SCENTING CARRION AT GREAT DISTANCES. 247 
When I visited the Southern States, and had lived, as 
it were, amongst these vultures for several years, and 
discovered, thousands of times, that they did not smell 
me when I approached them, covered by a tree, until 
within a few feet; and that when so near, or at a 
greater distance, I shewed myself to them, they 
instantly flew away much frightened, — the idea evapo- 
rated, and I assiduously engaged in a series of experi- 
ments, to prove to myself, at least, how far this 
acuteness of smell existed, or if it existed at all. 
<£ I sit down to communicate to you the results of 
those experiments, and leave for you to conclude how 
far, and how long, the world has been imposed on by 
the mere assertions of men who had never seen more 
than the skins of our vultures, or heard the accounts 
from men caring little about observing nature closely. 
« ]y[y First Experiment was as follows : — I procured 
a skin of our common deer, entire to the hoofs, and 
stuffed it carefulty with dried grass until filled rather 
above the natural size — suffered the whole to become 
perfectly dry, and as hard as leather — took it to the 
middle of a large open field — laid it down on its back 
with the legs up and apart, as if the animal was dead 
and putrid. I then retired about a few hundred yards, 
and, in the lapse of some minutes, a vulture, coursing 
round the field tolerably high, espied the skin, sailed 
directly towards it, and alighted within a few yards of 
it. I ran immediately, covered by a large tree, until 
within about forty yards, and from that place could spy 
the bird with ease. He approached the skin — loofted 
at it without apparent suspicion-— jumped on it — 
raised his tail, and voided itself freely, (as you well 
know all birds of prey in a wild state generally do 
before feeding,) then approaching the eyes, that were 
here solid globes of hard, dried, and painted clay, 
attacked first one, and then the other, with, however, 
no farther advantage than that of disarranging them. 
This part was abandoned; the bird walked to the other 
extremity of the pretended animal, and there, with 
much exertion, tore the stitches apart, until much 
