FAUNA OF PAEAGUAY. 305 



tlie capyvara, boa, crocodile, termites, ants, and their enemy, the tamanoir. 

 The nandu ostrich frequents the campos, though in far fewer numbers than in 

 Argentina. For certain species the Paraguay river forms a divide, and the faunas 

 on either side present a great contrast, especially since the left bank has been 

 settled by the white colonists, who seldom venture to enter the Chaco region on 

 the opposite side. According to Garcilaso de la Vega, Chaco means " hunting- 

 ground," and these plains are still roamed by multitudes of animals pursued by 

 the wild Indians. 



Of the carnivora by far the most formidable is the jaguar, which is said to be 

 strong enough to carry ofiF an ox or a horse. It avoids the haunts of men, and, 

 despite the statements of some travellers to the contrary, will scarcely ever attack 

 human beings. " Many a time," writes Bourgade, " I and my companions met 

 one in the underwood, and it never failed to give a savage growl and to bound 

 rapidly away ; and often, as a group of them have collected round my encamp- 

 ment, I do not think they have ever approached within twenty yards of it — in 

 fact, we became so accustomed to them that, when we were tired, we would let our 

 fires go out, and ourselves fall off to sleep without the precaution of providing a 

 sentinel. Ever and again we might be aroused by the cracking noise of a branch 

 giving way under the weight of the brute, and on looking out we could see its 

 eyes flashing in the darkness ; but there was no fear of an attack." * 



Another less known beast of prey is the aguara-guazu (Cants Azarœ), a species 

 of wild dog sometimes over 30 inches long, with tawny hair and a black stripe 

 down the back, very long legs, pointed nose, long bushy tail like that of the fox. 

 It haunts swampy districts and hunts at night, making a peculiar hoarse bark 

 which can be heard a great distance off. The natives assert that it will not 

 hesitate to attack the jaguar, often with success. 



Game still abounds almost everywhere, and according to Bourgade it would 

 be scarcely possible to find another region where the sportsman could find more 

 scope for his pursuits, so great is the variety of large and small animals, such as 

 tapirs, crocodiles, peccaries, deer, antelopes, and many species of birds. " Could 

 Europeans only know what is offered them in Paraguay, they would not be long 

 in resorting to it as eagerly as they now make their way to Scotland or the 

 Caucasus." f 



Inhabitants — The Guarani. 



In Paraguay the great bulk of the aborigines were of Guarani stock, and the 

 inhabitants of the towns and settled districts are still mainly Guarani half-breeds. 

 Even before the arrival of the Jesuits their civilisation must have given them a 

 certain ascendancy, for the Guarani language was sufficiently diffused to be 

 adopted as the lengua geral, or common speech amongst the heterogeneous popu- 

 lations between the Oyapok and Paraguay rivers. The "general language" had 



* Paraguay, the Land and People, {;c., p. 64. 

 t lb. p. 68. 



