630 



THE TATOUAT. 



which is tender and well flavored. In Messrs. Audubon and Bachman's well-known work, is 

 the following account of the Peba : "The Armadillo is not a fighting character, but, on the con- 

 trary, is more peaceable than even the opossum, which will at times bite in a sly and treacher- 

 ous manner quite severely. 



"A friend of ours, who formerly resided in South America, had a pet Armadillo in his 

 bed-chamber, where it generally remained quiet during the day, but in the dark hours was 

 active and playful. One night after he had gone to bed, the Armadillo began dragging about 

 the chairs and some boxes that were placed round the room, and continued so busily engaged 

 at this occupation that our friend could not sleep. He at length arose and struck a light, 

 when, to his surprise, he found that boxes which he had supposed too heavy for such an ani- 



APAEA. OR MATACO— Tat&sia tricincla. 



mal to stir, had been moved and placed together, so as to form a sort of den or hiding-place in 

 a corner, into which the animal retreated with great apparent satisfaction, and from whence it 

 could only be drawn out after a hard struggle, and the receipt of some severe strokes from its 

 claws. 



"But, in general, the Armadillo does not evince any disposition to resent an attack, and, 

 in fact, one of them, when teased by a pet parrot, struck out with its claws only till pressed 

 by the bird, when it drew in its head and feet, and, secure in its tough shell, yielded, without 

 seeming to care much about it, to its noisy and mischievous tormentor, until the parrot left it 

 to seek some less apathetic and more vulnerable object." 



The little Pichey Armadillo (Tatusia minuta) is only fourteen inches in length, the tail 

 being four inches long. Like many of the African antelopes, it appears to be almost indepen- 

 dent of water, and can live for months together without needing to drink. The food consists 

 of various insects, small reptiles, and several kinds of roots, from the latter of which articles 

 it hardly obtains the needful supply of moisture. It is n, very active and rapid burrower, 

 sinking below the ground with such celerity, that if a man on horseback sees a Pichey 

 scrambling over the ground, and wishes to secure it, he can hardly leap from his steed and 

 stoop to take it up, before it has burrowed out of his reach. It also endeavors to escape 

 observation by crouching closely to the ground, as if it were a stony pebble or lump of earth. 

 Another example of the Armadillos is the Tatouay (Xenurus unicinctus). This animal is 

 mostly remarkable for the undefended state of its tail, which is devoid of the bony rings that 



