SOUTH AMERICA. 
157 
now went off in a side direction, and cauglit hold of third 
the branch of a neighbouring tree; he then proceeded 
towards the heart of the forest. I stood looking on, 
lost in amazement at his singular mode of progress. 
I followed him with my eye till the intervening 
branches closed in betwixt us; and then I lost sight 
for ever of the two-toed sloth. I was going to add, 
that I never saw a sloth take to his heels in such 
earnest; but the expression will not do, for the sloth 
has no heels. 
That which naturalists have advanced of his being 
so tenacious of life, is perfectly true. I saw the 
heart of one beat for half an hour after it was taken 
out of the body. The wourali poison seems to be 
the only thing that will kill it quickly. On reference 
to a former part of these wanderings, it will be seen 
that a poisoned arrow killed the sloth in about ten 
minutes. 
So much for this harmless, unoffending animal. 
He holds a conspicuous place in the catalogue of 
the animals of the new world. Though naturalists 
have made no mention of what follows, still it is not 
less true on that account. The sloth is the only 
quadruped known, which spends its whole life from 
the branch of a tree, suspended by his feet. I have 
paid uncommon attention to him in his native haunts. 
The monkey and squirrel will seize a branch with 
their fore-feet, and pull themselves up, and rest or 
run upon it; but the sloth, after seizing it, still 
remains suspended, and suspended moves along 
under the branch, till he can lay hold of another. 
