Otters swarm in the lakes and rivers of Paraguay. If I mistake not, they
differ from those of Europe in no other respect than in being somewhat
smaller. They are most numerous in the Abiponian territories, and those
adjacent to the cities of Sta. Fè, Cordoba, and Corrientes. In the
distant hordes of the Mocobios and Abipones, towards the north, there
are no otters, or very few at least. The savages make use of them in
various ways. They feed upon their flesh, and make cloaks of their
skins.
When the lakes and rivers are almost exhausted by a long drought, the
Abipones go out to hunt otters. If the water is shallow enough to ford,
hounds are sent forwards, and many hundreds killed with stakes in one
day, though they are extremely apt to bite, and have very sharp teeth,
on which account, in killing them, both the Indians and their dogs often
receive wounds which are not cured in a few days.