THE EMU. 53 



sembles a cassowary, a large bird to be des'crib- 

 ed hereafter. The form of the body appears 

 round, the wings are short, and unfitted for fly- 

 ing, and it entirely wants a tail. It is covered 

 from the back and rump with long feathers, 

 which fall backward, and cover the anus ; these 

 feathers are grey upon the back, and white on 

 the belly. It goes very swiftly, and seems as- 

 sisted in its motion by a kind of tubercle be- 

 hind, 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 in- 

 tention may be in thus keeping only one wing 

 up, is not easy to discover ; whether 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 as- 

 certained : however this be, the emu runs with 

 such swiftness that the fleetest dogs are thrown 

 .put 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 de- 

 scribing some of its actions, which they were 

 conscious could not be easily contradicted. This 

 animal, says Nierenberg, is very peculiar in the 

 hatching of its young. The male compels twenty 

 or thirty of the females to lay their eggs in one 



