d it never ventures
far from its home during the daytime, it easily escapes the attacks of
its foes, with the exception of man. It readily takes to the water when
pursued, and swims well, but does not enter it by choice. The Indian
hunter, however, attacks the creature with a skill it cannot escape.

It is a curious fact that mosquitoes often inhabit the burrows of the
armadillo. The Indian, knowing this, as soon as he finds a burrow, puts
a short stick down it. If a number of insects come out, he knows there
is an animal within. When he finds no mosquitoes, he is sure there is
no armadillo. If he is satisfied that the armadillo is at home, he cuts
a long, slender stick, and introduces it into the hole, carefully
observing the line which it takes, and then sinks a pit in the sand to
catch the end of it. This done, he puts it further into the hole, and
digs another pit; till he at last comes up with the poor armadillo--
which has been making a passage in the sand, till, from its exertions,
it has lost all its strength.

The armadillo feeds on all vegetable or animal matter not too hard for
its sharp teeth. It is especially useful in devouring the offal or the
putrid carcasses of animals which might otherwise affect the air. In
spite of this coarse style of feeding, its flesh is esteemed by the
natives--who for the sake of it perseveringly hunt the poor creature
throughout the country.

The species are distinguished from one another chiefly by the number of
bands on the trunk of the body, between the shield on the
fore-shoulders, and that on the rump. Baron Cuvier, however, divides
the whole genus into five small groups,--distinguishing one from another
by the number and form of their teeth and claws.

The great armadillo (Dasypus gigas) has enormous claws and unequal toes,
with twenty-four broad teeth on both sides of its jaws. It measures,
exclusive of the tail, nearly three feet in length.

Darwin describes another, living on very dry soil, the pechy (Dasypus
minutus), which wanders by day over the open plains, and feeds on
beetles, leaves, roots, and even small snakes. So rapidly does it
burrow, that scarcely is one seen before its hind-quarters disappear in
the sand. It likewise tries to escape notice by squatting down close to
the ground.

THE OPOSSUM.

There are numerous species of opossum, most of them marsupial, in the
Brazils, where they take the place of the shrews of Europe. They are
ver