SOUTH AMERICA. 



9 



defence which nature' hath given him. While other First 



JoURNEy. 



animals assemble in herds, or in pairs range through 



these boundless wilds, the sloth is solitary, and almost 

 stationary ; he cannot escape from you. It is said, his 

 piteous moans make the tiger relent, and turn out of the 

 way. Do not then level your gun at him, or pierce him with 

 a poisoned arrow ; — he has never hurt one living creature. 

 A few leaves, and those of the commonest and coarsest 

 kind, are all he asks for his support. On comparing him 

 with other animals, you would say that you could per- 

 ceive deficiency, deformity, and superabundance in his 

 composition. He has no cutting teeth, and though four 

 stomachs, he still wants the long intestines of ruminating 

 animals. He has only one inferior aperture, as in birds. 

 He has no soles to his feet, nor has he the power of 

 moving his toes separately. His hair is flat, and puts 

 you in mind of grass withered by the wintry blast. His 

 legs are too short ; they appear deformed by the manner 

 in which they are joined to the body, and when he is on 

 the ground, they seem as if only calculated to be of 

 use in climbing trees. He has forty-six ribs, while the 

 elephant has only forty ; and his claws are disproportion- 

 ably long. Were you to mark down upon a graduated 

 scale, the different claims to superiority amongst the four- 

 footed animals, this poor, ill-formed creature's claim would 

 be the last upon the lowest degree. 



Demerara yields to no country in the world in her Birds. 



c 



