144 THE OPOSSUM. 



till they have acquired strength enough, and a sufficient 

 growth to move easily. This fact is not doubtful, nor 

 even particular in this species only. Some authors pre- 

 tend, that they stick to the paps for several weeks : others 

 say, that they remain in the bag only the first month. One 

 may open with facility this bag, observe, count, and even 

 feel the young, without disturbing them : they will not leave 

 the pap,' which they hold with their mouth, until they are 

 strong enough to walks then they let themselves fall into 

 the bag, and go out, and seek for their subsistence : they 

 go in again to sleep, to suckle, and to hide themselves 

 when they are terrified, when the mother flies, and carries 

 in it the young. 



From the mere inspection of the form of the feet of this 

 animal, it is easy to judge that he walks awkwardly, and 

 seldom runs : a man can overtake him without hastening 

 his steps. He climbs up trees with great facility, hides 

 himself in the leaves to catch birds, or hangs himself by 

 the tail, the extremity of which is muscular and flexible, 

 as the hand, so that he may squeeze, and even incurvate, 

 all the bodies he seizes upon : he sometimes remains a 

 long while in this situation, without motion : his body hangs 

 with his head downward, when he silently waits for his 

 prey : at other times, he balances himself to jump from 

 one tree to another, like the monkeys, with like muscular 

 and flexible tails, which he resembles also in the conform- 

 ation of the feet. Though he is voracious and even 

 gfeedy of blood, which he sucks with avidity, he feeds 

 also upon reptiles, insects, sugar-canes, potatoes, roots, and 

 even leaves and bark of trees. He may be fed as a do- 

 mestic animal : he is neither wild nor ferocious : he is 

 easily tamed, but he creates disgust by his bad smell, 

 stronger and more offensive than that of the fox : his figure 

 is also forbidding ; for, independently of his ears, which 

 resemble those of an owl, of his tail, which resembles that 

 of a serpent, and of his mouth, which is cleft to the very 





