To North America belong the Black Bear (Ursus Americanus) and the Grisly Bear (Ursus ferox). The former has a long head, a pointed nose, small eyes, and short round ears; his limbs are strong, unwieldy, and thick; his tail is short; feet large; and the hair on the body smooth, glossy, and black. The Grisly Bear is about nine feet long, a narrow and flattened muzzle, sunken eyes, and formidable teeth; he ranges over not only the entire chain of the Rocky Mountains, but in the prairies and forests which occupy the centre and west of the great continent, where his sanguinary instincts and prodigious strength render him a formidable antagonist. The Black Bear of Canada, on the contrary, is the least ferocious and least carnivorous of his genus. His chief food is of a vegetable nature—grain, fruits, and roots—but he does not disdain an occasional regale of pork. He commits great depredations on the maize-fields, and is also exceedingly partial to honey. From the nature of his food, his flesh is exceedingly succulent, and much relished by the Canadian settlers.
Ascend the wildest and most barren mountains, even to the limit where all life ceases to exist; or the flank of a perpendicular rock, in a crevasse, in some chink or fissure where the foot of man or quadruped may never rest; and there, were you able to approach sufficiently near, you would see some interlaced branches and stems, and within it a few fragments, a few gnawed and polished bones, while a strong odour scented the surrounding air. Regard it more attentively—some tiny creatures are astir upon that unclean couch. Yes: your gaze now rests on the eyry of one of those aërial tyrants, Eagles or Vultures, which alone can dwell on the cloud-crowned, wind-swept heights. I must confine myself here to mentioning the largest and most formidable species, which surpasses all the others in sweep and speed and power of flight—the Condor of the Andes. This bird possesses the habits and voracity of other vultures, and, as if conscious of his enormous strength, shows himself the most audacious. He frequently pounces upon living animals; but his non-retractile talons, blunted by their attrition upon the rocks, do not permit him to carry off his prey; he contents himself with fixing it against the ground with one of his claws, while he rends it to pieces with his powerful beak. Gorged with food, he becomes incapable of flight. You may then approach him; but should you attempt to seize him, he opposes a desperate resistance, and as he enjoys an extraordinary tenacity of life, the victory will probably cause you a prolonged struggle and many cruel wounds.
A story is told of a Chili miner, of more than ordinary physical force, who attacked—hand-to-hand, as it were—a condor while digesting his greedy banquet, and unable to make his escape. The engagement was long and desperate. The man was compelled to put forth all his strength. At length, exhausted, torn, and bleeding, he left his enemy on the field of battle, and carried off for a trophy a few feathers, which he showed to his comrades, affirming that he had never fought a harder fight. The other miners went in search of the corpse of this terrible bird. They found him standing erect, and flapping his wings in order to fly away. They only killed him by crushing in his head with a hatchet.
The condor enjoys the privilege of an exceptional longevity. The Indians of the Andean plains assert that he lives nearly a hundred years. He builds no regular nest; the female is satisfied with a hollow in the rocky cliff of sufficient size to shelter her while hatching her eggs. Both parents busy themselves very attentively in bringing up their young, disgorging in their beaks the food which they have themselves taken. The young birds grow slowly; it is not until they are six weeks old that they begin to flutter round their parents. Their training, however, lasts but a few months; after which they separate of their own accord from the male and female birds, and seek their own nourishment.
The condor has the loftiest flight of all the winged race. He has been seen towering in the “blue serene,” on a level with the snow-crowned summit of Illimani, 23,000 feet above the sea, in a region where man cannot endure the excessive rarefaction of the air. When, in the fulness of time, civilization shall have conquered to itself the South American continent, the condor, flying for refuge to these brain-wildering heights among the icy peaks of the Cordillera, shall be, perhaps, in that quarter of the globe, the latest denizen of the Desert—the last representative of The Savage World.
Index.
[A], [B], [C], [D], [E], [F], [G], [H], [I], [J], [K], [L], [M], [N], [O], [P], [Q], [R], [S], [T], [U], [V], [W], [X], [Y], [Z]
Abbye-Singh, the tiger-killer, [310].
Abyssinia, its physical features, [248];
flora, [248-50];
mountains, [596].—See also Shoa, Tigre.
Abyssinian meadow-grass, [242].
Acacia detinens, [257].
Acacia doratoxylon, [279].
Acacias, family of, their characteristics, [411].
Acrostichon grande, [277].
Actæas described, [261].
Adansonia digitata (the Baobab), [409].
Adour, the, valley of, [27].
Africa, interior of, described, [186], [187];
southern plateau, [187], [194], [195];
its general physical features, [187], [188];
Karroos of Southern Africa, [188], [191].—See Cape Colony, Central Africa, Equitorial Africa, Kaffraria, Kalihari, Natal, Senegambia.
African elephant, characteristics of, [451].
Agami, the, described, [354].
Agouti, the, described, [342].
Agua, the, described, [363].
Ahu, the, described, [65].
Akhaf, the desert of, [106], [109].
Albert N’yanza, the, discovered by Sir S. Baker, [202].
Alfa, the, described, [150].
Alfourous, the, their manners, [525].
Alleghany Mountains, the, character of, [216].
Alligator, the, its natural history, [357], [358].
Alligator lucius, [357].
Aloe socotrina, [249].
Aloes, various species of, described, [254].
Alpaca, the, characteristics of, [334], [335].—See Huanacu.
Alpine Squirrel, the, [499].
Alps, the, referred to, [14];
described, [589], [590].
Alps, the Scandinavian, described, [588].
Altaï Mountains, the, description of, [594].
Amazon, forests of the river, their characteristics, [386], [387].
Amboyna, island of, its species, [421].
America, progressive civilization of, [205], [206];
Spanish conquests in, [206], [209];
probable future of, [209];
character of its fauna, [281-283].—See North America, South America.
Anastatica hierochuntica, [149].
Andamanese, the, character of, [525].
Andes, the, description of, [597], [598];
Condor of, [613], [614];
vegetation and character of the Pampas of, [228], [229].
Androsellæ, the, described, [601].
Annona (ox-heart), the, described, [246].
Ant-eater, habits of the great, [346], [347].
Anthropomorphic apes, natural history of, [470-487].
Antilope Dorcas, the, account of, [169].
Apache Indians, the, described, [335].
Apalachian Mountains, the, features of, [597].
Ape, the, natural history of, [463];
habitat, [464].—See Baboon, Chimpanzee, Cynocephali, Cynopitheci, Gorilla, Monkey, Orang-Outang.
Apennines, the, their character and aspect, [590].
Apios tuberosa, [260].
Aponogeton distachyum, [256].
Apteryx Australis, its natural history, [377], [378].
Aquila bifasciata, [75].
Arabian Deserts, the, description of, [106].
Arabs, the, their origin, [176];
physique, [176];
history, [176], [177];
religion, [177];
attachment to polygamy, [177];
love of rapine, [177];
religious zeal, [178];
general characteristics, [178], [179];
household wealth, [178], [180].—See Bedouins.
Aralia crassifolia, [277].
Ararat, Mount, its physical aspect, [595].
Araucanians, the, their habits and manners, [541].
Arctic discovery, reference to, and account of, [552-555].
Arctic regions, the, described, [548].—See Polar Regions.
Ardea alba, [72].—See Heron.
Areca saccharifera, [418].
Argæus, Mount, description of, [595].
Ariel Gazelle, the, natural history of, [169].
Aristida pungens, [148].
Armadillo, the, natural history of, [345], [346].
Arnee Buffalo, the, description of, [297], [308].
Arnold, Matthew, quoted, [398], [591].
Aroidaceæ, the, family of, [438].
Artemisia alba, [151].
Artemisia glacialis, [601].
Artesian wells, [161].
Artocarpus incisa, [414].
Arundo conspicua, [275].
Asiatic elephant, the, its natural history, [450], [451].
Asimina triloba, [259].
Asinus Quagga, the, natural history of, [291], [292].
Ass, the, its habits and peculiarities, [56].
Ass, Wild, the.—See Onagra.
Astelia Banksii, [276].
Asturias, bear of, described, [609].
Atacania, the Pampas of, [219].
Ateles, the, their natural history, [489], [490].
Atkinson, T. W., quoted, [58], [77], [79], [88].
Atlas Mountains, the, their situation and physical aspect, [124], [596].
Atmosphere of mountain-regions, [582], [583].
Aureilhan, lake of, [30].
Australia, discovery of, [231], [232];
its deserts, [232];
rivers, [232];
mountains, [235];
adventure and exploration in, [235], [236];
wilderness of, [237];
expedition by Burke and Wills, [237-240];
its flora, [273-281];
its fauna, [366-378];
its characteristic vegetation, [422-424];
its aboriginal population, [522], [523].
Auvergne, its extinct volcanoes, [591], [592].
Avatsha, mount, [595].
Aye-Aye, the, its natural history, [494].
Baboon of the Atlas, the, described, [465].
Bahiouda, desert of, described, [122], [123].
Baker, Sir S., quoted, [202], [287], [288].
Baleniceps, the, account of, [321].
Balsams, the yellow, described, [261].
Bamboo, the, its physiology and uses, [402].
Bamunguatos Mountains, the, chain of, [196].
Banana, the, its physiology and uses, [246], [249], [402], [403].
Banyan, the, account of, [404], [405].
Baobab, the, characteristics and discovery of, [409], [410].
Barth, Dr., quoted, [204].
Barbary Squirrel, the, account of, [500].
Barren landes, the, described, [549].
Bassia buttyracea, [410].
Batata, the, account of, [242].
Bates, H. W., quoted, [341], [347], [358], [386], [387], [388], [395], [396], [397], [434], [435], [446], [468].
Batna, account of, [127].
Baudouin, lake, description of, [114], [117].
Bauhinias, the, characteristics of, [439].
Bear, the Arctic, natural history of, [565], [566];
adventures with, [567], [568];
bear of Europe and Asia, [609], [610];
of North America, [610], [613].
Bear, the White, account of, [551], [566].
Beaver, the, natural history of, [342];
dams built by, [343], [344];
mode of hunting, [345];
gradual disappearance of, [345].
Bechuana country, the, dryness of, [191].
Bedford, Earls of, their works in the Fen country, [44].
Bedouins, the, their manners, habits, religion, and warlike disposition, [179], [180].
Beloor-tagh, mountains of, described, [595].
Benguela, description of, [193];
flora of, [251].
Benin, climate and aspect of, [193].
Berbers, the, their characteristics, [182].
Betel-nut tree, the, account of, [422].
Biafra described, [193].
Bielukha, mount, described, [594].
Biscarosse, lake, [30]; forest, [38].
Bisons, the, natural history of, [338];
mode of hunting, [339];
food, migrations, uses, [339].
Bittern, the great, account of, [72].
Black Bear, the, account of, [610].
Black mosquito grass, [263].
Black Mountains, the, [188], [212], [215].
Black pepper, whence procured, [245].
Black Swan, the, account of, [376].
Boa-Constrictor, the, natural history of, [358], [359].
Boars of America, account of, [330].
Boitard, quoted, [456].
Bolas, Indian, a mode of hunting with, [336], [337].
Bonald, quoted, [503].
Borassus flabelliformis, [401], [402].
Bos arni, [297].
Bos bubalus, [297].
Boswellia serrata, [407].
Botauris stellaris, [72].—See Bittern.
Botocoudos, the, described, [539].
Bradypus torquatus, [496].
Brande, W. T., quoted, [60], [251], [252], [408].
Bray, Mrs., quoted, [41].
Brayera anthelmintica, [249].
Brazil, Campos of, their physical aspects, [270], [271].
Bread-fruit tree, its character and properties, [414], [415].
Brittany, physical history of, [18-20];
geology [18], [19];
its Druidic monuments, [19];
its landes, [20], [24];
its inhabitants, [23];
its dunes, or sand-hills, [32], [35].
Brown Bear, the, account of, [609].
Brun, Malte, quoted, [589].
Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby, described, [375].
Bryant, W. C., quoted, [216].
Bubalus, the, described, [294].
Bucephalus viridis, [327].
Buckland, Dr., quoted, [447].
Buckland, Frank, quoted, [328].
Buenos Ayres, Pampas of, [226], [228].
Buffalo, the, natural history of, [296];
mode of hunting, [297];
of Kaffraria, [295], [296].
Buffon, quoted, [58], [71], [448], [479].
Bull-frog, the, described, [363], [364].
Buriäts, the, account of, [91], [92].
Burke and Wills, Australian expedition of, [236-240].
Burnett, quoted, [310], [313].
Burton, Captain R. F., quoted, [514].
Bustard, the, natural history of, [75].
Butter-tree, the, natural account of, [411].
Byron, quoted, [14], [135], [136], [201].
Cæsalpineæ, the, account of, [445].
Caimans.—See Alligator.
Caladium segmium, [245].
Calebash nutmeg, the, account of, [246].
California, giant trees of, [430], [431].
Calla, the, account of, [256].
Callistimon salignum, [277].
Callithrix sciurus, [490].
Calomys bizcacha, [342].
Camaroon Mountains, the, account of, [596].
Camel, the, natural history of, [58-64];
docility and usefulness, [58], [59];
physiology, [59], [60];
habits, [60-62];
moral qualities, [62], [63];
story of, [63], [64].—See Dromedary.
Camel-herd, the, described, [318].
Campanula of Allioni, the, [601].
Campos of Brazil, vegetable life of, [272], [273].
Canada, future prospects of, [209].
Cannes, Keltic memorials at, [19].
Cannibalism in Hindostan, [510];
in Polynesia, [513];
in Africa, [514];
in Ombaï, [519].
Caoutchouc, nature and properties of, [441], [442].
Cape Colony, account of, [188], [191].
Cape Eland, the, [295].
Cape Negro, [193].
Capim Gordura, described, [271].
Capybara, account of the, [341].
Caracara, the, account of, [355].
Caraccas, the Llanos of, [268].
Cariama, the, account of, [354].
Caribs, the, their manners and customs, [538], [539].
Oarnivora, the, habitat and history of, [167-169].
Carolinea insignis, [437].
Carpathian Mountains, the, account of, [592]
Carrette, M., quoted, [166], [167].
Carrion plant, the, described, [254].
Caspian Mountains, the, [595].
Cassanga, flora of, [258].
Cassava bread, described, [242].
Cassia, the, account of, [241].
Casso, the, described, [249].
Cassowary, the, natural history of, [318], [319].
Castor fiber, [343].—See Beaver.
Casuarina equisetifolia, [277].
Cathartes, Urubu, the, described, [56].
Catoblepus Gnu, the, described, [295].
Caucasus, mountain-range of, described, [592].
Cazau, lake of, [29], [30].
Cebidæ, the, natural history of, [487], [488].
Cedar-trees, in the Atlas region, [601], [602];
in England, [603];
in the Lebanon, [603].
Celastrus edulis, [249].
Central Africa, physical features of, [196-198].
Cerastes, the, natural history of, [171], [172].
Cercopithecus Diana, [469].
Cercopithecus ruber, [469].
Cereopsis, the, account of, [376], [377].
Cereus Peruvianus, [266].
Cervus Mexicanus, the, account of, [340].
Cevennes, the, natural features of, [14], [591].
Ceylon, reference to, [415].
Ceza, Pierre de, quoted, [438].
Chacma, the, described, [470].
Chambers, William, quoted, [38].
Chamois, the, natural history of, [607], [608].
Characeæ, the, described, [259].
Cheetah, the, natural history of, [310], [313].
Cheiromys Madagascariensis, [494].
Chilason, the, described, [68].
Chiquitos, the, account of, [540].
Chulon, the, described, [68].
Ciconia, the, natural history of, [320].
Civets, the, natural history of, [316].
Citrulli, the, [257].
Climate, influence of, [543], [544].
Cloquet, Dr., quoted, [110].
Clusia rosea, [437].
Cobra, the, physiology of, [327], [328].
Cocoa-nut palm, the, description of, [245].
Cocos oleracea, [245].
Coffæa Arabica, [245].
Coffee-tree, description of, [245]
Coleridge, S. T., quoted, [119], [120], [590].
Colocasia mucronatum, [245].
Colonial millet, account of, [242].
Comanches Indians, the, habits of, [535].
Common Buffalo, the, physiology of, [297].
Common Squirrel, the, [499].
Compass Berg, the, account of, [188].
Compositæ, the, in botany, [253].
Condor of the Andes, account of, [613], [614].
Coniferæ, the, family of, [423], [424].
Convolvuli, American, described, [439].
Convolvulus Batatas, [242].
Cook, Captain, voyages of, [232].
Cooper’s Creek, in Australia, [236], [238].
Copal-tree, the, properties of, [428].
Coracan, the, account of, [242].
Corchorus olitorius, [245].
Cordilleras, the, physical features of, [267].
Corral in Ceylon, the, [299].
Corypha Australis, [281].
Corypha inermis, [268].
Cossacks, the, manners and customs of, [81], [82].
Cotton-plant, the, in the Sahara, [158].
Cow-tree, the, properties of, [388].
Crawford, quoted, [406].
Crocodile, the, natural history of, [322];
mode of trapping, [323].
Crotalus horridus, [359].
Croton sebiferum, [407], [408].
Cucamis, the, described, [257].
Cucurbitaceæ, the, account of, [246].
Cuon Bansu, the, described, [315].
Curlew, the, natural history of [72], [73].
Cuvier, quoted, [286], [345].
Cycadaceæ, the, properties and nature of, [286].
Cycas circinnalis, [421].
Cygnus atratus, [376].
Cynocephali, the, natural history of, [464];
habits and propensities, [466].
Cynopitheci, the, natural history of, [466], [467].
Dante, quoted, [148].
Darling, the river, in Australia, [235].
Dartmoor, physical history of, [39];
its tors, or granite hills, [40];
morasses, [40];
ancient forests, [40].
Darwin, Dr., quoted, [341].
Date-palm, the, its character, fruit, and uses, [154-156].
Date-tree, the, thorny, properties of, [412].
Daumas, General, quoted,