THE EMU 51 



CHAPTER V. 



OP 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 affinity to the ostrich, than in describing those peculiari- 

 ties 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 provinces of Brazil and Chili, and the vast forests that bor- 

 der 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 beneath 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 

 'here are three in the American bird, and but two in the former. Its 

 <eck is long, its head small, and the bill flatted, like that of the os- 

 rich ; but in all other respects it more resembles a Cassowary, a large 

 ird, to be described hereafter. The form of the body appears round ; 

 the wings are short, and entirely unfitted 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 behintl, like a heel, upon which, on 

 plain ground, it treads very securely : in its course it uses a very odd 

 kind of action, lifting 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 discover ; whe- 

 ther 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 : however this be, the emu runs with 

 such swiftness, that the fleetest dogs are thrown out in the pursuit. 

 One of them, finding itself surrounded 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 thoy were 

 conscious could not easily be contradicted. This animal, says Nieren- 

 boig, is very peculiar in the hatching of its young. The male com- 

 pels 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 him- 



