572 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1816. 



for what reason \¥* never could 

 learn, the prairie butfaloe, is ;i 

 native of these plains, as well as 

 Those on tlie Missouri : they arc 

 of the same size, and much the 

 same in appearance as the black 

 lizanl : tl;e belly is however 

 broader, thi; tail shorter, and the 

 action much slower : the colour 

 is generally brown, intermixed 

 Avith yellowish brown spots : the 

 animal is covered with minute 

 scales, interspersed with small 

 horny points, like blunt prickles 

 tm the upper surface of the body : 

 the belly and throat resemble 

 those of the frog, and are of a 

 light yellowish brown : the edge 

 of the belly is likewise beset with 

 small hoiny ])rqiections, impart- 

 ing to those edges a serrate ap- 

 pearance : the eye is small and 

 dark : above and behind the eye.s 

 there are sevej'al projections of 

 that bone, and their extremities 

 also being armed with a hrm 

 black substance, resemble the ap- 

 pearance of horns sprouting from 

 the head : these animals are found 

 in great numbers in the sandy 

 open ])lains, and a])pear in the 

 greatest abvmdance after a shower 

 of rain : they are sometimes found 

 ba.^king in the sunshine, but con- 

 teal themselves in little holes of 

 the eaith in uuich the greatest 

 proportion of the time : this may 

 account for their appearance in 

 5uch numbers aftei" the rain, as 

 their holes njay thus be rendered 

 untenantable. 



9. The anchovy, >vhic]i the 

 natives call olthen, is so delicate 

 a Ilsh that it soon becomes tainted, 

 \mlcss j)icklc(l or smoked: the 

 natives run a small stick thro\)gh 

 the gills and hang it u|) to dry in 

 the smftke of their lodges, or 



kindle small fires tinder it for the 

 purpose of drj^ing: it needs no 

 previous prepaiation of gutting, 

 and will be ciued in twenty-four 

 hours : the natives do not appear 

 to be very scrupulous about eat- 

 ing them when a little foetid. 



.Irronnt of the late Eartliqualce in 

 Scotland. 



( From Thompson's Annals of Pliilosophy, 

 Vol. VIII.) 



At Inverness, which was cer- 

 tainly the focus of its action, the 

 earthquake not only jnoduced the 

 most \iolent eifects, but also cre- 

 ated the greatest alarm. In the 

 article from that town the cou- 

 vidsion is distinctly stated to have 

 lasted about 20 seconds, and to 

 Ih'ue been really \ery tiemcndous. 

 The bells in many houses rung 

 for more than a minute, and se- 

 veral of th.c inhabitants who had 

 retired to rest wei'e fairly tossed 

 out of bed. The concussion on 

 the houses was dreadful ; and 

 such was the terror it inspired, 

 that they were all in one moment 

 evacuated. Infants were torn 

 from the cradle : and Uicn, wo- 

 men and children, of all ages and 

 ranks, many of them just as Ihey 

 had iise;i from their beds, and 

 almost naked, weie seen rusliing 

 into the streets, which were in- 

 stantlv filled with the most dole- 

 ful female shrieks and lamenta- 

 tions. I'nder the dreadful aji- 

 prchension of a second and more 

 \iolent shock, which might per- 

 haps bury them under the ruins 

 of their houses, the motley and 

 teiror-stnick groups of inhabi- 

 tiints crowded in various streams 

 througli the difl"erento\itlets lead- 

 ing.- 



