158 EXOEMOUS JAGFAB. 



by a singular mixture of boldness and timidity. They ad 

 vanced within the distance of two feet from the animal, but at 

 the least movement he made they drew back. In order to 

 observe more nearly the manners of these creatures, we 

 went into the little skiff that accompanied our canoe. Tigers 

 very rarely attack boats by swimming to them ; and never 

 but when their ferocity is heightened by a long privation of 

 food. The noise of our oars led the animal to rise slowly, 

 and hide itself behind the sauso bushes that bordered the 

 shore. The vultures tried to profit by this moment of 

 absence to devour the chiguire ; but the tiger, notwith- 

 standing the proximity of our boat, leaped into the midst of 

 them, and in a fit of rage, expressed by his gait and the 

 movement of his tail, carried off his prey to the forest. 

 The Indians regretted that they were not provided with 

 their lances, in order to go on shore and attack the tiger. 

 They are accustomed to this weapon, and were right in 

 not trusting to our fire-arms. In so excessively damp an 

 atmosphere muskets often miss fire. 



Continuing to descend the river, we met with the great 

 herd of chiguires which the tiger had put to flight, and from 

 which he had selected his prey. These animals saw us land 

 very unconcernedly ; some of them were seated, and gazed 

 upon us, moving the upper lip like rabbits. They seemed 

 not to be afraid of man, but the sight of our dog put them 

 to flight. Their hind legs being longer than their fore legs, 

 their pace is a slight gallop, but with so little swiftness that 

 we succeeded in catching two of them. The chiguire, which 

 swims with the greatest agility, utters a short moan in 

 running, as if its respiration were impeded. It is the largest 

 of the family of rodentia or gnawing animals. It defends 

 itself only at the last extremity, when it is surrounded and 

 wounded. Having great strength in its grinding teeth,* 

 particularly the hinder ones, which are pretty long, it can 

 tear the paw of a tiger, or the leg of a horse, with its bite. 



* We counted eighteen on each side. On the hind feet, at the upper 

 end of the metatarsus, there is a callosity three inches long and three 

 quarters of an inch broad, destitute of hair. The animal, when seated, 

 rests upon this part. No tail is visible externally ; but on putting aside 

 the hair we discover a tubercle, a mass of naked and wrinkled flesh, of a 

 conical figure, and half an inch long. 



