58 



HISTORY OF MEXICO* 



from it hnt being thicker in the neck, and having hair 

 like the wolf. 



The Tlalcojotl, or Tlalcoyoto, is of the fize of a mid- 

 dling dog, but groffer in make, and, in our opinion, the 

 largefl: quadruped of thofe which live under the earth. 

 In the head it is fomething like the cat, and in colour 

 and length of hair like the lion. It has a long thick tail, 

 and feeds on poultry, and other little animals, which it 

 hunts after in the obfcurity of the night. 



The Itzcuintepotzotliy and JepuitzcuintU^ and Xoloiizcu- 

 intliy are three fpecies of quadrupeds limilar to dogs. 

 The ItzcuintapolzotU^ or hunch-backed dog, is as large 

 as a Maltefan dog, the ikin of which is varied with white, 

 tawny, and black. Its head is fmall in proportion to its 

 body, and appears to be joined dire(5^1y to it on account 

 of the fliortnefs and greatnefs of its neck ; its eyes are 

 pleafmg, its ears loofe, its nofe has a confiderable promi- 

 nence in the middle, and its tail fo fmall, that it hardly 

 reaches half way down its leg ; but the charateiftic of 

 it is a great hunch which it bears from its neck to its 

 rump. The place where this quadruped moft abounds 

 is the kingdom of Michuacan, where it is called Ahora, 

 The Tepeitzcuintli^ that is, the mountain-dog, is a wild 

 beaft: fo fmall, that it appears a little dog, but it is fo dar- 

 ing that it attacks deer, and fometimes kills them. Its* 

 hair and tail are long, its body black, but its head, neck, 

 and breaft are white (/>). The Xoloitzmintlij is larger 

 than the two preceding ; there being fome of them, 

 whofe bodies are even four feet long. Its face is like a, 

 dog, but its tulks like the wolf, its ears ere6^, its neck 



grofs, 



(p) BufFon believes the Tepcitrcuintli to be the glutton ; but we contradidt 

 this opinion in our Diffcrtations. 



