1824.] 
better fed during this period, and seem 
to return with regret. . A cloud of vul- 
tures. generally hoyer over, them, and 
are seen ~by their. clans, a, day , or 
two. before they arrive, who make 
every preparation to receive them : their 
return.is. greeted like that of victors. 
The rainy nights are passed in recounting 
their exploits one.to another. 
The. Jaguar, 3 
Tue taking of this. fierce, creature 
forms. a portion. of the, warlike features 
distinguishing the, Indians of South 
America, particularly the Laneros, or 
men of the plains; though these creatures 
invariably .ayoid the. haunts of men, 
and commit yery little depredations on 
any property unless sheep and goats, as 
the forest affords, them plenty.of prey, 
and _tlieir sagacity is. great in disco- 
vering the. numerous herds of deer 
and ‘mountain goats. Fierce in his 
habits, he will not attack man, unless 
he scents human blood; in this case 
his thirst gets the better of him, and 
he has been frequently known at night 
to leap over six or seven file of men, in 
attempting to reach a wounded man: 
of this the Laneros are so well con- 
vinced:that they encompass the wound- 
ed. One inducement a Laneros has in 
pursuing the jaguar is the honour of 
the feat,—for the value of its skin, and 
the dittle depredations it commits on 
his flocks, would never, I apprehend, 
induce him to risk a single combat 
with such fierce animals; but there 
is a stronger stimulus,, viz. that kill- 
ing seven ‘jaguars, or six tigers, will 
give him the title of guapo, or warrior, 
and entitle him, to chuse the fattest 
virgin for his companion in the tribe; 
for with them the lady who is most 
en bon point is. most beautiful. This 
alone is a.sufficient inducement; and 
they endeavour to complete their task 
as early as the age of seventeen. On 
the approach of the breeding season, 
they watch with great assiduity the battles 
that take place between the male and 
female, as this is a sure indication of her 
littering, not wishing to have the male 
know where she deposits the cubs, as 
some naturalists assert that he eats 
them; others, that he hugs them to 
death. However this be, she ’ never 
suffers him to approach the jungle, if I 
may be allowed to call it so, until they 
are able to run after her. During this 
period, he awaits her with the most 
tender solicitude, and even brings. her 
a portion of his prey. He is seen ho- 
yering instinctively about. ‘thes place 
Mode of Hunting the Juguar in South America. 
323° 
where she is couched at noon-tide. 
When the Laneros perceives ‘this, he 
enyelops himself in a _jaguar’s skin, and 
approaches him, taking good eare to 
have the wind in his favour, as’ the 
jJaguar’s keen’ scent would soon dis- 
cover the imposition. Even this sa- 
gacity and instinct they think they have 
got over, by burning plantain leaves so 
as to take away any human scent the 
body has for hours; though. this is 
probably a mere’ fancy. As soon as 
the Laneros perceives the jaguar, he runs 
from him on all fours, and endeavours 
to mimic the whining ery of the beast, 
which by some is said to be like a cat, 
or like hogs crouching in a’ stye; the 
latter is what I would compare them 
to, as I have seen them mustering by 
night previous to hunting. As soon as 
the male perceives him, he bounds to- 
wards him; when the Laneros dexte- 
rously throws the noose over , him, 
and soon strangles him. Sometimes he 
wounds him with his lance, and then a 
sanguinary conflict takes place. As the 
Laneros has his leftarm well bound round 
with tanned horse-skin, impervious to the 
jaguar’s tusks, he presents his left hand ; 
as soon .as the jaguar seizes it, he is 
stabbed with a long knife, which seldom 
misses the heart, as the principal excel- 
lence of a guapo is killing the beast with 
as few stabs as possible. As soon as he 
despatches the male, the female becomes 
an easy prey. Sometimes the Laneros, 
when their numbers are complete, will, 
to prove their dexterity and address, 
decoy the jaguar into a defile, when the 
man uncovers and shews himself; the 
jaguar endeavours to retreat, but is 
prevented by other Indians, who scare 
him with fire-brands, for they can 
produce fire by . rubbing two pieces 
of wood together, as quick as if 
with tinder. In this manner. they 
sometimes worry him with dogs, while 
they keep him at bay until the women 
arrive to witness their cruelty: As the 
jaguar gets frantic, he endeavours to 
bite at every thing near him; as often 
as the creature opens his’ mouth he ‘is 
sure to have a burning torch rammed 
into his throat, until madness exhausts 
him, and he is no longer able to close 
his jaws; then the women and boys 
descend from their high positions, 
chop off his paws, hammer out his 
teeth, and often skin him alive, while 
the-boys are smeared with the blood, in 
“order to make them good warriors, and 
the mothers. take delight in seeing the 
animosity they have to the creature; 
2T 2 even 
