THE AMAZON DISTUICT. 
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devoured it. Many incidents of this kind are related 
by persons who have witnessed them ; but whether they 
are exaggerated, or are altogether imaginary, it is difficult 
to decide. The belief in them, by persons best acquainted 
with the habits of the animal, is universal. 
Of the smaller Tiger-cats, there are several kinds, but 
having lost my collection of skins, I cannot ascertain the 
species. The Puma is considered much less fierce than 
the jaguar, and is very little feared by the inhabitants. 
There are several varieties of the jaguar, distinguished 
by the Indians by different names. The black variety 
is rarer than the others, and is generally thought to be 
quite distinct; in some localities it is unknown, while 
in others it is as abundant as the ocellated variety. 
Many small rodent animals — squirrels, rats, etc.— 
complete the terrestrial mammalia of the Amazon district. 
The waters of the Amazon, up even to the base of the 
Andes, are inhabited by several species of true Cetacea, 
of which however we have as yet but very scanty infor- 
mation. 
Two, if not more, species of Dolphins are common in 
every part of the Amazon, and in almost all of its tribu- 
taries. They are found above the falls of the Rio Negro, 
and in the Cassiquiare and Upper Orinooko. They vary 
in size and colour, and two of them have distinct Indian 
names, — Piraiowara (Pish-dog), and Tucuxi. 
D’Orbigny mentions their being killed by the inhabi- 
tants of Bolivia to make oil. In the Lower Amazon and 
Rio Negro they are scarcely ever caught, and I was un- 
able ever to obtain a specimen. The species described 
by D’Orbigny is probably distinct, as he mentions their 
