INTRODUCTION xxi 



the tangled iindergrowtli among the tree trunks, 

 and the jaguar and puma or cougar can disap- 

 pear in a single bound. The peccaries, of which 

 there are great herds, scattered through the 

 forest everywhere, can silently steal away, or if 

 discovered go crashing and squealing among the 

 great buttressed roots and trunks of the trees. 

 I found that the only way to see the more timid 

 beasts and birds was to go well into the jungle, 

 sit down and keep perfectly still and they would 

 come into sight. I found a great wild cashew 

 tree, the fruit of which was ripe and falling and 

 attracting many beasts and birds, and by taking 

 up a position near its base I saw many curious 

 little incidents of jungle life. I watched the timid 

 agoutis, ever on the lookout for danger, come with 

 short, jerky steps from under the great fallen 

 leaves which everywhere strewed the ground. 

 At the slightest movement or unusual sound they 

 would disappear instantly. I was watching two 

 of them one afternoon when hearing a slight 

 sound behind me I very cautiously turned my 

 head and discovered a peccary standing about 

 twenty feet away, watching me most intently. I 

 stared at him for a few moments, and then, re- 

 membering that they usually go in herds, I glanced 

 about beyond him and made out another and yet 

 another, both of them staring hard at me. I 

 watched them for a few minutes, but at last, 

 unable longer to bear the suspense, I moved a 

 little, and with many squeals and grunts, they 

 went rushing away, with eight or ten others which 

 I had not seen before. The natives have no fear 

 of these little black pigs, and say that they never 



