 food is grass. 
 
 The nose is square, and supports two large, rounded horns. 
 The average length of the front one is about two and a half feet, 
 but is sometimes even a foot longer than these figures ; the other 
 one, however, hardly ever exceeds fifteen inches, and generally 
 measures a little under a foot in length. 
 
 Both the white varieties of the rhinoceros attain an enormous 
 size. They feed on grass, and get very fat on it, and their flesh is 
 in consequence preferable to that of any of the other species, and con- 
 sidered by some hunters to be better than beef. They are of a milder 
 and more inoffensive disposition than the black varieties, and 
 are described as dangerous only under exceptional circumstances. 
 
 These animals are found in the country south of the Zambesi, 
 but are gradually becoming scarce in certain districts. In the 
 Mopane country, Dr. Livingstone writes : " We observed the 
 foot-prints of a black rhinoceros (B. bicornis) and her calf. We 
 saw other foot-prints among the hills of Semalembue, but the 
 black rhinoceros is remarkably scarce in all the country north of 
 the Zambesi. The white rhinoceros' (B. simus, Burchell), or 
 Mohdhu of the Bechuanas, is quite extinct here, and will soon 
 become unknown in the country to the south. It feeds almost 
 entirely on grasses, and is of a timid, unsuspecting disposition : 
 this renders it an easy prey, and they are slaughtered without 
 mercy on the introduction of fire-arms. . . . The white rhinoceros ' 
 is not always quite safe, for one, even after it was mortally 
 wounded, attacked Mr. Oswell's horse, and thrust the horn through 
 to the saddle, tossing at the time both horse and rider. I once 
 saw a white rhinoceros give a buffalo which was gazing intently at 
 myself a poke in the chest, but it did not wound it, and seemed 
 only a hint to get out of the way." 
 
 The black, or African rhinoceros (E. bicornis), is also a resident 
 of southern Africa. Captain Harris, writing about the vaUey of 
 
THE RHINOCEROS. 341 
 
 the Limpopo, says: "The country now literally presented the 
 appearance of a menagerie ; the host of rhinoceros in particular 
 that daily exhibited themselves, almost exceeding belief. Whilst 
 the camp was being formed an ugly head might be seen protruded 
 from every bush, and the possession of the ground was often 
 stoutly disputed. In the field these animals lost no opportunity 
 of rendering themselves obnoxious — frequently charging at my 
 elbow, when in the act of drawing the trigger at some other 
 object — and pursuing our horses with indefatigable and ludicrous 
 industry, carrying their noses close to the ground, moving with a 
 mincing gait, which ill-beseemed so ungainly and ponderous a 
 quadruped, and uttering the while a sound between a grunt and 
 a smothered whistle. In removing the horn with an axe, the 
 brain was discovered, seated in a cavity below it, at the very 
 extremity of the snout — a phenomenon in the idiosyncrasy of this 
 animal, which may in some measure account for its want of 
 intelligence, and piggish obstinacy, as well as for the extraordinary 
 acuteness of smell with which it is endowed. Irrascible beyond 
 all other quadrupeds, the African rhinoceros appears subject even 
 to unprovoked paroxysms of reckless fury; but the sphere of 
 vision is so exceedingly limited, that its attacks, although sudden 
 and impetuous, are easily eluded, and a shot behind the shoulder, 
 discharged from the distance of twenty or thirty yards, generally 
 proves fatal." 
 
 Dr. Livingstone describes this animal as possessing a more 
 savage nature than the white rhinoceros, and," he continues, 
 "like the ill-natured in general, is never found with an ounce of 
 fat in its body. From its greater fierceness and wariness, it holds 
 its place in a district much longer than its more timid and better- 
 conditioned neighbour. Mr. Oswell was once stalking two of 
 these beasts, and as they came slowly to him, he, knowing that 
 there is but little chance of hitting the small brain of this animal 
 by a shot in the head, lay expecting one of them to give his 
 shoulder, till he was within a few yards. The hunter then thought 
 that by making a rush to his side he might succeed in escaping, 
 but the rhinoceros, too quick for that, turned upon him, and 
 though he discharged his gun close to the animal's head he was 
 
342 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 tossed in tlie air. My friend was insensible for some time, and 
 on recovering found large wounds on the thigli and body. I saw 
 that on the former part, still open, and five inches long." 
 
 The Hon. W. H. Drummond ' states that " sufficient anecdotes 
 of the ferocity, chronic bad temper, and cunning of B.bicornis might 
 be related of themselves to fill a volume. In most, if not all, cases 
 they will at once charge on getting the wind of a human being, 
 and if they cross his track they will often follow it up like a dog, 
 making none of the puffing sound natural to them when angry, 
 till they absolutely see him. . . . They will wait with the utmost 
 patience concealed in thick jungle, until you almost touch them, 
 and then rush out at you. When they do catch an unfortunate 
 being they knock him down and knead him with their feet, return- 
 ing again and again, until nothing but a shapeless mass remains, 
 uttering all the day their shrill squeal of rage. This I once saw 
 myself." He, together with three native hunters and his gun- 
 bearer, came across a rhinoceros, which he wounded in the shoulder, 
 and then sprang away from the infuriated animal into a tree. 
 His unlucky companion came running towards the shots, and 
 absolutely met the creature face to face; "he at once fired and 
 turned to run, but it was too late, and he was caught on the spot, 
 thrown up with a single toss, which must probably have stunned 
 him, and was then trampled out of all semblance to humanity by 
 the bloodthirsty brute." 
 
 Sir Samuel Baker also describes this animal as being exceed- 
 ingly vicious : " It is one of the very few animals that will generally 
 assume the offensive ; it considers all creatures to be enemies, and 
 although it is not acute in either sight or hearing, it possesses so 
 wonderful a power of scent that it will detect a stranger at a dis- 
 tance of five or .six hundred yards should the wind be favourable. 
 
 " I have observed that a rhinoceros will generally charge down 
 upon the object that it smells, but does not see ; thus, when the 
 animal is concealed either in high grass or thick jungle, should it 
 scent a man who may be passing unseen to windward, it will 
 rush down furiously upon the object it has winded with three 
 loud whiffs, resembling a jet of steam from a safety-valve. As it 
 " " The Large Game and ISTatuial History of South and South-East Africa," 1875. 
 
AN AFRICAN RHINOCEROS. 
 
 {R. bicornis.) 
 
THE EHINOCEROS. 343 
 
 is most difficult and next to impossible to kill a rhinoceros when 
 charging, on account of the protection of the brain afforded by 
 the horns, an unexpected charge in thick jungle is particularly 
 unpleasant, especially when on horseback, as there is no means of 
 escape but to rush headlong through all obstacles. 
 
 " The teeth of this animal are very peculiar. The molars have 
 a projecting cutting edge on the exterior side: thus the jaws 
 when closed form a pair of shears, as the projecting edges of the 
 upper and lower rows overlap. This is a favourable arrangement 
 of nature to enable the animal to clip off twigs and the branches 
 on which it feeds, as, although it does not absolutely refuse grass, 
 this rhinoceros is decidedly a wood-eater. • There are particular 
 bushes which form a great attraction ; among these is a dwarf 
 mimosa with a reddish bark; this tree grows in thick masses, 
 which the rhinoceros clips so closely that it frequently resembles 
 a quickset-hedge that has been cut by the woodman's shears. 
 These animals are generally seen in pairs, or the male, female, and 
 calf. The mother is very affectionate, and exceedingly watchful 
 and savage. Al though so large an animal, the cry is very insig- 
 nificant, and is not unlike the harsh, shrill sound of a penny 
 trumpet." 
 
 This so-called black rhinoceros is not in reality black, but has 
 a flesh-coloured skin. It is a smaller animal than the white 
 species, being only about eleven feet in length, and stands about 
 five feet high. The head is slightly more elongated, and the 
 horns are shSrter but thicker in proportion to the length. It 
 feeds on leaves and small branches. 
 
 The Keitloa (B. Keitloa) has the two horns nearly equal in 
 length, the anterior one cylindrical, and the posterior one com- 
 pressed, and they measure generally three or four inches under 
 two feet. The head is shorter and broader, and the prehensile 
 capabilities of the lip are less ; otherwise it differs but little from 
 the previously described animal. In fact there is not enough dis- 
 tinction to justify this variety being regarded as specifically 
 distinct from the B. hicornis. 
 
 Gordon Gumming '^ gives some interesting details about these 
 1 "Hunter's Life in South Africa." 
 
344 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 AfricaB animals, -wHicli are -wortli quoting : "Of the rhinoceros 
 there are four varieties in South Africa, distinguished by the 
 Bechuanas by the names borele, or black rhinoceros ; the keitloa, 
 or two-horned black rhinoceros ; the muchocho, or common white 
 rhinoceros ; and the kobaoba, or long^horned white rhinoceros. 
 Both varieties of the black rhinoceros are extremely fierce and 
 dangerous, and rush headlong and unprovoked at any object 
 which attracts their attention. They never attain much fat, and 
 their flesh is tough, and not much esteemed by the Bechuanas. 
 Their food consists almost entirely of the thorny branches of the 
 waitabit thorns. Their horns are much shorter than those of the 
 other varieties, seldom exceeding sixteen inches in length. They 
 are finely polished with constantly rubbing against the trees. The 
 skull is remarkably formed, its most striking feature being the 
 tremendously thick ossification in which it ends above the nostrils. 
 It is on this mass that the horn is supported. . . . During the 
 day the rhinoceros will be found lying asleep, or standing indo- 
 lently in some retired part of the forest, or under the base of the 
 mountains, sheltered from the power of the sun by some friendly 
 grove of umbrella-topped mimosas. In the evening they com- 
 mence their nightly rambles, 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 least danger. The 
 black rhinoceros is subject to paroxysms of unprovoked fury, often 
 ploughing up the ground for several yards with its horn, 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 in pieces. All the four varieties 
 delight to roll and wallow in the mud, with which their rugged 
 hides are generally encrusted. Both varieties of the black 
 rhinoceros are much smaller and more active than the white, and 
 are so swift that a horse with a rider on his back can rarely 
 overtake them." 
 
 This same writer states that both the rhinoceros and hippo- 
 potamus are generally attended by small birds known as rhinoceros 
 
THE RHINOCEROS. 345 
 
 birds, " their object being to feed upon the ticks and other 
 parasites that swarm upon these animals. They are of greyish 
 colour, and are nearly as large as a common thrush. Their voice 
 is very similar to that of the mistletoe thrush. Many a time 
 have these ever-watchfiil birds disappointed me in my stalk, and 
 tempted me to invoke an anathema upon their devoted heads. 
 They are the best friends the rhinoceros has, and rarely fail to 
 awaken him, even in his soundest nap. 'Ohukuroo' perfectly 
 understands their warning, and springing to his feet, he generally 
 first looks about him in every direction, after which he invariably 
 makes off. I have often hunted a rhinoceros on horseback, 
 which led me a chase of many miles, and required a number of 
 shots before he fell, during which chase several of these birds 
 remained by the rhinoceros to the last. They reminded me of 
 mariners on the deck of some bark sailing on the ocean, for they 
 perched along his back and sides, and as each of my bullets told 
 on the shoulder of the rhinoceros, they ascended about six feet 
 into the air, uttering their harsh cry of alarm, and then resumed 
 their position. It sometimes happened that the lower branches 
 of a tree, under which the rhinoceros passed, swept them from 
 their living deck ; but they always recovered their former station. 
 They also adhere to the rhinoceros during the night. I have 
 often shot these animals at midnight when drinking at the foun- 
 tains, and the birds, imagining they were asleep, remained with 
 them till morning ; on my approaching, before taking flight, 
 they exerted themselves to the utmost to awaken Chukuroo from 
 his deep sleep." 
 
 The only specimens of the rhinoceros that were brought to 
 Europe since the days of the Eoman amphitheatre until 1869, 
 were of the Asiatic species, and one-horned ; but on the 11th of 
 September of that year, an African animal {R. Ucornis) arrived in 
 London.. It bad been purchased by the Zoological Society from 
 Mr. Carl Hagenbeck, the well-known dealer in living animals at 
 Hamburg, and the price paid was lOOOZ. Mr. Hagenbeck bought 
 it from Herr Casanova of Vienna, who imported it from Eastern 
 Africa, where he had obtained it from the Hamram Arabs, who 
 inhabited the district to the south of Cassala, in Upper Nubia. 
 
346 "WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 Dr. Sclater, in an article contributed to The Student and Intellectual 
 Observer, for 1870, writes : — " ' Theodore,' as our African rhino- 
 ceros has been named, after his famous but ill-fated compatriot, 
 is now about four feet in height, but still growing fast. He con- 
 sumes daily about three-quarters of a truss of the best clover hay, 
 six quarts of oats, mixed with three pecks of bran, seven pounds' 
 weight of biscuit, and the best part of a truss of straw, so that 
 his board costs the Society from six to seven shillings a day." 
 
 The illustrations accompanying this chapter will enable the 
 reader to see some of the distinctions between the huge Indian 
 rhinoceros and the African two-horned animal. They are both 
 photographs of the specimens belonging to the Zoological Society 
 and the originals are still to be seen in their gardens. 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 ZEBEAS. 
 
 These beautifully marked and symmetrically shaped animals be- 
 long to tlie same family as the horse and the ass. In natural 
 history it is known as the Equidce. The quadrupeds grouped under 
 this class are subdivided into two genera, namely, equus and asinus, 
 and by some the zebras are classified under the latter heading. 
 They are completely separated, however, from the other members 
 of their family by being geographically confined in their habi- 
 tation to the southern parts of Africa. 
 
 There are three species of zebras ; the animal known as the 
 true zebra (Equus zebra), the quagga (Equus quagga), and 
 Burchell's zebra (Equus BurchelU). 
 
 The true zebra (Equus zebra) is by far the most conspicuously 
 beautiful animal of the family. It is larger than a domestic 
 donkey, for it stands over four feet high at tbe withers, and 
 exceeds eight feet in extreme length. It is a very graceful 
 creature, for its limbs are slender, and terminated with narrow 
 hoofs; the head is light, and the ears rather long and widely 
 opened. 
 
 The ground colour of this animal's coat is pure white, and it is 
 marked all over with glossy jet-black stripes, except immediately 
 under the belly. These stripes, are in some places narrow, in 
 others wide, and on the neck and legs are closer together than on 
 the body. The bushy upright mane has the stripes of the neck 
 continued through it, and its hair is, therefore, alternately checked 
 
 black and white. 
 
 The zebra can be readily distinguished from the quagga and 
 Burchell's zebra, for it is the most completely striped of the 
 
348 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 three; the markings, forming black garters, extend down the 
 legs to the hoofs, which is not the case in the others. There are 
 other minor distinctions that are noticeable. The ears being 
 long, and tail tufted, are more like those of a donkey; while the 
 other zebras in this respect exhibit a closer resemblance to horses. 
 
 These zebras are very shy and timid animals, and are easily 
 alarmed. They are gregarious and associate together in con- 
 siderable numbers. 
 
 They are only now to be found in certain hilly districts of 
 southern Africa. Burchell, in consequence, gave them the 
 distinguishing name of " mountain zebras." It is surmised that 
 this species is rapidly becoming extinct, for hunters now rarely 
 meet with it, although Mr. Farini ^ states that he shot one lately 
 in the Kalahari desert, but this was an exceptional feat and one 
 on which he may certainly pride himself. 
 
 Harris, referring to this species, writes : " Restricted to the 
 mountainous district of Africa, from Abyssinia to the southern- 
 most portions of the Cape of Good Hope, .this beautiful and 
 wary animal never by its own free will descends into the plain, 
 as erroneously asserted by older naturalists, and it therefore 
 never herds with either of its congeners, the quagga and Bur- 
 chell's zebra, whose habitat is equally limited to the open and 
 level woodlands. Seeking the wildest and most sequestered spots, 
 the haughty troops are exceedingly difficult of approach, as well on 
 account of their watchful habits and extreme agility and fleetness 
 of foot, as from the abrupt and inaccessible nature of their 
 highland abode. Under the special charge of a sentinel, so 
 posted on some adjacent crag as to command a view of every 
 avenue of approach, the chequered herd is to be viewed grazing 
 on the steep hill-side, or perambulating some rocky ledge on 
 which the rifle-ball alone can reach them, many a keen-eyed 
 vulture sailing majestically at their feet, over the bosom of the 
 deep blue valley. No sooner had the note of alarm been sounded 
 by the vidette than, pricking their long ears, the whole flock 
 hurry forward to ascertain the nature of the approaching danger, 
 and having gazed for a moment at the advancing hunter, whisking 
 1 "Througli the Kalahari Desert," 1886. 
 
ZEBRAS. 349 
 
 their brindled tails aloft, helter skelter, away they thunder down 
 craggy precipices, and over yawning ravines, where no less agile 
 foot could dare to follow them." 
 
 Attention has already been drawn to the fact that camels have 
 lately been seen roaming free in certain parts of Spain, and 
 strong probabilities exist that at one time zebras were also to be 
 seen in a wild state scampering over the hills in that country, for 
 Mr. W. D. Mitchell, in an article he wrote on wild asses about 
 thirty years ago,^ states that " M. Ramon de la Sagra has dis- 
 . covered a tradition of the former existence of an animal called 
 zebro and zebre in the mountains which separate Galicia from 
 Castille and Leon, and in • the Cordilleras to the south of them. 
 It seems that the notices which fell into his hands relate to the 
 tenth and thirteenth centuries ; they occur in the same manuscript 
 letters of the monk Iray Martin Sarmiento, who lived in the con- 
 vent of St. James of Oompostello, about a hundred years ago. 
 Zampiro, who wrote in the tenth centary, speaks of the mons 
 zebrar'wm, and the Archbishop of Rodrigo, who wrote in the 
 thirteenth century, quoting the same passage of Zampiro, changes 
 mons zebrarwrrij into mows onagrorum, supposing the animal called 
 zebra to be the onager of the ancients. There are several moun- 
 tains in Spain which have borne this name ; so that, according to 
 Sarmiento, the animal, whatever it was, seems to have been well 
 known, and widely dispersed from Galicia to Bstremadura and 
 Andalusia. This is a curious bit of lost acclimatation, but is 
 easily credible, as the Arabs might have brought zebras from 
 "Western Africa ; and if left quiet in the hill country, they would 
 have bred as freely as the horse has bred on the Pampas of South 
 America." 
 
 In disposition the zebra is said to be so fierce and obstinate 
 that it is hard work to tame it, and at all times it is very un- 
 certain tempered. Individuals have, however, been domesticated 
 and employed as beasts of burden, but the experiment of 
 rearing a race of them for use does not appear to ever have 
 been tried, although the Dutch farmers used occasionally to 
 catch the young foals and export them, chiefly to the Mauritius, 
 
 " Once a Week, vol. i. 
 
350 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 where it was said they were often whimsically trained to 
 harness. 
 
 In the latter part of the last century the Queen of Portugal used 
 to drive about Lisbon in an equipage drawn by eight zebras. How 
 she procured these animals does not appear to have been recorded, 
 but they probably came from Angola or some other South African 
 territory over which the Portugese held jurisdiction. M. Dureau 
 de la Malle, in 1802, was told by a friend, M. Corea de Serra, 
 Secretary to the Lisbon Academy, that he had often seen her 
 Majesty driving about with her beautiful zebra-drawn equipage. 
 A relic of these animals exists in the name by which one of the 
 royal stables in Lisbon is known, for it is still called the Zebra 
 stable. 
 
 Karey, the great American horse-tamer, subdued a very savage 
 specimen of a zebra, which was owned by the London Zoological 
 Society. The account is quoted from Mr. Thorpe's article in 
 " Harper's New Monthly Magazine," for April, 1861, who 
 writes : " The triumph of Mr. Rarey over a zebra, was in many 
 respects one of his most remarkable achievements. This 
 beautiful but wild creature has not, at least in modern times, 
 been looked upon any more as a beast of burden than is the 
 Hon ; its nature was supposed to be essentially unmanageable — 
 partaking, indeed, of the worst qualities of the lowest represen- 
 tatives of its species, and really not possessed, it has always 
 seemed, of intelligence enough to be subdued. That Mr. Rarey, 
 therefore, found in this ' child of the desert ' enough of the horse 
 nature to control and inspire with confidence in the friendly 
 intentions of man is indeed remarkable. 
 
 " The zebra's mode of proceeding before he was tamed, if any 
 one entered his stable, was first to spring to the top of the rack, 
 seize the cross-beam with his teeth, and absolutely hang in that 
 position, which extraordinary proceeding enabled him to keep 
 aU his feet freely kicking in the air, ready to destroy any one 
 who should approach him. 
 
 " On the zebra's first appearance in the arena, he was firmly 
 lashed and held by his keepers, and while thus restrained he 
 crunched upon his immense gag, or hard wooden bit, screamed like 
 
ZEBRAS. 351 
 
 an infuriated hygena, and flung his heels wildly about, as if desirous 
 
 of demolishing innumerable keepers' heads. Mr. Rarey consumed 
 
 four hours in giving the creature its first lesson of subordination 
 
 to kindly meant authority ; and he afterwards stated that it gave 
 
 him more trouble and anxiety than would four hundred horses. 
 
 Once fairly conquered, the zebra walked, trotted, and ambled in 
 
 the ring as if trained from his infancy ; and Mr. Rarey further 
 
 gratified his admiring audience by — -the first time in the world, 
 
 perhaps — riding a zebra. Naturalists have from the time of 
 
 Aristotle to Cuvier, pronounced the zebra untamable; yet Mr. 
 
 Rarey has put the learned philosophers in science to shame, 
 
 vindicating the power of kindness, the spell through which man 
 
 should have dominion over the beasts of the field, the law that 
 
 was ordained in the very beginning of time." 
 
 The Jardin des Plantes, in Paris, owned a female zebra that 
 was tamed and was such an exceedingly gentle animal, that she 
 could have been ridden with perfect safety, which proves that 
 it is not safe to set down a whole race of quadrupeds as impla- 
 cable because a few specimens show a tendency to resent any 
 interference with them by men. 
 
 The wild horse and the ass are almost as savage as the zebra, 
 but under proper treatment, soon develop gentle dispositions ; 
 whether the zebra or his descendants, when born in captivity, 
 would after a generation or two lose the vicious and untractable 
 qualities exhibited by the wild animal, can only be ascertained 
 by making the experiment. If so, there is no reason why a race 
 of these beautiful and graceful creatures should not be domesti- 
 cated and utilized, for in some respects they would have the 
 advantage over their congener, the donkey, whose servitude has 
 unfortunately been relegated in every country where it is em- 
 ployed, to a class conspicuous in society for the brutal treatment 
 of not only the animals, but the poor human beings who have 
 to acknowledge their authority, and as a consequence the race 
 of the " maligned moke " has become deteriorated in appearance 
 and intelligence. 
 
 The Quagga {Equus quagga) is also to be found only in South 
 Africa. Speaking of this species, Holub says that on account 
 
352 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 of the great size of the head and neck they look much larger 
 than they really are; the peculiar noise they make, " ouag-ga, 
 ouag-ga," the last syllable very much prolonged, has caused the 
 natives in the interior of Africa to call them quaggas. 
 
 This animal is slightly larger than the true zebra, for it stands 
 about six inches higher and longer. At first sight it conveys 
 the impression of being a cross between the wild ass and the 
 zebra, for the characteristic stripes of the latter animal are only 
 partially represented ; the quagga being decorated merely upon the 
 hind-quarters, and upon the face, neck, and fore-parts of the 
 body. The bands are not so deep in colour as those of the 
 zebra, but are more of a darkish brown than a black, and become 
 .fainter and more irregular as they run backwards. The upper 
 parts of the body are brown, fading away to whitish-grey below 
 and behind, and the clean and sinewy shaped legs are light 
 coloured. The long flowing tail is distinctly horse-like, and is 
 white. The hoofs are also considerably broader than in the 
 zebra. 
 
 Sir W. 0. Harris, in his " Portraits of the Wild Animals of 
 Southern Africa," describes all the zebras in his graphic manner 
 as he saw them in their native country. He says : " The geo- 
 graphical range of this species of the quagga does not appear to 
 extend to the northward of the river Vaal. The animal was 
 formerly extremely common within • the colony, but vanishing 
 before the strides of civilization, is now to be found in very 
 limited numbers, and on the borders only. Beyond, on those 
 solitary plains which are completely taken possession of by wild 
 beasts, and may with strict propriety be termed the domain of 
 savage nature, it occurs in interminable herds, and although 
 never intermixing with its own more elegant congeners, is almost 
 invariably to be found ranging with the white-tailed gnu, and 
 with the ostrich, for the society of which bird especially it evinces 
 the most singular predilection. Moving slowly across the profile 
 of the ocean-hke horizon, uttering a shrill barking neigh, of 
 which its name forms a correct imitation, long files of quaggas 
 continually remind the early traveller of a rival caravan upon 
 its march. Throughout the Scriptures, the inspired poets make. 
 
GROUP OF BURCHELL'S ZEBRAS. 
 
 {Equus £urckelli.) 
 
ZEBRAS. 353 
 
 frequent allusion to tlie similar habits of the Asiatic congeners 
 of this animal ; and in the vivid and startling picture of the effects 
 of drought, given in the book of Jeremiah, we are told that " the 
 wild asses did stand in the desolate places ; they sniffed up the 
 wind like dragons, and their eyes did fail because there was no 
 grass.' Bands of many hundreds are thus frequently seen during 
 their migration from the'dreary and desolate plains of some portion 
 of the interior which has formed their secluded abode, seeking 
 for those more luxuriant pastures, where, during the summer 
 months, various herbs thrust forth their leaves and flowers, to 
 form a green carpet, spangled with hues the most brilliant and 
 diversified." 
 
 Mr. T. E. Buckley, in a paper read before the Zoological 
 Society of London, in 1876, " On the Geographical Distribution of 
 South African Animals," stated that the animal that is now com- 
 monly called quagga is in reality Burchell's zebra, and he sur- 
 mises that since Harris wrote, it may have become extinct, for 
 the few animals of the genus to be now seen on the plains are not 
 the true quaggas. " Some few years ago the three species of this 
 genus were in little repute for their skins as compared with the 
 wilde-beest and blessbok ; but of late years it has been dis- 
 covered that they are of great use for, I believe, connecting- 
 bands for machinery ; at any rate, their value increased so much 
 that they have been shot down, until you may go for a week 
 through the ' High Veldt ' and not see one, although there will be 
 thousands of other animals." 
 
 This is a very different picture to the one so frequently drawn by 
 the travellers who journeyed through these regions thirty or forty 
 years ago. Then the herds of these zebras were innumerable. In 
 fact, it is the same old story. Wild animals and native races dis- 
 appear before the white man when he seeks their land. To any one 
 reading some of the recent works on South Africa, and contrast- 
 ing the descriptions with similar works of previous dates, it must 
 become painfully evident that the wild animals of the country are 
 doomed. The perpetual hunting they are now subjected to, and the 
 wholesale destruction the modern fire-arms enable both the Euro- 
 pean sportsman and the Hottentot savage to accomplish with 
 
 A a 
 
354 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 little trouble, are rapidly clearing the fertile plains of South 
 Africa of the one feature that made them so renowned— the herds 
 of animals which roamed in undisturbed freedom over them, 
 that they will soon become in this respect as desolate as the 
 prairies of America now that the buffaloes are no more, and only 
 the thousands of small heaps of bleaching bones that dot the land 
 are left to tell the tale of indiscriminate and ruthless slaughter. 
 
 Burchell, on many occasions during his travels, stood in wonder 
 and gazed upon the vast number of quaggas that flew before his 
 party, and the expressions of his admiration of their beautiful 
 appearance, and the life they gave the scenery, crop up every 
 now and again in his writings. Harris also remarks that in one 
 place he passed through a park of magnificent camelthorn-trees, 
 many of them groaning under the huge nest of the social gros- 
 beak, whilst others were decorated with green clusters of mistletoe, 
 the bright scarlet berries of which were highly ornamental. 
 Here he perceived large herds of quaggas and brindled gnoos, 
 which continued to join each other, until the whole plain seemed 
 alive. He describes the clatter of their hoofs as perfectly 
 astounding. " I could compare it to nothing but to the din 
 of a tremendous charge of cavalry, or the rushing of a mighty 
 tempest. I could not estimate the accumulated number at less 
 than fifteen thousand, a great extent of country being actually 
 chequered black and white with their congregated masses. As 
 the panic caused by the report of our rifles extended, clouds of 
 dust hovered over them, and the long necks of troops of ostriches 
 were also to be seen, towering above the heads of their less 
 gigantic neighbours, and sailing past with astonishing rapidity- 
 Groups of purple sassaybes and brilliant red and yellow harte- 
 beests likewise lent their aid to complete the picture, which must 
 have been seen to be .properly understood, and which beggars 
 all attempt at description." 
 
 The quagga is not such a fierce-dispositioned animal as the 
 zebra, and in consequence submits to man's control more readily ; 
 it is, in fact, of the whole family, unquestionably the species that 
 is best calculated for domestication. 
 
 They have frequently bred in captivity, and have sometimes 
 
ZEBRAS. 355 
 
 been crossed witli the horse and donkey ; the mules, or hybrids, 
 generally partake of the character and appearance of both parents. 
 
 Quaggas are described as the bravest of all the equine animals. 
 They are said to attack the hyaena and wild dog without hesi- 
 tation, and on this account are occasionally domesticated by the 
 Dutch Boers, for when turned out at night with the horses they 
 make themselves useful by acting as protectors against the visits 
 of the predatory beasts. For should an animal of this description 
 threaten to attack the herd, the quagga is reputed to spring at the 
 foe, and, beating it to the ground with a free use of the fore-hoofs, 
 trample it to death. 
 
 Burchell's zebra (Equus Burchellii), by some called the dauw, is 
 an animal that in appearance, as far as its colouring goes, seems 
 to occupy an intermediate position between the true zebra and 
 the quagga. The ground colour of the short and glossy coat is 
 of a sienna brown, and the stripes with which it is banded are not 
 quite so dark in hue as those of the zebra, nor are they so numerous. 
 Instead of covering the entire body and limbs, as a rule they are 
 only seen on the head, neck, and upper part of the body and legs, 
 the ventral surface and lower portion of the limbs being pure 
 white. 
 
 The absence of the markings on the legs, which is generally 
 considered to be a noticeable distinction between the true zebra 
 and this species, is not an invariable feature of the animal, how- 
 ever, for Mr. Buckley stated in his paper that out of five of them 
 that were shot in one herd, there were individuals showing every 
 variation of colour and marking, from the yellow and chocolate 
 stripes to the pure black and white, the stripes in some ceasing 
 above the hock, and in others being continued distinctly down to 
 the hoof. The hoofs are different to those of the zebra, for they 
 are much less concave beneath, being in this way better adapted 
 for the plains, the zebra's hoofs being more suitable for the hfe it 
 leads on the rough and craggy surface of a mountainous district. 
 
 The Burchell zebra is extensively diffused over South Africa, 
 and extends into Abyssinia, Congo, and southward to the Gareep, 
 or Orange river. It is one of the commonest animals throughout 
 South Africa. " A few years ago it was equally common on the 
 
 A a 2 
 
856 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 plains, even in tlie north of Natal, but now lias either been shot 
 out or driven back by the hunters. This is the quagga par excel- 
 lence of South African sportsmen, by whom it is killed both for 
 its skin, which is now extremely valuable, and also for its meat, 
 which is one of the most palatable morsels you can give to your 
 native servants ; but there is a sort of smell about it, which, with 
 its dark colour and yellow fat, make it anything but tempting to 
 most white men. These animals are generally found, at least in 
 the bush, in small parties of from eight to ten, frequently in 
 company with blue wildebeests. The largest troop I ever saw," 
 remarks Mr. Buckley, "contained probably about forty individuals." 
 Harris, describing this species, states that it supplants the quagga 
 to the north of the Orange river, as does the koodoo, its congener 
 the gnoo, " and seldom congregating in herds of fewer than eighty 
 or a hundred, it abounds to a great extent in all the districts 
 included between that noble stream and the southern tropic. 
 Occupying the same regions, and delighting in the same pastures 
 as the brindled gnoo, rarely is it to be seen unless in the com- 
 panionship of that fantastic animal, whose presence would appear 
 to be almost indispensable to its happiness. It is singular enough 
 that the members of two families so perfectly foreign to each 
 other, should display so great a predilection for each other's 
 society, uniformly intermixing as they do, and herding together 
 in bonds of the closest friendship. Fierce, strong, fleet, and 
 surpassingly beautiful, there is, perhaps, no quadruped in the 
 creation, not even excepting the mountain zebra, more splendidly 
 attired, or presenting a picture of more singularly attractive 
 beauty, than this free-born of the desert. It would be difficult 
 to convey to the uninitiated, a suitable idea of the sparkling effect 
 produced by their vivid and strikingly contrasted colours, when 
 seen ' pawing in the valley ' in all the pride of conscious liberty, or 
 flying in compact columns before the equestrian foe." 
 
 " The voice of this free-born of the desert has no analogy to 
 the discordant braying of the ass, but consists of a shrill, abrupt 
 neigh, which may be likened to the barking of a dog, as heard by 
 a passer-by from the interior of a house. The senses of sight, 
 hearing, and smell are extremely delicate. The slightest noise 
 
ZEBRAS. 357 
 
 or motion, no less than the appearance of any object that is un- 
 familiar, at once rivets their gaze, and causes them to stop and 
 hsten with the utmost attention — any taint in the air equally 
 attracting their olfactory organs. Instinct having taught these 
 beautiful animals that in union consists their strength, they 
 combine in a compact group when menaced by an attack either 
 from man or beast ; and if overtaken by the foe, they unite for 
 mutual defence with their heads together in a close, circular band, 
 presenting their heels to the enemy, and dealing out kicks in 
 equal force and abundance. Beset on all sides, or partially 
 crippled, they rear on their hinder legs, fly at the adversary with 
 jaws distended, and use both teeth and heels with the greatest 
 freedom." 
 
 The Burchell's zebras that have at various periods been ex- 
 hibited in the Zoological Gardens in London have generally been 
 very fine specimens and have always looked in good condition. 
 They have also on several occasions been bred by the Society. 
 The foals are funny-looking little animals, and have the awkward 
 long-legged appearance of all colts ; the stripes are well-marked, 
 but the hair is shaggy and rough, especially over the hind-quarters. 
 
 The late Lord Derby had several Burchell's zebras in the 
 collection of animals he made at Knowsley Park for acclimatizing 
 experiments, and he was very successful in rearing the young ones. 
 
 The mules between these zebras and the common ass are said 
 to be possessed of most serviceable qualities, for they are par- 
 ticularly hardy, strong, and as fast as first-class ponies. It is 
 somewhat surprising that this useful cross is not more common. 
 The perfect conduct and utility of these hybrids was demonstrated 
 by the Zoological Society many years ago, for, probably as an 
 advertisement, their cart used to be drawn about the streets by a 
 couple of them, driven in a tandem, and their behaviour and hand- 
 some appearance was the subject of general comment. 
 
 In London not very long ago, a pair of them owned by a well- 
 known gentleman were often seen being driven about the streets 
 and in the Park. They also were generally harnessed tandem 
 fashion to a light chaise cart and made a striking and handsome 
 turnout. 
 
358 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 Frank Buckland, in one of Ms amusing articles, gives an account 
 of his taking tlie Maori ciiief s, who were the first of their race to 
 visit England, to see the animals in the Zoological Gardens. " It 
 was most interesting," he writes, "to see how these men, who 
 have no mammal in their island bigger than a pig or a rat — horses 
 of course, where Europeans have colonized — were amazed at what 
 they saw. They gazed with wonder at the camel, they were silent 
 before the Hons, and were half frightened at the elephant, "We 
 persuaded them to ride upon the elephant, Mr. Bartlett going up 
 with them, and much they seemed to enjoy the ride when once up. 
 
 " We then examined the zebra, with which they were highly 
 delighted. Our friends remarked that the zebra had tattooed his 
 face. ' He moko him face,' said they. This was a good idea, as 
 a zebra's stripes are not unlike tattoo marks. They afterwards 
 looked at the rhinoceros, which they all agreed was a " big porka." 
 " Big porka, me eat him." 
 
 The stripes which these New Zealanders called moko marks, 
 and which to some extent, resemble the brindlings of a tiger, led 
 the ancients to give the zebra the name of hippotigris; for 
 although this animal is only to be found in South Africa, and with 
 the camel is noticeably absent from any of the Egyptian monu- 
 ments or wall-paintings yet discovered where animals are depicted, 
 still specimens were seen occasionally in Rome notwithstanding 
 the fact that the emperors had but little influence over that part 
 of the country from which they would necessarily have to be 
 procured. The cruel emperor Caracalla (a.d. 211 — 217), is re- 
 ported by Dion Cassius, the historian of the third century, to have 
 exhibited iu the circus, an elephant, a rhinoceros, a tiger, and a 
 hippotigris, but in that most wonderful collection of rare beasts, 
 prepared for the triumph of Gordian the Third, to which such 
 frequent reference has to be made, zebras were among the animals 
 that were probably seen for the first time by the Eoman people 
 in any number. Although originally intended to form part of 
 the pageantry contemplated by Gordian, the animals were in reality 
 exhibited by his murderer, Philip the Arabian, who wore the 
 purple as his successor, and celebrated the thousandth anniversary 
 of Rome by gratifying the tastes of the populace for ostentatious 
 
ZEBEAS. 359 
 
 shows, rare sights, gladiatorial contests, and animal carnage, to 
 an extent almost unparalleled in history. Side by side with the 
 obese hippopotamus, the people gazed with wonder upon the 
 towering forms of ten giraffes soon to be the prey of thirty 
 African hyaenas and nearly a dozen Indian tigers. The stately 
 elephant was already a well-known animal, and the troop 
 of thirty-two that were paraded, probably caused much less 
 astonishment than the horned rhinoceros ; and it is natural to 
 surmise that some admiration was elicited by the graceful forms 
 and variegated coats of the twenty zebras, when these animals 
 were turned loose in the arena. 
 
 For a long time after the downfall of the Roman Empire, these 
 animals were not again seen in Europe. One appears to have 
 been sent from Cairo to one of the kings of Naples, and one or 
 two old writers have asserted that they had seen domesticated 
 individuals, but zebras were not well-known to naturalists until 
 the early part of the present century. 
 
 Mons. Louis Figuier, in his work " Les Mammiferes," states 
 that the Persians kept certain religious festivals at which zebras 
 formed a prominent feature, for these animals were sacrificed to 
 the sun by the reigning king ; a stock of them being kept for this 
 purpose on a small island in the Eed Sea. The authority, how- 
 ever, for this statement is not given, and the animals so used 
 may possibly have been wild asses, which were of great repute 
 with the ancient Persians. 
 
 The group forming the illustration to this chapter are animals 
 of Burchell species, and they make a handsome trio. It is a pity 
 that the Zoological Society have not been able to procure specimens 
 of the mountain zebra and the quagga to replace the animals that 
 were once such an attractive addition to their collection. 
 
360 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 CHAPTBE XXI. 
 
 THE ASS {EQUUS ASINUS.) 
 
 A GEBAT deal of uncertainty exists as to both the origin of the 
 domesticated ass and of the various species or varieties of the 
 wild ones. Some scientists contend that these latter races are 
 the descendants of animals vrhich have escaped from man's control 
 and like the wild horses of America have multiplied in an annually 
 increasing ratio. This theory has, however, but few if any facts, 
 for a basis. The knowledge now possessed respecting the habits 
 of both domesticated and wild asses points to a very different con- 
 clusion. For " the ass reduced to bondage," to quote an observation 
 of Mr. Low's,^ " loses the fleetness, the spirit, and the wildness, 
 which he possesses in a state of nature. Unlike to the horse, who 
 readily becomes devoted to his master and gives up all his powers 
 to his use, this creature seems to yield an unwilling service, and 
 feels the degradation of servitude. Yet he submits with patience 
 to his lot, and his progeny do not seem to recover the wildness of 
 their parents ; for it is not known that the progeny of the domes- 
 ticated ass ever seek to regain their liberty by joining their fellows 
 of the desert. It is otherwise with the horse, who is readily 
 tempted to join the emancipated herds, and fly from the bondage 
 in which he has lived. In South America, numerous asses have 
 been allowed to escape into the plains, and multiply in a state of 
 nature; but they never acquire the habits of their free-born 
 progenitors of the desert; they linger near the places of their 
 birth, and fall an easy prey to their enemies. The change of 
 nature in the ass by the effect of subjugation is entire. It seems 
 to be less the effect of discipline and education than of simple 
 
 1 " On the Domesticated Aaimals of the British Islands," by David Low, Esq 
 E.E.S.E., &c. 
 
THE ASS. 361 
 
 deprivation of liberty. Thus it is that the ass was amongst the 
 earliest of the quadrupeds subjected to permanent servitude, and 
 retains so strongly the impress of slavery." 
 
 It is open to doubt whether any of the original wild stock from 
 which the domesticated ass is descended is to be found in any 
 part of the globe at the present day. Dr. Sclater, however, says 
 there is every reason to believe they are sprung from the 
 Abyssinian species {Asinus Tceniopus), a theory which was also 
 emphasized by Darwin. 
 
 Be this as it may, one thing is beyond doubt, certain species of 
 the race have from time immemorial been under the dominion of 
 man, for the ox, the ass, and the camel appear to have been the 
 first quadrupeds whose services were utilized, and they constituted 
 the chief portion of the wealth of the ancient shepherd tribes of 
 Syria. The ass was at that time apparently held in greater esteem 
 than the horse, for, as Mr. Low remarks, " Even after the return of 
 the descendants of Israel from a country of chariots and horses to 
 the land of their promised inheritance, they preserved the simple 
 habits of their forefathers in the use of this ancient servant. 
 They seem to have had their asses of nobler blood, to which they 
 applied a peculiar term. Princes and the honourable of the land 
 did not disdain to be borne by this ancient steed. Saul, when 
 called by a glorious destiny to be the king of Israel, was in search 
 of his father's asses, or oxonoth, which had strayed. His warlike 
 successor had his superintendent of oxonoth, as of the other 
 branches of his government, and even after the horse was 
 introduced for the purpose of traffic and war, the services of the 
 patient ass were neither disused nor despised." 
 
 In Judges v. 10, the following verse, " Speak, ye that ride on 
 white asses, ye that sit in judgment, and walk by the way," seems 
 indicative of the fact that the great or wealthy were even then 
 accustomed to ride on a white-coloured variety of the animal, 
 exactly as they do in many eastern countries at the present day. 
 In consequence of the preference shown for these white asses, they 
 command such high prices that their possession is only possible 
 among the richer classes, and to be the owner of one or more of 
 them carries with it a certain amount of distinction. 
 
362 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 No one who lias only seen the undersized, dejected-looking 
 donkey of western Europe can form any idea of the intelligence, 
 strength and symmetry that kind treatment, careful breeding, and 
 good training develop in the animal, as exemplified by the asses 
 to be found in Arabia and Persia, where they are in some cases 
 superior to horses. " The asses of Arabia," says Chardin, " are 
 perhapsHhe handsomest animals in the world ; their coat is smooth 
 and clean, they carry the head elevated, and have fine and well- 
 formed legs, which they throw out gracefully in walking and 
 galloping. They are used only for the saddle, and are imported 
 in vast numbers into Persia, where they are frequently sold for 
 400 livres : and being taught a kind of easy, ambling pace, are 
 richly caparisoned and used only by the rich and luxurious nobles." 
 The difference is so marked that it is hard to believe that these 
 splendid, well-groomed, long-limbed white asses can have any 
 relationship with the shaggy-coated, stunted little British donkey. 
 Upon this point, however, we must accept the statement of 
 those eminent men who have studied the question, and they assert 
 that there is a close afl&nity between them, but the one exhibits 
 the result of care, careful breeding and correct feeding, and the 
 other the want of all these attentions, hence the violent contrast 
 apparent at the present day. 
 
 Lenormant states that the horse was not introduced into Egypt 
 till 1900 B.C., but the ass was employed by the people of this strange 
 land from the earliest monumental times. It is certainly to be 
 frequently seen among the representations of their animals. The 
 ass was known to the primitive Grreeks, a fact attested by the refer- 
 ences made to it by their earliest writers, and to the Romans, for 
 they bred the animal with care. Pliny remarks that it is a species 
 of animal most useful for labour and ploughing, but more especially 
 for the production of mules, and that the profit derived from 
 these animals exceeded that arising from the richest estate ; also 
 that, according to M. Sarro, Quintus Axius, the senator, paid for 
 an ass the sum of four hundred thousand sesterces (upwards of 
 3200Z. sterling), and he adds, " I am not sure whether this did 
 not exceed the price ever given for any other animal." 
 
 However, in some parts of Europe — especially Spain, Italy, 
 
THE ASS. 363 
 
 and Malta — the ass does receive consideratioiij and careful breeding. 
 
 These European asses vary in colour considerably, for they are of 
 
 every shade of grey to creamy white, but are undoubtedly splendid 
 
 animals, and show what care and attention can effect in keeping 
 
 the race up to its original high standard, or even in improving it. 
 
 No less than 200Z., it is said, are sometimes paid in Spain for a 
 
 stallion ass. In the state of Kentucky, where mules are in great 
 
 request as beasts of burden, asses, imported from the south of 
 
 Europe, are reared with scrupulous care, and with such success, 
 
 that from an average height of fourteen hands, the Kentuckians 
 
 have raised these animals to fifteen and even sixteen hands. 
 
 That the diminutive size of the ass in cold countries is due 
 
 as much to neglect as to rigour of climate seems proved by the 
 
 fact, that in the north of India, where it is used by the lowest 
 
 castes, the ass does not attain a height greater than that of a 
 
 Newfoundland dog. It is however, as before stated, among the 
 
 south-western nations of Asia and in Egypt that the ass has 
 
 received that attention usually bestowed in this country on the 
 
 horse, and it is there that it is to be seen in greatest perfection. 
 
 The Arabs and Persians know the pedigrees of their asses, and 
 
 by careful selection and interbreeding they have formed and 
 
 perpetuated many useful races. Thus in Syria, according to 
 
 Darwin, there are four distinct breeds: — "Alight and graceful 
 
 animal with agreeable gait used by ladies, an Arab breed reserved 
 
 exclusively for the saddle, a stouter animal used for ploughing and 
 
 various purposes, and the large Damascus breed with peculiarly 
 
 long body and ears."^ 
 
 The ass was only at a very late period known to the 
 inhabitants of the shores of the Baltic,, and has not long been 
 naturalized in Sweden and Norway. In England it was known 
 during the Anglo-Saxon period, for it is mentioned as existing 
 here in the reign of Athelred, and after that in the time of 
 Henry III. They were used by the abbots as beasts of burden 
 and for riding purposes, for they formed part of the common stock 
 of the various monasteries. But their numbers could never have 
 been numerous, or if so must have dwindled to so few that in the days 
 2 " Encyclopedia Britannica," ninth edition. 
 
364 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 of Elizabeth, according to Hollinslied, " our lande did yielde no 
 asses." Probably, however, during the reign of her successor, on 
 the renewal of the intercourse with Spain, a fresh stock 'may have 
 been imported — as that country was even then famous for its fine 
 breed of these animals — for we read that, during the reign of 
 James I., asses had become common ; and they have remained so 
 ever since. But the race has, through the various causes already 
 enumerated, gradually degenerated. 
 
 " Why," Buffon exclaims with justice, " is there so much 
 contempt for 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 always be the worse for it ; if he 
 did not possess a large supply of good qualities 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 as the horse." 
 
 This is not only true about the French ass, but also of the 
 treatment to which the British ass is subjected. Here as else- 
 where the animals are generally owned by those members of the 
 poorer classes of the community, whose occupation necessitates 
 the employment of some beast of burden, and whose means and 
 conveniences render the keeping of a horse a matter of 
 impossibility. 
 
 The ill-treatment these poor animals are exposed to at the 
 hands of their owners is a national disgrace. Many humane 
 men and women, such as Captain Scott, the late Lord Shaftes- 
 bury, Lady Burdett-Coutts, and others, have at various times tried 
 to ameliorate the condition of the unfortunate British donkey 
 by rewarding the possessors of well-kept specimens; but the 
 animals are still, as a rule, underfed, over-burdened, over-worked 
 
THE ASS. 365 
 
 and over-beaten. There are many donkey owners who are kind- 
 hearted men, treat their animals well, and show every considera- 
 tion for their welfare ; but they are conspicuous exceptions, for in 
 some cases through thoughtlessness, and in the majority of others 
 from sheer brutality which is the characteristic trait of so large 
 a portion of that section of society known as " the lower orders," 
 the ill-temper or drunken energy of the men is too often vented by 
 the grossest ill-usage of the women or animals which are their 
 unfortunate help-meets. In consequence they degenerate, mentally, 
 physically, and morally, and the commandment which ordains that 
 " thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife . . . nor his ox, 
 nor his ass, nor anything that is his," is one generally easy to 
 keep in this the nineteenth century of the Christian era in the 
 event of our neighbour being a married British donkey proprietor. 
 The residents in the cities of England, Ireland, and Scotland, 
 appear to have become, from its frequency, so accustomed to the 
 sight of a donkey harnessed to a low cart full of noisy men or boys 
 who belabour the unfortunate animal with a thick stick in a 
 brutal manner, notwithstanding the evident fact that its speed is 
 the utmost its remaining strength will allow, that but few protests 
 are ever raised. The resounding blows administered by the 
 ruffians rarely appear to arouse the activity of the police, or of 
 the passers-by, but if the same punishment were being given to a 
 horse or dog, the chances are the perpetrators would be stopped, 
 or even prosecuted. The remark, " oh ! it's only a donkey ! " seems 
 in the one instance to satisfy the majority of citizens, who other- 
 wise might be inclined to expostulate, and they thus tacitly acknow- 
 ledge — that an ass deserves no better treatment. Why ? — they 
 would find it hard to explain. As a matter of fact, the ill-usage 
 of the donkey appears to be an inherited habit, for the ancient 
 people of several countries where the animals are employed have 
 all been addicted to it ; yet there are few domesticated beasts that 
 will better repay kindness than the much maligned ass, or develop 
 under such treatment more useful quahties. 
 
 At some of the " shows " of domestic animals periodically held in 
 England, the people seem to take considerable delight in watching 
 the performances of a trained donkey, which goes through many of 
 
366 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 the usual tricks of the "performing horses" of the circus. 
 Training donkeys to go through these antics is not, however, 
 a modern idea. This is shown by the following quotation. 
 Leo, the African, states : ^ — 
 
 " There was a cunning player in Africa, in a city called Alcair, 
 who taught an asse divers strange tricks or feats ; for in a public 
 spectacle, turning to his asse (being on a scaffold to shew sport), 
 said, the great Sultan purposeth to build him a house, and shall 
 need all the asses of Alcair to fetch and carry wood, stones, lime, 
 and other necessaries for that business ; presently the asse falleth 
 down, turneth up his heels into the air, groneth, and shutteth his 
 eyes fast, as if he had been dead ; while he lay thus, the player 
 desired the beholders to consider his estate, for his asse was dead; 
 he was a poor man, and therefore moved them to give him money 
 to buy another asse. In the mean time, having gotten as much 
 money as he could, he told the people he was not dead, but know- 
 ing his master's poverty, counterfeited in that manner, whereby 
 he might get money to buy him provender, and therefore he 
 turned again to his asse and bid him arise, but he stirred not at 
 all. Then did he strike and beat him sore (as it seemed) to make 
 him arise, but all in vain, the asse lay still. 
 
 " Then said the player again, our Sultan hath commanded that 
 to-morrow there be a great triumph without the city, and that 
 all the noble women shall ride thither upon the fairest asses, 
 and this night they must be fed with oates, and have the best 
 water of Nilus to drink. At the hearing whereof, up started the 
 asse, snorting and leaping for joy ; then said the player, the 
 governor of the town hath desired me to lend him this my asse 
 for his old deformed wife to ride upon ; at which words the asse 
 hangeth down his ears, and understanding like a reasonable 
 creature, began to halt as if his leg had been out of joint ; why, 
 but, said the player, had thou lifer carry a fair young woman ? 
 The asse wagged his head in token of content to that bargain ; go 
 then (said the player) and among all these fair women, chuse one 
 that thou mayest carry ; then the asse looked round about the 
 
 3 See TopseU's " History of Four-footed Beasts," 1658. 
 
THE ASS. 367 
 
 assembly, and at last went to a sober -woman and toucbed ber 
 witb bis nose, wbereat tbe residue wondered and laugbed, sbutting 
 up tbe sport witb crying out, an asse's woman, an asse's woman, 
 and so tbe player went unto anotber town." 
 
 "Wild asses are to be found in botb Asia and Africa, and tbe 
 animals of tbis group common to Asiatic countries bave been 
 subdivided into tbree or four species or varieties ; tbe apparent 
 differences between tbem are eitber tbe geograpbical position of 
 tbeir babitat, or else some sligbt variation in tbeir size, or tbe 
 sound tbey utter. 
 
 The onager (Equus onager) is tbe name given to tbe wild ass of 
 tbe Asiatic deserts. It is found in Tartary, Mesopotamia, Persia, 
 and even to tbe soutbern extremity of Hindustan. Pallas first 
 described tbis animal under tbe name of Jcoulan, by wbicb it is 
 known in tbe bigb steppes around tbe Caspian Sea. 
 
 It differs from tbe domestic species in baving a more graceful 
 carriage, cleaner and longer limbs, sborter and more rounded ears, 
 and a finer coat, wbicb is a ligbt, reddisb-grey in tbe summer, but 
 in tbe winter fades to a mucb paler colour, sometimes becoming 
 silvery- wbite. Tbe dark line along tbe back is generally to be 
 seen in tbis species, but tbe cross upon tbe sboulder is rarely as 
 conspicuous as it is in tbe domesticated animals. Tbey exbibit a 
 partiality for bitter and saline berbage, and are fond of salt or 
 brackisb water. 
 
 Some interest attacbes to tbis species from its being in all 
 probability identical witb tbe " wild ass " so frequently referred 
 to in tbe Holy Scriptures. 
 
 " Tbe allusions to tbe wild ass in tbe Old Testament," says a 
 writer in " Chambers's Encyclopedia," " and particularly in Job 
 xxxix., naturally excite tbe surprise of readers acquainted only 
 witb tbe dull domestic drudge, tbe emblem of patience and 
 stolidity, but to tbis day tbey are beautifully appropriate to tbe 
 wild ass of ' tbe wilderness,' wbicb bas tbe ' barren land,' or ' salt 
 places,' for its dwelling, and ' tbe range of tbe mountains ' for its 
 
 pasture." 
 
 Tbese wild asses are gregarious in tbeir babits, and live in troops, 
 grazing in large numbers on tbe plains tbey frequent during tbe 
 
368 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 winter monthsj but migratiBg to the mountain regions at tlie com- 
 mencement of the summer. The herds are invariably under the 
 command of a leader, which is generally a fine specimen of his race, 
 and in consequence is the one nearly always singled out by the 
 hunters. These asses are very shy and wary creatures, so that it 
 is difficult work to get within range of them, and their speed is 
 described by various writers as exceeding that of any other animal, 
 so that hunting them is a most exciting species of sport. 
 
 Layard, during his researches around Mneveh, had frequent 
 opportunities of observing their habits, and he writes, " They 
 equal the gazelle in fleetness, and to match them is a feat which 
 only one or two of the most celebrated mares have been known 
 to accomplish." 
 
 Xenophon the historian, when he accompanied the expedition of 
 Cyrus, 2000 years ago, saw in the same region herds of wild asses 
 so " fleet that the horsemen could only take them by dividing them- 
 selves into relays, and succeeding one another in the chase." 
 
 This is the method still adopted by the tribesmen of Dagestan, 
 for the animals being far too knowing to be stalked, they have to 
 drive them. The huntsmen are posted singly at certain distances 
 apart on the flank of the line which is considered as the most likely 
 one for the herd to take on being disturbed. They are then started 
 by the first horseman, who endeavours to give them the right 
 direction. If he is fortunate enough to do so, the second hunter 
 relieves him in the chase when the nearest point to his station is 
 reached, who is himself relieved by the next one, and so on until 
 the animals become exhausted, or an accident brings one or more 
 of them within range. They are, however, so fleet that on the 
 level plains they can sometimes baffle even this mode of hunting, 
 and once they can get upon hilly or rocky ground, they can bid 
 defiance to all pursuers except the falcons that are sometimes 
 trained to assist the hunters. But it is among the hills that they 
 are generally killed, for being driven there they appear to fancy 
 they are safe from pursuit, and will stand and look back or 
 gaze on their pursuer from the summit of some crag or rock, 
 where they become conspicuous objects for the shot that lays 
 them low. 
 
THE ASS. 369 
 
 Major St. John says/ " Wild asses are locally distributed in 
 Balucliistan, and I only heard of their being abundant near 
 Bampur. None are said to be found in the deserts north of Jalk 
 and Kalagan, though Ferrier speaks of them as common further 
 north in Sistdn. In Persia they appear similarly to be common 
 in some places, generally on the borders of desert plains, rare or 
 unknown elsewhere ; but they occur scattered over all the more 
 level parts of the country, except in the north-western and 
 Caspian provinces. I saw none in my journey, though I often 
 came across their tracks. ' 
 
 " The Persian wild ass is not, I believe, found west of the main 
 road from Tehran to Shiraz, except possibly in that arm of the 
 salt desert which extends north of Kom (Kum or Koom) toward 
 Saveh. It is most plentiful in the vicinity of the patches of salt 
 desert, ' Kafah ' or ' Kavir,' which are so marked a characteristic 
 pf eastern Persia. In the summer a herd occasionally wanders 
 into the loftier desert valleys. I have several times seen them 
 whilst travelling post along the plain that stretches from Khan-i- 
 Khora, a short distance north of Dehbid in Pars, to the Kulah 
 Kazi or IJrchin Hills, near Isfahan, a distance of nearly 150 miles, 
 at an elevation of 5500 to 7000 feet above the sea. Persians 
 say they cannot be caught by a single horseman when approached 
 in the open ; bat if the sportsman can manage to conceal himself 
 and his horse in the vicinity of a spring, and wait till the wild 
 asses have quenched their thirst, they can readily be come up 
 'jyith when full of water, by a short spurt on a fast horse. At 
 other times they are caught by relays of horsemen and grey- 
 hounds." 
 
 From the extraordinary speed these asses possess they are con- 
 sidered the noblest kind of game, and are constantly hunted, both 
 for the excitement of the chase, and for the hide, which is converted 
 into leather and becomes the common Turkish shagreen from which 
 so many articles are made ; and also for the flesh, which is generally 
 described as a great delicacy. Major St. John, however, states 
 that although in several books on Persia the flesh is said to be prized 
 i See "The Zoology and Geology of Persia," by W. T. Blanford, A.R.S.M., 
 
 F.R.S. 
 
 B b 
 
370 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 above all other venison, yet Persians told him that it should only 
 be eaten under absolute necessity, being equally disagreeable to 
 the conscience of a good Mussulman and to the palate of a 
 gourmand. 
 
 The Jews are certainly forbidden to eat it, but it is well known 
 that the Mohammedans of Persia, who may perhaps not acknow- 
 ledge the fact, are stiU very partial to it, and exhibit no con- 
 scientious scruples on the subject when they can procure this 
 dainty game. The ancient Persians were also fond of the meat 
 of the wild ass, and many of their writers have borne testimony to 
 its excellence. 
 
 The young of the domesticated ass used also to be eaten, and 
 was considered a luxury by the Roman epicures. Pliny states that 
 Maecenas was the first person who had the animal served up at 
 his table, and in those times it was preferred to the flesh of the 
 onager or wild ass, but when he wrote the taste had gone out of 
 fashion. One of Martial's epigrams also refers to the young 
 ass being used as an article of food. When Malta, then in the 
 possession of the French, was blockaded by the English and 
 Neapolitan squadron, the inhabitants were reduced to eat horses, 
 asses, dogs, cats and rats, and the asses' flesh was held to be 
 so excellent that it was preferred to the best beef or veal. 
 The famous Bologna sausages are said to owe their reputation to 
 the fact that their chief ingredient is meat of this descriptiod. 
 
 The wild ass is called " gour " in Persia, and this name was 
 given to one of their most celebrated rulers, Baharam the Fifth. 
 (a.d. 420 to 438), on account of his devotion to the chase of the 
 animal. It was in the pursuit of one of them that he lost his life, 
 for coming suddenly upon the brink of a deep pool, his horse 
 plunged in, and neither the animal nor the rider were ever seen 
 again. 
 
 Sir John Malcolm in his "History of Persia" states that 
 "this accident happened in a fine valley between Shiraz and 
 Isfahan, which is to this day called the vale of heroes ; having 
 been, on account of its fine pastures and abundant game, the 
 favourite resort of the earliest ages, of the kings and nobles of 
 Persia. The whole valley abounds in springs; some are very 
 
THE ASS. 371 
 
 large and of great depth : their sources are supposed to com- 
 municate. It is not surprising, therefore, that the body of 
 Baharam was never found, although every search was made by 
 his inconsolable mother." 
 
 In a foot-note he adds : " When encamped, in 1810, near the 
 springs, in one of which Baharam plunged, being aware of their 
 dangerous nature, I directed that none of my escort should bathe. 
 This order was unfortunately disobeyed by a young man of the 
 17th Dragoons, and, though reported a good swimmer, he was 
 drowned. His body was recovered, being near the edge. The 
 spring in which he lost his life, we were told, was the same into 
 which Baharam had fallen." 
 
 The following story of the origin of one of the hunting-palaces 
 built by this monarch, which is now a ruin, is certainly worth 
 quoting : " Baharam, proud of his excellence as an archer, wished 
 to display it before a favourite lady. He carried her to the plain. 
 An antelope was soon found asleep. The monarch shot an arrow 
 with such precision as to graze its ear. The animal awoke, and 
 put his hind-hoof to the ear to strike off the fly by which he con- 
 ceived himself annoyed. Another arrow fixed his hoof to his 
 horn. Baharam turned to the lady, in expectation of her praises. 
 She coolly observed, ' Neeho kurden z pur hurden est ' (practice 
 makes perfect). Enraged at this uncourtly observation, the- king 
 ordered her to be sent into the mountains to perish. Her life was 
 saved by the mercy of a minister, who allowed her to retire to a 
 small village on the side of a hill. She lodged in an upper room, 
 to which she ascended by twenty steps. On her arrival she 
 bought a small calf, which she carried up and down the stairs 
 every day. This exercise was continued for four years, and the 
 increase of her strength kept pace with the increasing weight of 
 the animal. Baharam, who had supposed her dead, after a 
 fatiguing chase, stopped one evening at this village. He saw a 
 young woman carrying a large cow up a flight of twenty steps. 
 He was astonished, and sent to inquire how strength so extraor- 
 dinary had been acquired by a person of so dehcate a form. The 
 lady said she would communicate her secret to none but Baharam, 
 and to him only on his condescending to come alone to her house. 
 
 B b 2 
 
372 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 The king instantly went. On tis repeating his admifatibn of 
 what he had seen, she bade him not lavish praises where they 
 were not due. ' Practice makes perfect,' said she in her natural 
 voice, and at the same time lifted up her veil. Baharam recog- 
 nized and embraced his favourite. . Pleased with the lesson she 
 had given him, and delighted with the love which had led her to 
 pass four years in an endeavour to regain his esteem, he ordered a 
 palace to be built on the spot, as a hunting-seat and a memorial 
 of this event." 
 
 The Kiang (Asinus Eemionus) is the wild ass of Tibet, where it 
 is to be found inhabiting the high table-lands of the country 
 where the temperature is said to be below the freezing-point 
 in the middle of the summer, and steadily below zero in the 
 winter. Notwithstanding the atmosphere being so frigid during 
 the summer, these animals shed their winter coats, which are 
 thick and woolly, and assume short-haired, bright bay ones, the 
 same as the species which inhabit much warmer climates. 
 They are described as herding together in troops of eight or 
 ten, and not in the large numbers noticeable in the onager. 
 These troops are in charge of a solitary male. When alarmed 
 they take flight immediately, and although they are so fleet of 
 foot, yet their curiosity, or lack of wind, causes them to stop 
 and look round every now and again, then, resuming their flight 
 continue the same performance, which gives the hunter, if wel^ 
 mounted, some chance of overtaking them before they reach the 
 precipices or mountain places, which are generally the goals they 
 make for, for there further pursuit becomes impossible. 
 
 The wild ass of Cutch (Asinus Indicus) is another variety of the 
 family, but it differs in but few points from the two species 
 already described. Transverse stripes, somewhat resembling 
 those of the zebra, are occasionally visible on the shoulders of 
 the adult animal, but are more frequently to be seen on the foals. 
 Unlike the kiang, it is not to be found in such cold nor mountainous 
 regions, but generally inhabits the sultry plains near the mouth 
 of the Indus. 
 
 It differs from the kiang in the sound it utters, for the kiang 
 neighs, in this respect resembling the horse, but the wild ass of 
 
THE ASS. 373 
 
 Cutch brays witli the discordant sound heard too often from the 
 domesticated ass, and which has no doubt helped to bring his race 
 into contempt. 
 
 The wild asses of Asia appear to be endowed with considerable 
 courage, and are anything but stupid beasts. They employ their 
 teeth as well as their feet when fighting. If attacked by wolves 
 or other enemies, the herd range themselves in a circle, with the 
 weak animals or foals in the centre, and they fight so desperately 
 that they are said to almost invariably come off victorious. 
 
 They are described as untamable, but the individuals of the 
 kiang species that have been domesticated have exhibited gentle and 
 docile temperaments. Nevertheless these Cutch asses are fre- 
 quently captured,, and used to improve the breeds of the domes- 
 ticated species. They are quite gentle while young, but become 
 unruly when adult, which makes them almost useless for practical 
 purposes. 
 
 The wild ass of Africa {Asinus toeniopus) is found in the moun- 
 tains of Abyssinia, and the desert plains lying between the Nile 
 and the Red Sea. From the fact that it brays, and is marked 
 with cross bands around the legs, and with transverse shoulder 
 stripes, a peculiarity frequently observable in our tame breeds, 
 Darwin and others have concluded that it is the original race from 
 whence our domesticated animals have sprung, and that these 
 markings are when seen instances of reversion to the ances- 
 tral type. Another argument in favour of this assumption is that 
 the domestic beast evinces a marked aversion to wetting its feet, 
 or to cross the smallest stream, a trait which is also noticeable 
 in the camel, and it displays a strong partiality for rolling in 
 the dust or sand, which being considered an inherited proclivity, 
 points to_the fact that arid deserts were the original home of the race. 
 Sir S. Baker frequently refers in his books to these animals. 
 " Those who have seen donkeys in their civilized state," he writes, 
 " have no conception of the beauty of the wild or original animals. 
 It is the perfection of activity and courage, and has a high-bred 
 tone in the deportment, a high-actioned step when it trots freely 
 over the rocks and sand, with the speed of a horse when it gallops 
 over the boundless desert. His colour is reddish-cream, tinged 
 
374 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 with, the shade most prevalent of the ground that it inhabits. 
 Thus it much resembles the sand of the desert. 
 
 " I shot one fine specimen, a male in excellent condition, although 
 the miserable pasturage of the desert is confined to the wiry 
 herbage already mentioned ; of this the stomach was full, chewed 
 into morsels like chopped reeds. His height was about 13 "3 or 
 14 hands ; the shoulder was far more sloping than that of the 
 domestic ass ; the hoofs were remarlcable for their size, width, and 
 firmness, being as broad as those of a horse of fifteen hands." 
 
 It is the portrait of an animal of this species which has been 
 chosen for the illustration to this chapter. The Httle foal accom- 
 panying its mother is only about three weeks old, and, as can be 
 seen, is a more graceful looking little creature than a young horse 
 at the same age, for it is not quite so long-legged. The shoulder 
 marks upon the older animal are also very noticeable. 
 
375 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 THE BISON (BISON AMERIGANU8). 
 
 This ruminant mammal belongs in natural history to the family 
 BovidcB and the order Ungulata, i.e. hoofed animals. Bisons are 
 inhabitant's of Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, The animals of 
 the latter country differ, however, from their European congeners 
 in many particulars. It is only in a forest of Lithuania that the 
 European bison now exists, and there a remnant of the race is 
 preserved from extinction by the Russian Czars, but their numbers 
 are yearly dwindling and the race deteriorating, for all attempts at 
 domesticating the animals have ended in failure. At one time they 
 were numerous in Prussia and Hungary, and earher still roamed 
 free in the forests of Germany and Switzerland, and in reality 
 over the whole of central Europe, also in the Caucasus and Car- 
 pathian Mountains. Csesar mentions the fact that they abounded 
 in Germany and Belgium, and it was from these two countries that 
 the animals of this species were captured for the sports of the 
 Roman amphitheatre. 
 
 In America the animal is colloquially called a buffalo. To 
 speak of a bison in many parts of that vast country would puzzle 
 the people to identify the beast to which you were referring, but 
 a buffalo is an object of interest to nearly every one, and although 
 scientists correctly contend that this designation is incorrect, the 
 name of buffalo being only applicable to the species found in the 
 East Indies, yet we intend to apply this title to the animal called 
 by some naturalists JBos Americanus, and by others Bos bison. 
 
 Buffaloes are, or rather were, found in the great prairie region 
 extending between the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains as far 
 north as latitude 63° or 64°, and as far south as New Mexico. 
 
376 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 They were rarely seen west of tlie Rocky Mountains, but were 
 within a comparatively late date found in the State of New York 
 and in Ohio ; but now the race is so rapidly diminishing that they 
 have entirely disappeared from many of the States where formerly 
 they were numerous, and in none of their favourite haunts are they 
 to be seen in any numbers. 
 
 There is only one species of the American buffalo now existing, 
 which is subdivided by hunters and trappers into two varieties, 
 one frequenting the mountain ranges and having its home among 
 the wild crags and rocky bluffs that are almost inaccessible to 
 human beings ; and the other whose favourite haunts are the 
 undulating wastes of the monotonously dreary prairies. 
 
 The mountain or wood variety is generally called by the trappers 
 a bison. Its body is lighter, but its limbs are shorter, thicker, 
 and stronger than the buffalo of the prairie. It is rather a rare 
 animal, and as it is scarcely ever seen on the plains its habits are 
 not very well known. 
 
 In former ages two other species existed, but they are now 
 totally extinct — Bison latifrons and Bison antiquus.- They were 
 both larger animals than the present race, the former especially, 
 which was a contemporary of the mastodon, was probably as big as 
 an elephant, and this gigantic ox had horns whose tips were eleven 
 or twelve feet apart. 
 
 The outward peculiarities of the buffalo's formation can be seen 
 by the accompanying illustration, which is the copy of a photo- 
 graph taken of the specimen belonging to the Zoological Society. 
 The head, it will be perceived, is very massive and is attached to 
 the body by a short thick neck. The eyes are large, prominent, 
 and piercing. The horns are set far apart on the broad forehead, 
 and are small but sharply pointed. A hump rises gradually upon 
 the back until it forms a socket for the head.. This formation, 
 which gives an obliquity to the dorsal line, also gives the animal's 
 hind-quarters a somewhat slender or weak appearance The hump 
 consists of fat combined with powerful muscles which form the 
 support and give the required strength for the carriage and 
 movements of the ponderous head. Although the body slopes 
 away until the hind-quarters are low and comparatively narrow, 
 
THE BISON. 377 
 
 yet when tlie animal is seen from tlie front Ms strengtli and 
 weight can be understood, for his chest is broad, his body compact, 
 and the limbs are powerful. 
 
 The winter appearance of the buffalo is very different to its 
 summer one, for as a protection against the cold the fore-part of 
 the body is clothed with long shaggy hair, which rises in a dense 
 mass on the top of the head, and beneath the lower jaw forms a 
 well marked beard. This hair is curly, thick and woolly, and the 
 whole of the under parts are covered with it, except in the spring 
 when it commences to fall off, which gives the animal a very ragged 
 and uncouth look during this season. In the summer the buffalo 
 has a naked appearance, for the wrinkled, blackish-coloured skin is 
 exposed or only covered with a short, fine hair, which is as smooth 
 as velvet except upon the hump, head, fore-quarters and throat, 
 where the woolly hair is more or less permanent. The tail is over 
 a foot long and terminates with a tuft of shaggy hair. 
 
 A full-2'rown male animal measures about nine feet from the 
 muzzle to the tail, and stands between five and a half to six feet 
 at the fore-quarters, measuring to the top of the hump. The 
 female is very much smaller in size, being nearly two and a half 
 feet less in length and over a foot shorter. The weight of an 
 average-sized adult animal is somewhere in the neighbourhood of 
 1800 lbs., the female being some seven or eight hundred pounds 
 less. The young animals are distinguished by having a darker 
 and richer brown fur than the old ones, for they assume a hghter 
 hue as age advances. 
 
 Quoting the remarks of Capt. Doyle in the American Naturalist, 
 " white buffaloes have frequently been seen and killed. All the 
 Indian tribes regard them as ' big medicine,' but they have difi'erent 
 superstitions regarding them. For instance, Catlin, the painter, 
 while among the Mandans in 1832, saw a white buflFalo robe erected 
 on a pole in their village as a sacrifice to the Great Spirit. It had 
 been purchased from the Blackfeet, who killed the buffalo, for 
 eight horses and a quantity of goods. On the other hand, the 
 Comanches believe it very dangerous to see a white buffalo. In 
 1869 I saw a young Comanche, who had seen a white buffalo, 
 return to his camp almost dead with fear. He was taken into his 
 
378 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 tent, the medicine-man was sent for, and they smoked him and 
 kept up incantations over him day and night for a week. When 
 he came out he believed that he had a very narrow escape from 
 death. In 1859 a white buffalo was killed by a white man on the 
 north fork of the Eed river, J.T., and the hide presented to 
 Gen. Grrierson. He desired to have it dressed to preserve it, but 
 failed to get any Indian to undertake the task for a long time. 
 At last he prevailed on a Comanche chief, named ' Horseback,' to 
 have the operation performed. ' Horseback ' selected one of 
 his squaws, had the 'medicine-man' of his band go through 
 various ceremonies over her to preserve her life, and then placed 
 her in a teepee some distance from his camp, where the hide was 
 taken to her by a soldier and brought away by him when dressed. 
 No other Indian would look at the hide much less touch it. Her 
 food was left for her at some distance from her teepee, and when 
 the robe was dressed, ' medicine ' ceremonies were held over her 
 before she was allowed to rejoin the camp. I twitted ' Horseback ' 
 about the fear of the robe, calling his attention to the fact that 
 no harm befell any of the white men who handled it, but he 
 answered that such might be the case, but what was ' bad medi- 
 cine ' for a Comanche might be ' good medicine ' for a white man, 
 and vice versa. He proposed to take no risks in the matter." 
 
 Buffaloes were pre-eminently gregarious animals, for not only did 
 they congregate together in herds, but different herds -would often 
 unite — hence the vast numbers which were so frequently seen, and 
 that travellers used to describe as blackening the plains for miles, 
 or as far as the eye could see, were in fact one large herd composed 
 of a congeries of smaller ones. They each possessed distinct organi- 
 zation, which they seemed to retain even when so massed, for the 
 • calves were generally to be seen near the centre, with the older bulls 
 flanking the whole, and thus forming powerful protectors against 
 a common danger. Unlike the cow of domestic cattle, the buffalo 
 one seems to possess but little maternal affection for her calf, for 
 when alarmed she abandons it without the slightest hesitation> 
 and the duty of protecting it devolves on the bulls. 
 
 These herds were nomadic and rarely remained many hours in the 
 same locality. At certain seasons they migrated from one territory 
 
THE BISON. 379 
 
 to another. As " the old shekarry " writes :— " A mighty impulse 
 seems at once to seize upon countless thousands of these animals, 
 and they serge backwards and forwards — heading north or south- 
 moving along as the waves of the ocean driven by the wind. 
 
 ' Reasoning at every step he treads 
 Man yet mistakes his way ; 
 While meaner things, whom instinct leads, 
 Are rarely known to stray.' 
 
 No physical objects stay them on their march; great rivers 
 with overhanging banks and shifting sands, are swum or forded ; 
 deep chasms and earth-rent gulches are crossed ; but still the herd 
 moves on, night and day, like a resistless tide. Hunters may thin 
 their numbers, and prairie-wolves cut off stragglers and such as 
 from fatigue cannot keep up with the herd ; still the van keeps on 
 moving in the one direction, and countless thousands of dusky 
 monsters pass en masse, like a cloud over the land." 
 
 Upon the plains which were the favourite haunts of the animals, 
 a very nutritious species of grass grows in profusion, which is 
 known as " buffalo grass." 'This was of course easily procured 
 during the summer, but when winter covered it up with snow, 
 the animals experienced considerable diflBculty in getting at it ; as 
 long as the snow was not deep, or frozen, they could scrape it away 
 with their feet, but when the crust was hard, they suffered con - 
 siderably from hunger, and in certain seasons they died by 
 hundreds from starvation. 
 
 The migrations of the herds were no doubt partly due to 
 climatic changes, but more probably were influenced by the 
 necessity of obtaining their favourite food. Their northern 
 movements were always more conspicuous and pronounced than 
 their return south through the herds being larger and not so 
 scattered, while the journey south was made by the animals 
 gradually working their way back in a less marked manner. 
 Many trappers of the plains and nearly all the Indian tribes denied 
 the fact that the buffaloes eyer did return south. The red-man 
 accounted for their yearly appearance by saying that they were 
 produced in myriads under the ground, and in the spring came 
 out of a hole or cavern in the side of a huge mountain away to the 
 
380 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 soutli. Many chiefs, witli tlie veracity of their race, would 
 solemnly declare that they had seen this cave and the herds 
 emerging. Now the buffalo no longer comes, these same men 
 declare some bad god or medicine-man has shut up the hole so 
 that the red-man must starve. Anyhow, they will hunt the 
 buffalo no more. The stampeding herds, their thundering tread, 
 the racing horses, and the successful kill will never again 
 supply excitement to their savage natures, but when they lie 
 down to take their long sleep this fact may enhance the charm of 
 the happy hunting-grounds for which they think they are bound, 
 where, once more undisturbed by the white man, the illimitable 
 prairie will vibrate with the wild rush of millions of buflFaloes, and 
 the red-mens' souls be comforted. 
 
 Travellers crossing the plains can soon recognize the territories 
 that were frequented by buffaloes, for the skulls and bones of the 
 animals slain by the hunters, or of those that through sickness fell 
 victims to the wolf or the grizzly bear, will be seen scattered 
 about and bleaching in the sun, and the earth will be found dug 
 up into holes or wallows. 
 
 Oatlin, who spent eight years among the Indians, makes some 
 very interesting observations in his books concerning the buffalo. 
 In his " Letters and Notes " he describes these wallows. " In the 
 heat of summer these huge animals, which, no doubt, suffer very 
 much with the great profusion of their long and shaggy hair or 
 fur, often graze on the low grounds in the prairies, where there is 
 a little stagnant water lying amongst the grass, and the ground 
 underneath being saturated with it, it is soft, into which the 
 enormous bull, lowered down upon one knee, will plunge his horns, 
 and at last his head, drawing up the earth, and soon making an 
 excavation in the ground, into which the water filters from amongst 
 the grass, forming for him in a few moments, a cool and 
 comfortable bath, into which he plunges like a hog in his mire. 
 
 " In this delectable laver, he throws himself flat upon his side, 
 and forcing himself violently around, with his horns and his huge 
 hump on his shoulders presented to the sides, he ploughs up the 
 ground by his rotary motion, sinking himself deeper and deeper 
 in the ground, continually enlarging his pool, in which at length 
 
THE BISON. 381 
 
 he becomes nearly immersed ; and tlie water and mud about Mm 
 mixed into a complete mortar, wbicli changes his colour, and drips 
 in streams from every part of him as he rises up upon his feet, a 
 hideous monster of mud and ugliness, too frightful and too 
 eccentric to be described ! 
 
 " It is generally the leader of the herd that takes upon him to 
 make this excavation ; and if not (but another one opens the 
 ground) the leader (who is conqueror) marches forward, and 
 driving the other from it, plunges himself into it; and having 
 cooled his sides, and changed his colour to a walking mass of mud 
 and mortar, he stands in the pool until inclination induces him to 
 step out and give place to the next in command, who stands 
 ready ; and another, and another, who advance forward in their 
 turns, to enjoy the luxury of the wallow; and the whole band 
 (sometimes a hundred or more) will pass through it in turn ; each 
 one throwing his body around in a similar manner ; and each one 
 adding a little to the dimensions of the pool, while he carries 
 away in his hair an equal share of the clay, which dries to a grey 
 or whitish colour, and gradually falls off. By this operation, 
 which is done perhaps in the space of half an hour, a circular 
 excavation of fifteen or twenty feet in diameter, and two feet in 
 depth, is completed, and left for the water to run into, which soon 
 fills it to the level of the ground. 
 
 " To these sinks, the waters lying on the surface of the prairies 
 are continually draining, and in them lodging their vegetable 
 deposits ; which, after a lapse of years, fill them up to the surface 
 with a rich soil, which throws up an unusual growth of grass and 
 herbage, forming conspicuous circles which arrest the eye of the 
 traveller, and are calculated to excite surprise for ages to come." 
 
 The gait of a buffalo is rather heavy and clumsy, and he seems to 
 be guided to a considerable extent by the sense of smell rather 
 than of sight, for he carries his head well down, and rushes straight 
 before him in the opposite direction to the one from which danger 
 is apprehended. The speed on such occasions is very great, and 
 the animal has a wonderful endurance. 
 
 Whole herds plunge readily into rivers, for buffaloes swim 
 easily, though large numbers get drowned in their migrations 
 
382 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 througli overcrowding. They are also very agile and sure-footed, 
 for they will dash headlong in their course, even if tlie route 
 leads down a cliff on the mountain's side, or over places wliere it 
 would be thought no animal would venture. 
 
 Buffaloes have a very ferocious, determined appearance, owing 
 to their great bulk, shaggy mane, and vicious eyes, but in reality 
 they are mild and inoffensive beasts, and being of a timid dis- 
 position, are easily alarmed. They fly terror-stricken before a 
 man, but if absolutely driven to bay, or wounded, will savagely 
 attack him. They appear on other occasions as though they 
 intended doing so, for facing about, with an angry look in their 
 eyes, they begin to paw the earth in a most threatening manner, 
 but it ends in nothing but a turning tail and continued flight on 
 the nearer approach of the hunter. Oathn, after wounding a 
 buffalo, writes, " I defy the world to produce another animal that 
 can look so frightful as a huge buffalo bull, when wounded as 
 he was, turned around for battle, and swelling with rage; — his eyes 
 bloodshot, and his long shaggy mane hanging to the ground, — his 
 mouth open, and his horrid rage hissing in streams of smoke and 
 blood from his mouth, and through his nostrils, as he is bending 
 forward to spring upon his assailant." 
 
 " The domestic cattle of Texas, miscalled tame," remarks 
 Colonel Dodge,^ " are fifty times more dangerous to footmen than 
 the fiercest buffalo. He is the most unwieldy, sluggish, and stupid 
 of all plain animals. Endowed with the smallest possible amount 
 of instinct, the little he has seems adapted rather for getting him 
 into difficulties than out of them. If not alarmed at sight or smell 
 of a foe, he wiU stand stupidly gazing at his companions in their 
 death-throes until the whole herd is shot down. He will walk 
 unconcernedly into a quicksand or quagmire already choked with 
 struggling, dying victims. Having made up his mind to go a 
 certain way, it is almost impossible to divert him from his pur- 
 pose. He is as timid about his flanks and rear as a new recruit. 
 When travelling nothing in his front stops him, but an unusual 
 object in his rear will send him to the right-about at the top of 
 his speed." 
 
 ' The " Hunting-Grounds of the Great West." 
 
AN AMERICAN BISON. 
 
 {Bison Americanus.) 
 
THE BISON. 383 
 
 "The winter of 1871-2 waa unusually severe on the Arkansas. 
 The ponds and smaller streams to the north were all frozen solid, 
 and the buffaloes were forced to the river for water. Their 
 retreat was to the northward. The Atchinson, Topeka, and Santa 
 Fe Railroad was then in process of construction, and nowhere 
 could the peculiarity of the buffalo, of which I am speaking, be 
 better studied than from its trains. If a herd was on the north 
 side of the track, it would stand stupidly gazing, and without a 
 symptom of alarm, although the locomotive passed within a 
 hundred yards. If on the south side of the track, even though at 
 a distance of one or two miles from it, the passage of a train 
 set the whole herd in the wildest commotion, at full speed, and 
 utterly regardless of the consequences it would make for the track 
 on its line of retreat. If the train happened not to be on its 
 path it crossed the track and stopped satisfied. If the train was 
 in its way, each individual buffalo went at it with the desperation 
 of despair, plunging against or between locomotives and cars, 
 just as its blind madness choosed to direct it. Numbers were 
 killed, but numbers still pressed on, to stop and stare as soon 
 as the obstacle had passed. After having trains thrown ofi" the 
 track twice in one week, conductors learned to have a very 
 decided respect for the idiosyncrasies of the buffalo, and when there 
 was a possibility of striking a herd 'on the rampage' for the north 
 track, the train was slowed up, and sometimes stopped entirely." 
 
 Next to war the American Indians love the chase, and buffalo 
 hunting was not only a necessity with them, but a pleasure. 
 Murphy, in his " Sporting Adventures," states that some tribes 
 still prefer to stalk the buffalo, and use their bows and arrows in 
 preference to fire-arms, which terrifies the herds, and produces a 
 stampede that clears the country of game in a very short time. 
 " Their favourite mode of hunting now, is to make a surround on 
 horseback, and slay right and left until they become weary, and if 
 this drives the buffaloes away, they follow them up as fast as the 
 squaws can prepare the meat and attend to the hides. I have 
 seen some surrounds of the Sioux and Pawnees, and were the 
 scene not made picturesque by the wigwams, the numerous and 
 almost naked warriors, and the bustle and excitement of galloping 
 
384 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 steeds and herds, I should say that it was not so inspiriting or 
 successful as a drive organized by western hunters or sportsmen. 
 
 " The half-breeds of portions of British America organize regular 
 hunts also, and on such occasions they take all their household 
 effects with them. The women and children are stowed away in 
 rude carts, and the men ride the mustangs which are to play so 
 prominent a part in the chase. As the long cavalcade winds over 
 the grass-clad prairie, made gay with many species of brilliant 
 wild flowers, it presents an inspiriting sight, and recalls in a small 
 way the advance of an army. When it reaches the buffalo- 
 grounds a camp is pitched in a convenient locality, close to wood 
 and water if possible, and after that is done the leader takes his 
 men to the leeward of a herd, and distributes them in such a 
 manner that they may be able to drive it towards the encampment, 
 in order to avoid as much trouble as possible in gathering up the 
 meat. They sometimes place buffalo, " chips " in such a manner 
 on the prairie, as to make them look like men, and when the herd 
 see these, it breaks away from them and heads perhaps for the 
 camp, where another party of hunters is ready to receive it. 
 "When everything is arranged, the men close in gradually on the 
 thousands of shaggy creatures that dot the plain, probably 
 as far as the eye can see, and on arriving within charging 
 distance they dash on at the best speed of their horses. ' Then 
 commences a scene to which no pencil can do full justice. The 
 alarmed throngs, on seeing their foes, break away in wild 
 terror, the cows being generally at the head of the column owing 
 to their greater fleetness and lightness, and the calves being next 
 to them, while the burly bulls close the rear and flanks. This 
 terrified host causes the ground to fairly tremble beneath its 
 weight, and the noise of its movements may be heard a long 
 distance off, as it is not unlike the roar of an advancing hurricane. 
 
 "When the hunters range alongside the crowding multitude, they 
 use rifle and revolver so rapidly that the noise sounds like the 
 firing of a heavy body of skirmishers. They require few shots to 
 kill an animal, one or two being generally sufficient, for their 
 trained buffalo-runners carry them so close to the herd that a 
 bullet can be planted in whatever portion of the body the hunter 
 
THE BISON. 385 
 
 wislies. The result is, tliat in a run of perhaps twenty miles, a 
 thousand or two animals may be lying on the ground, and in some 
 instances double that number. When the recall is sounded, the 
 horsemen return and devote their attention to the wounded, and 
 soon put thepa out of their misery. The carts follow the hunters 
 and gather up the meat, and the greater portion of that is, in a 
 few hours, ready to be placed on the drying stages, while the hides 
 are being prepared for drying. When the expedition returns after 
 the grand hunt, which sometimes lasts for weeks, its members have 
 meat enough to feed them for several months, and many a buffalo robe 
 with which to provide clothing and luxuries for their families." 
 
 The slaughtering of the buffalo was, however, accomplished 
 differently by different tribes. The Middle Plains Indians were to 
 some extent careful of the buffaloes, and did nothing that would 
 tend to drive them from their district. The Dacotas were 
 quite the reverse, bfeing exceptionally improvident in this respect. 
 The Cheyennes and Arrapahoes employed the "surround" in their 
 hunts, while the Pawnees used to kill the beasts by driving the 
 herds over precipices, and in this way slaughtered immense 
 numbers. The Kiowas and Commanches were reported as 
 invaria,bly using the lance as their hunting- weapon, and it was 
 none the less deadly because silent. 
 
 The early missionaries of the Jesuits, and the enterprising 
 French voyageurs, who were among the first white men to penetrate 
 into the valley of the Mississippi, gazed with wonder on the stupen- 
 dous herds of buffaloes that they found grazing on the prairies of 
 Illinois and bordering states. The animals appeared to be in 
 undisturbed possession of the whole country. Thousands upon 
 thousands were constantly before the travellers. These herds, in 
 fact, had then no enemy against whom they could not successfully 
 contend" except the Indian hunters, who at certain seasons came 
 out in b'ands against them, but whose greatest efforts could only 
 make such a slight, temporary diminution in their numbers, that 
 it would be more than compensated for by the natural increase of 
 the year. Occasionally also, a prairie fire might drive them in 
 panic-stricken flight from some chosen plain, but otherwise they 
 were unmolested from one year's end to another. This was at 
 
 c c 
 
386 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 the end of tlie seventeentli century. Now, two hundred years later, 
 the picture is a changed one. Indians and white men, sportsmen 
 and trappers, fur-dealers and squatters, the tax-payers of the United 
 States and Canada, and the statesmen of both these countries, 
 bemoan the disappearance of the buffalo. For in a few more 
 years the animal will be extinct, and classed with the mastodon 
 among the mammals that "have been." Several newspapers 
 during the last few months, have made the statement, which is 
 said to emanate from a government source, that the vast herds 
 of buffaloes have become so reduced, that the few left do not 
 number in the aggregate a thousand head, and even this remnant of 
 the millions are scattered over a territory half as big as Europe 
 proper. These figures are no doubt an incorrect estimate, and the 
 number of the animals in all America must be considerably in 
 excess of any such limit, for besides the herd in British territory 
 there is another one protected by the United States Government 
 in the Yellowstone Natural Park, and a few still exist on the plains 
 between the James river and the Missouri, and about the forty- 
 sixth parallel, also in other places, but the fact is beyond con- 
 troversy, that they are diminishing with fearful rapidity, and for 
 practical purposes are already extinct. In Dakota, a few months 
 ago, an old bull buffalo was driven into Fort Meade along with 
 a lot of domestic cattle by the cow-boys, and he was supposed 
 to be the last of his race in that State,for if he had any fellows 
 the most diUgent search failed to find them or their traces. 
 
 The extension'of the various towns and villages, the constant 
 settlement of new lands, and the steady increase in the population 
 of America, gradually drove the buffaloes into a narrower belt of 
 country in the interior, and here the white man, and the red man, 
 since he has learnt the use of powder and shot, have simply 
 butchered the animals in such a reckless, foolish manner, that 
 if they had been engaged to accomphsh their extermination in 
 a given time, it could hardly have been done more thoroughly. 
 Animals were killed by every man and boy that carried a rifle 
 or a gun, and could get, or accidentally came within range 
 of them, and this was done merely for the sake of killing, for the 
 body, just as it fell, would in thousands of instances be left to rot. 
 
THE BISON. 387 
 
 Mr. J. A, Allen,2 in his able monograph, published over ten 
 years ago, writes : " When stress of weather for instance, or other 
 circumstances have brought these animals within the hunters' 
 power, scores and even hundreds have often been killed by single 
 parties, already so well supplied with the products of the chase that 
 they had no need for, and could make no use of the animals thus 
 destroyed. The buffaloes, from their great numbers and the little 
 tact required in their capture, have probably been the victims of 
 indiscriminate, improvident, and wanton slaughter, to a greater 
 extent than any other North American animal. As already stated, 
 thousands are still killed annually merely for so called ' sport,' no use 
 whatever being made of them ; thousands of others of which only 
 the tongue or other slight morsel is saved ; hundreds of thousands 
 of others for their hides, which yield the hunter but little more 
 than enough to pay him for the trouble of taking and selHng them ; 
 while many more, though escaping from their would-be captors, 
 die of their wounds and yield no return whatever to their 
 murderers. Of the hundreds of thousands that for the last few 
 years have been annually killed, probably less than a fourth have 
 been to any great extent utilized. "While this wanton and careless 
 waste has ever characterized the contact of the white race with 
 the sluggish and inoffensive bison of our plains and prairies, the 
 Indians have likewise been improvident in their slaughter of this 
 animal, often killing hundreds or even thousands more during 
 their grand annual hunts than they could possibly use, or from 
 which they saved merely the tongues." 
 
 This brutal butchery has not been confined to any particular 
 district, but has characterized the custom of the white man and 
 the aborigines in the territory of British ISTorbh America as well 
 as the United States ; the consequence is that now every traveller 
 across the continent has accounts to narrate of the bones and 
 skeletons of the slaughtered buffaloes that He bleaching on tlie 
 prairies. Captain W- F. Butler, in his work "The Great Lone 
 Land," as far back as 1872, writes : " This region bears the name 
 of the Touchwood hills. Around it, far into endless space, stretch 
 immense plains of bare and scanty vegetation, plains scored with 
 
 ■ - " The American Bisons, Living and Extinct." 
 
 c 2 
 
388 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 the tracks of countless buffalo, whicli until a few years ago, were 
 wont to roam in vast herds between the Assiniboine and the 
 Saskatchewan, Upon whatever side the eye turns when crossing 
 these great expanses, the same wrecks of the monarch of the 
 prairie lie thickly strewn over the surface. Hundreds of 
 thousands of skeletons dot the short, scant grass; and when 
 fire has laid barer still the level surface, the bleached ribs and 
 skulls of long-killed bison, whiten far and near the dark, burnt 
 prairie." 
 
 An engineer who a short time ago accompanied a surveying 
 expedition across the regions where a few years before buffaloes 
 were to be seen in such numbers that the plains were 
 blackened with them, reported that 6500 carcases were counted 
 in one spot, and a short distance further on hundreds more were 
 found. He also stated that along one of the river-courses there 
 were upwards of two thousand hunters in canips waiting for the 
 buffaloes, and one party of sixteen informed him that they alone 
 had killed no less than 2800 animals during the previous summer. 
 Taking a very much smaller number than this as an average, 
 and still the fearful slaughter remains almost incredible, but 
 conveys the idea of how the millions of buffaloes have been 
 reduced to a few hundreds. 
 
 In the Canadian north-west territories, which were once the 
 limits of the buffaloes' northern migration, and where they were 
 always to be found at certain seasons of the year in enormous 
 numbers, none are now to be seen. On these plains, as elsewhere, 
 they were wantonly slaughtered, not so much by the white men, for 
 the territories were not so easily accessible until lately as other 
 places in the United States where the animals abounded, but by 
 the Indians, instigated by the traders from Montana, who gave 
 them whisky in exchange for hides. In this manner one firm alone 
 is reported as having procured 40,000 skins in a season. But 
 the annual massacre did not effect their extermination on 
 Canadian soil. The remnant of the mighty herds, consisting of 
 many thousands, left these territories about ten years ago on their 
 usual migration southward, and having crossed the international 
 line they never returned. 
 
THE BISON. 389 
 
 The majority of them fell victims to the rifles of the hunters, 
 and as the range of the buffalo was prior to this date becoming 
 yearly more restricted, it is probable that the survivors were 
 content with a northerly limit south of Canadian soil. Anyhow, 
 on the north-west plains the buffalo will feed no more. 
 
 The only animals of the species existing in a natural condition 
 in the Dominion are those which are to be found in the barren 
 grounds between the Peace and Mackenzie rivers in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Great Slave Lake. On these lands the buffalo and 
 musk ox are still to be seen in fair numbers. Although the 
 animals have been to a great extent free from molestation by the 
 hunters in this northern territory, yet as thousands of skulls are 
 to be seen by the travellers who cross this district in the summer 
 time it is evident that they succumb to the rigour of the 
 climate. The trappers account for the bleaching bones by stating 
 that about fifty years ago the snow fell to a depth of fourteen 
 feet, and completely enveloping the animals, they perished by 
 thousands. 
 
 The competition among the trading companies has undoubtedly 
 been the chief cause of the unrestrained slaughter of the animals, for 
 they encouraged the Indians in season and out of season to bring 
 them hides or tongues. It was no doubt a profitable business while 
 it lasted, for the market for both these articles eagerly bought all 
 that could be procured, and the unsophisticated red man was 
 easily persuaded {o part with his robes or tongues for a very 
 inadequate return, effected by the medium of bartering blankets 
 in exchange, or whisky, powder and shot, beads, or some inexpen- 
 sive trash; but now this business is dead, or dying. When 
 Catlin visited one of the fur company's forts on the Missouri in 
 1832, he was told by the head man and his clerks, that only a 
 few days before he arrived an immense herd of buffaloes had 
 shown themselves on the opposite side of the river, almost 
 blackening the plains for a great distance ; upoj. seeing them a 
 party of five or six hundred Sioux Indians, on horseback, forded 
 the stream, and in a few hours returned, and coming into the fort 
 threw down in a mass fourteen hundred fresh buffalo tongues, for 
 which they requested but a few gallons of whisky. This was 
 
390 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 given them, and it was soon consumed in a carouse that followed. 
 Not a skin, or a pound of meat, except the tongues, for the Indianr 
 camp was well-stocked, was brought in as the result of this hunt. 
 This is only one instance of hundreds that were of monthly occur- 
 rence, wherein such profligate waste was encouraged by the white 
 men, who now when too late see the mistake they have made. 
 
 The railroads opening up fresh country so rapidly have also been 
 conducive to the slaughter of the buffaloes. The Boston Serald 
 lately stated that a curious feature of a once important branch of 
 trade in St. Paul, Minnesota, is the fact that the entire " catch " 
 of buffalo robes in 1884 was but four, while in 1883 the " catch " 
 was 10,000. In 1881, the year after the Northern Pacific was 
 open through to the Little Missouri, the north-western traders got 
 in over 100,000 robes. The procuring of so large a number was 
 owing to the railway having been utilized by the hide-hunters, and 
 the buffaloes happened to be south of the line, within reaching ■ 
 distance of the Missouri and transportation. No wonder there 
 are no more buffaloes, the marvel is the herds stood the slaughter 
 as long as they did before being exterminated. 
 
 Every way in which it was possible to get a shot at the animal 
 was taken advantage of. The writer of an article in Harper's 
 Magazine for 1869, on the buffalo range, observes : "A few months 
 since passengers on the way to Denver and Salt Lake, by the Smoky 
 Hill route, had frequent opportunities of seeing herds of buffalo 
 from the cars of the Union Pacific Eailroa'd, and on several 
 occasions the buffalo were sufficiently close to the trains to be 
 killed by shots from the car windows and platforms ; the engineer 
 being accommodating enough to slow the locomotive sufficiently 
 to keep pace with the buffalo, which were seemingly engagqd in 
 a race with the iron horse. When buffalo were killed the train 
 was stopped, the game secured being granted a free ride in the 
 baggage-car. It would seem to be hardly possible to imagine a 
 more novel sight than a small band of buffalo galloping along 
 within a few hundred feet of a railroad train in rapid motion, 
 while the passengers are engaged in shooting from every available 
 window, with rifles, carbines, and revolvers. An American scene 
 certainly ! " 
 
THE BISON. 391 
 
 To the large population of Indians that were the original 
 inhabitants of the soil, and were scattered over its vast plains in 
 tribal bands, the buffalo was everything. So much so that the 
 value of the animal to these people is hardly to be fully realized 
 by the civilized inhabitants of settled countries. The Sioux, 
 the Pawnees, the Crowes, the Blackfeet, Commanches, Oheyennes, 
 Delawares, and the numerous other bands whose names used 
 to strike terror to the hearts of the pioneers of civilization 
 in their steady advance towards " the land of the setting sun," 
 relied almost entirely upon the success of their buffalo hunts 
 for all articles necessary to their existence: the fur robes, so 
 eagerly sought for by the traders at a later date, formed their 
 beds, and gave them protection in the winter against the biting 
 cold of the country, or the hide, tanned into leather, made their 
 clothing or material for their teppes or tents, also for their 
 moccasins ; cut into strips, it was laced upon their snow-shoes, or 
 made lines for their fishing-nets ; then the flesh was either eaten 
 fresh or dried into pemmican for winter use ; the horns and bones 
 were shaped into implements or weapons, in fact every part was 
 utilized. Thus, with the herds of buffalo living alongside them, 
 the Indians were comparatively well to do and independent, savages 
 it is true, but in their way, and by comparison with their present 
 condition, worthy of some respect. Without these animals, many 
 of the tribes are in a miserable, starving, and contemptible con- 
 dition, for being too lazy to work, till the soil, or even to devote 
 their time to stock-raising, which, it was thought, might be an 
 employment more natural to their taste, they become completely 
 dependent on the respective governments having jurisdiction over 
 the territories in which their reserves are situated to keep them 
 from absolute starvation. 
 
 The restriction of their liberty and their dependent position as 
 pensioners of the State, are the sources of the Indians' perpetual 
 condition of discontent ; for they are always ready on the slightest 
 temptation or encouragement to quit their reserves, don the paint, 
 and go upon the war-path, when the fierce, treacherous, cowardly, 
 and bloodthirsty nature of their race reasserts itself, and the murder, 
 mutilation and scalping of innocent and harmless men women, and 
 
392 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 children, becomes the order of the day. The United States have had 
 this fact instilled into them by several Indian wars ; and Canada in 
 the olden days, and even lately in the Riel rebellion, has also been 
 taught a lesson. That the lot of the Indian is a hard one, and is 
 made still harder through, the rapacity and villany of certain 
 oflScials with whom they have to deal, is beyond question, but the un- 
 limited slaughter caused by the absence of Government protection, 
 and consequent annihilation of the buffalo, has enforced a problem 
 on the colonists of the new world that taxes the efforts of the 
 wisest statesmen to solve satisfactorily. But in this instance, 
 time is all that is required, for the race of the red man, the 
 inhabitant of the American wilderness, is a doomed one. 
 
 Captain Butler,^ in describing these native Indians whose 
 homes have been upon the wild, treeless, ocean-like prairies from 
 time immemorial, and whose extinction is now probably close at 
 at hand, writes : — 
 
 "Back, since ages at whose birth we can only guess, but 
 which in all human probability go deeper into the past than the 
 reign of Arab in Yemen, or Kirghis in Turkestan, the wild red 
 man has roamed these wastes : back into that dark night which 
 hangs for ever over all we know or shall know of early 
 America. ' The time before the white man came : ' what a 
 measureless eternity lies hidden under the words ! This prairie 
 was here when the stones of the pyramid were unhewn, and 
 the site of Babylon was a river meadow — here as it is to-day, 
 treeless, desolate, and storm-swept. But when and whence 
 came the wild denizens of the waste ? Who shall say ? Fifty 
 writers have broached their various theories, a hundred solutions 
 have been offered. The missionary claims them as the lost 
 tribes of Israel, one ethnologist finds in them a likeness to 
 the Tartar, and another sees the Celtic eye, another the Roman 
 nose, another traces them back to Japan, or China, or Aus- 
 tralasia ; the whole world is scarcely large enough to give them room 
 for their speculations. And what say we ? Nothing ; or if aught, 
 a conjecture perhaps more vague or shadowy than the rest. It 
 has seemed to us when watching this strange, wild, hunter, this 
 3 " The Wild JSTorth Land," 1873. 
 
THE BISON. 393 
 
 keen, untutored scholar of nature, this human creature that 
 sickens beneath our civilization, and dies amidst our prosperity — 
 it has seemed to us that he was of a race older and more 
 remote than our own, a stock coeval with a shadowy age — a 
 remnant perchance of an earlier creation -jvhich has vanished 
 from the earth, preserved here in these wilds — a waif flung by 
 the surge of time to these later ages of our own 
 
 " So much for the earlier existence'of the human dweller on the 
 prairie ; to us he is but a savage — the impediment to our progress 
 — ^the human counterpart of forests which have to be felled, 
 mountains which must be tunnelled, rivers whose broad currents 
 are things to conquer ; he is an obstacle, and he must be swept 
 away. To us it matters not whether his race dwelt here before 
 a Celt had raised a Druid altar. The self-styled heirs to all the 
 centuries reck little of such things." 
 
 Side by side with these Indians, legions of the buS'alo have also 
 dwelt, and the fate of these twin owners of the soil appear so 
 closely bound up together, that by the extermination of the one 
 the doom of the other has been sounded, and, as Captain Butler 
 remarks, the Indian is aware of this himself. 
 
 " ' What shall we do ? ' said a young Sioux warrior to an 
 American officer on the Upper Missouri some fifteen years ago. 
 ' What shall we do ? The buffalo is our only friend. When he 
 goes, all is over with the Dacotatis. I speak thus to you because, 
 like me, you are a brave.' 
 
 " It was little wonder that he called the buffalo his only friend. 
 Its skin gave him a house, its robe a blanket and a bed, its un- 
 dressed hide a boat, its short, curved horn a powder-flask, its 
 meat his daily food, its sinew a string for his bow, its leather a 
 lariot for his horse, a saddle, bridle, rein, and bit. Its tail 
 formed an ornament for his tent, its inner skin a book in which 
 to sketch the brave deeds of his life, the ' medicine-robe ' of his 
 history. House, boat, food, bed, and covering, every want from 
 infancy to age, and after hfe itself had passed, wrapt in his 
 buffalo robe the red man waited for the dawn." 
 
 The buffalo being so necessary to their well-being, it is only 
 natural to think that when the herds showed signs .of decreasing 
 
394 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 in numbers that, if for no otlier reason than that of self-interest, 
 the Indians would have been prompted to take some steps to save 
 the animals from the wanton slaughter of their hunters ; but they 
 did quite the reverse, and latterly actually encouraged the exter- 
 mination by allowing the animals to be killed when their food and 
 wants had been supplied, which at one time they would not permit. 
 The improvidence that characterizes the savage has in this instance 
 been again exemphfied. 
 
 Next to the hunters, the most deadly enemies to the bufPalo 
 are the wolves, bears, and pumas, or cougars, as they are locally 
 called. The wolves especially are perpetually prowling round 
 the various herds, who take but little notice of them, for it is 
 only a sick calf or a wounded animal that becomes their victim, 
 as the bulls who feed on the outer circle of the herd form a 
 protection to the cows and calves which keep in the centre, and the 
 wolves never attempt to force the outer barrier, for a buffalo bull 
 with his temper roused is more than their match. Even the 
 grizzly bear, the most powerful beast of America, gets frequently 
 the worst of it when he ventures to attack an animal whose 
 horns are in good condition. According to Catlin, there were 
 several varieties of wolves in the country, but the ones that 
 were the most formidable and numerous were the white species. 
 These brutes hunted in gangs of fifty or sixty in number, and 
 appeared in the distance on the green prairies like nothing but a 
 flock of sheep. The Indians used to avail themselves of the fact 
 that buffaloes when herded together seem to have but little dread 
 of wolves, and allow them to approach to very close quarters, for 
 they would cover their bodies with the skins of these animals, and 
 by crawling upon hands and knees they easily drew near the 
 herds without raising any suspicion, and in this way were able to 
 select and shoot down the fattest and the biggest. 
 
 Catlin makes the remark that " at present,- whilst the bufialoes 
 are so abundant [1832] and these ferocious animals [wolves] are 
 glutted with the buffalo's flesh, they are harmless, and every- 
 where sneak away from man's presence ; which I scarcely think 
 will be the case after the buffaloes are all gone, and they are 
 left, as they must be, with scarcely anything to eat." 
 
THE BISON. 395 
 
 That his supposition is correct ^is evident from the numerous 
 complaints so frequently seen in western newspapers at the 
 present day about the ravages committed on live-stock and 
 dogs by wolves which are forced by hunger, through the absence 
 of buffaloes and other wild animals, to hang about the more settled 
 districts of the country, and even in the desperation induced 
 by starvation to become dangerous to women and children, so 
 that a regular war of extermination is being waged against 
 them. 
 
 The railway companies were considerable sufferers from the 
 damage the herds of buffaloes would cause their property. The 
 animals soon discovered that telegraph-poles were first-rate rub- 
 bing-posts, and the vigorous way they used them resulted every 
 now and then in hundreds of them being knocked down. It was 
 no use ornamenting the poles with nails, for to their tough hides 
 this only appeared to increase the pleasure they derived from the 
 operation . 
 
 Even steamers on the rivers were • inconvenienced by them, for 
 on the Upper Missouri they often had to stop for hours to allow 
 herds swimming across to get out of the way. 
 
 There are generally a pair of buffaloes on exhibition in the 
 gardens of the Zoological Society at the present day, but until 
 within a comparatively late period they were but rarely to be 
 found in any collection. 
 
 Probably the first account of one of these animals being seen 
 in a captive state by a European was given by Cortes in his 
 description of Montezuma's menagerie which has already been 
 described. De Solis states that the Spaniard found "lions, 
 tigers, bears, and other of the savage kind which New Spaiji 
 produced, among which the greatest rarity was the Mexican 
 bull a wonderful composition of divers animals. It has crooked 
 shoulders, with a hunch on its back like a camel ; its flanks dry, 
 its tail large, and its neck covered with hair like a Hon. It is 
 cloven-footed, its head armed like that of a bull, which it re- 
 sembles in fierceness, with no less strength and agility." 
 
 It is quite possible that specimens may have found their way to 
 Europe prior to this date, but no work we can find refers to the 
 
■ 396 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 animals, althougli Steven says lie saw the skin of one that had 
 been dried in Spain ; but this statement is hardly evidence of the 
 beast ever being there, and he may also have been mistaken 
 with respect to the nature of the hide. 
 
 The flesh of the buffalo is very good eating, and although a 
 little coarser is better flavoured than a great deal of the beef that 
 is consumed, and by careful treatment, if domesticated, these 
 animals might be made as useful for food as the oxen at present 
 reared for that purpose, for the quality of the meat becomes under 
 these conditions vastly improved. If the government of the United 
 States took the matter np even at this late period, and extended the 
 protection they give to the animals in the Yellowstone Park, — 
 where it has been stated they do not thrive — to every remnant 
 of a herd existing in the country, bufialoes might yet be saved from 
 extinction. Farms for preserving and raising the stock should be 
 encouraged, and if used for no other purpose than the feeding of the 
 numerous bands of Indians that are now pensioners upon their 
 bounty, they would be of the greatest service. The experiment 
 of domesticating these animals, and utilizing them as beasts of 
 burden and for slaughtering, has already been tried on a small 
 scale on many farms, and some have met with considerable 
 success. Mr. Bedson, the governor of Stony Mountain Peni- 
 tentiary, fourteen miles from Winnipeg, has a herd of sixty 
 buffaloes, and they are yearly improving and increasing, so the 
 preservation of the breed is quite feasible. The hides are of more 
 value than those of any species of domestic animal, and in this 
 item alone would compensate for a considerable portion of the 
 expense, especially if the robes were given to Indians to tan, 
 for those tanned by white men are incomparably inferior to 
 and of less value than those known in the trade as Indian tanned. 
 For the red man takes a lot of pains, and besides has a method 
 which, while it makes the skin phable, does not reduce its thick- 
 ness to hold the hair, or its capabilities of withstanding rough 
 usage, which are the essential features of a good buffalo robe — 
 an article of considerable importance to the dwellers in the cold 
 regions of America. 
 
397 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 THE BUFFALO (BUBALUS). 
 
 The powerful animals known by this name are found in their wild 
 state in Africa and India, and in a tame condition over Asia, North 
 Africa, and the south of Europe. 
 
 The Indian buffalo (Bubalus buffalus) is a species perfectly dis- 
 tinct from its congener at the Cape. It is this animal which has 
 been domesticated, and in this condition has been spread over the 
 other countries of Asia, also over Egypt, and into Greece, Italy, 
 and Spain. Its strength, endurance, and hardihood make it a very 
 valuable beast of burden, and, strange to say, although it has been 
 bred and employed by man for ages, yet the race exhibits but little 
 variation from its original form, as is still shown in the wild 
 animals of the same species. 
 
 Its introduction into Italy was somewhere towards the end of the 
 sixth century, and in course of time it became thoroughly natu- 
 ralized. Some of the old Italian chroniclers, who wrote about this 
 period, describe the " wild ox from pagan lands " as of fierce dis- 
 position, and, in consequence of its great strength, enormous horns, 
 red eyes, and savage aspect, as creating great terror in the minds 
 of the people. However, its evident utility soon overcame any fear 
 which its appearance may have inspired, for the great breadth of 
 its feet, which somewhat resemble those of a reindeer, enabled it to 
 traverse the swampy, marshy districts so abundant in Italy, where 
 the roads were frequently two and three feet deep in mud, and as 
 a beast of burden it had therefore a decided advantage in localities 
 of this description over the horse and ordinary ox. It was also 
 soon discovered that the buffalo throve best in the malaria-infected 
 districts, and even to this day those animals that feed on the pesti- 
 
398 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 lential marshes of the south, are found to be in better condition 
 than the beasts occupying drier and healthier regions. 
 
 The prodigious strength of these tame buffaloes can be under- 
 stood by the following facts which came under the personal ob- 
 servation of an Italian officer, who contributed the details to the 
 author of " The Menagerie." 
 
 " During the building of the new theatre at Parma by Maria 
 Louisa (Buonaparte's widow), I have seen six, and, I believe, some- 
 times eight buffaloes, transport one by one the immense columns of 
 the facade, which are all of one piece of marble, and of a weight that 
 you may conceive from their size and material. This they did with 
 such ease as surprised everybody, while I am convinced from 
 experience that twenty-four of our best oxen would not have 
 been able to move one of the columns. These marble columns were 
 brought as near as Sacca, on the Eiver Po, by water, but from 
 Sacca to Parma is a distance of more than twelve miles, and this 
 the buffaloes performed in one stage without stopping. 
 
 " As to the passage of the bridge on the Taro, where I witnessed 
 another extraordinary proof of the strength of these animals, the 
 
 fact was simply this. Marshal B had been on business at 
 
 Parma, and was in a great hurry to return to Milan. I was charged 
 by Maria Louisa to attend him as an escort of honour as far as 
 Piacenza. We set out in horrible weather, and it had rained the 
 whole of the preceding night and day. On arriving at the Taro, 
 we found that torrent in a fearful state, nor was it possible to pass 
 it except by the new bridge which was not yet finished. Nobody 
 had yet passed it, and the approaches to it on either side (the 
 bridge being built very high) were not only steep, but composed 
 of deep, loose earth, which had not been beaten or secured. It was 
 determined, however, that we should attempt the ascent; but 
 scarcely had we got a third of the way up, when the carriage sank 
 in the mud to the axles of the wheels, and stuck fast in spite of 
 the efforts of four excellent post-horses, and two pairs of oxen put 
 to, to assist them. After toiling for an hour, the thought came 
 into my head to try buffaloes, of which I saw some on the opposite 
 side of the torrent. Only one pair was brought over to us, and 
 the oxen being removed, these animals were put to, in front of the 
 
THE BUFFALO. 399 
 
 foremost pair of horses. Although tlie torses were almost ex- 
 hausted by the labour they had undergone, and one of them, 
 frightened at the unusual company of the buffaloes, offered resist- 
 ance rather than assistance, yet this single pair of robust animals, 
 snorting and blowing a little at first, moved the carriage and 
 dragged it upon the bridge. While thus ploughing with the carriage 
 axle-tree deep, they were themselves nearly up to the chest in mud. 
 
 B could scarcely credit the evidence of his senses. When we 
 
 were about half-way over the bridge, the peasants who had gathered 
 round the carriage to lend a hand or to obtain a present, making 
 a little confusion, and, as usual with them, a great deal of noise, 
 one of the buffaloes took fright and became unmanageable, and 
 thus exposed not only the marshal, carriage, horses, and 
 postillions, but your humble servant, the escort of honour, to the 
 hazard of being drowned in the roaring torrent below, for our new 
 bridge had neither parapets nor any kind of protection at its sides. 
 Having caused the peasants to make a retrograde movement and 
 hold their tongues, we waited the event. The restive buffalo, on 
 finding itself alone with its master or conductor, who then ventured 
 to approach and caress it, immediately became quiet, and, with his 
 companion, dragged the marshal's carriage safely over the bridge. 
 We had then to pass my own carriage, and this was done with equal 
 ease by the same pair of buffaloes. In campaigns I have served 
 in, how many pieces of artillery we were obUged to abandon, might 
 have been saved by means of buffaloes ! " 
 
 These domesticated animals possess one disadvantage, for they 
 inherit the love of water, which is a marked characteristic of the 
 wild race, and as soon as they see a pool or a piece of swampy 
 ground, they will if not prevented in time make straight for it, 
 and yielding to their natural instinct plunge into it or lie down 
 for a roll in the mire, which are not proceedings calculated to 
 improve the goods wherewith they may be laden. 
 
 The buffalo even in a domesticated state is a courageous animal. 
 
 " A number of them together," writes Mr. Sterndale,^ " will not 
 
 hesitate to charge a tiger, for which purpose they are often used to 
 
 drive a wounded tiger out of cover. A herdsman was once seized 
 
 1 " Natural History of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon." 
 
400 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 by a man-eater one afternoon a few hundred yards from my tent. 
 His cows fledj but his buffaloes hearing his cries rushed up and 
 saved him. 
 
 " The attachment evinced by these uncouth creatures to their 
 keepers was once strongly brought to my notice in the Mutiny. In 
 beating up the broken forces of a rebel Thakoor, whom we had 
 defeated the previous day, I, with a few troopers, ran some of them 
 to bay in a rocky ravine. Amongst them was a Brahmin who had 
 a buffalo cow. This creature followed her master, who was with 
 us as a prisoner, for the whole day, keeping at a distance from the 
 troops, but within call of her owner's voice. When we made a 
 short halt in the afternoon, the man offered to give us some milk ; 
 she came to his call at once, and we had a grateful draught, the 
 more welcome as we had had nothing to eat since the previous 
 night. The buffalo saved her master's life, for when in the even- 
 ing the prisoners were brought up to court-martial and sentenced 
 to be hanged, extenuating circumstances were urged for our friend 
 with the buffalo, and he was allowed to go, as I could testify 
 he had not been found with arms in his hands ; and I had the 
 greatest pleasure in telling him to be off, and have nothing more 
 to do with rebel Thakoors. Jerdon says the milk of the buffalo 
 is richer than that of the cow. I doubt this. I know that in 
 rearing wild animals buffaloes' milk is better than cows' milk, 
 which is far too rich, and requires plentiful dilution with water." 
 The wild buffalo is known in India by the name of arna. It is 
 so similar to the well-known tame species that a minute descrip- 
 tion of it is almost superfluous. If anything it is somewhat 
 larger and stronger built. The hair, which is rather scanty, is 
 dusky black. The forehead is rounded, and the extremely thick 
 body is supported by stout muscular but rather short limbs. Its 
 extreme length is between ten and thirteen feet from snout to the 
 root of the rather short tail, and its height at the shoulder upwards 
 of six feet. The horns of this buffalo vary very much in size, length, 
 and curve. Some animals are seen with them remarkably long and 
 straight, inclining well back over the neck and shoulders, and 
 others have much shorter ones but curved, and the tips pointing 
 upwards. Sometimes these horns attain a tremendous length. A 
 
THE BUFFALO. 401 
 
 horn in the Britisli Museum measures six feet six inches in length, 
 and when on the skull the pair must have had an outer curve 
 measurement of nearly fourteen feet. There is also another pair 
 there attached to the skull, which belonged to an animal killed in 
 Assam by Colonel Mathie, and they measure twelve feet two inches 
 from tip to tip across the forehead. 
 
 Colonel Pollock ^ states that the largest animal he ever killed 
 was twelve feet to the root of the tail, and the tail two and a half 
 feet long, the height six feet two inches, size of horns round the 
 outer circumference ten feet four inches, and five feet between 
 the tips. "I killed a cow," he writes, "with horns ten feet 
 eight inches, and I have seen them killed up to twelve feet, but 
 these are getting very scarce now. I had in my possession a head 
 of a cow-buffalo that measured thirteen feet eight inches in cir- 
 cumference, and six feet six inches between the tips, the largest 
 buffalo's head in the world. I believe I gave them to the late 
 Lord Mayor ; they belonged to a cow potted by a policeman from 
 a tree ! The thickest horns I ever had were from a bull I killed 
 in Burmah ; they were not long, being of the curved kind, but 
 the girth of one horn was twenty-seven inches and the other 
 twenty-six and a half inches." 
 
 Wild buffaloes inhabit the dense jungles to be found near swampy 
 or marshy ground. They are occasionally found in the Terai 
 below Nepaul, and are numerous at the foot of the hills between 
 Oude and Bhotan, also in the plains of lower Bengal and in 
 the eastern portion of the game teeming jungles of Eaipur of 
 central India, also in Assam, Ceylon, and Burmah. 
 
 The animals to be found in these latter places are generally of 
 a larger size than those seen elsewhere. " The Burmese buffa- 
 loes," according to the previously quoted author, " have huge 
 heavy horns, much curved, as a rule, but the other variety with 
 long straight horns is also found, but less plentifully; they 
 inhabit remote swampy districts, and at times do a good deal of 
 damage to the crops, as they are fearless, and often will not be 
 driven off; they herd with elephants and rhinoceros, and occa- 
 sionally with bison, but as a rule the bison inhabits different 
 "Sport in British Burmah," 1879 
 
 D d 
 
402 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 ground. I have seen buffaloes lying down in tlie same mud-hole 
 with a rhinoceros, whilst elephants have been grazing not far off; 
 as a rule, whatever else he may be frightened at, a Burmese 
 elephant cares little for a buffalo, he is so used to them both in the 
 wild and the domesticated state." These animals associate together 
 in small herds, eighteen or twenty may occasionally be found, but 
 as a rule the numbers are under these figures. 
 
 The buffalo is a fierce and savage animal, and will frequently 
 charge without the shghtest provocation. It is also described as 
 being of a treacherous disposition, for if one becomes detached, 
 or has been driven from the herd he gets morose and will lie in 
 wait and attack anything, man or animal, that comes in his way. 
 In this respect he is more dangerous than a rogue elephant, and 
 natives frequently come to an untimely end by accidentally encoun- 
 tering a solitary bull of this description, when passing through a 
 jungle, or even when cultivating their crops. 
 
 The danger attending buffalo-stalking in such a country as 
 Assam was clearly demonstrated by an adventure Captain Baldwin 
 met with. The account is taken fi'om his book, " The Large and 
 Small Game of Bengal." Accompanied by a single native, he 
 entered the jungle, which, as he states, on account of its denseness 
 no sane mortal should have entered, as it was almost impossible for 
 a man on foot to see two yards in front of him. Presently a splash- 
 ing in the water some little distance away attracted attention, and 
 as it was attributed to the noise made by a large deer drinking, 
 they proceeded to stalk it. What follows is given in his own 
 words : — 
 
 " "We advanced cautiously a few paces till we reached the spot 
 where the deer had been standing a few moments previously. I 
 was just pointing out to my companion the water yet trickling into 
 the slots made by its feet, when something moved in the grass 
 close to us. I turned round sharply, but all was again silent. 
 There was a tunnel under the reeds and jungle, up which the deer 
 we were following had gone. I made sure that what we had heard in 
 the grass was the sound of this deer retreating, little thinking that 
 a treacherous monster in the shape of an old bull buffalo was 
 ready waiting for me ; so stooping, I followed the tracks. It was 
 
THE BUFFALO. 403 
 
 a reckless thing to do in such a spot. We were up to our ankles 
 in mud, and the overhanging reeds, nearly meeting overhead, 
 made it very dark. I had only taken four or five paces, and was 
 in a cramped position, hstening as I took each step, and straining 
 my eyes to catch a glimpse of the deer's hide, when there was a 
 crash in the jungle close to me, and before I could turn to my 
 right and bring the muzzle of my rifle to bear, in a second of time 
 I was hurled to the ground with astonishing quickness by a 
 tremendous butt in the right shoulder, followed by a pair of huge 
 knees on my chest crushing me down. My rifle had been sent 
 flying out of my hand at the first shock, but had I retained 
 possession of it, it could not have assisted me in the least. My 
 companion was close behind me at the time, and I called out twice 
 to him in Hindustani to fire, but he rendered me no assistance in 
 the hour of need. The buffalo commenced butting me with his 
 huge head ; I was covered with foam from his vile mouth. Most 
 luckily the ground was very soft or I must have been killed. I 
 had fallen on my back, but managed by clutching the root of a 
 small tree to draw myself from under him, but as I did so and 
 turned over, he struck me a terrible blow on the back with his 
 foot, breaking two ribs, and then I was powerless and imagined 
 all hope of escape to be over. 
 
 " He gave me a bad wound on the left arm, another dangerous 
 one under the armpit, a third on the hip, all with his horns, and 
 then I found myself lifted off the ground and thrown a tremen- 
 dous somersault in the air. I must here mention that on this 
 disastrous day I happened to be wearing a pair of strong Bnghsh 
 cord pantaloons, in which the animal when thrusting at me had 
 caught the tip of one of his horns, and in trying to get clear, or 
 in attempting some other vicious manoeuvre, during which he 
 succeeded in giving me another terrible gash, as I have already 
 said sent me flying. I believe I descended on my head, but still 
 having a portion of my senses about me, I remained perfectly still 
 where I had fallen. Most luckily I was half hidden by a low 
 thorn bush, and was almost on the edge of the lake again. About 
 four yards off, from under the bush, I could see the head and 
 shoulders of the enemy, and, as may be supposed, I watched him 
 
 D d 2 
 
404 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 with anxiety. He was snuffing the ground where he had been 
 pounding me. He seemed to listen for a few moments, and then, 
 to my inexpressible relief, went to look for me in exactly an 
 opposite direction, and presently entirely disappeared. Now or 
 never was the time to escape. I managed to struggle to my feet, 
 the trees and grass seemed to be whirling round me. I took 
 twenty or thirty hurried, tottering paces along the edge of the 
 lake, and then, bleeding fearfully, fell over insensible. The next 
 thing I remember on coming to my senses, was my wretched 
 companion kneeling by my side crying, and attempting to stop the 
 bleeding of my arm." 
 
 The native, after assisting to bandage up the wounds, went for 
 assistance, and during the night returned with some of Baldwin's 
 friends, and he was carried to his bungalow, where he lay for 
 many weeks before recovering, which gave him plenty of time to 
 ponder over the lesson he had been taught with respect to the 
 care required when shooting in the jungle to avoid the chances 
 of meeting an old bull buflfalo. 
 
 The animal that was the cause of his troubles received his 
 desserts shortly afterwards ; for Baldwin's brother officers, bent on 
 revenge, crossed on a number of elephants into the swamp that 
 had been the scene of the disaster, and speedily found the old bull 
 at home. He charged them once and died game, with his carcase 
 riddled with buUets. 
 
 The Cape buffalo (Buhalus caffer) is readily distinguished from 
 its Indian congener by the shape of its horns, for they are very 
 broad at the base, and the roots so nearly meet on the top of the 
 head that the whole forehead appears covered and protected by 
 them. 
 
 This species was once well distributed in herds over the plains 
 of central and southern Africa, but gradually and surely they are 
 now decreasing in numbers, and being driven further back, for 
 the hide is of value, and in consequence of late years the animals 
 have been subjected to an incessant hunting. In a few more 
 years, if the slaughter continues, the Cape buffalo in common with 
 the African elephant will be nearly as sparce as the bison on the 
 American prairies. 
 
THE BUFFALO. 405 
 
 Buffaloes " haye only two enemies," writes the Hon. W. H. 
 Drummond ^— " man and lions ; but as the former follows them 
 through the livelong day, often wounding when he does not kill, 
 and the latter takes up the chase at nightfall, and unless he 
 catches one does not retire till daybreak, whilst both occasionally 
 change their times— the lion, pressed by hunger, following them 
 during the daytime, while the hunter spends the night in ambush 
 near their drinking-hole— it is not to be wondered at that in places 
 where, even in my own day, herds varying from ten to a hundred 
 were common, there are not now ten head in all to be found." 
 
 It is very seldom, however, that a single Hon will attack a full- 
 grown buffalo. It frequently happens that even when a calf has 
 fallen his victim, the cow will rush to the rescue, and a toss from her 
 often kills him. Dr. Livingstone speaks of his finding one or two 
 lions killed this way, and says, " the amount of roaring heard at 
 night, on occasions when a buffalo is killed, seems to indicate that 
 there are always more than one lion engaged in the onslaught. 
 On the plain, south of Sebituare's ford, a herd of buffaloes kept a 
 number of lions from their young by the males turning their heads 
 to the enemy. The young and the cows were in the rear. One 
 toss from a bull would kill the strongest lion that ever breathed." 
 
 The Cape buffalo is the most ferocious of all the Bovidse 
 family, and by many hunters is considered the most formidable 
 of all South African wild animals, for they maintain, probably with 
 some truth, that there are more lives lost through buffaloes 
 charging than are due to the fangs of lions or the onslaught of 
 elephants. 
 
 Dr. Holub, to whose recent account of " Seven years' residence 
 in South Africa," reference has previously been made, observes : 
 " Nothing can exceed the cunning that a buffalo will exhibit when 
 it is wounded or infuriated. Having better powers of discrimina- 
 tion, it is more wary than a hippopotamus, and consequently is 
 not so dangerous to an unarmed man ; but once provoked it will 
 fight to the bitter end. It generally makes a little retreat, and 
 conceals itself behind a bush, where it waits for the hunter, and 
 when he comes up makes a dash at him. Attacks of this kind 
 3 " The Large Game and JSTatural History of South and South-East Africa," 1875. 
 
406 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 are by no means unfrequent, and huntsmen of considerable expe- 
 rience have been known to be outwitted and seriously injured by 
 these South African buffaloes. Sometimes the angry brute will 
 content himself with tossing its victim into the air, in which case 
 the mischief is generally limited to the dislocation or fracture 
 of a limb; but far more often it holds its antagonist down upon 
 the ground, whilst with its feet it tramples him to death. I heard 
 of an instance on the Limpopo, where a white man and three 
 negroes were killed, and a fourth negro much injured, all by a 
 single buffalo bull." 
 
 Buffaloes do not charge with their heads lowered in the way 
 that artists generally depict, but on the contrary hold them 
 straight out, a position which keeps the horns well back over the 
 shoulders. Just before striking, however, the head is lowered so 
 that the horns can be utilized. 
 
 Selous, after his experience in shooting nearly 200 buffaloes to 
 his own rifle, and following very many of them into thick bush, 
 gives it as his opinion that, although many accidents happen 
 in the pursuit of these animals, the danger incurred in hunting 
 them is marvellously exaggerated. " I know," he remarks, " of 
 several instances where buffaloes have charged suddenly, and 
 apparently in unprovoked ferocity, upon people who never even 
 saw them until they were dashed, in many cases mortally wounded, 
 to the ground; but I believe that, in at any rate the majority of 
 cases, if the whole truth could be made known, these buffaloes 
 would be found to have been previously wounded by some other 
 hunter, and finding themselves suddenly confronted by another 
 sportsman in the thicket or patch of long grass, to which they 
 have retired to brood over their injuries, at once rushed upon the 
 intruder, perhaps more from the instinct of self-defence than any- 
 thing else." 
 
 This is conjecture, but even accepting it as the solution of the 
 matter, yet other animals do not develop the same tendency to 
 attack, and certainly the number of deaths with which the Cape 
 buffalo is credited inclines the majority of people to agree with 
 the sportsmen who have formed the conclusion that it is the most 
 dangerous beast. 
 
THE BUFFALO. 407 
 
 On one occasion Selous pursued two old buffalo bulls, and overtak- 
 ing them twice endeavoured to fire at one of them, but the gun did 
 not go off in consequence of the cap having fallen from the nipple, 
 when the animal, entering a patch of short thick mopani bush, 
 stopped suddenly, wheeled round, and came on at once, as soon 
 as he caught sight of the horse, with his nose stretched straight out 
 and his horns laid back, uttering the short grunts with which these 
 animals invariably accompany a charge. The hunter observes : — 
 
 " There was no time to be lost, as I was not more than forty 
 yards jfrom him ; so, reining in with a jerk, and turning the horse 
 at the same instant broadside on, I raised my gun, intending to put 
 a ball, if possible, just between his neck and shoulder, which, could 
 I have done so, would either have knocked him down, or at any 
 rate made him swerve ; but my horse, instead of standing steady as 
 he had always done before, now commenced walking forward, 
 though he did not appear to take any notice of the buffalo. There 
 was no time to put my hand down and give another wrench 
 on the bridle (which I had let fall on the horse's neck), and for the 
 life of me I could not get a sight with the horse in motion. A 
 charging buffalo does not take many seconds to cover forty yards, 
 and in another instant his outstretched nose was within six feet of 
 me, so, lowering the gun from my shoulder, I pulled it off right in 
 his face, at the same time digging the spurs deep into my horse's 
 sides. But it was too late, for even as he sprang forward, the old 
 bull caught him full in the flank, pitching him, with mo on his back, 
 into the air like a dog. The recoil of the heavily charged elephant- 
 gun, with which I was unluckily shooting, twisted it clean out of 
 my hands, so that we all, horse, gim, and man, fell in different 
 directions. My horse regained its feet and galloped away imme- 
 diately, but even with a momentary glance, I saw that the poor 
 brute's entrails were protruding in a dreadful manner. The 
 buffalo, on tossing the horse, had stopped dead, and now stood 
 with his head lowered within a few feet of me. I had fallen in a 
 sitting position, and facing my unpleasant-looking adversary, I 
 could see no wound on him, so must have missed, though I can 
 scarcely understand how, as he was very close when I fired. 
 " However, I had not much time for speculation, for the old 
 
408 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 brute, after glaring at me a few seconds with his sinister-looking, 
 bloodshot eyes, finally made up his mind, and with a grunt rushed 
 at me. I threw my body out flat along the ground to one side, 
 and just avoided the upward thrust of his horn, receiving, how- 
 ever, a severe blow on the left shoulder with the round part of it, 
 nearly dislocating my right arm with the force with which my 
 elbow was driven against the ground, and receiving also a kick on 
 the instep from one of his feet. Luckily for me he did not turn 
 again, as he most certainly would have done had he been wounded, 
 but galloped clean away." 
 
 " The first thing to be done was to look after my horse, and at 
 about 150 yards from where he had been tossed I found him. The 
 buffalo had struck him full in the left thigh; it was an awful 
 wound, and as the poor beast was evidently in the last extremity, 
 I hastily loaded my gun and put him out of his misery." 
 
 Drummond also had two or three ugly adventures with these 
 buffaloes, and nothing but his strong nerve saved him on each 
 occasion from being killed by the ferocious beasts. In one 
 case, when he had to lie still in order to shsim death, the animal, 
 to see whether he was really dead or not, began to lick him over 
 with his file-like tongue, which, as it in several places nearly rubbed 
 the skin off, was, as he remarks, an ordeal most trying to undergo 
 without moving. However he accomplished his purpose. Once, 
 when he was pig-sticking with a large pack of dogs, not far from the 
 river Mbuluzi, a bufi^alo, standing in a small thorn thicket, was dis- 
 turbed by the hounds, and with a roar it charged out within a yard 
 of him. His only chance being to throw himself flat, he did so, 
 and the animal leaped over without touching him. He unwisely 
 decided to attack the buffalo with the spears, and, keeping the thorn 
 bush between them, he started towards the open where the bull 
 now stood. The moment he was perceived, the animal, bellowing 
 with rage, charged. " I had often been told," he observes, " by 
 older and more experienced hunters what one ought to do under 
 the circumstances in which I now found myself, and though it was 
 embarrassing, I tried to carry out their instructions. I threw 
 myself flat on my side, taking the longest stabbing spear — a very 
 formidable weapon, as sharp as a razor — into my right hand, and 
 
THE BUFFALO. 409 
 
 lay still. He came on until lie almost trampled upon me, when, 
 probably having just opened his eyes and missed me, he pulled up, 
 and then suddenly catching sight of my position, he lowered his 
 head and again came on. With my full strength I stabbed him in 
 the nose, the long iron blade going right through it, and pricking 
 him in the chest, while he struck me heavily with his horn-covered 
 forehead, and his hoof trod on the fleshy part of my left arm, 
 causing the most horrible pain. But the nose is a tender spot, and 
 he sprang back, and he stood looking at me with his savage, 
 bloodshot eyes, which peered from under the mass of horn which 
 almost covers the face of an old bull. 
 
 " I wasn't altogether at ease about the result, but I knew that so 
 long as I kept perfectly still and flat he couldn't stab me with his 
 horns ; their formation prevented that, and I trusted in my spear 
 still. He made another rush, but not such a determined one, and 
 again feeling the assegai point, he retreated on one side, but soon 
 returned ; this time coming from behind and catching me between 
 the shoulders. Finding he did not get pricked here, he absolutely 
 kneeled down, knowing that he could not get at me in any other 
 way, and began^to pound me on the back with his forehead. The 
 blows were very heavy and jarring, and I felt myself fast losing 
 consciousness, when one of the dogs — all of whom had been baiting 
 him unnoticed the whole time — smelling the blood on his nose 
 where I had stabbed him, pinned him by that dehcate organ, and 
 soon brought him on to his feet again, though in getting up he 
 trod on me for the second time. The Kaffirs also ran in shouting, 
 and one got near enough to send an assegai into the brute's ribs, 
 on receiving which he made a blind rush, and I took advantage of 
 the respite to gain the friendly shelter of the tree. I was not 
 much hurt, though considerably shaken, and as the buffalo's evil 
 genius made him come and stand directly underneath me, I took 
 advantage of the chance, and with both hands and all my force, 
 drove one of the great, spade-like spears right down into his 
 vitals. He made a short rush, stood still, trembled, and then fell 
 on his knees, on seeing which we all ran up, and stabbed him again 
 and again as he attempted to regain his feet and bellowed with 
 ineflfectual anger, until after displaying that wonderful tenacity of 
 
410 "WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 life which has been so often noticed, he ceased to struggle. None 
 of the dogs were hurt, and except my left arm, which the weight 
 of the brute had made into a sort of jelly, I was none the worse 
 for it." 
 
 Dr. Livingstone had several opportunities of studying the habits 
 of wild buffaloes, for, during his sojourn on the banks of the 
 Kalomo, he constantly saw large herds of them feeding in all 
 directions. He observes that if they are often disturbed by 
 man, they change their habits, and retire into the densest part of 
 the forests, and come out on the plains to feed by night only. 
 Buffaloes, in common with several other wild animals, gore a 
 wounded companion and expel him from the herd. " Even zebras," 
 remarks the Doctor, " bite and kick an unfortunate or diseased 
 one. It is intended by this instinct that none but the perfect and 
 healthy ones should propagate the -species." 
 
 On one occasion a herd of about sixty animals rushed past Living- 
 stone's party in full gallop, and he noticed that the leader was an 
 old cow, which was allowed to keep a full half-length in the front. 
 " On her withers," he writes, " sat about twenty buffalo-birds 
 {Textor erytJirorhynchus, Smith), which act the part of guardian 
 spirits to the animals. "When the buffalo is quietly feeding, the 
 bird may be seen hopping on the ground picking up food, or 
 sitting on its back ridding it of the insects with which their skins 
 are sometimes infested. The sight of the bird being much more 
 acute than that of the buffalo, it is soon alarmed by the approach 
 of any danger, and flying up, the buffaloes instantly raise their 
 heads to discover the cause which has led to the sudden flight of 
 the guardian. They sometimes accompany the buffaloes in their 
 flight on the wing, at other times they sit as described." 
 
 During Mr. A. "W. Mitchinson's * travels he was a witness 
 of the following extraordinary incident, in which a native of 
 a village on the Gambia, called Mandingo, enticed a buffalo 
 to his death in a very singular manner. While on the march " in 
 a well-shaded place, an unexpected bufialo showed his head for an 
 instant only between the bushes. The animal having a keen scent, 
 and an ugly habit, when observed, of hiding in ambush, then 
 * " The Expiring Continent." 
 
THE BUFFALO. 411 
 
 suddenly charging in the rear, made the party very cautious. In 
 this manner the brother of the hunter, a year previously, while 
 hunting, was tossed in the air by one of these animals, and 
 trampled to death. The Mandingo, remembering the death of his 
 brother, was most unwilling to go through the thicket until the 
 beast was either discovered again or killed. He was a good 
 performer on a native flute, and proposed to call out the animal 
 with it, which was willingly acceded to. He placed himself under 
 a tree and played a tune, while the party remained on the watch ; 
 but as the buffalo did not show, the others insisted on continuing 
 the route. 
 
 " ' The buffalo is asleep,' said the hunter, ' but my flute will call 
 him out. I must kill him to revenge my brother's death.' 
 
 ""With long-drawn-out, monotonous tones he led the way for 
 full two hours, when, suddenly, under a tree, the shining eyes of 
 the buffalo reappeared. The beast's ears were pricked forward, 
 evidently attracted by the music. Nothing indicated fury, and its 
 tail hung motionless. 
 
 " ' Stop ! ' said the Mandingo ; ' don't laugh at my flute. The 
 buffalo belongs to us.' 
 
 " The party concealed themselves again. The bewitcher com- 
 menced with soft, long-drawn notes, broken at intervals. The 
 soft tones were succeeded by shrill and loud ones, followed by 
 trills, and an imitative cry resembling the whispering of the wind 
 among the leaves. The animal raised its head and sniffed round 
 in every direction with anxious looks, then slowly approached the 
 place whence the sounds proceeded. In a few minutes it had 
 come within a distance of forty yards, and though manifesting 
 greater anxiety as it detected the presence of men, showed no 
 incUnation either to attack or to retire. The Mandingo suddenly 
 came out of the bush, giving a very loud, and harsh, grating shout, 
 at which the animal backed. The man renewed his peculiar music, 
 which influenced the animal to such an extent that it remained 
 motionless until the flutist lodged an arrow in its shoulder. The 
 enraged buffalo, foaming at the mouth, with bloodshot eyes, and 
 tail erect, furiously pawed the ground. The Mandingo had just 
 time enough to hide himself behind the tree in front of which he 
 
412 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 had been standing, before tlie thick-skulled buffalo, in blind fury, 
 charged the trunk. The shock only stunned the brute. This 
 gave the Mandingo an opportunity to discharge a second arrow 
 into its side, near the heart. He immediately followed up the 
 attack with a fresh tune. 
 
 " The buffalo looked distressfully in all directions, as if seeking 
 for rest, and appeared wondrously puzzled whether to attribute 
 his headache and the smarting of his wounds, from which the 
 blood streamed, either to the tree or to the magic flute. Not 
 observing the sorcerer who had caused the mischief, it backed a 
 few paces, and then, with redoubled force and fury, again charged 
 the tree. 
 
 " The Mandingo, who at first appeared the greatest coward of 
 the party, now proved himself to be a thoroughly bold and 
 courageous hunter — a ' master of arts ' in killing buffaloes. 
 
 " This second charge against the tree still more stupified the 
 animal. Before it had recovered its senses, a well-aimed arrow 
 from the steady hand of the hunter, lodged deeply in the neck 
 and severed the jugular vein, from which the blood spirted like a 
 fountain. The beast's end was fast approaching. It swayed 
 violently from side to side, thereby increasing the irritation of the 
 wounds. After several furious shakes of the head, it gyrated 
 round and round on the same spot, first quickly, then slower. 
 The hunter now rushed at the animal, and passed his sharp cutlass 
 through its heart. A short stream of blood issued from the 
 mouth of the buffalo, which moved a few paces, when a heavy 
 stream of blood followed, and a moment later the beast lay 
 prostrate on the ground. 
 
 " With a look of just pride, the Mandingo, showing his flute, 
 exclaimed, ' Now see what my flute can do ! ' In reality the skill 
 and courage he had displayed was worthy of the most celebrated 
 matadore of Spain." 
 
 Cape buffaloes have rarely been domesticated. Attempts to 
 do so have occasionally been made, but seldom, if ever, by any of 
 the native tribes. Their intractible disposition prevents the 
 animals being reliable for employment, and they are said to be 
 less hardy than the common ox, which, no doubt, arises from the 
 
THE BUFFALO. 413 
 
 fact that they are accustomed, when in their natural condition, to 
 retire during the heat of the day to shady and cool places. 
 
 The Yak {Bos grunniens), or grunting ox, so called because the 
 sound it utters resembles to some extent the grunting of a pig, is 
 included by some naturalists among the buflFaloes. The opinion 
 also exists that it is identical n^ith the Indian animal described by 
 Mima, under the name of Poephagus, a word derived from two 
 Greek ones meaning "grass-eater," and Gray gives it in conse- 
 quence the name of Poephagus grunniens. 
 
 To any one who does not know the animal by sight, the accom- 
 panying illustration will show some of its peculiarities. The 
 writers who surmise that it is of the same species as the Indian 
 buffalo, consider that to the change from the swampy jungles of 
 original home to the eternal snow of the high mountains of its pre 
 sent habitat are due the extraordinary modifications it presents. 
 The yak is found on the loftiest plateaus of north Asia, such as 
 Upper Ladak, Thibet, northern China, Mongolia, and the Hima- 
 layas, at an elevation of from 10,000 to 17,000 feet above sea- 
 level ; but they have to descend in the winter below 8000 feet, on 
 account of the great quantity of snow preventing them from 
 obtaining food. The profuse development of hair is therefore 
 obviously an adaptation of the animal to these cold regions, to 
 which it appears confined, for warmer or damper latitudes are 
 unsuitable to its existence in an undeteriorated condition. 
 
 In general form the yak is not unlike the buffalo, but the speci- 
 mens generally seen in Europe are much smaller in size, and are 
 shorter in the legs. The great distinction, however, is in the 
 coat, for instead of being thinly clad it is covered with thick 
 silky hair, which is curly on the head, and so very long under the 
 body that it reaches nearly to the ground. The tail is composed 
 of full-flowing fine hair of great length. Its prevailing colour 
 is black, but red, dun, parti-coloured and white yaks are not 
 common. 
 
 The tail of the yak is a commercial commodity, and the domes- 
 ticated animals are generally deprived of this appendage by their 
 owners, for the article is in great demand, especially the white 
 ones. In India they are to be seen mounted in either ivory or 
 
414 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 silver, and used as " chowries," (i.e, fans to keep away the flies.) 
 The state elephants of some native princes are trained to carry 
 ■with the trunk a gorgeously-mounted chowrie of this description, 
 and to keep it in incessant motion. In China the hairs of these 
 tails are dyed red and borne in the caps of certain dignitaries as the 
 insignias of rank, the distinctions being regulated by the number of 
 them that are worn ; they are also used as battle-standards by the 
 Mongols ; and the ingenious artisans of the Bast convert these 
 handsome tails into all manner of useful and ornamental articles. 
 
 The yak exists in a wild as well as a domesticated state. In the 
 valuable "Notes on Eastern Thibet," communicated by Dr. A. 
 Campbell to The Phoenix^, in 1871, we learn that the wild yak of 
 Thibet is called a " dong." It is described as the fiercest of all 
 known ruminants. It will rarely allow a man to escape alive if 
 it can come up with him. It is generally hunted on horseback, 
 the great aim being to detach one from the herd. It affects open 
 grassy places, and goes in large herds. The following is the plan 
 adopted by hunters on foot for killing the " dong " : — 
 
 " Its favourite pasturages are ascertained, and in the midst of 
 these the hunters throw up circular enclosures of stone a few 
 yards apart, the hunter taking up a position in one of them. 
 When a ' dong ' is within shot, the hunter having fired at him, 
 instantly quits his enclosure for another ; for as soon as the animal 
 hears the shot, whether he is hit or not, he, guided by the smoke 
 of the discharge, rushes furiously on the enclosure, and commences 
 knocking it to pieces. When the hunter gets another shot at 
 him he retires again from his shelter to a fresh enclosure, and so 
 on, till he has killed his beast. The ordinary size of the ' dong ' 
 is four times that of the domestic yak ; it is black all over, having 
 occasionally a white streak in the forehead. The horns of a full 
 grown bull are said to be three feet long, and the circumference 
 must be immense. The common mode of describing it is to throw 
 out the elbow, bring the fingers to the ribs and point to the circle 
 thus formed as the size of the base. It is used by the grandees 
 of Thibet at marriages and other feasts, when it is filled with 
 strong drink, and handed round to the company. Nothing more 
 ' The Phcenix, a monthly magazine for China, Japan, and Eastern Asia. 
 
THE BUFFALO. 415 
 
 commendatory of the host's joviality can be said, than that ' he 
 regaled his guests out of the dong's horn.' 
 
 " The horns so used are finely polished and mounted with silver, 
 or gold, or precious stones It is common in Thi- 
 betan goompas (Lamaserais) to see a stuffed ' dong ' standing in 
 front of the image of Maha Kali, at whose shrine the animal is 
 thus figuratively sacrificed ; axes and other instruments of sacri- 
 fice are ranged around the image." 
 
 Colonel Prejevalsky,® who came across the wild camel in his 
 travels, also obtained specimens of the. wild yak, which he de- 
 scribes as being a handsome animal of extraordinary size and 
 beauty, totally unlike the species to be generally found in zoologi- 
 cal collections. It measures when full grown eleven feet in length, 
 exclusive of its bushy tail, which is three feet long ; its height at 
 the hump is six feet ; girth round the centre of the body eleven 
 feet, and its weight ten or eleven hundredweight. 
 
 "The head is adorned with ponderous horns, two feet nine 
 inches long, and one foot four inches in circumference at the root. 
 The body is covered with thick black hair, which in the old males 
 assumes a chestnut colour on the back and upper parts of the 
 sides, and a deep fringe of black hair hangs down from the flanks. 
 The muzzle is partly grey, and the younger males have marks of 
 the same colour on the upper part of the body, whilst a narrow 
 silvery-grey stripe runs down the centre of the back. The hair 
 of young yaks is much softer than that of the older ones ; they 
 are also distinguishable by their smaller size, and by handsomer 
 horns with the points turned up, whereas those of the older males 
 are turned more inwards, and are always covered near the root 
 with dun-coloured wrinkled skin. 
 
 " The females are much smaller than the males, and not nearly 
 so striking in appearance, their horns are shorter and lighter, the 
 hump smaller, and the tail and flanks not nearly so hairy. 
 
 " But in order to have a correct idea of the yak he should be 
 seen in his native state on vast plains, which lie at an elevation 
 of 15,000 feet, seamed with rocky ridges as wild and barren as 
 
 6 " Mongolia : being a Narrative of Three Years' Travel in Eastern High Asia, 
 1876," translated by E. Delmar Morgan, E.E.G.S. 
 
416 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 the surrounding deserts, wliere the scanty herbage finds little 
 encouragement to grow, owing to the constant cold and the violent 
 storms of wind which rage throughout the greater part of the 
 year. In these inhospitable wastes, in the midst of a desolate 
 nature, yet far removed from pitiless man, the famous long-haired 
 ox roams in unrestricted freedom." 
 
 These animals are endowed with enormous strength, and such 
 an excellent sense of smell that they can scent a man half a mile 
 to windward, but their sight and hearing are so defective that 
 they cannot see or hear him at any great distance. Their intelli- 
 gence is also of a low order. 
 
 Except at the rutting season the old bulls are generally found 
 singly, or in small herds of three or five, while the cows and calves 
 assemble in such enormous herds that they frequently experience 
 a difficulty in finding sufficient food. 
 
 Although not very fleet of foot yet they climb nimbly over the 
 loftiest and rockiest mountains, and are found in places where 
 but few other animals could obtain a footing. 
 
 Indolence is described as a prominent trait in the character 
 of these wild yaks. " They feed morning and evening," Preje- 
 valsky writes, " passing the rest of the day in unbroken repose, 
 either lying or standing : at such times the only sign of life they 
 show is in chewing the cud, otherwise they are as motionless as 
 statues, even keeping the head in one position, and this for hours 
 together." 
 
 Wild yak shooting is exciting and dangerous sport, for a 
 wounded animal will often charge and evince such a tenacity of 
 life that even a well-directed shot will not immediately kill, except 
 in very occasional instances. 
 
 The Mongols are said to be so terribly afraid of these animals, 
 that if a caravan chance to come upon one lying down in a narrow 
 defile, they will halt, and not venture to resume their journey till 
 the animal has risen. 
 
 Messrs. Hue and Gabet,'' during their journey, came to that river 
 of many names, known to Europeans as Yang-dze-kiang, or blue 
 
 ' " Souvenirs d'mi Voyage dans la Tartarie, la Thibet, at la Chine, pendant les 
 annees 1844, 1845, et 1846," par E. E. Hue. 
 
THE BUFFALO. 417 
 
 river, and here a very strange sight presented itself. The river 
 was frozen over, and the party had from their encampment observed 
 dark, shapeless masses ranged across it, which when they came to 
 cross they found these " fantastic islets " were neither more nor 
 less than fifty wild cattle or yaks, which were absolutely embedded 
 in the ice. They had, no doubt, endeavoured to swim across the 
 river, but it froze too quickly for them to do so, and consequently 
 they became hemmed in and were unable to extricate themselves. 
 Their fine heads, surmounted with their great horns, were still 
 above the surface, but the eagles and crows had pecked out their 
 eyes. The ice was so transparent that the portions of their bodies, 
 which were enclosed therein, were quite discernible, and the form 
 and attitude of the unlucky beasts gave them the appearance 
 of being still swimming. 
 
 It is a pity specimens of these magnificent animals have never 
 been exhibited in Europe. The domesticated yak has frequently 
 been seen, and although so much smaller than its wild congener, it 
 is still a handsome animal, and its strength and hardiness render it 
 invaluable to the mountaineers of its native countries. Although 
 its pace is rather slow, it can carry a heavy burden twenty miles a 
 day. The Tangutans, among whom camels are scarce, have to 
 rely almost entirely on their yaks as substitutes, and large cara- 
 vans of these animals are frequently to be seen wending their way 
 often over lofty precipitous mountain paths where it would be next 
 to impossible for other animals to keep their footing. The yak is 
 used also for riding purposes. The fat Lamas are said to show a 
 predilection for this mode of travelling, for they find its shaggy 
 coat warm, and its paces easy. When being ridden the animal 
 has, however, invariably to be led. 
 
 In the Rechang or Roonang Pass, which is 14,354 feet high, and 
 has to be crossed to get from Lippe to Liignan, two places them- 
 selves about 9000 feet above sea-level, Wilson ^ states he for the first 
 time saw and made use of the yak. " It certainly is a magnificent 
 animal," he observes, " and one of the finest creatures of the bovine 
 species. In the Zoological Gardens at Schonbrunn, near Vienna, 
 there are some specimens of yaks from Siberia, but they are 
 (> "The Abode of Snow," by Andrew "Wilson, 1876. 
 
 E e 
 
418 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 small, and are not to be compared with, the great yak of the 
 Himalaya, the back of which is more like an elephant's than any- 
 thing else. Indeed, it is the shaggy hair and savage eye of the 
 yak which make its appearance so striking, for the head is not 
 large, and the horns are poor. The tail is a splendid feature, and 
 the white tails of yaks are valuable as articles of commerce. . . . 
 The yaks of burden which have been domesticated, or rather half 
 domesticated, for generations, are exceedingly wild, and the only 
 way they can be managed is by a rope attached by a ring through 
 the nose. I had scarcely had time at Lippe to admire the yak 
 which was brought for my use, than, the man in charge having 
 dropped this rope, it made a furious charge at me ; and I after- 
 wards found that yaks invariably did this whenever they got a 
 chance. I cannot say whether this was done because I was 
 evidently a stranger, or because they regarded me as the cause of 
 all their woes ; but certainly, as he went up that terrible and 
 apparently endless Rechang Pass, with one man pulling at the 
 yak's nose-ring in front, and another progging it behind with the 
 iron shod of my alpenstock, the Bos grunniens had an uncom- 
 monly hard time of it, especially when he tried to stop ; he did 
 not keep grunting without good reason therefore ; and I could not 
 help thinking that my Poephagus had been perfectly justified in 
 his attempt to demolish me before starting. 
 
 " If my reader wants to get an idea of the comfort of riding upon 
 a yak, let him fasten two Prussian spiked helmets close together 
 upon the back of a great bull and seat himself between them. This 
 is the nearest idea I can give of a yak's saddle, only it must be un- 
 derstood that the helmets are connected on each side by ribs of par- 
 ticularly hard wood. The sure-footedness, and the steady though 
 slow ascent of these animals up the most difficult passes are very 
 remarkable. They never rest upon a leg until they are sure they 
 have got a fair footing for it ; and, heavy as they appear, they 
 will carry burdens up places which even the ponies and mules of 
 the Alps would not attempt. There is a certain sense of safety 
 in being on the back of a yak among these mountains, such as 
 one has in riding on an elephant in a tiger hunt ; you feel that 
 nothing but a very large rock, or the fall of half a mountain, or 
 
THE BUFFALO. 419 
 
 sometliing of that kind, will make it lose its footing ; but it does 
 require some time for the physical man to get accustomed to its 
 saddle, to its broad back, and to its deliberate motion when its 
 rider is upon it and not in a position to be charged at." 
 
 Sir J. D. Hooker, in his " Himalayan Journals," describes the 
 veal of a yak caK as being very fine eating, and states that when 
 it was served up a foot had always to be left, for in the autumn, 
 when the calf is killed, the mother will not yield any milk unless 
 the herdsman gives her the calf's foot to lick, or lays a stufied 
 skin before her to fondle, which she does with eagerness, and 
 expresses her satisfaction by short grunts. 
 
 Besides being good eating, the yak yields the best of milk, for 
 it is as rich as cream, and the butter made from it is superior to 
 all others. Its hair is valuable, for when woven it makes a kind 
 of waterproof material, from which tents or covers can be made ; 
 the finer qualities are used for shawls or soft carpets. 
 
 The yaks being so valuable for use and employment by man, 
 their acclimatization and permanent settlement in Europe were the 
 dreams of M. de Montingy, the energetic French consul at Shanghai 
 thirty years ago, and his attempts in this direction were eminently 
 successful. He had a herd of them brought from Thibet, which 
 he kept at Shanghai for nearly four years, and when he found 
 they bore the change of climate well, and bred abundantly, he 
 brought them with him to France in 1853. They were ship- 
 wrecked on the Azores, and detained there for some months, but 
 the French Minister of Marine sent a vessel to convey them to 
 their destination. 
 
 This herd was divided into three portions ; some were sent to the 
 Jardin des Plantes, where, with their Chinese keeper, they aroused 
 public interest in the experiment being made ; several were given 
 to the SocietS d'Acclimatation ; and a few became the property 
 of the Count de Morny, and were kept on his estate in the Allier. 
 They did not appear to suffer from the change in temperature, 
 but throve, bred, and developed good fleecy coats, just as they 
 would if they had not been removed from their mountainous 
 home. Some of the descendants of these animals are still hving 
 in France. 
 
 E e 2 
 
420 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 Certain specimens that have been imported into England have 
 done very well. "Warren Hastings kept a yak at Daylesford, and 
 when his household goods were sold, a painting from nature of 
 this animal was amongst the articles disposed of. The late Lord 
 Derby also had a yak among the animals that formed the well- 
 known Knowsley collection, and it throve well while in his pos- 
 session. This beast was sold to a showman, and died a few 
 weeks afterwards through its having been kept cooped up in a 
 caravan, which was too much for even its hardy constitution. 
 
 The attempts, however, to make the yak a common animal in 
 Europe have shared the fate which unfortunately has So far 
 befallen nearly all modern acclimatizing experiments. Some en- 
 terprising man or society, with a view of adding to the existing 
 number of domestic and highly useful quadrupeds, succeeds 
 in overcoming the initial obstacles, and by the introduction 
 of some new species into the" country demonstrate the fact that 
 with ordinary care the animals will live, thrive, increase, and supply 
 a public want ; then however, instead of the venture meeting with 
 cordial co-operation and the importation and breeding being con- 
 tinued, the experiment is simply looked on as a curious and harm- 
 less one, and although in some cases the benefit that would follow 
 on the breed being continued is acknowledged, yet no one moves in 
 the matter, and the stolid apathy of the very people in whose in- 
 terest the work has been undertaken, renders the value of the labour 
 — nil. A greater mistake was never made by the present generation, 
 for in some countries the native animals which are'capable of being 
 bred for food supply or for labour purposes are being rapidly ex- 
 terminated. The yak, certain species of antelope and deer, zebras, 
 well-bred asses and spme others might surely be thoroughly 
 acclimatized in Great Britain, where they would cheapen food 
 and the cost of animal labour. We can hardly imagine the benefit 
 we derive from our ancestors not having neglected their oppor- 
 tunities in this direction. What should we do if we were without 
 horses, asses, cattle, or dogs? Yet they are aU animals our 
 predecessors imported and acclimatized and the resulting advan- 
 tages are our inheritance. 
 

 — f-iJ.xi.'^l^- 
 
A YAK. 
 
 {Bos grunniensi) 
 
 A LEUCORYX. 
 
 (Cri'x leucoryx.) 
 
421 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 THE GNU AKD OETX ANTELOPES. 
 
 The family of mammalia known as antelopes, is one wHcli includes 
 
 a most bewildering number of species and varieties, but some of 
 
 them are very closely allied. They are ungulates, or hoofed 
 
 animals, and are classified in the sub-division of ruminants, or 
 
 those that chew the cud.^ 
 
 Among the antelopes are to be found some of the most graceful 
 
 and symmetrically-proportioned animals in existence. Although 
 
 each species differs from the others in some important particular, 
 
 yet they all agree in many of their chief characteristics. For 
 
 instance, their horns are hollow like those of the Bovidm, not solid 
 
 like the antlers of the deer ; neither are they deciduous, that is, 
 
 shed at certain periods, but, with few exceptions, are permanent 
 
 and persistent throughout life. Both sexes are generally provided 
 
 with these appendages, which are slender, straight, taper 
 
 gradually to a point, and in some species are curved and spiral, 
 
 but only in one or two aberrant varieties are they ever branched. 
 
 Their hair is generally short and smooth, the eyes bright and 
 
 ' The singular process called " chewing the cud," which is to be observed in all 
 the ruminant group of mammals, and is the remastication of food returned to the 
 mouth after a previous deglutition, may be briefly described as follows. In all these 
 animals the stomach has four compartments. The first of these, which is known as 
 the paunch or rumen, and in the adult animal is the' largest division, receives aU the 
 herbage cropped during grazing, which is but slightly broken up by the short 
 mastication it has undergone. Erom this receptacle it is transmitted in small 
 portions into the second stomach, which is merely an appendage of the first, called 
 the reticulum or honeycomb-bag. Herein the juices act upon the sodden food, and 
 it is compressed into small masses or balls, which, when the animal is in a state of 
 repose, are thrown back successively into the mouth for a second and more complete 
 chewing. On its being rgsw^llowed, when thoroughly masticated, it passes into the 
 third compartment, the psalterium or manyplies, where it is prepared for digestion, 
 and from thence passed into the fourth, the abomasum, which is the stomach ana- 
 logous to the simple one of ordinary animals, and where the true digestion takes place. 
 
422 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 beaming with the keenest power of vision. They also possess a 
 delicate sense of smell, which is unsurpassed by that of any other 
 family of quadrupeds. 
 
 Nearly all the various antelopes have the curious " tear-pits " 
 or " lachrymal sinuses," which are also to be seen in animals of the 
 deer family. These organs are small sacs situated below the eyes, 
 which secrete a ;^ellow waxy substance. Their use has never yet 
 been discovered. A few zoologists think these glands communicate 
 with the nostrils, and that the animals can breathe freely through 
 them during their rapid flights when alarmed. Some suppose them 
 to possess the sense of smell, and that they serve for detecting 
 noxious or poisonous plants common among the rank vegetation of 
 equatorial Africa. Others think these organs are of use when the 
 animals are drinking. Still all these opinions are purely con- 
 jectural, for their precise functions are uncertain. All that is 
 positively known about them is that the anatomy of the parts 
 demonstrates the fact that there is no communication between 
 these " tear-pits " and the nostrils or any of the other organs. 
 They are simply a sac or fold of the skin, which varies in size 
 according to the species, and can be opened or shut at the will of 
 the animal. When angered many of the animals will open these 
 glands, and others make continual use of them when any strange 
 or odoriferous substance is presented to their notice, and some 
 species appear to derive a certain amount of pleasure from rubbing 
 the inner surface against such articles. The suborbital sinuses are 
 not so general among the antelopidce as in the cervidce. 
 
 Some varieties of this extensive family are to be found in every 
 quarter of the globe, but by far the greater number — in fact, three- 
 fourths of them — are to be found in South Africa. They are 
 therefore all peculiarly constructed for life in the sandy plains and 
 deserts. They are also swift of foot, which enables them in a short 
 space of time to travel considerable distances in case of necessity 
 and when the food supply renders this essential. Their colour also 
 as a rule harmonizes with their surroundings. 
 
 They are the most timid of all the larger mammalia, but some 
 species are dangerous to approach when wounded or brought to 
 bay, for their sharp and long horns are powerful weapons and can 
 
ANTELOPES. 423 
 
 be used to great advantage. By nature antelopes seem to be 
 created to become the prey of the carnivora, for all the chief 
 animals included under this heading seek them out by instinct, and 
 lie in wait for them at their drinking-haunts. Occasionally, how- 
 ever, they can prove themselves a match for their opponents, for if 
 alarmed in time, so that they can take to flight, they defy pursuit, 
 and even if unable to escape, by a skilful use of their horns they can 
 keep their enemy at a distance. Now and again even the lion will 
 come to grief through these weapons, generally, however, in con- 
 sequence of his own eagerness, for with a mighty bound he will land 
 upon the sharp points and be there impaled. , Several travellers 
 in Africa have come across the dead bodies or skeletons of two 
 animals, a lion and an antelope, lying side by side, the one trans- 
 fixed on the other's horns. 
 
 In captivity, antelopes are very stupid animals ; their chief trait 
 being excessive timidity, and under its influence they frequently 
 maim or kill themselves when startled, which they often are by so 
 slight a thing as a bird alighting near them, or a person slipping on 
 a stone, or even by some entirely inexplicable cause ; their senses 
 become subservient to the instinct that leads them to immediate 
 flight, and away they start, madly rushing against the wall, or with 
 a frantic leap dash against the fence and so injure their limbs, 
 break their horns, or, in numerous instances, kiU themselves. 
 Experience apparently fails to teach them either the absurdity of 
 their alarm or the fact that the height of the fence is beyond their 
 powers of leaping, for again and again they will go through the 
 same performance. The Zoological Society have on many occa- 
 sions lost rare specimens in this unavoidable way, and of one par- 
 ticular species not a single animal of the number they have pos- 
 sessed at various periods has been known to die a natural death. 
 
 The family of antelopes is subdivided into two great divisions, 
 the antelopes of the deserts and the antelopes of the plains. They 
 are readily distinguishable by certain peculiarities about the 
 nostrils. The animals of the latter category have the nostrils bald 
 or free from hairs, while in the desert animals these organs are 
 bearded within or covered with bristles. There are other dis- 
 tinctions, but they are not quite so obvious or easily recognized. 
 
424 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 The Gnu (Gatoblepas gnu), or white-tailed guu, for there is 
 another variety of this species known as the brindled gnu 
 {Gatohlepas gorgon) is an antelope of the desert, and belongs to a 
 sub-group of equine antelopes. The name gnu is the one given 
 it by the Hottentots, but to the Dutch settlers it is known as the 
 " wildebeest," i.e., wild ox. 
 
 Owing to their peculiar appearance, naturalists are divided in 
 opinion respecting their true zoological position ; and although they 
 are generally classified as antelopes, some maintain they belong to 
 the ox family (Bovidce), and others that they are a distinct species, 
 forming the connecting link between these two great divisions. 
 
 The name Gatohlepas, which comes from two Greek words mean- 
 ing " down-looking," by which these animals are known in natural 
 history, was given originally by -^lian to a beast of terrific aspect 
 inhabiting Africa, which scientists now identify with the gnu. 
 
 Its aspect can hardly be called terrific, however, still it is a 
 fantastic-looking creature, and has been aptly described as a beast 
 made up of different parts of other animals. The head is con- 
 sidered to somewhat resemble a bison's, the body, crupper, and 
 tail, those of a small horse, while the sHght and slender legs are 
 certainly shaped hke the stag's. The pace of the gnu, which is a 
 light gallop, is so similar to the action of the equidce, that a troop 
 of them flying over the plains, even if seen only a short distance 
 away, can easily be mistaken for quaggas or wild asses. 
 
 The eyes of the gnu are somewhat ferocious in aspect, and 
 lowering ; the muzzle is broad, flat, and surrounded by a circle of 
 stiff projecting hairs. The neck is ornamented with a thick and 
 flowing mane, and the throat, beneath the chin, and the dewlap 
 are also supplied with an abundant growth of bushy black hair. 
 The tail reaches nearly to the ground, and is more or less creamy 
 coloured. 
 
 The horns are peculiarly shaped, for they are broad at the base 
 and approximate so closely on the forehead that they nearly cover 
 it, in this way resembling to some extent the horns of the Cape 
 buffalo. From the base they curve downwards, slightly outwards, 
 and then bend suddenly upwards, so that the tips are erect, in 
 fact are hook-shaped. Both sexes have horns, but in the females 
 
THE GNU. 425 
 
 they are lighter, and do not meet so closely over the forehead. 
 The animals can use these horns as weapons, if necessary, and 
 with considerable effect, for when wounded or forced in self- 
 defence to fight, they will turn, drop on the knees, and then 
 springing up, dart forward with amazing force and velocity. In 
 size the gnu equals a well-grown donkey, for it measures upwards 
 of four feet in height at the shoulder and attains a length of nearly 
 nine feet. The general colour of the white-tailed species is a deep 
 umber brown in the summer, but during the winter it darkens so 
 much that it approaches nearer to black. 
 
 The karros of the Orange Free State, the Transvaal, and the 
 arid plains to the north and west adjoining, are the headquarters 
 of these animals. They are only to be found, however, south of 
 the Vaal river, for none have ever been reported as inhabiting the 
 country on the opposite shores. Mr. T. B. Buckley^ mentions 
 the fact that when Harris first entered the colony in 1836 he 
 found these animals in Graaf Reinet ; now, however, their numbers 
 are so much reduced by continued hunting that it is not till the 
 plains fifty miles south of the Yaal river are reached that they are 
 to be seen. 
 
 The Dutch Boers convert the flesh into "beltong," and the 
 skins, which are valuable, formed one of the chief exports of 
 Watal ; but the supply is now falling off through the scarcity of the 
 animals, partly accounted for by the wholesale slaughter they have 
 suffered, and also to some extent due to an epidemic to which 
 they are liable, that at times creates great havoc among them. 
 
 Gnus congregate together in numbers varying from eight or 
 ten to forty or fifty. These herds display considerable restless- 
 ness, for they are constantly on the move, migrating from one 
 part of the country to another. 
 
 In disposition gnus exhibit some features common to the 
 American bison, for although they look savage and defiant, yet 
 they are in reality timid, and are very wary, so that the herds are 
 difficult to approach. . 
 
 " It is very amusing," writes Mr. Buckley, " to watch the antics 
 of a herd when aroused or excited; when approached to within 
 ' See " Zoological Society's Proceedings," 1876. 
 
426 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 .five or six hundred yards they chase one another round and round 
 for a short time, stand, stare, and paw the ground, then lashing 
 their long white tails against their sides, set off as hard as they 
 can go." 
 
 Another traveller states that when the animals are put to flight, 
 they do not scour away in a confused mass, but gallop off in 
 single file in rear of a leader, and travel, when they are in good 
 condition, at such a tremendous speed that their pursuers, be they 
 men or lions, are soon left hopelessly in the rear. 
 
 In common with nearly all species of antelope they exhibit a most 
 persistent curiosity, which becomes excited directly they catch 
 sight of any strange object. They will frequently on such an 
 occasion cautiously approach, and the herd, formed into a compact 
 square, will come to a halt some little distance off, and there 
 stand stupidly gazing at it. Harris noticed this trait in the 
 gnu, for he writes, " During bright moonlight curiosity often 
 prompted a clump of gnus to approach within a few yards of our 
 bivouac, where they would stand for hours in the same position, 
 staring wildly, lashing their dark flanks, and uttering a harsh 
 note, resembling the harsh croaking of a frog." Buckley also 
 mentions a similar incident, and states that he succeeded in 
 shooting one out of three animals which approached his waggon 
 close enough for him to do so. 
 
 " In summer the old males separate from the herds, and live 
 solitarily. At this time they fix on one spot, making a sort of lair, 
 to which they will return after feeding or being disturbed. This 
 sometimes leads to their destruction ; for if two or three men go 
 together, the old bull immediately gets up and goes away; on 
 this one of the party lies down in the spot lately occupied by the 
 beast, the other two then retire. The wild beast thinking every- 
 thing is now safe, goes quietly back to his particular spot, and is 
 then shot at by the man who is lying down." 
 
 Among the bovine peculiarities of the gnu is the one of being 
 strangely affected by the sight of anything scarlet-coloured. The 
 extraordinary capers the animal can go through when excited will be 
 generally exhibited directly he observes the obnoxious article. He 
 will commence to lash his sides with his flowing tail and to plunge 
 
■ ^'««^' ---c 
 
 ^r -V-.,*. 
 
YOUNG ANTELOPE REARING. 
 
 Scene in Zoological Gardens. 
 
 GNU. 
 
 {Catoblepas gnu.) 
 
THE ORYX ANTELOPES. 427 
 
 about in a most fantastic manner, bounding spasmodically off the 
 ground, kicking up his heels, twisting round and round, or 
 suddenly stopping and lowering his shaggy and bearded head 
 between his slender legs, look as though he intended charging 
 vigorously at it. But this comes to naught, and after a few more 
 absurd evolutions he will probably kneel down on his fore-legs, 
 and commence raking the ground with his horns, then, after madly 
 trying to roll on his back, suddenly get up again and begin to paw 
 the earth about like an infuriated rhinoceros, accompanying the 
 action by a few defiant snorts; but it is all sound and fury, 
 signifying nothing, for in a few minutes he will stand quiet 
 again, and apparently totally ignore the article; then pei-haps 
 recommence capering. It is about the most ludicrous expression 
 of impotent rage that any animal could or does exhibit. 
 
 The Oryx antelopes are antelopes of the plains, and the genus 
 contains four elegant and brightly-coloured animals, each inhabit- 
 ing a distinct geographical area. They are the Oryx leucoryx of 
 Eastern and Western Africa, the Oryx beatrix of Arabia, the Oryx 
 gazella of Southern Africa, and the Oryx heisa of the eastern 
 shores of the E-ed Sea. Of these varieties the first and last will be 
 found represented in the illustrations given herewith. They are all 
 conspicuous by the beauty of their horns, which are long, 
 gradually tapering, straight, or slightly arched backwards, ringed 
 at the base, and are situated on the head so as to form a con- 
 tinuation of the facial line. 
 
 The Leuooeyx (0. leucoryx), a name derived from two Grreek 
 ones meaning " white antelope," so called by -i^lian, because of 
 its colour, has the characteristic horns of the genus, rising 
 generally in an exact parallel, and having a gentle curvature 
 backwards ; they are long, but not very thick, taper gracefully to 
 the points, which are sharp, and are annulated half-way up. The 
 ears are erect, elongated, and pointed. The tail, which is long, for 
 it reaches below the hock, is furnished at its termination with a 
 copious tuft of long black and grey-coloured hau-. The general 
 colour is white, but the neck and upper part of the throat are of a 
 uniform brownish colour. 
 
 The leucoryx is the antelope of which we have the oldest record 
 
428 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 for it is found frequently represented on the monuments of 
 Egypt and Nubia, noticeably in the inner chamber of the great 
 Pyramid at Memphis, where a number of them are to be seen 
 being driven or led by the horns, or by a cord round the neck, 
 and form part of the tribute levied, probably, on some conquered 
 nation. The animals are generally portrayed in profile, and con- 
 sequently only one horn is seen. From this circumstance Cuvier 
 considers it is the unicorn of the ancients ; but upon grounds that 
 can only be considered as absurd, for even if the animals were 
 represented in the side view exactly as they often appear in nature, 
 with the two horns in such perfect parallel that only one is 
 visible ; still, their having two is so unmistakable, that no writer 
 would describe them as actually only having one, or would the 
 people have accepted as an appropriate name for a two-horned 
 beast, one signifying " unicorn " or one-horned. 
 
 The Bbisa (Oryx beisa) is a variety of the genus inhabiting 
 Eastern Africa and the coasts of the Eed Sea. It is a beautifully 
 marked animal and conspicuous by the proud carriage of the head, 
 and the beautiful tapering horns, which are set nearly close 
 together upon the head, but gradually diverge towards their 
 extremities. 
 
 As a rule the little antelopes born in captivity are rather trouble- 
 some to rear, for few of them possess a hardy constitution. One of 
 the photographs accompanying this chapter exhibits a keeper in the 
 Zoological Gardens attempting to teach an orphan beisa antelope 
 how to procure nourishment from that modern nursery appliance, 
 a baby's bottle. The little animal soon learnt how to suck from 
 it, but he did not thrive, and although he had energy enough to 
 butt the keeper whenever the suction pipe fell out of his mouth, 
 he had the impression that it was due to some fault of his strange 
 foster mother ; yet he had not the requisite vitality for existing on 
 the food substituted for the natural one, and at a very early age 
 the pretty little creature departed this life universally regretted by 
 all who knew him, 
 
A BEISA ANTELOPE. 
 
 (flryx beisa.) 
 
429 
 
 CHAPTER XXy. 
 
 THE MOOSE {ALOES MALGHIS). 
 
 The deer family, known in Natural History as the Genidce, em- 
 braces a large number of distinct species which are to be found 
 scattered over various parts of Europe, Asia, and America; but 
 in Africa, except for one species, which is an inhabitant of Barbary, 
 the family would be unrepresented. In the Zoological Society's 
 gardens upwards of twenty different kinds have at sundry periods 
 been exhibited. The finest animals of the genus are the Moose 
 or Elk, the Reindeer, Red deer, Wapiti, and Luhdorf's deer. 
 
 The male animals of all deer have horns, which in some species 
 attain enormous dimensions, and in others are only diminutive 
 points. To this rule, nevertheless, there is an exception, for the 
 small water-deer {JSydropotes inermis) found in China, is perfectly 
 destitute of antlers. The adult buck animal, however, is provided 
 with other organs of defence, for he has two projecting canine 
 teeth of considerable size and length. 
 
 The horns or antlers in every way constitute conspicuous features 
 of the deer tribe, for not only are they highly ornamental, 
 but the process of their construction and development is of a very 
 wonderful nature, and one perfectly unique in the animal world. 
 With the exception of the reindeer, only the males possess these 
 horns, which differ from those of the antelopes in being caducous 
 and solid. They are composed of a bony substance that is at 
 first quite soft but becomes solidified when full grown. The horns 
 are shed and renewed annually, and have branches or palmated 
 extensions growing from the main stem ; whereas antelopes are 
 distinguished by having their horns, which are permanently re- 
 tained during life, hollow at the base, and set into the head like 
 those of the oxen. 
 
430 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 In Blumembach's " Comparative Anatomy " (translated by 
 Messrs. Lawrence and Ooulson) there is the following remark : — 
 " The annual reproduction of horns constitutes in many points of 
 view one of the most remarkable phenomena of animal physiology. 
 It affords a most striking proof, first, of the power of the nutritive 
 process, and of the rapid growth which results from this process in 
 warm-blooded animals ; for the horn of a stag, which may weigh a 
 quarter of a hundredweight, is completely formed in ten weeks ; 
 secondly, of the remarkable power of absorption, by which towards 
 the time of shedding the old horn a complete separation is effected 
 of the substance which was before so firmly united with the frontal 
 bone ; thirdly, of a limited duration of life in a part of an 
 animal entirely independent of the life of the whole animal, which 
 in the stag extends to about thirty years ; fourthly, of change of 
 calibre in particular vessels ; for the branches of the external carotid, 
 which supply th.e horn, are surprisingly dilated during its growth, 
 and recover their former dimensions when that process has ceased ; 
 fifthly, of a peculiar sympathy which is manifested between the 
 growth of the horns and the generative functions." 
 
 The reproduction of the antlers generally begins in the spring, and 
 the rapidity with which these massive bony structures are secreted 
 is almost marvellous. In the larger elk the budding horns are 
 several inches high in ten days, and in a month they are almost 
 fully formed, the magnificent antlers of a full-grown stag being pro- 
 duced in ten weeks. In the sockets from whence the old horns were 
 cast, which, though they may have bled at first, have become skinned 
 over, these new horns sprout. The blood then begins to flow 
 strongly to the head, the vessels at the root of the vascular horn 
 swell, and the horn itself pushes up, being protected while tender 
 with a delicate and velvety covering. The development increases 
 rapidly. Any one grasping these incipient antlers by the hand can 
 soon realize some idea of the work going on in their creation, for 
 they are startUngly hot, and seem to glow and throb — the very incar- 
 nation of natural reproduction. Then gradually the antlers appear, 
 and soon are fully developed in all their grandeur. The velvety 
 covering begins to fall off, or hang in ragged strips, which the animal 
 very quickly clears away by rubbing them against tree-trunks, rocks 
 
THE MOOSE. 431 
 
 or any similar conveniences. The last formation of this wonderful 
 process is that of the burrs or pearls, which surround or clasp the 
 base of each horn. They are also of rapid growth, and soon per- 
 form their oflSce, which is by their tightening pressure to enclose 
 and compress the blood-vessels, so that in a short space of time 
 through their instrumentality the whole circulation is stopped, and 
 as a consequence the sensitive vessels lose vitality, shrink up, and 
 leave the antlers pure, naked horn, without pulsation or feeling. 
 
 The horns do not reach their full perfection in their first or 
 second growth, but as a rule go on annually improving until the 
 sixth or seventh year, when generally the number of the antlers 
 attain their maximum. Their length, direction, and curvature, 
 often vary, and it sometimes happens that there are more or less 
 on one side than the other. The development of the horns is 
 intimately connected with the vigour of the animal. 
 
 The Moose or Elk (Alces malchis), which is a grotesque-looking 
 animal, is the largest member of the deer family — and in fact the 
 largest mammal of Europe and America, for the elk of North 
 Europe and Asia and the moose of America appear specifically to 
 be the same. 
 
 Like all other American animals, their numbers are diminishing 
 with fearful rapidity, but not at such a rapid rate as was notice- 
 able a few years ago, before legislation in Canada and the United 
 States had given them some protection. The adoption of this 
 wise course has probably to a great extent retarded their extermi- 
 nation, for such reckless slaughter as that which occurred not 
 very long ago in the province of New Brunswick, where many 
 hundreds of these splendid animals were killed merely for their 
 hides, while their carcasses were left to rot in the places where 
 they fell, would, if the practice had extended, soon have made the 
 moose extinct. 
 
 " To the early settlers in the States of Maine, Vermont, and New 
 Hampshire, and the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick," 
 remarks the writer of an article on this subject in an American 
 magazine, " the flesh of the moose was the main-stay, and his hide 
 furnished them with serviceable clothing. At the present time, with 
 the exception of Maine, the moose are almost extinct in the Eastern 
 
432 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 states, and they are becoming scarce in Nova Scotia. In New 
 Brunswick they are seldom found on the rivers emptying into the 
 Bay of Fundy, where in former days they existed in vast numbers. 
 They can yet be found, however, in considerable numbers on the 
 head-waters of the Eestigouche and Miramichi rivers and their 
 branches ; in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario, south of the 
 St. Lawrence, in the central parts of the county of Rimouski, 
 and thence southward along the borders of Maine, and all through 
 the country south of the city of Quebec to New Hampshire. In 
 the county of Gaspe they are extinct, having been exterminated by 
 ruthless hunters for the sake of their hides. North of the Ottawa 
 and St. Lawrence rivers, the moose ranges from Lake "Wanapitiping 
 nearly to the Saguenay. Their northern limit is now somewhere 
 near the watershed of Hudson Bay ; it was formerly beyond it. 
 The western limit is about the longitude of Lake Huron. None 
 are now found north of Lake Superior, although they have existed 
 in that region as far north as the Albany River. In the North- West 
 territories they are found as far as the Mackenzie River. A friend 
 gave me the measurements of a moose killed in Rupert's Land, 
 which, if correct, would go far to verify some of the old-time 
 stories of the wondrous size of the moose. In the United States, 
 moose are still found in sufficient numbers to warrant the belief 
 that, by judicious protection, the species might be perpetuated. 
 They are quite abundant in Oregon, Washington Territory, and 
 the whole northern border of the United States as far as the Lake 
 of the Woods. They are still met with occasionally in the northern 
 part of Michigan, along the shores of Lake Superior, and very 
 rarely in Northern Vermont and the Adirondack region. They also 
 inhabit the wooded region of the great lakes, and that lying thence 
 westward to the Rocky Mountains. The southernmost point at 
 which they have been found in the west is in Baho, on the forks 
 of the Snake River, near the Three Tetons, where several were seen 
 and killed by members of the United States Geological and 
 Geographical Survey of the Territories. The present southern 
 limits of the moose on the Atlantic coast are the provinces of New 
 Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, in the Bay of Fundy. These provinces 
 are still his favourite haunts, and here in the present day he is 
 
THE MOOSE. 433 
 
 most accessible* to the hunter. This is, perhaps, owing to the 
 infinite number of lakes, and the prevalence of swampy, low-lying 
 woods and bogs in which he loves to dwell." ^ 
 
 A male moose, when full grown, stands between five and 
 six feet at the shoulder. Individuals of the exceptional size 
 of seven feet, have occasionally been shot. The colour of 
 the moose is a varying ash, the hairs darkening towards their 
 tips, but in winter it assumes a much denser hue, sometimes 
 almost black, which is a singular reversal of the change that 
 other animals undergo who inhabit high latitudes, for they 
 generally become lighter in colour, or even white, when the cold 
 weather sets in. 
 
 The moose differs from the other members of the cervidoi family 
 in several important features, especially with respect to the shape 
 of the horns and the character of the nose. In the ordinary deer, 
 of which the European red deer is a good type, the antlers have a 
 rounded shape, and the nose is moist and naked. In the moose, how- 
 ever, the horns are broadly palmated, and the wide nose or muffle 
 is, with the exception of a small naked spot, entirely covered with 
 hair. The upper lip is long and prehensile, the ears are also con- 
 spicuously long and large ; the neck is short, and remarkable for 
 its thick shaggy mane ; while the limbs are disproportionately long, 
 which gives the animal the peculiar appearance that immediately 
 strikes the beholder. The male animal has also a pendulous 
 gland which hangs under the lower jaw and is covered with long 
 hair. The massive horns, however, constitute one of nature's 
 most ornamental productions. The wide palmated parts are 
 fringed with short spikes or tines, and get larger and larger every 
 year, until they attain their full development on the animal arriving 
 at maturity. They are then very large, and have been known to 
 measure over five feet from their base, the palmated parts at their 
 greatest breadth being over fourteen inches, and at their juncture 
 with the skull nearly ten inches in circumference, while in weight 
 they may be anywhere between forty and sixty pounds. An adult 
 moose sheds its horns in the month of January, and they are not 
 perfectly restored until the summer is well advanced. The velvet 
 
 ' Scrihner's Monthly, 1878. 
 
 i' f 
 
434 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 will then have been worn off, and the horns stand forth in all their 
 glory, dark brown coloured, and well polished. 
 
 The great expanse of the antlers would appear to any one not 
 knowing the facts, to be totally unfitted for a life among the 
 forest-trees, where the moose spend so large a portion of the year ; 
 but, as a matter of fact, they are but of little inconvenience, for 
 in common with all stags, when making their way through the 
 trees they carry the head well up, and the horns are in this way 
 kept lying horizontally along the back, which, to a considerable 
 extent, prevents their entanglement with the branches. 
 
 In Smith's description of the moose, he says, " This animal is 
 the largest of the genus, being higher at the shoulders than the 
 horse ; its horns weigh sometimes near fifty pounds. Accordingly, 
 to bear this heavy weight, its neck is short and strong, taking 
 away much of the elegance of proportion so generally predominant 
 in the deer. But when it is asserted that the elk wants beauty 
 or majesty, the opinion can be entertained by those who have seen 
 the female only, the young, or the mere stuffed specimens ; for 
 us who have had the opportunity of viewing the animal in all the 
 glory of its full-grown horns, amid the scenery of his own 
 wilderness, no animal could appear more majestic, or more 
 imposing. It is however the aggregate of his appearance which 
 produces this effect ; for when the proportions of its structure are 
 considered in detail, they certainly will seem destitute of the 
 harmony of parts, which in the imagination produces the feeling 
 of beauty. The head, measuring above two feet in length, is 
 narrow and clumsily shaped by the swelling upon the upper part 
 of the nose and nostrils ; the eye is proportionably small and sunk ; 
 the ears long, hairy, and asinine, the neck and withers are 
 surmounted by a heavy mane, and the throat furnished with long, 
 coarse liair, and in younger specimens encumbered with a pen- 
 dulous gland ; these give altogether an uncouth character to this 
 part of the animal. Its body, however, is round, compact, and 
 short, the tail not more than four inches long, and the legs, 
 though very long, are remarkably clean and firm ; this length of 
 limbs, and the overhanging lips, have caused the ancients to fancy 
 that it grazed walking backwards. The hair of the animal is 
 
THE MOOSE. 436 
 
 coarse and angular, breaking if bent. Its movements are rather 
 heavy, and the shoulders being higher than the croup, it does not 
 gallop, but shuffles or ambles along, its joints cracking at every 
 step, with a sound heard to some distance. Increasing its speed, 
 the hind-feet straddle, to avoid treading on its fore-heels, tossing 
 the head and shoulders, like a horse about to break from a trot to 
 a gallop. It does not leap, but steps without effort over a fallen 
 tree, a gate, or a split fence. During its progress it holds the 
 nose up, so as to lay the horns horizontally back. This attitude 
 prevents it seeing the ground distinctly, and as the weight is 
 carried very high upon the elevated legs, it is said sometimes to 
 trip by treading on its fore-heels, or otherwise, and occasionally to 
 give itself a heavy fall. It is probably owing to this occurrence 
 that the elk was believed by the ancients to have frequent attacks 
 of epilepsy, and to be obliged to smell its hoof before it could 
 recover ;. hence the Teutonic name of elend (miserable), and the 
 reputation, especially of the fore-hoof, as a specific against the 
 disease." 
 
 The senses of smelling and hearing, are very acute in all the 
 deer family, and especially in the moose. The ears are kept in 
 perpetual motion, being moved to and fro so that they may catch 
 the slightest sound made in their proximity. The nose conveys to 
 the brain the faintest taint in the air of a man or an animal 
 approaching with the wind, even from a considerable distance, and 
 before the hunter can clearly discern the moose, it has become 
 alarmed, and moved away with a silence that is perfectly won- 
 derful for so ponderous a beast. 
 
 In his description of the dreamy solitudes of a North American 
 pine-forest Captain Hardy,^ observes, " Although almost all of our 
 mammalia are nocturnal in their habits, and many of them beasts 
 of prey, their nightly wanderings and strife with their victims are 
 conducted in the most orderly manner. Quiet, noiseless stealth 
 appears to be the characteristic feature of all animal life in the 
 forest; mutual distrust of the same species, and ever-present 
 tendency to alarm, predominate even in the wildest districts, where 
 the sight of man is unknown, or at least unremembered. At the 
 2 "Forest Life in Acadio," 1869. 
 ]? f 2 
 
436 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 slightest sound the ruminants and rodents cease feeding, remain- 
 ing motionless, either from fear or instinct ; the rabbit or hare thus 
 frequently avoiding detection, whilst the moose can so silently with- 
 draw if suspecting an enemy that I have remained hours together 
 on the stillest night, beheving the animal to be standing within a 
 few yards in a neighbouring thicket, to which he had advanced in 
 answer to the call, and found at length that he had suspiciously 
 retreated. The great creature had retired, worming his huge bulk 
 and his ponderous antlers through the entangled swamp, without 
 detection of the straining ear to which the nibbling of a porcupine 
 at the bark of a tree in the same grove was plainly audible." 
 
 At the end of the summer, when the horns have reached their full 
 size for the year, the animal himself is also in the perfection of 
 his strength and condition, and, " forsaking the swamps and bogs, 
 where he has spent the summer feeding on the yellow pond-lilies, 
 and evading the moose-fly and similar pests by frequently standing 
 neck deep in some forest lake, he abandons the long silence main- 
 tained while his horns were in the velvet, and enters upon the 
 rutting season — a noisy, aggressive, and pugnacious character. 
 The fights which now occur between the old males are terrific — 
 Greek has met Greek, and the combat is often prolonged until 
 their horns become inextricably interlaced, and both animals die 
 a miserable death." 
 
 Moose are rather solitary animals, wandering about from one 
 place to another, but on the approach of winter, when through the 
 shape of the hoofs, which are long and sharp-pointed, they cannot 
 travel at any speed over the snow, they form into small herds of five 
 and six, often containing a bull, a cow, and the young ones of the 
 two previous seasons, and establish themselves in what is termed 
 a moose-yard. They generally form this yard in the neighbour- 
 hood of young, deciduous trees, such as the white birch, maples, 
 and mountain ash, for these, together with the coniferous trees, 
 the balsam fir and juniper, form their staple diet. Moose cannot 
 graze on the level ground, owing to the length of the legs and short- 
 ness of the neck, but they are able to feed on the leaves and small 
 branches of these trees, and they very rarely wander far from that 
 part of the country where there is an abundant growth of this 
 
THE MOOSE. 437 
 
 kind of food. The lips being prehensile, are perfectly adapted to 
 its mode of feeding, for it can peel the bark from the trees, and 
 draw within the mouth the branches and tender shoots it selects. 
 Hunters who have studied the habits of these animals in their 
 wild state, say that when the branches or topmost shoots are 
 beyond the reach of the moose, they resort to a process termed 
 " riding down the tree," that is, they get astride it, and bear it 
 down by the weight of the body, until the coveted branches are 
 within their reach. 
 
 Although they are very shy and timid, and very rarely attack 
 even when angered, yet it must be remembered that a ferocious 
 moose is an animal to be avoided, for besides employing his 
 antlers, he has a tremendous power with the hoofs, for the great 
 length of leg enables him to lash out vigorously with the hind-feet, 
 and with a single kick one has been known to kill a wolf ; but they 
 usually defend themselves against these animals and dogs with their 
 fore-feet, for they turn the hoof so as to strike with the sharp 
 point, while they deliver their blows with extraordinary rapidity. 
 
 The Indians are great hunters of the moose, for the flesh is 
 good eating, and the hide yields admirable leather for moccasins 
 and snow-shoes. Captain Butler, who witnessed moose-hunting 
 on the Peace Eiver, gives a description of it in his book, " The 
 Wild North Land," and remarks : — 
 
 "No man, save the Indian or the half Indian, can hunt the 
 moose with chance of success. I am a,ware that a host of 
 Englishmen and Canadians will exclaim against this, but never- 
 theless, it is perfectly true. Hunting the moose in summer and 
 winter is one thing — killing him in a snow-yard or running him 
 down in deep snow is another. The two methods are as widely 
 different as killing a salmon which another man has hooked for 
 you, is different from rising, hooking, playing, and gaflfing one 
 
 yourself. 
 
 " To hunt the moose requires years of study. Here is the little 
 game which his instinct teaches him. When the early morning 
 has come he begins to think of lying down for the day. He has 
 been feeding on the grey and golden willow-tops as he walked 
 leisurely along. His track is marked in the snow or soft clay ; 
 
438 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 he carefully retraces his footsteps, and breaking off suddenly to 
 the leeward side, lies down a gunrshot from his feeding-track. 
 He knows he must get the wind of any one following his trail. 
 
 " In the morning, ' Twa-poos,' or the Three Thumbs, sets forth to 
 look for a moose. He hits the trail and follows it ; every now and 
 again he examines the broken willow-tops or the hoof-marks. 
 When experience tells him that the moose has been feeding here 
 during the early night, Twa-poos quits the trail, bending away in 
 a deep circle to leeward ; stealthily he returns to the trail, and as 
 stealthily bends away again from it. He makes as it were the 
 semicircles of the letter B, supposing the perpendicular line to 
 indicate the trail of the moose. At each return to it, he examines 
 attentively the willows, and judges his proximity to the game. 
 At last he is so near that he knows for an absolute certainty that 
 the moose is lying in a thicket a little distance ahead. Now comes 
 the moment of caution. He divests himself of every article of 
 clothing that might cause the sUghest noise in the forest, even his 
 moccasins are laid aside, and then, on a pointed toe which a 
 ballet-girl might envy, he goes forward for the last stalk. Every 
 bush is now scrutinisjed, every thicket examined. See ! he 
 stops all at once ! You who follow him look, and look in vain ; 
 you can see nothing. He laughs to himself, and points to yon 
 willow covert. No, there is nothing there. He noiselessly cocks 
 his gun. You look again and again, but you can see nothing. 
 Then Twa-poos suddenly stretches out his hand, and breaks a 
 little dry twig from an overhanging branch. In an instant, right 
 in front, thirty or forty yards away, an immense dark-haired 
 animal rises up from the willows- He gives one look in your 
 direction, and that look is his last. Twa-poos has fired^ and the 
 moose is either dead in his thicket or within a hundred yards 
 of it. 
 
 " One word now about this sense of hearing possessed by the 
 moose. The most favourable day for hunting is in wild, windy 
 weather, when the dry branches of the forest crack in the gale. 
 Nevertheless, Indians have assured me that on such days, when 
 they have sighted a moose, they have broken a dry stick, and 
 although many branches were waving and cracking in the woods 
 
THE MOOSE. 439 
 
 the animal started at the sound — distinguisliing it from the natural 
 noises of the forest." 
 
 Besides the method of " stalking " or " still hunting," moose 
 are hunted by " calling " or " creeping," and in the winter when the 
 location of a herd is known, they are easily killed by hunting them 
 on snow-shoes, for if the animals attempt to escape over the deep 
 snow they break through the upper crust at every step, whilst the 
 hunter, on his snow-shoes, travels over it with facility. Moose- 
 calling is probably the most exciting of all the methods adopted, 
 and the one requiring the greatest amount of skill. It is only 
 practicable during the rutting season in September and October, 
 and can only be employed successfully between sunset and sun- 
 rise, for the bull-moose will rarely answer the call in the day-time. 
 A calm clear night, when all nature seems in repose, and the 
 slightest sound in the forest can be heard, and the bright moon- 
 light, whilst it silvers everything around, yet renders objects 
 clearly discernible even at a distance, is the one preferred by the 
 skilful "caller." 
 
 The art of bringing the moose within range in this way is one 
 possessed by few white men, for it requires long practice, excep- 
 tional skill, and some qualities, which can only be found in men 
 versed in venatorial lore. A great difficulty about it is the 
 giving vent to the call so as to make it sound as though it came 
 from the lungs of a moose and not from human ones. This is the 
 true secret of the matter, and it is in the possession of this power 
 that the red man excels the white one. The Micmac and Milecete 
 Indians of the lower provinces of Canada are probably the most 
 expert moose-hunters in the world, but even among them there 
 are fewer really good and reliable callers than is generally sup- 
 posed, for, as it is necessary to have many years' practice before 
 thorough proficiency in the art can be attained, it is only the 
 elder men of these communities that have fully mastered the 
 secret. 
 
 " The art and mystery of calKng,' ' remarked a writer in the FieU,^ 
 " consists in cleverly simulating the pecuHar grunting roar which 
 the cow-moose has a habit of uttering during the rutting time as 
 3 See Meld for November, 1878. 
 
440 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 a call to her lord. This call consists of a succession of low, deep 
 grunts, ending in a very loud, prolonged, and hideous roar, which, 
 in the profound silence of the woods on a calm night, is audible at 
 a distance of two or three miles. Unmelodious and unsyren-like 
 though the sound is to human ears, it apparently has its charms 
 for the animal that it is intended to attract, and by closely and 
 skilfully imitating this strange cry through a kind of horn or 
 trumpet formed of a twisted roll of birch-bark, the hunter is 
 enabled to decoy the most wary old ' bull '-moose within shot. 
 To do this, however, requires, as a rule, much skill and experience 
 on the part of the caller, who must be gifted with a good ear and 
 a natural aptitude for mimicking sounds. A moose, especially an 
 old bull, is one of the shyest and most suspicious of animals, and 
 his sense of hearing is of the keenest ; moreover, the nearer he 
 approaches the spot from whence the call emanates the more 
 wary and cautious he becomes, consequerltly the least inaccuracy 
 in pitch or tone is immediately detected, and sends him to the 
 right-about forthwith. Each note must therefore be correctly 
 rendered, as one false note or improper variation will inevitably 
 ensure detection of the imposition. The chief secret of success is 
 in knowing exactly when and how to modulate the sounds in the 
 manner best calculated to allay the animal's suspicions as he 
 draws neai-er ; when to raise or lower the notes, in particular 
 when the crafty moose makes a halt close to you, perhaps within 
 range, but still concealed from view, and pauses thus irresolutely, 
 keenly listening, and dubious whether to advance or take his 
 departure ; to be able, at this critical moment, to produce the low, 
 half-uttered, and distant sounding grunts and subdued roars 
 which are needed then to overcome his distrust, and entice him 
 fairly under fire." 
 
 Although moose are wary animals, they seem to have consider- 
 able curiosity, for the sound of even an axe upon a tree has been 
 known to attract them to the spot to investigate it, and men 
 possessing but the most feeble powers of " calling " have on occa- 
 sions allured an animal to their near proximity. Captain Hardy * 
 states that he knew a white settler in New Brunswick who thought 
 
 * "Sporting Adventures in the Few World." 
 
THE MOOSE. 441 
 
 he would try his hand at caUing, as the moose were numerous in 
 the woods at the back of his clearing, and got in consequence what 
 he expressed as " a most horrid scarin " from a bull-moose. It 
 appears that, somewhat to his surprise, he obtained an answer to his 
 call, and the animal came up in broad daylight. But the man was so 
 taken " aback " that it was not till the close approach of the moose 
 that he fired, which he did without taking good aim, and missed the 
 animal in consequence ; it then furiously attacked him by at once 
 knocking him over. " He said that for some minutes he did not 
 know whether he was on his head or his heels, and that when he 
 came to his senses again he found, no doubt to his great relief, 
 his persecutor gone. He was badly bruised, but by good-luck 
 escaped having his skull fractured by a blow from the fore-leg of 
 the powerful animal." 
 
 The European elk is, or rather was, a native of the wooded 
 wilds of the northern countries of Europe. Lloyd ^ says it was at 
 one time numerous in most parts of Sweden and Norway ; but, 
 owing to the increased population and other causes, the animal 
 was when he wrote only to be met with in particular districts. In 
 Scania, the most southern province of Sweden, where they once 
 abounded, there are none now to be seen. Elk, however, can still 
 be found in Finland, Lithuania, and some parts of Russia, also in 
 the forests of Siberia, and in the neighbourhood of the Altai 
 mountains. During the last half -century they have been steadily 
 on the increase in some places in Norway, owing to the protection 
 afforded them by law, and to their having abandoned the districts 
 where their enemy the wolf abounds for regions where but few of 
 them exist. 
 
 " The elk is a first-rate swimmer," remarks the Rev. M. R. 
 Barnard,^ " and goes ahead through the water with great velocity, 
 making the water hiss and foam again. It is also able to traverse 
 swamps without sinking into the mire. If the ground be very 
 soft it has recourse to an artful expedient. As soon as it begins 
 to feel itself sinking, it sits down on its hams, stretches out its 
 fore-legs, and regularly ' punts ' itself along ; but should it 
 
 ^ "Field-Sports of the North of Europe," 1830. 
 6 " Sport in Norway and Where to find it," 1864. 
 
442 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 happen that the swamp is too soft even to admit of this, it adopts 
 the same plan as the mountain ponies do under similar emer- 
 gencies. It throws itself over on one side, draws its feet together, 
 and kicks them out simultaneously with great violence, and thus 
 manages to jerk itself along. In this way it is enabled to cross 
 places where even the wolf gets completely nonplussed. But on 
 the smooth ice it is perfectly helpless. No cat on walnut-shells 
 or donkey on stilts ever looked half so ridiculous as does an elk on 
 the ice. It falls down directly it begins to move, and owing to 
 its length of leg is unable to rise again." 
 
 " The skin is convertible to many purposes, and is very valu- 
 able. Mr. Grieff says : ' It is not long since that a regiment was 
 clothed with buff waistcoats made from the hides of those animals, 
 which were so thick that a ball could scarcely penetrate them.' 
 He adds further, that ' when made into breeches, a pair of them, 
 among the peasantry of former days, went as a legacy for several 
 generations.' " 
 
 The elk was well known to the Eomans. Caesar makes the 
 first allusion to the animal in the pages of history, in the sixth 
 book "De Bello GaUico," wherein he describes it as being an 
 inhabitant of the great Hercynian forests of ancient Germany. 
 Pausanius also refers to it. Pliny, whilst declaring it to be a 
 native of Scandinavia, states that it had not been, during his time, 
 exhibited at the Roman games. At a later period, however, it 
 made its appearance, for Gordian's collection included ten speci- 
 mens, and according to the Latin biographer, Julius Capitolinus, 
 who wrote about the end of the third century, Aurelian, when he 
 celebrated his triumph over Zenobia, exhibited the rare spectacle 
 of the elk, together with the tiger and giraffe. 
 
 Good representatives of the moose are rarely seen in England. 
 The animals that appear occasionally in the Zoological Gardens 
 are generally miserable-looking creatures compared to the animals 
 to be seen wild in America. The climate evidently does not 
 agree with them, and they suffer through the absence of their 
 natural food. King Charles I., who among his other attainments 
 was well versed in natural history, took great interest in all 
 animals, and liked to possess rare specimens, gave directions, in 
 
THE MOOSE. 443 
 
 1637, for toils to be taken to Yirginia to catch deer alive for him. 
 By " deer '' meaning the great elk of America now known as the 
 moose, but the success of the venture is not recorded, for about 
 this time the monarch's troubles began to thicken around him. 
 
 They are difficult animals to transport without injury, and this 
 fact was brought home to Victor Emanuel, who, some five and 
 twenty years ago, gave orders to have a number shipped from 
 North America to Italy for him. After considerable labour some 
 were caught and tamed, but all but one died at sea through rough 
 weather. 
 
 When captured young the elk is easily tamed and domesticated ; 
 and to people who are partial to the rearing of hybrids it may be 
 interesting to know that at the Veterinary Institute in Stockholm 
 a cross between a tame elk and a cow has been obtained. A tame 
 moose manifests considerable attachment to the person who takes 
 care of it, for it will follow him about like a dog, and after a 
 separation will exhibit in many ways unmistakable expressions 
 of joy and pleasure on again seeing him. 
 
 Their powers were for two or three centuries utilized for sledge- 
 drawing in Sweden. They were described as being quite as useful 
 as the reindeer in harness, and could perform long journeys at a 
 much greater speed. In the reign of Charles IX. (1550 to 1611) 
 elks were employed in this way for conveying couriers ; and their 
 endurance and the rate they could travel can be imagined, for 
 it is recorded that they accomplished 234 English miles a day 
 even when harnessed to a sledge. It is stated that this fact was 
 the reason their use was discontinued ; for their great speed and 
 the distance they could travel led to their being utilized by mur- 
 derers and other criminals to accelerate their escape over the 
 frontier, and their employment had consequently to be prohibited 
 by the Government under heavy penalties. 
 
 Although so easily tamed and trained for work, yet the reason 
 that they are not so utilized at the present day is no doubt owing 
 to the fact that during the rutting season they become useless, 
 for they get headstrong, pugnacious, and frequently dangerous. 
 Some years ago, a gentleman in Three Rivers, a province of Que- 
 bec had a tame animal, which he employed during the winter to 
 
444 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 draw water from the river on a sledge made for the purpose, but 
 despite its docihty, it was liable to give great trouble through 
 getting perfectly unmanageable at the season of its excitement. 
 
 At the present time a half-breed Indian, who has a homestead in 
 the region of the Dead River in the State of Maine, employs a 
 moose for his farm-work. The animal has been completely 
 broken in for labour purposes, and when hitched to a sleigh travels 
 as fast as a good horse. He is kept in an enclosure surrounded 
 by a fence of ordinary height, and now and again the moose jumps 
 over it and disappears, to taste the sweets of liberty once more for a 
 few days ; but the half-breed does not appear to regard his absence 
 with any alarm, for the animal has never yet failed to return 
 sooner or later and submit to be harnessed. 
 
 Captain Hardy, while in Halifax, kept a young bull-moose which 
 was so tame that he would come into the room and jump several 
 times over chairs, backwards and forwards, for a piece of bread. 
 His great delight was to have tobacco-smoke puffed in his face, 
 which would cause him to rub his head, with great satisfaction, 
 against the individual who would do it to him. It was at last 
 accidentally killed by being given an over-feed of turnips. 
 
445 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 THE REINDEEE (TARANDUS RANGIFER). 
 
 Ceetain qualities possessed by the reindeer make it the most 
 important of all the species of deer, for it is the only one which 
 has been thoroughly domesticated and employed by man. It has 
 a somewhat similar range to the elk, but extends into the countries 
 still more northerly. Murray describes it as inhabiting the whole 
 of the boreal regions of the northern hemisphere. Its southern 
 limit is very nearly the isothermal line of 32° Tahr., more 
 frequently extending a few degrees to the south of it than to 
 the north. Its most southerly limit now is 50° N.L., viz. the 
 southern point of Kamtschatka, and its northern is most probably 
 Spitzbergen. It is also a native of Greenland, and is found in Ice- 
 land, but it is not an aboriginal inhabitant. Sir G. S. Mackenzie ^ 
 writes : " The reindeer has been introduced into the island, 
 and has increased rapidly. Out of thirteen which were exported 
 from Norway in 1770, three only reached Iceland. They were 
 sent into the mountains of the Guldbringe Syssel, and they have 
 since multiplied so considerably, that it is now no uncommon thing 
 for those who pass often through the mountains in various parts 
 of the island to meet with herds consisting of from forty to sixty 
 or a hundred. They are very little molested, the Icelanders 
 satisfying themselves with complaining that the deer eat their 
 lichen ; and, though sometimes for the sake of amusement the 
 Danes go out in pursuit of them, very few are destroyed. They 
 live almost entirely among the mountains, and are very shy ; but 
 sometimes in the depth of winter come down into the plains, 
 particularly about Thirgvaka, to feed on the moss which abounds 
 in that quarter." 
 
 1 " Travels in the Island of Iceland," 1811. 
 
446 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 Murray, commenting on this increase, says : " A tappy future 
 was anticipated for these animals. It was thought that although 
 in Lapland they were losers by their connection with man, Iceland 
 should make up for all. There is in the interior a tract which Sir G. 
 Mackenzie computed at not less than forty thousand square miles, 
 without a single human habitation, and almost entirely unknown 
 to the natives themselves. There are no wolves ; the Icelanders 
 would keep out the bears; and the reindeer, being almost 
 unmolested by man, would have no enemy whatever, unless they 
 had brought with them their own tormenting gad-fly. The anti- 
 cipation has not been reahzed. Lord Dufferin speaks of them as 
 anything but common, and Mr. Baring-Gould says that they are 
 almost confined to the north-eastern part of the island, where they 
 are in some numbers." 
 
 In Spitzbergen, Finland, and Lapland, the reindeer attains its 
 perfection in size and strength, for the animals generally to be 
 seen in Norway and Sweden are in every way inferior. 
 
 In the New World, the reindeer, or caribou, as it is there called, 
 extends through Greenland, Canada, and Newfoundland. The 
 animal of these countries differs in the construction of the horns 
 and in other minor particulars, so that it is easy to distinguish the 
 American from the old world animal, and in consequence some 
 naturalists have contended that the two varieties are specifically 
 distinct ; this opinion has not, however, been generally accepted. 
 
 Although even at the present day the range of the reindeer is 
 a wide one, yet its habitat is confined to the northern regions of 
 the world, but in earher times this was not the case, for remains 
 of these animals have been found in many parts of France. In 
 the southern part of that country, especially, immense numbers of 
 their bones have been discovered, and it is conjectured that the 
 animals were used as food by the human dwellers in the caves. 
 In "Wales, some few years ago, many hundreds of reindeer antlers 
 were found in the bone-caves of Glamorganshire, and the remains 
 of many distinct varieties have been discovered in certain parts of 
 England. 
 
 The reindeer differs in one important feature from all other 
 members of the deer family in that the females possess antlers as 
 
THE EEINDBBE. 447 
 
 well as the males. They are of the same form as the bucks, but 
 are smaller and are not shed at the same time, for the animals 
 of the latter sex are deprived of their horns at the beginning of 
 the wmter, while the cow-reindeers retain theirs until the spring. 
 Why this should be has not been accurately ascertained, although 
 various conjectures have been made, but there seems no reason 
 why, if the horns are of any service to the one sex during the 
 winter, they should not be equally necessary to the other. The 
 horns of the male animal begin to grow again in the summer, and 
 by the middle of September are perfectly developed, and have 
 become hard and firm. Barnard remarks that the animals at this 
 time may often be seen rubbing their antlers against sandbanks in 
 order to get rid of the coating of skin, and stamping with their 
 hoofs on them till their horns are quite bare. "During this 
 operation," he observes, "they frequently lose a great deal of 
 blood. Should the weather be sunny their antlers assume a blood- 
 red appearance, but if rainy they are quite white." 
 
 The reindeer is not a graceful animal, for the shortness and 
 thickness of the neck, and the size of the head, together with a 
 general want of symmetry, confer upon the animal anything but 
 the elegant and attractive appearance noticeable in the other 
 members of the deer genus. The head is not carried erect, but low 
 down, so as to form nearly a straight line with the back. The 
 antlers, however, are sometimes large and very ornamental. They 
 are sub -cylindrical, flat on the insides but rounded off on the outer. 
 The lower branches and tips are slightly palmated. Abnormal 
 instances are occasionally to be met with, in which a considerable 
 amount of palmation is exhibited throughout the entire extent of 
 the horns. Major Eoss King^ says, referring to the horns 
 of the caribou, " They are of singular and fantastic form, and 
 though of great expanse — apparently but ill adapted for a 
 forest-life — are so slight that their weight seldom exceeds nine 
 pounds. The stem of the horn is considerably curved, the con- 
 cave side being to the front, and the extremities of the palmated 
 brow-antlers nearly fifteen inches over the face. Sometimes 
 only one of these brow-antlers occurs on one or other of the 
 2 " The Sportsman and Naturalist in Canada." 
 
448 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 horns, though they are more frequently present in both, especially 
 in the case of the older males ; and it is doubtless their peculiarity 
 of form which has led to the belief that they are intended by 
 nature for the purpose of removing the snows of winter in search 
 of food. The fact, however, that the male animal sheds his horns 
 about the commencement of that season demolishes the theory in 
 his case ; and it is well known that he uses for this purpose his 
 fore-feet and muzzle only, the skin of which latter is exceedingly 
 hard and tough." 
 
 In Lapland, where the reindeer constitutes the most important 
 possession of the people, the animals are found in a wild as well 
 as a domesticated state, the former being slightly larger than 
 the tame ones. The domesticated reindeer supplies the Lap- 
 lander with nourishment and clothing, and not only does it con- 
 stitute his support, but it is the object of his pride and happiness, 
 for his whole wealth is estimated by the number ■ of these animals 
 he possesses. The man who owns many hundreds of them has 
 attained the highest pinnacle of good fortune, but a traveller 
 who studied the habits of this curious people states that on this 
 account he will never think of altering his mode of living in the 
 slightest degree, or of adding to his enjoyments, except, perhaps, 
 by considerably increasing his daily supply of brandy. 
 
 From Tromholt's^ popular book, many particulars can be 
 learnt respecting the Laplanders and their reindeer, which are 
 the most important factors in their domestic economy. " They 
 are his fields and meadows, cows and horses ; and from them he 
 obtains every article which the townsman purchases at his stores. 
 The reindeer furnishes the Lapp with food, clothes, and labour ; it 
 supplies him with milk, cheese, meat, and money. The skin is 
 used for clothes and furs, the skin of the head and feet for shoe- 
 leather, and from the sale of the products of the reindeer he 
 obtains every other requisite, such as vadmel for clothes and tent, 
 flour, salt, spirits, tools, and nicknacks, while from the sinews 
 thread is made by the women, and from the horns or bones, tools 
 and glue." 
 
 3 " Under the Eays of the Aurora Borealis," hy Sophus Tromholt, edited by Carl 
 Siewers. 
 
THE REINDEEE. 449 
 
 Keindeer are milked by some Laplanders once and by others 
 twice a day, and this process of milking is described as one of the 
 most interesting scenes to be witnessed in the country. 
 
 " Towards evening the reindeer are driven from the mountains 
 to the tents. Their arrival is first announced by the barking of 
 the dogs, who run round the herd to keep the animals together. 
 Soon the whole herd is descried, forming a closely packed mass, 
 which moves along like a grey cloud. As the animals approach 
 nearer, the horns become a prominent object, resembling a moving 
 leafless forest, and very various in the form and size. The fawns 
 push through among the full-grown animals, and we at last hear 
 a crackling noise, produced by the movement of their legs, and 
 resembling the sound of burning fir-trees, or rather that of elec- 
 tric sparks. Here and there is heard a sound somewhat like the 
 grunting of swine. Near the tents there is a circular enclosure, 
 provided with two openings or doors. When the reindeer 
 approach it they press closely together in order to enter, and one 
 sees only the moving mass and the projecting horns. Should a 
 deer or a fawn remain behind, or take a wrong path, a dog imme- 
 diately pursues it, and the deserter is soon seen running back to 
 the herd at full pace, followed by the dog. The animals now 
 stand closely packed together within the fence, and are so tame 
 that a stranger even can touch them without trouble or danger. 
 In the centre of the enclosure there is a small erection, to which 
 the animal is strongly bound during the milking in order that it 
 inay not become unruly, and upset both the milk and the milker. 
 The milking is performed by men, women, and children ; but the 
 task of bringing the animals to the milking-place belongs exclu- 
 sively to a particular man, and is accomplished in the following 
 
 manner : — 
 
 *' This individual is accurately acquainted with every animal, 
 even in a herd of several hundred, and knows if it is a male or 
 female, and if it is milked or not. He goes with a noose in his 
 hand and throws it so dexterously over the horns of the animal 
 he wishes to secure that he never fails in his aim, even at a dis- 
 tance of fifteen or twenty yards, and when many other individuals 
 are standing between him and his object. So soon as the noose 
 
 a g 
 
450 "WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 is fastened round the horns, the animal is dragged to the milking- 
 place and there securely tied ; another animal is afterwards taken 
 in the same way, and so on till all have been milked. The skill of 
 the Laplanders in the use of this noose can only be compared to 
 that of the savages of Africa, or the bull-takers in Brazil." 
 
 Du Ohaillu * describes the process of milking as peculiar : the 
 women hold in one hand a wooden scoop and frequently have to 
 press hard with the other, for the thick fluid seems to come with 
 difficulty. From the scoop the milk is poured into a keg-like 
 vessel, closed by a sliding cover, and so contrived that it can be 
 carried on the back of an animal. " I was surprised," he remarks, 
 " at the small yield — some not giving enough to fill a small coffee- 
 cup ; but it was very thick and rich — so much so, that water 
 had to be added before drinking ; it is exceedingly nourishing, and 
 has a strong flavour, not unlike that of goat's milk. The milk 
 of the reindeer forms a very important item in the food of the 
 Lapps, and possesses an amount of nutrition far greater than that 
 of the cow or the ass ; strange to say, the butter made from it is 
 so bad that one might almost fancy that he was eating tallow; 
 accordingly, the Lapps make very little butter, but cheese is 
 produced in large quantities." 
 
 Sir A. De C. Brooke, in his book " A Winter in Lapland and 
 Sweden," remarks that a mere glance at the reindeer will con- 
 vince us how admirably Providence has qualified this animal for 
 the Polar regions, and how indispensably necessary it is to the 
 very existence of the inhabitants of these countries. " The peculiar 
 make and strength observable in the neck, shoulders, and fore- 
 quarters," he states, " would alone mark it as peculiarly adapted by 
 nature for the purposes of draught, while its loins, the extraordinary 
 degree of muscular power developed in the general formation, the 
 thickness and bore of the legs, confirm it in as great a degree. 
 The hoofs of the animal are wonderfully adapted to the country 
 it inhabits ; instead of being narrow and pointed, Hke those of the 
 roebuck or the fallow-deer, they are remarkably broad, flat, and 
 spreading ; and when it sets down its foot, it has the power of 
 contracting or spreading its hoofs in a greater or less degree, 
 * " Tlie Land o.f the Midnight Sun." 
 
REINDEER FEEDING. 
 
 Scene in Lapland. From a photograph taken by Mr. Sophus Tromholt. 
 
THE REINDEER 451 
 
 according to tTie nature of the surface on wticli it moves. When 
 the snow is on the ground, and in a soft state, the broadness of 
 the hoofs, which it then spreads out so as almost to equal in size 
 those of a horse, gives it a firmer support on the snow, and 
 hinders it from sinking so deep in as it would otherwise do; 
 though it does not prevent it at times from plunging even to a 
 great depth, particularly after a recent fall of snow, before the 
 surface has acquired firmness sufficient to bear the weight of the 
 animal." 
 
 " The snapping or clicking noise, which is heard when the 
 animal walks, is occasioned by the contraction of the hoofs when 
 the foot is raised from the ground, and the consequent striking of 
 the inner parts of the hoofs against each other. This noise is 
 perhaps of no inconsiderable advantage in enabling the herd when 
 scattered, to rejoin each other, as from the acuteness of their 
 hearing, it is audible at a considerable distance. 
 
 " No other animal probably has so thick and so close a coat as 
 the reindeer, which is thus well protected against the severity of 
 the climate it inhabits. Of all the garments worn by the inhabi- 
 tants of the Polar regions, none can be compared with those made 
 of the reindeer skin for effectually resisting the cold. The Lap- 
 lander is fully sensible of this, and every part of his winter 
 clothing is made from their fur. The hairs composing their coat 
 are indeed so thick, that it is hardly possible by separating them 
 in anv way, to discern the least portion of the naked hide. At 
 the lower part of the neck, a thick tuft of long hair hangs down, 
 and serves as an additional protection to this part against the 
 
 cold. 
 
 " The o-eneral colour of the animal during the summer is 
 considerably darker than in winter, and when it gets its new coat 
 the fur is thin, but as winter approaches, it thickens in an extra- 
 ordinary manner, becoming of a greyish brown : and the flanks, 
 breast, and lower part of the neck, are then of a greyish white." 
 
 The average duration of the reindeer's life is estimated at nine 
 or ten years, but occasionally it will live to the age of sixteen. 
 
 In summer these animals feed on the leaves and tender shoots 
 of certain trees and mountain shrubs. They also browse upon the 
 
 Gg 2 
 
452 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 young herbage wliicli they can crop hastily as they pass along. 
 
 Brooke states that it is affirmed that where the reindeer has been 
 
 feeding, no cattle will graze for a considerable time afterwards. 
 In winter the food and almost entire subsistence of these animals 
 
 are different lichens, but chiefly the lichen rangiferinus, or rein- 
 deer-moss. Although the country is almost destitute of other 
 vegetation, yet this plant, which is described as containing very 
 nourishing properties, is providentially strewed plentifully over it. 
 The belief that the horns of the reindeer were employed by the 
 animal to clear away the snow, so that it could reach its food, 
 still exists, but it is an error ; the snow is dug up with the broad, 
 sharp-edged hoofs. Du Ohaillu witnessed reindeer feeding in 
 this way, and he describes the scene in the following words. 
 He was driving with a guide one very cold day, when entering 
 a forest they found themselves suddenly in the midst of a number 
 of holes several feet deep, which had been dug by reindeer. 
 " The track of the furrows of the other sleigh," he writes, " was 
 soon lost, and the route became abominable. Down into the 
 depths we would go — up again — then on one side, then on the 
 other. From the top of a mound we were pitched into a hole, 
 bumping against a tree, the boughs or branches often striking 
 against our faces ; to avoid these we had to keep ourselves flat 
 in the sleighs, in constant danger of being upset. Several thou- 
 sand reindeer had evidently been here, and we were completely 
 lost in their excavations." When they came up with the herd, 
 Du Ohaillu remarks that he witnessed an interesting sight. " The 
 snow in this district was not deep," he continues, " not over four 
 feet. Under that thick cover was buried the rich moss of which 
 the reindeer is so fond. All except the younger ones were busy 
 digging, first with one forefoot, then with the other ; the holes 
 gradually became larger, and the bodies of the animals were more 
 and more hidden; they would not stop till they had reached 
 the moss. Wherever I turned my eyes they were seen doing the 
 same work, for they were evidently hungry. 
 
 " On our way back another strange sight presented itself. 
 Where had the reindeer gone ? None were to be seen. Had they 
 been taken away ? As I approached the herd, I discovered that 
 
THE EBINDBBE. 453 
 
 all of them had dug holes so deep that I could see only their 
 tails, which swayed to and fro. This was certainly a landscape 
 I had never seen before." 
 
 It is a well-attested fact, although a singular one, that the rein-r 
 deer occasionally eats the lemming, or mountain rat. 
 
 A good deer is capable of drawing a weight of nearly 300 lbs., 
 but the Laplanders generally allot about 240 lbs. for each animal. 
 They are by their construction better calculated for hauling than 
 for carrying weights, yet in some countries they are made 
 available even for this purpose, and formerly in Kamtschatka, 
 Siberia, and even in Russia, they were ridden by travellers. 
 Martin Sauer, in his account of the geographical and astronomical 
 expedition performed by Commodore Joseph Billings to the 
 northern parts of Russia, by command of the Empress Catherine 
 the Second, during the latter part of the last century, gives a 
 curious description of this mode of travelling : " Having with 
 me," he writes, " the ship-builder and my servant, at 3 p.m. I 
 left the party mounted on a beautiful young reindeer ; the saddle 
 placed on its shoulders, without stirrups ; no bridle, but a leather 
 thong about five fathoms long tied round the head of the deer ; 
 this is kept in the rider's left hand, that he may prevent its escape 
 if he falls, and when refreshing have a little scope to select its 
 food, A strong stick about five feet long assists the rider to 
 mount, though the Tungoose, for this purpose use their bow ; 
 standing on the right side of the deer, they put the left leg upon 
 the saddle, lean on the stick with the right hand, and spring up 
 with astonishing apparent ease : we, however, could not effect it 
 by any means without assistance ; and during about three hours' 
 travelling, I daresay that we fell near twenty times. The top of 
 the saddle is square and flat, projecting a few inches over the 
 sides of the deer ; the seat is secured by drawing up the calves of 
 the legs towards the thighs, and clinging fast to the projecting 
 parts of the saddle, which at first causes astonishing pain to the 
 thighs ; by the third day, however, I became a very expert rider ; 
 the ship-builder could not manage it at all, and went for the 
 most part on foot: of course my travelling was not very ex- 
 peditious." 
 
454 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 Eev. M. R. Barnard assures sportsmen who contemplate visiting 
 Norway that wild reindeer are certainly to be met with in Finmark, 
 and in JSTordland, yet they are comparatively few in numbers, for 
 most of the deer in these provinces are tame ones belonging to the 
 Laps. It has been computed that this latter variety number over 
 28,000 head, and the reindeer being the sole possession of the people, 
 it is almost needless to say that they are most jealously guarded. 
 He also draws attention to the fact that there is a heavy penalty for 
 shooting one purposely, and cautions Englishmen who go out there 
 for sport not to indulge in any " eccentricities " with the animals, 
 ■ for the Laps occasionally take the law into their own hands, as 
 the following history proves : — 
 
 " Some years ago a number of convicts escaped from the 
 fortress at Vardohuis. In order to obtain food, they had recourse 
 to killing tame reindeer. This exasperated the Laps beyond 
 measure. They tracked these unfortunate poachers from place to 
 place, slowly, but as surely as the bloodhounds follow on the track 
 of a runaway slave. For years nothing was heard of them, till 
 at last their bleached skeletons were found, bearing evident signs 
 that their former inmates had fallen into the hands of their 
 remorseless and avenging pursuers." 
 
 A writer of a book on Lapland observes that reindeer have 
 nothing of the antlered monarch of the forest look about them, 
 but a careworn, nervous one, which, he adds, "I do not wonder at, 
 considering how they are bullied. There are creatures which sting 
 them all over, and creatures which lay their eggs in their eyes and 
 nostrils, and make themselves comfortable under their skin ; and 
 wolves, and gluttons, and dogs, and Laps ; in short, barring a cat, 
 I know of no animal that is so worried." De Brooke also remarks 
 upon the same subject, that " no creature suffers more than the 
 reindeer from a species of gad-fly, as it not only torments him 
 incessantly by its sting, but deposits its eggs in holes which it has 
 made in the hide. The poor animal is tormented to such a degree, 
 that were the Laps to remain in the forest from June to August, 
 they would run the risk of losing the greater part of their herds, 
 either by actual sickness, or by the deer being off on their own 
 accord to escape the ' fly.' For these reasons the Lap is driven 
 
THE EEINDBER. 455 
 
 from the forests to the mountains overhanging the Norwegian 
 and Lapland coasts." 
 
 The reindeer will only gallop when actually forced to do so, 
 although in pictures the animal is generally represented as flying 
 over the snow in this manner. Its ordinary pace is an awkward, 
 straddley walk, varied occasionally by a still more ungraceful, 
 slouching trot. Its speed in a loaded sledge is about ten Enghsh 
 miles an hour, and its powers of endurance are very great : so 
 much so, that journeys of one hundred and fifty miles in nineteen 
 hours are not uncommon. De Brooke states that there is a 
 portrait of a reindeer in the royal palace of Drotningholm, 
 (Sweden), which is said to have performed the extraordinary feat 
 on an occasion of emergency in 1699, of drawing an officer who 
 carried important despatches, a distance of eight hundred English 
 miles in forty-eight consecutive hours. The report is current that 
 the poor beast dropped down dead at the conclusion of the 
 journey. 
 
 The caribou of North America appears, as before stated, to be 
 identical with the European reindeer. These animals are to be 
 found across the whole width of the American continent, but 
 except perhaps in certain districts of Nova Scotia, are most 
 abundant on the western side of the Rocky Mountains and the 
 northern parts of British Columbia. 
 
 ' It is almost impossible, however, to accurately define the terri- 
 tories in which the animals are most plentiful, for the work of 
 exterminating the larger fauna of America is one that makes 
 rapid strides. The observation made with respect to the habitat of 
 the reindeer being confined to the northern regions is also ap- 
 plicable to the caribou in America. It now abounds south of the 
 Hudson's Bay to the United States, and from Newfoundland to 
 the Pacific, but their fossil remains have been found as far south 
 as Ohio. Mr. S. J. Hays, in a paper read before the New York 
 Lyceum of Natural History in 1871, remarked that at the period 
 fraught with so much meaning to the Indians, namely, " the 
 arrival of the white man," the range of the caribou was no more 
 extensive than at present. The settlers of New Amsterdam knew 
 of it only from the Indians, and, from the inaccurate description 
 
456 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 of it wliicli they received from this source, -wrote back to their 
 friends in Europe that the fabled unicorn had been found. 
 
 There are two varieties of this species of the rangifer — the 
 ■woodland caribou and the barren ground caribou, the latter being 
 much smaller animals in every way. Their range is along the shores 
 of the Arctic Ocean and of Hudson's Bay, above the northern 
 limit of the forests. They are also to be found in Grreenland. 
 
 Owing to the stupid and fearless character of these deer in 
 some districts, the sport of caribou-hunting is not remarkably 
 exciting. One hunter states : " I have repeatedly known deer which 
 I had failed in approaching unseen come up boldly of their own 
 accord until they were within easy shot of me, although I was not 
 only in full view but to windward of them. Neither does the report 
 of a rifle much alarm them ; but that is more easily understood, 
 as they are no doubt accustomed to hear the cracking of the 
 glaciers, and the noises caused by the splitting of rocks by 
 the frost in winter. On one occasion my companion found a 
 troop of ^five deer, and, obtaining a concealed position whence 
 they were within range of his rifle, knocked over four of them 
 by a bullet from each of his four barrels ; the survivor then 
 stood sniffing his dead companions until Kennedy had time to 
 reload and consummate this unparalleled sporting feat by polish- 
 ing him off likewise." And again he writes : " In the first 
 valley we came to we espied some small troops of deer feeding 
 within half a mile of the shore. "We landed, and I killed nine of 
 them without much trouble ; I might easily have shot as many more, 
 but I got disgusted with such a burlesque upon sport, and left 
 them alone." This, however, was a very exceptional experience. 
 
 The lowing of the caribou is a short, hoarse bellow, which is 
 more like the bark of a dog than the voice of an animal of the 
 deer tribe. 
 
 The caribou does not appear to have ever been domesticated, 
 although attempts have frequently been made to utilize it in 
 the same way as the European reindeer, but through some cause 
 or another these experiments have not been crowned with success, 
 for although carefully reared and trained by man from their very 
 birth they become wild and untractable on attaining maturity. 
 
457 
 
 CHAPTER XXYII. 
 
 THE WAPITI AND THE LUHDOKF'S DEEE. 
 
 The wapiti {Oervus Canadensis) is frequently called tlie elk in 
 America, and by some of the hunters in the Hudson's Bay Terri- 
 tory is spoken of as the " red deer." The moose is, however, the 
 true elk, and although the wapiti resembles the old-world red deer 
 in many ways, yet it far exceeds it in size. The wapiti is, in fact, 
 one of the largest and most stately specimens of the deer species, 
 being frequently found as big as a good-sized ox, and possessing 
 wonderful power and activity. 
 
 " This antlered monarch of the forest," remarks Mr. J. M. 
 Murphy, " stands about as high as a horse, and often attains a 
 weight of eight hundred pounds. Having strong though lithe 
 limbs, a full body, large dark eyes, and a splendid head, which is 
 adorned with magnificent branching antlers five or six feet in 
 length, and bearing from five to seven prongs each, it is, in my 
 estimation, the finest specimen of its family on the continent. It 
 has a proud, defiant, yet graceful mien, which makes it one of the 
 most superb adjuncts to a landscape, and its very gait is enough to 
 arouse the ardour of the most unimpressible sportsmen, it being 
 the acme of easy yet vigorous motion. Its antlers, which are 
 highly prized for adorning dining-rooms, frequently weigh from 
 fifty to sixty pounds, so that they are fit trophies to grace the 
 proudest baronial halls. They sometimes assume eccentric shapes, 
 for it is no very unusual sight to see a burly stag with one of his 
 antlers largely palmated, and the other curving downward instead 
 of upward, so that it resembles the bend of the horns so marked in 
 the mountain sheep. Such antlers are deemed to be unusually 
 valuable, as their eccentricity is highly prized by collectors and 
 ardent lovers of the chase." 
 
458 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 These tandsome antlers are often seen between four and five 
 feet in height. They are round, brownish-coloured, and have a 
 roughened surface except at the points, which are generally worn 
 quite smooth and white. They are usually shed in March or April. 
 
 Unfortunately, the fashionable people of the United States 
 having discovered these horns are splendid adjuncts in the orna- 
 mentation of their halls and dining-rooms, a demand has been 
 created for them which is materially hastening the total dis- 
 appearance of the wapiti from many of the States where even 
 lately they used to be abundant. 
 
 In summer the prevailing colour of the wapiti is a light 
 chestnut-red, which is darker under the throat and centre of the 
 belly, and there is a large whitish patch upon the hind-quarters. 
 The colour becomes greyish in the autumn, and continues so 
 through the winter. The ears are long and sharply pointed. 
 
 The sexes differ considerably in size, the females being much the 
 smaller, and they do not possess any horns. The males, even 
 when encumbered with their huge appendages, make their way 
 through dense woods with ease and without slackening their usual 
 pace when alarmed, which is a long-measured trot, that carries them 
 over the ground at a rapid rate, for they throw their cumbrous 
 antlers back over the neck, till they nearly rest on the body, and 
 with their noses well up in the air, the branches are easily parted 
 asunder and the opening widened sufficiently for the passage of 
 the horns. 
 
 The true habitat of the wapiti at the present day is west of 
 the Rocky Mountains. There its range extends from California 
 in the south to British America in the north, but it is stated to be 
 most numerous between the parallels of thirty-eight and fifty-two, 
 where formerly it was seen in herds that varied from fifty to five 
 thousand. It used to be abundant in the wooded portions of 
 Northern California, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Dakotah, 
 British Columbia, and in the beautiful and extensive natural 
 parks of Colorado. Murphy states that being exceedingly grega- 
 rious in habit, where one is found there are sure to be others ; and 
 in many places they spread over the country like small herds of 
 domestic cattle. 
 
A WAPITI STAG, 
 
 With horns in the velvet. 
 
 {Ceii'us canadensis.) 
 
 A WAPITI STAG, 
 
 With horns fully developed. 
 
THE WAPITI AND THE LUHDOEF'S DEER. 459 
 
 But the various industries, mining, rancliing, and farming, are 
 fatal to the existence of big game, and the same story has to be 
 told of the noble wapiti as of all the other animals indigenous to 
 the new world ; the demand for their hides, which have more than 
 doubled in value lately, the increase in the number of sports- 
 men who annually visit their haunts, and other causes, are all 
 conducive to the one inevitable result. The extermination of the 
 wapiti is nearly an accomplished fact in the countries east of the 
 Mississippi, and after the lapse of a few more years the same 
 remark will doubtless be applicable to the territories to the west 
 of the river. 
 
 The wapiti deer was found all along the coast of America from 
 Canada to the Grulf of Mexico. Mr. Hays, in the paper referred 
 to in the previous chapter on the elk, drew attention to the fact 
 that Yanderdonck mentions them as being plentiful in 1642 
 around New Netherland, which nearly corresponds with the 
 modern State of New York. Father Le Moine made a journey in 
 1654 to the western part of this State, and speaks of the astonish- 
 ing number of the deer and of the great number of elk (wapiti), 
 many of which were killed while crossing the rivers. According to 
 Brickell, elk were plentiful in the Oarolinas as late as 1737. "As 
 late as 1826," remarks Hays, "elk were killed on the Saranac in 
 New York ; a few were in the mountains of Pennsylvania in 1864 ; 
 now it is probable that not one could be found east of the Great 
 Lakes." 
 
 The wapiti is probably the most ferocious of all the deer tribe, 
 for at certain seasons of the year, when his horns have attained 
 their full size, he will boldly face a man, and charge straight at 
 him. The animal in the Zoological Gardens is also of a fierce 
 disposition, and very hard to photograph, for, as the writer dis- 
 covered, when the bars were approached so that the lens of the 
 camera could be inserted between them, the animal would imme- 
 diately charge it; and it was necessary to beat a rapid retreat from 
 the range of the huge horns. 
 
 The wapiti stags fight desperately among themselves during the 
 rutting season, and these encounters often end fatally, though 
 perhaps, in the majority of cases, they are terminated simply by 
 
460 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 neither animal getting a decided advantage, in consequence of 
 their having to stop fighting from sheer exhaustion. The extra- 
 ordinary endurance, pluck, and wonderful skill displayed in these 
 tussles for the mastery are sights which will amply reward a 
 sportsman, who has a chance of witnessing an encounter of this 
 nature, for any toil it may be necessary to undergo in order to 
 get to the scene of battle unobserved. For it is blood-stirring 
 to watch the quickness of the animals' movements, their 
 defiant attitudes, their vigorous onslaughts, and to hear the 
 attesta,tion of the savage force with which they charge being 
 echoed from the hills as their antlers clash together and rattle in 
 the conflict ; or should their horns become inextricably locked, 
 there will ensue a tussle of strength that can only be described 
 as a magnificent exhibition of animal prowess which must 
 terminate in the discomfiture of the weaker stag, without 
 perhaps at the last, when both have been forced to their knees, 
 one should get the chance of driving his horns into the exposed 
 flanks of the other, for in such a case death is almost an immediate 
 result, and his victory is complete. 
 
 " The size, strength, and speed of the elk," writes the hunter 
 before quoted, " ought to fit it for some useful domestic purpose. 
 It could be trained to be a valuable beast of burden ; and its speed 
 is so great, and it has so much power of endurance, that it could 
 be used either for drawing a carriage, or to carry couriers who 
 have to ride long distances at a rapid rate. By treating it as 
 geldings are, the pugnacity and ill-temper it displays during the 
 rutting season could be readily overcome, and it would be 
 rendered as docile as a donkey. A friend of mine once owned a 
 pair treated in this manner, and he found that very little training 
 was required to fit them for drawing a carriage. When it came 
 to road driving, he saw that no steeds he met could even keep in 
 sight of his antlered Pegasuses for any length of time. Their long 
 trotting gait, which never seems to falter either in measure or 
 speed, makes them the perfection of carriage roadsters ; but they 
 have this one great drawback, that if they hear the cry of hounds 
 they will bolt immediately, and probably leave. carnage and driver 
 behind them. The pair which I refer to were startled suddenly 
 
THE WAPITI AND THE LUHDORF'S DEBE. 461 
 
 one day while enjoying their exercise by the baying of a pack of 
 mongrels, and no sooner did they hear the cry than they jumped 
 over a high bank— carriage, driver, and all— and landed in a deep 
 pool in a river. Making for the land with all possible haste, they 
 goon battered the vehicle into small pieces, while the unfortunate 
 owner had some difficulty in reaching shore. By oflFering a large 
 reward he recovered his runaways the next day, and being a man 
 of determination as well as resources, he concluded to get rid of 
 their penchant for bolting at once. With this purpose in view, 
 he put them into a field having very high fences, and kept hounds 
 yelling about it all day long. The elks were at first thoroughly 
 scared, but after running themselves nearly to death, and finding 
 no means of escape nor any result from their great alarm, they 
 gradually became indifferent, and settled down to feeding. This 
 experiment being repeated a few times, their idle fears were 
 allayed, and the owner suffered no more mishaps from their 
 impetuosity." 
 
 The LuHDOEf's Deee (Gervus Luehdorfi). The accompanying 
 illustration is a photograph of this rare animal, and it will be seen 
 that it bears a close resemblance to the wapiti in appearance. In 
 fact, except from the character of the horns it would be almost 
 impossible to distinguish them. In the formation of the antlers, 
 however, it more nearly resembles the red deer (Gervus elaphus). 
 
 The existence of a large stag in North-eastern Asia had been 
 known for some time, but the species to which it belonged had not 
 been very clearly established, for the horns were the only parts of 
 the animal which had ever reached Europe. The animal itself 
 had never even been seen in his native country by any naturahst 
 — or at least the fact had never been mentioned — consequently 
 nothing in any way was known respecting it. In the autumn of 
 1876, Herr Liihdorf, the German consul at Nikolaevsk, the seaport 
 town, on the Pacific coast of Siberia, having obtained two pairs of 
 these fine animals which had been brought down the river Amour 
 from the interior, where they had been obtained from some of the 
 nomads on the steppes, he shipped them to the Hamburg Zoolo- 
 gical Gardens. The director, Dr. Bolau, took special charge of 
 them, christened them with Liihdorf's name, and when his small 
 
462 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 herd had increased he parted with one of the male fawns to the 
 Zoological Society of London in June, 1881. This rare animal, 
 which was a beautiful and graceful specimen of the deer family, 
 has unfortunately lately died. When any attempt was made to 
 photograph him, he invariably expressed his dissatisfaction at the 
 proceeding by bellowing and looking as though he would like to 
 get at the camera and destroy the whole apparatus if he could. 
 "While in this attitude he was therefore taken, and that the result 
 was not a better picture is due to the fact that the exposure had 
 to be made with extreme rapidity, for in bellowing, the horns or 
 mouth would hardly be motionless for an appreciable division of 
 time. Nevertheless the position is a graceful and very natural 
 one. 
 
A LUHDORF'S DEER. 
 
 {Cervus Luehdorfi). 
 
463 
 
 CHAPTER XXYIII. 
 
 KANGAEOOS {GENUS MACROPODID^). 
 
 Specimens of these unique members of the animal world can 
 generally be seen at the present day in any of the well-known 
 public zoological collections, and also in many of the private 
 ones. Even in the damp, uncertain climate of England, kangaroos 
 can be said to have become more or less naturalized, for they 
 not only breed regularly under the fostering care of the keepers 
 in the Regent's Park menagerie, but have been kept out in the 
 open in the parks of several English landowners. They used to 
 be seen in the grounds at Glastonbury Abbey, also on the estates 
 of Lord Hill and the Duke of Marlborough, and during the life- 
 time of the late Lord Derby they formed part of the Knowsley 
 collection of rare animals that the enterprising earl endeavoured 
 to acclimatize. They were also kept in other places, and in this 
 way these animals became a familiar sight to many Englishmen 
 whose great-grandfathers had never even heard that such 
 creatures existed, for it is only a little over a hundred years ago 
 since they were first discovered. Their appearance is so unlike 
 that of any other class of quadruped, that the bold explorers of 
 the now well-known southern seas, when they first beheld such 
 large animals hopping and bounding about on the plains at the 
 various places where they landed, examined them with considerable 
 wonderment, as is evident from the narratives of the event. 
 
 In May, 1768, the small but good ship Endeavour, of 370 tons, 
 commanded by Captain (then Lieutenant) Cook, with several men 
 of science, including Mr. Joseph Banks (afterwards Sir), set sail 
 on that voyage of discovery which was fated to be a memorable 
 one and to enroll the name of Cook, whilom a Yorkshire haber- 
 
464 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 dasher's apprentice, in a conspicuous position on the list of 
 England's distinguished navigators and explorers. 
 
 After reaching Otaheite, and remaining there to make the obser- 
 vations on the transit of Yenus, which was one of the objects of 
 the expedition, they sailed in quest of that mysterious continent 
 supposed to exist in the South Pacific Ocean. In this way they 
 reached the islands of New Zealand, and ultimately arrived on 
 the coast of Now Holland, now known by the name of Australia. 
 Here they discovered a spot which from the number of plants 
 found there they called Botany Bay, a pleasant sounding and no 
 doubt appropriate name, but one which the British Government 
 subsequently made of terrible significance by selecting it as the 
 place for the enforced expatriation of convicts. 
 
 Not far from Botany Bay the ship struck a rock, and a hole 
 having been made in her it became necessary to have it repaired, 
 and for this purpose they were detained in a river (about 16° south 
 latitude), which was christened Endeavour River. Here they were 
 destined to make a discovery other than new rivers or lands, 
 namely a new species of mammal, for ib was at this place they 
 first saw a kangaroo. 
 
 On Friday, June 22, 1770, Captain Cook writes i'^ "some of the 
 people were sent on the other side of the river to shoot pigeons 
 for the sick, who at their return reported they had seen an 
 animal as large as a greyhound, of a slender make, a mouse- 
 colour, and extremely swift." On Saturday he remarks : " This 
 day almost everybody had seen the animal which the pigeon- 
 shooters had brought in an account of the day before ; and one 
 of the seamen who had been rambling in the woods, told us on 
 his return that he verily believed he had seen the devil. We 
 naturally inquired in what form he had appeared, and his answer 
 was in so singular a style that I shall set down his own words : 
 ' He was,' says John, ' as large as a one-gallon keg, and very like 
 it ; he had horns and wings, yet he crept so slowly through the 
 grass, that if I had not been af eared, I might have touched him.' 
 This formidable apparition was afterwards discovered to be a batt ; 
 {in reality a flying-fox), and the batts here must be acknowledged 
 1 See Hawkesworth, "Voyages," 1773. 
 
KANGAROOS. 465 
 
 to have a frightful appearance, for they are nearly black, and full 
 as large as a partridge ; they have indeed no horns, but the fancy 
 of a man who thought he saw the devil might easily supply that 
 defect." 
 
 The next day Captain Cook remarks : " As I was walking this 
 morning a little distance from the ship, I saw myself one of the 
 animals which had been so often described ; it was of a light 
 mouse-colour, and in size and shape very much resembling a 
 greyhound, and I should have taken it for a wild dog, if, instead of 
 running, it had not leapt like a hare or deer ; its legs were said to 
 be very slender, and the print of its foot to be like that of a goat, 
 but where I saw it the grass was so high that the legs were 
 concealed, and the ground was too hard to receive the track. 
 Mr. Banks also had an imperfect view of this animal, and was of 
 opinion that its species was hitherto unknown." 
 
 Again on Friday, the 6th July, the Endeavour being still in 
 the river, Mr. Banks, with Lieutenant G-ore and three men, went 
 on a hunting and exploring expedition, and on their return on 
 Sunday, the 8th, reported that on the previous day " with the first 
 dawn they set out in search of game, and in a walk of many miles 
 they saw four animals of the same kind, two of which Mr. Banks' 
 greyhound fairly chased, but they threw him out at a great 
 distance by leaping over the long, thick grass, which prevented his 
 running. This animal was observed not to run upon four legs, but to 
 bound or hop forward upon two, like the Jerbua or Mus Jaculus." 
 
 Finally on Saturday, July 14th, Cook records the fact that " Mr. 
 Gore, who went out this day with his gun, had the good fortune 
 to kill one of these animals which had been so much the subject 
 of our speculation." 
 
 Accompanying this narrative there is a drawing of the animal, 
 which they continued to call a Jcangaroo, for this was the name 
 which had ah-eady been given it by the natives. 
 
 The following day the creature that had been shot was dressed 
 for dinner, and, writes Captain Cook, it "proved most excellent 
 meat," an opinion in which others who have dined off kangaroo 
 do not quite concur, but all agree that the tail makes most 
 excellent soup, and the dried tongues are capital eating. 
 
 H h 
 
466 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 This is the earliest notice recorded of this animal by an 
 Englishman, but a Dutch traveller, Cornelius de Bruins or Bruns, 
 as early as the year 1711 described the first kangaroo of which 
 scientists had ever heard. He saw in a garden at Batavia some 
 specimens of these extraordinary creatures that were kept in 
 captivity there. They were subsequently identified as a species of 
 Marsupiata, inhabiting New Guinea. De Bruins called the animal 
 Filander, but naturalists have named it after the Dutchman him- 
 self, and call it " Macropus Brunii." 
 
 Pallas in 1777, and Schreber in 1778, both described this 
 species, which resulted in public attention being drawn to this 
 entirely new order of mammals, and as a consequence their 
 natural history soon became better known. 
 
 Although it was left to Captain Cook to give the first description 
 of a kangaroo to Englishmen, yet it is not improbable that the 
 earlier explorers in the southern seas were in reality the first to 
 see these animals, but failed to record the fact from its being such 
 a trifling incident to men who had so many other wonderful things 
 to narrate. Dampier, the celebrated buccaneer and adventurous 
 navigator, stated that on the 12th August, 1699, being on the 
 western coast of Australia, two or three of his seamen " saw 
 creatures not unlike wolves, but so lean that they looked like 
 mere skeletons." From this meagre description it is not possible 
 to accurately identify the animals they did see, but they were 
 probably kangaroos. 
 
 The curious group of animals now known as the family of 
 Marsupiata,^ or pouched animals, of which the kangaroo forms the 
 sub-genus Macropus, a word meaning long-footed, are exclusively 
 confined in their habitat to the Austrahan continent, and a few 
 of the islands immediately adjoining, with the single exception of 
 the opossum family which occur in America. In New Zealand, 
 however, strange to say the family of marsupials is not re- 
 presented, nor, as far as can be learnt, has it ever been, for 
 some of their fossihzed bones would have been found ere this. 
 
 Since the kangaroo, or rather the land it lives in, was dis- 
 
 2 From marsupium, a purse or bag ; alluding to the peculiar pouch with which 
 the female marsupial animals are furnished. 
 
KANaAEOOS. 467 
 
 covered and explored, scientific men of all countries have had a 
 puzzling problem to account for the peculiar type of animal and 
 vegetable life of whicli Australia is the home, and to assign a 
 reason why kangaroos should now be confined in their habitation 
 to this one region of the world. The evidence furnished by the 
 fossils that have been procured in places very widely separated, tends 
 to show that these animals, or ones of a kindred type, were distri- 
 buted during the ages known to geologists as the Oolite and Triassic 
 periods, over a very extensive range of the earth's surface as it 
 then existed. 
 
 The marsupials are quadrupeds of a lower order than most of 
 the existing mammals, and another fact scientists say they have 
 gleaned from the discovery of their remains is that they 
 were among the first animals created, for they are found in 
 the terrestrial formations, made long before those animals now 
 recognized as of a superior order were in existence. Conse- 
 quently dogs, horses, oxen, cats, and the brute creation now 
 famihar to us, or in other words the higher class of animals, being 
 a later growth or the creation of succeeding ages, the kangaroos, 
 which are among the latest discovered animals by man, yet are 
 the direct descendants of the oldest family of quadrupeds that 
 were brought into existence. 
 
 The GREAT KANGAROO {MacTopii^s major) is the name given to the 
 species which was first seen by Captain Cook's party, and it was 
 so called when it was ascertained that it was the largest of all 
 the existing varieties of the Macropodidce. 
 
 However, this was not always the case, if we are to believe 
 those professors who, upon the scanty material of a jawbone or 
 a tooth, can reconstruct in their mind's eye the animal who 
 owned it, and sitting down write off a lengthy treatise upon the 
 peculiarities of its formation and habits, after informing the 
 world to begin with, that the animal has been dead some thousands 
 of years, or perhaps that its species ceased to exist ages before 
 the first man was created. 
 
 Relics of a beast that, according to these professors, was 
 closely allied to the k-angaroo, have been found in the tertiary 
 deposits of Australia, which they state must have been of gigantic 
 
 H h 2 
 
468 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 bulk, far larger than the largest rhinoceros, for its head alone 
 was about three feet long. Therefore the great kangaroo is but 
 a pigmy descendant of its progenitors. 
 
 The family of kangaroos is a numerous one, there being nearly 
 thirty different species or varieties differing from each other by 
 well-marked characteristics. 
 
 The great kangaroo inhabits New South Wales, Van Diemen's 
 Land, and Southern and Western Austraha. 
 
 The pecuharity of its structure, is the first thing that strikes 
 the observer as remarkable about a kangaroo. If it is sitting up, 
 which is the posture it generally assumes when not moving about, 
 it is readily seen that the upper parts of the body are much 
 slighter than the lower ones, so that the superior extremities 
 taper pyramidally from a heavy and solid-looking base of hind- 
 quarters, legs, and tail. The extraordinary difference in the 
 length, size, and shape of the fore and hind-limbs, is also apparent 
 when the animal is in this position, for the former are dispropor- 
 tionately short and slender, while the latter are disproportionately 
 long and of fair size. It will be seen that the animal rests upon 
 the fore-part of the foot or the bones of the instep, which are 
 exceedingly long. Each fore-paw has five toes furnished with 
 claws, but the hind ones have only two large and conspicuous toes, 
 of which the inner one is by far the larger, and is provided with 
 a very long and strong claw or nail. On the inner side, again, of 
 this large toe there is what appears to be a small toe bearing 
 two very small claws, which are in reality two diminutive toes 
 united together in the folds of the skin. These hind-feet are very 
 powerful, and the animal can not only take extraordinary bounds 
 or hops with them, which is the way it progresses when it requires 
 to move rapidly, but it can use them as instruments of defence, and 
 with such good effect occasionally that a large dog will be killed 
 with a single well-delivered blow, or even a man be ripped up if 
 he comes in too close contact with these formidable weapons. 
 The muscular force they possess can be surmised by the mar- 
 vellous exhibitions of agility they display. The tendons of the 
 lower joint of the legs are also exceptionally strong and efficient, 
 so much so, that one writer states adult kangaroos have been 
 
KANGAROOS. 469 
 
 known to snap the bone asunder when startled into taking a 
 sudden spring, so powerful is their contractile force. 
 
 The extraordinary capability they have of leaping, especially the 
 small pretty little hare kangaroos {M. Leporoides), so called from 
 their being about the same size as the common hare, can be judged 
 by the following account which is given by Mr. Gould of a per- 
 formance he once witnessed. " While out on the plains of South 
 Australia," he writes, " I started a hare kangaroo before two fleet 
 dogs ; after running to the distance of a quarter of a mile it 
 suddenly doubled and came back upon me, the dogs following 
 close at its heels. I stood perfectly still, and the animal had 
 arrived within twenty feet before it observed me, when to niy 
 astonishment, instead of branching off to the right or the left, it 
 bounded clear over my head, and on descending to the ground 1 
 was enabled to make a successful shot by which it was procured." 
 
 As Professor Owen pointed out many years ago, there un- 
 doubtedly exists with very few exceptions a wonderful harmony 
 between the climate and the structure and habits of the animals 
 to be found diffused over the world's surface. Thus in countries 
 subject to prolonged droughts, such as the plains of South 
 Africa and Australasia, rapidity of locomotion is of vital necessity 
 to those animals that require succulent food or cannot exist 
 without water, for the distance to be travelled before these re- 
 quirements can be found is often so great that a slow-paced 
 animal would die on the road. In all hoofed, and in fact in the 
 majority of all quadrupeds, the whole four hmbs are therefore 
 exclusively used for locomotion, but in the case of the kangaroo 
 we have an animal which only employs the hind-limbs for this 
 purpose, the front pair being used as required, as prehensile 
 organs, or for the requisite manipulation of the pouch which 
 its peculiar uses render necessary. Accordingly the hind-limbs 
 are constructed to serve the purpose of the whole four in other 
 animals, and to carry the kangaroo with great speed long dis- 
 tances over the drought-dried plains, which it has occasionally 
 to traverse in pursuit of the absolutely requisite water. 
 
 The hair of a kangaroo is at first only a short, ashy-coloured 
 down, biTt subsequently, though after an unusually long period as 
 
470 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 compared with other animals, it becomes long and thick of a 
 greyish-brown colour. Some very different opinions exist with 
 regard to the appearance of these animals, for certain people 
 describe them as being very graceful, and others as awkward and 
 ungainly in the extreme. Probably both these views are to some 
 extent correct, paradoxical as this may sound; but kangaroos 
 come from a continent remarkable for the curious and what may 
 be called paradoxical structure of many species of its fauna, such 
 as the Ornithorhynchus, which is the barbarous name given to the 
 " duck-billed water-mole," and other peculiar-looking creatures. 
 It is in reality a mere trifle in the eccentricity of Australian 
 mammals, that one species should display combinations of widely 
 divergent characters. 
 
 When a kangaroo is sitting erect on a base made with its 
 extensive development of hind-limbs and thick tail, its short and 
 slender fore-limbs hanging negligently by its side, and its small 
 deer-shaped head turned so as to display its soft and lustrous 
 eyes, mild and placid countenance, and long erect and well-shaped 
 ears, the animal cannot be described as inelegant, but very much 
 the reverse. When, however, it begins to move, its progress is 
 certainly accomplished in a most ungainly fashion for so large a 
 creature ; it either hops on its two long hind-legs or, tilting itself on 
 to the two short fore ones, it draws the hind-limbs as far forward 
 as possible, cramping up the body, and then repeats the operation, 
 the stride being therefore about equal to the animal's length. 
 
 " Among the singular positions assumed by kangaroos," ob- 
 serves Mr. Mcols,^ " a most striking one deserves mention. In 
 order to see better over long grass or ferns they raise themselves 
 quite on the tips of the large claws attached to the hind-limbs, at 
 the same time stiffening the tail. The animal then stands upon a 
 tripod, formed by the tail and the hind-legs, all three members 
 being quite straight and rigid, and is then probably between six 
 feet and seven feet high. An apparition of this kind rose suddenly 
 close to me while stalking one day, and surprised me greatly, for 
 I could not see the lower limbs, and had no idea how the animal 
 had become so tall ; but I have since observed the attitude fre- 
 3 " Zoological Notes," by Arthur MroIs, F.G.S., F.E.G.S. 
 
KANGAROOS. 471 
 
 quently in the Zoological Gardens, and it is so grotesque, and so 
 unlike anything a kangaroo would seem to be capable of, that a 
 draughtsman who should transfer it to paper would be thought to 
 be labouring under the effects of a disordered imagination. All 
 the slow movements are awkwat-d and unattractive, as when the 
 animal is crawling along with its short fore-feet spread upon the 
 ground, dragging the long hind-legs and massive tail after it, or 
 sitting up scratching its sides and back ; but at full gallop, with 
 dogs in chase, over short grass covering the ground in magnificent 
 leaps, executed with the utmost rapidity, it presents a picture of 
 graceful and powerful action, unsurpassed by anythiag in the 
 animal world." 
 
 But the most singular formation of the kangaroo is its ab- 
 dominal pouch, which is a feature only to be seen in this animal 
 and the opossurq. Take the instance of the great kangaroo : 
 although it is a large animal, standing upwards of six feet high 
 when adult, yet it is born when scarcely more than an inch long, 
 and weighs about twenty grains ; its skin is naked, and it is in 
 such a feeble and undeveloped condition that it looks very much 
 like a small earth-worm. It has not even developed the power of 
 suction. The mother has, therefore, to foster her offspring for 
 a considerable period after its birth, and to enable her to do this 
 she is supplied with a pouch or marsupium, to which the young 
 one is transferred, and she therein attaches it to her breast, and 
 has herself to inject the milk with which it is nourished. Pro- 
 fessor Owen, who examined a young kangaroo twelve hours 
 after birth, said that it breathed strongly but slowly, and ex- 
 traordinary as it may appear, the fore-legs were one-third larger 
 than the hind-legs. No doubt this construction is rendered 
 necessary to enable the diminutive creature to move about in the 
 pouch, while the hind-legs, which would be of no service to it 
 at this period of existence, remain undeveloped until the animal's 
 requirements necessitate their employment, when they rapidly 
 grow to the proportions seen in the parents. 
 
 The young one does not cease to reside within the pouch until 
 it has reached its full maturity. It occasionally, however, 
 comes out for exercise or amusement. Even after it has grown 
 
472 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 to be a good-sized animal, it will often run into its mother's pouch 
 for shelter, or protection from a supposed danger. It is a very 
 funny sight to see an old female kangaroo sitting up and a little 
 face peering out of the pouch, looking around to see if it would 
 be safe to venture forth, apparently being very well assured of 
 this before it does so. This happened when the photograph was 
 being taken for the illustration of this chapter. The young and 
 well-grown animal was sitting up demurely alongside its mother 
 watching the proceedings, but evidently not liking some part of 
 the performance, it hopped into the pouch, and after turning round 
 so that it could see what subsequently took place, was photo- 
 graphed in that position. 
 
 When the female kangaroo is pursued, she is said to take the 
 little animal with her fore-paws from the pouch, and to throw it 
 away, so as to lighten her own weight, and facilitate her escape. 
 This act was supposed to be indicative of a want of that maternal 
 affection which most other animals exhibit by defending their 
 offspring to the last, but it is now stated that if she makes good 
 her escape, she returns, seeks out and rescues the young one; the act 
 being one instinct teaches her is necessary for their mutual safety. 
 
 The kangaroo feeds entirely on vegetable substances, such as 
 the herbage and the bushes common in the country it inhabits. 
 Its teeth are well adapted for the purpose of cropping and 
 chewing this kind of diet, and it is provided with plenty of them, 
 for it has twenty-eight teeth in all, being only four less than 
 the number given to human beings. 
 
 Kangaroos are gregarious, and are generally to be seen in herds 
 of thirty or forty, with one animal stationed some distance from 
 the rest, apparently to give warning of approaching danger. 
 
 " All the kangaroo family," remarks Mr. Nicols, " have a habit 
 similar to that of the rabbit, of striking a sharp blow upon the 
 ground with the hind-feet as a signal of alarm, or perhaps as a call 
 simply, for they have no means of vocal expression. I have never 
 heard any sound uttered by them even in their death-agonies, except 
 on a single occasion, when a badly wounded wallaby, upon being 
 handled, emitted a noise like the growling of a small terrier, and 
 bit me sharply in the leg, tearing my trousers — the only instance 
 
A KANGAROO. 
 
 {Macropus giganteus^ 
 nale animal with the young one peering out from the pouch. 
 
KANGAEOOS. 473 
 
 I ever knew of any defence being made by these animals ; while 
 their arboreal congeners, the oppossums, daysures, and flying 
 squirrels fight most desperately, and inflict serious injury upon 
 those who handle them incautiously. At very considerable dis- 
 tances, on a still night the thud of a kangaroo's feet in the act of 
 drumming may be heard, three or four times in succession ; and 
 when one has stalked into the midst of a ' mob ' among rocks, ferns, 
 or other good cover, it is amusing to hear the kangaroos com- 
 municating to one another by this means their apprehension of 
 the presence of an enemy, although uncertain of his position, and 
 undetermined as to the safest line of escape." 
 
 The Australian settlers hunt them with dogs, which run by 
 sight, and not by scent, and are a cross between the staghound 
 and the English greyhound. Both these breeds conferring the 
 points necessary for a good kangaroo dog, namely, speed and 
 strength. The first is an absolute essential, for the bounds of 
 of a kangaroo, or " old man," as the Australians call it, are 
 made so rapidly and of such great length as to tax the speed of a 
 good dog, for each hop, it has been ascertained, exceeds twenty 
 feet at a time. The strength is necessary, for few dogs are a 
 match for an adult great kangaroo. If it cannot disable or kill 
 its adversary with the claws on its formidable hind-legs, it will 
 seize him with its fore-arms, and if water is near carry him off, 
 and therein do its best to drown him. 
 
 If hard pressed, a kangaroo always, as a last resource, makes 
 for water, and when it is reached turns at bay and waits for its 
 pursuer, for here it has a decided advantage. Standing up, it 
 closes with its antagonist, and deliberately tries to deprive it of 
 life by holding it under the water : a dog that has to support 
 himself by swimming has, therefore, but a slight chance of escape. 
 Hunian beings also are occasionally treated in the same way, so 
 that a kangaroo is not an animal by any means to be despised. 
 
 A communication made to " Notes and Queries " in 1867, 
 quotes the following paragraph, from the Grenville Advocate, a 
 respectable journal, published at Smythesdale, a town twelve miles 
 firom Ballarat, which substantiates this statement : " A reliable 
 correspondent furnishes us with the following remarkable in- 
 
474 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 stance of a kangaroo carrjring or running away with a lad. 
 It occurred at the mail tent, midway between Wickliffe and Dun- 
 keld, on the Hamilton road to Portland. It appears that a 
 kangaroo dog, about three weeks since, was in pursuit of an old 
 man kangaroo and stuck him up. The lad, James Withington, 
 fearing that the dog would get the worse for attacking the 
 kangaroo, went to the dog's assistance, but no sooner did the 
 kangaroo see the lad than the boomer seized him by the body, 
 and carried him a distance of forty yards towards some dam that 
 was close by, evidently with the intention of making short work 
 of him by drowning him therein. The lad says he had a knife in 
 his pocket at the time he was being carried away, but the kan- 
 garoo held him so firmly in his grasp, that he was prevented from 
 cutting the throat of his supposed intending murderer. At last 
 the faithful dog, who had attacked him first, came to the rescue, 
 and saved his master from a premature death by drowning." 
 
 In the magazine Once a Weelc, for March, 1867, Mr. Edward 
 Jesse published a letter that he had received from an old friend, 
 which gives a proof of what he calls " the ferocity " of the male 
 kangaroo when driven to extremity, but many people from such 
 accounts will arrive at the opinion that these animals are not 
 ferocious, but only when it is absolutely necessary intelligently 
 employ their faculties and natural weapons for self-preservation, 
 which is recognized as the first law of nature. This letter we 
 take the liberty of quoting : — 
 
 " Speaking of kangaroos, I shall never forget what a struggle 
 I once had for life with one of these creatures. I had been out 
 kangaroo-hunting on my run in Queensland, taking with me a 
 black boy and a couple of dogs ; and after a very fair day's sport, 
 was returning home, when I fell in with an ' old man ' (local name 
 for a kangaroo) who had escaped us in the morning. I chased 
 him, and followed him into a water-hole, thinking he was pretty 
 well exhausted, there intending to finish him with the knife I 
 always carry in a strap round my waist, for the dogs had lingered 
 some distance behind with the black boy, who also carried my 
 gun ; but no sooner had I reached him than he sprang upon me, 
 and grasped me so tight in his two fore-legs, effectually pinion- 
 
KANGAEOOS. 475 
 
 ing my arms and rendering me powerless against him. Still I 
 struggled to free myself, hoping every minute the dogs would be 
 up. He succeeded in getting me down, still grasping firmly; 
 while with his hind-legs he kept flapping backwards and forwards 
 close to my head and neck, evidently trying to score me with the 
 powerful claws with which they are provided. It was not a 
 pleasant sensation, as if he succeeded in tearing the jugular vein, 
 of which I was in terror, it would have been all over with me. 
 Moreover, I was beginning to feel my strength failing, when with 
 the expediency of despair a thought flashed across me that my 
 teeth, which, thank God, are good and strong, might prove a 
 formidable weapon against him. "Whereupon I seized him by the 
 throat, and held on to him like grim death. In a very short 
 time I felt his grasp gradually relax, and I breathed freer, and was 
 soon enabled to liberate myself. I had throttled the brute. A 
 fact, unvarnished." 
 
 A dead kangaroo has considerable marketable value, for the skin 
 makes good leather, the tail excellent soup, and at one time a 
 considerable business was done in exporting the tongues when 
 dried, under the name of kangaroo venison. 
 
 Kangaroos are frequently kept as household pets by many 
 Australians, but that they are capable of being employed for work as 
 the motive power of machinery will be news to many. Still this is a 
 fact, for a correspondent to the Times, writing in 1866, states : — 
 
 " While on colonial enterprise and originality, let me do justice 
 to a colonial genius who seems to have a spice of that faculty for 
 adapting means to ends which we admire so much in a Brindley or 
 a Stephenson. We read of water-power, of steam-power, of wind- 
 power, of horse-power, but not until the other day had I ever 
 heard or read of kangaroo-power. But the Melbourne corre- 
 spondent of a country contemporary supplies the following : ' A 
 market-gardener in the neighbourhood of Portland has put a 
 kangaroo, which he caught and tamed, to various uses. The 
 animal stands nearly six feet high. The owner has tested its 
 strength and capabilities in the following manner : he had a 
 large circle made of slabs an inch thick, with the outside diameter 
 20 ft., and with an inner one of 17 ft. 6 in. On the circular floor are 
 
476 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 nailed flat ridges and furrows, thus affording a floor for the 
 ■kangaroo's feet, and a resting-place, about 3 ft. long, for his tail. 
 It is fitted up with simple wheels in the centre, like those of a 
 horse chaff-cutting machine, and it is fixed on an incline. The 
 kangaroo is kept fast to a framework of post and rails, stuffed 
 with hay and bagging, to prevent his legs and back from being 
 bruised. An opening is left in the rear to give his tail full play. 
 By continually springing up he sets the machine in motion. The 
 animal works at about half a horse-power, and turns a grinding- 
 stone, chaff-cutter, bean-mill, turnip-cutter, and a washing-machine, 
 and all at the same time. This simple contrivance also lifts water 
 for irrigating the garden.' 
 
 "I do not believe this unique creature was ever so utilized before, 
 and I record him as the latest recruit enlisted from the animal 
 creation into the industrial service of man. The mechanical 
 genius must be considerable which can discipline and control to 
 the required purposes the tremendous jumping power of an ' old- 
 man ' kangaroo." 
 
 Although these animals have only been known to man for a 
 little over a hundred years, and when the first settlers reached the 
 Eldorado of Oceana kangaroos were found to be existing there in 
 millions, yet Australians now talk of the race being a doomed one, 
 and state that in many places where once they were plentiful they 
 have already been exterminated. For this, however, they assign a 
 reason which to them is a good and sufficient one. Formerly 
 the squatters grumbled fearfully about the loss they sustained by 
 the kangaroos eating up the grass necessary for their cattle. It 
 was shown that one of these animals eat as much grass as a sheep, 
 and destroyed as much again as it eat, for it exhibited such a 
 discerning appetite, that instead of cropping it as it came, the 
 creature picked out the best and sweetest herbage in a most knowing 
 manner. A few hundred kangaroos would in consequence very soon 
 spoil a considerable extent of pasturage by eliminating the most 
 nourishing parts. 
 
 There is no doubt they existed in certain districts in very large 
 numbers : some idea of this fact can be gleaned from the figures 
 occasionally given in the public prints. In 1863 one squatter was 
 
GROUP OF RED KANGAROOS. 
 
 (Macropus tmfus.) 
 
KANGAEOOS. 477 
 
 said to have shipped to England 30,000 skins taken from animals 
 killed on his own run, and the statement made that, incredible as it 
 may appear, after this slaughter their number did not seem to be 
 perceptibly diminished. 
 
 When the small remnant left of the aborigines gave up living 
 by the chase and evinced a predilection for loafing about the various 
 settlements begging for their food, and the squatters themselves 
 had nearly exterminated the wild dogs or dingos, kangaroos began 
 to enjoy a perfect immunity from their natural enemies, and availed 
 themselves of the fact to increase in certain places very rapidly. It 
 became obvious that some steps had to be devised for reducing their 
 number, and the Legislature was petitioned to assist. This it did 
 by passing a "Marsupial Destruction Act," which held kangaroos 
 to be pests and their destruction or reduction a necessity, and to 
 effect this object offered a reward for every animal killed, on its 
 skull being presented to the proper officer. 
 
 This soon set the young farmers and stockmen to work, and in the 
 short space of eighteen months nearly 40,000 scalps were paid for 
 by the ofl&cial receiver. Battues were organized, and the disgust- 
 ing butchery, which had nothing akin to healthy genuine sport, was 
 enjoyed by hunting-parties composed of both sexes, or to quote 
 the local papers, " gentlemen and ladies." The method adopted 
 was to surround large herds, and driving them into stockades 
 made on purpose, so that escape was impossible, kill the unfortunate 
 beasts with clubs, butt-end of whips, even old cutlasses, anything, 
 in fact, with which they could be maimed, or their brains dashed 
 out. Then one of these self-called hunters would write to the 
 newspaper an account of the splendid sport they had, and the good 
 appetite it gave the ladies and gentlemen who enjoyed it. Prom 
 the perusal of some of these descriptions the fact is gleaned that 
 these battues occasionally resulted in the death of thousands of 
 kangaroos, three or four thousand not being unusual numbers. 
 The Eoman matrons who frequented the circus in the palmy days 
 of the later Ceesars would have found even this rather a strong 
 dose without the accompanying excitement of a fierce fight and a 
 brave death-struggle; but the Australian ladies who were reported 
 as having taken part in these kangaroo hunts, or let us hope only 
 
478 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 looking on, were evidently of a different stamp, and did not think 
 it necessary that their " sport " should be so highly spiced with 
 bravery or danger. 
 
 However, the Marsupial Destruction Act is now virtually a dead 
 letter, and the animals are beginning to find out that there is still 
 plenty of room away from the squatters' territories where they 
 can exist unmolested, so it will doubtless be many a long day yet 
 before the entire race of kangaroos will be classed under the 
 heading of " animals that have been." 
 
479 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 SEALS (PHOCIB^). 
 
 These remarkable animals belong to the sub-order Pinni'pedia, which 
 comprises the amphibious carnivora known as seals (Phoca) and the 
 walrus or morse {Trichechua). The Phocidce are again subdivided 
 into two principal groups, the one commonly known as seals 
 proper, and the genus Otaria, which include the sea-lions, sea- 
 bears, fur-seals, and others distinguishable by having an external 
 ear, and by some important differences in the construction of their 
 limbs and dental formula. 
 
 Every species and variety of the curious marine animals in- 
 cluded in the seal family are peculiarly interesting to the students or 
 lovers of the natural world. They are formed upon the same 
 general plan as the animals which are purely terrestrial, and atmo- 
 spheric air is a necessity of their existence, yet their abode is in the 
 sea, and they are dependent on its products for their sustenance. 
 At the same time they have little or nothing in common with the 
 fish trilje, and in intellectual endowments, size, and commercial 
 importance they are in no way inferior to the terrestrial mam- 
 malia ; some of the species being, in fact, in all these respects far 
 superior to the majority of other animals. 
 
 The features most worthy of attention about the Phocidce are 
 those wherein they differ from other types of mammals. Among 
 the animals to which the reader's attention has already been 
 invited, the hippopotamus, and in a far lesser degree, the polar bear, 
 both take naturally to the water, and derive a large portion of their 
 food from its depths, yet they cannot correctly be called amphibious. 
 Neither in reality can the seals, for, as before said, they have to inhale 
 the air, and to do this must come to the surface, for they are not 
 
480 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 provided with gills that would enable them to breathe while com- 
 pletely submerged. The hippopotamus possesses the' capability of 
 remaining under the water a considerable time when compared 
 with the powers possessed by other large quadrupeds, yet the 
 intervals between the respirations of these huge beasts are short 
 by comparison with the necessities of the various members of 
 the seal family. 
 
 As was shown in a previous chapter, the hippopotamus appears 
 created more to live on the water than in it, for although the mas- 
 sive body is kept submerged, yet the senses all being situated upon 
 the flat, broad, upper plane of the head, this part of the animal, 
 when it is in a quiescent state, is generally kept on or above the 
 surface. They are also supplied with four legs, formed on the 
 ordinary model in all but their size, and they are used for walking 
 on the land in the same manner as other quadrupeds, as well as 
 for swimming in the water. The seals, however, display com- 
 pletely different forms, for they exhibit modifications adapting 
 them to a thoroughly aquatic existence. When these divergencies 
 from other animal types are carefully examined, the marvellous 
 resources of the creative Power are again exhibited, and make the 
 study of these denizens of the seas wonderfully interesting. 
 
 The common or earless seals, although difiering most materially, 
 yet in outward appearance, bear a closer resemblance to the fish 
 family than to that of ordinary quadrupeds, for the body is elon- 
 gated and tapers from the chest to the extremity. But it is in the 
 formation and situation of the limbs that the variations from the 
 ordinary type of mammals are, perhaps, most conspicuous. The 
 limbs are short and so completely enveloped in the skin of the 
 body that little more than the paws project. All the feet are five-toed 
 and completely webbed; the hind-feet are directed backwards, so as 
 to appear like a prolongation of the body, with the tail, which is a 
 short one, between them. The webbed intervals between the toes 
 are capable of considerable expansion, particularly those of the hind- 
 feet, and they have great propulsive power, for by opening and shut- 
 ting them the animal can make them act like the blades of a steamer's 
 screw-propeller, only with far greater variety of motion. The spine 
 is very flexible, and admits of considerably more curvature than 
 
SEALS. 481 
 
 the vertebral column of other large animals will allow. By bend- 
 ing the body, and using its webbed feet, a seal can move itself 
 up or down, right or left, keep on the surface, or dive to the bottom, 
 explore the submerged recesses of the rocks around, and pursue its 
 prey with lightning-like rapidity. 
 
 On the land a seal displays but little grace or beauty of any sort, 
 except, perhaps, in its intelligent eyes and the gracefully undu- 
 lating outline of its body. The short neck, which is hardly to be 
 distinguished from the trunk, and the small fore-feet or hands, 
 which, owing to the cylindrical shape of the body can scarcely be 
 made to touch the ground, unless the creature lies as flat as 
 possible, and the hind-limbs stretching out behind, give a 
 floundering character to its movements which are very awkward- 
 looking. Their progression is a laboured one, which produces a 
 somewhat uncomfortable sympathetic feeling in the onlooker, for 
 it is accomplished with a shuffling, wriggling, or jumping motion, 
 effected by the contraction of the body, formed by an upward 
 bending of the spine and followed by a rebound or succession of 
 jerks. Although there is an almost entire absence of agility, yet 
 the rapidity with which a seal can get over the ground on occasions 
 is surprising, especially when it is remembered that no animal of 
 this species can raise its body from the ground, and only in one or 
 two varieties are the fore-feet ever employed while on land. 
 
 But once they slip from terra firma into the water, which, 
 except perhaps in the case of the very largest specimens, they do 
 so easily and quietly that hardly a splash or a ripple is created, it 
 is at once seen that they are in the element which is their true 
 home. Here their shape and the construction of the limbs that 
 seemed so useless when on land are seen to be beautifully adapted 
 for aquatic motion, and by their use they display extreme activity, 
 easy grace, and extraordinary agility. They swim beneath the 
 surface with great velocity, for the rounded head, tapering body, 
 and close-lying outer hair present no obstacle to their passage 
 through the water. Only the hind-limbs are used in swimming, 
 the fore-limbs or flippers being employed to guide or balance the 
 body. So thoroughly are they at home in the water that seals 
 
 very often sleep while afloat. 
 
 I i 
 
482 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 A seal's head bears some resemblance to that of a dog, or rather 
 of an otter, for it is short and broad, and is provided with stiff 
 and thick whiskers, which are evidently used as organs of touch, 
 for the root of each bristle is connected with a highly sensitive 
 nerve, as it is in the carnivorous order of land animals. The 
 dental formula is not the same in all species, but they all have 
 teeth adapted for the seizure and retention of their slippery prey. 
 The eyes are large and brilliant. The ears are inconspicuous cavi- 
 ties, which are provided with small perfectly- fitting valves, that 
 enable them to be closed or opened as required, and the sense of 
 hearing seems to be very acute. 
 
 The respiration of the seal family is extremely slow, and not only 
 slow, but very irregular ; for when on land and moving about, they 
 will be observed to take a breath perhaps once in every two 
 minutes, but in the water they can remain without breathing for 
 over twenty minutes. Ouvier noticed the seals that were kept in 
 the menagerie at Paris remained asleep with their heads under 
 water, and consequently without the power of breathing, for 
 upwards of an hour. Their ability to suspend respiration for so 
 long a period enables them to make long pursuits after their prey. 
 
 A seal's nostrils are also closed with a sphincter-like muscle, 
 whose use was described in the case of the camels. In these latter 
 animals, it was employed to exclude the sand ; in the partially 
 amphibious animals, however, it effectually closes the apertures 
 against the water — a provision which is absolutely necessary to 
 them, for they spend such a large portion of their lives in that 
 element, and take, their food there ; for although they can eat on 
 land, the seal family generally eat when beneath the surface. 
 
 The thick soft fur that covers the skin prevents sudden changes 
 of temperature from affecting them, and aids in the retention 
 of the heat of the body. This last object is also assisted by the 
 thick layer of subcutaneous fat which covers the bones, and which 
 also serves to make the specific gravity of the animal nearly as 
 light as the water in which it passes so much of its time. 
 
 Mr, J. A. Allen, in his able monograph of the North American 
 Pinnipeds, published by the Department of the Interior of the 
 United States Government, gives such full and accurate de- 
 
SEALS. 483 
 
 scriptions of tlie seals and sea-lions, that we cannot do better 
 than quote some of his remarks upon them. 
 
 The number of species existing are not accurately known, natu- 
 ralists being divided on the subject, and such confusion reigns on 
 their classification, that, as Mr. Allen observes, one hundred and 
 three distinct specific and varietal names have been bestowed upon 
 sixteen species, leaving eighty-seven of the names as synonyms 
 — an average of about six to a species. Fourteen names appear to 
 be wholly indeterminable, while fourteen others can be referred 
 only with more or less doubt. 
 
 The geographical distribution of the Phocidge embraces the sea- 
 shores of all parts of the temperate and colder portions of tbe 
 globe. The earless seals, however, are for the most part in- 
 habitants of the northern hemisphere, only two or three of the 
 species reaching the middle temperate latitudes. Mr. Allen writes, 
 " Of the Phocidse, one species, the Monk Seal {Monachus albiventer), 
 is found on both shores of the Mediterranean Sea, in the Adriatic 
 and Black Seas, and at the Madeira and Canary Islands, and 
 probably on the neighbouring Atlantic coast of Africa. An 
 apparently near relative and geographical representative of this 
 species is found on the shores of Yucatan, Cuba, Jamaica, the 
 Bahamas, and the Florida Keys. None of the remaining members 
 of the PhocidcB occur in the North Atlantic, except as stragglers, 
 south of the British Islands and Spain, on the European coast, or 
 of New Jersey on the American, or of Japan and Lower California 
 in the North Pacific. The species having the widest distribution 
 is the common Phoca vitulina, which occurs not only in both the 
 North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans as far southward as the 
 limits just given, but reaches Greenland, Finmark, and the 
 northern coast of Europe generally, and is also found in Behring's 
 Straits. Other species, as Erig^iathus harbaUis, Phoca foetida, 
 audi Phoca grcenlandica, extend beyond its habitat' to the north- 
 ward, but have a much more limited range to the southward, the 
 British Islands and the coast of the United States being quite 
 beyond their usual southern limit of distribution. Like Phoca 
 vitulina, these species also occur in the North Pacific. Two other 
 species are restricted to the North Atlantic, namely, Ealichcerus 
 
 I i 2 
 
484 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 grypus and Cystophora cristata, neither of wMch ranges so far 
 northward as the others, and the latter only casually wanders to 
 the southward of Newfoundland and the southern coast of Scandi- 
 navia, while the former reaches Nova Scotia and Ireland. Phoca 
 fmtida and Erignathus barhatus are the most northern of all, both 
 being winter residents of the icy shores of Davis's Straits and Jan 
 Mayen Island. It thus appears of the six species found on the 
 northern shores of Europe, Greenland, and the Atlantic coast of 
 North America, two only are confined to the North Atlantic, the 
 other four being common also to the North Pacific. The Histrio- 
 phoca fasciata, on the other hand, is limited to the North Pacific, 
 and is the only species occurring there that is not also found in 
 the North Atlantic. Consequently about one-half of the com- 
 monly recognized species of the Phocid^ of the Northern Hemi- 
 sphere have a circumpolar distribution." 
 
 Andrew Murray makes the observation, that " perhaps the most 
 interesting circumstance in the distribution of the seals is the 
 existence of a species in the Caspian Sea, and another in Lake 
 Baikal, notwithstanding that the latter is wholly fresh water, and 
 that the former does not contain one-fourth of the usual saline 
 contents of sea- water. The species in the Caspian {Phoca 
 Gaspica) is described as very nearly allied to our common Phoca 
 vitulina, and that in Lake Baikal is equally close to Phoca foetida, 
 a species found in the North Atlantic, and but for their geo- 
 graphical position no one would think of separating them from 
 these species. In fact the one is the Phoca vitulina, and the other 
 the Phoca foetida {Phoca annellata, Nilss.) 
 
 " One's first impression is so much opposed to the possibility 
 of such an occurrence as a marine animal inhabiting permanently 
 a fresh-water lake, that we naturally expect that there must be 
 some mistake about it, and that it may turn out that the animal 
 is an otter, or some unknown species, but there is no room for 
 doubt about the matter ; it is notorious and a commercial fact, 
 and your ledger is a sore destroyer of your theoretical assumptions. 
 A regular seal-fishery has for long been carried on in both waters, 
 and in Pallas' time the Baikal seal-fishery was of great importance, 
 and although much diminished since then, still, so late as 1859, 
 
SEALS. 485 
 
 forty individuals were killed at one village; and, to crown all, 
 Herr Radde brouglit home with him a specimen from it, and no 
 specific differences can be discovered between it and Phoca annel- 
 lata. The only difference is, that it is of a uniform grey colour, 
 instead of being more or less spotted. This variation, however, 
 is also found in specimens from the North Atlantic." 
 
 All seals show a partiality for basking in the sunshine, and for 
 this purpose frequently crawl to the shore, where, on a sand- 
 bar, rock, or ice, according to the season, the species, or the 
 locality, they will quietly lie by the hour. Mr. McNeill, who 
 furnished Mr. James Wilson with a considerable portion of the 
 information he published in an article on the common seal, says 
 that he observed these seals always selected the flattest and most 
 shelving rocks which have been covered with water at full tide, 
 and almost invariably those that are separated from the mainland. 
 " They generally go ashore about half-ebb, and lie together so 
 close as to appear almost touching, to the number sometimes of 
 one, two, or three dozen, with their heads invariably turned 
 towards the water, and seldom more than a yard or two from it. 
 Like many other animals, however, they place one of their number 
 a. little further up the rock, who seems constantly on the watch, 
 and is every now and then raising his head to snufi" the wind. In 
 this position they frequently go to sleep with their head, I may 
 say, hanging towards the water." 
 
 Seals are very voracious. They feed chiefly on fishes, but in part 
 on crustaceans and mollusks. A curious and remarkable fact 
 about the Phocid^ is, that they all swallow quantities of small 
 pebbles. One of the large species of these creatures was found 
 to contain twenty pounds' weight of them; some of the stones 
 individually weighed nearly half a pound. The object of this 
 habit is still a matter of conjecture. Sailors believe these stones 
 serve as ballast, and assert that they are swallowed to enable the 
 animal to sink in the water. Some naturalists seem to agree with 
 this opinion, and one traveller asserts that he himself saw a female 
 instructing her cub in the art of swallowing a proper quantity. 
 It is also affirmed that a larger number are swallowed when the 
 animals are fat than when they are lean, for at this period they 
 
486 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 require a greater weight to give them the specific gravity requisite 
 for easily remaining under the water. It has been stated that when 
 they return to land they eject these stones, and an ofl&cer in the 
 navy assured a writer on the subject that he had seen a sea-lion 
 at the Falklands engaged in the operation of "discharging 
 ballast." Another observer of their habits conjectures that these 
 stones may be swallowed in order to get rid of the parasitic 
 worms which are contained in the stomach of all seals. However, 
 be the cause what it may, the strange fact that they do swallow 
 the stones rests on abundant and trustworthy evidence. 
 
 Low, in his "Fauna Orcadensis," states that "seals seem to 
 have a great deal of curiosity : if people are passing in boats they 
 often come quite close up to the boats and stare at them, following 
 for a long time together : if people are speaking loud, they seem to 
 wonder what may be the matter. The church of Hoy, in Orkney, 
 is situated near a small sandy bay much frequented by these 
 creatures ; and I observed when the bell rang for divine service 
 all the seals within hearing swam directly for the shore, 
 and kept looking about them as if surprised rather than frightened, 
 and in this manner continued to wonder so long as the bell 
 rang." 
 
 Allen also observes, " Most species of seals are strongly attracted 
 by musical sounds, but whether their interest is merely that of 
 curiosity or real fondness for such sounds may be fairly judged to 
 be an open question. That they possess a great deal of curiosity 
 admits of no doubt." 
 
 " Strange as it may seem, it is a well-established fact that the 
 young seals take to the water reluctantly, and have to be actually 
 taught to swim by their parents. The young of some species 
 remain entirely on the ice for the first two or three weeks of their 
 fives, or until they have shed their first or soft woolly coat of hair. 
 Those that are brought forth on land, as in the case of elephant 
 seals, are like the otaries, timid of the water, swim at first 
 awkwardly, and tire easily in their first efforts. 
 
 " Seals utter a variety of cries, from which they have derived 
 such various names as sea-dogs, sea-calves, sea- wolves, &c. Some 
 have a barking note, others a kind of tender bleat, or a cry more 
 
SEALS. 487 
 
 or less resembling that of a child. The cry of the young is 
 usually more or less pathetic, while that of the adults is heavier 
 and hoarser. None appear to produce the loud barking or roar- 
 ing so characteristic of most of the sea-lions and sea-bears." 
 
 Seals are gregarious, or at least many species of them. Some 
 keep together in large numbers at all seasons, while others only 
 during the breeding season. With the exception of the crested 
 seal of the North Atlantic they are all harmless animals, for only 
 this species will habitually resist an attack or possesses powers that 
 can be regarded as in any degree dangerous. All the Phocidce 
 exhibit very strong affection for their young, and as a rule they 
 have but one at a time. 
 
 The greatest enemy to seals is undoubtedly man, for consider- 
 ably over a million of them are annually slain for their oil and skins. 
 Large numbers also become the prey of sword-fish and sharks ; 
 Mr. Carrol states that he has observed the former denizen of the sea 
 resort to the ingenious device of pressing down the edge of a piece 
 of ice upon which a seal was floating, so that the animal had per- 
 force to slip into the water. He also asserts that seals have been 
 known, when a sword-fish or shark appeared, to wriggle up to a 
 man for protection. As before described, the species which in- 
 habit the northern seas are the favourite food of the Polar bears. 
 Many of them are also destroyed during the spring when a heavy 
 sea is running, and the annual breaking up of the ice takes place, 
 by the jamming together of the drift-ice and ice-floes upon which 
 they lie. 
 
 The natives of Greenland and the northern tribes generally are 
 dependent on the seals for many of their comforts and necessaries. 
 From the skins they make materials for their boats and sledges, 
 and they also use them for clothing, and by the exercise of con- 
 siderable ingenuity they fashion most useful articles and imple- 
 ments from the bones and hides. The flesh is most palatable, and 
 forms the chief food of these people. Our Arctic voyagers always 
 appear to appreciate it, if we can trust the accounts that have 
 been published at various times on the subject. 
 
 Dr. Horner, surgeon to the Pandora, writing in Land and Water, 
 in December 1875, refers to the importance of the seals to the 
 
488 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 Esquimaux in the following manner : — " From the length of time 
 these people have inhabited this cold country, one naturally 
 expects them to have found some particular food well adapted by 
 its nutritious and heat-giving properties to supply all the wants 
 of such a rigorous climate, and such is found to be the case, for 
 there is no food more delicious to the taste of the Esquimaux than 
 the flesh of the seal, and especially that of the common seal 
 {Plioca vitulina). But it is not only the human inhabitants who 
 find it has such excellent qualities, but all the larger carnivora 
 that are able to prey on them. Seal's meat is so unlike the flesh 
 to which we Europeans are accustomed, that it is not surprising 
 we should have some difficulty at first in making up our minds 
 to taste it ; but when once that difficulty is overcome, every one 
 praises its flavour, tenderness, digestibility, juiciness, and decidedly 
 warming after-effects. Its colour is almost black, from the large 
 amount of venous blood it contains, except in very young seals, 
 and is therefore very singular-looking, and not inviting, while its 
 flavour is unlike anything else, and cannot be described except by 
 saying delicious! To suit European palates, there are certain 
 precautions to be taken before it is cooked. It has to be cut in 
 thin slices, carefully removing any fat or blubber, and then soaked 
 m salt water for from twelve to twenty-four hours, to remove the 
 blood, which gives it a slightly fishy flavour. The blubber has 
 such a strong taste, that it requires an Arctic winter's appetite to 
 find out how good it is. That of the bearded seal {Phoca barbata) 
 is most relished by epicures. The daintiest morsel of a seal is the 
 liver, which requires no soaking, but may be eaten as soon as the 
 animal is killed. The heart is good eating, while the sweetbread 
 
 and kidneys are not to be despised 
 
 " Eor my own part, I would sooner eat seal's meat than mutton 
 or beef, and I am not singular in my hking for it, as several of the 
 officers on board the Pandora shared the same opinion as myself. 
 I can confidently recommend it as a dish to be tried on a cold 
 winter's day to those who are tired of the everlasting beef and 
 mutton, and are desirous of a change of diet. It is very fattening, 
 and if eaten every day for several weeks together is likely to 
 produce rather surprising effects 
 
SEALS. 489 
 
 " Seal's meat is a panacea for all complaints among these primi- 
 tive people. Our Esquimaux interpreter 'Joe' had a most 
 troublesome cough when he left England, and was convinced he 
 should not get rid of it until he had seal's flesh to eat. He would 
 not look at any medicine off"ered to him on board, but shook his 
 head and said, ' By and by eat seal, get well.' His prescription 
 turned out to be a very good one, for he had not long been feasting 
 on his favourite food before he lost his cough, and we heard no 
 more of it. For delicate persons, and especially young ladies and 
 gentlemen who cannot succeed in making their features sufficiently 
 attractive on chicken and cheese-cakes, no diet is likely to succeed 
 so well as delicate cutlets from the loin of a seal. 
 
 " For my own part, I cannot help thinking that the diminution in 
 the number of seals caught near the principal Danish settlements 
 in Greenland, has a great deal to do with the prevalence of con- 
 sumption a;nd other diseases among the native inhabitants of those 
 places. Seals are becoming scarcer every year, and in company 
 with the bison of the North American prairies will ere long be of 
 the past, and leave the poor Greenlander and Red Indian to 
 follow them." 
 
 The common seal (Phoca vitulina) is found all round the British 
 coast, and is similar in its habits to the various other species of its 
 genus. When adult it attains a length varying from three to five 
 feet, and its general colour is yellowish-grey, marked with black 
 and brown spots, which are united on the back and sides so as to 
 form a dark mottled grey; ^the under parts are silvery. 
 
 Animals of this species have upon several occasions been seen 
 and even caught in the Thames. Two were caught in 1869 near 
 Putney. 
 
 The Greenland seal (Phoca gnenlandica) is readily distinguish- 
 able by its peculiar markings. Bell,^ referring to this species, 
 writes, " It is strictly migratory, and is in no one locality found all 
 through the year. It may be said to be resident on the coasts 
 of Greenland, but leaves them twice annually from March to 
 May to breed, and again in the pairing season from July to 
 September. In spring it is found in great numbers near the island 
 
 ' " History of British Quadrapeds." 
 
490 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 of Jan May en, and occasionally it wanders mucli further to the 
 southward." 
 
 " In the adult male the general colour is tawny or yellowish- 
 grey, sometimes nearly white. The so-called " saddle-mark " is a 
 large crescentic patch of brown or black crossing the front part 
 of the back, and passing backwards towards the hind-limbs. The 
 muzzle and extremities are dark, the former sometimes nearly black. 
 These markings, however, are not constantly alike, the saddle- 
 mark being much more pronounced and regular in some than in 
 others. The lower parts are of a ' dingy or tarnished silvery hue.' " 
 
 " The adult female," says Dr. Brown, " is of a dull whitish or 
 yellowish straw-colour, and tawny on the back. Some are bluish 
 or grey above, with oval markings : these he believes to be younger 
 individuals. 
 
 " The adult animal attains usually a length of five feet, and 
 sometimes more, but rarely reaches six feet." 
 
 Professor Newton ^ observes of this seal, in his paper on the 
 Zoology of Spitzbergen, "It is of a social disposition, and we 
 saw it in herds of not less than fifty in number. These were very 
 fond of swimming in line, their heads alone above water, engaged 
 in a game of ' follow my leader ;' for on the first seal making a 
 roll over, or a spring into the air, each seal of the whole pro- 
 cession, on arriving at the same spot, did the like, and exactly in 
 the same manner. While viewing this singular proceeding (and 
 I had many opportunities of doing so), I could not but be struck 
 with the plausibility of one of the suggested explanations of the 
 appearance which has obtained so wide-spread a notoriety under 
 the name of the ' Great Sea Serpent.' If any rule of the game in 
 which Phoca grcenlandica loves to indulge ever would permit the 
 leading seal to swim (say) one-third out of the water, as I have 
 seen Phoca harbata do, I could quite understand any person, not 
 an unromantic naturalist, on witnessing for the first time such 
 a sight as I have tried to describe, honestly believing that the 
 mythical monster was actually before his eyes." 
 
 The seal that was kept in Exeter Change Menagerie was a 
 constant source of amusement and wonderment to the visitors who 
 '^ "Proceedings of the Zoological Society," 1864. 
 
GREENLAND SEAL. 
 
 {Phoca Grmnlandua) 
 
SEALS. 491 
 
 assembled there daily. It was taught by its keeper to perform 
 sundry small tricks, such, as bowing to the audience, and diving for 
 the articles thrown it, but its performances were of a very tame 
 character compared with those that have been witnessed since then. 
 
 Seals seem to exhibit a strong hking for their keepers, and a 
 partiality for being kept in a tame state. There are several 
 accounts of specimens which have been kept on board of ships, or 
 by fishermen living near the coast, which have had perfect hberty 
 given them, but on their being thrown into the sea have invariably 
 returned, and followed their owner's boat and could in no way be 
 induced to keep the freedom given them. 
 
 Mr. H. Maxwell, in " Wild Sports of the West," says, " In 
 January, 181 9, in the neighbourhood of Burntisland, a gentleman 
 completely succeeded in taming a seal ; its singularities attracted 
 the curiosity of strangers daily. It appeared to possess all the 
 sagacity of the dog, and lived in its master's house and eat from 
 his hand. In his fishing excursions this gentleman generally took 
 it with him, upon which occasions it afforded -no small entertain- 
 ment. When thrown into the water it would follow for miles the 
 track of the boat, and although thrust back with the oars, it never 
 relinquished its purpose ; indeed it struggled so hard to regain its 
 seat, that one would imagine its fondness for its master had en- 
 tirely overcome the natural predilection for its native element." 
 
 Their intelligence, docility, and social disposition invite com- 
 parison with the similar traits of the dog, and certain writers have 
 expressed the opinion that their services could be employed for 
 some similar duties in the water to those in which dogs are 
 employed on the land. 
 
 The so-called " Talking Fish " which were exhibited in England 
 some years ago, and seem to have astonished the British public, 
 were merely some seals that had been well instructed. 
 
 That seals are capable of being trained and will display more 
 than ordinary animal intelligence were facts well known to the 
 ancients. Pliny in his Natural History states, " They are sus- 
 ceptible of training, and with their voice and by gesture can be 
 taught to salute the pubhc, and when called by their name they 
 answer with a discordant kind of grunt." 
 
492 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 The oil and skin of these seals being valuable commercial com- 
 modities, they are slaughtered in a most wanton and reckless fashion 
 annually, old and young, male and female all falling victims to the 
 men engaged in these fisheries, and the total annihilation of the 
 Newfoundland seals has been threatened in consequence. In 1868, 
 445,000, or $1,000,000 worth of seals, were brought back by the 
 Newfoundland fi.shers, and in 1872 one steamer alone caught 
 32,000, the largest number that anyone vessel had ever procured. 
 
 When taken in the spring of the year, which is the time at 
 which the animals are in good condition and fat, a full-grown seal 
 will yield from eight to twelve gallons of oil, and a small one from 
 four to five gallons. The oil, which has to be extracted before 
 putrefaction commences, is beautifully transparent, quite free 
 from offensive odour, and not unpleasant in its taste. 
 
 In the minds of those members of the public who have not given 
 the matter much attention there exists some confusion regarding 
 that beautiful and highly-valued fur which is called " Sealskin," 
 and used by ladies -in nearly every part of the civilized world for 
 their jackets or " sacques," and in the colder regions by men for 
 coats, gauntlets, and caps. Many people, being simply guided by 
 its name, think it is the skin of the common seal, that is, of the 
 true or earless species, but this is not the case. This miscon- 
 ception is also partially due to the same name being given to two 
 completely separate articles of trade. 
 
 The skin of the seals just described, which are killed annually 
 so recklessly and in such vast numbers on the coast of Newfound- 
 land and other places, have short bristly hair which has but little 
 beauty about it, and although it is occasionally dressed with the 
 hair on and used for garments, and was formerly largely used for 
 trunk coverings, this skin is as a rule only now used for tanning. 
 The hide, when converted into " patent leather," is found to be 
 of a remarkably soft and fine quality, and therefore admirably 
 adapted for boots, shoes, and bags. It is rather a singular thing 
 that Pliny should have been aware of the soft qualities of this 
 leather, for he recommends people afflicted with gout to wear 
 shoes made of the sea-calf's (seal) skin, and that they should rub 
 themselves with the animal's fat or oil. 
 
SEALS. 493 
 
 He also makes some curious and mythical statements about this 
 skin, for he remarks that even when it is separated from the body it 
 retains a certain sympathy with the sea, and at the ebb of the tide 
 the hair on it always rises upright. Fortunately this is not so, or 
 in the places where people wear coats made of this fur, they 
 would when near the sea look like ruffled tom-cats whenever the 
 tide ran out. Another one of Pliny's statements is that the right 
 fin of this animal has a certain soporiferous influence, so that if 
 it is placed under the head it induces sleep. 
 
 The beautifully dense far so coveted by young ladies, and in con- 
 sequence the cause of so many domestic heartburns and longings, is 
 taken from a totally distinct species of the amphibious carnivora, 
 for it is only found on the animals classified in the subdivision of 
 the eared-seals {Otaria), which are known as fur-seals or sea- 
 bears, which it will now be in order to describe somewhat more 
 fully. 
 
494 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 EAKED-SEALS (OTARIA). 
 
 The eared-seals (Otaria) hare been divided and subdivided so 
 often that it is almost impossible to state correctly how many 
 absolutely distinct species really do exist. So many names have 
 been given to each variety by certain naturalists who are the 
 victims of a species-mania, and upon discovering the slightest 
 individual variation in size, colour, or equally unimportant differ- 
 ences between the animals, have thought it incumbent upon them 
 to confer some new and barbarous name upon the creature, and 
 advertise the christening far and wide, that great confusion now 
 prevails. 
 
 Mr. Allen is only able to recognize nine species of these animals, 
 and two of these he even considers doubtful. These he classifies 
 into two groups, for, as he says, they are obviously divisible by 
 the character of their pelage. Of these, five are therefore called 
 Hair-Seals or Sea-Lions, for they have no under-fur ; and four, 
 Fur-Seals or Sea-Bears, which are smaller animals and have an 
 abundant soft, silky under-fur from which the famous sealskin is 
 produced, after the coarse stiff hairs are plucked therefrom, and 
 the skin dyed the attractive and uniform rufous tint noticeable in 
 the manufactured article. The skins of the females and younger 
 males are therefore of great value commercially. 
 
 These two distinct varieties have nearly an equal geographical 
 distribution, and are commonly found frequenting the same shores, 
 but generally living apart. Both species are about equally dis- 
 tributed over the temperate and colder latitudes on both sides 
 of the equator, but strange to say none of them are found in 
 the waters of the North Atlantic. 
 
EAEED- SEALS. 495 
 
 In the first place, it will be -well to notice the distinctions that 
 can be observed between the eared and earless seals ; that, is be- 
 tween the Otaria and Phocidce. The most conspicuous one is that 
 the sea-lions have the power of walking on land with some degree 
 of comfort when compared with the laboured progression of the 
 true seals. The body of the sea-lion does not lie flat on the 
 ground like the seal's, but even when at rest it is raised several 
 inches off it, upon the hind and fore limbs. The neck of the sea- 
 lion, instead of being short and thick, is long, flexible, and mobile, 
 while the head is shaped more like the head of a terrestrial animal, 
 for it has pointed ears and thick lips, covered with stitf whiskers, 
 and may be compared with a polar bear. The small, scroll-like, 
 external ears, which led the French naturalist, M. Peron, early in 
 this century, to give them a distinct classification, are appendages 
 entirely wanting in the Phocidce or common seal family. 
 
 The fore-limbs of a sea-lion, instead of being as it were 
 buried in the skin, are free from the body, and although the 
 " hands " are enclosed in a leathery skin, yet they are exceedingly 
 flexible, so much so that when on land these flippers accommodate 
 themselves to the shape of any obstacle over which the animal may 
 have to pass. When swimming they are also capable of such a 
 considerable flexion that they can be twisted or feathered like an 
 oar, and the power they give the animal makes its movements in 
 the water as beautifully graceful as the flight of a bird in the air, 
 for it swims slowly or rapidly along, on, or beneath the surface, 
 apparently by only an immediate act of will, for it is unaccom- 
 panied by any visible exertion corresponding to the effect produced. 
 
 Again, with regard to the hind-limbs, in the true seal these 
 are disposed backwards, in a line with the tail and body, and exist 
 in a permanently extended condition, and are used entirely for 
 swimming, as they are of little service to the animal on land. In 
 the sea-lion, however, these limbs, as far as the ankle and foot are 
 concerned, are freely separated from the body, and the foot is 
 turned outwards, and is not unlike the same organ in the polar 
 bear, although its action may be somewhat limited, owing to the 
 way it is fastened, yet it is used exactly as a terrestrial animal uses 
 its paw. When walking on the ground these fore-limbs are lifted 
 
496 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 alternately by a swaying movement of the body, and tlie animal 
 can travel along very rapidly. Occasionally it makes an attempt 
 at a gallop, but it is an awkward pace, for the gigantic feet, or 
 rather flippers, are used in a flaccid, fin-like manner, which 
 reminds one, as Buckland says, of Bob Ridley's shoes in nigger 
 performances. If the animal in the Zoological Gardens is watched 
 for some little time, it will be observed occasionally twisting itself 
 into queer attitudes, like a dog or a cat, stretching itself or 
 scratching its back for amusement. 
 
 The body of these seals is singularly flexible. On this subject. 
 Dr. Murie ' says, " At one moment the entire body presents a long, 
 cylindrical, tapering cone ; in another, the body seems fore- 
 shortened, and the head and neck thrust out turtle-fashion to a 
 length as astonishing as unexpected to any visitor who may chance 
 to be near ; at other times the chest and abdomen become deep 
 and laterally flattened, while the back is arched like that of a 
 defiant cat. And so, waking and sleeping, walking or swimming, 
 there is a ceaseless change of relation in the figure and proportion 
 of the parts. This does not depend on mere change of atti- 
 tude, but also upon the unusually lithe and mobile nature of 
 the entire spinal column and ribs, furnished as these are with 
 an abundance of cartilaginous material and fibro-elastic liga- 
 ments." 
 
 " The teeth," writes Mr. J. W. Clark,^ " are thirty-six in 
 number, twenty in the upper jaw and sixteen in the lower. Occa- 
 sionally there is a total of only thirty-four. There are always six 
 incisors in the upper jaw, distinguished by a deep furrow across 
 the longer axis of their crowns, and four in the lower; two 
 canines in each jaw, and usually six molar teeth above, and five 
 below on each side. The canines are of enormous size, and the 
 two outermost incisors of the upper jaw only a trifle smaller ; so 
 that when the jaws close, and the lower canine falls between these 
 two enormous teeth, anything that may happen to come between 
 them is held as in a vice. The molar" teeth are of uniform, or nearly 
 uniform, size and shape. They are soHd — so solid, indeed, that sailors 
 have mistaken them for flints — but from their diminutive size, it 
 ' " Zoological Transactions." = Contemporary Review, vol. xxvii. 
 
EARED-SEALS. 497 
 
 is plain that they can be of no use for purposes of mastication. 
 Indeed the Otaria, having caught its prey, holds it in its mouth by 
 means of its powerful canines and incisors, and, raising its head, 
 swallows it whole. When it has caught a fish too large to be thus 
 disposed of, it has been seen to give its head a sudden twist, so as 
 to break off a portion, which it swallows rapidly. It then dives 
 into the water, picks up the other portion, and repeats the tearing 
 process until the last fragment is devoured." 
 
 The habits of nearly all the various species of the otaria are 
 somewhat similar. The Pribylov Islands, which are included in 
 the Alaska group, now in the possession of the United States, are, 
 with the Falkland Islands, the chief resorts of the fur-seals during 
 the summer months. They assemble at these places in immense 
 numbers for the purpose of breeding. 
 
 In 1880, Mr. Henry W. Elliott made a report on the Seal 
 Islands of Alaska to the American Government,* which contains 
 most curious and entertaining information on the fur-seal, furnished 
 from actual observation. And to those who are unable to obtain 
 access to this formidable-sized volume of Government reports, a 
 few quotations from his work will no doubt be interesting. In 
 fact it is almost impossible to write correctly about these animals 
 without constantly referring to his wonderfully graphic and minute 
 monograph. The opening remark draws attention to the slight 
 amount of information that existed regarding these strange animals, 
 prior to the present decade. 
 
 " During the progress of the heated controversies that took place 
 pending the negotiation which ended in the acquisition of Alaska 
 by our Government," he writes, " frequent references were made to 
 the fur-seal. Strange to say, this animal was so vaguely known at 
 that time, even to scientific men, that it was almost without repre- 
 sentation in any of the best zoological collections of the world. 
 Even the Smithsonian Institution did not possess a perfect skin 
 and skeleton. The writer, then as now, an associate and collabo- 
 rator of this establishment, had his curiosity very much excited by 
 these stories, and in March, 1872, he was, by the joint action of 
 Professor Baird and the Secretary of the Treasury, enabled to 
 s See "Tenth Census of the United States, 1880," vol. viii. 
 
 K k 
 
498 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 visit the Pribylov Islands, for tlie purpose of studying the life 
 and habits of these animals. 
 
 " The fact is, that the acquisition of these pelagic peltries had 
 engaged thousands of men, and that millions of dollars have been 
 employed in capturing, dressing, and selling fur-seal skins during 
 the hundred years just passed by ; yet, from the time of Steller, 
 away back as far as 1751 up to the beginning of the last decade, 
 the scientific world actually knew nothing definite in regard to the 
 life-history of this valuable animal. The truth connected with the 
 life of the fur-seal, as it herds in countless myriads on the Prebyloo 
 Islands of Alaska, is far stranger than fiction. Perhaps the 
 existing ignorance has been caused by confounding the hair-seal, 
 Phoca vituUna and its kind, with the creature now under dis- 
 cussion. Two animals more dissimilar in their individuality and 
 method of living can, however, hardly be imagined, although they 
 belong to the same group, and live apparently on the same food." 
 The two islands, St. Paul and St. George, are the most impor- 
 tant of the whole group, and it was at these places Mr. Elliott 
 made most of his observations, and they were certainly of an 
 extremely interesting and exciting kind. The mass of animal life, 
 the desperate fighting that accompanies their settlement, and at a 
 latter date the gamboling of the thousands and thousands of 
 beautifully coated young sea-bears must be a sight peculiarly 
 fascinating. One ceases to wonder that Steller, whose diary 
 contains some of the most accurate and earliest information 
 regarding these animals, when wrecked with Vitus Bering on 
 the Commander Islands, and suffering bodily tortures, the legacy 
 of gangrene and scurvy, with the energy of a true naturalist, 
 " daily crept with aching bones and watery eyes over the boulders 
 and mossy flats of Bering Island, to catch glimpses of these 
 strange animals which abode there then as they abide to-day." 
 
 The fur-seal, Gallorhinus ursinus, is, according to Mr. Elliot, the 
 highest organized of all the Pinnipedia, and there are few mem- 
 bers of the animal kingdom that can be said to exhibit a higher 
 order of instinct, or one approaching more nearly to human 
 intelligence. The animal is thus described : "I wish to draw 
 attention to a specimen of the finest of this race — a male in the 
 
EARED-SEALS. 499 
 
 flush and prime of his first maturity, six or seven years old, and 
 full grown. When it comes up from the sea early in the spring, 
 out to its station for the breeding-season, we have an animal 
 before us that will measure 6^ to 7^ feet in length from tip 
 of nose to end of its abbreviated, abortive tail. It will weigh at 
 least 400 pounds, and I have seen older specimens much more 
 corpulent, which in my best judgment, could not be less than 
 600 pounds in weight. The head of this animal now before us, 
 appears to be disproportionately small in comparison with the 
 immensely thick neck and shoulders ; but as we come to examine 
 it we will find it is mostly all occupied by the brain. The light 
 framework of the skull supports an expressive pair of large 
 bluish hazel eyes, alternately burning with revengeful passionate 
 light, then suddenly changing to the tones of tenderness and good 
 nature. It has a muzzle and jaws of about the same size and 
 form observed in any full-blooded Newfoundland dog, with this 
 difference, that the lips are not flabby and overhanging ; they are 
 firmly lined and pressed against one another as our own. The 
 upper lip supports a yellowish- white and gray moustache, composed 
 of long, stiff bristles, and when it is not torn out and broken ofi" 
 in combat, it sweeps down and over the shoulders as a luxuriant 
 plume. Look at it as it comes leisurely swimming on towards the 
 land ; see how high above the water it carries its head, and how 
 deliberately it surveys the beach after having stepped upon it 
 (for it may be truly said to step with its fore-flippers, as they 
 regularly alternate when it moves up), carrying the head well 
 above them, erect and graceful, at least three feet from the 
 ground." 
 
 The first to arrive at the " rookeries," as the breeding-grounds 
 are called, are generally the strong adult males and oldest bulls. 
 These rookeries are situated on the shore in the space between the 
 high-water line and the foot of the cliffs. 
 
 In the beginning of June, "the seal- weather— the foggy, 
 humid, oozy damp of summer — sets in ; and with it, as the gray 
 banks roll up and shroud the islands, the bull-seals swarm from 
 the depths by hundreds and thousands, and locate themselves in 
 advantageous positions for the reception of the females, which 
 
 K k 2 
 
500 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 are generally three weeks or a month later than this date in 
 arrival." 
 
 "A well understood principle exists among the able-bodied 
 bulls, to wit, that each one shall remain undisturbed on his ground, 
 which is usually about six to eight feet square, provided that at 
 the start, and from that time until the arrival of the females, he 
 is strong enough to hold this ground against all comers ; inas- 
 much as the crowding in of the fresh arrivals often causes the 
 removal of those which, though equally able-bodied at first, have 
 exhausted themselves by fighting earlier and constantly ; they are 
 finally driven by these fresher animals back farther and higher up 
 on the rookery, and sometimes off altogether. 
 
 " Many of these buUs exhibit wonderful strength and desperate 
 courage. I marked one veteran at Gorbatch who was the first to 
 take up his position early in May, and that position, as usual, 
 directly at the water-fine. This male seal had fought at least 
 forty or fifty desperate battles, and fought off his assailants every 
 time — perhaps nearly as many different seals which coveted his 
 position — and when the fighting season was over (after the cows 
 are mostly all hauled up), I saw him still there, covered with scars 
 and frightfully gashed ; raw, festering and bloody, one eye gouged 
 out, but lording it bravely over his harem of fifteen or twenty 
 females, who were all huddled together on the same spot of his 
 first location and around him. 
 
 " This fighting between the old and adult males (for none others 
 fight) is mostly, or rather entirely, done with the mouth. The 
 opponents seize one another with their teeth, and, then clenching 
 their jaws, nothing but the sheer strength of the one and the other 
 tugging to escape can shake them loose, and that effort invariably 
 leaves an ugly wound, the sharp canines tearing out deep gutters 
 in the skin and furrows in the blubber, or shredding the flippers 
 into ribbon strips. 
 
 " They usually approach each other with comically averted 
 heads, just as though they were ashamed of the rumpus which 
 they are determined to precipitate. When they get near enough 
 to reach one another they enter upon the repetition of many 
 feints or passes, before either one or the other takes the initiative 
 
EARED-SEALS. 501 
 
 by gripping. The heads are darted out and back as quick as a 
 flash, their hoarse roai'ing and shrill piping whistle never ceases, 
 while their fat bodies writhe and swell with exertion and rage ; 
 furious lights gleam in their eyes ; their hair flies in the air, and 
 their blood streams down ; all combined, makes a picture so fierce 
 and so strange, that from its unexpected position and its novelty, 
 is perhaps one of the most extraordinary brutal contests man can 
 witness. 
 
 " In these battles of the seals the parties are always distinct ; 
 the one is offensive, the other defensive. If the latter proves the 
 weaker he withdraws from the position occupied, and is never 
 followed by his conqueror, who complacently throws up one of his 
 hind-flippers, fans himself as it were, to cool his fevered wrath and 
 blood from the heat of the conflict, sinks into comparative quiet, 
 only uttering a peculiar chuckle of satisfaction or contempt, with 
 a sharp eye open for the next covetous bull or " see-catch " (native 
 name for the bulls on the rookeries, especially those which are able 
 to maintain their position)." 
 
 " All the bulls have the power and frequent inclination to utter 
 four distinct calls or notes. This is not the case with the sea- 
 lion, whose voice is confined to a single bass roar ; or that of the 
 walrus, which is limited to a dull grunt ; or that of the hair-seal, 
 which is inaudible. This volubility of the fur-seal is decidedly 
 characteristic and prominent ; he utters a hoarse resonant roar, 
 loud and long ; he gives vent to a low, entirely different gurgling 
 growl ; he emits a chuckling, sibilant, piping whistle, of which it 
 is impossible to convey an adequate idea, for it must be heard to 
 be understood ; and a splitting or rapid choo-choo-choo sound, 
 like steam puffs as they escape from the smoke-stack of a locomo- 
 tive. The cows have but one note — a hollow, prolonged bla-a-ting 
 call, addressed only to their pups. On all other occasions they 
 are usually silent. It is something strangely like the cry of a calf 
 or an old sheep." 
 
 " The sound which arises from these great breeding-grounds of 
 the fur-seal, where thousands upon tens of thousands of angry, 
 vigilant bulls are roaring, chuckling, and piping, and multitudes 
 of seal mothers are calHng in hollow, Meeting tones to their 
 
502 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 young, that in turn respond incessantly, is simply defiance to 
 verbal description. It is, at a slight distance, softened into a deep 
 booming, as of a cataract, and I have heard it, with a light, fair 
 wind to the leeward, as far as six miles out from land on the sea, 
 and even in the thunder of the surf and the roar of heavy gales it 
 will rise up and over to your ear for quite a considerable distance 
 away. It is the monitor which the sea-captains anxiously strain 
 their ears for when they run their dead-reckoning up, and are 
 laying-to for the fog to rise, in order that they may get their 
 bearings of the land ; once heard, they hold on to the sound, and 
 feel their way in to anchor. The seal roar at ' Novastoshnah ' 
 during the summer of 1872 saved the life of the surgeon and six 
 natives belonging to the island, who had pushed out on an egging 
 trip from North-East Point to "Walrus Island. I have sometimes 
 thought, as I have listened through the night to this volume of 
 extraordinary sound, which never ceases with the rising or the 
 setting of the sun throughout the entire season of breeding, that it 
 was fully equal to the cheering boom of the waves of Niagara. 
 Night and day, throughout the season, this din upon the rookeries 
 is steady and constant." 
 
 Although the bulls have been quarrelling all the time and con- 
 tinue to do so all through the season, yet when the cow-seals 
 begin to arrive, they signalize the event by a period of universal, 
 spasmodic, desperate fighting among themselves, the contests 
 being far more bloody and vindictive, and result in a heavier per- 
 centage of mutilation and death than at other times. 
 
 The cows are from 4 feet to 4^ feet in length from head to tail, 
 and besides having much smaller bodies than the bulls, are more 
 lithe and elastic, and much more shapely in their proportions. 
 They exhibit a strong contrast to their ferocious and saturnine 
 lords by wearing an air of exceeding peace and dove-like amiability. 
 " The head and eye of the female are exceedingly beautiful ; the 
 expression is really attractive, gentle, and intelligent ; the large, 
 lustrous, blue-black eyes are humid and soft with the tenderest 
 expression, while the small, well-formed head is poised as grace- 
 fully on her neck as can be well imagined ; she is the very picture 
 of benignity and satisfaction when she is perched up on some 
 
EAEED-SEALS. 503 
 
 convenient rock, and has an opportunity to quietly fan herself, 
 the eyes half-closed, and the head thrown back on her gently- 
 swelling shoulders." 
 
 The females " are noticed and received by the males on the 
 water-line stations with attention ; they are alternately coaxed and 
 urged up on to the rocks, as far as these beach-masters can do so, 
 by chuckling, whistling and roaring, and then they are imme- 
 diately under the most jealous supervision; but owing to the 
 covetous and ambitious nature of the bulls which occupy these 
 stations to the rear of the water-line and way back, the little cows 
 have a rough-and-tumble time of it when they begin to arrive in 
 small numbers at first, for no sooner is the pretty animal fairly 
 established on the station of male number one, who has welcomed 
 her there, than he, perhaps, sees another one of her style in the 
 water from whence she has come, and, in obedience to his poly- 
 gamous feeling, devotes himself anew to coaxing the latter arrival, 
 by that same winning manner so successful in the first case ; then 
 when bull number two, just back, observes bull number one ofE 
 guard, he reaches out with his long strong neck and picks up the 
 unhappy but passive cow by the scrufi" of hers, just as a cat does 
 a kitten, and deposits her upon his seraglio-ground ; then bulls 
 number three and four, and so on, in the vicinity, seeing this 
 high-handed operation, all assail one another, especially number 
 two, and for a moment have a tremendous fight, perhaps lasting 
 half a minute or so, and during this commotion the little cow is 
 generally moved, or moves, further back from the water two or 
 three stations more, where, when all gets quiet again, she usually 
 remains in peace. Her last lord and master, not having the 
 exposure to such diverting temptation as her first, gives her such 
 care that she not only is unable to leave, did she wish, but no 
 other bull can seize upon her. This is only a faint (and I fully 
 appreciate it), wholly inadequate description of the hurly-burly 
 and the method by which the rookeries are filled up from first to 
 last, when the females arrive." 
 
 The ground selected is always on a gentle slope from the sea, 
 and is chosen with special reference to its drainage, so that it may 
 remain, or easily become dry and free from puddles. 
 
504 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 Tlie number of wives appropriated by eacb bull varies, 
 apparently, according to tlie position of tlie ground upon wbicli 
 the animal bas been able to establish himself. Those nearest the 
 water have between fifteen and twenty, and those in the rear 
 from five to twelve. 
 
 The males that come late and are unable in consequence to 
 obtain or keep a position any way near the water-line, have to 
 remain in the rear of the rookeries, in a bachelor condition, and 
 patiently await their opportunity, but when one of the more 
 fortunately situated males is severely wounded, or has to vacate 
 his position from any cause, one of these single animals promptly 
 moves into the vacant place. 
 
 Soon after the cow-seals have all landed, the little jet-black pups 
 are born, and begin to paddle about and enjoy life from the very 
 start. They are treated with great apathy by their mothers. 
 Mr. EUiott says : " I have never seen a seal-mother caress or 
 fondle her offspring ; and should it stray to a short distance from 
 the harem, I could step to and pick it up, and even kill it before 
 the mother's eye, without causing her the slightest concern, as far 
 as all outward signs and manifestations would indicate. The same 
 indifference is also exhibited by the male to all that may take 
 place of this character outside of the boundary of his seraglio ; 
 but the moment the pups are inside the limits of his harem-ground 
 he is a jealous and fearless protector, vigilant and determined; 
 but if the little animals are careless enough to pass beyond this 
 boundary, then I can go up to them and carry them off before 
 the eye of the old Turk without receiving from him the slightest 
 attention on their behalf. A curious guardian, forsooth ! " 
 
 An odd, paradoxical thing about these young pups is, that until 
 they are a month or six weeks old they are utterly unable to 
 swim. If one of them is pitched into the water, " his bullet-like 
 head will drop instantly below the surface, and his attenuated 
 posterior extremities flap impotently on it. Suffocation is the 
 question of only a few minutes, the stupid little creature not know- 
 ing how to raise his immersed head and gain the air again. After 
 they have attained the age I indicate, their instinct drives them 
 down to the margin of the surf, where the alternate ebbing and 
 
EARED-SEALS. 505 
 
 flowing of its "wash covers or uncovers the rocky or sandy- 
 beaches. They first smell, and then touch the moist pool, and 
 flounder in the upper wash of the surf, which leaves them as 
 suddenly high and dry as it immersed them at first. After this 
 beginning they make slow and clumsy progress in learning the 
 knack of swimming. For a week or two, when overhead in depth, 
 they continue to flounder about in the most awkward manner, 
 thrashing the water as little dogs do, with their fore-feet, making 
 no attempt whatever to use the hinder ones. Look at that pup, 
 now, launched out for the first time beyond his depth ; see how 
 he struggles, his mouth wide open, and his eyes fairly popping. 
 He turns instantly to the beach ere he has fairly struck out from 
 the point whence he launched in, and, as the receding swell which 
 at first carried him off his feet and out, now returning leaves him 
 high and dry for a few minutes, he seems so weary that he weakly 
 crawls up, out beyond its swift returning wash, and coils himself 
 up immediately to take a recuperative nap. He sleeps a few 
 minutes, perhaps half an hour, then awakes as bright as a dollar, 
 apparently rested, and at his swimming lesson he goes again. 
 By repeated and persistent attempts, the young seal gradually 
 becomes familiar with the water, and acquainted with his own 
 power over the element which is to be his real home and his 
 whole support. Once boldly swimming, the pup fairly revels in 
 his new happiness." 
 
 The male seals, from six years of age, which go by the expres- 
 sive name of "bachelors," are compelled to herd apart. They 
 number from one-third to one-half the whole aggregate of near 
 5,000,000 seals known to the Pribylov group, and are never 
 allowed by the " see-catchie," under the pain of frightful mutila- 
 tion or death, to put their flippers on or near the rookeries. The 
 ground they occupy is about ten times as large as that covered by 
 the breeding seals, for they wander about aimlessly, or as the 
 weather and caprice may dictate. Thus they frequently journey 
 inland distances varying from a half to a whole mfle, and as they 
 do not travel in desultory files over the winding, stragghng paths, 
 but sweep along in solid platoons, they obliterate every spear of 
 grass, and rub down nearly every hummock in their way. 
 
506 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 "Since the ' hoUuscliickie ' (Russian for baolielors) are not 
 permitted by their own kind to land on the rookeries and stop 
 there, they have the choice of two methods of locating, one of 
 which allows them to rest in the rear of the rookeries, and the 
 other on the free beaches. The most notable illustration of the 
 former can be witnessed on Reef Point, where a pathway is left for 
 their ingress and egress through a rookery — a path left by common 
 consent, as it were, between the harems. On these trails of 
 passage they come and go in steady files all day and all night 
 during the season, unmolested by the jealous bulls which guard 
 the seraglios on either side as they travel ; all peace and comfort 
 to the young seal if he minds his business and keeps straight on, 
 up or down, without stopping to nose about right or left ; all woe 
 and desolation to him, however, if he does not, for in that event 
 he will be literally torn in bloody gripping, from limb to limb, 
 by the vigilant old ' see-catchie.' " 
 
 About the end of July, or the first week in August, the dis- 
 organization of the rookeries begins. The whole place has a 
 changed appearance. The regular disposition of the families or 
 harems has disappeared, and the clockwork order which has here- 
 tofore existed becomes broken up. The bulls leave, and the 
 majority of the cows also take to the water, only coming ashore 
 again to nurse and look after the pups for a short time longer. 
 The bachelors, who have been kept in the background hitherto, 
 now come forward, and, in a very disorderly manner, take 
 possession of the rookeries. By the end of October, with but few 
 exceptions, the whole body of seals desert the islands and migrate 
 southward. 
 
 An extraordinary feature about these annual family gatherings 
 is, that during the three or four months they are assembled together, 
 the bull animals have existed without food of any kind, or everi 
 water. The females go to and come from the sea to feed 
 and bathe quite frequently, so do the bachelors, and they retain 
 their sleek, plump forms in consequence. But the bulls, when 
 they first leave their post, which they have not quitted for a single 
 moment, night or day, since they landed in May, and gently slip 
 off shore to obtain their first meal, are but the bony shadows of 
 
EARED-SEALS. 507 
 
 their former selves, for besides being covered witli wounds, they 
 are abject and spiritless, and laboriously crawl back to the ocean, 
 there to renew a fresh lease of life. 
 
 " Such physical endurance," writes Mr. Blhott, " is remarkable 
 enough alone, but is simply wonderful when we come to associate 
 this fasting with the increasing activity, restlessness, and duty 
 devolved upon the bulls as the heads of large families. They do 
 not stagnate, like hibernating bears, in caves ; there is not one 
 torpid breath drawn by them in the whole period of their fast ; it 
 is evidently sustained and accomplished by the self-absorption 
 of their own fat, with which they are so liberally supplied when 
 they first come out from the sea and take up their positions on 
 the breeding-grounds, and which gradually disappears, until 
 nothing but the staring hide, protruding tendons and bones mark 
 the limit of their abstinence. There must be some remarkable 
 provision made by nature for the entire torpidity of the seal's 
 stomach and bowels, in consequence of their being empty and 
 unsupplied during this long period, coupled with the intense 
 activity and physical energy of the animals throughout that time, 
 which, however, in spite of the violation of a supposed physio- 
 logical law, does not seem to affect them, for they come back just 
 as sleek, fat, and ambitious as ever in the following season." 
 
 The natives of these islands, or those engaged in the trade, 
 procure their supply of skins by getting between the sea and the 
 " bachelor " seals, and driving them inland, which is easy work, 
 for the poor creatures are of a timid disposition, and when they 
 find their retreat to the sea cut off, they instinctively turn and 
 scramble rapidly back up and over the land. The natives leisurely 
 walk on the flanks of the drove they have thus secured, and 
 keeping the seals on the move, drive them to the flats selected for 
 the scene of slaughter. 
 
 The actual killing is done by knocking the animals on the head 
 with a club or stout oaken or hickory bludgeon, specially con- 
 structed for the purpose. The men accustomed to the work are 
 adepts at it, and, consequently, the individuals are killed, as a rule, 
 with a single blow, and without suffering, for it is only occasionally 
 that a second stroke is required. " The aim and force with which 
 
508 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 tbe native directs his blow," observes Mr. Elliott, " determines the 
 death of the seal ; if struck directly and violently a single stroke 
 is enough. The seals' heads are stricken so hard sometimes, that 
 those crystalline lenses to their eyes fly out from the orbital 
 sockets like hail-stones, or little pebbles, and frequently struck 
 me sharply in the face, or elsewhere, while I stood near by, 
 watching the killing gang at work." 
 
 The " Alaska Commercial Company " have the sole right of 
 killing the seals on these islands, and they are only permitted to 
 take lOOjOOO male skins annually during the months of June and 
 July. After this date the animals begin shedding their hair, and 
 the skins are worthless. The Act of Congress, passed in 1870, 
 leasing these islands for twenty years to this company for a 
 rental of $50,000, with a tax of $2 on each skin, regulated the 
 time at which the killing was to take place, the number and sex 
 that were to be killed, and these stipulations are strictly enforced. 
 
 Mne-tenths of the skins obtained by this company are shipped 
 to London, to be dressed and prepared for the market, and from 
 thence find their way all over the civilized world where furs are 
 worn and prized. 
 
 The age of the animal has a great deal to do with the value of 
 the skin. A well-grown seal in his third year yields the very 
 best grade of pelt ; but the skin of a five-year-old is very poor, 
 while that of a seven-year-old is worthless, and never taken. 
 
 The price of a seal-skin garment has a considerable range, 
 as most people know, extending from a few pounds to over a 
 hundred ; but the reason of these wide variations is not so well 
 known. It depends, of course, to some extent upon the quality 
 of the fur originally, but far more to the amount of skilled labour 
 which has been expended on it. The dyeing is one of the most 
 important operations, and requires considerable patience and such 
 great skill, that the number of men in the world qualified to do 
 the highest class of work is quite limited. If it is conscientiously 
 done, the colour will not rub off, or when subjected to a little 
 moisture, soil the collar or cuffs of the wearer, neither will the 
 skin become faded or ragged-looking, like the cheap articles which 
 have been defectively treated. A great deal depends also on the 
 
EAEED-SBALS. 509 
 
 care exercised in the initial stages of the preparation of the 
 skins or when they are being " unhaired," that is, having the over 
 or coarse hair combed out and off from the fur. This is done 
 by reducing the thickness of the skin, and by heating it to 
 such a point that the roots of the fur are not loosened, while 
 those of the coarse hirsute growth are. If this operation is .not 
 performed with perfect uniformity the skins will never have a 
 smooth or handsome appearance, but will always look rumpled and 
 rulEed, never mind how skilfully they may subsequently be dyed. 
 
510 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 EAEED-SEALS {OTARIA) Continued. 
 
 The Ssa-Lions excite more interest in tlie public mind than the 
 Sea-Bears, although people are so dependent on the latter animals 
 for one of their luxuries. This is no doubt due to the specimens 
 that have been exhibited in various places, and have become popu- 
 lar favourites, also perhaps to the fact that, although they dwell 
 periodically in certain isolated islands of the world, yet they do 
 not confine themselves to these secluded spots, but are to be seen 
 disporting themselves on thickly inhabited coasts, and occasion- 
 ally take up a permanent abode on rocks contiguous to such places, 
 
 Stellee's Sea-Lion (Otaria Stelleri) is the Hair Seal of the 
 Pribylov Islands. These animals have a much wider geographical 
 range than the fur-seals which are their fellow-inhabitants of these 
 out-of-the-way rocks, for they are found in many places further 
 south. The sea-lions that sport about on the rocky islets near 
 the entrance to San Francisco Bay are of this species. Their 
 antics constitute one of the sights which attract visitors 
 to the large hotel situated opposite the Seal Rocks, at the 
 mouth of the bay, from where a good view can be obtained 
 of their rookery. One^ conspicuously large specimen was always 
 easily distinguished ; he was known by the name of " Ben 
 Butler," and some people, prone to exaggeration in such matters, 
 used to estimate his weight at 2000 pounds. These sea-lions are, 
 however, much larger in every way than their congeners the sea- 
 bears, for some of them attain a total length of eleven or twelve 
 feet, and a girth around the chest and shoulders of eight or nine 
 feet, and are said to weigh a thousand pounds or more. 
 
 The Calif ornian legislature gave protection by law to the 
 
EARED-SEALS. 511 
 
 seals and sea-lions along their coast, apparently more because 
 they were objects of interest and curiosity than for any other 
 purpose, but the voracity of the animals was so great that the 
 State fish-commissioners — who found the results of their efforts 
 to stock the waters with food-fishes considerably impaired, 
 if not completely destroyed, by the seals — introduced a bill to 
 repeal the protective act, hoping that this step would soon effect 
 a diminution of the number of these rapacious marine carnivora. 
 
 These sea-lions can be formidable antagonists. The following 
 account of an onset one of them made upon a boat, was published 
 in a San Francisco newspaper : " As a Mexican Indian named 
 Sacramentus was crossing Tomales Bay at Marshall, the boat was 
 attacked by a large sea-lion. The Indian dealt the beast a heavy 
 blow on the head with a hatchet, but without repulsing the animal, 
 which again attacked the boat with renewed fury. It was finally 
 killed and afterwards towed ashore. The fishermen estimated its 
 weight at 1200 pounds." 
 
 These sea-lions are polygamous and gregarious, but do not 
 assemble together in such immense numbers as the fur-seals, 
 neither do they maintain the regular system and method in settling 
 the economy of their breeding-grounds. Although they fight 
 desperately among themselves, if anything with more savageness 
 than the sea-bears, yet they are entirely wanting in the courage 
 exhibited by the latter animals. They are reported to be among 
 the most timid of all the Pinnipedia, for according to Elhott, a 
 boy with a rattle or a pop-gun could stampede 10,000 sea-lion 
 bulls, in the height of the breeding-season, to the water, and keep 
 them there for the rest of the period. In consequence of their 
 being so shy and suspicious, it is difficult work to get anyway 
 near them in order to make observations, for on the slightest 
 warning or alarm they fly to the water in a panic. 
 
 There is considerable disparity between the sizes of the male 
 and female animals of this species, more so, perhaps, than between 
 any of the others. It is the leonine appearance of the bulls and 
 the ferocious expression they frequently exhibit which has led to 
 the designation of sea-lions being appHed to them. 
 
 The skin of the sea-lion has little commercial value, for it is 
 
612 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 covered with coarse, hard, stiff hair, varying in length and colour 
 with age and season, and is wholly destitute of the soft and silky 
 under fur; but it is of great value in the domestic service of 
 the Aleutian islanders, as is also the flesh, fat, and sinews. The 
 oil procured from these animals is also of a far higher quality 
 than the offensively odorous blubber of the fur-seal. Some few 
 hundreds, sufficient to supply their wants, are therefore annually 
 killed by these people. The method adopted is, to a great extent, 
 similar to the one before described; but with sea-lions greater 
 care is required, for it is a somewhat more dangerous occupation, 
 not only from their much larger size, but also from their habits. 
 For if, when getting between the sea and their prey, the sleeping 
 animals happen to have their heads pointed to the water, the 
 moment they are alarmed they charge straight in that direction, 
 right over the men themselves. If, however, they are turned 
 inland, they pursue the same direction, which is the one required 
 by their captors. The driving of the captives used to be accom- 
 plished by the waving of a small flag attached to a pole, but since 
 the islanders have become Americans, they have adopted that 
 production of the country, a cotton umbrella, and the sudden 
 opening and shutting of this novel implement keeps the herd on 
 the move, and completely overcomes the sluggish tendency of 
 any refractory individual among them. Again, when the actual 
 killing begins, although the sea-lions appear to be natural 
 cowards, yet they will fight when at bay, and prove themselves no 
 mean antagonists. They are not therefore killed, as a rule, with 
 the clubs used for the fur-seals, but are shot with a rifle; the 
 men walking up to within a few feet of the animals and firing at 
 them just between the eye and the ear. 
 
 As an illustration of the strength and energy of a sea-lion bull 
 when at bay, Mr. Elliott states that the following curious, though 
 doubtless authentic, story was told him: "Many years ago 
 (1847), on St. Paul Island, a drive of September sea-lions was 
 brought down to the village in the usual style ; but when the 
 natives assembled to kill them, on account of the great scarcity, 
 at the time, of powder in the island, it was voted best to lance the 
 old males also, as well as the females, rather than shoot them in 
 

A PATAGONIAN SEA-LION. 
 
 t^Otariojubata.) 
 
EAEBD-SBALS. 513 
 
 the customary style. The people had hardly set to -work at the 
 task, when one of their number, a small, elderly, though tough, 
 able-bodied Aleut, while thrusting his lance into the ' life ' of a 
 large bull, was suddenly seen to fall on his back, directly under 
 the huge brute's head ; instantly the powerful jaws of the 
 ' see-vitchie ' (native name for sea-lion) closed upon the waistband, 
 apparently, of the native, and lifting the yelling man aloft, as a 
 cat would a kitten, the sea-lion shook and threw him high into 
 the air, away over the heads of his associates, who rushed up to 
 the rescue, and quickly destroyed the animal by a dozen furious 
 spear thrusts; yet death did not -loosen its clenched jaws, in 
 which were the tattered fragments of Ivan's clothing." 
 
 The moustache bristles procured from these seals, which are 
 tough and elastic, have, strange to say, a commercial value. They 
 are sent to San Francisco, where they are sold to the Chinese, 
 for about a cent apiece, who use them as peckers for cleaning 
 their opium pipes, and also for certain purposes in connection 
 with their joss-house ceremonies. 
 
 The Patagonian sea-lion [Otaria jubata) is the species best known 
 to the frequenters of the Zoological Gardens, for the popular and 
 sportive animal that can generally be seen plunging about in the 
 spacious pond set apart for the purpose, is a female of this variety. 
 
 These sea-lions are found distributed all round the South 
 American continent, from Peru to the River Plate. Magellan, 
 whose name was given to the straits that divide Tierra del Fuego 
 from Patagonia, speaks in the history of his eventful voyage 
 (1579) of the animal which the Spaniards called the sea-wolf. 
 It was probably identical with the animal which attracted the 
 attention of Captain Cook and his naturahst, Forster, for the 
 superficial resemblance to a lion seems to have struck them at once, 
 and they gave it the name of jubata, from the Latin word juba, a 
 mane. In one of Forster's drawings, preserved in the British 
 Museum, he represents it as possessing such an appendage, but 
 the long hair covering the neck and shoulders to be seen in the 
 adult male is hardly worthy of a designation which invites com- 
 parison with the ornamental locks of a lion. 
 
 This species derives some exceptional interest from the fact that 
 
 L 1 
 
514 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 it was the first of its kind that was brought alive to England, and 
 materially helped to awake public curiosity in these interesting 
 creatures, and to draw the attention of naturalists to the dearth of 
 accurate information that existed regarding them. Visitors to the 
 gardens when the first specimen of the sea-lion was on exhibi- 
 tion were surprised to find that the animal so often referred to by 
 the early explorers in the history of their voyages, and that had 
 been the occasion er of many thrilling adventures, was possessed 
 of a highly intelligent organization, hardly inferior to that of any 
 quadruped. 
 
 Lecompte, who was this animal's keeper and original owner, 
 was quite a noted character in his way. The late Prank Buck- 
 land, who knew him well, for he made his first acquaintance with 
 him in 1866, when he was engaged exhibiting his pet at Cremorne 
 Gardens, gives his history and the account of the first sea-lion's 
 capture in one of his articles.-' " In 1862," he writes, " some 
 French sailors wandering about the desolate and bleak shores near 
 Cape Horn, came across this Sea-bear " (Sea-lion, for it was of 
 the species Otaria jubata). "After a great deal of manoeuvring, 
 one of the men, named Lecompte, managed to get behind the seal 
 and catch hold of its hind flippers. The beast, of course, tried to 
 turn and bite ; but Lecompte, by turning to the right or to the 
 left, kept out of the way of his teeth. 
 
 " When the animal was a bit tired, the other sailors managed to 
 get a stick into his mouth, and to tie it tight behind his head, so 
 as to gag him. They then bound him up tightly with ropes, and 
 slinging him between two oars, Lecompte and the sailors carried 
 him to their ship, and then to Buenos Ayres. Lecompte conceived 
 the idea of taming his captive, and for two whole years devoted 
 himself entirely to this object, in which he at last perfectly 
 succeeded, not, however, without great difficulty, for he bore to 
 his grave marks of the seal's teeth on almost every limb, and his 
 right hand was quite crippled by a bite, in which the seal almost 
 severed the muscles of the fore-arm ; in fact the wound was so 
 severe that the South American doctors wanted to amputate his 
 hand altogether. 
 
 ' " Notes and Jottings of Animal Life." 
 
EAEBD-SBALS. 515 
 
 " Notwithstanding the ferocity of his pet, Lecompte cultivated 
 his intelligence, and the creature soon performed tricks which 
 Lecompte, with true nationality, worked up into a little military 
 episode. The sea-bear volunteered to go as a soldier to Mexico. 
 He then passed through the forms of enlistment and drill, and 
 finally fired a cannon. The sea-lion was exhibited in Belgium 
 before he went to Oremorne. His dinner consisted of twenty-five 
 pounds' weight of fish daily. His habit was to sleep all night, and 
 during the day when his master was not with him. He awoke at 
 the slightest noise. He did not object to visitors, but was 
 annoyed with ladies wearing white ribbons. 
 
 " Lecompte was next engaged by a travelling menagerie. The 
 affair did not pay, so they turned Lecompte and his sea-lion into 
 a field by the roadside. Here he was discovered by Mr. Bartlett, 
 who purchased his sea-lion for the society, while he himself was 
 made the keeper." 
 
 His abode was in a little house by the zebras, and Buckland used 
 frequently to lunch with him. " He was a splendid cook," he 
 writes. " He once gave me a portion of a most savoury pie, which 
 he assured me was a sjpecialite. It was very good, and I ate it ; 
 but when I came to know what the sjpecialite was, I vowed I 
 never would lunch with Lecompte again without seeing the menu 
 first." 
 
 In 1867 the animal died, in consequence of his having swallowed 
 a fish-hook in a fish given him to eat. His death was regretted by 
 every one connected with the Society, and by the regular visitors to 
 the Gardens. Fishermen sometimes break off their lines and leave 
 the hook in the fish they capture. This proceeding is a very 
 dangerous one for animals who live on this kind of food, and the 
 loss of more than one fine specimen has resulted in consequence. 
 Care is now exercised, however, to prevent the recurrence of this 
 form of accident. 
 
 The Council of the Zoological Society resolved to replace this 
 animal as soon as possible, and for this purpose they sent Lecompte 
 out to the Falkland Islands to procure living specimens of the 
 fauna, and especially of the sea-lions. After experiencing con- 
 siderable difficulty and trouble, he succeeded in obtaining a 
 
 L 1 2 
 
516 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 large number of birds of various liiads,^ two foxes, and four sea- 
 lions, and with these he started on his return journey. He left 
 Port Stanley in the packet " Fawn," which meets the mail steamer 
 at Monte Video, but the weather was so unfavourable that nearly 
 all his collection died. The four sea-lions, however, remained in . 
 good health and condition for some time, but a passenger on 
 board having died of yellow fever, the stock of fish that Lecompte 
 had brought on board to feed his charges with was condemned on 
 account of the smell, and had to be thrown overboard. As a con- 
 sequence, the poor man was doomed to the disappointment of 
 seeing three out of his four sea-lions die. The survivor was kept 
 alive as far as Lisbon mainly by the flying-fishes which fell on the 
 deck at night, and were purchased from the sailors who picked 
 them up. At Lisbon a fresh supply of food was obtained, and the 
 animal arrived safely in the Zoological Gardens, where, under the 
 skilful training of her captor, she soon became nearly as popular 
 as her predecessor. 
 
 Frank Buckland considers that "if ever there was affection be- 
 tween animals and men, it was the mutual love that existed 
 between the seals at the Gardens and Lecompte ; nor do I think," 
 he writes, " it was entirely cupboard love, though undoubtedly the 
 basket of fish more or less influenced their ideas. He had names 
 for his seals at the Gardens, and the seals knew their names — at 
 least Kate and Fanny did." 
 
 Lecompte died about ten years ago. During his last illness he 
 used frequently to be wheeled in a chair at his own request to 
 see his favourite seals. He was originally a French man-o'-war's 
 man. As a keeper in the service of the Zoological Society his 
 polite conduct, his well-known welcome of " Bon jour, monsieur," 
 and the love he had for his charges, soon earned him the respect 
 of all visitors, and his loss was greatly felt. Buckland, who 
 regretted him, writes, "Peace to the memory of this faithful 
 servant and sincere friend of dumb animals — dumb in the ordinary 
 sense of the word to most people, but possessing a voice and 
 language well understood by their much-lamented master, Francois 
 Lecompte." 
 
 2 See "Zoological Society's Proceedings " for 1868, p. 529. 
 
PERFORMING SEA-LION. 
 
 {Otaria jwbata) 
 
EAEED-SEALS. 517 
 
 Sea-lions have never bred in the Gardens of the Zoological 
 Society, but they have done so in captivity, for the animals in the 
 Brighton Aquarium in May, 1877, became the parents of the first 
 young one born in any collection in Europe of which there is any 
 record. 
 
 The present occupant of the sea-lions' tank in the Zoological 
 Gardens, whose photograph was taken as she emerged with her 
 mouth open as a protest against the intrusion within her domain, 
 is an animal highly valued by the Society, and one that affords 
 considerable entertainment to the visitors. She goes through 
 certain performances by command of her keeper, which admirably 
 exhibit the peculiarities of her structure. She mounts on a chair 
 and proceeds to catch the fish thrown her ; or in her lumbering 
 but expeditious manner she makes her way up the sloping ascent 
 of the raised platform which has been built for her accommoda- 
 tion, and much to the delight of the children looking on proceeds 
 to take a "header" back to the water. It is in this element that 
 her movements become peculiarly fascinating to watch. The ease 
 with which she swims, now slowly, now rapidly, with no evident 
 increase of exertion, is like the circling and swoop of a hawk on 
 the wing, the very poetry of motion. If a fish be again thrown 
 her, it is worth while to mark the lightning-like rapidity with 
 which she darts to the correct spot, and by bringing her head 
 well above the surface succeeds in catching it in her mouth with a 
 precision that must make the Eton cricketer looking on envious of 
 her skill. In this performance a most wonderful power is displayed, 
 for she can, without any perceptible previous diminution of her 
 greatest speed, instantaneously arrest her progress apparently by 
 mere volition. 
 
518 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 ANTHEOPOID APES {SIMIAD^). 
 
 The terms ape, baboon, and monkey, used frequently to be em- 
 ployed indiscriminately to designate the same animals, and are 
 still given this wide application by many people not conversant 
 with the nature of the distinctions. Ape, however, should only 
 be applied to certain members of the family that are tailless, and 
 have no cheek-pouches; baboon, to those frightfully-ugly, dog-faced 
 animals with only a short tail, and to which the generic name 
 Gynocephalus has been given ; and the word monkey should be 
 reserved for the numerous varieties that have cheek-pouches and 
 long tails, prehensUe or not prehensile. This classification is 
 the one adopted by Eay forty or fifty years ago, and although, 
 doubtless, somewhat vague, for there are many exceptional in- 
 stances in which it does not hold good, still for general principles 
 it is continued, modern naturalists not having universally adopted 
 any other to supersede it, although several have been suggested, 
 founded either on the geographical division of the animals or the 
 position and construction of their nostrils. 
 
 In Natural History, these animals belong to the highest order. 
 Primates, which is the one that contains man. It embraces such 
 a large number of different species that it has been split up into 
 many sub-divisions, sub-orders, sub-families, and genera. Although 
 it is not within the scope of this work to particularize all these 
 sub-divisions, yet it is necessary to state that the first is called 
 Anthropoidea, and contains three families — Hominadce, that is, man 
 or the human race ; Simiadce, or the apes of the old world ; and 
 Cehidce, those of the new world. 
 
 Cuvier gave the name Quadrumana to the monkey family, a 
 word signifying four-handed, because they can to some extent 
 
ANTHROPOID APES. 519 
 
 employ the hind-limbs in the same way as they can the fore ones ; 
 but it is hardly a correct definition, for this species of mammal is 
 not four-handed, if we accept the meaning of the word hand as 
 signifying a somewhat similar organ to the one with which human 
 beings are supplied. However it was adopted by many naturalists, 
 and is still employed by nearly all writers on natural history. 
 
 The varieties of monkeys, including marmosets and the half-apes 
 or lemurs, are almost endless. Some are beautiful animals. Some 
 are quite the reverse, hideously ugly. Some are intelligent, others 
 stupid, some live in trees, others on rocks. There are silent 
 monkeys and chattering monkeys, laughing monkeys and howling 
 monkeys. Some are affectionate, some savage, and some animals 
 have cheek-pouches, which are receptacles within the mouth where 
 nuts or other food can be stored till required, but all the animals 
 so supplied come from the old world. Some monkeys have pre- 
 hensile tails, but whenever one is seen it can safely be set down 
 as an American animal. The old-world monkeys have a narrow 
 septum or division separating the nostrils, while the various 
 species found in the new world have a broad division ; and there 
 are other easily recognized physical distinctions between the two 
 races. 
 
 The monkeys most generally known are the small, gentle, 
 affectionate little animals to be seen led about by strolling 
 musicians. They are nearly all of the genus sapajou, or Capu- 
 chin monkeys, and come from the tropical forests of South 
 America, where they live congregated in troops or flocks. 
 
 These gigantic forests are the true homes of the monkey family, 
 for therein they can travel hundreds of miles by simply jumping or 
 swinging from tree to tree. The extent of their domain is stated by 
 ' Mr. Bates ^ to have been, at the time he visited South America, 1260 
 miles from west to east, and, with grassy intervals, continuing in this 
 latter direction for 700 miles further. " But," he adds, " as there 
 is no complete break of continuity, the statement of Humboldt 
 (who had a glimpse of the immeasurable wilderness only from its 
 western commencement in Peru) still holds good, to the effect that 
 a flock of monkeys might travel amongst the tree-tops, were it not 
 J See " ITotes on Animal Life in a Primeeval Forest," in Good Words for 1864. 
 
520 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 for the rivers, for 2000 miles in a straight line, without once 
 touching the ground, namely, from the slopes of the Andes to the 
 shores of the Atlantic." 
 
 The apes that are styled anthropoid, so called because of their 
 being the nearest in their resemblance to man, are known by the 
 generic name of Simiadce, which is derived from a Greek word, 
 signifying "flat-nosed," are inhabitants of Equatorial Africa and of 
 certain Asiatic Islands. There are several species already known, 
 and probably future explorers may discover a few more. Some 
 modern disciples of Darwin live in hopes of yet welcoming the 
 veritable " missing link," which would be so joyfully hailed by 
 those people who wish to have it proved beyond doubt that they are 
 the lineal descendants of apes. The gorilla, chimpanzee, ourang- 
 outang, and gibbon are the species with which the public are most 
 familiar. They have all many points in which they resemble each 
 other, and their habits only differ in certain unimportant features. 
 But there is plenty of room for further information upon their 
 customs when in their natural state. 
 
 The gorilla and chimpanzee constitute a genus known as 
 Troglodytes, which is a word derived from two Greek ones mean- 
 ing " dwellers in caves," and conveys no correct guide to the 
 animals' habits, but only exhibits the lack of accurate knowledge 
 possessed by their scientific godfathers respecting them, for, as a 
 matter of fact, the animals make their homes in trees, if a rough 
 nest prepared for a few days' occupation can be called a home. 
 
 These apes, like the native negroes, are black. The gorilla has 
 a more limited range than the chimpanzee, for it is confined in its 
 habitat to the western part of Equatorial Africa, where in the 
 depths of the dense forests it reigns supreme, for although huge 
 birds of prey, mighty snakes, monstrous lizards, and millions of 
 insects are also to be found therein, and a few jackals and hyaenas 
 prowl about, yet there are none of the large animals such as 
 giraffes, zebras, rhinoceroses, lions, or elephants which abound in 
 the interior. The gorillas and the chimpanzees have, therefore, to 
 fear few enemies except the native hunters, who appear to enter- 
 tain a greater awe of these apes than the apes do of them. 
 
 Few, if any, Europeans will ever be able to make systematic 
 
ANTHEOPOID APES. 521 
 
 observations of these beasts in their natural home and wild con- 
 dition, for malarial fevers and consequent risk of death must 
 always deter even the most enthusiastic travellers from such an ex- 
 ploit, allowing it to be otherwise possible. Of these forests some idea 
 can be gleaned from the description given by the traveller Hugo von 
 Koppenfels in a letter to Mr. Haward, of Rochester, United States, 
 who remarks^ respecting his explorations in the Gaboon, and its won- 
 ders : " No writer can give a just description of a primitive tropical 
 forest ; it is too grand and diversified ; but with all its exterior 
 splendour and beauty, it is a deceitful and dangerous thing. "Woe 
 to the inexperienced man who essays to penetrate into its interior^ 
 he soon becomes involved in a chaos of roots, of interlacing lianas, 
 of fallen trunks covered with a tangled growth of thorny under- 
 brush all growing from a dark and swampy soil. Here he breathes 
 a stagnant, musty, greenhouse air, which depresses the spirits and 
 deadens the energies. Added to this there is a deep gloomy 
 silence which broods over this place of most luxuriant growth and 
 rapid decay. Although these mysterious shadows hide an active 
 and varied animal life, the ear is seldom struck by a sound of any 
 kind. Only now and then the falling of a fruit or a dry branch 
 breaks the oppressive stillness. Early in the morning, and in the 
 short evening twilight of the tropics, some birds are heard to herald 
 the advent or departure of the day. Such a forest is a subject of 
 unending study, and only he whom nature has endowed with 
 peculiar tastes and acute senses can, with use and experience, be- 
 come familiar with its varied constituents, its changing phases, and 
 its silent language. Woe to the novice who, without guide, wanders 
 into its recesses, where death lurks for him. In most cases he is 
 soon hopelessly lost, and when weary and despairing he throws 
 himself on the ground to rest, swarms of ants and other insects 
 soon sting him into movement again. Almost no wholesome food 
 is attainable in these forest depths, and should the traveller not 
 die of starvation, or fall a victim to violent, acute fever, the 
 poisonous atmosphere slowly acting on the system, paralyses the 
 digestion, corrupts the blood, and produces irritating eruptions of 
 the skin, and frequently malignant ulcers. Such is the primitive 
 ' See American Naturalist for 1881. 
 
522 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 forests ou the alluvial bottoms of the rivers of tropical Africa. It 
 has been represented as a paradise, and poetical descriptions, 
 drawn from the imagination, have inspired in many a longing 
 desire to penetrate their mysteries. One must, however, do as 
 I have done, wander lost and alone for days together, enduring 
 terrible suffering and constant fear of death, before he can form 
 for himself a true image of the real tropical primeval forest." 
 
 The conclusions arrived at by Professor Huxley on the subject 
 are beyond dispute, for, as he remarks : " Once in a generation, a 
 Wallace may be found physically, mentally, and morally qualified 
 to wander unscathed through the tropical wilds of America and 
 Asia ; to form magnificent collections as he wanders ; and withal 
 to think out sagaciously the conclusions suggested by his collec- 
 tions ; but to the ordinary explorer or collector, the dense forests 
 of Equatorial Asia and Africa, which constitute the favourite 
 habitation of the orang, the chimpanzee, and the gorilla, present 
 difficulties of no ordinary magnitude ; and the man who risks his 
 life by even a short visit to the malarious shores of those regions 
 may well be excused if he shrinks from facing the dangers of the 
 interior ; if he contents himself with stimulating the industry of 
 the better seasoned natives, and collecting and collating the more 
 or less mythical reports and traditions which they are too ready 
 to supply him. 
 
 " In such a manner most of the earlier accounts of the habits 
 of the man -like apes originated; and even now a good deal of 
 what passes current must be admitted to have no very safe 
 fmmdation." 
 
 This was undoubtedly the source of those blood-curdling, ter- 
 rible descriptions that passed for truth till very lately respecting 
 the anthropoid monsters with women-stealing and elephant-slaying 
 propensities, which were said to hold undisputed possession of 
 certain territories in South Africa. 
 
 When Carthage was taken by the Romans and its treasures 
 plundered, two skins were found hanging in the temple of Juno. 
 They belonged to animals called *' gorgones," which was a name 
 substituted for the one originally given them of " gorillas," and 
 were the identical skins that had been procured by Hanno. 
 
ANTHROPOID APES. 523 
 
 Of ttese skins we learn tliat somewliere about the sixth century 
 before Christ, Hanno, a Carthaginian, set out on an exploring and 
 colonizing expedition round Africa, and on his return he inscribed 
 a narrative of his voyage in the temple of Saturn, according to the 
 Periplus, which is the only work containing the details of the 
 expedition now extant. The explorer sailed with sixty ships or 
 galleys of fifty oars each, and many thousand men and women, 
 together with provisions and other necessaries. In the course of 
 his voyage south he founded one city and settled certain colonies. 
 The terminus of the voyage was a bay called the Horn of the 
 South. Here, the narrative states, " there was an island, like the 
 first, having a lake, and in this there was another island full of 
 wild men. But much the greater part of them were women with 
 hairy bodies, whom the interpreter called ' gorillas.' But pursuing 
 them we were not able to take the men ; they all escaped, being 
 able to climb the precipices, and defend themselves with pieces of 
 rock. But three women (females), who bit and scratched those 
 who led them, were not willing to follow. However, having killed 
 them, we flayed them, and conveyed the skins to Carthage ; for 
 we did not sail any further, as provisions began to fail." 
 
 Twenty-five hundred years later an American missionary found 
 the skull of an ape, which attra,cted the eye of a fellow-worker, 
 Dr. Thomas Savage, for being possessed of considerable anato- 
 mical knowledge, he at once recognized the fact that it belonged to 
 a species unknown to science. On his return to Boston he brought 
 the skull with him, and showed it to Professor Jeffries Wyman, 
 who corroborated his opinion respecting it. The animal that 
 originally owned it being still nameless, they proceeded to christen 
 it, and without advancing any hypothesis as to its identity with 
 Hanno's wild women or animals, but probably conjecturing that 
 although incapable of proof, yet there was a sHght possibihty of 
 their being the same, they gave it the name gorilla. 
 
 This led to a considerable discussion, and authorities on the 
 subject would not allow that Hanno sailed as far as the Equator, 
 the home of the species to be henceforth known as gorillas, and 
 they pointed out that his description did not in any way apply to 
 the animal, consequently the name was a misnomer, Mr. W. 
 
524 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 Winwood Eeade, who spent five montlis in the gorilla country, 
 trying to find out personally something about the habits of the 
 animals, after pronouncing the name to be a blunder, says,^ " The 
 gorillas of Hanno were found, it is supposed, on Sherbro' Island ; 
 they scaled rocks, and they defended themselves with stones. 
 These could neither have been gorillas nor chimpanzees, but a 
 species of Cynocephalus, or kind of Baboon, commonly called the 
 dog-faced monkey. These animals, which I have seen often 
 enough in Senegambia, go in troops, which gorillas do not, and 
 actually defend themselves with stones — a fact which I assert not 
 only on the evidence of the natives, but on the evidence of white 
 men who have kept them in a state of captivity. They are also 
 very ferocious, and will always defend themselves when attacked 
 either by man or by beast." 
 
 Accepting this statement as proved, it becomes probable that 
 an English sailor, Andrew Battell, was the first to see and 
 describe the gorilla. For some unexplained reason this man was 
 kept a prisoner by the Portuguese in Angola, which is situated 
 10 degrees south of the line, and near the home of these anthro- 
 poid apes. His travels constitute one of the " Pilgrimes," pub- 
 lished by Purchas in 1623. Battell met with two species of ape, 
 which he describes in the following manner : — 
 
 " The greatest of these two monsters is called (by the Portu- 
 guese) pongo in their language, and the lesser is called engeco. The 
 pongo is in all proportions like a man, for he is very tall, and hath 
 a man's face, hollow-eyed, with long haires upon his brows. His 
 body is full of haire, but not very thicke, and it is of dunnish 
 color. He differeth not from man, but in his legs, for they 
 have no calfe. He goeth alwaies upon his legs, and carrieth 
 his hands clasped on the nape of his necke when he goeth upon 
 the ground. They sleepe in trees, and build shelter for the raine. 
 They feed upon the fruit that they find in the woods, and upon 
 ants, for they eate no kind of flesh. They cannot speake, and 
 have no understanding more than a beast. The people of the 
 countrie, when they travaile in the woods, make fires where they 
 sleepe in the night, and in the morning when they are gone, the 
 ' See "Proceedings of the Zoological Society," 1863, p. 171. 
 
ANTHROPOID APES. 525 
 
 pongos will come and seat about tlie fire till it goeth out, for they 
 have no understanding to lay the wood together. They goe many 
 together, and kill many negroes that travaile in the woods. Many 
 times they fall upon elephants which come to feed where they be, 
 and so beat them with their clubbed fists and pieces of wood that 
 they will runne roaring away from them. The pongos are never 
 taken alive, because they are so strong ten men cannot hold one 
 of them ; but they take many of their young ones with poisoned 
 arrows. The young pongo hangeth on his mother's belly with his 
 hands fast clasped about her, so that, when the country people 
 kiU any of the females, they take the young which hangs fast upon 
 the mother. When they die among themselves, they cover the 
 dead with great heapes of boughs and wood, which is commonly 
 found in the forests." 
 
 Selecting the parts that may be considered as truthful from 
 those which are evidently fiction, and comparing them with the 
 subsequent information that has been obtained, it is probable that 
 the pongo is the gorilla and the engeco the chimpanzee. To 
 some extent this is corroborated by the fact that the natives of 
 the Gaboon still call the latter animal the enche-eho. 
 
 Various other travellers, of a much later date, have made sundry 
 references to the fearful hairy monsters in man's shape that they 
 had heard about while in Africa. These animals were, according 
 to these narrations, possessed of powers that enabled them to slay 
 not only elephants and lions, but all men with whom they 
 came in contact. These accounts have not died out yet, although 
 they have been shown to be perfectly devoid of truth, and some 
 writers, generally those' that provide the works advertised as 
 having been " written for the instruction of the young " (?) still 
 inform their youthful readers that the poor natives when wander- 
 ing in company through the shades of their beautiful forests will 
 suddenly observe one of their number to be missing, and discover 
 that before he could utter a sound he had been caught at the throat 
 by the long arms of a terrible man-slaying ape which had lain in 
 wait for its prey, and in its vice-like grip the victim had been 
 quickly carried to the topmost branches of a tree, from whence a 
 few seconds later would descend a strangled and a mangled corpse 
 
526 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 as a warning to the rest to abstain from trespassing within the 
 gorilla's territory. 
 
 The GrOEiLLA (Troglodytes Gorilla) is the largest of all existing 
 apes. The average height of this beast is a few inches over five 
 feet, and its muscular strength is prodigious. Comparing it with 
 the proportions of a man, it is excessively broad across the 
 shoulders, the arms are of much greater length, for they reach 
 when the animal stands erect half way down the shin, while the 
 legs are relatively short. The body is covered with coarse black 
 hair, which becomes grey with age. The face is wide and elon- 
 gated, and is thrust forward so prominently that it imparts a 
 singularly hideous aspect to the animal. The skin on it is 
 nude, much wrinkled, and of a deep lead colour. The greenish 
 eyes are small but bright, and the nose, which is a somewhat 
 prominent one, is broad and flat, slightly elevated towards the 
 root. The mouth is astonishingly large and brutish-looking, in 
 consequence of the lips being thick, projecting, and so highly 
 mobile that when the animal is enraged they are elongated until 
 the brute's face looks more than half mouth. The chin is receding. 
 The face is destitute of eyebrows, but the eyes have well-developed 
 eyelashes. The ears are small. Both sexes of the animal are well 
 furnished with teeth, those of the males being especially noticeable, 
 owing to the huge size of the canine ones. The hands are broad 
 and thick, long in the palm, and have the appearance of being 
 semi-webbed, for the fingers are not separated so far down as in 
 a man. This peculiarity is still more conspicuous in the foot. 
 The neck is remarkably short, so much so that in a front view of 
 the animal it seems altogether absent, for the chin appears to rest 
 on or be sunk into the upper part of the huge and capacious chest. 
 
 The indescribably ferocious aspect of these apes is due chiefly 
 to the hairy ridge or crest of long hah* on the top of the scalp 
 which runs from ear to ear, and is the most remarkable feature of 
 the head. The animal, having the power of moving the scalp freely, 
 when enraged contracts it strongly over the brow, which brings 
 down this hairy ridge and produces the singularly fierce appearance 
 for which this ape is noted. 
 
 In reality the whole aspect of the gorilla is at all times a repul- 
 
THE GOEILLA. 527 
 
 sive one, for it is an exaggeration of the lowest and most forbid- 
 ding type of human physiognomy. 
 
 " Their gait is shuffling," writes Dr. Savage,* " the motion of the 
 body, which is never upright as in man, but bent forward, is 
 somewhat rolling, or from side to side. The arms being longer 
 than those of the chimpanzee, it does not stoop as much in 
 walking ; hke that animal, it makes progression by thrusting its 
 arms forward, resting the hands on the ground, and then giving 
 the body a half-jumping, half-swinging motion between them. 
 In this act it is said not to flex the fingers, as does the chimpanzee, 
 resting on the knuckles, but to extend them, thus making a ful- 
 crum of the hand. "When it assumes the walking posture, to 
 which it is said to be much inclined, it balances its huge body by 
 flexing the arms upward. They live in bands, but are not so 
 numerous as the chimpanzees ; the females generally exceed the 
 other sex in number. My informants all agree in the assertion 
 that but one adult male is seen in a band ; that when the young 
 males grow up, a contest takes place for mastery, and the 
 strongest, by killing and driving out the others, establishes him- 
 self as the head of the community." 
 
 Dr. Savage characterizes the stories about their carrying off" 
 women and vanquishing elephants as silly and preposterous. 
 
 " They are exceedingly ferocious," he remarks, " and always 
 offensive in their habits, never running from man as does the 
 chimpanzee. They are objects of terror to the natives, and are 
 never encountered by them except on the defensive 
 
 " It is said that when the male is first seen he gives a terrific 
 yell that resounds far and wide through the forest, something like 
 kh — ah ! kh — ah ! prolonged and shrill. His enormous jaws are 
 widely opened at each expiration, his underlip hangs over the 
 chin, and the hairy ridge and scalp is contracted upon the brow, 
 presenting an aspect of indescribable ferocity. The females and 
 young at the first cry quickly disappear ; he then approaches the 
 enemy in great fury, pouring out his horrid cries in quick 
 succession. The hunter awaits his approach with his gun 
 extended ; if his aim is not sure, he permits the animal to grasp 
 * See " Boston Journal of Natural History," 1847. 
 
528 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 the barrel, and as he carries it to his mouth (which is his habit) 
 he fires ; should the gun fail to go off, the barrel (that of an 
 ordinary musket, which is thin) is crushed between his teeth, and 
 the encounter soon proves fatal to the hunter. 
 
 " In the wild state their habits are in general like those of the 
 Troglodytes niger, building their nests loosely in trees, living on 
 similar fruits, and changing their place of resort from force of 
 circumstances." 
 
 The descriptions given by certain noted travellers and the 
 mystery that seemed to shroud the gorilla greatly excited the 
 curiosity of the hunter Paul B. Du Chaillu, and he determined 
 to penetrate to its haunts, and see it with his own eyes. The 
 result of this resolution is given in his book, " Explorations 
 and Adventures in Equatorial Africa," published in 1861, which 
 excited considerable curiosity and some hostile criticism. 
 
 The first interview he had with a gorilla in his native woods 
 is described in the following manner : " Suddenly, as we were yet 
 creeping along in a silence which made even a heavy breath seem 
 loud and distinct, the woods were at once filled with a tremendous 
 barking roar; then the underbush swayed rapidly just ahead, and 
 presently stood before us an immense gorilla. He had gone 
 through the jungle on all fours, but when he saw our party he 
 erected himself and looked us boldly in the face. He stood about 
 a dozen yards from us, and was a sight I think I shall never 
 forget. Nearly six feet high (he proved four inches shorter), with 
 immense body, huge chest, and great muscular arms, with fiercely- 
 glaring, large, deep grey eyes, and a hellish expression of face, 
 which seemed to me some nightmare vision ; — there stood before 
 us the king of the African forest. He was not afraid of us ; he 
 stood there and beat his breast with his large fists till it resounded 
 like an immense bass drum (which is the mode of bidding 
 defiance), meantime giving vent to roar after roar. 
 
 " His eyes began to flash fiercer fire as we stood motionless on 
 the defensive, and the crest of short hair which stands on his 
 forehead began to twitch rapidly up and down, while his powerful 
 fangs were shown as he again sent forth a thunderous roar 
 and now truly he reminded me of nothing but some hellish dream- 
 
THE GORILLA. 529 
 
 creature— a being of that hideous order, half man, half beast, 
 which we find pictured by old artists in some representations of 
 the infernal regions. He advanced a few steps, then stopped 
 to utter that hideous roar again, advanced again, and finally- 
 stopped when at a distance of about six yards from us. And here, 
 as he began another of his roars and beating his breast in rage, 
 we fired and killed him. 
 
 " "With a groan which had something terribly human in it, and 
 yet was full of brutishness, it fell forward on its face. The body 
 shook convulsively for a few minutes, the limbs moved about in 
 a struggling way, and then all was quiet — death had done its 
 work, and I had leisure to examine the huge body. It proved to 
 be five feet eight inches high, and the muscular development of 
 the arms and breast showed the immense strength it had 
 possessed." 
 
 To kill a full-grown male gorilla is regarded as a great achieve- 
 ment by the native hunters of even the bravest of the negro 
 tribes. It gives them a life-long reputation for courage and 
 enterprise. These hunters are their most valued men, and Du 
 Ohaillu states, "A brave and fortunate one is admired by all 
 the women ; loved — almost worshipped— by his wives, and enjoys 
 many privileges among his fellow-villagers. But his proudest 
 time is when he has killed an elephant or a gorilla, and filled the 
 village with meat. Then he may do almost what he pleases." 
 
 Mr. Joseph H. Reading, in a letter written in 1884, from the 
 Kangwe Mission Station, Ogowe river. West Africa, to a friend in 
 Philadelphia, accompanying a specimen of the gorilla he was 
 sending, observes : * " The great Ogowe delta, following the windings 
 of the river, is 165 miles in length, and perhaps ninety miles wide 
 at the widest part. The upper part contains many red clay hills, 
 one at least being 600 feet in height. Excepting these, the land 
 is low, most of it being just below the flood-line. The lowest 
 land is covered either with coarse grass — the food of the hippo- 
 potami and manati— or papavers. The higher lands and hills are 
 covered with a dense forest, or jungle of palm and other trees. 
 The gorilla seems to be attracted to this region by two particular 
 5 See " American Naturalist " for 1884. 
 
 M m 
 
530 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 kinds of wild fruit of whidi he is very fond. He is always found 
 in the wildest, darkest, and most secluded parts of the forest, 
 and greatly dislikes the presence of man. When aroused he is 
 brave, and fights with great fury. He is so feared that but very 
 few men have the nerve to hunt him, especially as it is necessary 
 to let him come within a few (twelve is the rule) feet before firing, 
 owing to the darkness of the jungle. The man who shot this one 
 was looked upon with wonder and admiration by all the people, 
 every one of whom believed he was powerful fetich, or he could 
 not have killed him. The entrails were given to some Pangwes 
 (cannibals, the Fans of Du Chaillu, and the Niam Niam of 
 Schweinfurth), who esteemed them a great delicacy, and the 
 universal opinion here is that I sent him to America for the white 
 man to eat. They were greatly disgusted with my wasting so much 
 good rum on him, when they would have liked to have poured it 
 down their throats so well. The gorilla is a rare animal even in 
 that part of the country where he makes his home, and oppor- 
 tunities to obtain specimens occur but seldom. Old males, as 
 this one, live alone, while as many as two families are seldom at 
 least seen together. Many wonderful stories of them are told by 
 the natives, but as one never knows how much to believe of 
 
 native stories, I will not repeat them here It may be 
 
 interesting to note that the people here look upon them as entirely 
 distinct from themselves, yet they call them men, ' wild men,' and 
 ' furrent men.' 
 
 " The gorilla cannot make a fire, does not build a house or 
 shelter, and does not fight with weapons except such as nature 
 gives him in his own body. He will seize the gun or spear of 
 his adversary and break it, but will not attempt to use it in his 
 own defence. It is almost practically impossible to keep the 
 gorilla for any length of time in captivity. He becomes dejected 
 and morose, and either starves himself or else dies, apparently of 
 a broken heart. Traders and others occasionally get young ones 
 — I had one myself — but they do not seem happy as do chim- 
 panzees and other apes, and they all die in the course of a few 
 weeks." 
 
 Again referring to Du Chaillu's description, the gorilla is a 
 
THE GORILLA. 531 
 
 restless, nomadic beast, wandering from place to place, and rarely 
 staying for two days together in the same neighbourhood. This 
 restlessness, it is surmised, is partly due to the scarcity of its 
 favourite food, for being a huge feeder it soon eats up the supply 
 to be procured within a limited area. He found gorillas always 
 on the ground, and states that it is not true that they live much or 
 at all on trees, for although they often climb trees to pick berries 
 or nuts, they return to the ground when this has been accom- 
 plished. Among other articles upon which they feed, a kind of 
 nut with a very hard shell is a favourite food. The shell is so 
 hard that it requires a strong blow with a heavy hammer to break 
 it, and here is probably one purpose of that enormous strength of 
 the jaw which had long seemed to him to be thrown away on a 
 non- carnivorous animal. 
 
 " Only the young gorillas sleep on trees, for protection from 
 wild beasts. I have myself," he writes, " come upon fresh traces 
 of a gorilla's bed on several occasions, and could see that the male 
 had seated himself with his back against a tree-trunk. In fact, on 
 the back of the male gorilla there is generally a patch on which 
 the hair is worn thin from this position." 
 
 Du Chaillu pronounced gorillas to be utterly untamable, which 
 theory was .formed through the intractable disposition of two 
 young ones he tried to tame. " The gorilla," he remarks, " is 
 entirely and constantly an enemy to men — resenting its captivity, 
 young as my specimens were — refusing all food except the berries 
 of its native woods, and attacking with teeth and claws even me, 
 who was in most constant attendance upon them; and finally 
 dying without previous sickness, and without other ascertainable 
 cause than the restless chafing of a spirit whicb could not suffer 
 captivity nor the presence of man." 
 
 Mr. Winwood Eeade, in his paper already referred to, states that 
 he spent five months in the gorilla country, and did not leave that 
 part of Africa till he had completely satisfied himself respecting 
 the habits of the animal. " The evidence which I now lay before 
 you," he said, addressing the Zoological Society, " is composed of 
 statements made to me by men who had killed gorillas. It is 
 collected from three distinct parts of Equatorial Africa, viz., from 
 
 M m 2 
 
532 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 the Balengi of the Muni river, from the Shekani and Fans of the 
 Gaboon, and from the Commi, Bakeli, &c., of the Fernand Vaz. But 
 from the last river, where gorillas are most plentiful, I obtained 
 most information. 
 
 " The gorilla is found in those thick and solitary places of the 
 forest where animal Hfe is scarce. His food is strictly vegetable. 
 He moves along the ground on all fours ; sometimes he goes up 
 into the trees to feed on fruit, and at night he sleeps in a large 
 tree. When the female is pregnant the male builds a nest, where 
 she is confined, and which she abandons as soon as her young one 
 is born. 
 
 " The gorilla does not beat its breast like a drum. It utters a 
 kind of short, sharp bark when enraged, and its ordinary cry is of 
 a plaintive nature. 
 
 " With respect to its ferocity, the hunters have a proverb, ' Leave 
 the Ngnia alone, and it will leave you alone.' When it is at bay and 
 wounded, it will attack man, like the stag, the elephant, and other 
 animals naturally timid. But it makes this attack on all fours ; 
 th6 hunters, who are themselves as nimble as apes, often escape 
 from it as men escape from the charge of an elephant. I have 
 seen a man who haid been wounded by a gorilla; his wrist was 
 crippled and the marks of the teeth were visible. He told me 
 that the goriUa seized his wrist and dragged it into his mouth ; it 
 was contented with having done this, and went off. The nearest 
 approach to an erect posture which the gorilla attains to is by 
 supporting itself by holding on to the branches. When I asked the 
 people of Ngumbi whether a man had ever been killed by a gorilla, 
 they said their fathers had spoken of such a thing, but that nothing 
 of the kind had happened within the memory of anybody living. 
 
 "I can make one or two positive assertions from my own 
 experience. Although I never succeeded in seeing a gorilla in its 
 wild state, I can assert that it travels on all fours ; for I have seen 
 the tracks, of its four feet, over and over again. I can assert that 
 it runs away from man, for I have been near enough to hear one 
 running away from me ; and I can assert that the young gorilla is 
 as docile as the young chimpanzee in a state of captivity, for I 
 have seen both of them in a state of captivity." 
 
 Du Chaillu's declaration that the gorilla is untamable has 
 
THE GORILLA. 533 
 
 been proved to be incorrect, or at least as far as the young 
 animal is concerned, by tame ones having been exhibited in Europe, 
 and by the accounts given of several tame specimens by their 
 owners. Soon after Du Chaillu's book was published, a letter 
 appeared in the Athenceum, fi?om Mr. R. B. Walker, who was the pro- 
 prietor of a mercantile agency, situated near the Gaboon, in "Western 
 Africa, from which the following is an extract : " The statement 
 of the untamability of the young of the gorilla is untrue. In 
 proof whereof, let me ask Mr. Du Chaillu, whose memory, usually 
 so very good, seems to have failed him signally in this particular 
 instance, if he has forgotten the young female gorilla, of from two 
 to three years of age, called Seraphine, which lived at my factory 
 for four months in 1859, and which he repeatedly saw there ? I 
 assert, without fear of contradiction by Mr. Du Chaillu or any 
 other person (and I could name scores of Europeans who saw it), 
 that this animal was perfectly tame, docile, and tractable — far more 
 so, indeed, than many negro children of the same age. Not only 
 was she on perfectly good terms with all grown-up people in and 
 about the factory, but was exceedingly attached to her keeper, 
 Curtis, whom she could not bear to be out of her sight, but regu- 
 larly accompanied him about the factory and in his walks in the town 
 and neighbourhood. She was familiar and quiet with myself and 
 clerks, and was only displeased when children approached her; 
 and for these she seemed to have, in common with most large apes 
 and monkeys, a very great dislike. She was seldom tied up, and 
 even then only by a very small cord, which she could easily have 
 broken or cut with her teeth had she felt so inclined. She allowed 
 herself to be clothed, seeming to like it ; and actually went to 
 breakfast with a friend of mine, Mr. Barbotin, commandant of 
 the steam transport, Le Benaudm; upon which occasion she con- 
 ducted herself to the admiration of everybody. When at times 
 put on the table, or amongst vessels of glass or earthenware, she 
 was most careful not to break anything. She finally died from 
 dysentery and chagrin,— the latter caused by her keeper being 
 prevented by his other occupations from paying her so much 
 attention as she had been in the habit of receiving." 
 
 Unfortunately all efforts to obtain a specimen of a live adult 
 gorilla for exhibition in Europe have so far failed. Some years 
 
534 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 ago a showman had a young ape he called a chimpanzee, but it was 
 in reality a gorilla, although the fact was not recognized until after 
 the animal's death and it had been stuflFed, so scientific men lost 
 the opportunity of studying it. 
 
 In 1876 a gorilla arrived in Liverpool and was visited by Mr. 
 Moore, curator of the Free Public Museum of Liverpool, who sent 
 the following letter to the Times newspaper : — 
 
 " Sir, — A veritable young living gorilla was yesterday brought 
 into Liverpool by the German African Society's Expedition, which 
 arrived by the steamship Loanda, from the West Coast. The 
 animal is a young male, in the most perfect health and condition, 
 and measures three feet in height. Its beetling brows, flattened, 
 podgy nose, black muzzle, small ears, and thick fingers, cleft only 
 to the second joint, distinguish it unmistakably from the chim- 
 panzee. Only one other specimen has been brought alive to 
 England. In the winter of 1855-56 a young female gorilla, of 
 much smaller size was exhibited by the late Mrs. Wombwell in 
 Liverpool and other places. It died in March, 1866, and was sent 
 to Mr. Waterton, of Walton Hall, who preserved the skin for his 
 own collection, and sent the skeleton to the Leeds Museum. This 
 specimen I saw living in Liverpool and dead in Walton Hall. All 
 subsequent attempts to import the gorilla alive have failed ; and 
 unfortunately the British public will have no opportunity of pro- 
 fiting by the present success, as the members of the expedition, 
 with commendable patriotism, are taking the animal on Saturday 
 via Hull to Berlin. Could it have graced our own Zoological 
 Gardens it would have been the lion of the day ; for in addition to 
 the great scientific interest of the species, the abounding life, 
 energy, and joyous spirits of the example would have made it a 
 universal favourite. Courteously received at Eberle's Alexandra 
 Hotel by the members of the expedition, I found the creature 
 romping and rolling in full liberty about the private drawing-room, 
 now looking out of the window with all the becoming gravity and 
 sedateness, as though interested, but not disconcerted by the busy 
 multitude and novelty without ; then bounding rapidly along on 
 knuckles and feet to examine and poke fun at some new- 
 comer ; playfully mumbling at his calves, pulling at his beard (a 
 special delight), clinging to his arms, examining his hat (not at all 
 
THE GORILLA. 535 
 
 to its improvement), curiously inquisitive as to Ms umbrella, and 
 so on with visitor after visitor. If lie becomes over-excited by tbe 
 fun, a gentle box on the ear will bring him to order like a child — 
 like a child, only to be on the romp again immediately. He points 
 with the index finger, claps with his hands, pouts out his tongue, 
 feeds on a mixed diet, decidedly prefers roast meat to boiled, eats 
 strawberries — as I saw — with delicate appreciativeness, is exqui- 
 sitely clean and mannerly. The palms of his hands are beautifully 
 plump, soft, and black as jet. He has been eight months and a 
 half in the possession of the expedition, has grown some six inches 
 in that time, and is supposed to be between two and three years of 
 age." 
 
 This little animal, which Dr. Falkenstein had received from a 
 Portuguese, who procured it from the negro that shot the mother 
 and then captured the young one, was sold to the Berlin Aquarium 
 for 20,000 marks (1000 Z.), which large sum went to the benefit of 
 the expedition funds. 
 
 In Berlin this little gorilla created a great sensation, which is 
 evident from the following account written by the correspondent 
 of the British Medical Journal, in April, 1877 : — 
 
 " I understand that the London season will be enlivened by a 
 distinguished visitor from this city whom the good people of 
 Berlin will sorely miss, for he is, perhaps, the most popular, as he 
 is certainly the most unique, inhabitant of the city, and the one 
 who has received now for many months the most numerous and 
 affectionately admiring visitors. I have been spending the morn- 
 ing with him, and have been infinitely diverted by his amusing and 
 lively ways, his frolicsome and friendly games, his grave courtesy 
 on occasion's, and his childlike goodnature and docility. If I add 
 that he has been alternately drinking claret and water out of a 
 glass with excellent grace and propriety; then turning over head 
 and heels, shaking hands at frequent intervals, then drum- 
 ming on his breast and on the floor ; chasing a httle boy and a 
 dog (his two favourite companions) round the room; handing 
 wine to his cousin ; and swinging on a trapeze seated by the side 
 of his boy friend ; it becomes necessary to explain that I have been 
 received in private audience by the gorilla, the much-prized 
 possession of the Berlin Aquarium. He is the only living gorilla 
 
536 
 
 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 over seen in Europe, and much coveted by the Zoological Society 
 of London, who offered, I believe, as much as 2000L for him. He 
 is as like a little negro boy in the face as a being not absolutely 
 human can be ; his hands are most startlingly human ; and in 
 many of his childish ways and solemn courtesies he is almost 
 more than ' anthropomorphic' He was brought to Europe by Dr. 
 -Falkenstein as one of the spoils of the Prussian expedition to 
 Africa, and the motives of patriotism determined the people of 
 Berlin to retain him there. Dr. Von Hermes, the director of the 
 Aquarium, is about, however, to bring him to London ' for the 
 
 'PONGO, THE TOUNG GORILLA. 
 
 season,' and I do not doubt that he will have a reception as enthu- 
 siastic as he has received here, and as is due to his distinguished 
 character as an unique individual and an ape of the most gentle 
 disposition and agreeable manners. His cousin, a very lively 
 chimpanzee, who is on the best possible terms -with ' Pongo ' will 
 probably accompany him ; for the semi-human tricks of the two, 
 and the extreme politeness with which they share a friendly glass 
 of wine and water, add a good deal to the zest of Pongo' s audi- 
 ences. To see the gorilla ' Pongo ' gravely and politely tilting 
 
THE GOEILLA. 537 
 
 over a glass half full of wine and water to enable his cousin 
 ' Tochego,' the chimpanzee, to share his draught, while he gravely 
 watches his enjoyment of it, is really a starthng spectacle. It is 
 not a trick which he has been taught, but the effect of his polite- 
 ness. ' Pongo ' has presented me with his photograph ; but it is 
 by no means so delightfully ugly or so gravely intelligent as he is, 
 and really does not do him justice. He is the most delightful 
 beast of my acquaintance, and if he were allowed to go into 
 society would be, I think, the lion of fashionable salons during the 
 season." 
 
 In July, 1877, the young gorilla arrived, and was taken to the 
 Westminster Aquarium. The Times described the little animal in 
 the following manner : " He is about three years and ten months 
 old, and is believed to have about eighteen months before him 
 before the dangerous period of teething will begin. He is 3f feet 
 in height, of great girth round the chest and stomach, is covered 
 with black or iron-grey hair, and has coal-black face, feet, and 
 hands. The hands are the most strikingly human part of the 
 animal, but as he usually walks on all fours, bending the fingers 
 in to do so, as a child does, there is a flat, callous mass on the back 
 of the fingers near the middle phalanx. When he is pleased at 
 being noticed, or wants to be noticed, Pongo claps his hands with 
 a loud report, squatting on the floor and dropping his hands after- 
 wards in his lap. Sometimes he wraps himself in a cloak he has, 
 or swings about the room by the ropes of a trapeze, but does not 
 climb them. He has for companions a little chimpanzee and a 
 dog, and is much the least active although far the strongest of the 
 party. His foot is more hke the foot of a man than that of any 
 other ape, but the toes are longer than a man's, and better used 
 for grasping : of course he has no tail. He very seldom stands up 
 like a human being, but his favourite position is to sit on the floor 
 and hug a stick or an umbrella, and he is very pleased to be 
 trusted with an umbrella, although he does not always deserve the 
 confidence, because he has a tendency to open it in a new and 
 expeditious way, and no umbrella frame can resist his very great 
 muscular strength of arm and jaw. At a private reception which 
 Pongo held on Saturday, Mr. Frank Buckland tried to teach him 
 to write ; but, although he did make some marks on the paper, 
 
538 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 he preferred to carry the pencil to his mouth, and swallowed about 
 an inch of the best Cumberland lead. Professor Owen, who de- 
 scribed the gorilla in 1848, Professor Mivart, and other gentle- 
 men and ladies were among his visitors on Saturday. When 
 he obtained a hat, which he acquired by the easy process of putting 
 out his hand and taking the first one he found, he drummed upon 
 it with great apparent satisfaction, but then began to crush it in 
 from the crown. At this stage the owner intervened, and with 
 the assistance of the German keeper got his property out of the 
 young gorilla's powerful grasp. Pongo drank half a glass of beer 
 in the presence of the audience, and also ate some roast beef and 
 potatoes, but ordinarily he lives chiefly on vegetables, and makes 
 enormous meals of them. In the morning they give him milk 
 and fruits, cherries, currants, raspberries, etc. At mid-day he has 
 a basin of boiled rice, and anything else that he can get. In the 
 course of the afternoon he has more fruit, and perhaps some 
 eau sucrh or wine and water. In the evening more milk is 
 brought, and this, with bread and butter and eggs, completes his 
 supper. He goes to bed at eight, and sleeps as late as eight the 
 next morning. It must be remembered he is very young. But 
 he has learnt to smoke — at least, when the cigarette has an amber 
 mouthpiece, for he does not Hke the taste of tobacco. He puffs 
 out the clouds of blue smoke from his wide nostrils. Two hundred 
 thousand people are said to have visited him in Berlin since June 
 28th, 1876, and he has grown in that period taller by more than 
 three inches, and heavier by eleven pounds. As he has so early 
 learnt both to smoke and drink, it is hoped that he may soon 
 acquire the other accomplishments which distinguish civilization." 
 This attractive little beast, however, did not live long enough 
 to enable his owners to study the change in its disposition and 
 habits that undoubtedly takes place on the gorilla's arrrival at 
 maturity, for on being taken back to Berlin he died suddenly. A 
 post-mortem examination disclosed the fact that he had succumbed 
 to an attack of acute inflammation of the bowels, the same disease 
 which carries off" so many young children. A reproduction of the 
 photograph of the little animal, which was courteously supplied by 
 the director of the Berlin Aquarium, will be found on page 536. 
 
539 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 ANTHROPOIB APES (Continued). 
 
 The Chimpanzee {Troglodytes niger) is an ape bearing some 
 similarity in its appearance to the gorilla, and still more so in its 
 habits, but it is not nearly so large an animal, for a good-sized 
 specimen will not measure much over five feet in height. 
 
 It inhabits the same equatorial forests as the gorilla, but 
 it has a much wider range, for it is found all over tropical 
 Africa. There are many varieties of this ape. Von Koppenfels 
 stated that he had positive proof that there are crosses between 
 the gorilla and chimpanzee, but he gives no special name to this 
 mongrel progeny, for, as he remarks, it is found but in individual 
 cases, and as such deserves no distinct classification. " The chim- 
 panzee of northern Guinea differs essentially from that of the 
 southern portion of the same country, and, according to Living- 
 stone, the ' Soko ' differs from both, but is still a chimpanzee. Du 
 Chaillu's Koolo Kamba, N'schigo, and M'bouve are not distinct 
 species, and this traveller, who is certainly a man of merit, but 
 is too credulous, has been imposed upon by the mendacity of 
 the natives, which beggars description. The names N'schigo, 
 M'bouv6, Koola, Baboo, Soko, Ognia, and Kooloo Kamba are 
 only different designations of the chimpanzee by different' 
 tribes." 
 
 We are also indebted to Dr. Savage ^ for the first trustworthy 
 description of the chimpanzee in its native woods, and although 
 since the publication of his paper on the subject other writers 
 have described the animal, yet they have only amplified his 
 original account and confirmed its general accuracy. 
 
 ' See " Boston Journal of Natural History," vol. iv., p. 38?. 
 
540 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 " The strong development of the canine teeth in the adult -would 
 seem to indicate a carnivorous propensity ; but in no state save 
 that of domestication do they manifest it. At first they reject 
 flesh, but easily acquire a fondness for it. The canines are early 
 developed, and evidently designed to act the important part of 
 weapons of defence. When in contact with man, almost the first 
 efforts of the animal is — to hite. 
 
 " They avoid the abodes of men, and build their habitations in 
 trees. Their construction is more that of nests than of huts, as 
 they have been erroneously termed by some naturalists. They 
 generally build not far above the ground. Branches or twigs are 
 bent or partly broken and crossed, and the whole supported by the 
 body of a limb or a crotch, 
 
 " Their dwelling-place is not permanent, but changed in pursuit 
 of food and solitude, according to the force of circumstances. 
 
 "When at rest, the sitting posture is that generally assumed. 
 They are sometimes seen standing and walking, but when thus 
 detected they immediately ' take to all fours,' and flee from the 
 presence of the observer. Such is their organization, that they 
 cannot stand erect, but lean forward. Hence, they are seen when 
 standing, with the hands clasped over the occiput or the lumbar 
 region, which would seem necessary to balance, or ease of 
 posture. 
 
 " The toes of the adult are strongly flexed, and turned inwards, 
 and cannot be perfectly straightened. In the attempt the skin 
 gathers into thick folds on the back, showing that the full expan- 
 sion of the foot, as is necessary in walking, is unnatural. The 
 natural position is upon ' all fours,' the body anteriorly resting 
 upon the knuckles. These are greatly enlarged, with the skin 
 protuberant and thickened like the sole of the foot. They are 
 expert climbers, as one would suppose, from their organization. 
 In then- gambols they swing from hmb to limb, to a great distance, 
 and leap with astonishing agility. It is not unusual to see ' the 
 old folks ' (in the language of an observer) sitting under a tree 
 regaling themselves with fruit and friendly chat, while 'their 
 children ' are leaping around them and swinging frpm branch to 
 branch in boisterous merriment. 
 
THE CHIMPANZEE. 541 
 
 " As seen here they cannot be called gregarious, seldom more 
 than five or ten at most being found together. It has been said 
 on good authority that they occasionally assemble in large num- 
 bers in gambols. My informant asserts that he saw once not less 
 than fifty so engaged; hooting, screaming, and drumming with 
 sticks upon old logs, which is done in the latter case with equal 
 facility by the four extremities. 
 
 " They do not appear ever to act on the off"ensive, and seldom, 
 if ever really, on the defensive. When about to be captured, they 
 resist by throwing their arms about their opponent, and attempt- 
 ing to draw him into contact with the teeth. Biting is their 
 principal act of defence. I have seen one man who had been thus 
 severely wounded in the feet. 
 
 " They are filthy in their habits. . . . It is a tradition with 
 the natives generally here (Cape Palmas) that they were once 
 members of their own tribe ; that for their depraved habits they 
 were expelled from all human society; and, that through an 
 obstinate indulgence of their vile propensities they have degene- 
 rated into their present state and organization. They are, however, 
 eaten by them, and, when cooked with the oil and pulp of the 
 palm nut, considered a highly palatable morsel. 
 
 " They exhibit a remarkable degree of intelligence in their 
 habits, and, on the part of the mother, much affection for their 
 young. The second female described, was upon a tree when first 
 discovered, with her mate and two young ones (a male and female). 
 Her first impulse was to descend with great rapidity and ' make 
 off' into the thicket with her mate and female offspring. The 
 young male remaining behind, she soon returned alone to his 
 rescue. She ascended and took him in her arms, at which moment 
 she was shot, the ball passing through the fore-arm of the young 
 one in its course to the heart of the mother. Other instances 
 have been known in which the mother, otherwise timid and fleeing 
 from the presence of man, forsaken by her mate, has fallen a 
 sacrifice to the force of natural affection. In a recent case, the 
 mother when discovered, remained upon a tree with her ofi'spring, 
 watching intently the movements of the hunter. As he took aim, 
 she motioned with her hand, precisely in the manner of a human 
 
542 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 being, to have him desist and go away. When tlie wound has 
 not proved instantly fatal, they have been known to stop the flow 
 of blood by pressing with the hand upon the part, and when this 
 did not succeed to apply leaves and grass. 
 
 " When shot they give a sort of screech not very unlike that of 
 a human being in sudden and acute distress. In their gambols 
 their cry is like the whoop of a native, varied as to volume and 
 strength, which, with the drumming upon logs and other dis- 
 cordant noises and various uncouth movements, make up a scene 
 perfectly unique, defying all description." 
 
 The chimpanzee is the best known of all the anthropoid apes, for 
 specimens have frequently been exhibited in Europe. One which 
 was pronounced to be a satyr, and was in consequence considered 
 a great curiosity, was presented about the year 1640 to the Prince 
 of Orange. The animals that have at various periods belonged 
 to the London Zoological Society have attracted thousands of 
 visitors to the gardens, all anxious to observe the human-like 
 actions some of their tricks display. 
 
 In November, 1864, Mr. Bartlett purchased a chimpanzee in 
 Liverpool, and on its arrival at the Zoological Gardens it was placed 
 in the same cage as the ourang-outang^ and the comparison 
 between the two anthropoid apes was an easy matter. It was seen 
 at once that the long outstretched ears and projecting muzzle of 
 the chimpanzee gave it a more animal physique than was apparent 
 in the ourang. This was the first time that specimens of these 
 two creatures had ever been alive in any European collection at 
 the same time. Frank Buckland, as usual with him, was one of 
 Sarah's (the chimpanzee) first visitors. An account of the inter- 
 view is taken from The Field. 
 
 " A quiet, docile-looking creature is Sarah. She is covered with 
 jet-black hair, and is about as big as a good-sized terrier dog when 
 in begging attitude, and barring a slight cold and coiigh, is appa- 
 rently in excellent health. Her face is exceedingly human, very 
 much more so than that of her companion, Susan, the ourang- 
 outang. When I gave her my watch she immediately applied it 
 to her huge, projecting under-hp ; I then put it to her ear, and she 
 listened to the ticking with the wondering face of a child ; she 
 
THE CHIMPANZEE. 543 
 
 then dragged my hand down to examine it again, and evinced a 
 strong desire to examine its internal anatomy by means of her 
 long, probe-like finger. . . . Susan is excessively jealous of 
 the attention shown by visitors to Sarah ; and Mr. Bartlett tells 
 me that when these two anthropoid ladies were first introduced to 
 each other the scene was comical in the extreme. Susan betook 
 herself into the middle of her cage, and set up all her hideous red 
 hair, evidently trying to make herself as big and as formidable- 
 looking as possible, like a cat when a dog comes suddenly round 
 a corner. An immense deal of monkey palaver and conversation 
 then took place, which might have been mistaken for the new 
 arrival giving the- latest news from the west of Africa, but 
 which really meant a challenge of defiance. Like boys newly 
 arrived at school, the object of these creatures was evidently to 
 see who was to be master, and the result of the last few hours has 
 evidently proved that ourang is to be commandant of the cage. 
 A lady who had come to visit the new arrival brought her some 
 grapes, etc. Susan immediately came forward to claim her share 
 of the grapes; but on Chimp also coming forward, she 
 retired at once, looking as disagreeable as a jilted young lady. 
 Greediness is a characteristic of Chimp, for when a grape 
 was given to her rival, she ran backward like a jibbing horse, 
 nearly the whole length of her cage, and danced up and down in 
 the most excited manner, all the time uttering cries which 
 reminded one strongly of a child some five or six years old 
 undergoing corporal punishment with a bit of birch rod. This 
 performance, Mr. Bartlett tells me, takes place every time this 
 ' naughty child '-like animal cannot immediately get what it wants. 
 These creatures are, in fact, continually playing with each other 
 the whole day ; and I saw a most interesting piece of manoeuvring 
 on the part of Susan to obtain, under false pretences, an apple 
 which lay within the range of Chimp's long arms. Susan 
 evidently had not pluck enough to come and claim the apple, which 
 was her rightful property, but endeavoured to steal it, which she 
 did by gradually rolling and playing with the chair up to the place 
 where the apple lay ; she then dropped ofE the chair and wriggled 
 herself towards it like a deer-stalker in a mountain gully; she 
 
544 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 ultimately stretched out her arm, seized it, and instantly bolted. 
 Chimp in a moment was after her, and seizing her by her long 
 hair, pulled her backwards, and apparently tried to jump up and 
 down on her procumbent person, till she let go the coveted dainty. 
 Anyhow, both Susan and Sarah are amazingly human in their 
 looks, and I am sorry to say in their actions also, though Chimp 
 evidently has most brains of the two." 
 
 That chimpanzees are capable of feeling some emotions that 
 are similar to those experienced by human beings was almost 
 established by the behaviour of an animal that was kept in the 
 Philadelphia Zoological Gardens some years ago, which on the 
 death of a companion gave evidences of a certain degree of 
 genuine grief. Two specimens occupied the same cage for some 
 months, and were much attached to one another, exhibiting their 
 affection in much the same way that children do, being seldom 
 seen apart, and generally with their arms about each other's neck. 
 " They never quarrelled," writes Mr. Arthur B. Brown,^ who 
 appears to have studiously watched these animals, " even over a 
 pretended display of partiality by their keeper in feeding them, and 
 if occasion required one to be handled with any degree of force, 
 the other was always prepared to do battle in its behalf on the first 
 cry of fright. After the death of the female, which took place 
 early in the morning, the remaining one made many attempts to 
 rouse her, and when he found this to be impossible his rage and 
 grief were painful to witness. Tearing the hair, or rather scratch- 
 ing at the short hair on his head, was always one of his common 
 expressions of extreme anger, and was now largely indulged in, 
 but the ordinary yell of rage which he set up at first finally 
 changed to a cry which the keeper of the animals assures me he 
 had never heard before, and which would be most nearly repre- 
 sented by hah-ah-ah-ah-ah uttered somewhat under the breath, and 
 with a plaintive sound like a moan. "With this he made repeated 
 efforts to arouse her, lifting up her head and hands, pushing her 
 violently and rolling her over. After her body was removed from 
 the cage — a proceeding which he violently opposed — he became 
 more quiet, and remained so as long as his keeper was with him, 
 2 See " American Naturalist " for 1879. 
 
THE CHIMPANZEE. 545 
 
 but catching sight - of the body once when the door was opened, 
 and again when it was carried past the front of the cage, he 
 became violent, and cried for the rest of the day. The day follow- 
 ing he sat still most of the time and moaned continuously. This 
 gradually passed away, however, and from that time he has only 
 manifested, a sense of a change in his surroundings by a more 
 devoted attachment to his keeper, and a longer fit of anger when 
 he leaves him. 
 
 " Notwithstanding the intensity of his sorrow at first, it seems 
 suflBciently evident that now a vivid, recollection of the nature of 
 the past association is not present. To test this a mirror was 
 placed before him, with the expectation that on seeing a figure 
 so exactly like his lost mate, some of the customary signs of recog- 
 nition would take place : but even by caressing and pretending to 
 feed the figure in the glass, not a trace of the expected feeling 
 could be excited. In fact, the only visible indication of a change 
 of circumstances is that, while the two of them were accustomed 
 to sleep at night in each other's arms on a blanket on the floor, 
 which they moved from place to place to suit their conve- 
 nience, since the death of the one, the other has invariably 
 slept on a cross-beam at the top of the cage, returning to 
 inherited habit, and showing probably that the apprehen- 
 sion of unseen dangers has been heightened by his sense of 
 loneliness." 
 
 While agreeing with Mr. Brown in the conclusion he arrives at, 
 namely, that among the animal emotions it is evident that any high 
 degree of permanence in grief of this nature belongs to man, and 
 that in most animals the feeling appears to be excited only by the 
 failure of the inanimate body while present to the sight to perform 
 the accustomed actions, yet in this instance his looking-glass ex- 
 periment was hardly conclusive of the fact. It is well known that 
 animals with any high degree of mental organization are rarely 
 deceived in this way. A dog shown his reflection in a mirror does 
 not behave as he would had he met a live animal. Some indi- 
 viduals will bark, but nearly all, when they see it for the first 
 time, show a puzzled sort of expression, and after going round the 
 glass examining it, seem to give it up as something no dog 
 
 N n 
 
546 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 can understand, and ever afterwards will probably ignore the re- 
 flection altogether. That there is no reality about it they appear to 
 be perfectly aware. The sense of smell being one of their principal 
 guides, almost more so than that of vision, they readily discover the 
 cheat, and so it may be with the chimpanzee, and the reflection 
 through being only visible and not detected by the other senses 
 may not conjure up any suggestion of another animal. This 
 fact was to some extent demonstrated by Mr. Brown himself, for 
 in a previous article on the intelligence of this species of ape, he 
 stated that he had placed a looking-glass in the cage with the 
 two animals. They at first took no notice of it, but, one of them, 
 finding the reflected image engaged evidently in the same occupa- 
 tion as himself began to watch it carefully " until he seemingly 
 became satisfied that what he saw was in some manner to him in- 
 comprehensible." If this were not so, the memory of the dead 
 companion, even if there were no actual grief at her loss, would 
 have elicited some recognition, for if sorrow is only very transient, 
 their memory is certainly of a more permanent character. This, 
 it may be said, has been proved on many occasions by their recog- 
 nizing with signs of extreme pleasure certain keepers who have 
 been long absent from them. 
 
 These apes also express their pleasure in a very human-like 
 manner. A few years ago, the Zoological Society owned a female 
 chimpanzee, and some time after she had been in their possession, 
 they procured a male companion for her. Their introduction to 
 each other was described at the time as a most amusing incident. 
 The two creatures rushed into each other's arms after the 
 approved method of stage lovers under similar circumstances. 
 They rubbed their heads together, and kissed one another. Then 
 the gentleman affectionately patted the maiden's face, danced 
 round her, caught her about the waist with the fervour of his 
 dehght, exactly as if he were going to waltz with her, and then 
 they both proceeded to express their mutual satisfaction at their 
 chance encounter so far from home by dancing round the cage 
 and howling in ludicrous concert. 
 
 " Sally," which is the name that has been given to the well- 
 known chimpanzee now in the Zoological Society's collection, and 
 
THE CHIMPANZEE. 547 
 
 whose portrait, taken by Messrs. Briggs and Son, of St. John's 
 Wood, IS given herewith, differs in some particulars from the 
 ordinary chimpanzee. The most noticeable distinction being that 
 she has the head and face nearly naked. As Du ChaiUu appears 
 to have procured the skins of similar animals to which he gave the 
 name Troglodytes calvus, the latter word implying bald-headed, 
 Sally has been classified with the same zoological name. 
 
 This animal was purchased in Liverpool, October, 1883, and was 
 then very young and immature. She, at this early age, exhibited 
 well-marked differences between the varieties that had been her 
 predecessors, and as she advanced towards the . adult state, the 
 pecuharities became more fully developed. 
 
 Mr. A. D. Bartlett, the superintendent of the Society's aardens, 
 drew the attention of the members to this fact in an interesting 
 paper read before them at a meeting in June, 1885. " In the first 
 place," he states, " I may remark the colour of the face, hands and 
 feet in the chimpanzee are white or pale-flesh colour ; the same 
 parts of the animal under consideration are hlacJc or Irownish-hlaclc. 
 Another well-marked difference is to be observed in the hair upon 
 the head and face. In the chimpanzee, the hair on the top of the 
 head, and passing down from the centre (where it divides) to the 
 sides of the face or cheeks, is tolerably long and full, forming what 
 may be considered rather bushy whiskers, whereas the figure 
 (Sally's) before you clearly shows the front, top, and sides of the 
 head and face to be nearly naked, having only a few short hairs on 
 the head, quite destitute of any signs of the parting so very con- 
 spicuous in the chimpanzee. Another striking difference may be 
 noticed in the size and form of the head and ears. Out of the number 
 of chimpanzees I have seen and examined, both old and young, none 
 have possessed the large flat ears so conspicuous in this individual. 
 The form of the head, the expression of the face, the expanded 
 nostrils, the thicker lips, especially the lower lip, together with the 
 more elevated skull, cannot fail to distinguish this animal from the 
 chimpanzee. There are other external characters that I pass over, 
 as they require to be described anatomically. Again, the habits 
 of this animal differ entirely from those of the well-known or 
 common chimpanzee. She has always shown a disposition to live 
 
 N n 2 
 
548 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 upon animal food. Soon after her arrival, I found sh.e would kill 
 and eat small birds ; seizing them bj the neck, she would bite 
 off the head and eat the bird — skin, feathers, and all. For 
 some months she killed and ate a small pigeon every night. 
 After a time we supplied her with cooked mutton and 
 beef -tea ; upon this food she has done well. I have never 
 found any ordinary chimpanzee that would eat any kind of 
 flesh. 
 
 " Another singular habit was the producing pellets or ' quids,' 
 resembling the castings thrown up by raptorial birds. . . . They 
 are composed of feathers and other indigestible substances, that 
 had been taken with her food. Moreover she is an expert rat- 
 catcher, and has caught and killed many rats that had entered her 
 cage during the night. Her intelhgence is far above that of the 
 ordinary chimpanzee. With but little trouble she can be taught to 
 do many things that require the exercise of considerable thought 
 and understanding. She recognizes those who have made her 
 acquaintance, and pays marked attention to men of colour, by 
 uttering a loud cry of bon, bun, bun. She is never tired of romping 
 and playing, and is generally in a good temper." 
 

 fw»'."(NA^ •',;**;.■ 
 
 esw*. nr* 
 
 *ij'"', .*!M>'aM-' 
 
A CHIMPANZEE. 
 
 {Troglodytes calvus.) 
 This is a photograph of the well-known " Sally" belonging to the Zoological Society. 
 
 ANTHROPOID APES. 
 
 From photographs taken by Messrs. Briggs and Son, High Street, St. John's Wood. 
 
 AN OURANG-OUTANG. 
 
 (Simia satyrus.) 
 
549 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 ANTHROPOID APES {Continued). 
 
 The Oubang-outang {Simla satyrus) is anotter man-like ape, and 
 therefore a near relative of the gorilla and chimpanzee, but it is not 
 a resident of the same country, for its habitation is confined to the 
 limited region of thick forests that cover the swampy lowlands of 
 Borneo and Sumatra. Even there it is a rare animal, but larger 
 numbers are to be found in the former island than in the latter. 
 
 The name ourang-outang is of Malay origin, and means " wild 
 man of the woods." 
 
 This ape has such long arms that the tips of the fingers can 
 touch the ground when it is standing upright. The hair of the body 
 is coarse and reddish coloured, and is much thicker on the head, 
 shoulders, and back than on the fore part of the body. The neck 
 is short and thick ; the face, which is of a somewhat bluish tint, 
 has a particularly flat nose, thin and protuberant lips. The ears 
 are small. The head of the young animal exhibits in outward 
 appearance signs of some intellectual powers, for it is round and 
 the forehead high, but as it advances in age it degenerates in this 
 way and the expression of intelligence disappears. 
 
 The habits of the Asiatic apes in their natural condition are better 
 known than those of their African congeners, for there are not the 
 same physical dangers and difficulties attending the exploration 
 of the forests in which they have their abode, consequently 
 travellers can verify to a great extent the information they get 
 from native sources. 
 
 The noted authority on the ourang-outang in its wild state is Mr. 
 A. R. Wallace, who spent some time in the islands of Borneo and 
 
 1 " The Malay Archipelago, the Land of the Orang-Utan and the Bird of 
 Paradise." 
 
550 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 Sumatra. His principal obiect in visiting the first place was to see 
 tlie great man-like ape, or " mias," as it is called by the natives, in 
 its native haunts, to study its habits, and obtain good specimens 
 of the different varieties. In all these objects he succeeded beyond 
 his expectation. 
 
 The incidents connected with his shooting the first full-grown 
 animal he saw is thus described : — " I heard a very slight rustling 
 sound overhead, but on gazing up could see nothing. I moved about 
 in every direction to get a full view into every part of the tree under 
 which I had been standing, when I again heard the same noise but 
 louder, and saw the leaves shaking as if caused by the motion of 
 some heavy animal, which moved off to an adjoining tree. I imme- 
 diately shouted for all of them (a companion, named Charley, and 
 two Dyaks) to come up and try and get a view, so as to allow me 
 to have a shot. This was no easy matter, as the mias had a knack 
 of selecting places with dense foliage beneath. Yery soon, however, 
 one of the Dyaks called me and pointed upwards, and, on looking, 
 I saw a great red, hairy body, and a huge black face gazing down 
 from a great height, as if wanting to know what was making such 
 a disturbance below. I instantly fired, and he made off at oncie, 
 so that I could not then tell whether I had hit him. 
 
 " He now moved very rapidly and very noiselessly for so large 
 an animal, so I told the Dyaks to follow and keep him in sight 
 while I loaded. The jungle was here full of large angular frag- 
 ments of rock from the mountain above, and thick with hanging 
 and twisted creepers. Running, climbing, and creeping among 
 these, we came up with the creature on the top of a high tree near 
 the road, where the Chinamen had discovered him, and were 
 shouting their astonishment with open mouth, ' Ya-Ya, Tuan ; 
 orang-utan, Tuan.' Seeing that he could not pass here without 
 descending, he turned up again towards the hill, and I got two 
 shots, and, following quickly, had two more by the time he had 
 again reached the path ; but he was always more or less concealed 
 by foliage, and protected by the large branch on which he was 
 walking. Once, while loading, I had a splendid view of him, 
 moving along a large limb of a tree in a semi-erect posture, and 
 showing him to be an animal of the largest size. At the path he 
 
THE OURANG-OUTANG. 551 
 
 got on to one of the loftiest trees in tlie forest, and we could see 
 one leg hanging down useless, having been broken by a ball. He 
 now fixed himself in a fork, where he was hidden by thick 
 foliage, and seemed disinclined to move. I was afraid he would 
 remain and die in this position, and, as it was nearly evening, I 
 could not have got the tree cut down that day. I therefore fired 
 again, and he then moved ofl", and, going up the hill, was obliged 
 to get on to some lower trees, on the branches of one of which he 
 fixed himself in such a position that he could not fall, and lay all 
 in a heap as if dead, or dying. 
 
 " I now wanted the Dyaks to go up and cut off the branch he 
 was resting on, but they were afraid, saying he was not dead, and 
 would come and attack them. "We then shook the adjoining tree, 
 pulled the hanging creepers, and did all we could to disturb him, 
 but without effect, so I thought it best to send for two Chinamen 
 with axes to cut down the tree. "While the messenger was gone, 
 however, one of the Dyaks took courage and climbed towards him, 
 but the mias did not wait for him to get near, moving off to another 
 tree, where he got on to a dense mass of branches and creepers, 
 which almost immediately hid him from our view. The tree was 
 luckily a small one, so when the axes came we soon had it cut 
 through ; but it was so held up by jungle-ropes and climbers to 
 adjoining trees that it only fell into a sloping position. The mias 
 did not move, and I began to fear that after all we should not get 
 him, as it was near evening, and half-a-dozen more trees would 
 have to be cut down before the one he was on would fall. As a 
 last resource we all began pulling at the creepers, which shook the 
 tree very much, and after a few minutes, when we had almost 
 given up all hopes, down he came with a crash and a thud, like the 
 fall of a giant. And he was a giant, his head and body being full 
 as large as a man's. He was of the kind called by the Dyaks, 
 ' mias chappen,' or ' mias pappan,' which has the skin of the face 
 broadened out to a ridge or fold at each side. His outstretched 
 arms measured seven feet three inches across, and his height, 
 measuring fairly from the top of the head to the heel, was four feet 
 two inches. The body just below the arms was three feet two 
 inches round, and was quite as long as a man's, the legs being 
 
552 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 exceedingly short in proportion. On examination we found he 
 had been dreadfully wounded. Both legs were broken, one hip- 
 joint, and the root of the spine completely shattered, and two bullets 
 were found flattened in his neck and jaws ! Yet he was still alive 
 when he fell. The two Chinamen carried him home tied to a pole, 
 and I was occupied with Charley the whole of the next day pre- 
 paring the skin and boiling the bones to make a perfect skeleton, 
 which are now preserved in the museum at Derby." 
 
 When hard pressed the mias will attack his antagonist with 
 considerable ferocity, and prove himself a dangerous adversary. 
 Upon this subject Mr. Wallace tells the following story: — "On 
 June 4th, some Dyaks came to tell us that the day before a mias 
 had nearly killed one of their companions. A few miles down 
 the river there is a Dyak house, and the inhabitants saw a large 
 Orang feeding on the young shoots of a palm by the river-side. 
 On being alarmed he retreated towards the jungle, which was 
 close by, and a number of the men, armed with spears and 
 choppers, ran out to intercept him. The man who was in front 
 tried to run his spear through the animal's body, but the mias 
 seized it in his hands, and in an instant got hold of the man's 
 arm, which he seized in his mouth, making his teeth meet in the 
 flesh above the elbow, which he tore and lacerated in a dreadful 
 manner. Had not the others been close behind, the man would 
 have been more seriously injured, if not killed, as he was quite 
 powerless; but they soon destroyed the creature with their 
 spears and choppers. The man remained ill for a long. time, and 
 never fully recovered the use of his arm." 
 
 On one occasion Mr. Wallace shot a female which, with several 
 young ones, he saw feeding on a durcan-tree with unripe fruit. 
 "As soon as she saw us," he writes, "she began breaking off 
 branches and the great spiny fruits with every appearance of 
 rage, causing such a shower of missiles as efiectually kept us 
 from approaching too near the tree. This habit of throwing 
 down branches when irritated has been doubted, but I have, as 
 here narrated, observed it myself on at least three separate 
 occasions. It was, however, always the female mias who be- 
 haved in this way, and it may be that the male, trusting more 
 
THE OURANG-OUTANG. 553 
 
 to his great strengtli and his powerful canine teeth, is not afraid 
 of any other animal, and does not want to drive them away, while 
 the parental instinct of the female leads her to adopt this mode 
 of defending herself and her young ones." 
 
 Some peculiarities in the habits of these animals, especially 
 with regard to those frequenting one district of Borneo, and 
 being quite unknown in another, is commented on by Mr. Wallace, 
 who states that when the mode of life and habits of these crea- 
 tures are known, a sufficient reason is apparent for the anomaly 
 in that the physical features of the different districts varies con- 
 siderably, some being suitable, and others unsuitable for their 
 mode of life, for " it seems to me probable," continues this 
 traveller, " that a wide extent of unbroken and equally lofty 
 virgin forest is necessary to the comfortable existence of these 
 animals. Such forests form their open country, where they can 
 roam in every direction with as much facility as the Indian on the 
 prairie, or the Arab on the desert ; passing from tree-top to tree- 
 top without ever being obliged to descend upon the earth. The 
 elevated and the drier districts are more frequented by man, more 
 cut up by clearings and low, second-growth jungle, not adapted 
 to its peculiar mode of progression, and where it would therefore 
 be more exposed to danger, and more frequently obliged to 
 descend upon the earth." 
 
 " It is a singular and very interesting sight to watch a mias 
 making his way leisurely through the forest. He walks deli- 
 berately along some of the larger branches in the semi-erect 
 attitude which the great length of his arms and the shortness of 
 his legs cause him naturally to assume; and the disproportion 
 between these limbs is increased by his walking on his knuckles, 
 not on the palm of the hand, as we should do. He seems always 
 to choose those branches which intermingle with an adjoining 
 tree, on approaching which he stretches out his long arms, and 
 seizing the opposing boughs, grasps them together with both 
 hands, seems to try their strength, and then deliberately swings 
 himself across to the next branch, on which he walks along as 
 before. He never jumps or springs, or even appears to hurry 
 himself, and yet manages to get along almost as quickly as a 
 
554 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 person can run through the forest beneath. The long and 
 powerful arms are of the greatest use to the animal, enabling it to 
 climb easily up the loftiest trees, to seize fruits and young leaves 
 from slender boughs, which will not bear its weight, and to gather 
 leaves and branches with which to form its nest." 
 
 An animal wounded by a shot began at once to form a nest, 
 upon which it lay down and died. The nest, generally built to 
 sleep on at night, is placed low down on a small tree, not more 
 than twenty to fifty feet from the ground, probably because such 
 a situation is warmer than in a more exalted position, where it 
 would be exposed to the wind. 
 
 Each mias is said to make a fresh nest for himself every night, 
 but this is considered to be hardly probable, for if it were so, the 
 deserted nests would be much more numerous than they are. 
 
 " The orang does not leave his bed till the sun has well risen 
 and has dried up the dew upon the leaves. He feeds all through 
 the middle of the day, but seldom returns to the same tree two 
 days running. They do not seem much alarmed at men, as they 
 often stared down upon me for several minutes, and then only 
 moved away slowly to an adjacent tree. After seeing one I have 
 often had to go half a mile or more to fetch my gun, and in 
 nearly every case have found it on the same tree, or within 
 a hundred yards, when I returned. I never saw two full-grown 
 animals together, but both males and females are sometimes 
 accompanied by half-grown young ones, while at other times, 
 three or four young ones were seen in company. Their food 
 consists almost exclusively of fruit, with occasionally leaves, 
 buds, and young shoots. They seem to prefer unripe fruits, 
 some of which were very sour, others intensely bitter, particularly 
 the large, red, fleshy arillus of one which seemed an especial 
 favourite. In other cases they eat only the small seed of a large 
 fruit, and they almost always waste and destroy more than they 
 eat, so that there is a continual rain of rejected portions below 
 the tree they are feeding on. The durian is an especial favourite, 
 and quantities of this delicious fruit are destroyed wherever it 
 grows surrounded by forest, but they will not cross clearings to 
 get at them. It seems wonderful how the animal can tear open 
 
THE OUEANG-OUTANG. 555 
 
 tliis fruit, the outer covering of -wliicli is so thick and tough, and 
 closely covered with strong conical spines. It probably bites off 
 a few of these first, and then, making a small hole, tears open the 
 fruit with its powerful fingers. 
 
 " The mias rarely descends to the ground, except when, pressed 
 by hunger, it seeks for succulent shoots by the river side, or in 
 very dry weather has to search after water, of which it generally 
 finds sufficient in the hollows of leaves. Once only I saw two 
 half -grown orangs on the ground in a dry hollow at the foot of the 
 Simunjon hill. They were playing together, standing erect, and 
 grasping each other by the arms. It may be safely stated, how- 
 ever, that the orang never walks erect, unless when using its 
 hands to support itself by branches overhead, or when attacked. 
 Representations of its walking with a stick are entirely imaginary. 
 
 " The Dyaks all declare that the mias is never attacked by any 
 animal in the forest, with two rare exceptions ; and the accounts 
 I received of these are so curious that I give them nearly in the 
 words of my informants, old Dyak chiefs, who had lived all their 
 lives in the places where the animal is most abundant. The first 
 of whom I inquired said : ' No animal is strong enough to hurt 
 the mias, and the only creature he ever fights with is the 
 crocodile. When there is no fruit in the jungle, he goes to seek 
 food on the banks of the river, where there are plenty of young 
 shoots that he likes, and fruits that grow close to the water. 
 Then the crocodile sometimes tries to seize him, but the mias 
 gets upon him and beats him with his hands and feet, and tears 
 him and kills him.' He added that he had once seen such a fight, 
 and that he believes that the mias is always the victor. 
 
 "My next informant was the Orang Kaya, or Chief of the 
 Balow Dyaks, on the Simunjon river. He said : ' The mias has 
 no enemies ; no animal dare attack it but the crocodile and the 
 python. He always kills the crocodile by main strength, stand- 
 ing upon it, pulling open its jaws, and ripping up its throat. If 
 a python attacks a mias, he seizes it with his hands, and then 
 bites it, and soon kills it. The mias is very strong ; there is no 
 animal in the jungle so strong as he.' " 
 
 The forests where the ourangs abound being easier of access. 
 
556 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 man is a more formidable enemy to them than he is to the gorilla 
 or chimpanzee. Next to him probably the boa-constrictor is the 
 most dreaded, for these snakes seem to have a partiality for eating 
 the young animals. In confirmation of this fact a large tooth of 
 one of these snakes was found buried in the skin of the back of a 
 young ourang-outang which was sent over to this country some 
 years ago. 
 
 In common with the other anthropoid apes, when captured 
 young, the ourang-outang soon becomes domesticated, and exhibits 
 a partiality for human society; but it has none of the liveliness 
 characteristic of the chimpanzee and common monkey, for it moves 
 about sluggishly and appears to have a melancholy disposition. 
 
 Dr. Miiller, an accomplished Dutch naturalist, who lived for 
 many years in the Eastern Archipelago, and who is an authority 
 quoted by Professor Huxley in his book, "Man's Place in 
 Nature," had a large male, four feet high, living in a state of 
 captivity under his observations for a month. He gives the 
 animal a very bad character, for he states : " He was a very wild 
 beast, of prodigious strength, and false and wicked to the last 
 degree. If any one approached he rose up slowly with a low 
 growl, fixed his eyes in the direction in which he meant to make 
 his attack, slowly passed his hand between the bars of his cage, 
 and then extending his long arm, gave a sudden grip — usually at 
 the face." 
 
 Professor Huxley writes : " This animal's intelligence was very 
 great, and Miiller remarks that though the faculties of the orang 
 have been estimated too highly, yet Ouvier, had he seen this 
 specimen, would not have considered his intelligence to be only a 
 little higher than that of the dog. 
 
 " His hearing was very acute, but the sense of vision seemed to 
 be less perfect. The under-lip was the great organ of touch, and 
 played a very important part in drinking, being thrust out hke a 
 trough, so as either to catch the falling rain, or to receive the 
 contents of the half cocoa-nut shell full of water, with which the 
 orang was supplied, and which, in drinking, he poured into the 
 trough thus formed." 
 
 The few young ourangs that have from time to time been 
 
THE OURA.NG-OUTANG. 557 
 
 exhibited have all shown patient and docile dispositions; but it is 
 surmised, no doubt correctly, that if they had lived to maturity 
 their characters would have undergone a considerable alteration 
 for the worse, for when their muscular power is fully developed, 
 their great strength makes them formidable, and they become 
 dangerously mischievous. 
 
 In 1864 two young ourangs were dwellers in the Eegent's Park 
 menagerie. Frank Bucklaud, who took great interest in them, 
 often refers to these little apes in the articles he contributed to 
 the journals he was connected with. In the Field for 1864, he 
 writes : " These orangs were captured in Borneo, taken thence to 
 Calcutta, and from thence shipped to London, where they were 
 purchased at a heavy sum by the Zoological Society. They 
 are lady and gentleman. The former rejoices in the name of 
 ' Susan ' and the latter in that of ' George.' When they first 
 arrived at the gardens they wore a costume — simplicity itself — 
 composed of coarse flannel, of decided Borneo manufacture, and in 
 this garment they really looked the very picture of ragged rascals. 
 Mr. Bartlett has, however, given each a handsome red-flannel 
 garibaldi jacket, of which they seem not a little proud, especially 
 the lady, who, in her new costume, is almost 
 
 ' As beautiful as a butterfly 
 And as proud as a queen.' 
 
 George, the male, is much the smaller of the two, and is covered 
 with ragged red hair, worn ofE in patches, so that he looks 
 uncommonly like an animated door-mat. The features of both 
 these creatures are a strange combination of beauty and ugliness. 
 Susan's head is as bald and as smooth as a baby's, and her 
 features are hke those of a decrepit child, with the sharp, 
 piercing, jet-black eyes of a hideous and savage Bushwoman. 
 When they walk, these apes use their very long fore-arms as 
 supports to their weight, and in this attitude remind one of a 
 bandy-legged old man, walking round the workhouse yard on 
 
 crutches." 
 
 The young ourang-outang displays considerable intelligence 
 when it is brought into contact with men. An account of a pet 
 
558 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 of this species, named Tuan, belonging to Dr. Yvan, the physician 
 to the scientific mission sent by France to China many years ago, 
 caused some surprise by the sense many of his actions indicated. 
 " When Tuan was entrusted to me," ■writes Dr. Yvan in his book 
 "Voyages et Recits," ^ "he was about three years old. His 
 height was that of a child of three. Had it not been for his pro- 
 minent abdomen he would have resembled a young Malay, dressed 
 in some brown material, like our little sweeps. When I freed him 
 from the bamboo basket in which he was brought to me, he seized 
 hold of my hand, and tried to drag me away, as a little boy who 
 wanted to escape from some disagreeable object might have done. 
 I took him into my room, in which M. Dutroncoy had a sort of 
 cell prepared for him. On seeing this new cage, which resembled 
 a Malay house, Tuan understood that it was in future to be his 
 lodging. He let go my hand and set about collecting all the 
 linen he could find ; he then carried his booty into . his lodging, 
 and covered its walls carefully. These arrangements made, ^he 
 seized on a napkin, and having draped himself in this rag as 
 majestically as an Arab in his humous, lay down on the bed he 
 had prepared. 
 
 " Tuan was of a very mild disposition ; to raise one's voice to 
 him was sufficient. Yet he now and then had very diverting fits 
 of anger. One day I took from him a mango he had stolen ; at 
 first he tried to get it back ; but being unable to do so he uttered 
 plaintive cries, thrusting out his lips like a pouting child. Find- 
 ing that this pettishness had not the success he anticipated, ho 
 threw himself flat on his face, struck the ground with his fist, 
 screamed, cried, howled for more than half an hour. At last I felt 
 that I was acting contrary to my duty in refusing the fruit he 
 desired. For, in opposition to God's will, I was seeking to 
 bend to the exigencies of our civilization the independent nature 
 which He had sent into the world amid virgin forests, in order 
 that it should obey all its instincts, and satisfy all its passions. 
 I approached my ward, calling him by the most endearing 
 names, and offered him the mango. As soon as it was within 
 
 2 This work has been translated, and is entitled "Six Months among the Malays," 
 but the quotation given heiewith is from an article in the Westminster Review. 
 
THE OURANG-OUTANG. 559 
 
 liis reach he clutched it with violence, and threw it at my 
 head ! 
 
 " There was something so human in this action, something so 
 evil in the expression of his rage, that I had no hesitation that 
 day m classing Tuan amongst our own species, he reminded me 
 so much of certain children of my acquaintance. But since then 
 I have learned better; he was only on rare occasions peevish 
 and naughty. 
 
 " The first day that I let Tuan dine at table with me, he 
 adopted a somewhat incorrect mode of pointing out the objects 
 which were pleasing to him. He stretched out his brown hand 
 and tried to put upon his plate all that he could lay hold of. I gave 
 him a box on the ear to make him understand politeness. He 
 then made use of a stratagem; he covered his face with one hand, 
 whilst he stretched the other towards the dish. This scheme 
 answered no better, for I hit the guilty hand with the handle of 
 my knife. From that moment my intelligent pupil understood 
 that he was to wait to be helped. 
 
 " He very quickly learned to eat his soup with a spoon, in this 
 way : a thin soup was placed before him, he got upon the table 
 like a dog lapping, and tried to suck it up slowly. This method 
 appearing inconvenient to him, he sat down again on his chair, 
 and took his plate in both hands ; but as he raised it to his lips 
 he spilled a portion of it over his breast. I then took a spoon and 
 showed him how to use it. He immediately imitated me, and 
 ever after made use of that culinary implement. 
 
 " When T brought Tuan on board the Cleopatra, he was 
 domiciled at the foot of the mainmast, and left completely free ; 
 he went in and out of his habitation when he pleased. The sailors 
 received him as a friend, and undertook to initiate him in the 
 customs of a seafaring life. A little tin basin and spoon were 
 given him, which he shut carefully up in his house, and at meal 
 times he went to the distribution of provisions with the crew. 
 It was very funny to see him, especially in the morning, getting 
 his basin filled with coffee, and then sitting comfortably down to 
 take his first meal in company with his friends the cabin-boys. 
 
 " Tuan spent part of his days in swinging among the ropes ; 
 
560 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 sometimes lie came on to the deck, either to enter into conversation 
 with the persons of the embassy, whom he knew very well, or to 
 tease a young Manillase negrito, who had been given to M. de 
 Lagrene : this negrito was his dearest friend. Some people 
 pretended that the sympathetic ties which united these two 
 beings were based on consanguinity. However that may be, 
 Tuan had a profound contempt for monkeys ; he never con- 
 descended to notice one, and preferred the society of a dog or a 
 sheep to that of one of these quadrumana. 
 
 "Tuan acquired the habits of a gourmet whilst on board; he 
 drank wine, and had even become deeply learned in the art of 
 appreciating that liquid. One day two glasses were offered him, 
 one half full of champagne, the other half full of claret. When 
 he had a glass in each hand, some one tried to deprive him of that 
 containing the champagne. To defend himself, he hastily brought 
 his disengaged hand up to the one which had been seized hold of, 
 and having, by a dexterous effort, succeeded in freeing it, he 
 poured the sparkling liquid into the glass of which he had undis- 
 turbed possession. He then held out the empty glass to the 
 person who had tried to deprive him of it. 
 
 " This act, so well conceived, and so difficult to execute, was 
 followed by one no less remarkable. Tuan was among the ropes, 
 and would not come down in spite of my reiterated orders. I 
 showed him a glass of beer to persuade him to come to me. He 
 looked a long while at what I offered him, then, not trusting 
 perfectly to what he saw, he took a rope, and with admirable 
 precision directed its end into the glass, he then drew up the rope, 
 put the end he had dipped into the liquid into his mouth, and 
 having made sure of the flavour, hastened down to share the 
 beverage with me. 
 
 " It is false that ourang-outangs have ever been taught to smoke ; 
 Tuan, and all those I have seen, were unable to execute that act. 
 The pictures representing these quadrumana smoking hookas with 
 their masters are stereotyped lies. 
 
 " When I arrived at Manilla, Tuan and I took up our abode in 
 a Tagal house, and we lived in common with the family inhabiting 
 it, consisting of the father, mother, two girls of fourteen and 
 
THE OURANG-OUTANG. . 561 
 
 sixteen, and of some little children. Tuan was charmed with our 
 residence. He spent his days in play with the little Tagal girls, 
 and robbing the mango women who were imprudent enough to put 
 their merchandise within his reach 
 
 " The custom of wearing clothing is generally considered the 
 result of climate; some moralists pretend that it is connected 
 with the innate sentiment of modesty. Whilst observing in the 
 ourang-outang a manifest fondness for wearing clothes, I was able 
 to convince myself that he obeyed neither of these impressions. 
 Tuan took possession of all the pieces of stuff he found, and either 
 threw them over his shoulders or covered his head with them. 
 Handkerchiefs, napkins, shirts, or carpets which came in his way 
 were indiscriminately used for this purpose. In those burning 
 countries, with thirty-two degrees of heat, it was most certainly 
 not the temperature which led him to wrap himself up ; it was 
 not a feeling of decency either, for he only protected the upper 
 portions of his body with these varied draperies." 
 
 Many people have taken a singular prejudice to the anthropoid 
 apes because of their approximate resemblance to man in con- 
 struction, and in some of their actions when seen in a captive 
 state. For the benefit of those sensitive people who see something 
 humiliating in being classed with these brutal creatures, even in the 
 remote manner implied by the liberal interpretation of Professor 
 Darwin's hypothesis, a remark made by Professor Mivart ' may be 
 quoted. While stating that although fully recognizing the truth 
 of Mr. Darwin's appreciation of man's zoological position, which, 
 he writes, " I have ever maintained, and indeed laboured to support, 
 I none the less completely differ from him when I include the 
 totality of man's being. So considered, science convinces me that 
 a monkey and a mushroom differ less from each other than do a 
 monkey and a man." 
 
 The anthropoid apes are ranked in their relation to man accord- 
 ing to the degree of the similarity their skeleton bears to his. By 
 this criterion the gorilla holds the highest position, and although 
 some scientists place the chimpanzee first, yet others, and among 
 them Professor Owen, pronounce this classification as incorrect. 
 
 ' See Nature, vol. for 1874. 
 
 
 
562 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 It is as well to point out, however, tliat tlie number of osteological 
 features in wMcli a resemblance can be traced between the gorilla 
 and man are more than counterbalanced by the number of most 
 important ones in which it exhibits a very marked divergence. 
 
 Accepting, however, this ferocious, scowling, long-armed ape, 
 with its brutish mouth, noseless, chinless, deep-ridged face as the 
 nearest structural type of a human being in the animal world, yet 
 what an immense gulf has to be surmounted in the intellectual or- 
 ganization and capacity to connect the gorilla even with the lowest 
 savage. The one communicating his ideas by language, using fire, 
 cooking food, exhibiting ingenuity in the fashioning of hisTequisite 
 weapons, or in the designing of other articles necessary for his 
 well-being, and possessing an intellect capable of receiving and 
 applying instruction, and above all of worshipping a deity. The 
 other, with great hands that have no skill but to clutch and 
 strangle, with brain power dwindling instead of increasing from 
 birth to maturity, and living without displaying any other attri- 
 bute but the power of satisfying its own appetite to support life 
 amid the unwholesome luxuriance of a dark, dense, tropical forest. 
 As this ape was in the beginning so it is now, and so probably it 
 will be to the end, living in sullen isolation, without improving 
 physically or mentally, it propagates its species and dies. There 
 is nothing approaching anything human in it, except in the gross 
 caricature which its appearance presents of some hideous deformity 
 in our race, and many " missing links " will have to be found 
 before a chain can be fashioned that will directly connect man, 
 made to stand erect in the image of his Maker, intellectually or 
 physically, with any of the known wild animals. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Abtj-Klea, behaviour of camels at, 195. 
 Akbar the Great, one thousand cheetahs 
 
 owned by, 88. 
 Alaska Commercial Company, 508. 
 Alleyn (Edward), bear-garden owned 
 
 by, 161. . 
 Animals, acclimatizing of, 420. 
 Animals (wild), cost of, 9 ; die from 
 
 unknown diseases, 8 ; extermination 
 
 in Africa of, 354 ; used for presents 
 
 in middle ages, 305 ; destruction ia 
 
 Rome of, 3. 
 Antelopes, 421. 
 Apes, anthropoid, 518 ; compared with 
 
 human race, 562. 
 Aristotle, his history of animals, 2. 
 Asia (Central), wild camels in, 207. 
 Ass, the, 360 ; date of its introduction 
 
 into England, 363 ; eaten in Rome, 
 
 370 ; high price paid iu Rome for one, 
 
 362 ; ill-treatment of, 364 ; tricks 
 
 performed by a trained one, 366. 
 Ass, the wild, of Africa, 373 ; of Cutch, 
 
 372. 
 Asses, white, highly valued in the East, 
 
 361. 
 Assyrian bas-reliefs, cheetah represented 
 
 on, 87. 
 Assyrians, enthusiastic lion-hunters, 34; 
 
 ivory used for works of art by the, 
 
 260. 
 
 Bahaeam the Eipth, death of, 370; 
 
 anecdote of, 371. 
 Baker (Sir Samuel), his boats attacked 
 
 by a hippopotamus, 235. 
 
 o 
 
 Battell (Andrew), the gorilla described 
 by, 524. 
 
 Bear, the black, 148 ; the brown, 155 ;. 
 the grizzly, 145; the Himalayan, 
 172; the Malayan, 172; the polar, 
 138 ; the sloth, 169 ; the spectacled, 
 171; the Syrian, 171 ; a shaved, 167. 
 
 Bear-baitiug, 158; accident that befell 
 the spectators at, 160 ; Cromwell's sup- 
 pression of, 163; in Russia, 165; 
 strange debate in Parhament about, 
 164. 
 
 Bear-garden, Edward Alleyn the pro- 
 prietor of a, 161. 
 
 Bears, dancing, 166. 
 
 Bear's-grease, 156. 
 
 Bears, bred in Germany for food sup- 
 ply, 173 ; first animals to be used in 
 the Roman sports, 173. 
 
 Bears, tame, 167. 
 
 Bears (white), known to the Greeks, 
 142 ; plea against unnecessary cruelty 
 to, 144; exhibited by Ptolemy, 143; 
 two owned by Queen Elizabeth, 144 ; 
 when first seen in England, 144. 
 
 Beisa antelope, the, 428. 
 
 Bison, the American, 375 ; extermiaa- 
 tion of, 386; Indian hunting, 383; 
 stupendous herds of, 385 ; when first 
 seen in Europe, 395.- 
 
 Bison, white, Indian superstition re- 
 garding, 377. 
 
 Bison-herds, trains charged by, 383. 
 
 Brighton Aquarium, Sea-lion bom ia 
 the, 517. 
 
 Britain, wolves in, 123. 
 
 2 
 
564 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 British Museum, Assyrian las-reliefs in, 
 34 ; natural history department of 
 the, 7. 
 
 Buffalo. See Bison. 
 
 Buffalo, the Burmese, 401 ; the Cape, 
 404 ; the domesticated, 397 ; the 
 Indian, 397 ; the wUd, 400. 
 
 Buffalo-bird, the, 410. 
 
 Buffalo -robes, 396. 
 
 BurcheU's zebra, 355. 
 
 CfliSAR, Julius, African elephant brought 
 to Britain by, 277. 
 
 Camel, the, 175 ; ancient records of, 
 176; taught to dance, 204. 
 
 Camel, the Bactrian, 209 ; seen in a 
 wild state, 207. 
 
 Camelopard. See Giraffe. 
 
 Camels, cruelty to, 179 ; fighting, 203 ; 
 Sir Chas, Wilson on their be- 
 haviour at Abu-Klea, 195; unrepre- 
 sented on Egyptian sculptures, 204 ; 
 ■wild, seen in Spain, 175. 
 
 Cape colony, protection of elephants in, 
 253. 
 
 Cariboo, the, 455. 
 
 Cariboo-hunting, 456. 
 
 Carolina, the wolf of, 129. 
 
 Carthage, gorilla skins found by Komans 
 in, 523. 
 
 Carthaginians, African elephants em- 
 ployed by the, 276. 
 
 Cats, the {Felidoi), 10. 
 
 Ceylon, protection of elephants in, 251. 
 
 Chseronea, the lion of, 16. 
 
 Cheetah, the, 85 ; ancient records of, 
 87 ; Arabs hunting with, 92 ; carried 
 to the field on an elephant, 88 ; em- 
 ployed by Frederick II., 96 ; method 
 of huntingwith, 88; when first trained, 
 87 ; accident from a ferocious one, 94. 
 
 Cheetahs, hunting with, fashionable in 
 Europe during middle ages, 98 ; 
 Tippo Sahib's, 100. 
 
 Chewing the cud, 421. 
 
 Chimpanzee, the, 539 ; in Zoological 
 Gardens (Sally), 546. 
 
 China, parks of intelligence in, 3. 
 
 Circus, a rhinoceros escapes in a, 333. 
 
 Colosseum, the, 36. 
 
 Constantinople, a hippopotamus seen in 
 the 16th century in, 243. 
 
 Cook (Captain), discovers the kangaroo, 
 463. 
 
 Coyote, the, 130. 
 
 Cromwell (Oliver), bear-baiting sup- 
 pressed by, 163. 
 
 Crusaders, cheetah-hunting introduced 
 into Europe by the, 96. 
 
 Cumberland (the Duke of), hunts with 
 a cheetah in "Windsor Park, 101. 
 
 Daewin's theory, 561. 
 
 Deer, 429. 
 
 Deer-horns, annual reproduction of, 430. 
 
 Dog, origin of the, 115. 
 
 Dromedary, the (see the Camel), 183. 
 
 Duncombe (Sir Sanders), the bear- 
 baiting monopoly of, 164. 
 
 Durer (Albert), engraving of a rhino- 
 ceros by, 329. 
 
 Eared-Seals, the (Otaria), 494. 
 
 Edgar, methods adopted for the exter- 
 mination of wolves by, 123. 
 
 Edward I., his mandamus respecting 
 wolves, 124. 
 
 Edward II. gives tenure of land for 
 wolf -killing, 124. 
 
 Edward III., bear-baiting disapproved 
 of by, 158. 
 
 Egypt, lions worshipped in, 15; used 
 for hunting in, 33 ; camels not re- 
 presented on the sculptures of, 204 . 
 
 Elephant, the, 249. 
 
 Elephant, the African, 253 ; the Asiatic, 
 250; rogue, 272 ; James I. presented 
 with an, 306. 
 
 Elephants, acting as nurses, 289 ; black, 
 299 ; communication of, 270 ; cruelty 
 of Africans in killing, 254 ; difficulty 
 formerly experienced in destroying, 
 292 ; incorrectly drawn in mediaeval 
 
INDEX. 
 
 565 
 
 bestiaries, 305; the intoxication of 
 three hundred, 300; the method of 
 capturing, 282 ; the varieties of, 275 ; 
 when first seen in England, 6 ; white, 
 298 ; the wars for, 300. 
 
 Elizabeth (Queen), bear-baiting a 
 favourite amusement of, 159 ; white 
 bears in possession of, 144. 
 
 Elk, the, 441 ; acquaintance of the 
 Romans with, 442 ; domestication of, 
 443. 
 
 Elliott (Mr. H.), report on the seal- 
 islands of Alaska by, 497. 
 
 Emanuel (King of Portugal), rhinoceros 
 sent from India to, 329. 
 
 Exeter Change, the menagerie in, 7. 
 
 FBLib-a:, the, 10. 
 
 Elexton, refuge against wolves built at, 
 123. 
 
 Forests, the luxuriance of tropical, 268. 
 
 France, himting establishments of the 
 kings of, 99 ; yaks imported into, 419. 
 
 Frederick II., cheetahs employed by, 
 96 ; giraffes possessed by, 222 ; hawk- 
 ing hoods introduced by, 96 ; Henry 
 III. presented with leopards by, 100 ; 
 menagerie of, 4. 
 
 Gatee (Sir John), "lion-sermon" 
 ordered by the will of, 25. 
 
 George IV., giraffe presented to, 225. 
 
 Germany, bears bred for food supply in, 
 173. 
 
 Giraffe, the, 212; figured on Egyptian 
 monuments, 219; furore in Paris 
 over the arrival of the first, 223 ; the 
 kick of the, 215 ; when first seen in 
 Eome, 221. 
 
 Giraffes acclimatized in England, 228 ; 
 destruction in Zoological Gardens by 
 fire of two, 228 ; their mode of fighting 
 214; three imported by Zoological 
 Society, 225 ; their cost, 227. 
 
 Gnu, the, 424. 
 
 Godfrey (Duke), account of a bear 
 that attacked, 171. 
 
 Gorilla, the, 526. 
 
 Gorilla-skins procured by Hanno, 523. 
 
 Grant (General U. S.), anecdote about 
 wolf -howling related by, 130. 
 
 Guilford (Lord Keeper) and the rhino- 
 ceros, anecdote about, 330. 
 
 Hanno, the first lion-tamer, 32 ; voyage 
 of, 523. 
 
 Hasselquist, remarkable statements made 
 by, 241. 
 
 Hawking, Frederick II. introduces hood 
 for, 96. 
 
 Henry I., the first English royal 
 menagerie owned by, 5. 
 
 Henry III., elephant presented to, 305 ; 
 leopard presented to, 100 ; a polar 
 bear owned by, 144. 
 
 Hentzner (Paul), London sights de- 
 scribed by, 161. 
 
 Hippopotamus, the, 229 ; account of the 
 capture of one for Zoological Society, 
 243 ; attack on Sir S. Baker's boat 
 by a, 235 ; attack on Dr. Livingstone's 
 party by a, 233 ; escape of one in 
 Paris, 247 ; exhibited by Eomans, 
 242 ; the ivory of the, 231 ; when first 
 seen in Europe, 243. 
 
 Horns, growth of deer, 429. 
 
 Hungary, wolves in, 122. 
 
 Hushing, King of Persia, first to train 
 leopards for hunting, 87. 
 
 Hyaena, the, 102 ; the brown. 111 ; the 
 spotted, 109 ; the striped, 104. 
 
 India, elephants protected in, 249; 
 statistics showing the loss of life 
 from wild animals in, 132 ; supersti- 
 tion regarding the rhinoceros-horn in, 
 322. 
 
 Indians, American, buffalo-hunting by, 
 383 ; discontent of, 391. 
 
 Ivory, 260 ; wholesale slaughter of ele- 
 phants for, 254 ; hippopotamus, 231. 
 
 Jaguar, the, 68. 
 
 Jaguars, assembly ground of the, 75. 
 
566 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Jaguar-skins, imported into England,78. 
 James I,, elephant presented to, 306. 
 James V. (of Scotland), tried to get 
 
 dogs that would ride behind men on 
 
 horseback, 100. 
 Jamrack, his adventure with a tiger, 58. 
 
 Kangaboo, the great, 467. 
 
 Kangaroos, 463 ; brutal massacre of, 
 477 ; human beings attacked by, 
 473 ; machinery driven by, 475 ; 
 their pouch described, 471. « 
 
 Kiang, the, 372. 
 
 Kings of France, the hunting establish- 
 ments of the, 99. 
 
 " Lachrymal sinuses," 422. 
 
 Lecompte, keeper of the seals in Zoo- 
 logical Gardens, 514. 
 
 Leo (John), the African, adventurous 
 life of, 190. 
 
 Leopard, the, 60 ; the ounce, or snow 
 variety, 67. 
 
 Leopards, dedicated to Bacchus, 65. 
 
 Leucoryx, the (antelope), 427 ; stated 
 to be the unicorn of the ancients, 
 428. 
 
 Lions, 15 j appurtenances of royalty, 38 ; 
 chariots drawn by, 35 ; protection by 
 Eomans of, 38 ; slaughter in Eome 
 of, 35 ; superstition about the Tower, 
 39 ; the burial ,of St. Paul assigned 
 by legend to, 32 ; the type of the 
 Resurrection, 28 ; trained for hunting 
 purposes, 33 ; woman combating with, 
 37. 
 
 Lion-Queen, death of the, 31. 
 
 Livingstone (Dr.), attacked by lions, 24. 
 
 "Loyal songs," jeering quotation from, 
 
 163. 
 Liihdorfs deer, 461. 
 
 MAN-EATiNa hysenas. 111; lions, 23; 
 
 tigers, 48. 
 Menagerie,Exeter Change, 7 ; Henryl.'s, 
 
 5 ; Montezuma's, 3 ; the Tower, 6. 
 Menageries, l.;when first introduced in 
 
 England, 5. 
 
 Mongols, their fear of wild yaks, 416. 
 
 Monkeys, 519. 
 
 Montezuma's menagerie, 3, 395. 
 
 Moose, the, 431. 
 
 Moose-calling, 439. 
 
 Moose-hunting, 437. 
 
 IfAPiBE, Lord, pleads for elephant-pro- 
 tection, 249. 
 
 Napier (Sir Charles), his description of 
 the cruelty practised on baggage- 
 camels in India, 178. 
 
 Onagbe, the, 367. 
 
 Oryx, the, 427, 
 
 Ostrich, representation on an Egyptian 
 
 monument of an, 220. 
 Ounce, the, 67. 
 Ourang-Outang, the, 549. 
 
 Panther, the, 60; child attacked in 
 Zoological Gardens by a, 65. 
 
 Panthers attracted by odour of small- 
 pox, 66. 
 
 Paris, giraffe sent by Pasha of Egypt 
 to, 223 ; wolves seen in, 121 ; hippo- 
 potamus escapes in, 247. 
 
 Parks of intelligence in China, 3. 
 
 Persians, attach importance to cheetah- 
 hunting, 87. 
 
 Phidias (the sculptor), ivory used for 
 the masterpiece of, 260. 
 
 Pliny, his natural history, 2. 
 
 Portugal, the Queen of, driven with a 
 team of zebras, 350, 
 
 Prince of Wales, the, Indian elephants 
 in the Zoological Gardens owned by, 
 308. 
 
 Ptolemy Philadelphus, procession of, 
 328. 
 
 Puma, the, 78. 
 
 Pytchley Hunt, origin of the, 124. 
 
 QuAGOA, the, 351. 
 
 Queensland, camels employed in, 183. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 567 
 
 Kaeey, zebra tamed by, 350. 
 Eeindeer, the, 445. 
 
 Eesurrection, lions typical of the, 28. 
 
 Khinoceros, 321 ; the African, 346 ; the 
 black, 340; the hairy-eared, 337- 
 the Indian, 326 ; the Javan, 334 ; the 
 Keitloa, 343 ; the Sumatran, 336 ; 
 the^white, 339 ; when first seen in 
 England, 330. 
 
 Ehinoceros-bird, the, 344. 
 
 Khinoceros-horn, superstition regarding, 
 322. 
 
 Romans ; protection of lions by, 38 ; 
 tame bears kept by the, 174. 
 
 Eome, destruction of animals in, 3 ; 
 giraffe brought to, 221 ; hippopota- 
 mus seen in, 243 ; hyaenas seen in, 
 112 J rhinoceros frequently seen in, 
 329 ; slaughter of lions in, 35 ; 
 tigers rarely seen in, 44. 
 
 Eosherville Gardens, accident La, 
 157. 
 
 Eoyalty, lions considered appurtenances 
 of, 38. 
 
 St. Paul, legend assigning his burial 
 
 to lions, 32. 
 Sea-bear, the, 498. 
 Seal, the, 479 ; the common, 489 ; the 
 
 fur, 498 ; the Greenland, 489. 
 Seals, the eared (Otaria), 494. 
 Sea-lion, the, 510; the Patagonian, 
 
 513 ; Steller's, 510 ; bred in Brighton 
 
 Aquarium, 517. 
 Sea-lion skin, 511. 
 Seal-meat, 488. 
 Seal-skin, 492, 508. 
 Sermon, the lion, 25. 
 Shagreen, 369. 
 
 Sicilians, the giraffe known to the, 222. 
 Soudan, cruelty to camels during the 
 
 campaign in the, 179. 
 South America, the forests of, 519. 
 South Kensington Museum, figured 
 
 tapestries in the, 222. 
 Spain, camels introduced into, 181. 
 Statistics showing the rewards paid 
 
 for destruction of wild animals in 
 India, 132. 
 
 Tapie, the, 309; the American, 311; 
 the Asiatic, 321 ; Eoulin's, 320. 
 
 Tapir-hunting, 316. 
 
 Tiger, baiting one in England, 57 ; 
 photograph of one taken in act of 
 killing a buffalo, 51. 
 
 Tigers, 41 ; black, 55 ; cattle-killing, 
 47 ; man-eating, 48 ; trained for 
 
 ♦ hunting purposes, 56 ; white, 55. 
 
 Tiglath-Pileser I., his successful lion- 
 hunting, 34. 
 
 Tippo Sahib, his cheetahs brought to 
 England, 100. 
 
 Tower menagerie, 6. 
 
 Turks, camel-combats favourite amuse- 
 ment of the, 203. 
 
 Unicobn, identified with the Leucoryx, 
 428 ; identified with the rhinoceros, 
 328. 
 
 United States, camels used in the, 181. 
 
 Wapiti, the, 457 ; fighting, 460. 
 
 "Wolf, the American, 129 ; Asiatic, 132 ; 
 Eussian, 119 ; the last killed in 
 England, 124; the last killed in 
 Scotland, 125 ; the last killed in 
 Ireland, 128. 
 
 Wolf-children, 133. 
 
 Wolves, 115; becoming intoxicated, 
 122; children nurtured by, 133; 
 feigning death, 120; Eussian, com- 
 pared with cattle-plagues and fires, 
 119 ; mandamus issued by Edward I. 
 respecting, 124 ; methods adopted by 
 Edgar to exterminate, 123. 
 
 Woman combating with Kons, 37. 
 
 Woodstock, first royal menagerie built 
 in, 5. 
 
 Yak, the, 413 ; riding on one described 
 
 by Wilson, 417 ; the wild, 414. 
 Yaks imported into France, 419. 
 Yak-tails, 413. 
 
568 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Tezid, caliph of Damascus, the fipst .to. 
 -carry the, cheetah on horseback, 87. 
 
 Zbbea, 347 ; Burch^U's, '356' ; mountain, 
 
 347; Quagga, 351. 
 Zebras, wild, in Spain, 349.-' 
 Zoological Gardens, accideiit in, 158 ; 
 
 . giraffes burnt in, 228 ; hip,popotamus 
 gets loose in, 245. 
 
 Zoological Society, the, 8 ; account of 
 the first hippopotamus procured by, 
 243 ; Lecompte sent to Falkland 
 Islands by, 515 ; rhinoceros pur-, 
 chased by, 336. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 GILBERT AND KIVINGTOlf, LISIITED, BT. .TOHW'S SQUAHE, LONDOIr.