52 MAMMALIA. 



which the above description is taken, is a half-grown one, and 

 was obtained when alive, by Mr. Motley. Having, however, 

 at that time, no means of keeping it, he determined to destroy 

 it for a specimen, and he accordingly got a native to admi- 

 nister to it one of his little poisoned darts, from the sumpitan 

 or blowpipe ; the dart, which had apparently been dipped in 

 some black juice, entered the skin of the belly about a quarter 

 of an inch, and in a quarter of an hour the creature was 

 dead. It died very quietly, having gradually ceased to move 

 about, and then lay for three or four minutes in a state of 

 torpor ; after which, death came on with a very slight tremor, 

 passing of the fseces, and protrusion of the tongue. On dis- 

 section, the aorta and the large artery leading to the strong 

 muscular tail were gorged with dark venous blood, as was 

 also the left ventricle ; there was no arterial blood to be seen 

 anywhere, and indeed very little in any other part of the body, 

 except in the air-cells of the lungs, where a number of vessels 

 were ruptured ; all the vessels of the head and brain in parti- 

 cular, were perfectly empty and collapsed ; the diaphragm was 

 most strangely contracted and corrugated. This took place 

 on board a vessel, and when Mr. Motley stuffed it, the 

 Javanese sailors asked for the body, and ate it, after skinning 

 it. Upon the skin being washed with corrosive sublimate, a 

 vast number of large flat ticks emerged from under the 

 scales. 



