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Ebook has 345 lines and 48976 words, and 7 pages

Illustrator: William Harvey

Quadrupeds, what they are and where found, by Captain Mayne Reid.

Of course there is no reason why young ladies should not read this book: I am sure they would enjoy this just as much Reid's target readership, which was boys.

There are 24 chapters, each dealing with a kind of animal. Sometimes an animal genus is given two chapters, for instance domestic dogs, and wild dogs. One grouse: the phrase "well-known" occurs over forty times. Would the "well-known" fact be well-known to the book's intended readership? Probably not.

PREFACE

In the groups given there is no attempt made at any very scientific arrangement. The sketches are purely of a popular character, even the scientific nomenclature being avoided. It is hoped, however, that they may prove of service to the zoological tyro, and form as it were his first stepping-stone to a higher order of classification.

Now, however, that the great agent--steam--has as it were "brought the ends of the earth together," the opportunity is no longer wanting; and it is to be hoped that a better classification may soon be obtained. Who knows but that some ardent young zoologist, who has taken his first lessons from this little book, may be the man to supply the desideratum? Who knows?

Such a result would be a proud triumph for the author of these monographic sketches.

Mayne Reid.

MONKEYS OF THE OLD WORLD.

The number of species of these animals, both in the Old and New Worlds, is so great, that to give a particular description of each would fill a large volume. It will be only possible in this sketch to point out the countries they inhabit, and to say a word or two of the more remarkable kinds.

Although many exaggerated stories are told of these great satyr apes, and many of these are only "sailors' yarns," yet it is easy to believe that animals approaching in structure, and even in intelligence, to man himself, must possess habits of the most singular kind. There is little more known of them than there was hundreds of years ago--indeed, we might say thousands of years; for it is evident that the Carthaginians came into contact with the chimpanzee on the western coast of Africa, and through them the Romans became acquainted with it; and no doubt it was this animal that gave origin to most of their stories of satyrs and wild men of the woods.

The chimpanzee is found only in the forests of tropical Africa--more especially along the west coast, the banks of the Gaboon, and other rivers. The ourang-outang is exclusively Asiatic--inhabiting Borneo, Sumatra, the peninsula of Malacca, Cochin China, and several others of the large Oriental islands. Of the ourang-outang there are two species--perhaps three--differing very little, except in point of size and colour.

The gibbons are all Asiatic monkeys, and inhabit the same countries with the ourang, viz., the tropical forests of India and the Indian Archipelago. There are at least a dozen species of them, nearly half of which are found in the Island of Sumatra alone.

There are, in all, seven or eight species of baboons, and most of them inhabit Africa. One of the most singular of them, the Hamadryas, extends its range into Arabia; while another, the Black Baboon, is an inhabitant of the Philippine Isles.

With the baboons we close our list of the Monkeys of the Old World; but, in order to complete the account of these quadruped mammalia, it is necessary to find a place for those strange creatures usually known as Lemurs. These are usually grouped by themselves, and in a classification succeed the American monkeys--to some of which they have a greater resemblance than to those of the Old World; but, as they are all exclusively inhabitants of the latter, they may appropriately be noticed here.

Of the lemurs, at least thirty different kinds are known, more than half of which belong to the Island of Madagascar. A few species are found on the west coast of Africa: and the others inhabit the Oriental islands-- Ceylon, Java, Sumatra, Timor, Mindanao, and the Philippine Archipelago.

MONKEYS OF THE NEW WORLD.

Not all the monkeys of America possess this prehensile power of tail. Some are entirely without it, and approach nearer to certain kinds in the Old World; while there are a few species that very closely resemble the lemurs. These differences have led to a classification of the American monkeys; and they have been thrown into three groups, though it may be remarked that these groups are not very natural.

For want of a better, this classification may be adopted.

Of the true howlers there are about a dozen species known to naturalists. Most of them are denizens of the tropical forests of Guiana and Brazil; but some species are not so tropical in their habits, since one or two extend the kingdom of the monkeys into Mexico on the north, and southward to Paraguay.

Of the spider monkeys there are about a dozen species; but three of these have been taken to form one of the three genera into which, as already stated, the Sapajous are divided. These three differ very little from the other spider monkeys, except in being covered with a soft, woolly hair; and, furthermore, in being much more rare than the others; at all events, they are more rarely seen, as they dwell only in the thickest forests, far remote from the habitations of man.

The Sajous form the second group of the American monkeys. These have also prehensile tails; but the power is not so highly-developed in them as in the Sapajous, nor are their tails naked. Moreover, the bodies of the Sajous are more robust, and their limbs of stouter make.

The Sajous are well-tempered creatures, and easily domesticated. Some of the species are favourite pets--on account of their pleasing manners, and the docility of their nature. The old males, however, scarcely deserve this reputation, as they will bite freely enough when provoked.

They are not subdivided; but permitted to constitute a single genus, of which there are nearly twenty species--all of them inhabiting equatorial America.

The Sajouins form the third group; but as the name merely signifies those monkeys that have not the power of suspending themselves by the tail, it can hardly be considered a natural group, since there are very varied and numerous genera who lack this power. The group of Sajouins must therefore be subdivided into several lesser groups.

Last of all come the little Tamunus; some of which, in beauty of colours, in playfulness of disposition, and other amiable qualities, need not yield either to the Saimiris or Ouistitis. They are equally prized as pets; and among their Creole owners have equally applied to them the endearing appellation of Titi-titi.

Quadrupeds, what they are and where found--by Captain Mayne Reid

BEARS.

In the days of Linnaeus--that is, a century and a half ago--it was supposed there was only one kind of Bear in existence--the common Brown bear of Europe. It is true that Linnaeus before his death had heard of the great Polar bear, but he had never seen one, and was not certain of its being a distinct species. Not only has the Polar bear proved to be a very different animal from his brown congener, but other species have turned up in remote quarters of the globe: until the list of these interesting quadrupeds has been extended to the number of at least a dozen distinct species--differing not only in size, shape, and colour, but also in many more essential characteristics. Bears have been found in North America, and others in South America; some in Asia, and still others in the islands of the Indian Archipelago; entirely unlike the brown bear of Europe, as they are to one another.

It is a misnomer to call him the brown bear of Europe, since he is even more common in many parts of Asia--especially throughout Asiatic Russia and Kamtschatka. But he is also met with in most European countries, where there are extensive ranges of mountains. In the mountains of Hungary and Transylvania--as well as in those of Russia, Sweden, and Norway--the brown bear is found. He is also met with as far south as the Alps--and even the Pyrenees, and Asturias, mountains of Spain; but the bear of these last-mentioned localities differs considerably from the real brown bear of the northern regions; and most probably is a different species.

Again, in North America--in a very remote and sterile region lying to the westward of Hudson's Bay, and known as the Barren Grounds--a large brown bear has been observed by travellers and traders of the Fur Company, supposed to be identical with the European bear. This, however, is a doubtful point; and in all likelihood the bear of the Barren Grounds is a new species, only found in that desolate region.

To describe the appearance of the Polar bear would be superfluous. Everybody has seen either a living individual in a menagerie, or a stuffed skin of one in a museum; and the long, low, tail-less body--with outstretched neck and sharp projecting snout--covered with a thick coat of white hair, renders it impossible to mistake the Polar bear for any other animal.

A proof of his natatory powers is found in the fact that Arctic voyagers have observed him swimming about in the open sea full twenty miles from the nearest land! He is equally expert as a diver; and uses this art for the purpose of capturing various kinds of marine animals, upon which he subsists. In regard to food, the Polar bear differs altogether from his congeners. He is almost wholly carnivorous in his habits. Indeed, were it otherwise, he could not exist in his icy kingdom--in many parts of which not a trace of vegetation is to be found. Fish of many kinds, birds, and their eggs, and four-footed beasts--when he can lay his claws upon them--all are welcome to his palate. Nor will he disdain to feast upon the carcass of the great whale--when chance, or the whale fishermen, leaves such a provender in his way. The seal is a particular favourite with him, and he hunts this creature with skill and assiduity. When he perceives the seal basking upon a ledge of ice, he slips quietly into the water, and swims to leeward of his intended victim. He approaches by frequent short dives--so calculating his distance, that at the last he comes up close to the spot where the seal is lying. Should the victim attempt to escape, by rolling into the water, it falls into the bear's clutches: if, on the contrary, it lies still, the bear makes a powerful spring, seizes it on the ice, and then kills and devours it at his leisure.

In swimming, the Polar bear not only moves rapidly through the water, but is also capable of darting forward in such a way as to seize a fish before it can escape beyond reach. On the land, also, he can move with rapidity--his slouching trot being almost as fast as the gallop of a horse.

Individuals have been shot that weighed as much as 1600 pounds!

Polar bears are found along the shores of the Arctic Ocean, both in Asia and America. They do not go to sleep in winter--that is, the males do not. The females with young, however, bury themselves in the snow-- having formed a lair--and there remain until they bring forth their young. The cubs are often captured in these snow caves, which the Esquimaux discover by means of dogs trained for this peculiar purpose.

The grizzly bear is certainly the most ferocious of his tribe--even exceeding, in this unamiable quality, his white cousin of the icy north; and many a melancholy tale of trapper and Indian hunter attests his dangerous prowess. He is both carnivorous and frugivorous--will dig for roots and eat fruits when within his reach; but not being a tree-climber, he has to content himself with such berries as grow upon the humbler bushes. Indeed, it is a fortunate circumstance that the fierce animal is unable to ascend a tree. Many a traveller and hunter have found a neighbouring tree the readiest means of saving their lives, when pursued by this ferocious assailant. Another circumstance is also in favour of those pursued by the grizzly bear. In the region where he dwells, but few persons ever go afoot; and although the bear can overtake a pedestrian, his speed is no match for that of the friendly horse.

It is almost hopeless to think of killing a grizzly bear by a single bullet. There the deadly rifle is no longer deadly--unless when the shot is given in a mortal part; and to take sure aim from the saddle, with a horse dancing in affright, is a feat which even the most skilful marksman cannot always accomplish. As many as a dozen bullets have been fired into the body of a grizzly bear, without killing him outright.

The strength of this animal equals his ferocity. He pulls the huge buffalo, a thousand pounds in weight, to the ground; and then drags its carcass to some cave or crevice among the rocks, or to a hole which he has dug to receive it. To this place he repairs from time to time, till the exhausted store compels him to go in search of a new victim. Many an incident can be related--and on the best authority too--where man has been the victim of the grizzly bear; and the Indians esteem the killing of one of these animals a feat equal to that of taking the scalp of a human enemy. One of the proudest ornaments of a savage chief is a necklace of bears' claws: only to be worn by those who have themselves killed the animals from which they have been taken.

The black bear is a tree-climber; and ascends the loftiest trees in search of the honey of the wild bees, or to make his lair in some cavernous hollow of the trunks. His food is usually fruits and roots, but he is also fond of young corn, and often commits serious depredations on the maize plantation. In the backwood settlements, where clearings are apart from each other, the black bear is still occasionally met with; and the chase of this animal is one of the most favourite pastimes of the backwoods' hunter, whether amateur or professional. Generally there is little peril in the pursuit--unless when the bear is wounded and enraged, and the hunter chooses to risk himself at close quarters.

There are varieties in colour. Some with white throats, and some of a cinnamon brown, have been observed; but the colour of the species is usually jet black; and on this account the skins are much prized for military and other purposes.

There is at least one other species of black bear indigenous to South America, inhabiting the tropical forests; but very little is known of it--further than that it is one of the smallest of the tribe.

We now reach the Asiatic bears, properly so called; and we have only space to say a word about each.

In Africa there are no bears.

BADGERS.

We shall now give some details respecting the different animals of this family; among which the Glutton, in point of size, as well as for other reasons, deserves precedence.

The glutton and wolverene are, in fact, very like the common badger in their habits; except that being much larger and stronger animals, they prey upon larger game. The reindeer, and other large quadrupeds, are often the victims of both; and it is even said that they can overcome the great elk; but this is not confirmed by the observations of any trustworthy traveller. The young of the elk, or a disabled old one, may occasionally succumb to them, but not an elk in full vigour, nor yet a reindeer, except when they can surprise the latter asleep. Their game is usually the smaller quadrupeds; and in the fur countries no animal is a greater pest to the trapper than the wolverene or glutton. A single individual will in one night visit a whole line of traps, and rob them of the captured animals--whether they be polar hares, white or blue foxes, martens, or ermine weasels.

It is this creature that is usually represented lying in wait upon the limb of a tree, and springing upon deer as they pass underneath: but this story of its habits wants confirmation.

Should the bees' nest prove to be on the ground, or under it, the ratel soon unearths the treasure with his strong claws, and takes possession of it, regardless of the stings of the bees, against which his thick skin defends him.

It is not a solitary animal, but prefers the society of its companions, and usually goes about in troops or gangs. Its lair, like the racoon, is the hollow of a tree.

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