Tlie Armadillo. 
103 
THE ARMADILLO. (Basypus sexcinctus.) 
Nature seems to have been singularly careful in the 
preservation of this animal, for she has surrounded it 
with a strong coat of armour to protect it from its ene- 
mies. When closely pursued, it assumes the shape of a 
ball; and, if near a precipice, rolls from one rock to 
another, and escapes without receiving any injury. The 
shell, which covers the whole of the body, is composed 
of numerous bony plates, very hard, and of a square 
shape, united by a kind of cartilaginous substance, 
which gives flexibility to the whole. The Armadillo 
lives principally on roots, carrion, and ants ; and in a 
wild state resides in subterranean burrows, like the 
rabbit. It is a native of South America. There are 
several species differing chiefly in the number of their 
bands. When naturalists wish to obtain a specimen of 
the Armadillo in its native country, they are obliged to 
employ an Indian to dig one out of its hole ; and as the 
holes are almost innumerable, only a few of them con- 
taining Armadillos, the Indians try them first by put- 
ting a stick down, when, if a number of musquitos rise, 
the Indians know the hole contains an Armadillo, as, if 
there were none, there would be no musquitos. 
