ii8 



CARIPI 



advancing towards the spot. It came within a dozen 

 yards before perceiving me. I had no weapon with me 

 but an old chisel, and was getting ready to defend myself 

 if it should make a spring, when it turned round hastily 

 and trotted off. I did not obtain a very distinct view 

 of it, but I could see its colour was that of the Puma, or 

 American Lion, although it was much too small for that 

 species. The Puma is not a common animal in the 

 Amazons forests. I did not see altogether more than 

 a dozen skins in the possession of the natives. The fur 

 is of a fawn colour. On account of its hue resembling 

 that of a deer common in the forests, the natives call it 

 the Sassu-arana^, or the false deer ; that is, an animal 

 which deceives one at first sight by its superficial resem- 

 blance to a deer. The hunters are not at all afraid 

 of it, and speak always in disparaging terms of its 

 courage. Of the Jaguar they give a very different 

 account. 



The only species of monkey I met with at Caripi was 

 the same dark-coloured little Midas already mentioned 

 as found near Para. The great Ant-eater, Tamandua of 

 the natives (Myrmecophaga jubata), was not uncommon 

 here. After the first few weeks of residence I ran short 

 of fresh provisions. The people of the neighbourhood 

 had sold me all the fowls they could spare ; I had not 

 yet learnt to eat the stale and stringy salt-fish which is 

 the staple food in these places, and for several days I 

 had lived on rice-porridge, roasted bananas, and farinha. 

 Florinda asked me whether I could eat Tamandua. I 

 told her almost anything in the shape of flesh would be 

 acceptable, so the same day she went with an old negro 

 named Antonio and the dogs, and in the evening brought 

 one of the animals. The meat was stewed and turned 

 out very good, something like goose in flavour. The 

 people at Caripi would not touch a morsel, saying it was 

 not considered fit to eat in these parts ; I had read, 

 however, that it was an article of food in other countries 

 of South America. During the next two or three weeks, 

 when we were short of fresh meat, Antonio was always 



^ The old zoologist Marcgrave, called the Puma the 

 Cuguacuarana, probably (the c's being soft) a misspelling of 

 Sassu-arana ; hence the name Cougouar employed by French 

 zoologists, and copied in most works on natural history. 



