170 Retrospective Criticism. 



In closing his account, our author says, " what I have 

 said of their killing and devouring young animals are" 

 (instead of is) "sufficient proofs" (proof) "of this; but it 

 frequently happens that these birds are forced to wait until 

 the hide of their prey will give way to their bills." 



In order to substantiate this, our author produces an 

 alligator. " I .have seen," says he, " a large dead alligator, 

 surrounded by vultures and carrion crows, of which nearly 

 the whole of the flesh was so completely decomposed, before 

 these birds could perforate the tough skin of the monster, 

 that, when at last it took place," (what took place ?) " their 

 disappointment was apparent, and the matter, in an almost 

 fluid state, abandoned by the vultures." 



Here we have the singular phenomenon of vultures sur- 

 rounding their own dinner, without being able to touch it, for 

 want, I may say, of suitable carving knives ; and at last they 

 are forced to depart on an empty stomach, bearing marks on 

 their countenances of apparent disappointment. I ask, what 

 became of the enormous mass of flesh in the alligator's tail ? 

 was it, too, in an almost fluid state, similar to that of the 

 contents of the abdomen ? Had, then, the first stage of 

 putrefaction done nothing towards the softening of the skin, 

 which, in the tail of this animal, is by no means so thick as 

 in the dorsal and abdominal regions? Were his vultures so 

 green in the art of perforation as not to have learned that, as 

 soon as putrefaction takes place, the skin of the tail may be 

 easily perforated at the different joints ? If the vultures, only 

 for a minute, had but bethought themselves of applying their 

 "very powerful bills" to the skin at these joints, it would 

 undoubtedly have yielded to their efforts; and then they 

 could easily have worked their way forward to the other parts 

 of the alligator. Had but our little carrion crow been there, 

 he could soon have taught them how to carve, and shown the 

 lubberly birds where lay the soft parts. Again, I ask, were 

 the vultures, whose daily occupation ought to give them a 

 pretty correct notion of the general structure of animals, 

 ignorant that there are certain parts in those animals 

 admirably adapted for contraction and expansion ? and, of 

 course, that those parts are invariably softer than the other 

 parts of the bodies of scaly quadrupeds. Did his birds not 

 know, or had they forgot on that occasion, that these parts 

 are to be found, on each side of the alligator, betwixt the 

 nearly impenetrable scaly armour on the back, and the 

 equally impenetrable armour of the under parts ? In a word, 

 I am positive, if his vultures had but been well versed in the 

 nature of the parts without, they would soon have introduced 



