90 



CAT ISLAND CATACOMBS 



from spots. They generally raise two, and some- 

 times three, broods in a season. 



The admirable naturalist alx>ve mentioned relates, 

 that he sometimes, when in the woods, amused him- 

 self with imitating the violent chirping or squeaking 

 of young birds, in order to discover what species 

 were in his vicinity ; and these sounds, to birds in 

 the breeding seasons, he comjMJres to the alann of 

 fire in a large and populous city. On such occasions 

 of alarm and consternation, the cat-bird is the first to 

 make his appearance, not singly, but sometimes half 

 a dozen at a time, flying from different quarters to 

 the spot. Other birds are variously affected, but 

 none show symptoms of such extreme suffering. He 

 hurries backward and forward with hanging wings 

 and open mouth, calling out louder and faster, and 

 actually screaming with distress, till he appears 

 hoarse with his exertions. He attempts no oficnsive 

 measures, but he bewails, he implores, in the most 

 pathetic terms with which nature has supplied him, 

 nnd with an agony of feeling which is truly affecting. 

 This species does not readily desert its nest ; and, 

 when the eggs or young of other birds are placed in 

 ft, they are content to uirow out the intruders, and 

 continue their attentions to their own family. When 

 the nest and eggs are carefully removed to another 

 place by man, 'the parents follow, and do not remit 

 their cares. Before the dawn, when there is scarcely 

 light enough to render it visible, the cat-bird gene- 

 rally begins its song, while fluttering with great 

 sprightliness from bush to bush. His notes are 

 more singular than melodious, consisting of short 

 imitations of other birds, but failing where strength 

 and clearness of tone are requisite. He appears to 

 study certain passages with great perseverance, 

 commencing in a low key, and, as he succeeds, as- 

 cending to a higher and freer note, unembarrassed 

 by the presence of a spectator, even within a few 

 yards. An attentive listener discovers considerable 

 variety in his performance, apparently made up of a 

 collection of odd sounds and quaint passages. The 

 cat-bin! is a great enemy to the common black snake 

 or horse-runner (coluber constrictor), which rifles its 

 nest whenever an opportunity offers. As the cat- 

 bird uniformly attacks or pursues this snake, and is 

 frequently seen in the act of hopping eagerly after 

 it, numerous ridiculous stories are related of its being 

 fascinated or charmed by the snake. The testimony 

 of Wilson and Bartram show that the bird is almost 

 uniformly the aggressor and victor, driving the snake 

 to its hiding-place. In one instance, the writer wit- 

 nessed an attack of a cat-bird on the black snake, 

 almost precisely similar to that related in Wilson's 

 Ornithology, by his venerable friend, the naturalist 

 Bartram. The cat-bird is nine inches long, and, at 

 a short distance, appears nearly black, but. on a 

 closer inspection, is seen to be of a deep slate-colour 

 above, lightest on the edges of the primaries, and of 

 a considerably lighter slate-colour below, except 

 under the tail coverts, which are of a very dark red ; 

 the tail, which is rounded, and the superior part of 

 the head, as well as the bill and legs, are black. 



CAT ISLAND, or ST SALVADOR, or GU- 

 AN AHANI, or GUANIMINA ; one of the Bahama 

 inlands, about sixty miles in length from N. to S., 

 and twelve in its mean breadth. Population, in 1797, 

 .S07. This island is remarkable for being the first 

 land of America discovered by Columbus, who landed 

 here Oct. 12, 1492, and named it St Salvador. Lon. 

 To" W. ; lat. 24 3tf N. 



C ATACOMBS (caverns, grottoes, subterraneous 

 cav es, destined for the sepulture of the dead). The 

 respect felt for the dead, by all nations, naturally 

 led them to 'some outward manifestation of regard 

 such as the pomp of funeral solemnities, or the con- 



secration of a particular spot for sepulture, or the 

 em lion of monuments, to transmit to posterity the 

 remembrance of the servic.es or virtues of the de- 

 ceased. Some nations, as the Egyptians, constructed 

 pyramids and labyrinths to contain their mortal re- 

 mains. Others, as the Phoenicians, and, after them, 

 the Greeks, hollowed out the rocks tor tombs, sur- 

 rounding their towns with vast magazines, containing 

 the bones of their fathers. Asia Minor, the coast of 

 Africa, and Cyrenais, afford instances of these singu- 

 lar and gigantic works. 'Hie Romans, not so lio'ld, 

 but still more magnificent, embellished their roads 

 with superb mausoleums and sarcophagi of marble, 

 consecrated to their distinguished families. At a 

 later period, when the change of their religion made 

 it necessary to conceal these last marks of regard, 

 they consecrated vast subterraneous caverns to the 

 purpose of tombs. The discovery of these monu- 

 ments has always excited the curiosity of travellers 

 and the attention of artists. The latter have applied 

 themselves to learn from them the character of 

 architecture and painting at different epochs; and, 

 though they have often found only coarse represen. 

 tations, the productions of art in its infancy or dt. 

 cline, they have occasionally met with types of per- 

 fection. Many monuments of this description have 

 been preserved to our days, and still contain traces 

 of the painting and architecture with which they 

 were decorated. There are catacombs existing in 

 Syria, Persia, and among the most ancient Oriental 

 nations. But the revolutions in these countries, and 

 the changes which they have occasioned, have de- 

 prived us of the documents which would have given 

 us exact information regarding them. The descrip- 

 tion of the catacombs in Upper Egypt gives us an 

 idea of those whose existence is still unknown to us. 

 They contain the history of the country, and the cus- 

 toms and manners of the people, painted or sculp- 

 tured hi many monuments of the most admirable 

 preservation. The subterraneous caves of these 

 countries, like almost all of the kind, have their 

 origin in quarries. From the depths of the moun- 

 tains which contain them, stone was taken, which 

 served for the building of the neighbouring towns, 

 and also of the great edifices and pyramids which or- 

 nament the land. They are dug in a mountain situ- 

 ated in the neighbourhood of the Nile, and furnished 

 the Romans with materials for the construction of 

 buildings in their colonial establishments. The ex- 

 cavations in these mountains are found throughout 

 a space of fifteen to twenty leagues, and form subter- 

 raneous caverns, which appear to be the work of 

 art ; but there is neither order nor symmetry in them. 

 They contain vast and obscure apartments, low and 

 irregular vaults, supported, in different parts, with 

 piles, left purposely by the workmen. Some holes, 

 of about six feet in length and two feet in width, give 

 rise to the conjecture, that they were destined for 

 sepulchres. Cells of very small dimensions, formed 

 in the hollows of these obscure caverns, prove them 

 to have been the abode of recluses. 



In Sicily and Asia Minor, a prodigious number of 

 grottoes and excavations have been discovered, con- 

 taining sepulchres. Some appear to have served as 

 retreats to the victims of despotism : the greater part 

 are the work of the waters which traverse the moun- 

 tains of these regions, as, for instance, the great cave 

 of Noto, which passes for one of the wonders of 

 Sicily. This cave, the height, length, and breadth 

 of which are equal, has been formed by the river 

 Cassibili, which runs at the bottom, and traverses it 

 for the length of 100 fathoms. In the interior of 

 this cave are a number of houses and tombs. In the 

 ancient Hybla, there is a grotto containing many 

 1 sepulchres, near which is the tomb of ^schylus. At 



