104 



HISTORY OF MEXICO. 



tants paffed to America, and alfo all thofe animals which 

 have been found common to both continents ; fuch as 

 buffalo^ called in Mexico cibolos, wolves, foxes, martins, 

 deer, and other quadrupeds, which agree with cold 

 climes ; but that there could not be in America either 

 lions, tygers, camels, elephants, or any of thofe eigh- 

 teen fpecies of apes which are found in the old conti- 

 nent ; and, in fhort, no quadruped peculiar to hot climes 

 could be common to both continents, becaufe they were 

 not able to refift the cold of northern countries, by which 

 they mud pafs from one to the other world. This he 

 repeats incefTantly through all his natural hiftory, and 

 on this account he denies antelopes, goats, and rabbits 

 to America. He thinks thofe quadrupeds American only 

 which live in the hot countries of the new world, among 

 which he numbers thirteen or fourteen fpecies of Ame- 

 rican apes, divided by him into the two claffes of Sapayus 

 and Sagoini ; of thofe, he adds, there were none in the 

 old continent, as there were none of the eighteen fpecies 

 of the old continent in the new world. What then was 

 the origin of thofe and other quadrupeds really Ameri- 

 can ? This doubt, which occurs frequently in the natural 

 hiftory of that great philofopher, remains undecided un- 

 til the laft volume but one of the hiftory of quadrupeds, 

 in which he fays (d), " As it cannot be doubted that all 

 " animals in general were created in the old continent, 

 cc we muft admit them to have paffed from it to the new ; 

 " and muft fuppofe alfo, that thofe animals, the deer, 

 " wildgoat, and mouffettes, inftead of having degenerat- 

 " ed like others in the new world, have on the contrary 

 " arrived at perfection there, and from the fuitablenefs 



M of 



(d) Hift. Nat. torn. xxix. Difcourfe on the Degeneration of Animals. 



