The Puma, or Lion of America. 55 
sufficiently near hurled the missile with such 
precision and force that he knocked it down sense- 
less. After killing it, he found that the heaviest 
part of his task remained, as it was necessary for 
the success of his project to carry the beast, still 
warm and bleeding, to the Indian village; but 
now his mule steadfastly refused to approach it. 
Father Ugarte was not, however, to be defeated, 
and partly by stratagem, partly by force, he 
finally succeeded in getting the puma on to the 
mule’s back, after which he rode in triumph to 
the settlement. The Indians at first thought it 
all a trick of their priest, who was so anxious to 
involve them in a conflict with the pumas, and 
standing at a distance they began jeering at him, 
and exclaiming that he had found the animal dead. 
But when they were induced to approach, and saw 
that it was still warm and bleeding, they were 
astonished beyond measure, and began to watch the 
priest narrowly, thinking that he would presently 
drop down and die in sight of them all. It was 
their belief that death would quickly overtake the 
slayer of a puma. As this did not happen, the 
priest gained a great influence over them, and in the 
end they were persuaded to turn their weapons 
against the Chimbica. 
Clavigero has nothing to say concerning the 
origin of this Californian superstition; but with 
some knowledge of the puma’s character, it is not 
difficult to imagine what it may have been. No 
doubt these savages had been very well acquainted 
from ancient times with the animal’s instinct of 
friendliness toward man, and its extreme hatred of 
