290 



SCENES OF ANCIENT DAYS. 



THE SKELETON OF THE M Ki. A'I'U ERE. 



tripod, ;iik1 once more grasps the tree 



digging away below, scooping out the soft soil from between 



the roots ; and it is 

 marvellous to note how 

 rapidly he lays them 

 bare with those great 

 shovel-like claws of his. 

 Now he rears himself 

 again ; straddles wide 

 OH his hind-feet, fix- 

 ing the mighty claws 

 deep in the ground ; 

 plants himself firmly 

 on his huge tail, as 

 on the third foot of a 

 The enormous hind- 

 quarters, the limbs and 

 *>BM the loins, the broad 

 i^ife pelvis and thick spinal 

 cord, supplying abun- 

 dant nervous energy 

 to the swelling muscles 

 inserted in the ridged 

 and keeled bones, all 

 come into play as a 

 point d'appui for the 

 Herculean effort." * 



" And now conceive 

 the massive frame of 

 the megathere con- 

 vulsed with the mighty wrestling, every vibrating fibre re- 



* Gosse's "Natural History." 



TUT MEOA.THERE, RESTORED 



