An Account of the Abipones, an Equestrian People of Paraguay, (1 of 3)Dobrizhoffer, Martin
History
An Account of the Abipones, an Equestrian People of Paraguay, (1 of 3)
Dobrizhoffer, Martin
Abipon Indians; Jesuits -- Missions; Paraguay -- Description and travel -- Early works to 1800
Four different species of boars abound in Paraguay. The most remarkable
are those which have upon their backs a spungy, glandulous little piece
of flesh, swelled with a white liquor resembling milk, and scented like
musk. This boss is immediately amputated after the animal's death,
before the intolerable odour of musk has infected the flesh, and
rendered it unfit for use. In woods, near marshes, and marshy fields,
wander herds of boars, which are killed, either with a stake, or with
arrows, by the Indians. Herds of boars sometimes rushed into the colony
of St. Ferdinand, perhaps from the hope of finding food there, perhaps
from some other motive. But the Abipones, assembling together, killed a
great number of them, and feasted sumptuously upon their flesh for some
days. I was told that boars entered the towns of the Uruguay in the same
manner. The Abiponian women make themselves travelling dresses of the
skins of this animal, and its bristles are collected into small bundles,
and used as combs.
VARIOUS KINDS OF LITTLE FOXES.
THE ZORRINO.
There are three sorts of foxes here, different from those of our
country. The Abipones call the larger ones Kaalk, the lesser Licheran,
and the least Lichera, which last is named Zorrino by the Spaniards, and
by the French Canadians Bête Puante, the stinking beast, or Enfant du
Diable, child of the devil; appellations which it justly deserves. This
animal, which is equal in size to a small rabbit, of a chesnut colour,
and marked on each side by two white lines, though it pleases the eyes
by its elegant form, offends the nostrils by its excessive stink. It may
be commended for beauty, but not for politeness; for at every passer-by
it squirts, with certain aim, a liquor so pestilent, that dogs, if
sprinkled with it, will howl dreadfully, and roll themselves for some
time on the ground, as if scalded with boiling water. If it touch the
eyes, blindness is the certain consequence. If a woollen or linen
garment, a stick, or any thing else, be sprinkled with it, no farther
use can be made of the article on account of the stink, which no art
will ever take away. If one of these animals shed his urine in the open
plain, the stench is carried by the wind the space of a league. That
white liquor shines in the night like phosphorus, and wherever it
passes, looks like a ray of fire. If a skunk creep into a house, and
scatter any of that terrible liquor, the inhabitants, one and all, rush
out, as if the house was on fire, and fly into the street or open plain,
to breathe freely, that they may not be stifled with the stench.
Therefore, although this animal is very little and weak, it is dreaded
extremely by tigers, mastiffs, and all mortals. Its unequalled stink is
its means of defence. Whoever desires to possess its most beautiful
skin, in order to catch it, without injury to himself, must take it by
the tail, and hold it with its head towards the ground; for, by this
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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