468 



THE CASSOWARY. 



are adorned with five prickles, of different 

 lengths and thickness, which bend like a 

 bow ; these are hollow from the roots to the 

 very points, having only that slight substance 

 within, which all quills are known to have. 

 The longest of these prickles is eleven inches ; 

 and it is a quarter of an inch in diameter at 

 the root, being thicker there than towards 

 the extremity; the point seems broken off. 



The part, however, which most distinguish- 

 es this animal is the head : this, though small, 

 like that of an ostrich, does not fail to inspire 

 some degree of terror. It is bare of feathers, 

 and is in a manner armed with an helmet of 

 horny substance, that covers it from the root 

 of the bill to near half the head backwards. 

 This helmet is black before and yellow be- 

 hind. Its substance is very hard, being form- 

 ed by the elevation of the bone of the skull ; 

 and it consists of several plates, one over 

 another, like the horn of an ox. Some have 

 supposed that this was shed every year with 

 the feathers ; but the most probable opinion 

 is, that it only exfoliates slowly like the beak. 

 To the peculiar oddity of this natural armour 

 may be added the colour of the eye in this 

 animal, which is a bright yellow, and the 

 globe being above an inch and ahalf in diame- 

 ter, gives it an air equally fierce and extra- 

 ordinary. At the bottom of the upper eye-lid, 

 there is a row of small hairs, over which 

 there is another row of black hair, which 

 look pretty much like an eye-brow. The 

 lower eye-lid, which is the largest of the two, 

 is furnished also with plenty of black hair. 

 The hole of the ear is very large and open, 

 being only covered with small black feathers. 

 The sides of the head, about the eye and ear, 

 being destitute of any covering, are blue, ex- 

 cept the middle of the lower eye-lid, which 

 is white. The part of the bill which answers 

 to the upper jaw in other animals, is very 

 hard at the edges above, and the extremity 

 of it like that of a turkey-cock. The end of 

 the lower mandible is slightly notched, and 

 the whole is of a grayish brown, except a 

 green spot on each side. As the beak admits 

 a very wide opening, this contributes not a 

 little to the bird's menacing appearance. 

 The neck is of a violet colour, inclining to 

 that of a slate ; and it is red behind in several 

 places, but chiefly in the middle. About the 



middle of the neck before, at the rise of the 

 large feathers, there are two processes form- 

 ed by the skin, which resemble somewhat 

 the gills of a cock, but that they are blue as 

 well as red. The skin which covers the 

 fore part of the breast, on which this bird 

 leans and rests, is hard, callous, and without 

 feathers. The thighs and legs are covered 

 with feathers, and are extremely thick, strong, 

 straight, and covered with scales of several 

 shapes; but the legs are thicker a little 

 above the loot than in any other place. The 

 toes are likewise covered with scales, and 

 are but three in number; for that which 

 should be behind is wanting. The claws are 

 of a hard solid substance, black without, and 

 white within. 



The internal parts are equally remarkable. 

 The cassowary unites with the double sto- 

 mach of animals that live upon vegetables, 

 the short intestines of those that live upon 

 flesh. The intestines of the cassowary are 

 thirteen timesshorter than thoseof the ostrich. 

 The heart is very small, being but an inch 

 and a half long, arid an inch broad at the base. 

 Upon the whole, it has the head of a warrior, 

 the eye of a lion, the defence of a poicupine, 

 and the swiftness of a courser. 



Thus formed for a life of hostility, for 

 terrifying olhers, and for its own defence, it 

 might be expected that the cassowary was one 

 of the most fierce and terrible animals of the 

 or ation. But nothing is so opposite to its 

 natunil character, nothing so different from the 

 life it is contented to lead. It never attacks 

 others ; and, instead of the bill, when attacked, 

 it rather makes use of its legs, and kicks like 

 a horse, or runs against its pursuer, beats him 

 down, and treads him to the ground. 



The manner of going of this animal is not 

 less extraordinary than its appearance. In- 

 stead of going directly forward, it seems to 

 kick up behind with one leg, and then making 

 a bound onward with the other, it goes with 

 such prodigious velocity, that the swiftest racer 

 would be left far behind. 



The same degree of voraciousness which 

 we perceive in the ostrich, obtains as strongly 

 here. The cassowary swallows every tiling 

 that comes within the capacity of its gullet. 

 The Dutch assert, that it can devour not only 

 glass, iron, and stones, but even live on, burn- 



