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sell the hides. Many heifers were devoured by 

 tigers, and a greater number perished in conse- 

 quence of wounds made by the bats of the vali- 

 dates, which are much less, but far bolder than 

 the bats of the Llanos. At the time of the ex- 

 pedition of the boundaries, the horses of Enca- 

 ramada, Carichana, and Atures, were conveyed 

 as far as San Jose of Maravitanos, where, on the 

 banks of the Rio Negro, the Portugueze could 

 only procure them after a long passage, and of 

 a very inferiour quality, by the river Amazon 

 and Grand Para. Since the year 1795, the 

 cattle of the Jesuits have entirely disappeared. 

 There now remains in testimony of the ancient 

 cultivation of these countries, and the industri- 

 ous activity of the first missionaries, only a few 

 trunks of the orange and tamarind in the savan- 

 nahs, surrounded by wild trees. 



The tigers, or jaguars, which are less danger- 

 ous for the cattle than the bats, come into the 

 village at Atures, and devour the pigs of the 

 poor Indians. The missionary related to us a 

 striking instance of the familiarity of these 

 animals, upon the whole so ferocious. Some 

 months before our arrival, a jaguar, which was 

 thought to be young, though of a large size, had 

 wounded a child in playing with him ; I use 

 confidently this expression, which may seem 

 strange, having on the spot verified facts which 

 are not without interest in the history of the 



