OF CREATION. 



377 



pools formed by the shifting beds of these rivers, the 

 Toxodon then dwelt; and over the broad plains the 

 Macrauchenia slowly paced. At one spot, numer- 

 ous bare trunks of trees, stripped of their verdure, 

 rotten and half decayed, or alive again with the 

 busy tread of millions of ants and other insects, 

 mark the vicinity of the great leaf-eating tribe. The 

 Glyptodon, with his heavy tread, slowly advances un- 

 der the weight of a thick and cumbrous coat of mail, 

 and finally clears away the half- destroyed vegetation. 

 The smaller species of the megatheroid family each 

 one, indeed, a giant in his way feed on the younger 

 and smaller plants, tearing them up by the roots or 

 reaching from the ground to devour their foliage. 



But presently the Megatherium himself appears, 

 toiling slowly on from some great tree recently laid 

 low and quite stripped of its green covering. The 

 earth groans under the enormous mass; each step 

 bears down and crushes the thickly growing reeds 

 and other plants; but the monster continues to ad- 

 vance towards a noble tree, the monarch of this pri- 

 maeval forest. " For a while he pauses before it, as if 

 doubting whether, having resisted the storms of so 

 many seasons, it will yield even to his vast strength. 

 But soon his resolution is taken. Having set himself 

 to the task, he first loosens the soil around the tree to 

 a great depth by the powerful claws on his fore-feet, 

 and in this preliminary work he occupies himself for 

 a while: and now observe him carefully. Marching 

 close to the tree, watch him as he plants his monstrous 

 hind feet carefully and earnestly, the long projecting 

 claw taking firm and deep hold of the ground. His 

 tail is so placed as to rest on the ground and sup- 



