204 THE PELICAN. 



mouth, and conceal it in this monstrous pouch, thus adap- 

 ted for very singular purposes. Yet this is nothing to what 

 Ruysch assures us, who avers that a man has been seen 

 to hide his whole leg, boot and all, in the monstrous jaws 

 of one of these animals. At first appearance this would 

 seem impossible, as the sides of the under chap, from 

 which the bag depends, are not above an inch asundei 

 when the bird's bill is first opened ; but then they are ca- 

 pable of great separation ; and it must necessarily be so, 

 as the bird preys upon the largest fishes, and hides them 

 by dozens in its pouch. Tertre affirms that it will hide as 

 many fish as will serve sixty hungry men for a meal. 



Such is the formation of this extraordinary bird, which 

 is a native of Africa and America. The Pelican was once 

 also known in Europe, particularly in Russia., This is the 

 bird of which so many fabulous accounts have been prop- 

 agated ; such as feeding its young with its own blood, and 

 its carrying a provision of water for them in its great 

 reservoir in the desert. But the absurdity of the first ac- 

 count answers itself; and as for the latter, the Pelican 

 uses its bag for very different purposes than that of filling 

 it with water. 



Its amazing pouch may be considered as analagous to 

 the crop in other birds, with this difference, that as theirs 

 lies at the bottom of the gullet, so this is placed at the top. 

 Thus, as pigeons and other birds macerate their food for 

 their young in their crops and then supply them, so the 

 Pelican supplies its young by a more ready contrivance, 

 and macerates their food in its bill, or stores it for its own 

 particular sustenance. 



The ancients were particularly fond of giving this bird 

 admirable qualities and parental affections. Struck, per- 

 haps, with its extraordinary figure, they were willing to 

 supply it with as extraordinary appetites; and having 

 found it with a large reservoir, they were pleased with 

 turning it to the most tender and parental uses. But the 



