THE ARMADILLO. 
239 
burrow for themselves with their large, strong’ 
claws ; wandering about chiefly by night, in 
quest of roots, grain, and insects, drinking 
much, and often growing very fat, in which 
state the smaller species are considered a 
great delicacy. They are hunted with dngs 
trained for the purpose. When attacked they 
W’ill sometimes coil themselves up into a ball, 
when they are invulnerable ; or, if not too 
suddenly surprised, they will run to their hole 
or attempt to make a new one, which they do 
with great expedition, by means of their claws. 
With these they adhere so firmly to the ground, 
that if they should be caught by the tail while 
making their way into the earth, the resist- 
ance is so great that they will sometimes leave 
their tails in the hands of their pursuers : to 
prevent this, the hunter, by tickling the animal 
with a stick, causes it to give up its hold and 
to suffer itself to be taken alive. We are as- 
sured that, if no other means of escape are 
