THE JAGUAR. 



MOST of the animals of the cat kind, as the Lion, Tiger, 

 and Leopard, are natives of Asia and Africa. But there is 

 a class of the same tribe which is met with in America, and 

 which may be compared to the Tiger in size, strength, and 

 fierceness, and with the Leopard in the beauty of its fur 

 and the gracefulness of its motions. The Jaguar is an in- 

 habitant of South America, in the warmer parts of which 

 country its cruelty and ferocity, like that of the Lion and 

 Tiger in other parts of the world, render it an object of 

 terror and dislike. It is found almost all over the southern 

 division of the American continent, but is now seldom met 

 with in the neighborhood of towns, partly owing to the 

 many enemies it makes, in consequence of the many rav- 

 ages it commits among the flocks and herds, and partly on 

 account of the value of its skin ; both these causes occa- 

 sioning its destruction. This animal is about the size of 

 the Tiger; it is of a brownish yellow color, variegated 

 with rings and spots of black ; the breast and belly are 

 whitish ; and the tail is about two feet and a half in length, 

 It differs from the Leopard in its proportions being some- 

 what stouter. It is so strong and voracious as to carry off 

 sheep and deer with the utmost ease ; and yet those in the 

 neighborhood of towns and villages are so cowardly as to 

 be frightened with ease, and they are often put to flight by 



