Chapter IX: Part 9

This animal seems to be influenced by no other passions but rage, for he invariably makes war against all that come in his way, regardless of their superiority in size or strength. He has no idea of flight, and will suffer himself to be beat to pieces rather than yield. When he sees a dog coming towards him, he empties his cheeks, if he happens to be loaded, then swells them up to an enormous size, waits the approach of his enemy, who being sufficiently near, he rises upon his hind legs, and darts furiously upon him; and if he once makes good his hold he never quits it without the loss of life; but the dogs, who are fond of hunting them, generally avoid the first attack, and then seize them by the back. His ferocious disposition is not only exercised against other animals, but even his own species, for two hamsters never meet but they attack each other, and fight till one is slain, whom the conqueror devours; and in this respect there is no difference even if the rencounter is between a male and female.[AQ]

[AQ] This animal is very common in all the southern parts of Russia, principally in the most fertile countries and the best cultivated. He is not even rare in Tartary and the most southern parts of Siberia. In the desarts they live a wandering life; and they choose from preference those places where there is a great quantity of liquorice, the seeds of which serve them for provision.

THE BOBAK,[AR] AND OTHER MARMOTS.

[AR] This is its Polish name. It is called _switsch_ from the cry of the animal.

The name of the _Strasburgh marmot_ has been affixed to the hamster, and that of the _Poland marmot_ to the bobak (_fig. 171._). But it is as certain, that the hamster is not a marmot, as it is probable the bobak is one; for he only differs from the marmot of the Alps by the colour of his hair, which instead of being brown is rather a pale yellow: he has also a thumb, or claw, to the fore-feet, while the marmot has only four toes and no thumb; but in every other respect they perfectly resemble, which makes us presume they do not form two distinct species. It is the same with respect to the monax, or Canadian marmot, which some travellers have termed the _whistler_: he only seems to differ from the marmot by the tail, which is longer and thicker of hair. Therefore the Canadian monax, the Poland bobak, and the Alpine marmot, appear to be all the same animal, which from the influence of different climates have undergone those alterations we have before particularized. As this species prefers the coldest and highest mountains, and inhabits Poland, Russia, and other parts of the north of Europe, no wonder it is found in Canada, where it is only somewhat less, a circumstance not particular to it alone; for all animals common to both continents are smaller in the new than in the old.

The Siberian animal, called by the Russians _jevraschka_, is a kind of marmot, still less than the Canadian monax, the head of which is round, and the snout snubbed. It has no external ears, nor can the auditory passages be seen without turning back the hair. The length of the body, including the head, is not above a foot; the tail, which is scarcely three inches long, is nearly round towards the body, then flat, and truncated towards as extremity. The body is thick, the hair yellow, mixed with grey, and blackish towards the end of the tail. The legs are short, but those before are somewhat longer than those behind. The hind feet have five toes, with five black claws, a little crooked: the fore feet have but four. When these animals are irritated, or when they are surprised, they bite violently, and make a shrill noise like the marmot. They sit upon their hind legs to feed, and carry the food to their mouths with their fore paws. They copulate in spring, and bring forth in summer; commonly five or six at a time. They dig burrows for their winter residence, and the females suckle their young at the bottom of their habitations. Though these animals bear a great resemblance to the marmots, they nevertheless seem to be a different species, for the Poland or Alpine species of marmot are found in the same parts of Siberia, which the inhabitants call _suroks_, and these two species have never been observed to mix together, nor produce an intermediate race.

THE JERBOA.

Jerboa is a generic name, which is made use of to denote those remarkable animals whose legs are extremely disproportionate; those before being not above one inch long, and those behind two inches one fourth, exactly resembling those of a bird. There are four distinct species, or varieties, in this genus; first, the _tarsier_, which we have already spoken of, and which is certainly a particular species, having five toes on each foot, like those of a monkey. Secondly, the _jerboa_, which has four toes on the fore-feet, and three on those behind. Third, the _alagtaga_, whose feet are formed like those of the jerboa, with this difference, that it has five toes on the fore-feet, and three on the hind, with a spur, that may be considered as a thumb, or fourth toe, much shorter than the others. Fourth, the _daman Israel_, or _lamb of Israel_, which has four toes to the fore feet, and five on those behind, and which may possibly be the same animal that Linnæus has described under the name of _mus longipes_.

The head of the jerboa is sloped somewhat in the manner of a rabbit; but the eyes are larger, and the ears shorter, higher, and broader in proportion to its size. Its nose is deprived of hair, and is of a flesh colour, and its muzzle short and thick, the orifice of the mouth very narrow, the upper jaw very broad, and the lower narrow and short; the teeth are like those of a rabbit; the whiskers are composed of long black and white hairs; the fore feet are very short, and never touch the ground; they are furnished with four claws, and are only used as hands to carry the food to the mouth; the hind feet have but three toes, the middle one is longest, and all of them have claws; the tail is three times longer than the body, and is covered with short stubborn hair, of the same colour as those on the back, but tufted at the end with longer and softer hair; the legs, nose, and ears, are bare, and of a flesh colour; the upper part of the head and back are covered with reddish hair, the sides, throat, and belly, are whitish; below the reins, and near the tail, there is a large black, transversal band, in the form of a crescent.

The alagtaga is smaller than a rabbit, its body is shorter, its ears are long, wide, bare, thin, transparent, and sprinkled with blood-vessels, which are very apparent; the upper jaw is much larger than the lower, but blunt and pretty wide at the extremity; the whiskers are large; the teeth are like those of the rat, the eyes full, with the iris and pupil of a brown colour. The body of this animal is narrow before, but very broad and round behind; the tail is very long, it is not so thick as the little finger of a man, and about two-thirds of it is covered with short and rough hair, which grows longer, softer, and thicker, towards the end, till at length it forms a kind of tuft, black at the beginning, and white towards the extremity. The fore-feet are very short and have five toes, the hind ones, which are very long, have only four, three of which are placed forwards, and the fourth, which is a kind of thumb, stands at about an inch distant from the rest. All these toes are furnished with claws, shorter in the hind than in the fore-feet. The hair of this animal is soft, pretty long, yellow on the back, and whitish under the belly.

By comparing these two descriptions, the first of which is taken from Edwards and Hasselquist, and the second from Gmelin, we shall perceive, that these animals resemble each other as much as possible. The jerboa is only smaller than the alagtaga, and has only four toes on the fore-feet, and three on the hind ones, without any spur; while the other has five on the fore-feet, and three and a spur on those behind; but I am inclined to think this difference is not universal, for Dr. Shaw, who has given a description of the jerboa of Barbary, represents it with this spur, or fourth toe, on the hind-feet; and Mr. Edwards remarks, that he carefully examined two jerboas he saw in England, and that he saw no spur in either of them. Thus this character which would specifically distinguish the jerboa from the alagtaga, not being universal is of no consequence, and rather remarks the identity, than the diversity of the species. Neither is the difference of size any greater proof of their being two different species; possibly Edwards and Hasselquist have only described young jerboas, and M. Gmelin, an old alagtaga. There are only two things which create any doubt in my mind, viz. the difference in the size of their tails, and the variety in the climates they inhabit, for the jerboa is common in Circassia, Egypt, Barbary, and Arabia; and the alagtaga, in Tartary, along the Wolga, and as far as Siberia. It is seldom that the same kind of animal inhabits such different climates; and whenever it does happen the species undergoes great changes; which, we presume, is the case with the jerboa, of which the alagtaga, notwithstanding these differences, seems to be only a variety.

These little animals commonly conceal their hands, or fore-feet, among their hair; so that at first they appear to have only hind-feet. When they move from one place to another, they do not walk, that is advance one foot before the other, but jump or bound with the greatest ease, four or five feet at a time; they rest themselves in a kneeling posture, and only sleep in the day. In the night they seek for food, like hares, and like them, feed on grass and all kinds of grain. They are of a gentle nature, but are not to be tamed beyond a certain limit. They burrow like rabbits, and in much less time. They lay up a store of grass towards the end of summer in their habitations, and in which, in cold countries, they remain during the winter.

With respect to the daman, or lamb of Israel, which seems to be of the jerboa kind, as its fore-legs are much shorter than those behind, having never seen it, we cannot do better than copy the description of it as given by Dr. Shaw, who speaks of these two animals as of different kinds: "The daman (says this author) is also a native of Mount Lebanon, and common to be met with in Syria and Phoenicia; it is a very harmless animal, resembling the common rabbit in size, shape, and also in the disposition of the fore-teeth; but it is somewhat browner, has smaller eyes, and a head more pointed. Its fore-feet are short, and those behind long, much in the same proportion as those of the jerboa. Although it sometimes conceals itself in the earth, its common retreat is in the hollows and clefts of rocks, which is a strong reason to conclude that it is this animal and not the jerboa, which is meant in Scripture by the _Saphan_. I have not been able to learn from any one why it was called the _daman_ of Israel, which signifies the _lamb_ of Israel." Prosper Alpinus, who mentioned this animal before Dr. Shaw, says, that its flesh is delicate food, and that it is much bigger than the European rabbit; but this last circumstance seems doubtful, for Dr. Shaw has omitted this passage of Prosper Alpinus, whom, in other respects, he has fully quoted.

THE ICHNEUMON.

This animal in Egypt is called _mangutia_, but we shall adopt the name _ichneumon_ (_fig. 172._) given it by Aristotle, and others. It is as domestic in Egypt as the cat is in Europe; and is alike serviceable to destroy rats and mice. But its inclination for prey is much stronger and more violent, for it hunts and eats with the same avidity, birds, quadrupeds, serpents, lizards, and insects. It attacks every living creature, and feeds entirely on animal flesh; its courage is equal to the sharpness of its appetite, being neither intimidated by the anger of the dog, nor the malice of the cat; it even dreads not the bite of the serpent, but pursues, seizes, and kills them, however venomous. As soon as it begins to feel the effects of their venom, it immediately goes in search of antidotes, and particularly of a root which the Indians call by its name, and which, they say, is a most sure and powerful remedy against the bite of the viper or asp. It sucks the eggs of the crocodile, as well as those of fowls and birds; it also kills and eats the young crocodiles, though they are very strong even when scarcely come out of the shell; and as fable commonly precedes truth, it has been alleged that, in consequence of this antipathy, the ichneumon enters the body of the crocodile when he is asleep, and never quits him till it has devoured his entrails.

Naturalists have supposed that there are several kinds of ichneumons, because there are some larger, and of a different colour from others; but if we consider, that being often reared in houses, they must, like other domestic animals, undergo changes, we shall readily perceive that this diversity of colour and size only indicates simple varieties, not sufficient to constitute a separate species; especially as in the two ichneumons which I have seen alive, and in many stuffed skins I examined, I did not observe that the intermediate shades both of size and colour differed from the rest by any evident and constant character; and it only appears, that in Egypt, where the ichneumons may be said to be domestic, they are larger than those in India, where they are wild.

Nomenclators, who are never willing that a being should be only what it is, have greatly varied on the subject of the ichneumon. Linnæus first made it of the badger kind, and directly after of the ferret. Hasselquist, following the lessons of his master, also makes it a badger. Klein and Brisson have placed it in the weasel class, others in the otter, and some with the rat.[AS] I only quote these ideas to shew the want of consistency, and the contradictions, which are to be met with in what are called generic denominations, and which are generally false, arbitrary, vague, and equivocal.

[AS] Professor Cuvier classes it with the bear.

The ichneumon is fond of living by the sides of rivers. During the inundations it quits its habitation, and even seeks for prey near inhabited places. They walk without making any noise, and change their manner as occasion requires. Sometimes they carry their heads erect, foreshorten their bodies, and rise upon their hind-legs; at other times they creep and lengthen their bodies like a serpent. It often sits upon its hind-legs, and more often darts like an arrow upon its prey; its eyes are lively and full of fire; its physiognomy is beautiful, its body very agile, legs short, tail thick and very long, and its hair rough, and sometimes curled. Both male and female have a remarkable orifice, independent of the natural passages; a kind of pouch, in which an odoriferous liquor is secreted; and some have asserted that the ichneumon opens this pouch to refresh itself when too hot. Its nose is very sharp, and its mouth narrow, which prevents it from seizing any thing very large; but these wants are amply supplied by agility and courage. It very easily strangles a cat, though bigger and stronger than itself; it often fights with dogs, and however large commonly gets the better of them.

Their growth is very quick, and their lives but of short duration: they are very common throughout all the southern parts of Asia, from Egypt to Java; and are even to be met with in Africa, as far as the Cape of Good Hope; but they will not live and produce in our temperate climates; they are distressed by wind, and the frost destroys them; to avoid the one, and to counteract the effects of the other by warmth, they roll themselves up with their heads under their bellies. The ichneumon was much esteemed by the ancient Egyptians, and is still protected with much care upon account of the essential service it performs in the destruction of noxious animals, particularly the crocodiles, whose eggs it knows how to discover even in the sand, and which creatures would become very formidable, from their great multiplication, one female laying near five hundred eggs, if it were not that the ichneumons destroy them.

THE FOSSANE.

This animal is called by some travellers the _genet of Madagascar_, because it resembles the genet in colour, and some other affinities; but it is in general much smaller, and has not the odoriferous bag, which is an essential character belonging to that animal. As we were not certain as to this fact, not being able to procure one for dissection, we wrote to M. de Poivre, who had sent us the skin of a fossane stuffed, and who favoured us with the following answer:--Lyons, July 19, 1761. "The fossane which I brought from Madagascar is an animal whose manners are much like those of our marten. The inhabitants of the island assured me, that when the male is in heat it emits a very strong smell like musk. When I stuffed the skin which is in the royal gardens I did not discover any bag, nor did I find any odoriferous smell. I reared two similar animals, the one at Cochinchina, and another in the Phillippine Islands; they were both males; I had them very young, and kept them about, two or three months, in which time they had become pretty familiar. I never found any bag in the parts you speak of, but only observed that their excrements had the same smell as those of our marten. They eat flesh and fruits, but preferred the latter, and were exceedingly partial to bananas, which they devoured with voracity. This is a very wild animal, and difficult to tame; though taken when very young, yet it preserved the look and character of ferocity, which appeared to me somewhat extraordinary in an animal who feeds by preference on fruits. The eye of the fossane represents a large black globe, in comparison with the size of its head, which gives it a mischievous aspect."

It gives us great pleasure to have here an opportunity of testifying our thanks to M. de Poivre, who from a real taste for natural history, and a friendship for those who cultivate it, has presented to the cabinet a great number of scarce and curious animals.

The animal called _berbé_, in Guinea seems to us to be the same as the fossane, and consequently that this species exists in Africa as well as in Asia. "The _berbé_ (says Bosman) has a more pointed snout, and a smaller body, than our cat, and is speckled like the civet." We know of no animal with which these characters so well agree as with that of the fossane.

THE VANSIRE.

Those who have spoken of this animal have taken it for a ferret, to which indeed it has a great resemblance; but it differs in characters sufficiently strong to warrant our considering it as a distinct species. The vansire, or, as it is called by some, the Madagascar weasel, of which place it is a native, has twelve grinders in its upper jaw, while the ferret has only eight; and the lower grinders, though ten in number in both animals, are neither alike in shape nor situation. Besides, the vansire differs in the colour of its hair from all ferrets, though those, like every other animal which man is careful of rearing and increasing, vary so much in colour, that there is a difference even between male and female.

To us it appears, that the animal mentioned by Seba as the _weasel of Java_, and which, he says, the natives call _koger-angan_, and afterwards spoken of by Brisson by the name of the _ferret of Java_, may possibly be the same animal as the vansire, at least it comes nearer to the vansire than to any animal at present known; but Seba's description is not sufficiently complete to establish a just comparison, which is absolutely necessary to form a solid and explicit judgment.

THE MAKI.[AT]

[AT] The word _maki_ has probably been derived from _mocoek_ or _maucauc_, which is the name given to these animals at Mozambique and in the islands of Madagascar, whence it originally proceeded.

As this name Maki has been given to several animals we can only use it as a generic term, under which we comprehend three animals of the same class, but varying in characters sufficiently numerous to constitute different species. These three animals have long tails, and feet shaped like those of the monkey; but their snout is long, like that of the martin; and they have six incisive teeth in the under jaw, while the monkeys have but four.

The first of this kind is the mococo, or maucauco, (_fig. 173._) commonly known by the name of the _ring-tailed maki_. The second is the mongous, (_fig. 174._) commonly called the _brown maki_; but this denomination is misapplied, for there are among this kind, various colours, some are all brown, others with white cheeks and feet, and still others whose cheeks are black and feet are yellow. The third is the _vari_, (_fig. 175._) called by some the _pied maki_: but this denomination has been also misapplied, for besides those which are pied, that is black and white, there are some all white, and others entirely black. These animals are all natives of the eastern parts of Africa, and principally of Madagascar, where they are found in great numbers.

_Engraved for Barr's Buffon_

The maucauco is a beautiful animal; he is remarkable for the largeness of his eyes, and the length of the hind legs, which by far exceed those before, and for his long and handsome tail which is continually elevated, and in motion, and upon which are thirty rings alternately black and white, all very distinct and separate from each other. He is of a gentle disposition, and although he greatly resembles the monkeys in many particulars, he has not any of their malicious dispositions. When in a state of liberty, they are frequently seen at Madagascar in companies of thirty or forty together. This animal is neither mischievous nor ferocious; but as he is always in motion, it is customary to keep him chained when in a state of captivity, for he may be rendered so tame as to be let loose without any danger of his quitting his master. When he moves, it is in an oblique direction, like all animals which have hands instead of feet. He jumps with greater facility than he walks, and is so silent an animal, that his voice is seldom heard, except when irritated, and then he utters a sharp, but very short cry. He sleeps in a sitting posture, with his muzzle resting on his breast. His body is not thicker than that of a cat, but it is longer, and he appears to be larger than he really is from the length of his legs. His hair is very soft, although it stands almost upright. The genital parts of the male maucauco are small and concealed, while those of the mongous are disproportionally large and apparent.

The mongous is less than the maucauco, but his hair is likewise short, silky, and a little curled. His nose is thicker, and resembles that of the vari. I had a mongous in my possession for several years; his coat was brown, his eyes yellow, his nose black, and his ears short. He had a custom of playing with, and biting his own tail, and by this method destroyed four or five of the last vertebræ. He was very slovenly, and so troublesome that we were obliged to keep him chained. Whenever he got loose, he visited the shops in the neighbourhood, and would make free with fruit, sugar, sweetmeats, &c. and to obtain which, he would open the boxes that contained them. At such times it was difficult to retake him, and he would bite even those he best knew. He was almost continually grumbling, and when weary of being alone, he made a loud noise which somewhat resembled the croaking of a frog. This was a male animal, and had extremely large testicles for the size of his body. He was fond of she-cats, but his connection with them was too slight to be productive. He was very fearful of the cold and wet, and never stirred far from the fire-side, where he sat upright to warm himself. He was fed with bread and fruits; his tongue was rough, like that of a cat, and he would lick a person's hand until it became inflamed, and if not guarded against would generally end with a bite. He died with the cold in the winter, 1750, although he never stirred from the fire-side. He was very brisk in his motions, and sometimes petulant. He often slept in the day, or rather dozed, for his sleep was so light, that he was disturbed with the least noise.

There are many varieties of the mongous both in colour and size. The one we have just mentioned was quite brown, and about the size of a middling cat. We saw one which, though adult, was not bigger than the loir. If this small mongous had not perfectly resembled the great one in every respect but in size, it would certainly have been a different species; but the resemblance was so perfect, that we think ourselves justifiable in ranking them together.

The _vari_ is much longer, stronger, and wilder, than the maucauco, and is even dangerous in its free state. Travellers tell us, "that these animals are as furious as tigers, and very difficult to be tamed; and that their voice is so very loud, that when there are only two together in the woods, it might be imagined the noise proceeded from a hundred." The voice of the vari is somewhat like the roaring of the lion, and is very alarming to those who hear it for the first time. This astonishing power of voice in an animal of so middling a size, depends on the singular structure of the windpipe, the two branches of which enlarge and form a concavity near its entrance into the tubes of the lungs. Thus he differs greatly from the maucauco both by nature and conformation. His hair in general is much longer, and he has a kind of ruff round the neck, consisting of very long hair, which forms a very apparent character, and by which he may easily be distinguished. In colour he varies from quite black to white, and his hair, though very long and soft, stands very nearly upright. His muzzle is thicker and longer than that of the maucauco. His ears are much shorter, and edged with long hairs; and his eyes are of so deep an orange-colour, that they appear to be red.

The maucauco, the mongous, and the vari, are all of the same country; and seem to be confined to Madagascar, Mozambique, and the neighbouring lands of those islands. It does not appear, by the testimony of any traveller, that they are to be found in any other part of the world; and seem to be in the Old Continent, what the opossums are in the New. In respect to shape, the makis seem to fill up the shade between the long-tailed monkey, and lower orders of quadrupeds; for they have four hands and a long tail like monkeys, and at the same time, have a long muzzle like foxes and polecats. In their manners, the makis, however, partake more of the monkey, for although they sometimes feed upon flesh, and take pains to seize on birds, they are less carnivorous than frugivorous; and even in a domestic state they prefer roots, fruit, and bread, to flesh, raw or roasted.

_END OF THE EIGHTH VOLUME._

T. Gillet, Printer, Wild-Court.

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Transcriber's Note

All obvious typographical errors were corrected. Where several variant spellings were used, the most prevalent version was use to standardize them. All illustration headers were standardized to display "_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._" above each group and the captions were also standardized. The illustration captions were arranged in ascending numbers. Illustrations which split paragraphs were moved to rejoin them and in some cases, moved to the end of the section. To match the other volumes in this series, the list for the placement of images was positioned after the Table of Contents. "M. Allemand" probably should have been "M. Allamand" a Swiss-Dutch natural philosopher (1713-1787) that is reported to have contributed to Buffon's _Histoire Naturelle_. This was left unchanged.

p. 113, missing end quote added (... for digestion." Dr. Klockner ...).
p. 297, missing end quote added at end of paragraph.
P. 302, missing end quote added at end of paragraph.