298 THE CASSOWARY. 



run as fast as possible, and carried them several times round tne village, 

 as it was impossible to stop him otherwise than by obstructing the 

 passage. This sight pleased Mr. Adanson so much, that he wished it 

 to be repeated ; and, to try. their strength, he directed a full-grown 

 negro to mount the smaller, and two others the larger of the birds. 

 This burden did not seem at all disproportioned to their strength. 

 At first they went at a tolerably sharp trot ; but when they became 

 heated a little, they expanded their wings, as though to catch the wind 

 and moved with such fleetness that they scarcely seemed to touch the 

 ground. Most people have seen a Partridge run, and consequently 

 they must know that no man is able to keep up with it : and it is easy 

 to imagine, that if the Partridge had a longer step, its speed would be 

 considerably augmented. The Ostrich moves like the Partridge, witb 

 this advantage ; and the two birds here spoken of would have distanced 

 the fleetest race-horses that ever were bred. It is true, they would not 

 have held out so long as a horse ; but they would undoubtedly have 

 been able to go over a given short space in less time. 



THE CASSOWARY. 



The body of the Cassowary is extremely heavy, and its wings are 

 so short, that it has no power to raise itself from the ground in flight. 

 The quills of which the wings are composed, are five in number ; they 

 are strong, distant from each other, and without barbs. They are, in 

 short, so many spines ; and are given to the animals as weapons of 

 defence against its enemies. The beak is about five inches long, 

 somewhat curved, and of a very hard substance. A bony protuberance 

 covered with horn, and of a blackish brown color, forms on the top of 

 the head a sort of helmet. The skin of the head and neck is entirely 

 naked, and is of a fine blue color above and red below. On each side 

 of the front of the neck, hangs a long light blue caruncle or wattle. The 

 body is covered with black feathers, which at a little distance, have the 

 appearance of hair. Those on the hinder part of the back are of such 

 length, as entirely to conceal the tail. The thighs are each about 

 eighteen inches long, and are covered with feathers almost to the knees. 

 The legs are remarkably stout : the toes of each foot are only three in 

 number, and the nail of each internal toe is about twice tl^o length of 

 any of the others. 



Like the Ostrich, this bird is not very delicate in its taste. It will 

 swallow almost any thing not too large to pass down its throat, that is 

 presented to it. Some writers have asserted, that the Cassowary will 

 occasionally swallow even burning coals. It is particularly fond of 

 fruit, and of the eggs of poultry ; but it is not able to eat any kind of 

 grain, as the tongue is so formed as to have no power of guiding this 

 down the throat. 



A Cassowary now kept in the Menagerie of the museum at Paris, 

 devours every day between three and four pounds weight of bread, 

 eix or seven apples, and a bunch of carrots. In summer, it drinks 

 about four pints of water in the day; and in winter somewhat more, 



