36 WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA 



a warren ; and the Porcupine is now and then dis- 

 covered in the trees over your head. 



This, too, is the native country of the Sloth. 

 His looks, his gestures, and his cries, all conspire 

 to entreat you to take pity on him. These are the 

 only weapons of defence which nature hath given 

 him. While other animals assemble in herds, or 

 in pairs range through these boundless wilds, the 

 sloth is solitary, and almost stationary ; he cannot 

 escape from you. It is said, his piteous moans 

 make the tiger relent, and turn out of the way. 

 Do not then level your gun at him, or pierce him 

 with a poisoned arrow ; — he has never hurt one liv- 

 ing creature. A few leaves, and those of the com- 

 monest and coarsest kind, are all he asks for his 

 support. On comparing him with other animals, 

 you would say that you could perceive deficiency, 

 deformity, and superabundance in his composi- 

 tion. He has no cutting teeth, and though four 

 stomachs, he still wants the long intestines of 

 ruminating animals. He has only one inferior 

 aperture, as in birds. He has no soles to his feet, 

 nor has he the power of moving his toes sepa- 

 rately. His hair is flat, and puts you in mind of 

 grass withered by the wintry blast. His legs are 

 too short; they appear deformed by the manner 

 in which they are joined to the body; and when he 

 is on the ground, they seem as if only calculated 

 to be of use in climbing trees. He has forty-six 

 ribs, while the elephant has only forty; and his 

 claws are disproportionably long. Were you to 

 mark down, upon a graduated scale, the different 

 claims to superiority amongst the four-footed 



