f the common
plate; the centre of the animal (which is black in any other part of the
body) has a dark vermilion round spot, from which dart a quantity of
black suckers, one inch and a half long, through which they extract the
blood of animals; and so rapid is the phlebotomy of this ugly reptile,
that though not weighing more than two ounces in its natural state, a
few minutes after it is stuck on, it will increase to the size of a
beaver hat, and weigh several pounds.

Thus leeched in a large stream, a horse will often faint before he can
reach the opposite shore, and he then becomes a prey to the gar fish; if
the stream is but small, and the animal is not exhausted, he will run
madly to the shore and roll to get rid of his terrible blood-sucker,
which, however, will adhere to him, till one or the other of them dies
from exhaustion, or from repletion. In crossing the Eastern Texas
bayous, I used always to descend from my horse to look if the leeches
had stuck; the belly and the breast are the parts generally attacked,
and so tenacious are these mud vampires, that the only means of removing
them is to pass the blade of a knife under them and cut them off.

But let us leave these disgusting animals, and return to the upland
woods and prairies, where nature seems ever smiling, and where the
flowers, the birds, and harmless quadrupeds present to the eye a lively
and diversified spectacle. One of the prettiest _coups d'oeil_ in the
world is to witness the gambols and amusements of a herd of horses, or a
flock of antelopes. No kitten is more playful than these beautiful
animals, when grazing undisturbed in the prairies; and yet those who,
like the Indian, have time and opportunity to investigate, will discover
vices in gregarious animals, hitherto attributed solely to man.

It would appear that, even among animals, where there is a society,
there is a tyrant and pariah. On board vessels, in a school, or any
where, if man is confined in space, there will always be some one
lording over the others, either by his mere brutal strength or by his
character; and, as a consequence, there is also another, who is spurned,
kicked, and beaten by his companions, a poor outcast, whom every body
delights in insulting and trampling upon; it is the same among
gregarious brutes. Take a flock of buffaloes or horses, or of
antelopes; the first glance is always sufficient to detect the two
contrasts. Two of the animals will stand apart f