THE OSTRICH. 215 



ostrich crossing the desert. He took the bird to 

 Fatatenda, whence M. Connor sent him to the 

 Governor of Jamesfort, on the. Gambia. 



Examples are abundant. We will only stop to 

 relate that cited by Adanson, the truth of which is 

 above ^ suspicion. 



" The same day two ostriches, which had been 

 kept for about two years in this district (Podor), 

 gave me a spectacle which is too rare not to merit 

 being reported. 



" These gigantic birds, which I had never seen 

 except in the burning and sandy country on the 

 left of the Niger, I saw there at my ease. Though 

 still young, these ostriches almost equalled in size 

 the largest. They were so tame that two little 

 negroes mounted together the larger of the two; 

 this one no sooner felt their weight than it started 

 off full speed, and carried them several times round 

 the village ; and it seemed only possible to stop it 9 

 by barring the passage. This trial pleased me so 

 much that I wished to have it repeated ; and in 

 order to try their strength I mounted a full-grown 

 negro on the smallest, and two others on the largest. 

 This load did not .seem disproportioned to their 

 vigour. At first they started off at a cautious canter, 

 but presently, when they had got excited, they 

 spread their wings, as if to catch the wind, and went 



