THE AMERICAN LION 



from a type following the more prevailing cat fashion. 

 The puma is limited to America, and, like the tiger, it 

 can bear with impunity the extremes of heat and cold ; 

 it is at home in the wintry north, and lurks in the damp 

 and heated forests of the south. The puma has the 

 usual intent look of the feline race, and has the reputa- 

 tion of being a mild and peaceful animal where man 

 is concerned. It is held to be as innocuous to the 

 weaned child as is the cockatrice, and has even been 

 called, according to Mr. Hudson, " amigo del cris- 

 tiano." But it is a ferocious beast where deer, domestic 

 animals and vizcachas are concerned. Ineffective as 

 its lithe form would appear to be for any purpose save 

 swift running, it can leap upon a deer and break its 

 neck with the ease of heavier beasts, like the tiger. 

 To most naturalists, at any rate in Europe, there is but 

 one puma, Felis concolor. But in America there are 

 different opinions, and the pumas have been split up 

 into a considerable number of races, or even distinct 

 species. In the south of the United States the 

 puma is spoken of as the mountain lion. Another 

 name is the native " Indian " cougar. The name of 

 " lion " appears to have, or at least to have had, a 

 certain amount of justification. It is not, as might be 

 thought, derived from the loose application of a word 

 in common use to anything that it might or might not 

 fit ; but the first Europeans who examined the puma 

 thought that they had before them merely the maneless 

 females, and came to the conclusion that the ferocious 

 males were not to be caught or slain by the compara- 

 tively unarmed natives. -If anything were wanting to 

 prove the cat-like nature of the puma, the fact that it 

 purrs in captivity when pleased, and even utters a 

 sound approaching to a mew, would settle the matter 

 to the satisfaction of everybody. In nature the cries 

 of the puma are weird and mournful. But it is on the 

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