Not only does every animal live at the expense of some other animal or plant, but the very plants are at war.... The individuals of a species are like the crew of a foundered ship, and none but good swimmers have a chance of reaching the land.
This point of the Seine is dreaded by mariners. Nothing is more dangerous than this rapid, hemmed in, at that epoch, and irritated by the piles of the mill on the bridge, now demolished. The two bridges, situated thus close together, augment the peril; the water hurries in formidable wise through the arches. It rolls in vast and terrible waves; it accumulates and piles up there; the flood attacks the piles of the bridges as though in an effort to pluck them up with great liquid ropes. Men who fall in there never re-appear; the best of swimmers are drowned there.
There are, in revolutions, swimmers who go against the current; they are the old parties.
He went on listening, and gathered by odds and ends that it was conjectured at first that the boys had got drowned while taking a swim; then the small raft had been missed; next, certain boys said the missing lads had promised that the village should "hear something" soon; the wise-heads had "put this and that together" and decided that the lads had gone off on that raft and would turn up at the next town below, presently; but toward noon the raft had been found, lodged against the Missouri shore some five or six miles below the village--and then hope perished; they must be drowned, else hunger would have driven them home by nightfall if not sooner. It was believed that the search for the bodies had been a fruitless effort merely because the drowning must have occurred in mid-channel, since the boys, being good swimmers, would otherwise have escaped to shore. This was Wednesday night. If the bodies continued missing until Sunday, all hope would be given over, and the funerals would be preached on that morning. Tom shuddered.
The avifauna of Brazil is rich in genera, species and individuals, especially in species with brilliantly-coloured plumage. It is estimated that more than half the birds of Brazil are insectivorous, and that more than one-eighth are climbers. The range in size is a wide one--from the tiny humming-bird to the ema, rhea, or American ostrich. Although the order which includes song-birds is numerous in species and individuals, it is noticeably poor in really good songsters. On the other hand it is exceptionally rich in species having strident voices and peculiar unmusical calls, like the _pacô_ (_Coracina scuttata_) and the _araponga_ (_Chasmorhynchus nudicollis_). Two species of vultures, twenty-three of falcons and eight of owls represent the birds of prey. The best known vulture is the common _urubú_ (_Cathartes foetens_, Illig), which is the universal scavenger of the tropics. The climbers comprise a large number of species, some of which, like those of the parrot (_Psittacidae_) and woodpecker (_Picus_), are particularly noticeable in every wooded region of the country. One of the most striking species of the former is the brilliantly-coloured _arara_ (_Macrocercus_, L.), which is common throughout northern Brazil. Another interesting species is the toucan (_Ramphastos_), whose enormous beak, awkward flight and raucous voice make it a conspicuous object in the great forests of northern Brazil. In strong contrast to the ungainly toucan is the tiny humming-bird, whose beautiful plumage, swiftness of flight and power of wing are sources of constant wonder and admiration. Of this smallest of birds there are fifty-nine well-known species, divided into two groups, the _Phaethorninae_, which prefer the forest shade and live on insects, and the _Trochilinae_, which frequent open sunny places where flowers are to be found. One of the Brazilian birds whose habits have attracted much interest is the _João de Barro_ (Clay John) or oven bird (_Furnarius rufus_), which builds a house of reddish clay for its nest and attaches it to the branch of a tree, usually in a fork. The thrush is represented by a number of species, one of which, the _sabiá_ (_Mimus_), has become the popular song-bird of Brazil through a poem written by Gonçalves Dias. The dove and pigeon have also a number of native species, one of which, the _pomba jurity_ (_Peristera frontalis_), is a highly-appreciated table luxury. The gallinaceous birds are well represented, especially in game birds. The most numerous of these are the _perdiz_ (partridge), the best known of which is the _Tinamus maculosa_ which frequents the _campos_ of the south, the _inhambú_ (_Crypturus_), _capoeira_ (_Odontophorus_), and several species of the penelope family popularly known as the _jacutinga, jacú_ and _jacú-assú_. The common domesticated fowl is not indigenous. Among the wading and running birds, of which the _ema_ is the largest representative, there are many species of both descriptions. In the Amazon lowlands are white herons (_Ardea candidissima_), egrets (_A. egretta_), bitterns (_A. exilis_), blue herons (_A. herodias_) scarlet ibises (_Ibis rubra_), roseate spoonbills (_Platalea ajaja_); on higher ground the beautiful peacock heron (_A. helias_) which is easily domesticated; and on the dry elevated _campos_ the _ceriema_ (_Dicholophus cristatus_) which is prized for its flesh, and the _jacamin_ (_Psophia crepitans_) which is frequently domesticated. Prominent among the storks is the great black-headed white crane, called the _jaburú_ (_Mycteria americana_), which is found along the Amazon and down the coast and grows to a height of 4½ ft. Of the swimmers, the number of species is smaller, but some of them are widely distributed and numerous in individuals. There are but few species of ducks, and they are apparently more numerous in southern Brazil than on the Amazon. Entry: BRAZIL
Otters are more or less aquatic, living on the margins of rivers, lakes, and in some cases the sea; are expert divers and swimmers, and feed chiefly on fish. They have an extensive geographical range, and so much resemble each other in outward appearance, especially in the nearly uniform brown colouring, that in some cases the species are by no means well-defined. The Brazilian otter (_L. brasiliensis_) is a very large species from Brazil, Demerara and Surinam, with a prominent ridge along each lateral margin of the tail. In two small species the feet are only slightly webbed; claws exceedingly small or altogether wanting on some of the toes; the first upper premolar very small, sometimes wanting; and the molars very broad and massive. The species in question are _L. inunguis_ of South Africa, and _L. leptonyx_ or _cinerea_ of India, Java and Sumatra, and have been separated as a distinct genus, Aonyx. Entry: B
_Social Life._--Edinburgh society still retains a certain old-fashioned Scottish exclusiveness. It has been said that the city is "east-windy" and the folk "west-endy." But this criticism needs judicious qualification. The local patriotism and good taste of the citizens have regulated recreation and have also preserved in pristine vigour many peculiarly Scottish customs and pastimes. Classical concerts and concerts of the better sort, chiefly held in the M'Ewan and Music Halls, are well attended, and lectures are patronized to a degree unknown in most towns. In theatrical matters in the old days of stock companies the verdict of an Edinburgh audience was held to make or mar an actor or a play. This is no longer the case, but the Lyceum theatre in Grindlay Street and the Theatre Royal at the head of Leith Walk give good performances. Variety entertainments are also in vogue, and in Nicolson Street and elsewhere there are good music halls. Outdoor recreations have always been pursued with zest. The public golf-course on Braid Hills and the private courses of the Lothianburn club at Swanston and the Barnton club at Barnton are usually full on Saturdays and holidays. The numerous bowling-greens are regularly frequented and are among the best in Scotland--the first Australian team of bowlers that visited the mother country (in 1901) pronouncing the green in Lutton Place the finest on which they had played. Cricket is played by the university students, at the schools, and by private clubs, of which the Grange is the oldest and best. In winter the game of curling is played on Duddingston Loch, and Dunsappie, St Margaret's Loch, Lochend and other sheets of water are covered with skaters. Rugby football is in high favour, Edinburgh being commonly the scene of the international matches when the _venue_ falls to Scotland. Hockey claims many votaries, there usually being on New Year's day a match at shinty, or _camanachd_, between opposing teams of Highlanders resident in the city. The central public baths in Infirmary Street, with branch establishments in other parts of the town, including Portobello, are largely resorted to, and the proximity of the Firth of Forth induces the keener swimmers to visit Granton every morning. Facilities for boating are limited (excepting on the Forth), but rowing clubs find opportunity for practice and races on the Union Canal, where, however, sailing is scarcely possible. Edinburgh maintains few newspapers, but the _Scotsman_, which may be said to reign alone, has enjoyed a career of almost uninterrupted prosperity, largely in consequence of a succession of able editors, like Charles Maclaren, Alexander Russel, Robert Wallace and Charles Cooper. The _Edinburgh Evening News_ and the _Evening Dispatch_ are popular sheets. In the past the _Edinburgh Evening Courant_, the chief organ of the Tory party, of which James Hannay was editor for a few years, had a high reputation. _The Witness_, edited by Hugh Miller, the _Daily Review_, edited first by J.B. Manson and afterwards by Henry Kingsley, and the _Scottish Leader_, were conducted more or less as Liberal organs with a distinct bias in favour of the then Free Church, but none of these was long-lived. Volunteering has always attracted the younger men, and the highest awards at Wimbledon and Bisley have been won by the Queen's Edinburgh. Entry: EDINBURGH
Pelagic fishes, among which we find the largest Selachians and Teleosteans, are far less limited in their distribution, which, for many species, is nearly world-wide. Some are dependent upon currents, but the great majority being rapid swimmers able to continue their course for weeks, apparently without the necessity of rest (many sharks, scombrids, sword-fishes), pass from one ocean into the other. Most numerous between the tropics, many of these fishes occasionally wander far north and south of their habitual range, and there are few genera that are at all limited in their distribution. Entry: A
"The structure of the teeth is sufficient to indicate that the food consists chiefly of grass, leaves, succulent shoots and fruits; and this has been found by observation to be actually the case. In this respect the Asiatic species differs very widely from its African relative, whose nutriment is largely composed of boughs and roots. Another difference between the two animals is to be found in the great intolerance of the direct rays of the sun displayed by the Asiatic species, which never voluntarily exposes itself to their influence. Consequently, during the hot season in Upper India, and at all times except during the rains in the more southern districts, elephants keep much to the denser parts of the forests. In Southern India they delight in hill-forest, where the undergrowth is largely formed of bamboo, the tender shoots of which form a favourite delicacy; but during the rains they venture out to feed on the open grass tracts. Water is everywhere essential to their well-being; and no animals delight more thoroughly in a bath. Nor are they afraid to venture out of their depth, being excellent swimmers, and able, by means of their trunks, to breathe without difficulty when the entire body is submerged. The herds, which are led by females, appear in general to be family parties; and although commonly restricted to from thirty to fifty, may occasionally include as many as one hundred head. The old bulls are very generally solitary for a considerable portion of the year, but return to the herds during the pairing season. Some 'rogue' elephants--_gunda_ of the natives--remain, however, permanently separated from the rest of their kind. All such solitary bulls, as their colloquial name indicates, are of a spiteful disposition; and it appears that with the majority the inducement to live apart is due to their partiality for cultivated crops, into which the more timid females are afraid to venture. 'Must' elephants are males in a condition of--probably sexual--excitement, when an abundant discharge of dark oily matter exudes from two pores in the forehead. In addition to various sounds produced at other times, an elephant when about to charge gives vent to a shrill loud 'trumpet'; and on such occasions rushes on its adversary with its trunk safely rolled up out of danger, endeavouring either to pin him to the ground with its tusks (if a male tusker) or to trample him to death beneath its ponderous knees or feet." Entry: ELEPHANT
On seeing a person struggling in the water in danger of drowning, no time should be lost in going to his assistance, for he may sink at once, and then there is danger of missing the body when searching under water for it, or it may get entangled among weeds and then the rescuer's task is rendered doubly dangerous. Before diving in to the rescue the boots and heavy clothing should be discarded if possible, and in cases where a leap has to be made from a height, such as a bridge, high embankment, vessel or pier, or where the depth of the water is not known, it is best to drop in feet first. Where weeds abound there is always danger of entanglement, and therefore progress should be made in the direction of the stream. When approaching a drowning man there is always the danger of being clutched, but a swimmer who knows the right way to deal with a man in the water can easily avoid this; but if through some mistake he finds himself seized by the drowning person, a necessary thing for the swimmer to do is to take advantage of his knowledge of the water and keep uppermost, as this weakens the drowning person and makes the effort of effecting a release much easier than would otherwise be the case. To the Royal Life Saving Society in England is due the credit of disseminating, throughout the entire world, the ideas of swimmers, based on practical experience, as to the safest methods which should be adopted for release and rescue, and their methods, as well as the approved ones for resuscitation, are now taught in almost every school and college. Entry: DROWNING
In its most common form, that of cramp in the limbs, this disorder comes on suddenly, often during sleep, the patient being aroused by an agonizing feeling of pain in the calf of the leg or back of the thigh, accompanied in many instances with a sensation of sickness or faintness from the intensity of the suffering. During the paroxysm the muscular fibres affected can often be felt gathered up into a hard knot. The attack in general lasts but a few seconds, and then suddenly departs, the spasmodic contraction of the muscles ceasing entirely, or, on the other hand, relief may come more gradually during a period of minutes or even hours. A liability to cramp is often associated with a rheumatic or gouty tendency, but occasional attacks are common enough apart from this, and are often induced by some peculiar posture which a limb has assumed during sleep. Exposure of the limbs to cold will also bring on cramp, and to this is probably to be ascribed its frequent occurrence in swimmers. Cramp of the extremities is also well known as one of the most distressing accompaniments of cholera. It is likewise of frequent occurrence in the process of parturition, just before delivery. Entry: CRAMP
2. _Pelagic Fishes_--that is, fishes which inhabit the surface and uppermost strata of the open ocean, and approach the shores only accidentally or occasionally (in search of prey), or periodically (for the purpose of spawning). The majority spawn in the open sea, their ova and young being always found at a great distance from the shore. With regard to their distribution, they are still subject to the influences of light and the temperature of the surface water; but they are independent of the variable local conditions which tie the shore fish to its original home, and therefore roam freely over a space which would take a freshwater or shore fish thousands of years to cover in its gradual dispersal. Such as are devoid of rapidity of motion are dispersed over similarly large areas by the oceanic currents, more slowly than the strong swimmers, but not less surely. An accurate definition, therefore, of their distribution within certain areas equivalent to the terrestrial regions is much less feasible than in the case of shore fishes. Entry: 2
In form the hippopotamus is a huge, unwieldy creature, measuring in the largest specimens fully 14 ft. from the extremity of the upper lip to the tip of the tail, while it ordinarily attains a length of 12 ft., with a height of 5 ft. at the shoulders, and a girth round the thickest part of the body almost equal to its length. The small ears are exceedingly flexible, and kept in constant motion when the animal is seeking to catch a distant sound; the eyes are placed high up on the head, but little below the level of the ears; while the gape is wide, and the upper lip thick and bulging so as to cover over even its large tusks when the mouth is closed. The molars, which show trefoil-shaped grinding-surfaces are well adapted for masticating vegetable substances, while the formidable array of long spear-like incisors and curved chisel-edged canines or tusks root up rank grass like an agricultural implement. The legs are short, so that the body is but little elevated above the ground; and the feet, which are small in proportion to the size of the animal, terminate in four short toes each bearing a small hoof. With the exception of a few tufts of hair on the lips, on the sides of the head and neck, and at the extremity of the short robust tail, the skin of the hippopotamus, some portions of which are 2 in. in thickness, is destitute of covering. Hippopotamuses are gregarious animals, living in herds of from 20 to 40 individuals on the banks and in the beds of rivers, in the neighbourhood of which they most readily find appropriate food. This consists chiefly of grass and of aquatic plants, of which these animals consume enormous quantities, the stomach being capable of containing from 5 to 6 bushels. They feed principally by night, remaining in the water during the day, although in districts where they are little disturbed they are less exclusively aquatic. In such remote quarters, they put their heads boldly out of the water to blow, but when rendered suspicious they become exceedingly cautious in this respect, only exposing their nostrils above the water, and even this they prefer doing amid the shelter of water plants. In spite of their enormous size and uncouth form, they are expert swimmers and divers, and can remain easily under the water from five to eight minutes. They walk on the bottoms of rivers, beneath at least 1 ft. of water. At nightfall they come on land to feed; and when, as often happens on the banks of the Nile, they reach cultivated ground, they do immense damage to growing crops, destroying by their ponderous tread even more than they devour. To scare away these unwelcome visitors the natives in such districts are in the habit of kindling fires at night. Although hippopotamuses do not willingly go far from the water on which their existence depends, they occasionally travel long distances by night in search of food, and in spite of their clumsy appearance are able to climb steep banks and precipitous ravines with ease. Of a wounded hippopotamus which Sir S. Baker saw leaving the water and galloping inland, he writes: "I never could have imagined that so unwieldy an animal could have exhibited such speed. No man could have had a chance of escape." The hippopotamus does not confine itself to rivers and lakes, but has been known to prefer the waters of the ocean as its home during the day. Of a mild and inoffensive disposition, it seeks to avoid collision with man; when wounded, however, or in defence of its young, it exhibits great ferocity, and native canoes are capsized and occasionally demolished by its infuriated attacks; the bellowing grunt then becoming loud enough to be heard a mile away. As among elephants, so also among hippopotamuses there are "rogues"--old bulls which have become soured in solitude, and are at all times dangerous. Assuming the offensive on every occasion, they attack all and sundry without shadow of provocation; and the natives avoid their haunts, which are usually well known. Entry: HIPPOPOTAMUS
The polar or white bear (_Ursus maritimus_), common to the Arctic regions of both hemispheres, is distinguished from the other species by having the soles of the feet covered with close-set hairs,--in adaptation to the wants of the creature, the bear being thereby enabled to walk securely on slippery ice. In the whiteness of its fur also, it shows such an assimilation in colour to that of surrounding nature as must be of considerable service in concealing it from its prey. The food of the white bear consists chiefly of seals and fish, in pursuit of which it shows great power of swimming and diving, and a considerable degree of sagacity; but its food also includes the carcases of whales, birds and their eggs, and grass and berries when these can be had. That it can sustain life on a purely vegetable diet is proved by instances on record of its being fed for years on bread only, in confinement. These bears are strong swimmers, Sir Edward Sabine having found one "swimming powerfully 40 m. from the nearest shore, and with no ice in sight to afford it rest." They are often carried on floating ice to great distances, and to more southern latitudes than their own, no fewer than twelve Polar bears having been known to reach Iceland in this way during one winter. The female always hibernates, but the male may be seen abroad at all seasons. In bulk the white bear exceeds most other members of the family, measuring nearly 9 ft. in length, and often weighing 1600 lb. Entry: BEAR