THE CONGUAR AND JAGUAR. 83 



away as swiftly as they came, and to take refuge 

 among the trees. They likewise destroy caimans, 

 or alligators, lizards, and such fish as come with- 

 in their reach; for they swim well, and traverse 

 the largest rivers in quest of prey. When about to 

 attack the alligator, they lie down on the margin of 

 the river and strike the water with their tails ; the 

 unwary creature, surprised at so strange a sound, 

 lifts up his head above the stream, and is as instan- 

 taneously seized by the foe, who kills him with a 

 sudden spring, and drags his body to land, where 

 he is devoured at leisure. Thus they render in- 

 valuable services to those who live in the vicinity 

 of marshy places, and on the banks of such sea-like 

 rivers as swarm with reptiles. The Indians relate 

 further, that Jaguars attract the alligator by coun- 

 terfeiting the cry of a child, and the agouti, by 

 mimicking his well-known voice. In a captive 

 state, all their formidable qualities disappear ; they 

 become gentle and confiding, and hence the charac- 

 ter of cowardice has been erroneously fixed upon 

 them. 



The Jaguar feeds occasionally on the buds and 

 tender leaves of the Indian fig, and while ranging 

 over the vast savannas of the New World he some- 

 times wishes to regale himself with a land-tortoise ; 

 but all his efforts are vain: his formidable teeth can- 

 not break the shell, nor can a stroke of his huge 

 paw do the inmate any damage ; it is so compact 

 and strong that, according to the common proverb, 

 a London wagon might roll over it without endan- 

 gering the inhabitant. When a tiger, therefore, 

 approaches, the tortoise never thinks of moving, but 



