186 WANDERINGS IN 



THIRD the Ugf. o f unoffending animals ; he subsists on 



JOURNEY. 



the fallen fruits of the forest. When an enemy 

 approaches he never thinks of moving, but quietly 

 draws himself under his shell, and there awaits 

 his doom in patience : he only seems to have two 

 enemies who can do him any damage ; one of 

 these is the boa constrictor : this snake.swallows 

 the tortoise alive, shell and all. But a boa large 

 enough to do this is very scarce, and thus there 

 is not much to apprehend from that quarter ; the 

 other enemy is man, who takes up the tortoise, 

 and carries him away. Man also is scarce in 

 these never-ending wilds, and the little depreda- 

 tions he may commit upon the tortoise will be 

 nothing, or a mere trifle. The tiger's teeth cannot 

 penetrate its shell, nor can a stroke of his paws 

 do it any damage. It is of so compact and strong 

 a nature, that there is a common saying, a Lon- 

 don waggon might roll over it and not break it. 



Ere we proceed, let us take a retrospective 

 view of the five animals just enumerated; they 

 are all quadrupeds, and have some very particu- 

 lar mark, or mode of existence, different from all 

 other animals. The sloth has four feet, but never 

 can use them, to support his body on the earth ; 

 they want soles, which are a marked feature in 

 the feet of other animals. The ant-bear has not 

 a tooth in his head, still he roves fearless on, in 

 the same forests with the jaguar and boa con- 

 strictor. The vampire does not make use of his 



