"Is the power to give life to inanimate matter the gift of man? I
would it were! You should speedily see a Historia Naturalis Americana,
that would put the sneering imitators of the Frenchman, De Buffon, to
shame! A great improvement might be made in the formation of all
quadrupeds; especially those in which velocity is a virtue. Two of the
inferior limbs should be on the principle of the lever; wheels,
perhaps, as they are now formed; though I have not yet determined
whether the improvement might be better applied to the anterior or
posterior members, inasmuch as I am yet to learn whether dragging or
shoving requires the greatest muscular exertion. A natural exudation
of the animal might assist in overcoming the friction, and a powerful
momentum be obtained. But all this is hopeless--at least for the
present!"--he added, raising his tablets again to the light, and
reading aloud; "Oct. 6, 1805. that's merely the date, which I dare say
you know better than I--mem. Quadruped; seen by star-light, and by the
aid of a pocket-lamp, in the prairies of North America--see Journal
for Latitude and Meridian.
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