SCENES OF ANCIENT DAYS. 



289 



" But lo ! here are mightier creatures yet. See the vast 

 mylodon, the scelido there, and the still more colossal mega- 

 there ! Ponderous giants these. The very forests seem to 

 tremble under their stately stride. Their immense bulk pre- 

 ponderates behind,, terminating in a tail of wonderful thick- 

 ness and solidity. The head is mean, and awakens no terror. 

 The eye lacks lustre, and threatens no violence, though the 

 whole form betokens vast power ; and the stout limbs are 

 terminated by the same thick, in-bent, sharp, hoofed claws. 



SKELETON OF THE GLVPTODON. 

 (TKc principal armadillo of South America.) 



One of them approaches that wide-spreading locust-tree. He 

 gazes u[) at the huge mud -brown structures that resemble 

 hogsheads affixed to the forks of the branches, and he knows 

 that the luscious termites are filling; them to overflowing:. 

 His lips water at the tempting sight. Have them he must ; 

 but how ? That heavy stern-post of his was never made for 

 climbing. Yet, see ! he rears himself up against the tree. 

 Is he about to essay the scaling ? Not he. He knows his 

 powers better. He gives it one embrace — one strong hug, as 

 if to test its thickness and hold upon the earth. Now he is 



(:J79) 19 



