our
canoe to the spot.

"There, sure enough, was the sign--the tracks of a tapir in the sand--
leading to a hole in the thick underwood, where a beaten-path appeared
to continue onward into the interior of the island, perhaps to the
tapir-den. The tracks were fresh--had been made that morning in the wet
sand--no doubt the creature was in its lair.

"The island was a small one, with some five or six acres of surface.
The canoes shot off in different directions, and in a few minutes were
deployed all around it. At a given signal, several hunters leaped
ashore, followed by their bright-coloured assistants--the dogs; and then
the chopping of branches, the shouts of the men, and the yelping of
their canine companions, were all heard mingling together.

"The island was densely wooded. The _uaussu_ and _piriti_ palms grew so
thickly, that their crowned heads touched each other, forming a close
roof. Above these, rose the taller summits of the great forest trees,
_cedrelas, zamangs_, and the beautiful long-leaved silk-cotton
(_bombax_); but beneath, a perfect net-work of sipos or creepers and
llianas choked up the path, and the hunters had to clear every step of
the way with their machetes. Even the dogs, with all their eagerness,
could make only a slow and tortuous advance among the thorny vines of
the smilax, and the sharp spines that covered the trunks of the palms.

"In the circle of canoes that surrounded the island, there was perfect
silence; each had a spot to guard, and each hunter sat, with arms ready,
and eyes keenly fixed on the foliage of the underwood opposite his
station.

"The uba of the chief had remained to watch the path where the tracks of
the tapir had been observed. We both sat with guns cocked and ready;
the dogs and hunters were distinctly heard in the bushes approaching the
centre of the islet. The former gave tongue at intervals, but their
yelping grew louder, and was uttered with a fiercer accent. Several of
them barked at once, and a rushing was heard towards the water.

"It came in our direction, but not right for us; still the game was
likely to issue at a point within range of our guns. A stroke of the
paddle brought us into a better position. At the same time several
other canoes were seen shooting forward to the spot.

"The underwood crackled and shook; reddish forms appeared among the
leaves; and the next moment a dozen animals, resembling a flock of hogs,
tumbled out from the