Identifier: moderntravelreco00davi (find matches)
Title: Modern travel, a record of exploration, travel
Year: 1921 (1920s)
Authors: Davidson, Norman James. (from old catalog)
Subjects: Voyages and travels
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. B. Lippincott company London, Seeley, Service & co., ltd.
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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forced to take refuge in a tree.The pigs move about in herds, sometimes thirty orforty in number, and the natives assert that theysometimes surround and kill a jaguar which has beentracking them. One of the most peculiar animals found in the Chacois the ant-eater, of which there are two kinds. Thegreat ant-eater measures about seven feet from snoutto tail, and is said by the Indians to succeed sometimesin killing the jaguar. They are said to carry theiryoung on their back. In addition to these beasts there are the tapir, manedwolf, fox, armadillo, tiger-cat, carpincho (river-pig),nutria (an animal resembling a beaver, but smaller),otter, iguana, and a number of smaller animals. The puma and the jaguar are the two largest carni-vora, but the former is not feared by the natives. Thejaguar, however, they hold in great respect, and withgood reason, for man-eaters are occasionally met with.They are said to be driven to this by old age, whentheir teeth are decayed. The natives construct an
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Besieged The peccaries drove the large jaguar in terror up into the tree trunk. THE PARAGUAYAN CHACO 71 ingenious trap to catch the animal. Selecting a pathon which they have detected its spoor they fell a treeacross it, but leave a small opening at one side. Acrossthis opening they dig a pit in which is arranged a lassoso that it will encircle the jaguars body without theanimal being able to bite it through. The end of thelasso is fastened to a stout branch of a tree overhangingthe path. The pit is then covered over with leavesand earth. Although naturally quick to detect any-thing of a suspicious nature the brute is so perplexed atfinding his usual path blocked that he walks right intothe snare. A native one day climbed a tree in searchof honey, leaving his sandals and weapons on theground. Looking down he saw a jaguar at the footmauling his sandals, and started climbing higher tothe slimmer branches where the animal could notfollow him, but suddenly came upon a large waspsnest. The

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