1884] The Naturalist Brazilian Expedition, 581 
subsist principally on grass and leaves; they are very stupid and 
tame, and so heavy in their movements that it is no difficult mat- 
ter to catch them alive. When pursued they generally take to 
the water, swimming with part of the head above the surface. I 
have frequently seen Capivaras running about with cattle, and in 
less populous districts they will allow a man to pass within a few 
yards of them without showing alarm. Living specimens are 
sometimes seen about houses, but they can never be thoroughly 
tamed. The skin is prized for making whips and cords; it has a 
black outer cuticle which scales off soon after the animal is killed, 
so that it is difficult to obtain a perfect specimen. The flesh is 
considered unfit for food, owing to its unpleasant flavor; but 
when the animal is skinned and cleaned soon after its death, this 
is not noticeable ; the meat is then very good, as I can attest, 
The female Capivara is generally seen with several young, all of 
different sizes, though it is said that they have only one or two at 
abirth. If the common reports are true, conception must take 
place several times during gestation. An intelligent hunter as- 
Sured me that he had found six foeti, all of different*sizes, in the 
womb of a Capivara; the largest was on the point of being born, 
and he succeeded in keeping it alive for several weeks. I have 
heard Similar stories from other quarters; but other hunters deny 
their truth, and say that from six to ten young Capivaras are pro- 
duced at one birth, i 
Allied to the Capivara, and resembling it in form, are two small 
rodents, the prié and the micé, both found on the Campo; the 
latter, it would appear, extends northward as far as the River 
| hyba, but it is rare in Rio Grande do Sul, where the pr7d is. 
common, — 
Pacas are the largest forest rodents, they are now rare in this 
Ee othe Province, their excellent meat causing them to be 
: ot after by the hunters. They are properly nocturnal, eat- 
l hiia and roots. -Of the allied Cotias there appear to be two 
e, and I am inclined to think that many species, differ- 
ght but constant characters, will be found in South 
other The Cotias are diurnal, and subsist on fruits. Of 
RS appa we collected only a small blackish squirrel, a por- 
of th and a curious forest rat with a very elongated body; all 
smal! © rare, and I could learn nothing of their habits. A 
: ing in sli 
MM rabbit is found on the Campos, and there is a kind of rat 
