BRANNER] TROUBLE WITH TWO TATUS 191 



for photography by the old wet-plate and dark-room process. 

 Across one comer my hammock swung close to the floor. 



The room adjoining was used as a dining room, and also used 

 for a sort of store-room. In one comer of it were piles of bags of 

 com, and across another comer the camarada slept at night in a 

 hammock. Against the wall stood a small trunk and on top of it 

 stood a basket of clothes just brought in by the laundress. Next 

 beyond was the kitchen with the usual train of pots and pans, 

 tin ware, plates, knives, forks, spoons, water jugs, and all the 

 rest. 



In this new field for research my two tatus from up the country 

 were turned loose just as shades of night closed in. My household 

 assembled to see what novelty I had brought this time, and I was 

 fully justified in my theory that they would all be either shocked or 

 entertained, possibly both, by this my latest acquisition. 



As soon as the tatus were out of their box they began a hurried 

 but minute examination of their new surroundings. They over- 

 looked nothing, whether person, place, or thing. There seemed 

 to be absolutely no limit to their curiosity. To them a hole was 

 a thing to be looked into, crawled into and explored, and that too 

 whether it was big or little, wet or dry, crooked or straight, clean 

 or unclean. They hesitated at nothing, and the examination 

 had to be made right now I could not see that they did anything 

 in particular except to catch a few insects. But, however funny 

 they seemed to be at first, their curiosity soon had the whole 

 household in an uproar, with many of our neighbors looking in 

 from doors and windows. 'They crowded in among the bottles 

 thrusting them right and left among the rocks and breaking several 

 of them, they pushed my specimens about and mixed up the labels, 

 they upset a camera that stood on its tripod, and while we were 

 looking after that, they upset a bottle of ink and after messing 

 about in it they burrowed into an open trunk and rooted about 

 among the clothing until they had most of the contents out on the 

 floor. They then ran through the open doors into the kitchen 

 where they upset the tin ware, overturned and broke our two water- 

 jugs and rushed madly from one spot to another until the cook 

 captured them and brought them back to my room. 



They then turned their attention to the people in the room. 

 Finding some space between my legs and my trousers they pro- 

 ceeded to climb up inside of the trousers; taken on my lap they 



