live at different times, one, about two
feet in length, from the vicinity of Kandy, was a gentle and affectionate
creature, which, after wandering over the house in search of ants, would
attract attention to its wants by climbing up my knee, laying hold of my
leg with its prehensile tail. The other, more than double that length,
was caught in the jungle near Chilaw, and brought to me in Colombo. I
had always understood that the pengolin was unable to climb trees; but
the one last mentioned frequently ascended a tree in my garden, in
search of ants; and this it effected by means of its hooked feet, aided
by an oblique grasp of the tail. The ants it seized by extending its
round and glutinous tongue along their tracks; and in the stomach of one
which was opened after death, I found a quantity of small stones and
gravel, which had been taken to facilitate digestion. In both specimens
in my possession the scales of the back were a cream-coloured white,
with a tinge of red in that which came from Chilaw, probably acquired by
the insinuation of the Cabook dust which abounds along the western coast
of the island.

[Illustration: THE PENGOLIN.]

[Illustration: SKELETON OF PENGOLIN.]

Of the habits of the pengolin I found that very little was known by the
natives, who regard it with aversion, one name given to it being the
"Negombo Devil." Those kept by me were, generally speaking, quiet during
the day, and grew restless and active as evening and night approached.
Both had been taken near rocks, in the hollows of which they had their
dwelling, but owing to their slow power of motion, they were unable to
reach their hiding place when overtaken. When frightened, they rolled
themselves instantly into a rounded ball; and such was the powerful
force of muscle, that the strength of a man was insufficient to uncoil
it. In reconnoitring they made important use of the tail, resting upon
it and their hind legs, and holding themselves nearly erect, to command
a view of their object. The strength of this powerful limb will be
perceived from the accompanying drawing of the skeleton of the Manis; in
which it will be seen that the tail is equal in length to all the rest
of the body, whilst the vertebrae which compose it are stronger by far
than those of the back.

From the size and position of the bones of the leg, the pengolin is
endued with prodigious power; and its faculty of exerting this
vertically, was displayed in overturning heavy