They abound in
Virginia
in America.
Childrens - The Creation
We find them in the
armies of Pharaoh, when he pursued the children of Israel, and in
many other parts of Scripture they are continually alluded to; but of
all the parts of the world where they are in perfection, Arabia is pre-
eminent, so that the word Arabian and beautiful horse are almost
synonymous. How grievous to see this noble animal treated some-
? See Appendix,
t This animal we considered as part of the fifth day's creation.
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THE CREATION.
times so barbarously. I do not know what would be done in Arabia
to some of our countrymen, if the natives saw them ill-treat their horses
as they do. There, the horse is made almost one of the family. You
remember that anecdote in your book of British Quadrupeds:--" In
the time of Louis XIV. , King of France, the French Consul in one
part of Arabia offered to purchase a very beautiful mare of a poor
Arab. He was almost naked, and his wife and children starving; and
after a great deal of trouble, he consented to the purchase for a sum
that would have made him independent for life. He brought the
mare to the dwelling of the Consul, dismounted, and stood leaning
upon her. The gold, her purchase, was put before him; he first
looked at it, then at the favourite;--he sighed and wept:--' To whom,'
said he, * am I going to yield thee up ? To Europeans, who will tie
thee close; who will beat thee; who will render thee miserable; return
with me, my beauty, my jewel, and rejoice the hearts of my children. '
Saying this, he sprang on her back, and was out of sight in a
moment. "
I have before remarked, that the horse, if treated kindly, will do
anything: abundant facts confirm this statement. I will only mention
one:--Sharon Turner, in his book on Creation, in one of his valuable
notes, says, " An experienced cavalry officer once told me, that he did
not fear the most vicious horse, and would soon cure it. I asked him
his means. His answer was, always by mild and gentle treatment,
and forbearing patience. If you whip them, he said, you make
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? LETTER XI.
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them bad-tempered, and continually vicious; but steady kindness,
occasional humouring as far as was safe, with a hard run now and then,
to let their spirit exhaust itself, constituted always the most suc-
cessful system. " (Vol. i. p. 386. )
But not only is the horse cruelly treated in life, but after it has
rendered man his best services, the history of its closing days would
record scenes of the most astonishing barbarity. * Mercifully, some
benevolent minds have taken up the subject, " and have lifted up
their voice for the dumb. " How true is that word, " The righteous
man is merciful to his beast. "
The Ass. This useful animal, though much like the horse, is very
different in its habits. It is known in most parts of the world; and, if
possible, is worse treated than the horse. But still it is a great friend
to man; and the milk from the dam is considered much lighter and
more digestible than that of the cow. In the countries where the
Wild Ass is in its perfect freedom, you would hardly know it as the
same animal with its present degraded-looking descendant. There it
is the fleetest of the fleet; and I think Xenophon remarks, in his
account of Cyrus's Expedition, that such was its swiftness and
? The horse, even by its very skin and hair, renders man great service, as well
as the ox and sheep. With regard to the former, yon have only to go into a tan-
yard, and from the delicate kid, to the stern and tough bull's hide, you will see all
brought into requisition; and as to the hair, especially that of the horse, its uses
are various ; for being, when curled up, of so elastic a nature, it answers for sofas,
chairs, mattrasses; and even now, by a new patent process, protects our feet from
cold and damp. Truly, nothing is made in vain.
p3
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THE CREATION.
strength, that they could only catch it by having relays of horses.
In those countries its flesh is esteemed as a rarity. Though accused
of stupidity, observation leads to a very different conclusion, i. e. , that
it ponders much and acts wisely. Indeed, facts are abundant in proof
of this. In Eastern countries, to ride on white asses was a mark of
high distinction.
The Zebra. This beautiful animal is rather smaller than the
horse, but, if possible, more beautiful, and is as swift as the stag.
It inhabits the Cape of Good Hope, and most of the southern parts
of Africa. The stripes of the zebra are exceedingly beautiful,--
in the male, they are brown and white, and in the female, black and
white. This animal is most difficult, either to catch or retain ; though
it is said that four of them were once yoked to the king of Portugal's
carriage.
The Hog. Animals of this genus seem to unite in themselves
some of the characteristics of the other quadrupeds: they resemble the
horse, in the number of their teeth; the cow, in their cloven hoofs,
and the position of their intestines; and the claw-footed tribes, in their
appetite for flesh, and their numerous young.
The Wild Boar. This animal may be considered the parent stock
of our domestic swine: he is, however, smaller, but very undaunted.
He is found in most parts of the world; and because he is courageous,
man likes to hunt him.
The Domestic Hog. This animal is known in almost all parts of the
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? LETTER XI.
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world; and is among the most prolific of all the quadruped family.
In Ireland, it is an invaluable boon to the peasantry; though they
very rarely taste those they "rear; but sell them for their rent money.
In the South Sea Islands this animal abounds.
The Cassibara, or Water Hog. This animal is found in South
America. It looks like a hog; but its snout is divided. It delights
in the water, and has a kind of web foot, to enable it to swim.
It feeds on fish, flesh, and vegetables indiscriminately: nothing
comes amiss to it. It is easily tamed, and then manifests at-
tachment.
The Peccary. This animal is also an inhabitant of South America.
It is much like a pig, but of a lighter and more elegant form.
The Babyroussa, or Indian Hog. Though this singular animal has
been ranked with the hog genus, it has but few similarities with it.
Its general figure more resembles the stag, and its hair is more like
wool than bristles. It also has four enormous tusks growing out of
the jaws--the two uppermost of which rise like horns, and bending
backwards, point to the animal's eyes; these tusks give it an imposing
appearance, and are very valuable, being the best ivory. The chief
peculiarity in this animal is its way of sleeping when wearied:
instead of lying down, like most other quadrupeds, it finds a strong
branch of some tree, high enough from the ground to free it from
danger, and from this it will suspend itself by one of its tusks, and
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THE CREATION.
so sleep on in safety. If this be the case, how singular, and yet
how merciful the provision! *
The Babyronssa is chiefly found in Borneo, and the neighbouring
parts of Asia. It is a quiet animal, except when attacked, and then
it uses its tusks with great force.
This is the last species of this genus; and we now descend lower
in the scale of creation, and come to the creeping things that creep
upon the earth; and finally, the Insects, some of which emphatically,
as the Ephemera, are the creatures of a summer's night, having their
birth, maturity, and death, between the setting and rising of the sun.
Linnaeus has classed the former of these under the order Am-
phibia, or animals that have life in both elements: for though this
is not strictly the case with all, yet it is with the greater part.
This order of animals is distinguished from those in the class
Mammalia by several particulars :--
1. They have cold blood, though red.
2. They are oviparous.
3. Their lungs chiefly consist of a pair of bladders, parted into
small subdivisions, among which are beautifully distributed their
few pulmonary blood-vessels.
Some of the Amphibia are furnished with formidable teeth ; some
? Some naturalists, however, from the curvature of the tusks, have denied this,
as impossible.
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? LETTER XI.
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are without. Some are fierce and predaceous; others quite inoffen-
sive. The bodies of all are cold to the touch: and this, with the
squalid appearance of many, has produced in man a repugnance to
the whole family, from the crocodile to the little lizard, and yet
many, very many, of this order are perfectly harmless. And the
serpent tribe, though it has some species venomous, yet they form
not more than one-sixth of the whole family; and when we consider
how small a portion of the globe they occupy, and for what a length
of time, in cold countries, they are torpid, we have only to be
thankful we know so little of them.
The Amphibia are sub-divided by Linnaeus into Reptiles and
Serpents. The reptiles have legs, and flat naked ears, without
auricles: the serpents are destitute of feet, but move by the assist-
ance of scales, and their general powers of contortion. Neither
have fins or external ears.
REPTILIA.
Comprising Tortoises, Lizards, and Frogs.
The Tortoise Tribe. This is a very singular family, with
coverings of amazing strength. One of the larger species has been
known to bear five men on his back, at the same time, without feeling
it. Their body is protected by a singular bony covering, with a
horny, scaly, or cartilaginous integument. The covering consists of
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THE CREATION.
two large plates, one above and the other below, joined at the edges.
From these shells, the animal is not able to disengage itself; and
they defend them sufficiently from almost every enemy but man.
Those species that live on the land feed on succulent vegetables ;
and those that inhabit the ocean on sea-weed. There are about
thirty-eight species of this tribe--four that live on the sea, eighteen
on the fresh water, and the remainder on the land.
The Common Tortoise. This little animal, which rarely reaches
more than nine inches in length, is found by the Mediterranean Sea,
and North Africa. Its legs are very short, feet broad, and covered
with scales, as is the tail also. In autumn it disappears for the
winter, and is torpid until the spring. The longevity of this animal
is surprising ; some having lived upwards of one hundred years. Mr.
Bingley strongly reprobates the experiments of Redi upon a living one;
but I will not enlarge here upon vivisection again; though no language
can condemn it as it deserves. It is most shocking and dreadful.
The Snake Tortoise. This animal inhabits the stagnant waters of
North America; and sometimes weighs twenty pounds, though some
are much less. The shell is variegated. The neck, though it appears
short, can be stretched out to one-third the length of the whole body.
It lives on fish and water fowl, which it takes by surprise.
The Frog Tribe. This tribe is well known in this country.
None of this family drink water by the mouth, but absorb moisture
through the body.
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There are fifty species or more of this race, divided into three
great sections:--1. Frogs which have smooth bodies, long legs, and
discharge their eggs in a mass; 2. Tree Frogs; 3. Toads.
The Common Frog. This little animal is too well known to require
any minute description. It is a harmless, inoffensive creature.
The Edible Frog. This animal is found in Italy, France, and
Germany. In Austria, they are considered a great delicacy. In
shape it is like our common frog, but larger.
The Ball Frog. This giant of the tribe measures sometimes twenty-
eight inches.
They abound in Virginia in America. They prey on
young fowl, when they can catch them. The bull frog is eatable.
The Tree Frog. This surprising little creature is a native of
France, America, and Germany. It resides, in the summer, in the
upper branches of trees; but in the autumn descends to the muddy
banks of rivers, and becomes torpid until the spring.
The Toad. There is a great dread of this little animal, as if \t
were poisonous ; and if met, it is often killed: and yet it is as harm-
less as the frog. The circumstance of toads being found in stones,
imbedded there, would be scarcely credible, if it were not substan-
tiated on indubitable authority. To account for it seems impossible,
though many very interesting reasons have been given.
The Pipa. This frog is found in Surinam. It is much larger
than ours. In the bringing up of its young, it is something like
the opossum. On the back of the female are certain cavities, like
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THE CREATION.
the cells of a bee-hive. When the female lays her eggs, the male
gathers them together, about seventy-five in number, and places them
carefully in these hiding places, which then close over them: in
about three months they are hatched, and come out, in miniature,
just like the parent.
The Lizard Tribe. Although the larger species of this family,
as the Crocodile and Alligator, are predatory, yet by far the greater
part are inoffensive, though their look, and cold feel, makes them
much dreaded. In this genus are found the largest, as well as the
smallest, of the great quadruped family. With the frogs, they are
called oviparous quadrupeds.
The Crocodile. This voracious animal is more dreaded by man
than any other of the quadruped family, and yet man even attacks it,
and as in Java, catches it with hook and line; and also with a net.
This animal abounds both in the old and new world, but especially in
the rivers of Africa; and strange to say, though it grows to the size
of twenty-five feet, yet it brings forth its young in eggs not much
larger than those of a swan.
In shape, the crocodile is very much like the lizard. The armour,
or coat of mail, with which the upper part of the body is covered, is
most perfect, and a musket shot flies off it, quite harmless. * The
? I remember Capt. C. telling me of an awful meeting he had with a croco-
dile in the East Indies. He was going on shore in a boat: just as they
got near the land, they observed one of these monsters; on which one of
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under covering is more pliable. The mouth is larger than that
of any other animal, and is armed with frightful sharp teeth.
This terrific animal lives a good deal in the water, and floats on its
surface like a dead tree, or else secretes himself in the reeds by the
river's side; and when the tiger, or bull, or even the lion itself, comes
to drink, he springs on them, and dragging them under water, drowns
them. He seldom pursues man or beast on shore, as they can gene-
rally escape his tremendous mouth, by running, and changing their
course. The prolific character of this animal is at first sight frightful,
laying, as it does, seventy or eighty eggs: but then it has many ene-
mies. The keen eyes of the vulture and ichneumon discover the
nest, and destroy a whole brood in a few minutes; and then, again,
at the moment the sun has hatched them, they take to the water, and
a variety of fish make them their prey. Thus, by a gracious provi-
sion, this monster family is kept within bounds. When the Javanese
fish for this animal, it is not a chain or a cable that they fix to their
hook, but a long large piece of loosely-twisted cotton. The voracious
creature always swallows the bait; and finding himself a prisoner, seeks
to bite the line, but he cannot, it being entangled in his teeth; and the
the officers incautiously fired at it;--the ball, however, bounded off in an
instant; but the animal, enraged at the attack, made towards the boat; and
just as it reached the shore, he lifted his huge tail out of the water, and
smashed it to pieces; and if my memory serves me, two of the men were
killed, though the rest escaped.
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THE CREATION.
natives, with spears, knowing his vulnerable parts, soon dispatch him.
When taken by nets, he breaks the first or second; but by this time
he is weakened, and is easily made captive. Thus man here also has
dominion; and this monster of the rivers becomes his prey.
The Alligator. This is the crocodile of the New World. The
natives call it " Lagarto;" and some Englishmen put the article to it,
and it became " a lagarto;" and thus the origin of the word Alligator.
They are less than the crocodile of the Old World. Their teeth are
as white as ivory; and their flesh is very nutritious: so much so, that
in some districts, it is the natives' chief subsistence. Sometimes,
armed with a double knife, the Indians will attack the Alligator in
his own place of resort.
The Common Guana. This is a most useful animal in the way of
food. The natives of the Bahama Islands feed entirely on it, and
catch it with wonderful adroitness. --This animal, like the whole of
the family, is very fond of music. This the Indian knows; and when
he sees his prey, he commences whistling. This charms the Guana,
who lets him approach, and tickle him with a switch, with which the
animal is so much delighted, that not until it is too late, he finds that,
amid the sweetest sounds there is death. How forcible is that word
in Prov. ix. 15, 17.
This animal is found in the East and West Indies. In length it is
about four or five feet. The tail is long and round: the back serrated:
the colour green. It has a large pouch under its chin, which is
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? LETTER XI.
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capable of great distension. Their eggs, which are about the size of
pigeons', are considered better than those of a hen.
The Salamander. This singular animal, for a long time, was sup-
posed to be proof against fire, and even to have the power to extin-
guish it . The ancients called it " the daughter of fire, with a body
of ice. " Thus, offices for insurance against fire, and fire-engines too,
have taken this little lizard as an emblem. But naturalists have
satisfactorily ascertained, that fire would act upon it as upon other
animal substances; and also, that it is harmless and innoxious. It is
found in Germany, Italy, and France. Its general length is about
half a foot; but it is sometimes much larger. It is easily distinguished
by its short cylindrical tail, and its deep black colour, variegated with
bright orange spots. It brings forth its young alive, the eggs being
hatched within the parent animal.
The Chameleon. This peculiarly singular little creature is a native
of India, Africa, and some of the warmer parts of Spain and Portugal.
Its usual length is ten inches, and its tail the same length.
This animal is perfectly innoxious, and feeds almost entirely upon
insects, which its tongue is wonderfully formed to take, being long
and furnished with a glutinous tip. This it darts out in an instant,
and the prey adheres to it. It lives generally in trees, for which its
feet are wonderfully fitted, having five toes, united three and two; but
the chief singularity of the chameleon is its power to change its
colour at will. There is a long, but very interesting account in the
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THE CREATION.
book I have before referred to -- Bingley's Animal Biography,
vol. iii. p. 63. The cause of the change of colour seems to depend
on its blood, (which is of a violet blue,) and the coats of the vessels,
which are yellow. *
Thus, when the animal is well fed and healthy, the colour of the
blood prevails; and when weak and sickly, the colour of the skin.
Another peculiarity in the chameleon is, that it can look with one of
its eyes forward, and with the other backward. You remember the
tale of the chameleon and the two travellers who were going to fight
about this little animal, one asserting that it was one colour, and the
other a different one. The moral of the tale is excellent--never to
form an opinion without examining both sides; and then to offer it
with modesty and humility.
The Nimble Lizard. This animal is one of the British species. It
is about six inches long, and the tail near twice that length. This is
a most gentle and inoffensive little creature. It is fond of the sun,
and delights in it in spring-time. It is torpid during the winter.
The Watery Lizard. This little creature, like the one just described,
is also perfectly harmless. It frequents the water continually; and
its tail, flattened, acts as an oar and rudder at the same time. It
changes its skin several times in the year.
? There is much variety of opinion on this subject.
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? LETTER XI.
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SERPENTIA.
The Serpents. --The rapidity of the motion of this singular order
of beings is amazing; for their deficiency of legs is amply compen-
sated by the muscular power they possess. There are upwards of
240 species, and only forty that have been discovered as poisonous.
All the species change their skins periodically; and in cold and tem-
perate climates they are torpid during the winter. The flesh of
several of these snakes is innoxious, and so is eaten by the natives of
many countries. They bring forth their young by eggs: and some
of them, like the salamander, hatch their young before birth.
The Rattle-Snake Tribe. There are not many species of this
family; but all are furnished with poisonous fangs. The bite, however,
is not in general fatal, unless the animal is exasperated. They give
notice, except in hot weather, of their approach, by the rattle on their
tails, which rattle is composed of hollow membraneous articulations,
that annually increase till they reach to forty.
The Banded Rattle-Snake. This serpent is found in North and
South America; and is usually about five or six feet in length. Its
colour is yellowish brown, with transverse black lines. Both the
jaws are furnished with small sharp teeth, and the upper one has four
large incurvated and pointed fangs; at the base of each is a round
orifice, opening into a hollow, that appears again near the end of the
teeth, in the form of a channel. These teeth may be raised or com-
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THE CREATION.
pressed at pleasure. This dreaded animal, however, happily for man,
is slow in pursuit; and then, again, its rattle and foetid smell give
notice of its near approach; and, moreover, if not attacked by man, it
will seldom attack him.
Some naturalists of America have denied the power of the rattle-
snake to fascinate with its eye; but the proofs of it are incontro-
vertible. Among other facts, you remember our kind friend Mr. W. ,
who related the following account to us of an incident which occurred
to himself not many years since. He was in America; and had gone
out with the view of getting one of these animals as a curiosity. He
soon came upon one that was fast asleep. He stood over its head, and
was just in the act of plunging his sword-stick into it, when in a
moment it opened its fiery eyes on him. No language, he said, could
fully describe their power. He was transfixed to the spot: his body
was covered with a profuse perspiration; and he felt he would have
given worlds to have been on the falls of Niagara--to have fallen back
from those eyes--when, in a moment, by God's mercy, the animal
hearing a rustling near it, glided through the grass, and he saw it no
more. At that time our friend was ignorant of the Lord; but since
then he has learnt who it was that protected him in the hour of
danger.
Rattle-snakes are viviparous. When their young apprehend danger,
they run, like the little chickens, to their best protector; and the
method that nature has provided for their safety is most singular; for
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the mother opens her mouth and swallows them alive, and returns
them again when the danger is over. Of this fact M. de Beauvois
says he was an eye-witness.
The Indians eat the rattle-snake as we do eels.
armies of Pharaoh, when he pursued the children of Israel, and in
many other parts of Scripture they are continually alluded to; but of
all the parts of the world where they are in perfection, Arabia is pre-
eminent, so that the word Arabian and beautiful horse are almost
synonymous. How grievous to see this noble animal treated some-
? See Appendix,
t This animal we considered as part of the fifth day's creation.
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THE CREATION.
times so barbarously. I do not know what would be done in Arabia
to some of our countrymen, if the natives saw them ill-treat their horses
as they do. There, the horse is made almost one of the family. You
remember that anecdote in your book of British Quadrupeds:--" In
the time of Louis XIV. , King of France, the French Consul in one
part of Arabia offered to purchase a very beautiful mare of a poor
Arab. He was almost naked, and his wife and children starving; and
after a great deal of trouble, he consented to the purchase for a sum
that would have made him independent for life. He brought the
mare to the dwelling of the Consul, dismounted, and stood leaning
upon her. The gold, her purchase, was put before him; he first
looked at it, then at the favourite;--he sighed and wept:--' To whom,'
said he, * am I going to yield thee up ? To Europeans, who will tie
thee close; who will beat thee; who will render thee miserable; return
with me, my beauty, my jewel, and rejoice the hearts of my children. '
Saying this, he sprang on her back, and was out of sight in a
moment. "
I have before remarked, that the horse, if treated kindly, will do
anything: abundant facts confirm this statement. I will only mention
one:--Sharon Turner, in his book on Creation, in one of his valuable
notes, says, " An experienced cavalry officer once told me, that he did
not fear the most vicious horse, and would soon cure it. I asked him
his means. His answer was, always by mild and gentle treatment,
and forbearing patience. If you whip them, he said, you make
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them bad-tempered, and continually vicious; but steady kindness,
occasional humouring as far as was safe, with a hard run now and then,
to let their spirit exhaust itself, constituted always the most suc-
cessful system. " (Vol. i. p. 386. )
But not only is the horse cruelly treated in life, but after it has
rendered man his best services, the history of its closing days would
record scenes of the most astonishing barbarity. * Mercifully, some
benevolent minds have taken up the subject, " and have lifted up
their voice for the dumb. " How true is that word, " The righteous
man is merciful to his beast. "
The Ass. This useful animal, though much like the horse, is very
different in its habits. It is known in most parts of the world; and, if
possible, is worse treated than the horse. But still it is a great friend
to man; and the milk from the dam is considered much lighter and
more digestible than that of the cow. In the countries where the
Wild Ass is in its perfect freedom, you would hardly know it as the
same animal with its present degraded-looking descendant. There it
is the fleetest of the fleet; and I think Xenophon remarks, in his
account of Cyrus's Expedition, that such was its swiftness and
? The horse, even by its very skin and hair, renders man great service, as well
as the ox and sheep. With regard to the former, yon have only to go into a tan-
yard, and from the delicate kid, to the stern and tough bull's hide, you will see all
brought into requisition; and as to the hair, especially that of the horse, its uses
are various ; for being, when curled up, of so elastic a nature, it answers for sofas,
chairs, mattrasses; and even now, by a new patent process, protects our feet from
cold and damp. Truly, nothing is made in vain.
p3
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THE CREATION.
strength, that they could only catch it by having relays of horses.
In those countries its flesh is esteemed as a rarity. Though accused
of stupidity, observation leads to a very different conclusion, i. e. , that
it ponders much and acts wisely. Indeed, facts are abundant in proof
of this. In Eastern countries, to ride on white asses was a mark of
high distinction.
The Zebra. This beautiful animal is rather smaller than the
horse, but, if possible, more beautiful, and is as swift as the stag.
It inhabits the Cape of Good Hope, and most of the southern parts
of Africa. The stripes of the zebra are exceedingly beautiful,--
in the male, they are brown and white, and in the female, black and
white. This animal is most difficult, either to catch or retain ; though
it is said that four of them were once yoked to the king of Portugal's
carriage.
The Hog. Animals of this genus seem to unite in themselves
some of the characteristics of the other quadrupeds: they resemble the
horse, in the number of their teeth; the cow, in their cloven hoofs,
and the position of their intestines; and the claw-footed tribes, in their
appetite for flesh, and their numerous young.
The Wild Boar. This animal may be considered the parent stock
of our domestic swine: he is, however, smaller, but very undaunted.
He is found in most parts of the world; and because he is courageous,
man likes to hunt him.
The Domestic Hog. This animal is known in almost all parts of the
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world; and is among the most prolific of all the quadruped family.
In Ireland, it is an invaluable boon to the peasantry; though they
very rarely taste those they "rear; but sell them for their rent money.
In the South Sea Islands this animal abounds.
The Cassibara, or Water Hog. This animal is found in South
America. It looks like a hog; but its snout is divided. It delights
in the water, and has a kind of web foot, to enable it to swim.
It feeds on fish, flesh, and vegetables indiscriminately: nothing
comes amiss to it. It is easily tamed, and then manifests at-
tachment.
The Peccary. This animal is also an inhabitant of South America.
It is much like a pig, but of a lighter and more elegant form.
The Babyroussa, or Indian Hog. Though this singular animal has
been ranked with the hog genus, it has but few similarities with it.
Its general figure more resembles the stag, and its hair is more like
wool than bristles. It also has four enormous tusks growing out of
the jaws--the two uppermost of which rise like horns, and bending
backwards, point to the animal's eyes; these tusks give it an imposing
appearance, and are very valuable, being the best ivory. The chief
peculiarity in this animal is its way of sleeping when wearied:
instead of lying down, like most other quadrupeds, it finds a strong
branch of some tree, high enough from the ground to free it from
danger, and from this it will suspend itself by one of its tusks, and
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THE CREATION.
so sleep on in safety. If this be the case, how singular, and yet
how merciful the provision! *
The Babyronssa is chiefly found in Borneo, and the neighbouring
parts of Asia. It is a quiet animal, except when attacked, and then
it uses its tusks with great force.
This is the last species of this genus; and we now descend lower
in the scale of creation, and come to the creeping things that creep
upon the earth; and finally, the Insects, some of which emphatically,
as the Ephemera, are the creatures of a summer's night, having their
birth, maturity, and death, between the setting and rising of the sun.
Linnaeus has classed the former of these under the order Am-
phibia, or animals that have life in both elements: for though this
is not strictly the case with all, yet it is with the greater part.
This order of animals is distinguished from those in the class
Mammalia by several particulars :--
1. They have cold blood, though red.
2. They are oviparous.
3. Their lungs chiefly consist of a pair of bladders, parted into
small subdivisions, among which are beautifully distributed their
few pulmonary blood-vessels.
Some of the Amphibia are furnished with formidable teeth ; some
? Some naturalists, however, from the curvature of the tusks, have denied this,
as impossible.
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? LETTER XI.
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are without. Some are fierce and predaceous; others quite inoffen-
sive. The bodies of all are cold to the touch: and this, with the
squalid appearance of many, has produced in man a repugnance to
the whole family, from the crocodile to the little lizard, and yet
many, very many, of this order are perfectly harmless. And the
serpent tribe, though it has some species venomous, yet they form
not more than one-sixth of the whole family; and when we consider
how small a portion of the globe they occupy, and for what a length
of time, in cold countries, they are torpid, we have only to be
thankful we know so little of them.
The Amphibia are sub-divided by Linnaeus into Reptiles and
Serpents. The reptiles have legs, and flat naked ears, without
auricles: the serpents are destitute of feet, but move by the assist-
ance of scales, and their general powers of contortion. Neither
have fins or external ears.
REPTILIA.
Comprising Tortoises, Lizards, and Frogs.
The Tortoise Tribe. This is a very singular family, with
coverings of amazing strength. One of the larger species has been
known to bear five men on his back, at the same time, without feeling
it. Their body is protected by a singular bony covering, with a
horny, scaly, or cartilaginous integument. The covering consists of
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? 326
THE CREATION.
two large plates, one above and the other below, joined at the edges.
From these shells, the animal is not able to disengage itself; and
they defend them sufficiently from almost every enemy but man.
Those species that live on the land feed on succulent vegetables ;
and those that inhabit the ocean on sea-weed. There are about
thirty-eight species of this tribe--four that live on the sea, eighteen
on the fresh water, and the remainder on the land.
The Common Tortoise. This little animal, which rarely reaches
more than nine inches in length, is found by the Mediterranean Sea,
and North Africa. Its legs are very short, feet broad, and covered
with scales, as is the tail also. In autumn it disappears for the
winter, and is torpid until the spring. The longevity of this animal
is surprising ; some having lived upwards of one hundred years. Mr.
Bingley strongly reprobates the experiments of Redi upon a living one;
but I will not enlarge here upon vivisection again; though no language
can condemn it as it deserves. It is most shocking and dreadful.
The Snake Tortoise. This animal inhabits the stagnant waters of
North America; and sometimes weighs twenty pounds, though some
are much less. The shell is variegated. The neck, though it appears
short, can be stretched out to one-third the length of the whole body.
It lives on fish and water fowl, which it takes by surprise.
The Frog Tribe. This tribe is well known in this country.
None of this family drink water by the mouth, but absorb moisture
through the body.
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There are fifty species or more of this race, divided into three
great sections:--1. Frogs which have smooth bodies, long legs, and
discharge their eggs in a mass; 2. Tree Frogs; 3. Toads.
The Common Frog. This little animal is too well known to require
any minute description. It is a harmless, inoffensive creature.
The Edible Frog. This animal is found in Italy, France, and
Germany. In Austria, they are considered a great delicacy. In
shape it is like our common frog, but larger.
The Ball Frog. This giant of the tribe measures sometimes twenty-
eight inches.
They abound in Virginia in America. They prey on
young fowl, when they can catch them. The bull frog is eatable.
The Tree Frog. This surprising little creature is a native of
France, America, and Germany. It resides, in the summer, in the
upper branches of trees; but in the autumn descends to the muddy
banks of rivers, and becomes torpid until the spring.
The Toad. There is a great dread of this little animal, as if \t
were poisonous ; and if met, it is often killed: and yet it is as harm-
less as the frog. The circumstance of toads being found in stones,
imbedded there, would be scarcely credible, if it were not substan-
tiated on indubitable authority. To account for it seems impossible,
though many very interesting reasons have been given.
The Pipa. This frog is found in Surinam. It is much larger
than ours. In the bringing up of its young, it is something like
the opossum. On the back of the female are certain cavities, like
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THE CREATION.
the cells of a bee-hive. When the female lays her eggs, the male
gathers them together, about seventy-five in number, and places them
carefully in these hiding places, which then close over them: in
about three months they are hatched, and come out, in miniature,
just like the parent.
The Lizard Tribe. Although the larger species of this family,
as the Crocodile and Alligator, are predatory, yet by far the greater
part are inoffensive, though their look, and cold feel, makes them
much dreaded. In this genus are found the largest, as well as the
smallest, of the great quadruped family. With the frogs, they are
called oviparous quadrupeds.
The Crocodile. This voracious animal is more dreaded by man
than any other of the quadruped family, and yet man even attacks it,
and as in Java, catches it with hook and line; and also with a net.
This animal abounds both in the old and new world, but especially in
the rivers of Africa; and strange to say, though it grows to the size
of twenty-five feet, yet it brings forth its young in eggs not much
larger than those of a swan.
In shape, the crocodile is very much like the lizard. The armour,
or coat of mail, with which the upper part of the body is covered, is
most perfect, and a musket shot flies off it, quite harmless. * The
? I remember Capt. C. telling me of an awful meeting he had with a croco-
dile in the East Indies. He was going on shore in a boat: just as they
got near the land, they observed one of these monsters; on which one of
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under covering is more pliable. The mouth is larger than that
of any other animal, and is armed with frightful sharp teeth.
This terrific animal lives a good deal in the water, and floats on its
surface like a dead tree, or else secretes himself in the reeds by the
river's side; and when the tiger, or bull, or even the lion itself, comes
to drink, he springs on them, and dragging them under water, drowns
them. He seldom pursues man or beast on shore, as they can gene-
rally escape his tremendous mouth, by running, and changing their
course. The prolific character of this animal is at first sight frightful,
laying, as it does, seventy or eighty eggs: but then it has many ene-
mies. The keen eyes of the vulture and ichneumon discover the
nest, and destroy a whole brood in a few minutes; and then, again,
at the moment the sun has hatched them, they take to the water, and
a variety of fish make them their prey. Thus, by a gracious provi-
sion, this monster family is kept within bounds. When the Javanese
fish for this animal, it is not a chain or a cable that they fix to their
hook, but a long large piece of loosely-twisted cotton. The voracious
creature always swallows the bait; and finding himself a prisoner, seeks
to bite the line, but he cannot, it being entangled in his teeth; and the
the officers incautiously fired at it;--the ball, however, bounded off in an
instant; but the animal, enraged at the attack, made towards the boat; and
just as it reached the shore, he lifted his huge tail out of the water, and
smashed it to pieces; and if my memory serves me, two of the men were
killed, though the rest escaped.
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THE CREATION.
natives, with spears, knowing his vulnerable parts, soon dispatch him.
When taken by nets, he breaks the first or second; but by this time
he is weakened, and is easily made captive. Thus man here also has
dominion; and this monster of the rivers becomes his prey.
The Alligator. This is the crocodile of the New World. The
natives call it " Lagarto;" and some Englishmen put the article to it,
and it became " a lagarto;" and thus the origin of the word Alligator.
They are less than the crocodile of the Old World. Their teeth are
as white as ivory; and their flesh is very nutritious: so much so, that
in some districts, it is the natives' chief subsistence. Sometimes,
armed with a double knife, the Indians will attack the Alligator in
his own place of resort.
The Common Guana. This is a most useful animal in the way of
food. The natives of the Bahama Islands feed entirely on it, and
catch it with wonderful adroitness. --This animal, like the whole of
the family, is very fond of music. This the Indian knows; and when
he sees his prey, he commences whistling. This charms the Guana,
who lets him approach, and tickle him with a switch, with which the
animal is so much delighted, that not until it is too late, he finds that,
amid the sweetest sounds there is death. How forcible is that word
in Prov. ix. 15, 17.
This animal is found in the East and West Indies. In length it is
about four or five feet. The tail is long and round: the back serrated:
the colour green. It has a large pouch under its chin, which is
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capable of great distension. Their eggs, which are about the size of
pigeons', are considered better than those of a hen.
The Salamander. This singular animal, for a long time, was sup-
posed to be proof against fire, and even to have the power to extin-
guish it . The ancients called it " the daughter of fire, with a body
of ice. " Thus, offices for insurance against fire, and fire-engines too,
have taken this little lizard as an emblem. But naturalists have
satisfactorily ascertained, that fire would act upon it as upon other
animal substances; and also, that it is harmless and innoxious. It is
found in Germany, Italy, and France. Its general length is about
half a foot; but it is sometimes much larger. It is easily distinguished
by its short cylindrical tail, and its deep black colour, variegated with
bright orange spots. It brings forth its young alive, the eggs being
hatched within the parent animal.
The Chameleon. This peculiarly singular little creature is a native
of India, Africa, and some of the warmer parts of Spain and Portugal.
Its usual length is ten inches, and its tail the same length.
This animal is perfectly innoxious, and feeds almost entirely upon
insects, which its tongue is wonderfully formed to take, being long
and furnished with a glutinous tip. This it darts out in an instant,
and the prey adheres to it. It lives generally in trees, for which its
feet are wonderfully fitted, having five toes, united three and two; but
the chief singularity of the chameleon is its power to change its
colour at will. There is a long, but very interesting account in the
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THE CREATION.
book I have before referred to -- Bingley's Animal Biography,
vol. iii. p. 63. The cause of the change of colour seems to depend
on its blood, (which is of a violet blue,) and the coats of the vessels,
which are yellow. *
Thus, when the animal is well fed and healthy, the colour of the
blood prevails; and when weak and sickly, the colour of the skin.
Another peculiarity in the chameleon is, that it can look with one of
its eyes forward, and with the other backward. You remember the
tale of the chameleon and the two travellers who were going to fight
about this little animal, one asserting that it was one colour, and the
other a different one. The moral of the tale is excellent--never to
form an opinion without examining both sides; and then to offer it
with modesty and humility.
The Nimble Lizard. This animal is one of the British species. It
is about six inches long, and the tail near twice that length. This is
a most gentle and inoffensive little creature. It is fond of the sun,
and delights in it in spring-time. It is torpid during the winter.
The Watery Lizard. This little creature, like the one just described,
is also perfectly harmless. It frequents the water continually; and
its tail, flattened, acts as an oar and rudder at the same time. It
changes its skin several times in the year.
? There is much variety of opinion on this subject.
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SERPENTIA.
The Serpents. --The rapidity of the motion of this singular order
of beings is amazing; for their deficiency of legs is amply compen-
sated by the muscular power they possess. There are upwards of
240 species, and only forty that have been discovered as poisonous.
All the species change their skins periodically; and in cold and tem-
perate climates they are torpid during the winter. The flesh of
several of these snakes is innoxious, and so is eaten by the natives of
many countries. They bring forth their young by eggs: and some
of them, like the salamander, hatch their young before birth.
The Rattle-Snake Tribe. There are not many species of this
family; but all are furnished with poisonous fangs. The bite, however,
is not in general fatal, unless the animal is exasperated. They give
notice, except in hot weather, of their approach, by the rattle on their
tails, which rattle is composed of hollow membraneous articulations,
that annually increase till they reach to forty.
The Banded Rattle-Snake. This serpent is found in North and
South America; and is usually about five or six feet in length. Its
colour is yellowish brown, with transverse black lines. Both the
jaws are furnished with small sharp teeth, and the upper one has four
large incurvated and pointed fangs; at the base of each is a round
orifice, opening into a hollow, that appears again near the end of the
teeth, in the form of a channel. These teeth may be raised or com-
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THE CREATION.
pressed at pleasure. This dreaded animal, however, happily for man,
is slow in pursuit; and then, again, its rattle and foetid smell give
notice of its near approach; and, moreover, if not attacked by man, it
will seldom attack him.
Some naturalists of America have denied the power of the rattle-
snake to fascinate with its eye; but the proofs of it are incontro-
vertible. Among other facts, you remember our kind friend Mr. W. ,
who related the following account to us of an incident which occurred
to himself not many years since. He was in America; and had gone
out with the view of getting one of these animals as a curiosity. He
soon came upon one that was fast asleep. He stood over its head, and
was just in the act of plunging his sword-stick into it, when in a
moment it opened its fiery eyes on him. No language, he said, could
fully describe their power. He was transfixed to the spot: his body
was covered with a profuse perspiration; and he felt he would have
given worlds to have been on the falls of Niagara--to have fallen back
from those eyes--when, in a moment, by God's mercy, the animal
hearing a rustling near it, glided through the grass, and he saw it no
more. At that time our friend was ignorant of the Lord; but since
then he has learnt who it was that protected him in the hour of
danger.
Rattle-snakes are viviparous. When their young apprehend danger,
they run, like the little chickens, to their best protector; and the
method that nature has provided for their safety is most singular; for
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the mother opens her mouth and swallows them alive, and returns
them again when the danger is over. Of this fact M. de Beauvois
says he was an eye-witness.
The Indians eat the rattle-snake as we do eels.
