The paca (_fig. 129._) is an animal of the new world, which digs itself
a borough like a rabbit, to whom he has often been compared, though
there is scarce any likeness between them; he is much larger than the
rabbit, or even the hare; his body is bigger and more compact; he has
a round head and short snout; he is fat and bulky, and is more like
a pig in form, grunting, waddling, and manner of eating, for he does
not use, like the rabbit, his fore feet to carry food to his mouth,
but grubs up the earth like the hog to find subsistence. They inhabit
the banks of rivers, and are found only in the damp and warm places of
South America: their flesh is very good to eat, and excessively fat;
their skin is eaten like that of a pig. For these reasons a perpetual
war is carried on against these animals. Hunters find it very difficult
to take them alive; and when they are surprised in their burrows, which
have two openings, they defend themselves, and bite with great rage and
inveteracy. Their skins, though covered with short and rough hair, make
a fine fur because it is regularly spotted on the sides. These animals
bring forth very often, and in abundance: men, and animals of prey,
destroy great numbers of them, and yet the species remains undiminished
in numbers; he is peculiar to South America, and is found no where in
the old continent.