AND AMERICAN RURAL SPORTS. 
57 
of the skies, and the monkey and squirrel to inhabit the 
trees: still these may change their relative situations with- 
out feeling much inconvenience: but the Sloth is doomed 
to spend his whole life in the trees; and, what is more ex- 
traordinary, not upon the branches, like the squirrel and 
the monkey, but under them. He moves suspended from 
the branch, he rests suspended from it, and he sleeps sus- 
pended from it. To enable him to do this, he must have a 
very different formation from that of any other known 
quadruped. 
Hence, his seemingly bungled conformation is at once 
accounted for; and in lieu of the Sloth leading a painful 
life, and entailing a melancholy and miserable existence on 
its progeny, it is but fair to surmise that it just enjoys life 
as much as any other animal, and that its extraordinary 
formation and singular habits are but further proofs to en- 
gage us to admire the wonderful works of Omnipotence. 
It must be observed, that the Sloth does not hang head- 
downwards like the vampire. When asleep, he supports 
himself from a branch parallel to the earth. He first seizes 
the branch with one arm, and then with the other; and 
after that, brings up both his legs, one by one, to the same 1 
branch; so that all four are in a line: he seems perfectly at 
rest in this position. Now, had he a tail, he would be at a 
loss to know what to do with it in this position: were he to 
draw it up within his legs, it would interfere with them; 
and were he to let it hang down, it would become the sport 
of the winds. Thus his deficiency of tail is a benefit to 
him; it is merely an apology for a tail, scarcely exceeding 
an inch and a half in length. 
I observed, when he was climbing, he never used his 
arms both together, but first one and then the other, and 
so on alternately. There is a singularity in his hair, dif- 
ferent from that of all other animals, and, I believe, hith- 
erto unnoticed by naturalists; his hair is thick and coarse 
at the extremity, and gradually tapers to the root, where it 
becomes fine as the finest 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 pen- 
dent weight of his body, both in climbing and at rest; and, 
instead of pronouncing them a bungled composition, as a 
celebrated naturalist has done, we shall consider them as 
P 
remarkably well calculated to perform their extraordinary 
functions. 
As the Sloth is an inhabitant of forests within the tro- 
pics, where the trees touch each other in the greatest pro- 
fusion, 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 cling to the brit- 
tle extremity of the branches, lest they should break with 
him in passing from one tree to another; but as soon as the 
wind rises, the branches of the neighbouring trees become 
interwoven, and then the Sloth seizes hold of them, and 
pursues his journey in safety. There is seldom an entire 
day of calm in these forests. The trade-wind generally 
sets in about ten o’clock in the morning, and thus the Sloth 
may set off after breakfast, and get a considerable way be- 
fore dinner. He travels at a good round pace; and were 
you to see him pass from tree to tree, as I have done, you 
would never think of calling him a Sloth. 
Thus, it would appear that the different histories we have 
of this quadruped are erroneous on two accounts: first, 
that the writers of them, deterred by difficulties and local 
annoyances, have not paid sufficient attention to him in his 
native haunts; and secondly, they have described him in a 
situation in which he was never intended by nature to cut 
a figure; I mean on the ground. The Sloth is as much at 
a loss to proceed on his journey upon a smooth and level 
floor as a man would be who had to walk a mile in stilts 
upon a line of feather beds. 
One day, as we were crossing the Essequibo, I saw a 
large two-toed Sloth on the ground upon the bank; how he 
had got there nobody could tell: the Indian said he had 
never surprised a Sloth in such a situation before: he would 
hardly have come there to drink, for both above and below 
the place, the branches of the trees touched the watei^and 
afforded him an easy and safe access to it. Be this as it may, 
though the trees were not above twenty yards from him, 
he could not make his way through the sand time enough 
to escape before we landed. As soon as we got up to him 
he threw himself upon his back, and defended himself in 
gallant style with his fore-legs. “Come, poor fellow,” 
said I to him, “ if thou hast got into a hobble to-day, thou 
shalt not suffer for it: I’ll take no advantage of thee in mis- 
