THE RAIN-DEER. ^x 



jou or quincajou of North America. His com- 

 bats with the orignal of Canada are famous ; 

 and, as formerly remarked, the orignal of Cana- 

 da is the fame with the elk of Europe. It is 

 remarkable, that this animal, which is not larger 

 than a badger, mould kill the elk, which exceeds 

 the fize of a horfe, and is fo ftrong as 'to flay 

 a wolf with a fmgle ftroke of his foot *. But 

 the fact is attefted bv fuch a number of authori- 

 ties as render it altogether unquestionable f . 



Y 3 The 



* Lupl et ungulis et cornibus vel interimuntur vol effugan- 

 turab alee ; tanta enim vis eft in i&u ungulae, ut illico tract um 

 lupum interim at aut fodiat, quod faepius in canibus robuf- 

 tiffimis venatores experiuntur ; QlaiMagnihift.de gent, fsptent. 



P- 13S- 



f Qniefcentes humi et erecti ftantes onagri maximi a mi- 

 nima quandoque muftela guttur inliliente mordentur, ut fan- 

 guine decurrente iilicc deficiant morituri. Adeo infatjabilis 

 eftliaec beftiola in cruore fugendo, ut v.ix fimilem fiiae quan- 

 titatis habeat in omnibus creaturis ; Olai Magv.i bift. de gent, 

 fcpt. p. 1 34. Note. 1. That Glaus, by the word onager, often 

 means the elk; 2. That, with much impropriety, he compares 

 the glutton to a fmall weafel ; for this animal is larger than 



<i badger. The quincajou climbs trees, and, conceal!: 



himfelf among the branches, waits the approach of the orig- 

 nal. When any of thefe animals comes under the tree, the 

 quincajou darts down upon its back, fixes his claws in its 

 throat and rump, and then tears the creature's neck, a littiq 

 below the ears, till it falls down ; Defcript. de I'Jmerique Sep- 



tentrionale, par Denys, p. 329. The carcajou att id 



kills the orignal and caribou. In winter, the orignal fre- 

 quents thofe diilricls where the anagyris foetida, or ilinking 

 bean-trefoil, abounds ; becaufe he feeds upon it; and, when 

 the ground is covered with five or fix feet of fnow, he makes 

 roads through thefe diltricts, which he never abandons, unlefs 

 when purfued by the hunters. The carcajou, qbferving the 



route 



