466 



laxing; that while it relaxes the 

 fortifies the nervous system ; and 

 plied to the region of the loins, it 

 pains of the stone in the kidneys, 

 of the egg powdered, and given 

 quantities, is said to be useful in 



THE EMU. 



tendons, it 

 being ap- 

 abates the 

 The shell 

 in proper 

 promoting 



urine, and dissolving the stone in the bladder. 

 The substance of the egg itself is thought to 

 be peculiarly nourishing : however, Galen, in 

 mentioning this, asserts, that the eggs of hens 

 and pheasants are good to be eaten; those 

 of geese and ostriches are the worst of all. 



CHAPTER LXXV1II. 



THE EMU. 



OF this bird, which many call the American 

 Ostrich, but little is certainly known. It is 

 an inhabitant of the New Continent ; and the 

 travellers who have mentioned it, seem to 

 have been more solicitous in proving its af- 

 finity to the ostrich, than in describing those 

 peculiarities which distinguish it from all 

 others of the feathered creation. 



It is chiefly found in Guiana, along the 

 banks of the Oroonoko, in the inland provin- 

 ces of Brasil and Chili, and the vast forests 

 that border on the mouth of the river Plata. 

 Many other parts of South America were 

 known to have them ; but as men multiplied, 

 these large and timorous birds either fell be- 

 neath their superior power, or fled from their 

 'vicinity. 



The Emu, though not so large as the 

 ostrich, is only second to it in magnitude. 

 It is by much the largest bird in the New 

 Continent ; and is generally found to be six 

 feet high, measuring from its head to the 

 ground. Its legs are three feet long ; and its 

 thigh is near as thick as that of a man. The 

 toes differ from those of the ostrich ; as there 

 are three in the American bird, and but two 

 in the former. Its neck is long, its head small, 

 and the bill flatted, like that of the ostrich; 

 but in all other respects it more resembles the 

 Cassowary, a large bird, to be described 

 hereafter. The form of the body appears 

 round ; the wings are short, and entirely un- 

 fitted for flying, and it wants a tail. It is 

 covered from the back and rump with long 

 feathers, which fall backward, and cover the 

 anus ; these feathers are gray upon the back, 

 and white on the belly. It goes very swiftly, 



and seems assisted in its motion by a kind of 

 tubercle behind, like an heel, upon which, on 

 plain ground, it treads very securely ; in its 

 course it uses a very odd kind of action, lift- 

 ing up one wing, which it keeps elevated for 

 a time ; till letting it drop, it lifts up the other. 

 What the bird's intention may be in thus 

 keeping only one wing up, is not easy to dis- 

 cover; whether it makes use of this as a sail to 

 catch the wind, or whether as a rudder to turn 

 its course, in order to avoid the arrows of the 

 Indians, yet remains to be ascertained : how- 

 ever this be, the emu runs with such swiftness, 

 that the fleetest dogs are thrown out in the 

 pursuit. One of them, finding itself surround- 

 ed by the hunters, darted among the dogs 

 with such fury, that they made way to avoid 

 its rage ; and it escaped, by its amazing 

 velocity, in safety to the mountains. 



As this bird is but little known, so travellers 

 have given a loose to their imaginations in 

 describing some of its actions, which they 

 were conscious could not be easily contra- 

 dicted. This animal, says Nierenberg, is 

 very peculiar in the hatching of its young. 

 The male compels twenty or thirty of the 

 females to lay their eggs in one nest ; he then, 

 when they have done laying, chases them 

 away, and places himself upon the eggs; 

 however, he takes the singular precaution of 

 laying two of the number aside, which he 

 does not sit upon. When the young ones 

 come forth, these two eggs are addled ; which 

 the male having foreseen, breaks one, and 

 then the other, upon which multitudes of 

 flies are found to settle ; and these supply 

 the young brood with a sufficiency of pro- 



