SLOTH. 149 



wish to capture him, the shortest way is to cut off the 

 branch. But the acquisition is said to be of little 

 worth, for naturalists pronounce him to be invincibly 

 stupid, and, as a companion, insufferably dull ; his 

 flesh and fur to be good for nothing, and himself in- 

 capable of any kind of sentiment. They also assert 

 that he evinces neither inclination for, nor aversion 

 to, a domestic state, that he is unsusceptible of either 

 joy or gratitude, astonishment or regret, that he 

 presents an image, yet scarcely a living image, of the 

 most perfect apathy. They add, that his plaintive cry 

 inspires melancholy, as it strikes upon the ear in 

 accents of sorrow, and that, were we not acquainted 

 with the dulness of his disposition, we should fancy 

 it a lament over, his weak and helpless condition. 

 The native Indians characterize this cry by the 

 vowels a. "., and hence the appellation Ai. 



But the application of the term Sloth to this, and 

 other of his brethren, is not perfectly correct ; the 

 extraordinary slowness of the tribe is not the effect 

 of indolence, but results from their organization, and 

 apparently they are no more able to accelerate their 

 movements, than a hare or stag is inclined to 

 crawl. Nothing can be more cruel than to urge a 

 Sloth onward, for he cannot run. Leaning on one 

 side, he raises a fore-leg, and then puts it down with 

 the most extreme indifference ; then, as if fatigued 

 by such an effort, he rests on the side whence the 

 leg was advanced, and in a few moments, pushes 

 the other forward in a similar manner. When this 

 is done, the hinder part of the body follows with 

 equal slowness. It has been calculated, that the Ai 

 would employ a whole day in advancing fifty steps ; 



