Up the Paraguay 43 



in every river town In Paraguay there are men who have 

 been thus mutilated; they will rend and devour alive 

 any wounded man or beast; for blood in the water ex- 

 cites them to madness. They will tear wounded wild 

 fowl to pieces; and bite off the tails of big fish as they 

 grow exhausted when fighting after being hooked. Mil- 

 ler, before I reached Asuncion, had been badly bitten by 

 one. Those that we caught sometimes bit through the 

 hooks, or the double strands of copper wire that served 

 as leaders, and got away. Those that we hauled on deck 

 lived for many minutes. Most predatory fish are long 

 and slim, like the alligator-gar and pickerel. But the 

 piranha is a short, deep-bodied fish, with a blunt face 

 and a heavily undershot or projecting lower jaw which 

 gapes widely. The razor-edged teeth are wedge-shaped 

 like a shark's, and the jaw muscles possess great power. 

 The rabid, furious snaps drive the teeth through flesh 

 and bone. The head with Its short muzzle, staring malig- 

 nant eyes, and gaping, cruelly armed jaws. Is the em- 

 bodiment of evil ferocity; and the actions of the fish 

 exactly match Its looks. I never witnessed an exhibition 

 of such Impotent, savage fury as was shown by the 

 piranhas as they flapped on deck. When fresh from 

 the water and thrown on the boards they uttered an 

 extraordinary squealing sound. As they flapped about 

 they bit with vicious eagerness at whatever presented 

 Itself. One of them flapped Into a cloth and seized it 

 with a bulldog grip. Another grasped one of Its fellows ; 

 another snapped at a piece of wood, and left the teeth- 

 marks deep therein. They are the pests of the waters, 

 and It Is necessary to be exceedingly cautious about either 



