34 The Natitralist in La Plata. 



already been driven out by man. My own ex- 

 perience is that on the desert pampas wild horses 

 are exceedingly scarce, and from all accounts it 

 is the same throughout Patagonia. 



Next to horseflesh sheep is preferred, and where 

 the puma can come at a flock, he will not trouble 

 himself to attack horned cattle. In Patagonia 

 especially I found this to be the case. I resided 

 for some time at an estancia close to the town of 

 El Carmen, on the Rio Negro, which during my 

 stay was infested by a very bold and cunning 

 puma. To protect the sheep from his attacks an 

 enclosure was made of upright willow-poles fifteen 

 feet long, while the gate, by which he would have 

 to enter, was close to the house and nearly six 

 feet high. In spite of the difficulties thus put in 

 the way, and of the presence of several large dogs, 

 also of the watch we kept in the hope of shooting 

 him, every cloudy night he came, and after killing 

 one or more sheep got safely away. One dark 

 night he killed four sheep ; I detected him in the 

 act, and going up to the gate, was trying to make 

 out his invisible form in the gloom as he flitted 

 about knocking the sheep over, when suddenly he- 

 leaped clear over my head and made his escape, 

 the bullets I sent after him in the dark failing to 

 hit him. Yet at this place twelve or fourteen calves, 

 belonging to the milch cows, were every night shut 

 into a small brushwood pen, at a distance from the 

 house where the enemy could easily have destroyed 

 every one of them. When I expressed surprise at 

 this arrangement, the owner said that the puma was 

 not fond of calves' flesh, and came only for the 



