The history of four-footed beasts and serpents describing at large their true and lively figure, their several names, conditions, kinds, virtues ... countries of their breed, their love and hatred to mankind, and the wonderful work by Edward Topsell ; whereunto is now added, The theater of insects, or, Lesser living creatures ... by T. Muffet ...

Of the Bear-Ape ARCTOPITHECUS.

THere is in America a very deformed beast which the inhabitants call Haut or Hauti, and * 1.1 the Frenchmen, Guenon, as big as a great African Munkey. His belly hangeth very low; his head and face like unto a childs, as may be seen by this lively picture, and being taken it will sigh like a young child. His skin is of an ash-colour, and hairy like a Bear; he hath but three claws on a foot, as long as four fingers, and like the thornes of Privet, where∣by he climeth up into the highest trees, and for the most part liveth of the leaves of a certain tree being of anexceeding height, which the Americans call Amahut, and thereof this beast is cal∣led

Haut. Their tail is about three fin∣gers

[illustration]

long, having very little hair there∣on; it hath been often tried, that though it suffer any famine, it will not eat the flesh of a living man; and one of them was given me by a Frenchman, which I kept alive six and twenty dayes, and at the last it was killed by Dogs, and in that time when I had set it abroad in the open aire, I observed, that although it often * 1.2 rained, yet was that beast never wet. When it is tame it is very loving to a man, and desirous to climb up to his shoulders, which those naked Americans cannot en∣dure, by reason of the sharpeness of his claws.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Theucius. Of the name. His parts.
• * 1.2

  A secret in Nature.