Animals Asleep

1901

The Attitudes Some of Them Assume During Slumber

The chimpanzee, as far as I have been able to ascertain, never sleeps upon its back, its favorite position being on its side, with one arm under its head. In this respect it resembles children of from 4 to 10 years of age. The only gorilla which I have had an opportunity of observing also apparently preferred this attitude, but occasionally seemed to sleep comfortably in a crouching position, with its head bowed down between its knees. This latter attitude appears to be the one adopted by nearly all the lower monkeys.

When turned out at pasture, all horses, except those which are crippled by disease or injury, lie down at night with their legs folded beneath their bodies. Some of the short limbed and thick jointed animals, such as the elephant, hippopotamus and rhinoceros, find a difficulty in bending their legs under them after the manner of their more slender kindred. Hence they sleep upon their sides in a pig-like attitude.

Bears, as far as I have been able to observe, have no characteristic sleeping attitude, for you see them lying in all sorts of grotesque positions, as if they found one quite as comfortable as another. Indeed, a well favored bear. covered with a good layer of fat and a thick coat of fur, may be said to carry his bed about with him, and any part of his skin will serve either for mattress or coverlet, as occasion arises. Nevertheless, the bear, when sound asleep, tends to curl himself up with his nose and paws inward, and this is probably the attitude which in cold climates he adopts when hibernating in his den during the winter season.

Kangaroos also appear to be quite indifferent as to the position of their bodies during sleep. Any sunny afternoon at the zoological gardens you may see them sprawling on the straw in all imaginable attitudes. The only things they seem to demand in order to be perfectly comfortable are reasonable warmth and plenty of elbow room. — Dr. Louis Robinson in Pearson's Magazine.

Relics of the Bronze Age

1905

Many Articles Excavated at Renfrewshire, Scotland

Until recently vestiges of the Bronze Age civilization in Renfrewshire have been rarely met with, though there were, doubtless, many skilled craftsmen and an extensive population in this as in many other parts of Scotland during the period in question, which is thought to have ranged in time from about the sixteenth to the second century before the birth of Christ.

Lately, however, remains undoubtedly of the Bronze Age in Renfrewshire have been brought to light by excavations near the railway station at Newlands. Mr. Ludovic Mann, F. S. A. Scot., who described a few weeks ago the Newlands finds to the Society of Antiquaries, of Scotland, has had the good fortune recently to locate another Bronze Age site. It is situated between Kilmalcolm and Bridge of Weir, and the most important relic found is a beautifully shaped perforated stone axe-hammer, ornamented with knobs and moldings, and in perfect preservation.



Least Known of Animals

Next to the Liberian hippopotamus the Derbian eland of West Africa, which the Mandingoes call "Jinke janko," is to-day the least known of all rare and strange animals. Even though Great Britain, France and Liberia own practically the whole of the Northwest Africa coast, no specimen of the Derbian eland has thus far reached Europe or this country, and next to the okapi it is indeed the least known of all game animals. — Outing.

A Hippopotamus Hunt

1910

The chief breaks the spell — he stands up and gives his orders. All rise, and at a signal the men go down upon the green carpet of floating field.

Complete silence again — we hold our breath in anxious expectation. The hippo is invisible; if he is there he is hidden under the protecting grasses. Our wait is short; the hippo is indeed there; a man has felt him under his feet. But the beast travels under the moving vault. The blacks never lose track of him for a moment; the circle closes in; for an instant they fear that he will escape them by going out toward the river, and they hurry after him with lances poised; but he goes back to the middle of the lake by an underground passage. A man is knocked over; jostled by the invisible animal, he loses his footing and falls.

The hippo is here — quite close to us — we see the grasses move; with great skill a man throws a harpoon with a strong cord attached to it. A shout of joy goes up; the harpoon stays upright, firmly planted in the animal's back. He disappears once more, and the crowd of hunters pursues him closely. A second and a third harpoon are successfully thrown, and the ends of the ropes quickly passed to men in canoes. They pull at the animal, which struggles and resists, pushing up his head, bellows furiously. He plunges down again, pulling after him the canoes and paddlers. There is an anxious moment, but the weight of numbers tells, and he is brought back to the surface.

Finding he cannot escape, he becomes infuriated; he fights and struggles and throws himself against the canoes, biting at them with his huge jaws; he turns and attempts to charge, then tries again to wreck the canoes. It is too dangerous a game to be allowed to continue, and the men close in and spear him to death with their long lances. His death is almost pathetic; with an effort he lifts his forequarters out of the water, and rests his head sadly against the side of a canoe. Then his head falls, his eyes close, and he dies. — H.R.H. the Duchess of Aosta, in Harper's Weekly.