THE NATURAL HISTORY OF DISTANT LANDS 61 



Domingo) was first visited by Europeans, it contained 

 five animals (he means mammals), besides snakes, &c. 

 Four of the five were called by Indian names, Hutia, 

 €hemi, Mohui, Cori, the fifth kind being the native dog. 

 It would require an intimate knowledge of the native 

 mammals, and especially of their quality as food, to 

 identify all of these by means of Oviedo's descriptions, 

 for though he tells us which were good to eat, he says 

 little about teeth and claws, which are more serviceable 

 in the determination of species. Of the native dogs he 

 says that the Indians used to rear them in their houses, 

 but that at the time of writing none were left. They 

 were of all colours ; some were smooth-haired, others 

 woolly like sheep. The ears were erect. The dogs of 

 the Indians were used in hunting, but were not equal to 

 those which had been brought from Spain. They were 

 dumb, and did not howl or bark when beaten. 



The Tapir. Oviedo's Danta or Beori (Indian name) 

 must be the tapir, but the description is very vague. 

 We are told that it was as big as a mule, that its skin 

 was dark, and that it had no horns. The flesh was 

 good to eat, and the feet delicious when boiled for 

 twenty -four hours. The animal was hunted with dogs, 

 and had to be hindered, if possible, from entering water, 

 where it became formidable. 



The Sloth. According to Oviedo the sloth takes a 

 •day to travel fifty paces. Its legs cannot support its 

 weight, and the body trails on the ground. It climbs 

 trees, gripping the boughs with its long claws, and sings 

 by night, uttering six notes in regular descending order. 

 It will remain on a tree-top for many days together, and 

 no one knows what it feeds on, but since it keeps its 

 head turned towards the wind, Oviedo thinks that it 

 must live on air. Such tales as these were often repeated 



