o'JG HisroiiY OF 



than its k'Cfs, nnd these proceed from the body in siirl; an oblique 

 direction, that the sole of the foot seldom touches the ground. 

 When the animal, therefore, is compelled to make a step for- 

 ward, it scrapes on the back of the nails along the surface, and 

 wheeling the limbs circularly about, yet stiU touching the ground, 

 it at length places its foot in a progressive position ; the other 

 three limbs are all brought about with the same difficulty ; and 

 thus it is seen to move, not above three feet in an hour. In 

 fact, this poor creature seldom changes place but by constraint, 

 and when impelled by the severest stings of hunger. 



The sloth seems to be the meanest and most ill-formed of all 

 those animals that chew the cud ; it lives entirely upon vegeta- 

 ble food, on the leaves, the fruit, and the flowers of trees, and 

 often even on the very bark, when nothing else is left on the 

 tree for its subsistence. Like all other ruminant animals, it has 

 four stomachs ; and these requiring a large share of provision to 

 sui>i)ly them, it generally strips a tree of all its verdure in less 

 than a fortnight. Still, however, it keeps aloft, unwilling to de- 

 scend, while any thing remains that can serve it for food ; it 

 therefore falls to devouring the bark, and thus in a short time 

 Rills the tree upon which it found its support. Thus destitute 

 of provisions above, and crawling slowly from branch to branch 

 in hopes of finding something still left, it is at last obliged to en- 

 counter all the dangers that attend it below. Though it is 

 formed by Nature for climbing a tree with great pain and diffi> 

 culty, yet it is utterly unable to descerid ; it therefore is obliged 

 to drop from the branches to the groimd, and as it is incapable 

 of exerting itself to break the violence of its descent, it drops 

 like a shapeless heavy mass, and feels no small shock in the lall. 

 'j'here, after remaining some time torpid, it prepares for a jour- 

 ney to some neighbouring tree ; but this of all migrations is the 

 most tedious, dangerous, and painful ; it often takes a week in 

 crawling to a tree not fifty yards distant; it moves with imper- 

 ceptible slowness, and often baits by the way. All motions seem 

 to torture it, every step it takes it sets forth a most plaintive, 

 melancholy cry, which, from some distant similitude to the hu- 

 man voice, excites a kind of disgust, mixed with pity. This 

 plaintive sound seems its chief defence, few quadrupeds appear 

 willing to interrupt its progress, either that the flesh is offensive, 

 or that they are terrified at its cries. When at length they reach 



