WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA 183 



hobble to-day, thou shalt not suffer for it : I'll take 

 no advantage of thee in misfortune; the forest 

 is large enough both for thee and me to rove in: 

 go thy ways up above, and enjoy thyself in these 

 endless wilds; it is more than probable thou wilt 

 never have another interview with man. So fare 

 thee well." On saying this, I took a long stick 

 which was lying there, held it for him to hook on, 

 and then conveyed him to a high and stately mora. 

 He ascended with wonderful rapidity, and in 

 about a minute he was almost at the top of the 

 tree. He now went off in a side direction, and 

 caught hold of the branch of a neighbouring tree ; 

 he then proceeded towards the heart of the forest. 

 I stood looking on, lost in amazement at liis singu- 

 lar mode of progress. I followed him with my eye 

 till the intervening branches closed in betwixt us ; 

 and then I lost sight for ever of the two-toed 

 sloth. I was going to add, that I never saw a 

 sloth take to his heels in such earnest; but the 

 expression will not do, for the sloth has no heels. 



That which naturalists have advanced of his 

 being so tenacious of life is perfectly true. I saw 

 the heart of one beat for half an hour after it was 

 taken out of the body. The wourali-poison seems 

 to be the only thing that will kill it quickly. On 

 reference to a former part of these wanderings, 

 it will be seen that a poisoned arrow killed the 

 sloth in about ten minutes. 



So much for this harmless, unoffending ani- 

 mal. He holds a conspicuous place in the cata- 

 logue of the animals of the new world. Though 

 naturalists have made no mention of what fol- 

 lows, still it is not less true on that account. The 



