152 



WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA. 



of the hammock to tempt this winged surgeon^ expect- 

 ing that he would be there ; but it was all in vain ; the 

 vampire never sucked me, and I could never account 

 for his not doing so, for we were inhabitants of the 

 same loft for months together. 



The Arma- ^he Armadillo is very common in these 

 diho. forests ; he burrows in the sand-hills like a 



rabbit. As it often takes a considerable time to dig 

 him out of his hole^ it would be a long and laborious 

 business to attack each hole indiscriminately without 

 knowing whether the animal were there or not. To 

 prevent disappointment, the Indians carefully examine 

 the mouth of the hole, and put a short stick down it. 

 ISTow if, on introducing the stick, a number of mosquitos 

 come out, the Indians know to a certainty that the 

 armadillo is in it : wherever there are no mosquitos 

 in the hole, there is no armadillo. The Indian having 

 satisfied himself that the armadillo is there, by the 

 mosquitos which come out, he immediately cuts a long 

 and slender stick, and introduces it into the hole ; he 

 carefully observes the line the stick takes, and then 

 sinks a pit in the sand to catch the end of it : this 

 done, he puts it further into the hole, and digs another 

 pit, and so on, till at last he comes up with the arma- 

 dillo, which had been making itself a passage in the 

 sand till it had exhausted all its strength through pure 

 exertion. I have been sometimes three quarters of a 

 day in digging out one armadillo, and obliged to sink 

 half-a-dozen pits, seven feet deep, before I got up to it. 

 The Indians and negroes are very fond of the flesh, but 

 I consider it strong and rank. 



On laying hold of the armadillo you must be cautious 

 not to come in contact with his feet : they are armed 



