212 



HISTORY OF MEXICO. 



rofe the fable propagated by not a few authors, that in 

 America dogs were mute. Wolves are extremely fimi- 

 lar to dogs, but they do not bark. If the firft Spa- 

 niards who went to Mexico had not feen wolves in Eu- 

 rope, when they faw thofe of Mexico they would have 

 reported, that there were large dogs there which could 

 not be tamed, and that they did not bark but howled. 

 And this would have furnifhed count de BufFon and Mr. 

 de Paw with a new argument to prove the degeneracy 

 and irregularity of American animals. 



The argument of Mr. de Paw concerning American 

 oftriches has no more weight. The Touyou is an Ame- 

 rican bird fpecifically different from the oftrich ; but be- 

 caufe it is large, and very fimilar to that African bird, 

 it has been vulgarly called oftrich (V). This is fufficient 

 to make Mr. de Paw affirm that there is irregularity in 

 thofe iVmerican birds ; but if we (hould allow that the 

 Touyou is truly an oftrich he could not make out his 

 pofirion. He would make us believe the American of- 

 trich irregular, becaufe inftead of having only two toes 

 united by a membrane like the African, it has four fe- 

 parate toes. But an American might fay that the Afri- 

 can oftrich is rather irregular, becaufe inftead of having 

 four feparate toes, it has only two, and thofe united by 

 means of a membrane. " No," Mr. de Paw would reply 

 in rage, " it is not fo: the irregularity is certainly in your 

 " oftriches, becaufe they do not conform with thofe of 

 " the old world which are the original fpecies ; nor with 

 u the reprefentation which the moft famous naturalifts 

 " of Europe have left us of fuch birds. M " Our 

 " world," the American would return, " which you 

 " call new, becaufe three centuries ago it was not dif- 



" covered 



(«) In Peru the oftrich is known by the name of Suri. 



