ugh, under
where its body had been they could see a large hole in the ground.
Outside the carcass, also, at the distance of several feet was another.

"This is where he entered," said Guapo, pointing to the second. "He's
not about here now," continued he, "no, no,--ate all the meat, and gone
long ago."

This was evident, as the hollow skeleton was quite dry, and had
evidently been empty for a good while.

Don Pablo was pleased at this incident, as it gave him an opportunity of
verifying a curious habit of the armadillos. These creatures are among
the finest burrowers in the world, and can bury themselves in the earth
in a few seconds time; but, being badly toothed,--some of them
altogether without teeth,--they can only feed upon very soft substances.
Putrid flesh is with them a favourite "dish," and in order to get at
the softest side of a carcass, they burrow under, and enter it from
below, rarely leaving their horrid cave until they have thoroughly
cleared it out.

The bark-hunters now passed on, Don Pablo making many inquiries about
the armadillos, and Guapo giving replies, while Leon listened with
interest. Guapo knew a good deal about these curious creatures, for he
had eaten many a dozen of them in his time, and as many different kinds
of them too. Their feeding upon carrion had no effect on Guapo's
stomach, and, indeed, white people in South America relish them as much
as Indians. The white people, however, make a distinction in the
species, as they suppose some kinds to be more disposed to a vegetable
diet than others.

There are some in the neighbourhood of the settlements, that
_occasionally pay a visit to the graveyards or cemeteries_, and these
kinds do not go down well. All of them will devour almost any sort of
trash that is soft and pulpy, and they are more destructive to the ant
than even the ant-eaters themselves. How so? Because, instead of making
a nice little hole in the side of the ant-hill, as the tamanoirs do, and
through this hole eating the ants themselves, the armadillos break down
a large part of the structure and devour the _larvae_. Now the ants love
these _larvae_ more than their own lives, and when these are destroyed,
they yield themselves up to despair, refuse to patch up the building,
the rain gets in, and the colony is ruined and breaks up.

It does not follow, however, that the flesh of the armadillo should be
"queer" because the animal itself eats queer substances. Among
carn