162 A BOOK-LOVER'S HOLIDAYS 



harmless ghost, white and without any arms, 

 w^hich in the night-time rode the biggest peccary 

 of the herd. In these tales the giant ant-eater 

 always appeared as a comic character, a figure 

 of fun, although with a somewhat grim ability 

 to take care of himself; it was he who would 

 meet drunken men and embrace them with his 

 unpleasant claws and then hurry them home. 



The camaradas whom we took with us on our 

 exploring trip were mostly drawn from among 

 these country folk of the ranches, although two 

 or three came from the coast towns. The two 

 best hunters were Antonio the Paregis, a full- 

 blood Paregis Indian, and Antonio Correa, an 

 intelligent, daredevil mulatto, probably with 

 also a dash of Indian blood. The latter, like 

 several other of our men, had lived among the 

 wild Indians and had adopted some of their 

 traits, including one exceedingly odd matter of 

 dress. Antonio the Paregis, a kindly, faithful, 

 stupid soul, had abandoned his tribe, come into 

 the settlements, and married a dark mulattress 

 — the queer result being that according to the 

 custom of the country their children would be 

 regarded as civilized and therefore white. An- 

 tonio Correa was one of the two best and most 

 trustworthy men on the trip; uncomplaining, 

 hardworking, and undaunted in time of peril. 



