TN THE PACIFIC. 223 



the larger dogs, including the greyhound and 

 the bull-dog, stood off, ready for anything to 

 bolt, and keeping up an awful din ; the rest of 

 the pack were in the hole, and their tails, those 

 that had any, could just be seen. The old 

 native had cleared away the bush with his 

 " machete," as though he expected a Bengal tiger 

 to come out, and one of the party stood ready 

 to fire whenever the beast should appear. In 

 answer to my inquiries as to what kind of a 

 beast was expected, I was told that possibly 

 it might be a " cornejo pintado," literally a 

 painted rabbit, a species of animal I have never 

 yet seen. A little diversion was created by an 

 unfortunate armadillo, which bolted out of the 

 scrub and was rolled over in the open by the 

 whole pack ; the greyhound first caught it, and 

 I could hear the poor creature's shell crunching 

 under his powerful jaws. Meanwhile the old 

 native had dug down upon the hole, from 

 whence a low moaning could be heard ; the yelp- 

 ing of the dogs was now redoubled, and one of 

 the sportsmen approached the spot with his 



