THE JAGUAR, OR AMERICAN PANTHER. 187 



Among the Pampas of Paraguay, great havoc is 

 committed among the herds of horses, and the swift- 

 ness of the courser is unavailing before one of these 

 relentless foes. Fear seems to paralyze his efforts, 

 a spring brings the formidable assailant upon his 

 back, and he is either brought to the ground by the 

 weight, or the neck is broken by a blow or twist on 

 the muzzle. A full grown jaguar is quite able to 

 drag off a horse. Azara caused the body of a horse 

 which had newly fallen a victim to this animal, to be 

 drawn within musket shot of a tree, in which he in- 

 tended to pass the night, anticipating that the jaguar 

 would return in the course of it to its victim ; but 

 while he was gone to prepare for the adventure, the 

 animal returned from the opposite side of a large 

 and deep river, and having seized the horse with its 

 teeth, drew it for about sixty paces to the water, 

 swam across with its prey, and then drew it into a 

 neighbouring wood, in sight the whole time of a per- 

 son whom D' Azara had left concealed to observe 

 what might happen before his return. Its prey, 

 however, is very various, and its taste by no means 

 confined to what may be called the finer game of 

 the plain or forest. They take the water very 

 freely, and are said even to fish in the shallows, 

 seizing the fish with their paws. I am not sure 

 that we have very good authority for this, but as the 

 common domestic cat has been known to be a suc- 

 cessful angler, the jaguar may have similar abilities. 

 We have better authority for their partiality to tur- 



