248 THE T A P I R. 



twenty (harp cutting teeth *, he is not carnivo- 

 rous. He lives upon plants and roots, and ne- 

 ver ufes his weapons againit other animals. His 

 ilifpofitions are i'o mild and timid, that he de- 

 clinesall hoitilities, and flies from every danger. 

 Though his legs are fhort and his body heavy, 

 he runs very fwiftiy, and he fwims ftill better 

 than he runs. The texure of his fkin t is lb 

 clofe and firm, that it often refifts a muiket 

 ball. His fielli is coarfe and inhpid j but it is 

 eaten by the Indians."):. He is found in Brafil, 

 in Paraguay, in Guiana, in the country of the 

 Amazons |j, and throughout all South America, 

 from the extremity of Chili to New Spain. 



O F 



* Though the tapirouflbu has fharp teeth, his only defence 

 is flight, and he is by no means dangerous. The Savages kill 

 him with arrows, or entrap him with fnares ; Voyage de 

 L:ry, p. 152. 



f The tapirouflbu is in great requeft among the Savages, 

 on account of his fkin f for, after drying it, they cut it into 

 found ihields as large as the bottom of a ton. — This ikin, 

 when dried, is to hard that I believe no arrow can pierce it j 

 Idern. 



J The flefhof the manipouri is coarfe, and has a difagree- 

 able tafte ; Lettr&s edifiantes, recueil 24. p. 347. 



ij In the environs of the river of the Amazons, we find an 

 animal called danta. It is of the fixe of a mule, which it re- 

 fembles in colour and the figure of its body ; Relation de la ri- 



tiiere des Jni.izotiej, par Chrijl. d'Acuna, torn. 2. p. 177. 



The elk, which is found in feme of the woods near Quito, is 

 not rare in the Amazon wood's, nor in thofe of Guiana. I 

 here give the name of elk to the animal which the Spaniards 

 and Portuguefe call the Danta ; Voyage de la riviere des Ama- 

 - :s, /..'.- M. de '.: C^.damine, p. 163. 



