DAS 
DASSA'WN, a river of Hindooftan, which runs into 
the Betwlia : ten miles weft of Raat. 
DAS'SEL, a town of Germany, in the circle of Lower 
Saxony, belonging to the biftiopric of Hildefheim, but 
infulated, with its diftridt, in the duchy of Brunfwick : 
feventeen miles fouth-fouth-eaft of Hameln, and twenty- 
two fouth-fouth-weft of Hildeftieim. 
DAS'SEN, an ifland in the Atlantic, near the coaft of 
Africa, between the Cape of Good Hope and Saldanha 
bay. Lat. 33. 26. S. Ion. 17. 2. E. Greenwich. 
DAST SURAB, a town of Perfia, in the province of 
Farfiftan : feventy miles fouth of Schiras. 
DAS'TARD,/. [abajvcpiga, Sax.] A coward ; a pol¬ 
troon ; a man infamous for fear.—•Bug-bear thoughts, in 
the minds of children, make them dajlards ) and afraid of 
the ftiadow of darknefs ever after. Locke. 
Dajlard and drunkard, mean and infolent; 
Tongue-valiant hero, vaunter of thy might. 
In threats the foremoft, but the laft in fight. Dryden. 
L DAS'TARD, ». a. To terrify; to intimidate; to 
defert with cowardice ; to difpirit: 
I’m weary of this fleftt which holds us here, 
And dajlards manly fouls with hope and fear. Dryden. 
To DAS'TARDISE, v.a. To intimidate; to dejedt 
with cowardice; to difpirit; to deprefs; to terrify; to 
make an habitual coward : 
He had fuch things to urge againft our marriage, 
As, now declar’d, would blunt my fword in battle, 
And dajlardife my courage. Dryden. 
DAS'TARDI.Y, adj. Cowardly; mean; timorous.— 
Brawl and clamour is fo arrant a mark of a dajlardly 
w retch, that he does as good as call himfelf fo that ufes 
it. L EJl range. 
DAS'TARDY,yi Cowardlinefs; timoroufnefs. 
DASYM'NA,_/. [from oV.ct;, Gr. rough.] The me¬ 
dical term for a fcabby roughneis of the eye-lids. 
DA'SYPUSjyi [bcoffv%ov<;, Gr. from $x<rv<;, rough, and 
afoot.] The Tatou, or Armadillo, a genus 
of quadrupeds of the order of bruta. The generic cha¬ 
racters are, that it has neither fore-teeth nor dog-teeth; 
the grinders are feven or eight in each -jaw, (hort and 
cylindrical. It is covered with a hard bony {hell, inter- 
fedted with diftindt moveable zones or belts: this fhell 
covers the head, the neck, the back, the flanks, and ex¬ 
tends even to the extremity of the tail; the only parts 
to which it does not extend, are tire throat, the breaft, 
and the belly, which are covered with a whitifh (kin of 
a coarfe grain, refembling that of a hen after the feathers 
are pulled off. The (hell does not confift of one entire 
piece, like that of the tortoife : but is divided into fepa- 
rate belts, connected to each other by membranes which 
enable the animal to move it, and even to roll itfelf up 
like a hedge-hog. The number of thefe belts does not 
depend on the age of the animal, as fome have imagined ; 
but is uniformly the fame at all times, and ferves to difi- 
tinguifh the different fpecies. All the fpecies of this 
animal were originally natives of America; they were 
entirely unknown to the ancients ; and modern travel¬ 
lers mention them as peculiar to Mexico, Brafil, and the 
louthern parts of America ; though fome, indeed, have 
confounded them with two fpecies of maiiis or (hell- 
lizard,' which are found in the Eaft Indies : others re¬ 
port that they are natives of Africa, becaufe fome of 
them have been tranfported from Brafil to the coaft of 
Guinea, where a few have fir.ce been propagated ; but 
they were never heard of in Europe, Afia, or Africa, till 
after the difcov.ery of America. They are all endowed 
with the faculty of ex tending and contracting their bodies, 
and of rolling themfelves up like a ball, but not in fo 
complete a fphere as the hedge-hog. They are very in- 
offenfive animals, excepting when they get into gardens, 
where.they devour the melons, potatoes, and other roots. 
They walk quickly, but can hardly be faid to run or 
leap, fo that they feldom efcape the purfuit either of 
men or dogs. But nature has not left them altogether 
Vol. V. No. 299. 
DAS 605 
defencelefs, They dig deep burrows in the earth ; and 
feldom venture far from their fubterraneous habitations : 
upon any alarm they immediately go into their holes ; 
but, when at too great a diftance, they require but a few 
moments to make one. The hunters can hardly catch 
them by the tail before they fink their body in the 
ground ; where they (lick fo clofe, that the tail fre¬ 
quently comes away and leaves the body in the earth ; 
which obliges the hunters, when they want to take them 
alive and unmutilated, to dilate the fides of the hole. 
When they are taken, and find that there is no refource, 
they inftantly roll themfelves up, and will not extend 
their bodies unlefs they are held near a fire. When in 
deep holes, there is no other method of making them 
come out, but by forcing in fmoke or water. They keep 
in earth through the day, and feldom go abroad in quell 
of fubfiftence but in the night. The hunters ufually 
chafe them with fmall dogs, which eafily come up with 
them. When the dogs are near, the creatures inftantly 
roll themfelves up, and in this condition the hunters 
carry them off. However, if they be near a precipice, 
they often efcape both the dogs and hunters : they roll 
themfelves up, and tumble down like a ball, with¬ 
out breaking their fhell, or receiving any injury. T he 
dafypus is a very prolific ■animal : the female generally 
brings four young ones every month ; which is the rea- 
fon why the fpecies are fo numerous, notwithftanding 
they are fo much fought after on account of the fweet- 
nefs of their flefli. The Indians likewife make bafkets, 
boxes, &c. of the (hells which cover their heads. Lin¬ 
naeus and Gmelin enumerate ten fpecies of dafypus, each 
of which is diftinguiftied by the number of bands or 
zones which form its coat of mail. 
1. Dafypus unicindtus, commonly called the twelve- 
banded armadillo. This hath broad upright ears ; the 
cruft on its (boulder confifts of oblong pieces ; that of 
the rump of (ix-fided pieces; it has five toes on each 
foot; thofe of the fore feet have very large claws. Its 
tail is (horter than the body. Bands twelve; but appa¬ 
rently running into one, whence the Linnaean name uni. 
cinttus, or one-banded. 
2. Dafypus octodecimo cindtus, the weafel-headed, or 
eighteen-banded armadillo. This fpecies hath a very 
(lender weafel-looking head, and fmall eredt ears ; the 
cruft on its fhoulder and rump confifts of fquare pieces; 
it has five toes on each foot, and is about fifteen inches 
long ; its tail only five and a half. 
3. Dafypus tricindfus, the three-banded armadillo. 
This fpecies hath (hort, but broad, rounded, ears: the 
cruft on its head, back, and rump, is divided into ele¬ 
gant pentangular fegments raifed in the center: the mid¬ 
dle of its body has three bands, whence its name : it has 
five toes on each foot, and a (hort tail. It inhabits South 
America, and the manners of all the fpecies are much 
the fame : they burrow under ground ; the fmaller fpe¬ 
cies in moift places, the larger in dry ; and at a diftance 
from the fea they are hunted with dogs, who give notice 
of their haunts by barking; but caution is neceflary in 
taking them out, as many fpecies of the viper lurk In their 
burrows ; they feed on potatoes, melons, and roots, drink 
much, grow very fat, and are reckoned delicious eating 
when young ; but, when old, they have a mufley difagree- 
able tafte : they are very numerous, and very inoffenfive. 
4. Dafypus quadricindtus, the four-banded armadillo. 
This is a very doubtful fpecies; probably a variety of 
the preceding. 
3. Dafypus fexcindtus, the fix-banded armadillo, has 
its cruft formed of fix angular pieces, with fome fcat- 
tered hairs between. Its tail, which is not the length 
of the body, is very thick at the bafe, and tapers to a 
point. It has five toes on each foot, and inhabits Brafil 
and Guiana; eatable; feeds on fruits and roots, infefts 
plantations. Body reddifli yellow ; teeth eighteen in 
each jaw, neck covered with a fhield ; penis fpiral; glans 
comprefled, thickened at the edge. 
6. Dafypus feptemcindhis, the feven-banded arma- 
7 P dillo. 
