The Book of Cats. 239 



enjoyed the unaccustomed dainty undisturbed. 

 After this, they were quite at their ease, and came 

 to the front of the cage whenever I passed." 



The Colocolo is another tiger-cat : it is an in- 

 habitant of Guiana, and though not more than a 

 third the size of the Rimau-Dahan, is a most for- 

 midable enemy to the smaller animals of the forests 

 which it inhabits. It is related by Mr. Wood that 

 a specimen of this creature was shot on the banks 

 of a river, in Guiana, by an officer of rifles, who 

 stuffed it, and placed the skin to dry on the awning 

 of his boat. As the vessel dropped down the river, 

 it passed under overhanging boughs of large trees, 

 on which rested numerous monkeys. Generally 

 when a boat passed along a river, the monkeys, 

 which inhabit the trees that border its banks, dis- 

 played great curiosity, and ran along the boughs, 

 so as to obtain a close view of the strange visitant. 

 Before the Colocolo had been killed, the passage of 

 the boat had been attended, as usual, by the inqui- 

 sitive monkeys, but when the stuffed skin was ex- 

 hibited on the awning, the monkeys were horribly 

 alarmed, and instead of approaching the vessel, as 

 they had before done, trooped off with prodigious 

 yells of terror and rage. From this universal fear 

 which the sight of the animal occasioned to the 



