452 
THE SAVAGE WORLD. 
feathers but surmounted by a helmet, or bony protuberance, which enables the 
creature to rush through a thicket with ease and without danger of injury, as 
the branches or thorns striking this helmet pass over the head and thus oppose 
no obstruction. Unlike the ostrich, emeu and rhea which live upon the open 
plain, the cassowary, is a strictly bush bird, making its home in the thickest 
copses, through which it is able to run with surprising speed by reason of the 
head protection described. The plumage is very hair-like, in some respects 
resembling the long hair of the yak, except that it is of a glossy-black and flat at 
the ends. 
The eye of the cassowary is fierce and resolute, and its expression is carried 
out by the character of the bird, which is tetchy of disposition, and apt to take 
offence without apparent provocation. Like the bull, it is excited to unreasoning 
ire at the sight of a scarlet cloth, and, like the dog or cat, has a great antipathy 
towards ragged or unclean persons, attacking such individuals with some acerbity 
merely because their garments or general aspect do not please its refined taste. 
It is a determined and rather formidable antagonist, turning rapidly about and 
launching a shower of kicks which can do no small damage, their effect being 
considerably heightened by the sharp claws with which the toes are armed. In 
the countries which it inhabits, the native warriors are accustomed to use the 
innermost claw of the cassowary 1 s foot as a head for their spears. The bird 
stands about five feet in height, and is about equal to the rhea in size of body. 
The nesting habits of the two are identical. 
The Mooruk (Casuarius bennettii ) was supposed by Dr. Bennett to be a 
distinct bird, differing from the cassowary in the one single respect of having 
its head protected by a horny plate, resembling blackened mother-of-pearl, instead 
of the helmet-like protuberance. But later investigation proves that this slight 
difference is due to age, the older cassowaries having the helmet worn down 
until it appears as a flat, bony plate. The cassowary and mooruk are but 
different names for the same creature. 
There is a remarkable resemblance among all of the struthious or ostrich 
birds, not alone in habits, but in appearance and organization as well. Among 
no other family are the several characteristics so nearly identical, and yet we 
find the species widely distributed, as just described. Like the human race, 
they must have sprung from one common source, and like man, became scat¬ 
tered, and in the separation the few peculiarities which distinguish them apart 
have become developed. The causes of this distribution are not given us to 
know, but the fact that one species is peculiar to Africa, another to Australia 
and another to South America, excites in us anew the ever-recurring thought, 
“How wondrous are the ways of Providence I” 
