80 THEORY OF THE EARTH. 



the cabiai, the lama, the vicunna, the red wolf, 

 the buffalo or American bison, the ant-caters, 

 sloths and armadilloes, are as well described by 

 Margrave and Hernandez as by Buffon ; it may 

 even be said that they are better, for Buffon has 

 confused the history of the ant-eaters, mistaken 

 the jaguar and red wolf, and confounded the bison 

 of America with the aurochs of Poland. Pen- 

 nant, it is true, was the first naturalist who clear- 

 ly distinguished the small musk ox ; but it was 

 long before made mention of by travellers. The 

 cloven-footed horse of Molina, has not been de- 

 scribed by the early Spanish travellers ; but its 

 existence is more than doubtful, and the autho- 

 rity of Molina is too suspicious to authorise our 

 adopting it. It might be possible to characterise 

 more accurately than has been done the different 

 species of deer belonging lo America and India ; 

 but the case is with respect to these animals as it 

 was among the ancients with respect to the ante- 

 lopes ; it is the want of a good method for dis- 

 tinguishing them, and not of opportunities of see- 

 ing them, that has left them so imperfectly known 

 to' us. It may, therefore, be said, that the Mou- 

 flon of the Blue Mountains is the only American 

 quadruped of any considerable size of which the 

 discovery is altogether modern ; and even it is per- 

 haps only an argali that may have crossed upon 

 the ice from Siberia. 



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