FIRST JOURNEY. 7 



tiger-cats. The tapir, the lobba, and deer afford excel- 

 lent food, and chiefly frequent the swamps and low 

 ground, near the sides of the river and creeks. 



In stating that four-footed animals are scarce, the 

 peccari must be excepted. Three or four hundred of 

 them herd together, and traverse the wilds in all 

 directions, in quest of roots and fallen seeds. The 

 Indians mostly shoot them with poisoned arrows. When 

 wounded, they run about one hundred and fifty paces ; 

 they then drop, and make wholesome food. 



The red monkey, erroneously called the baboon, is 

 heard oftener than it is seen ; while the common brown 

 monkey, the bisa, and sacawinki rove from tree to tree, 

 and amuse the stranger as he journeys on. 



A species of the polecat, and another of the fox, are 

 destructive to the Indian's poultry ; while the opossum, 

 the guana, and salempenta afford him a delicious morsel. 



The small ant-bear, and the large one, remarkable for 

 its long, broad, bushy tail, are sometimes seen on the 

 tops of the wood-ants' nests ; the armadillas bore in the 

 sand-hills, like rabbits in a warren ; and the porcupine 

 is now and then discovered in the trees over your 

 head. 



This, too, is the native country of the sloth. His 



looks, his gestures, and his cries, all conspire 



to entreat you to take pity on him. These 



are the only weapons of defence which nature hath 



given him. While other animals assemble in herds, or 



in pairs range through these boundless wilds, the sloth 



is solitary, and almost stationary; he cannot escape 



from you. It is said, his piteous moans make the tiger 



relent, and turn out of the way. Do not, then, level 



your gun at him, or pierce him with a poisoned arrow ; 



