THE AMAZON DISTRICT. 
451 
is very disagreeable. They will however very rarely 
enter a lighted room, and for this reason the practice 
of burning a lamp all night is almost universal. 
Tapirus Americams . — The Tapir is common over the 
whole Amazon district, but is nowhere very abundant. 
It feeds on leaves and a great many different kinds of 
fruits, and sometimes does much injury in the mandiocca- 
fields of the Indians. Its flesh is very good eating, and 
is considered very wholesome, and is even said to be a 
remedy for the ague. It is a very shy and timid animal, 
wandering about principally at night. When the In- 
dian discovers a feeding-place, he builds a stage between 
two trees, about eight feet above the ground, and there 
stations himself soon after dusk, armed with a gun, or 
with his bow and arrow. Though such a heavy animal, 
the tapir steps as lightly as a cat, and can only be 
heard approaching by the gentle rustling of the bushes ; 
the slightest sound or smell will alarm it, and the 
Indian lies still as death for hours, till the animal ap- 
proaches sufficiently near to be shot, or until scenting 
its enemy it makes off in another direction. I have ac- 
companied the Indians on these expeditions, but always 
without success. 
Coassus nemorivagus. 
C. rufus . — These are the small white and red deer of 
the forests, found in all parts of the Amazon. They 
have very small unbranched horns. 
Mazama campestris ? — The '' Viado galera,’’ or horned 
deer of the Rio Branco, is probably of this species. It 
has small branched horns, and inhabits the open plains, 
never the thick forests. 
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