AND AMERICAN RURAL SPORTS. 



57- 



of the skies, and the monkey and squirrel to inhabit the 

 trees: still these may change their relative situations with- 

 out feeling much inconvenience: but the Sloth is doomed 

 to spend his whole life in the trees; and, what is more ex- 

 traordinary, not upon the branches, like the squirrel and 

 the monkey, but under them. He moves suspended from 

 the branch, he rests suspended from it, and he sleeps sus- 

 pended from it. To enable him to do this, he must have a 

 very different formation from that of any other known 

 quadruped. 



Hence, his seemingly bungled conformation is at once 

 accounted for; and in lieu of the Sloth leading a painful 

 life, and entailing a melancholy and miserable existence on 

 its progeny, it is but fair to surmise that it just enjoys life 

 as much as any other animal, and that its extraordinary 

 formation and singular habits are but further proofs to en- 

 gage us to admire the wonderful works of Omnipotence. 



It must be observed, that the Sloth does not hang head- 

 downwards like the vampire. When asleep, he supports 

 himself from a branch parallel to the earth. He first seizes 

 the branch with one arm, and then with the other; and 

 after that, brings up bolh his legs, one by one, to the same 

 branch; so that all four are in a line: he seems perfectly at 

 rest in this position. Now, had he a tail, he would be at a 

 loss to know what to do with it in this position: were he to 

 draw it up within his legs, it would interfere with them; 

 and were he to let it hang down, it would become the sport 

 of the winds. Thus his deficiency of tail is a benefit to 

 him: it is merely an apology for a tail, scarcely exceeding 

 an inch and a half in length. 



I observed, when he was climbing, he never used his 

 arms both together, but first one and then the other, and 

 so on alternatelj'. There is a singularity in his hair, dif- 

 ferent from that of all other animals, and, I believe, hith- 

 erto unnoticed by naturalists; his hair is thick and coarse 

 at the extremity, and gradually tapers to the root, where it 

 becomes fine as the finest spider's web. His fur has so 

 much the hue of the moss which grows on the branches of 

 the trees, that it is very difficult to make him out when he 

 is at rest. 



The male of the three-toed Sloth has a longitudinal bar 

 of very fine black hair on his back, rather lower than the 

 shoulder-blades; on each side of this black bar there is a 

 space of yellow hair, equally fine; it has the appearance of 

 being pressed into the body, and looks exactly as if it had 

 been singed. If we examine the anatomy of his fore-legs, 

 we shall immediately perceive by their firm and muscular 

 texture, how very capable they are of supporting the pen- 

 dent weight of his body, both in climbing and at rest; and, 

 instead of pronouncing them a bungled composition, as a 

 celebrated naturalist has done, we shall consider them as 

 P 



remarkably well calculated to perform their extraordinary 

 functions. 



As the Sloth is an inhabitant of forests within the tro- 

 pics, where the trees touch each other in the greatest pro- 

 fusion, there seems to be no reason why he should confine 

 himself to one tree alone for food, and entirely strip it of 

 its leaves. During the many years I have ranged the 

 forests, I have never seen a tree in such a state of nudity; 

 indeed, I would hazard a conjecture, that, by the time the 

 animal had finished the last of the old leaves, there would 

 be a new crop on the part of the tree he had stripped first, 

 ready for him to begin again, so quick is the process of 

 vegetation in these countries. 



There is a saying amongst the Indians, that when the 

 wind blows, the Sloth begins to travel. In calm weather 

 he remains tranquil, probably not liking to cling to the brit- 

 tle extremity of the branches, lest they should break with 

 him in passing from one tree to another; but as soon as the 

 wind rises, the branches of the neighbouring trees become 

 interwoven, and then the Sloth seizes hold of them, and 

 pursues his journey in safety. There is seldom an entire 

 day of calm in these forests. The trade-wind generally 

 sets in about ten o'clock in the morning, and thus the Sloth 

 may set off after breakfast, and get a considerable way be- 

 fore dinner. He travels at a good round pace; and were 

 you to see him pass from tree to tree, as I have done, you 

 would never think of calling him a Sloth. 



Thus, it would appear that the different histories we have 

 of this quadruped are erroneous on two accounts: first, 

 that the writers of them, deterred by difficulties and local 

 annoyances, have not paid sufficient attention to him in his 

 native haunts; and secondly, they have described him in a 

 situation in which he was never intended by nature to cut 

 a figure; I mean on the ground. The Sloth is as much at 

 a loss to proceed on his journey upon a smooth and level 

 floor as a man would be who had to walk a mile in stilts 

 upon a line of feather beds. 



One day, as we were crossing the Essequibo, I saw a 

 large two-toed Sloth on the ground upon the bank; how he 

 had got there nobody could tell: the Indian said he had 

 never surprised a Sloth in such a situation before: he would 

 hardly have come there to drink, for both above and below 

 the place, the branches of the trees touched the water, and 

 afforded him an easy and safe access to it. Be this as it may, 

 though the trees were not above twenty yards from him, 

 he could not make his way through the sand time enough 

 to escape before we landed. As soon as we got up to him 

 he threw himself upon his back, and defended himself in 

 gallant style with his fore-legs. "Come, poor fellow," 

 said I to him, "if thou hast got into a hobble to-day, thou 

 shalt not suffer for it: I'll take no advantage of thee in mia- 



