376 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I02 



the village, named Dona Maria, a woman of much intelligence and 

 good manners. One day she went [swimming] bathing in the river, 

 and since there are so many alligators and many of them man eaters 

 and greedy, one came up close to her without her seeing it, for she 

 was not paying attention. The Indian women who saw it approaching, 

 shouted to her to get away from the ferocious animal which was 

 making for her ; they gave her such a shock that she rushed in flight 

 to shore; but once she saw herself out of the water, she felt so 

 ashamed that she went back to the stream with a stick hardly over 

 a foot long, disconcerted at having fled in the presence of her people. 

 So she went out to face the frightful monster ; when it saw her 

 coming, it went straight at her, lifting its head above water, and 

 opening its jaws ; whereupon she reached out and stuck her arm in, 

 with the stick, setting it crosswise so that the animal could not close 

 its mouth [and as these fierce creatures have no tongue, the strain 

 caused by the stick made the water run down into its belly] so it 

 drowned and turned belly up. The Indian woman, much exhilarated 

 by the victory she had won over the fierce aquatic monster, and the 

 courage shown in the deed, came out of the water and ordered her 

 subjects to pull out the creature which had caused her such a shock — 

 an episode worthy of being set in a historical record as an example 

 and memento, though very risky. 



1124. In this country they have very ugly wild bulls, raised in 

 those forests and thickets without seeing people ; but fierce as they 

 are, the Indian, Negro, and mulatto cowboys are too clever for them. 

 With the greatest of ease they catch the wildest bull there is — how, 

 I don't know — and knock him over on the ground, and with a knife or 

 other instrument they pierce the membrane which connects the nostrils 

 and pass a strap or small rope through them, and in this way they 

 lead off the wildest bull after them [and handle him] as if he were 

 a sheep. 



Chapter XIII 



Continuing the Preceding Subject. 



1125. There are in this jurisdiction [since it is forested] many 

 valuable kinds of timber and wild bamboos thick as beams ; in each 

 joint there is an arroba of water. There are huge snakes, [and many 

 very large and] ferocious tigers, fierce saurians [and very treacherous ; 

 tigers have been seen to come down to a river or lake to drink, and 

 be seized by the muzzle by alligators, with a bloody battle ensuing, 

 ending in the death of both combatants]. Since this is hot country 



