I put my finger in its mouth it sucked with great
vigour, drawing in its cheeks with all its might in the
vain effort to extract some milk, and only after persevering
a long time would it give up in disgust, and
set up a scream very like that of a baby in similar
circumstances.
When handled or nursed, it was very quiet and contented,
but when laid down by itself would invariably cry;
and for the first few nights was very restless and noisy. I
fitted up a little box for a cradle, with a soft mat for it to
lie upon, which was changed and washed every day; and
I soon found it necessary to wash the little Mias as well.
After I had done so a few times, it came to like the
operation, and as soon as it was dirty would-begin crying,
and not leave off till I took it out and carried it to the
spout, when it immediately became quiet, although it
would wince a little at the first rush of the cold water
and make ridiculously wry faces while the stream was
running over its head. It enjoyed the wiping and rubbing
dry amazingly, and when I brushed its hair seemed to be
perfectly happy, lying quite still with its arms and legs
stretched out while I thoroughly brushed the long hair
of its back and arms. For the first few days it clung
desperately with all four hands to whatever it could lay
hold of, and I had to be careful to keep my beard out of its
way, as its fingers clutched hold of hair more tenaciously
c h a p . iv.] AN INFANT MIAS. 6 7
it
than anything else, and it was impossible to free myself
without assistance. When restless, it would struggle about
with its hands up in the air trying to find something to take
hold of, and, when it had got a bit of stick or rag in two
or three of its hands, seemed quite happy. For want of
something else, it would often seize its own feet, and after
a time it would constantly cross its arms and grasp with
each hand the long hair that grew just below the opposite
shoulder. The great tenacity of its grasp soon diminished,
and I was obliged to invent some means to give it exercise
and strengthen its limbs. For this pjirpose I made a short-
ladder of three or four rounds, on which I put it to hang
for a quarter of an hour at a time. At first it seemed
much pleased, but it could not get all four hands in a
comfortable position, and, after changing about several
times, would leave hold of one hand after the other, and
drop on to the floor. Sometimes when hanging only by
two hands, it would loose one, and cross it to the opposite
shoulder, grasping its own hair; and, as this seemed much
more agreeable than the stick, it would then loose the
other and' tumble down, when it would cross both and lie
on its back quite contentedly, never seeming to be hurt
by its numerous tumbles. Finding it so fond of hair, I
endeavoured to make an artificial mother, by wrapping
up a piece of buffalo-skin into a bundle, and suspending
it about a foot from the floor. At first this seemed to suit
f 2