One of the most surprising animals encountered in the forest was a large, red, hairy armadillo (_Euphractus_). It sprang up suddenly, almost beneath one’s feet, and bounded away with such great speed that it always reminded me of a boulder hurtling down a hillside. Within a few moments it was lost from view among the undergrowth, but the bumping noise as it struck the earth at each jump could be heard for some time after the animal had disappeared. At night these armadillos came out into the clearings and did a great deal of damage in the fields newly planted in corn. We desired to trap some of the creatures, so, following the advice of the natives, we cleared a path one thousand metres long and one metre wide on the edge of the field, and next to the forest. Four salt-barrels were sunk in this cleared lane, their tops flush with the earth; then we covered the openings with a thin layer of dried grass. Grains of corn were strewn all along the cleared stretch, and a liberal amount was sprinkled on the grass covering the pits. The armadillos, in their nocturnal excursions from and to the forest, were attracted by the line of corn and followed it, eating the kernels as they went; when they arrived at one of the barrels they plunged into it and were unable to clamber out. We caught several in this manner. One of them was despatched to the Bronx Zoological Park, but it died _en route_. It is a remarkable fact that after the armadillos fell into the barrels, which contained no wooden bottoms, they made no attempt to burrow out. Their long claws and strong limbs enable them to dig with ease and rapidity. When cornered they fight viciously with the claws and teeth and are capable of inflicting dangerous wounds. One of the owners of Urucúm stated that at one time he owned a pet jaguar that subsisted entirely on armadillos caught in the manner described above. The flesh is esteemed by the people, also. On several occasions we saw the gaping entrance to the tunnel of a _Tatu canasto_, or giant armadillo, but at no time did we have a glimpse of its occupant. This is one of the curious, archaic creatures persisting, together with the giant ant-bear, sloth, and hoatzin, long after the star of their age has passed its zenith. Apparently they were not at all uncommon, for we saw scores of the enormous carapaces, looking like casques of armor, in the curio-shops at Asuncion. The animal is fully four feet long, and weighs upward of sixty pounds. A single claw that I found on the Upper Orinoco was seven inches long.