ZOOLOGY. 355 



itself from time to time ; and on such occasions his master, from motives of 

 prudence, did not fail to give him a large piece of raw mutton, which he 

 devoured with rage in the presence of every body. When this frightful 

 appetite came on he tried to combat it, but it was too strong for him. I 

 have often been present at his strange, savage, and disgusting repast ; and 

 when I have asked him why he did not attempt to break himself of such 

 a hideous habit, he has answered me, I have often endeavored to do so, 

 but have never been able. It is an instinct which I have inherited from 

 my father and mother. In my country every body lives in this way ; and 

 if my master were to neglect to satisfy the penchant which Nature has 

 given me, I feel that I could not resist the necessity of devouring some- 

 thing, and that I should commit some great crime by attacking a child or 

 a poor creature too weak to resist me.' 



" Having asked him if he did not prefer human flesh to that which was 

 generally given to him, and if the latter had the same taste, and was equal- 

 ly nourishing, he answered, that in his country men were eaten, not only 

 to satisfy hunger, but from vengeance ; that nothing is so delicious as the 

 blood and flesh of an enemy ; and that, though human flesh was preferable 

 to all others, he was fully satisfied with that which was given to him, as 

 it relieved him from the fear of committing a crime. 



" Having asked to see him naked, in order to make a drawing of him, 

 he objected for a long time, on account of religious scruples ; but at length, 

 by means of a rich present, I persuaded him to strip. I could then con- 

 template him at my ease without fearing to humiliate him. He was thin, 

 wary, and strong. His skin was black, shining, and soft as velvet ; his 

 arms and legs appeared weak, but nervous and full of muscle, and his ribs 

 could be counted. He was so ugly as to be repulsive ; his mouth was 

 enormous, his lips thick, his teeth sharp, strong, and extremely white ; 

 he was very active and skilful ; and his tail, rather more than three inches 

 long, had as much flexibility as that of a monkey." 



As if apprehensive of not having his own statements credited, M. de 

 Couret, or, as he prefers to be called, Hadji-Abd-el-Hamed-Bey, does not 

 neglect to quote the testimony of M. F. de Castelneau, another eminent 

 traveller, who was formerly commissioned by the French government to 

 the existence of the tailed Niam-Niams a testimony not, indeed, based, 

 like his own, on ocular demonstration, but on the statements of persons 

 in whom M. de Castelneau placed the fullest confidence. We remember 

 very well that in 1851 M. de Castelneau published a pamphlet on the 

 subject, and that it was presented to the Academy of Sciences. Our 

 author, Hadji, also states that M. d'Abbadie, another eminent African 

 traveller, likewise heard of and believed in the men with tails, and in 1852 

 made a communication to the Geographical Society of Paris to that effect. 

 M. Kocher d'Hericourt, who is also a distinguished traveller in the less- 

 known parts of Africa, and the Irnaum of Muscat, who was in Paris in 

 1849, are, moreover, named as having given confirmatory evidence on the 

 subject ; and the brother-in-law of the Sultan of Bournou, one Si-el- 



