THE OSTRICH. 385 



is not unfrequently from twelve to fourteen feet, so that for a 

 time he might even outstrip a locomotive rushing along at full 

 speed. 



In Senegal, Adanson saw a couple of ostriches so tame that 

 two negro boys could sit upon the largest of them. ' Scarce 

 had he felt the weight,' says the venerable naturalist, ' when he 

 began to run with all his might, and thus they rode upon him 

 several times round the village. I was so much amused with 

 the sight, that I wished to see it repeated ; and in order to 

 ascertain how far the strength of the birds would reach, I 

 ordered two full-grown negroes to mount upon the smallest of 

 them and two others upon the strongest. At first they ran 

 in a short gallop with very small strides, but after a short time 

 they extended their wings like sails, and scampered away with 

 such an amazing velocity that they scarcely seemed to touch 

 the ground. Whoever has seen a partridge run knows that no 

 man is able to keep up with him, and were he able to make 

 greater strides his rapidity would undoubtedly be still greater. 

 The ostrich, who runs like a partridge, possesses this advantage, 

 and I am convinced that these two birds would have distanced 

 the best English horses. To be sure they would not have been 

 able to run for so long a time, but in running a race to a 

 moderate distance they would certainly have gained the prize.' 



Not only by his speed is the ostrich able to baffle many an 

 enemy, the strength of his legs also serves him as an excellent 

 means of defence ; and many a panther or wild dog coming 



I within reach of his foot has had reason to repent of its temerity. 

 But in spite of the rapidity of his flight, during, which he 

 frequently flings large stones backwards with his foot, and in 

 spite of his strength, he is frequently obliged to succumb to 

 man. who knows how to hunt him in various ways. 

 Unsuspicious of evil, a troop of ostriches wanders through the 

 plain, the monotony of which is only relieved here and there by 

 a clump of palms, a patch of candelabra-shaped tree-euphorbias, 

 or a vast and solitary baobab. Some leisurely feed on the 

 sprouts of the acacias, or the hard leaves of the mimosas, others 

 agitate their wings and ventilate the delicate plumage, the 

 possession of which is soon to prove so fatal to them. No 

 other bird is seen in their company — for no other bird leads a 

 life like theirs ; but the zebra and the antelope are fond of 



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