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
In lakes and rivers dwells the water-dog, called by the Guaranies
aguarà, and I have often seen it in plains near the shore. Though larger
than a mastiff it is afraid of every thing, takes to flight on espying a
man at a distance, and is an object of fear to no one. Its ears resemble
those of an ass, its head that of a dog. It has plenty of strong and
sharp teeth. By night it roars very loud, and lies in wait for lesser
animals. The Abipones hunt it for the sake of its skin alone, which is
shaggy, of a dark yellow colour, and marked along the back with a black
line like an ass. Its hair is extremely soft and much valued by the
Spaniards on account of its efficacy in assuaging sciatica, gout, and
pains in the bowels. Some lay it upon saddles, finding its warmth
extremely salutary. On returning from Paraguay I brought some of it
home, but it was stolen from me, a loss which I regret to this day.
THE YGUARÒ, OR WATER-TIGER.
This beast, which is larger than a mastiff, is generally concealed under
deep water. It is shaggy, with a long tail, ending in a point, and is
armed with very strong nails. It lays hold of horses and mules, as they
are swimming across rivers, and drags them to the bottom. Shortly after,
the bowels of the animal, which it has torn to pieces, are seen floating
on the surface of the water. The yguarò generally dwells in deep gulphs
of rivers, but digs large caverns in the higher banks, where it can hide
both itself and its offspring. On the high shores of the Paraguay, we
often heard a tremendous noise in our nightly navigation, and the
sailors and soldiers informed me that it proceeded from those caves,
which were hollowed by the continual dashing of the water, and had at
length begun to gape.
THE AÒ.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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