COENDOO, OR BRAZILIAN PORCUPINE.—Cercélabes prehénsilis, 
animal not more formidable than a cat, sprang upon it with open month. The Porcupine 
seemed to swell up in an instant to nearly double its size, and as the dog pounced upon 
it, it dealt him such a sidewise blow with its tail, as to cause the mastiff to relinquish 
his hold instantly, and set up aloud how! in an agony of pain. His mouth, tongue, and 
nose were full of Porcupine quills. He could not close his jaws, but hurried, open- 
mouthed, off the premises. It proved to him a lesson for life, as nothing could ever after- 
wards induce him to revisit a place where he had met with such an unneighbourly 
reception, Although the servants immediately extracted the spines from the mouth of 
the dog, we observed that his head was terribly swelled for several weeks afterwards, and 
it was months before he finally recovered.” 
The victorious Urson did not long survive the affray, for as the summer weather 
approached, it betrayed unmistakeable signs of distress, and finally died of heat. A similar 
anecdote is recorded of an Urson, which took a sudden umbrage at the attentions of a 
person who was attempting to caress it, and unexpectedly dealt him such a blow with 
its tail that his offending right hand was instantly covered with wounds. 
The Urson is not so fully defended with spines as the two preceding animals, but is 
