DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. 587 



leave the fact undoubted, that the most formidable of the western Ferce has no pretensions 

 to an equality with his congener the tyrant of the jungles of Bengal. 



In vain also we look among the tribes of America for a rival in outward appearance to 

 the giraffe, so remarkable for its height, its swan-like neck, gentle habits, and soft ex- 

 pressive eye; while of the animals most serviceable to mankind the horse, the ox, the 

 ass, the goat and the hog, not a living example of either was known there before its 

 occupancy by the Europeans. But however inferior the animal races of the New may be 

 as compared to those of the Old World, the balance between the two appears to have been 

 pretty equal in remote ages, geological discovery has disproved the assertion of Buffon, 

 that the creative force in America in relation to quadrupeds never possessed great vigour, 

 and has established the fact, that it is only the more recent specimens of its energy that 

 are upon an inferior scale. The relics of the unwieldy megatherium, of the gigantic sloth, 

 and armadillo-like animals, discovered in great abundance imbedded in its soil, prove that 

 at a former period it swarmed with monsters of equal bulk with those that now roam in 

 the midst of Africa and Asia. The estuary deposit that forms the plains westward of 

 Buenos Ayres, and covers the granitic rocks of the Banda Oriental, appears to be the 

 grave of extinct gigantic quadrupeds. 



There are various animals which are very widely dispersed, enduring the extremes of 

 tropical heat and of polar cold, which are either in a wild condition or in a state of 

 domestication. Wild races, considered to be varieties of the domestic dog, occur in India, 

 Sumatra, Australia, Beloochistan, Natolia, Nubia, various parts of Africa, and both the 

 Americas ; while in subjection to man, the dog is his faithful companion, and has followed 

 his steps into every diversity of climate and of situation to which he has wandered. The 

 north temperate zone of the Old Continent appears to be the native region of the ox, which 

 passes in Lapland within the arctic circle, and has been spread over South America since 

 its first introduction by the Spaniards. The horse, originally an inhabitant of the 

 temperate parts of the Old World, has shared in a similar dispersion, and now exists in the 

 high latitude of Iceland, in the desolate regions of Patagonia, and roams wild in immense 

 herds over the Llanos of the Orinoco, leading a painful and restless life in the burning 

 climate of the tropics. Humboldt draws a striking picture of the sufferings of these gifts 

 of the Old World to the New, returned to a savage state in their western location : " In 

 the rainy season, the horses that wander in the savannah, and have not time to reach the 

 rising grounds of the Llanos, perish by hundreds amidst the overflowings of the rivers. 

 The mares are seen, followed by their colts, swimming, during a part of the day, to feed 

 upon the grass, the tops of which alone wave above the waters. In this state they are 

 pursued by the crocodiles ; and it is by no means uncommon to find the prints of the 

 te'eth of these carnivorous reptiles on their thighs. Pressed alternately by excess of 

 drought and of humidity, they sometimes seek a pool, in the midst of a bare and dusty soil, 

 to quench their thirst ; and at other times flee from water and the overflowing rivers, as 

 menaced by an enemy that encounters them in every direction. Harassed during the day 

 by gad-flies and musquitoes, the horses, mules, and cows find themselves attacked at 

 night by enormous bats, that fasten on their backs, and cause wounds which become 

 dangerous, because they are filled with acaridse and other hurtful insects. In the time of 

 great drought, the mules gnaw even the thorny melocactus (melon-thistle), in order to 

 drink its cooling juice, and draw it forth as from a vegetable fountain. During the great 

 inundations, these same animals lead an amphibious life, surrounded by crocodiles, water- 

 serpents, and manatees. Yet, such are the immutable laws of nature, their races are 

 preserved in the struggle with the elements, and amid so many sufferings and dangers. 

 When the waters retire, and the rivers return into their beds, the savannah is spread over 

 with a fine odoriferous grass ; and the animals of old Europe and Upper Asia seem to 



