THIRD JOURNEY. 



141 



thick and coarse at the extremity, and gradually tapers 

 to the root, where it becomes fine as a 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 pendent weight of his body, 

 both in climbing and at rest ; and, instead of pronounc- 

 ing them a bungled composition, as a celebrated natu- 

 ralist has done, we shall consider them as remarkably 

 well calculated to perform their extraordinary functions. 



As the sloth is an inhabitant of forests within the 

 tropics, where the trees touch each other in the greatest 

 profusion, 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 



