HABITS OF THE SLOTH— MEGATHERIUMS— xMYLODONS. 070 



lost sight forever of the sloth, I was going to add that I never saw a sloth take to 

 his heels in such earnest, but the expression will not do, for the sloth has no heels." 



The Indians, to whom no one will deny the credit of being acute observers of animal 

 life, say that the sloth wanders principally when the wind blows. In calm weather he 

 remains still, probably not liking to cling to the brittle extremity of the branches, lest 

 they should break under his weight in passing from one tree to another ; but as soon 

 as the breeze rises, the branches of the neighboring trees become interwoven, and then 

 he seizes hold of them and pursues his journey in safety. There is seldom an entire 

 day of calm in the forests of Guiana. The trade-wind generally sets in about ten 

 o'clock in the morning, and since the sloth, as we have just seen, is able to travel at a 

 good round pace when he has branches to cling to, there is nothing to prevent him 

 making a considerable way before the sun sinks and the wind goes down. During 

 night, and while reposing in the day-time, the sloth constantly remains suspended by 

 his feet, for his anatomy is such that he can feel comfortable in no other position. In 

 this manner he will rest for hours together, expressing his satisfaction by a kind of 

 purring, and from time to time his dismal voice may be heard resounding through the 

 forest, and awakening at a distance a similar melancholy cry. 



The color of the sloth's hair so strongly resembles the hue of the moss which grows 

 on the trees, that the European finds it very difficult to make him out when he is at 

 rest, and even the falcon-eyed Indian, accustomed from his earliest infoncy to note the 

 slightest" signs of forest life, is hardly able to distinguish him from the branches to 

 which he clings. This no doubt serves him as a protection against the attacks of many 

 enemies; but, far from being helpless, his powerful claws and the peculiarly enduring 

 strength of his long arms, make very efficient weapons of defence against the large tree- 

 snakes that may be tempted to make a meal of him. 



The sloth possesses a remarkable tenacity of life, and withstands the dreadful effects 

 of the wourali poison of the Macushi Indians longer than any other animal. Schom- 

 burgk slightly scratched a sloth in the upper lip, and rubbed a minimum of the venom 

 in the wound, which did not even emit a drop of blood ; he then carried the animal to 

 a tree, which it began to climb, but after having reached a hight of about twelve feet, 

 it suddenly stopped, and swinging its head about from side to side, as if uncertain 

 which way to go, tried to continue its ascent, which, however, it was unable to accom- 

 plish. First it let go one of its fore-feet, then the other, and remained attached with 

 its hind legs to the tree until, these also losing their power, it fell to the ground, 

 where, without any of the convulsive motions or the oppressive breathing which gener- 

 ally mark the effect of the wourali, it expired in the thirteenth minute after the poison 

 had been administered. 



The sloths attain a length of about two feet and a half, and form two genera — the 

 Unaus, with two-toed fore-feet, and three-toed hinder extremities, and the Ais, with 

 three toes on each foot. The former have forty-eight ribs, the latter only thirty-two. 

 Their way of living is the same, and their range is limited to the forests of Guiana 

 and the Brazils. They bring forth and suckle their young like ordinary quadrupeds, 

 and the young sloth, from the moment of its birth, adheres to the body of its parent 

 till it acquires sufficient size and strength to shift for it.self. 



Sloth-like animals of colossal dimensions — Megatheriums, Mylodons — extinct long 

 before man appeared upon the scene, inhabited the forests of South America during 



