ELEMENTS OF BARTRAM'S LANDSCAPE 91 



than any dog, of a yellowish brown, or clay colour, having a 

 very long tail ; they are a mischievous animal, and prey on calves, 

 young colts, &c."^* Bartram apparently records a regional 

 usage, the authenticity of which is borne out a century later by 

 Eggleston in his statement that " The panther was long called 

 a ' tyger ' in the Carolinas, and a ' lyon ' elsewhere." ^^ Numer- 

 ous other animals appear in Bartram's narrative: herds of deer 

 and elk, many species of squirrel, racoons, opossums, rabbits, 

 moles, gophers — " the great land tortoise " whose " castles and 

 diurnal retreats " are " vast caves . . . from whence they issue 

 forth in the night, in search of prey" (Travels, p. 18) — rats, 

 mice, weasels, polecats, and bats. 



Insects constitute an important part of Bartram's landscape. 

 Flies in '" incredible numbers " torment the horses of his party, 

 " to such a degree, as to excite compassion even in the hearts 

 of pack-horsemen " (p. 384) . They are " a flying host of perse- 

 cuting spirits " (p. 385) . He is surprised at his failure to notice 

 any bees in West Florida, for " they are so numerous all along 

 the Eastern continent from Nova-Scotia to East Florida, even in 

 the wild forests, as to be thought, by the generality of the 

 inhabitants, aborigines of this continent" (p. 413). He de- 

 scribes with delight the " incredible numbers " of butterflies, 

 and revels in the rich colors of the different species (pp. xxvii- 

 xxix). He observes swarms of grasshoppers, "the favourite 

 delicious food " of rice birds (p. 297), and describes cochineal 

 insects feeding on cacti. " The female ... is very large and 

 fleshy, covered with a fine white silk or cottony web, which 

 feels always moist or dewy, and seems designed by nature to 

 protect them from the violent heat of the sun. The male is very 

 small in comparison to the female, and but very few in number 

 ." (p. 163). However, the most impressive of Bartram's 

 descriptions of insects is that of " the small flying insects, of 

 the genus termed by naturalists Ephemera." Three pages are 

 devoted to them, describing their birth, their ephemeral lives, 

 and their death, and ending in a series of philosophical reflec- 



" Travels, p. A6. 



" Edward Eggleston, Century, XLVII, 849. This statement is also cited in 

 the N.E.D. under the word " tiger." 



