THE CAT 23 



suing them into the water. With great skill the 

 soft parts of the body are extracted from their 

 position between the upper and under shells. 



The jaguar is gradually being exterminated from 

 the more inhabited parts of America^ but its range 

 is from Louisiana and Northern Mexico to the north 

 of Patagonia. 



The puma is the American lion. It has a wider 

 range than the jaguar, being able to endure the 

 extreme cold of North America and the extreme 

 heat of the tropical forests of South America. 



The cat has many other relatives, which there is 

 no space to mention here. It is, however, impossible 

 to omit some reference to her more distant relatives, 

 the mongooses, for is not the histor}^ of Rickiticki 

 dear to us all ? The Egyptians valued and rever- 

 enced the mongoose for her power and courage in 

 fighting with deadly snakes, and for this reason the 

 bodies of mongooses were often embalmed. The 

 animal has been called the " Cat of Pharaoh," and 

 sometimes ^^ Pharaoh^s Mouse" ! There are several 

 varieties of mongooses found in Africa and some 

 parts of Asia. In Africa it is called tlie meerkat, 

 and in Egypt the ichneumon. It is always a 

 tractable and easily tamed little animal, becoming 

 very devoted to its owner. 



