150 THREE-TOED SLOTH. 



ness: but those who attended to the natural his- 

 tory of the new world, were astonished to find in 

 a genuine viviparous quadruped a much more 

 singular example of languid motion and habitual 

 inactivity. The early accounts, however, of this 

 extraordinary animal seem to have been given 

 with some degree of exaggeration ; and it was pre- 

 tended that the creature could scarce advance a 

 stone's throw in the space of fifteen days : that it 

 required eight or nine minutes in order to move 

 one foot to the distance of three inches: other ac- 

 counts say, that the Sloth can scarcely move fifty 

 paces in a day : all, however, who have had op- 

 portunities of examining this species in its native 

 climates, agree in representing it as the most tor- 

 pid of quadrupeds; that it seems to movie with 

 the utmost difficulty, and it never exerts its pro- 

 gressive powers except when urged by the neces- 

 sity of obtaining food ; when it climbs, with great 

 labour, to the tops of trees; and having gained 

 this situation, continues to reside there till it has 

 despoiled the tree of its foliage and fruit, when it 

 is obliged to descend and to seek a fresh situa- 

 tion : it is added, that in order to save itself the 

 slow and laborious descent which it would other- 

 wise be obliged to make, it suffers itself to fall to 

 the ground; its tough skin and thick coarse hair 

 sufficiently securing it from any unpleasant effect 

 in its fall. The general appearance of the Sloth 

 is extremely uncouth; the body is of a thick 

 shape; the fore legs short; the hinder ones far 

 longer: the feet, on all the legs, are very small, but 



