HUNTING ALONG THE UPPER PARAGUAY 211 



forest was a large, red, hairy armadillo (Euphractus). It 

 sprang up suddenly, almost beneath one's feet, and bounded 

 away with such great speed that it always reminded me of 

 a boulder hurtling down a hillside. Within a few moments 

 it was lost from view among the undergrowth, but the 

 bumping noise as it struck the earth at each jump could be 

 heard for some time after the animal had disappeared. At 

 night these armadillos came out into the clearings and did 

 a great deal of damage in the fields newly planted in corn. 

 We desired to trap some of the creatures, so, following the 

 advice of the natives, we cleared a path one thousand metres 

 long and one metre wide on the edge of the field, and next 

 to the forest. Four salt-barrels were sunk in this cleared 

 lane, their tops flush with the earth; then we covered the 

 openings with a thin layer of dried grass. Grains of corn 

 were strewn all along the cleared stretch, and a liberal 

 amount was sprinkled on the grass covering the pits. The 

 armadillos, in their nocturnal excursions from and to the 

 forest, were attracted by the line of corn and followed it, 

 eating the kernels as they went; when they arrived at one 

 of the barrels they plunged into it and were unable to 

 clamber out. We caught several in this manner. One of 

 them was despatched to the Bronx Zoological Park, but it 

 died en route. It is a remarkable fact that after the arma- 

 dillos fell into the barrels, which contained no wooden bot- 

 toms, they made no attempt to burrow out. Their long 

 claws and strong limbs enable them to dig with ease and 

 rapidity. When cornered they fight viciously with the 

 claws and teeth and are capable of inflicting dangerous 

 wounds. 



One of the owners of Urucum stated that at one time he 

 owned a pet jaguar that subsisted entirely on armadillos 

 caught in the manner described above. The flesh is es- 

 teemed by the people, also. 



On several occasions we saw the gaping entrance to the 

 tunnel of a Tatu canasto, or giant armadillo, but at no time 

 did we have a glimpse of its occupant. This is one of the 



