, 1870-03-20
The Fcnst OF Eulttlrcx.

ltuL NuAteStI ulAF OG utl6 ~ tue FlllnT9 8
visual and olfactoE powers, he has xct anoth-
er faculty, which no suppose must be called
kind Of memory, Of which the following pra.-
tice, described BY q traveller in India, affords
remarkable illustration There Ia 3 tribe OF
Indians inhsbiting portion Of the NelShcr-
Yies with whom il is custom to give the vul-
tnres = feast ON ce1tain day of the yoar, tho
feast consisting OF poor buffalo, whom the
obscene birds assemble to devour. The un-
fortunate animal selected for sacrifice is driv-
en- into an enclosure come twenty or moro feet
in diameter, and, being safely shut in, is cruel
II put to death by hia captorB, who, armed
with long pointed bsmboos, mount tho low
nan nearest gives the first wound, and the
lsoor beast, rushing away from him, is reoeiv-
ed upon the point OF another Assailant,
and 30 on until, pierced by innumcrAb1e
wounds, his strength is exhausted, he fa1la,
and slowly bleesls u death Now tho singular
part 81 the business is this :: The district Is not
usually frequente1 by volturea, and it ahxll
happen that no vnltures have been seen near
the p1Aco for weeks or even months before
tho approaching feast but on the day inme-
diately preceding tho feast they arc seen high
in air coming from various directions, 4ud as
they arrive they take up positions which CON-
mand view Of what We may call the sscrifciA
ground. They watch tho long torture Of tho
slaughter, doubtless with peculiar interest, and
make no show Of interfering until al is ended,
nor indeed ayeu then, until decomposition
has set in, and tho repast is thigh" enough
to crafty their special appetite. They
1aye not long TO wait, for in that latitude no
meat will keep fresh for many hours together
SO soon n the dead brute Is seasoned
10 their taste, they address themselves to
their gluttonons meals, and deliberately gorge
themselves until every particle OF aesh is de-
voured from the carcass, and the bones are
et1ipptd hare. they aze not cAsily disturbed
xllic thus engaged; will suffer themselves to
be approached within few feet without NOV.
iEg, and even when they No disturbed, do not
take wing, hut jump away the length Of : few
pacea, anu then resume thair agreeable ocou-
patton. When all is done, and there is moth.
ing no1c 10 10 got by rcmAtipg h u fnaEe OF
a. uneeIemoniously as they caase, and nothing
| 1urthcr ia seen Of them until the feast time
| comes 1 round again in The following year.
1Ms proceeding Of the vulturea, it appeAr8
I 70 Us. Is even more unaccourtabla than their
snsnlN power, in whatever it may consist, Of
thefe Is nothing reasonable in tho suppo4ition
that their eyes are practically teIascGpes. xny
more than there Is in the admitted microsconic
| sltion OF the insect races In either case fFe
have but to infer that their peculiar r,oTew NJ
sight arc adapted to the circumstances Of thai.
owners. But the Enuu1l buffalo, slaurhtcrnd
| for the gratifcation OF m isolated companv n
! 1cvourefs, il 4 case purely exceptional .nd
Tho regular arrival Of tho guests at the fesat !.
not to be paraIeled, we think, with any oxnloi
| Of what il commonly called instinct We cM
only explain it by supposing the old birds L
have rough remembrance Of the tin1e Of tn
feast associating tho season with naturs
changes within their observation.