Phebe Westcott Humphreys

“ With marvelous agility it leaps over ravines, scales with nimble and sure feet the steepest acclivities, bounds along the narrowest paths on the edge of the most perilous abysses, and jumping from rock to rock, will take its stand on the sharpest point, where there appears hardly room for its feet to rest; and all this is accomplished with an accuracy of sight, a muscular energy, an elegance and precision of movement, and a self-possession which are without equal. From these facts, it can easily be understood that hunting this nimble and daring animal is an amusement full of danger. ”

“ Thus this far-seeing tyrant of the ocean knows how to measure the number and power of the arms necessary to destroy its prey. For the destruction of the weak and defenceless, one row of teeth suffices; for the more formidable adversary it has a whole arsenal at command.
The eyes of the Shark are small, and nearly round; its scent is very subtle; its fins are strong and rough. The tail is possessed of immense power, and is capable of breaking the limb of a robust Man by a single stroke.
He seeks eagerly for human flesh, and haunts the neighborhood where it hopes to find the precious morsel. ”

“ The sea all about is soon dyed with blood, proceeding from the wounds of the Whale, while the enormous animal vainly endeavors to reach its invader, and strikes with its tail against the surface of the water, making a report at each blow louder than the noise of a cannon. ”

“ What can be more delightful than the sight of these little feathered beauties, flashing with the united fires of the ruby, the topaz, the sapphire, and the emerald, flying from flower to flower amid the richest tropical vegetation? Such are the lightness and rapidity of some of the smaller species, that the eye can scarcely follow the quick beat of their wings. When they hover they appear perfectly motionless, and one might fancy them suspended by an invisible thread. ”

“ Anyone who has visited Switzerland has often seen these powerful Birds swaying majestically over the highest point of the Alps. With widespread wings they glide along with easy motion. The sharp eye searches the earth anxiously and discerns the smallest prey from the greatest height. The Bird descends with slow circling movements and presently drawing his wings with loud, rustling noise, he darts to the earth like an arrow. He buries his outstretched fangs into the body of his prey and crushes it sooner or later, according to its size and power of resistance, without the use of his bill. ”

“ If it scents prey from a distance, it glides through the high grass with the undulating movements of the serpent, almost impossible to be detected by the human eye.
The Tiger has for a long time borne a reputation for cruelty, as little deserved as that for generosity which has been given the Lion. The old Naturalists pretended that the Tiger gloried in shedding blood, and that it never saw a living creature without desiring to destroy it. Nothing can be more untrue. The Tiger does not kill for the pleasure of killing; it kills only to appease its hunger. ”

“ The trunk narrow and long, the flattened head with wide open, broad jaws lined with a terrible set of long, pointed, rake-like teeth. Anything they catch hold of is lost.
With strong strokes the pirate rows through his element. Nothing is safe from him. He feeds on the small Frogs and Snakes, Carp, Trout and White Fish. Like the Shark in the ocean, the blood-thirsty tyrant is master of the surroundings in every fresh water settlement. He snatches young Ducks, and often destroys whole broods. ”

“ Slow and careless in his movements, this animal wanders through his native plains with a heavy step, carrying his huge head so low that his nose almost touches the ground, and stopping at intervals, to crop some favorite plant, or in playfulness to plough up the ground with his horn, throwing the mud and stones behind him. ”

“ When a Fish comes within reach, with great rapidity the King-fisher darts upon it, seizing it in its powerful mandibles, and after destroying it by compression, or by knocking it against a stone or the trunk of a tree, swallows it head foremost. ”

“ Viewed in his wild state, few animals can surpass the lurking Leopard in point of beauty, his brilliant orange and white skin, which shines like silk, being richly studded with open rosettes, sometimes of the most intense sable, at others disposed as if a Cat had been walking over him with her paws tarred. ”

“ The head is flat; the fore-part of the snout is projected forward; the wide mouth, pushed far back, is supplied with sharp triangular teeth.
The bold robber has seen the diver and comes at him. If he loses his coolness, he will be the spoil of the greedy Shark. He draws his dagger, which he carries with him for such an event. Dexterously he avoids the animal and stabs him deep with the dagger. A great stream of blood stains the water. In his death struggles the mighty animal threshes the water with his great fins and seeks safety in flight. ”

“ The Lion seems to delight in the tempests of wind and rain, so common in Southern Africa; his voice mingles with the thunder, and adds to the terror of the timid animals, on whom he then boldly advances. ”

“ It is a terrible situation to be placed in to behold these black spectres tearing across the surface of the white shroud of snow, thirsting for your blood. From time to time a report is heard; a Wolf falls. More audacious than the others, the victim had tried to climb the sledge, and one of the travelers has shot it. ”

“ No animal is more savage than the Cat when threatened by punishment or danger. For when it sees no chance of escape, it defends itself with energy that cannot be surpassed. So long as its enemy keeps at a respectful distance, it confines itself to a passive resistance, watching, however, for the slightest indication of hostility, and holding itself ready for every emergency. Should its adversary advance to seize it, with wonderful activity it strikes with its claws, at the same time expressing anger with its voice. ”

“ The Jaguar is spread over nearly the whole of South America and of the warmer parts of North America. It inhabits the great forests traversed by rivers, and actively pursues various aquatic Mammals. Like the Tiger, it swims with ease and passes the day in inaction among the islets of the great lagoons and rivers. In the evening it seeks its food, and levies a heavy tribute on the immense herds of wild Cattle and Horses that graze in the Pampas of the Plata. With a single blow of its paw it breaks the back-bone of its victims. ”

“ It is not an uncommon thing for White Bears to drift out to sea on floating icebergs, when they become reduced to the most frightful distress from hunger. Fatally confined to their icy raft, and utterly devoid of all means of subsistence, they ultimately attack and devour one another.
The White or Polar Bear often attains a length of nine feet. Its huge limbs and powerful claws are developed in fitting proportion to the massive body; and the soles of its feet are clad with hair, enabling it to tread with safety on the slippery ice floes, where it finds a home. ”

“ If one, however, places itself within reach of their terrible foe, its fate is generally sealed. One enormous bound enables the Lion to spring on its back, and one blow with his paw breaks its back. If the Lion misses his aim, he does not endeavor to continue a useless pursuit, well knowing that he cannot compete in speed with the children of the plains. He therefore skulks back into his hiding-place, to lie in ambush until some more fortunate chance presents itself, or complete night-fall shuts out all hope of success. ”

“ The anguished bellowing and bleating of the fallen animal have been heard by the distant feeding herd, and the old Buffalos come immediately, 39their great, clumsy, heavy bodies storming along with startling swiftness to punish the Bear for his bloody deed. He sees that he must for the time being postpone his feast and prepare to protect himself against the approaching attacking party of whom especially the foremost steer, with colossal head sunk low, jaws foaming and tail thrown up, presents a vivid picture of ungovernable strength and fury. ”

“ It seems astonishing how a shoal of these enormous animals find subsistence together, when it would seem that the supplying even one with food would require greater plenty than the ocean could furnish. To increase our wonder, we not only see them herding together, but usually find them fatter than any other animals of land or sea. We likewise know that they cannot swallow large Fishes, as their throat is so narrow, that a Fish larger than a Herring could not enter. How then do they subsist and grow so fat? ”

“ Just as the Goose has long been the symbol of awkwardness and stupidity, so the Swan has been an object of admiration in all ages for its noble proportions, the graceful curve of its neck and its small and shapely head. ”

“ The outward or scarf skin of the Whale is no thicker than parchment; but this removed, the real skin appears, of about an inch thick, and covering the fat or blubber that lies beneath; this is from eight to twelve inches in thickness; and is, when the Whale is in health, of a beautiful yellow. The muscles lie beneath; and these, like the flesh of quadrupeds, are very red and tough.
Nothing can exceed the tenderness of the mother for her young; she carries it with her wherever she goes, and, when hardest pursued, keeps it supported between her fins. Even when wounded, she still clasps her baby ”

“ Purely carnivorous in its diet, the Polar Bear subsists chiefly on the Seals it contrives to trap by watching their breathing holes patiently for hours, or it may be for days together. The fur is of a dirty-white hue, inclining towards a yellowish-brown tint in the young. When the Seals are scarce, these Bears will welcome the carcase of a Whale which has floated beyond the recall of the whaler. ”

“ When the Condor pursues an animal, he continues the chase until either the prey, leaping over a precipice, dashes to pieces, or he pounces upon and crushes it, battering in its skull with his powerful bill. His principal booty as previously mentioned, is the swift-footed though defenceless Llama. In the illustration we see how a powerful Condor has pursued one of the most useful of domestic animals until he has fallen exhausted, and now proceeds to kill and consume him. In the distance hovers a comrade with whom he will be obliged, willingly or otherwise, to share the booty. ”

“ The history of any one family of the bony Fishes very closely resembles all the rest—they breathe air and water through the gills. They live by devouring such Fish and the animal life of the great waters as their mouth is capable of admitting. They propagate not by bringing forth their young alive, like the Mammals and a few of the cartilaginous Fishes, nor by distinct eggs, like the remainder of the latter class, but by spawn, as their roe is called, which is made up of hundreds, and in some instances hundreds of thousands of tiny eggs. ”

“ By constantly traversing the same ground, in going and returning from their burrows, they gradually tread down a path among the grass and herbage, by which their presence may readily be discovered by an experienced eye. When under water, their fur is covered with multitudes of tiny air-bubbles that shine like silver and have a beautiful effect when seen against the dark surface of the body. ”

“ In this little volume of Natural History we will not only study our animal friends as individuals, but will learn of their relationship to each other, carefully arranged and classified, but much more easily understood, than the classification found in the numerous great volumes of encyclopedia of Natural History.
We are always interested in the relatives of our human friends ”

“ A more delightful picture can hardly be imagined, than when the little chicks bustle around the parents, now here, now there, catching large flies, a worm, or a water insect. Swift as an arrow they shoot towards the mother when she has found a morsel for them. Alertly the old ones watch in every direction for possible danger. ”

“ But it will not last long; the Bearded Griffon rushes on him, and with claws meeting these kings of the air fight out a mighty battle. It is scarcely to be doubted that the stronger Bearded Griffon will at last win the victory and divide the spoil with his wife, while the exhausted and bleeding Vulture flies away to seek some other supply to satisfy his hunger. So throughout all nature the bitter fight for existence goes on, and ever the strong must be overcome by the yet stronger. ”