52 
MAMMALIA. 
which the ahove description is taken, is a half-grown one, and 
was obtained when alive, by Mr. Motley. Having, however, 
at that time, no means of keeping it, he determined to destroy 
it fora specimen, and he accordingly got a native ' to admi- 
nister to it one of his little poisoned darts, from the sumpitan 
or blowpipe ; the dart, which had apparently been dipped in 
some black juice, entered the skin of the belly about a quarter 
of an inch, and in a quarter of an hour the creature was 
dead. It died very quietly, having gradually ceased to move 
about, and then lay for three or four minutes in a state of 
torpor ; after which, death came on with a very slight tremor, • 
passing of the foeces, and protrusion of the tongue. On dis- 
section, the aorta and the large artery leading to the strong 
muscular tail were gorged with dark venous blood, as was 
also the left ventricle ; there was no arterial blood to be seen 
anywhere, and indeed very little in any other part of the body, 
except in the air-cells of the lungs, where a number of vessels 
were ruptured ; all the vessels of the head and brain in parti- 
cular, were perfectly empty and collapsed ; the diaphragm was 
most strangely contracted and corrugated. This took place 
on board a vessel, and when Mr. Motley stuffed it, the 
J avanese sailors asked for the body, and ate it, after skinning 
it. Upon the skin being washed with corrosive sublimate, a 
vast number of large flat tides emerged from under the 
scales. 
