226 1 CASE OF SUSPENDED ANIMATION. 



piece of the stone which had previously concealed them from 

 view. 



Poor Scheuchzer's own bones had by that time well-nigh 

 crumbled away, or one can almost fancy they would have 

 rattled in their grave at this terrible exposure of his cherished 

 Homo Diluvii Testis. 



But let us turn from the Gigantic Salamander and his pre- 

 Adamite ally to that most extraordinary case of suspended 

 animation, the Two-toed Sloth (Cholcepus didactylus), which 

 quietly munches a piece of biscuit as he hangs back downwards 

 in the cage close by. The Sloth is the only animal in existence 

 which passes its entire time suspended in this manner from the 

 branches of trees. " The Monkey and the Squirrel," says Mr. 

 Waterton, to whom we are indebted for most of our knowledge of 

 these animals in a state of nature, " seize a branch with their 

 fore-feet, and pull themselves up, and rest or run upon it ; but 

 the Sloth after seizing it still remains suspended, and suspended 

 moves along under the branch till he can lay hold of another." 

 It moves suspended from the branches, it rests suspended from 

 the branches, and it sleeps suspended from the branches, and in 

 fact it is upside down its whole life long. But it is only in that 

 position that it can make itself at all comfortable, for while it is 

 all but helpless on the ground, and is then properly a " sloth," up 

 amongst the branches it is quite at home, and executes its 

 various movements with great rapidity. 



Never, indeed, was misnomer more complete than in the case 

 of the Sloth, having regard, that is, to its proper place and to its 

 natural habits. Here is a picture of the animal in and out of 

 his element, drawn from the life by Mr. Waterton : " One day 

 as we were crossing the river Essequibo, I saw a large Two-toed 

 Sloth on the ground upon the bank. How he got there nobody 

 could tell ; the Indian said he had never surprised a Sloth in 

 such a position before : he could hardly have come there to drink, 

 for above and below the place the branches of the trees touched the 

 water, and afforded him an easy and a safe access to it. Be this as 

 it may, though the trees were not twenty yards from him, he could 

 not make his way through the sand time enough to escape before 

 we landed. As soon as we got up to him he threw himself upon 

 his back, and defended himself in gallant style with his fore legs. 

 ' Come, poor fellow,' said I to him, ' if thoti hast got into a 



