SOUTH AMERICA. 1G9 



The sloth, in its wild state, spends its whole THIRD 



JOURNEY. 



life in trees, and never leaves them but through 



force, or by accident. An all-ruling Providence 

 has ordered man to tread on the surface of the 

 earth, the eagle to soar in the expanse of the 

 skies, and the monkey and squirrel to inhabit the 

 trees : still these may change their relative situa- 

 tions without feeling much inconvenience : but 

 the sloth is doomed to spend his whole life in the 

 trees ; and, what is more extraordinary, not upon 

 the branches, like the squirrel and the monkey, 

 but under them. He moves suspended from the 

 branch, he rests suspended from it, and he sleeps 

 suspended from it. To enable him to do this, 

 he must have a very different formation from 

 that of any other known quadruped. 



Hence, his seemingly bungled conformation is 

 at once accounted for ; and in lieu of the sloth 

 leading a painful life, and entailing a melancholy 

 and miserable existence on its progeny, it is but 

 fair to surmise that it just enjoys life as much 

 as any other animal, and that its extraordinary 

 formation and singular habits are but further 

 proofs to engage us to admire the wonderful 

 works of Omnipotence. 



It must be observed, that the sloth does not 

 hang head-downwards like the vampire. When 

 asleep, he supports himself from a branch parallel 

 to the earth. He first seizes the branch with one 

 arm, and then with the other ; and after that, 



