THE WILD-CATS. 209 



fied with a deep tawny hue, are drawn at intervals over the body and 

 limbs ; the legs are of a darker gray than the rest of the body, and the 

 tail is covered with a series of partial black rings, which extend only 

 half way round that member. These black stripes are almost invariably 

 edged with a deep tawny hue, and, on the shoulders, flanks, and thighs, 

 they are entirely tawny. The legs themselves are darker than the rest 

 of the body, being of a very deep gray. In size, the Colocolo equals or 

 surpasses the ocelots, and, to judge from collateral evidence, is a terrible 

 enemy to the animals among which it lives. 



A specimen of this creature was shot on the banks of a river in 

 Guiana by an officer of rifles, who stuffed it, and placed the skin to dry 

 on the awning of his boat. As the vessel dropped down the river it 

 passed beneath some trees on which monkeys were perched. Monkeys 

 usually never hesitate to indulge their curiosity, and venture as near as 

 they can to passing boats, but the stuifed skin of the Colocolo was too 

 much for them and they fled in dismay. 



THE WILD-CATS. 



We must warn our readers that they must go on and consult our next 

 chapter if they wish to learn anything about our native Wild-Cats. 

 Neither the so-called "American Wild-Cat, nor the "Texan Wild-Cat," 

 nor the " Red Cat," are cats at all, but lynxes : such is the perversity 

 of scientific classification. By the true cats, we mean the domestic cat 

 with its varieties, and two wild species from either of which our domestic 

 cat may be a descendant. 



The European Wild-Cat, Fdis catus, has for a long time been 

 regarded as the original form of our household pussy, and this view has 

 still some defenders. But some very striking differences, not to be ex- 

 plained by domestication, exist ; one very apparent one is the different 

 shape of the tail. In the domestic cat this appendage is long, slender 

 and tapering ; in the wild-cat it is shorter, truncated at the end and 

 bushy. The wild-cat is one-third larger and much stronger than the 

 domestic cat. The hair is stronger, the whiskers more ample, and the 

 teeth stouter and sharper. The color of the creature is pretty uniform, 

 the ground tint of the fur being yellowish or sandy-gray, marked with 

 streaks like the tiger at right angles to the spine. A dark row of spots 

 runs along the back ; the tail has numerous black rings and a black tip, 

 27 



