Le Vaillant had succeeded in killing a Camelopard in Africa, and in transporting the skin to Paris, many years before anything more happened, to satisfy the curiosity of civilized nations respecting that rare and remarkable animal. The stuffed figure which we have before noticed, (p. 226,) remained for years in the fine museum of the Garden of Plants, the admiration of naturalists, as well as of common spectators: but, among all the various living animals in the neighboring grounds, collected from all parts of the world, none was to be found which could claim to be of the same species; while in the adjacent halls, which contained the celebrated cabinet of comparative anatomy, so long under the charge of Cuvier, not a bone could be found corresponding with those of Le Vaillant's prize. A few years ago notices were occasionally seen in European journals, of Camelopards about to be sent from Africa, as presents to some of the potentates; and ere long a paragraph written at the Cape of Good Hope announced that a singular procession had made its appearance at Cape Town, which excited the greatest surprise. It was a party of natives led by an enterprising foreigner, with a caravan of wagons, drawn by oxen, returning from a journey of many months to the Kalliharry Desert, bringing fourteen Camelopards, which had been caught expressly for the purpose of being brought to the United States for exhibition. The difficulties attending the expedition were spoken of as very great, and admiration was expressed at the ingenuity and skill of the leader, by which he had been able to succeed in an undertaking requiring uncommon intelligence and perseverance. The extremely delicate nature of the animals was particularly alluded to, which, in the opinion of the writer, would have rendered it impossible to bring so many young and old Camelopards alive to the Cape. This news was naturally well received in our country: but it was ere long followed by a notice that the animals, before they could be shipped to cross the Atlantic, had been much reduced in numbers by death; so that there seemed to be much reason to apprehend that the labor, pains and expense of the traveller would be lost to us and to himself. At the end of a few weeks, however, a vessel arrived at New York, bringing Messrs. Welch and Macomber, with two Camelopards, the only remains of the original drove; and they were soon exhibited to the public on a vacant piece of ground on Broadway, between Broome and Spring streets, now covered with buildings. We shared with others in the interest naturally inspired by such a sight; and, in the course of repeated interviews with the proprietors, obtained some particulars of the observations made in the course of the journey into the African continent, as well as of the nature and habits of the animals for whose capture it had been undertaken. A long, fatiguing and dangerous route was first to be taken, through various regions and climates, the latter part of which lay upon the Great Southern Desert of Africa: an immense and almost unknown territory, inhabited by numerous animals. Immense herds of antelopes, of various sizes, belonging to the sixty species known in that continent, find their pasture in different districts at different seasons, as do the quaggas, zebras and other grazing animals. These were seen in countless droves by the travellers; who sometimes met them on their periodical migrations, when, like the buffaloes, or rather bisons, of our western wilds, and the sheep of Spain, they instinctively leave one place when the grass fails, and move to a distant one where they may find pasture. On reaching the parts of the desert inhabited by the Camelopard, the mimosa trees, its fav rite food, gave indication that they were approaching the end of their journey; and the animals soon began to make their appearance. But their timidity, fleetness and long endurance of fatigue, rendered every attempt to capture them alive almost hopeless. They would outrun and tire out the swiftest horse; and it seemed impossible to entrap them by any wile. At the same time, they were of so delicate a constitution, that they must be expected to suffer more than most other animals from a slight injury. The natives who were in the company, though useful for many other purposes, and ready to give information on other matters, could offer no assistance in devising a way of taking a Camelopard alive: so that all was left with the persevering foreigner at the head of the expedition. No means remained from which he could hope success except the lazɔ: the long, noosed rope used by the South Americans, of which he had no particular knowledge. He determined, however, to acquire the art of using it; and first set himself to make one. After many experiments he began to throw a noosed rope over the heads of his horses with some dexterity, first while walking, and gradually while moving at a quicker rate. Perseverance was necessary before our enterprising traveller was able to attain much skill in the use of the lazo: but, when once sufficiently accustomed to throw it at an animal in motion he began to quicken his pace and that of the object pursued, and daily gained in precision of aim, and in that coolness and confidence, which are indispensable to a master-hand. At length he felt that the time had arrived for the practical application of his newly acquired art; and, mounting a fleet horse, set of in pursuit of a Camelopard. These creatures had been frequently in sight during the time spent at the encampment, as well as on the journey; and many opportunities had been afforded for observing their habits in the state of nature. As usual with other animals, they are fitted, by form and construction, to procure the food which is provided for their supply, and adapted to their nourishment. They feed principally on the leaves and twigs of a species of mimosa, which thrives abundantly in the great Kallibarry desert - that great southern waste in the African continent, 1200 miles from the Cape of Good Hope, of which so little is known to us. As the plant is tall, though by no means a large tree, no quadruped of ordinary height would be able to reach the branthes, as they are not of the trailing or drooping kind. The extraordinary stature of the Camelopard, however, renders it perfectly easy, far more so than if its food, I ke that of the horse or ox, were placed near the ground. Indeed, it is a task of considerable difficulty with it to bring its head down to a level with its feet; and this many of us had opportunities to see, at the exhibition in this city. When a pail of water was placed on the ground, the Camelopards had to spend sometime in preparation, before they could drink. They gradually placed their fore feet at a distance apart, until they had conside rably lowered their breasts, and then bending down their long necks, seemed barely able to accomplish their object. But the mimosa of the desert, like other plants of its genus, is armed with many strong and sharp thorns, which would cruelly tear the mouths of any common animal that might attempt to feed on it. On this point also, the camelopard is prepared. His mouth is lined with a thick skin, and his tongue is so strong, hard and in-ensible, that the thorns are broken down by it, and inflict no injury. Indeed the tongue is one of the most singular and wonderful parts of this extraordinary animal for it is very long when extended, manageable by muscles in a manner unlike that member in other animals, being flexible, ex ensible and able to grasp with considerable power. It serves the purpose of hands in a great degree, and may, in several respects, be compared with the trunk of an elephant. Among the mimosas the Camelopards were often seen, by our travellers, raising their heads, and running out their tongues and twining them round the twigs, then drawing them forcibly back, so as to strip them in an instant of their young and tender shoots. These, mingled with the young thorns, formed a mouthful, which was eaten with avidity; and the operation was repeated until the appetite was satisfied. Then, resting in the shade or bounding across the plain, the gigantic animals seemed to set the wind at defiance. But our enterprising Scotchman had preparations made for the chase; and he set off on his best horse, with his long lazo in hand, to try his skill on the fleet t nant of the wilds. But he was not long in finding the disproportion between the legs of the two animals. As might have been expected, the Camelopard, when really exerting itself can move with much greater velocity; and all hope of overtaking him in a fair chase was soon abandoned in despair. The pursuer, however, noticed that a Camelopard he saw on one side, ran in a line a little inclined to the front. As the chase proceeded, the Camelopard gradually bent his course further in that direction, so that the pursuer found it necessary to guide his horse a little more that way. The Camelopard did this, because he kept one eye fixed on his pursuer, and thus moved on the arc of a larger circle. At length he threw his lazo, and caught a prize. his History of the Thames Tunnel Concluded from page 330. In order to have sufficient thickness of ground to pass under the deep part of the river, the excavation was carried on a declivity of 2 feet 3 inches per hundred feet. It must be remarked here, that the excavation which has been made for the Thames Tunnel is 38 feet in breadth, and 22 feet 6 inches in height, presenting a sectional arca of 850 feet, and exceeding 60 times the area of the drift which had been attempted as before alluded to. For a more comprehensive illustration of the magnitude of the excavation made for the Tunnel under the Thames, it may not be improper to mention, that it is larger than the interior of the old House of Commons, which, being 32 feet in breadth by 25 feet in height, was only 800 feet in sectional area; and it may further be observed, that the base of this excavation, in the deepest part of the river, is 75 feet below high water. It is by means of a powerful apparatus, which has been designated a "shield," that this extensive excavation has been effected, and that the double arcade, which now extends to nearly the middle of the river, has at the same time been constructed within it. This shield consists of 12 great frames, lying close to each other, like as many volumes on the shelf of a book-case: these frames are 22 feet in height by 3, (See Am. Mag. p. 248.) They are divided into three stages or stories, thus presenting 36 chambers, or cells for the operators to work in-namely, the miners, by whom the ground is cut down and secured in front; and the bricklayers, by whom the structure is simultaneously formed from the back of these cells. Powerful and efficient as this apparatus has proved to be in accomplishing so considerable a part of the work as that which has been done, the influence of the tide upon some portion of the strata that constitute the bed of the river, is a circumstance which contributed more than any other to increase the labor, and to multiply the difficulties, and also in giving them occasionally an awful character. That influence upon some of the strata, or upon some portions of the strata, has not been noticed by the drift makers, ow ing most probably to the circumstance that more than nine tenths of their exca vation had been carried on under a bed of rock. The shield was placed in its first position at the bottom of the shaft by the 1st of January, 1826, and the structure of the double archway of the Tunnel was commenced under a bed of clay; but on the 25th of the same month the substantial protection of clay was discovered to break off at once, leaving the shield for upwards of six weeks open to a considerable influx of the land water, copiously issuing from a bed of sand and gravel fed at each tide the progress of the work was in consequence much impeded during that time. On the 11th of March this fault or break in the clay was cleared, and the shield being again under a bed of clay, the work proceeded, and on the 30th of June, 1826, arrived even with the margin of the river, increasing daily in its progress; and by the 30th of April, 1827, the Tunnel had advanced 400 feet under the bed of the river; these 400 feet of the Tunnel were excavated, and the dou ble archways substantially completed with brickwork in ten months and a half. On the 18th of May, 1827, and again in the month of January, 1828, the river broke in, and filled the Tunnel, thereby occasioning the apprehension that this singular undertaking, which had given such great apprehension, and had caused so much excitement, not merely in England, but in all parts of the Continent, must be abandoned; but, after closing, with strong bags of clay, the holes or chasms in the bed of the river where the irruptions had occurred, upon re-entering the Tunnel the structure was found in a most satisfactory state, and perfectly sound, thus affording the strongest proof of the efficiency of Mr. Brunel's system of constantly protecting as much as possible every part of the soil during the excavation, and finishing the structure in the most solid manner as the work proceeded; it being evident that the work already done must have been abandoned, if any part of it had been carried away by the ir uption of the river. Subsequent to the irruptions of the river before mentioned, such was the desire to see the work completed, that se veral hundred plans were tendered for filling up the cavity, as well as for preventing future accidents. When the disadvantages are considered under which these proposals were made, without the projectors of them having possessed any information of the depth and rapidity of the river, of the curvature of its bed, or even of the nature of the soil under which the excavation was to be carried on, it cannot be surprising that the Engi neer found among them no effectual remedy, or method of preventing a recurrence of accidents: all the plans, however, were duly examined, and attentively considered; and the Board of Directors expressed, under date of the 16th of December, 1828, their obligations to the many scientific men who had so spontaneously communicated their several ingenious plans for securing the completion of the undertaking. With regard to the projects which were offered for the continuance of the work, if the authors had previously informed themselves of the several strata of earth through which the excavation was to be made, they would not, as men of experience, have proposed them for adoption it being as impossible to proceed with the excavation, and the formation of the arches, without constantly and effectually supporting the soil in every direction, as that an engineer could erect the piers of a bridge without pre. venting by his coffredam the influx of the water: and in this respect no attempt was made to point out a more secure mode of proceeding, or any improvement in that all important shield, which has gradually advanced a distance of six hundred feet, under the constant pressure of a vast mass of soil, ill suited, in point of consistency, to bear the pressure of the water above, varying, but amounting, at ordinary full tides, to that of a perpendicular of 35 feet. The works, having remained in a state of total inactivity during a period of seven years, were recommenced under the most favorable auspices; and from the experience gained during the progress of this unprecedented work, the difficulties which has been overcome, and the measures which were adopted for preventing future accidents, there were circumstances to hinder the complete success of this important undertaking. (It has now been completed, and in daily use for several years.) The situation of the Tunnel with reference to the main roads leading to it. The distance from London Bridge. along Tooley street is 2 miles. The Great Kent Road, 1 1-2 miles. Greenwich Church by Deptford Creek 2 1.4 miles. Mile End Turnpike, 1 1-4 miles. To facilitate the access to the Tunnel for the large population in its immediate neighborhood, the carriage descents are circular, and do not exceed in any part the slope of Ludgate Hill, or Waterloo Place, Pall Mall. The shaft, whence all the tunnnel works were carried on, was built at Rotherhithe in the form of a tower, 50 ft., in height, and 3 feet thick, at about 150 feet from the edge of the wharf, and it was sunk into its position by excavating the earth within. The shaft was finally occupied by an easy double flight of granite steps, for the use of foot passengers through the tunnel. Parts of the 'shield' as illustrated on page 248. The divisions of the shield were advanced separately and independently of each other, by the means pointed out in the foregoing sketch: each division, as is attempted to be shown, has boards in front (known by the technical name of poling boards) supported by means of jack screws, which were lodged against the front of the iron frame; these boards are in succession taken down while the earth in front of each is excavated, the first board being always replaced before a second is removed; thus forming a constant firm buttress. The several parts will better understood by reference to the numbers. 1. Poling boards. 2. Jack screws. 3. The top staves' covering the upper part of the excavation, till the shield is succeeded by brickwork. 4. Screws to raise or depress the top staves. 5. The legs, being jack screws fixed by ball joints to the shoes 6, upon which the whole division stands. 7 and 8. The sockets, where the top and bottom horizontal screws are fixed to force the division forward. A transverse section of the Tunnel, (as illustrated in our last number,) shows the dimensions of the mass of brick-work, which is firmly set in cement. The mid dle wall for greater security is built quite solid. Interesting Facts, &c., of the late 'Anniversary Week,' in New York City. At the 31st Annual Meeting of the American Bible Society, E. Corderoy, Esq., seconded a resolution. [The speaker is a delegate from the British and Foreign Bible Society.] God has spoken to man in his written word; in these latter days. His word stands among books, as Adam among men, the first, the fairest, and the noblest. Give me that book. Let me be the man of one book. To circulate this book, men of all class. es and creeds and countries, who acknowledge the Bible, have united and universally combined. He had come here to represent the British and Foreign Bible Society, in the midst of this kindred association. How the increase of the circulation of the Scripture had gone on! In 1804 there was not a society for the purpose; in 1847 there are 9000 societies. In 1804, according to the calculation of Dr. Gregory, the whole world did not contain over 4,000,000 of Bibles. In 1847, by the exertions of the British and Foreign Bible Society, the American. Bible Society, and kindred associations, there are over 30,000,000 in circulation. In 1804, the bible could be read but in 48 or 49 languages. In 1847, it is legible in 136 languages,-158 languages and dialects. In 1804, the bible was circulating to the extent of some 200,000,000; and now it is circulated among 600,000,000. The British and Foreign Bible Society have the last year distributed 1,419,283 copies, 5000 more than during the previous year; and the amount of money contributed was greater than ever before. £117,430 had been placed in the hands of the society in London. In France, 128,338 copies of the scriptures, irrespective of all institutions of a kindred character, are now distributed, where, but a few years ago, the bible was tied, in derision, to the tail of an ass! Upwards of 200 colporteurs had been employed to do this great work, and they had done it with abounding success. "Here the speaker gave a very interesting description of the manner in which these useful agents operate. His anecdotes, illustrative of this, were very striking proofs of the utility of this peculiar agency in the circulation of the scriptures. The speaker wus eloquent, vigorous, and impressive. No speaker, during the week, has more ably swayed the feelings of his audience. The applause, throughout his remarks, was constant, and was long protracted after he had resumed his seat. His allusions to the aid rendered by America to Ireland, in their distress, were very feeling, and were responded to by the hearty sympathy of all who listened. This recognition of the community of interest, of design, and of object, between the friends of the Bible in England and America, was also responded to by the warmest expressions. One of the most interesting portions of the speech was the speaker's description of the liberal mode in which business is done at the Bible House, in Earl Street, London, by the managers, (Lord Bexley at their head,) and the anecdotes related, in example, were novel and curious. By way of illustrating the effects of a distribution of the Scriptures, Mr. Corderoy related a touching incident which occurred in the examination of a little girls' sunday school, in Ireland. A prize was offered to the child who should have committed to memory the greatest number of verses in the Bible. Two little girls came up to make their report; they were locked arm in arm, and were evidently bosom friends. One reported that she had committed to memory, 3222 verses, and the other, 3221! The examiner, surprised at this, asked one, "Mary, how is this? Could'nt you have learned one more verse, as well as Susan?" To which the child, blushing, replied, "ob, yes, Sir! But I love Susan, and kept back one verse, on purpose!" Whereupon the examiner said, "and, Mary, was there any particular verse in those which you have learned, that gave you the idea of doing this?" Mark the child's reply. "Yes, sir! It was this; "in honor, preferring one another!" [It would be difficult to describe the effect produced upon the audience, large as it was, by the narration of this simple anecdote.] The speaker went or in this manner, for some time, and closed one of the most admirable speeches we ever listened to, by expressing the hope that the audience would not ask of him the Old Testament question, "what dost thou here?" but would greet him, with the New Testament salutation, "thou hast done well that thou camest." The resolution was then adopted. |
