AUTHOR'S PREFACE 



NATUKAL history is deservedly a popular subject. The mani- 

 festations of life in all its varied forms is a theme that has 

 never failed to attract all who are not destitute of intelligence. 

 From the days of the primitive cave-dwellers of Europe, who 

 lived with mammoths and other animals now lost to the 

 world ; of the ancient Egyptians, who drew and painted on 

 the walls of their magnificent tombs the creatures inhabiting 

 the delta of the Nile ; of the Greeks, looking out on the world 

 with their bright and child-like curiosity, down to our own 

 times, this old, yet ever new, theme has never failed. Never 

 before was there such a profusion of books describing the various 

 forms of life inhabiting the different countries of the globe, or 

 the rivers, lakes, and seas that diversify its scenery. Popular 

 writers have done good service in making the way plain for 

 those who wish to acquaint themselves with the structures, 

 habits, and histories of living animals ; while for students a 

 still greater supply of excellent manuals and text-books has 

 been, and still continues to be, forthcoming. 



But in our admiration for the present we forget the great 

 past. How seldom do we think of that innumerable host of 

 creatures that once trod this earth! How little in comparison 

 has been done for them! Our natural-history books deal only 

 with those that are alive now. Few popular writers have 

 attempted to depict, as on a canvas, the great earth-drama that 



