To our former account of this animal we may now add that there are two species of it in Guiana, the one larger than the other; the former weigh from twelve to fifteen pounds, and the latter about six: their principal food is the leaves of trees, in the holes of which the females bring forth their young; they commonly bring forth two at a time, and yet they are not very numerous. The negroes are very fond of their flesh and describe it as extremely good. From the account of M. de la Borde they are solitary animals, except in the season of love, when they go in pairs; they seldom venture to appear during the day, and they find a most inveterate enemy in the tiger who destroys them at every opportunity.
This animal has never yet received a distinct name: placed by Nature in the desert part of North America, it exists in independence far distant from man, and has not even received from him a name, which is the first mark of an animal’s subjection. Hudson having discovered the country where he inhabits, we shall give him a name which has an affinity with his first master, and which, at the same time, indicates his sharp bristly nature. It was likewise necessary to give him a name, that he might not be confounded with the porcupine or coendou, which he resembles in some few characters, but so materially differs from them in other respects that he ought to be looked upon as a different species. He is also a native of the northern climates, while the others particularly belong to that of the south.
Edward, Ellis, and Catesby, have all spoken of this animal: the figures given by the two first agree with ours, and we have no doubt of their being the same animal. We are likewise strongly inclined to believe, that the figure and description Seba has given, under the name of the remarkable porcupine of the East Indies, and which afterwards Klein, Brisson, and Linnæus, indicated in their methodical lists by characters extracted from Seba, may be the same animal as we are now treating of. This would not, as we have already observed, be the only time that Seba has spoken of American animals as belonging to the East Indies. However we cannot be so positive with respect to this as we have been with many other animals; all that we can say is, that the resemblances appear to be very great, and the differences very slight, and that these differences may possibly be only varieties between individuals, or such as distinguish the males from the females.
The urson might be called the bristly beaver, he being of the same country, the same size, and the same form of body. He has, like the beaver, two long, strong, and sharp incisive teeth at the end of each jaw. Besides his prickles, which are short, and almost covered with hair, like the beaver, he has a double coat, the first consists of long and soft hairs, and the second of a down, which is still more soft and smooth. In the young ursons the prickles are proportionably larger, more apparent, and the hair shorter and scarcer than in the adults.
This animal avoids moist places, and is even fearful of wetting himself. They make their habitations under the roots of great hollow trees, sleep very much, and chiefly feed upon the bark of juniper-bushes. In winter the snow serves them for drink; and in summer they lap water like a dog. The savages eat their flesh, and strip the bristles off the hide, which they make use of instead of pins and needles, and clothe themselves with the fur.