54 BOOK OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
tear me to pieces, large as I 
am, if my skin were not so 
thick that they may scratch me 
and bite me as much as they 
please without hurting me. I 
do not mind a spear, or an ar- 
row, or even small shot from a 
gun ; but why hunters try to 
kill me I do not know, for I do 
no harm to any one. My food 
is reeds, leaves, and branches 
of trees ; and I do not eat .very 
much of them considering my 
size. When I cannot get any 
other kind of food, I rip up the 
trunks of trees, and, as my 
teeth are very strong, I dine 
off the green bark and wood. 
