136 RIO PARANA. [CHAP. vn. 



One day, when hunting on the banks of the Uruguay, I was 

 shown certain trees, to which these animals constantly recur for 

 the purpose, as it is said, of sharpening their claws. I saw three 

 well-known trees ; in front, the bark was worn smooth, as if by 

 the breast of the animal, and on each side there were deep 

 scratches, or rather grooves, extending in an oblique line, nearly 

 a yard in length. The scars were of different ages. A common 

 method of ascertaining whether a jaguar is in the neighbourhood 

 is to examine these trees. I imagine this habit of the jaguar is 

 exactly similar to one which may any day be seen in the common 

 cat, as with outstretched legs and exserted claws it scrapes the 

 leg of a chair ; and I have heard of young fruit-trees in an 

 orchard in England having been thus much injured. Some such 

 habit must also be common to the puma, for on the bare hard soil 

 of Patagonia I have frequently seen scores so deep that no other 

 animal could have made them. The object of this practice is, I 

 believe, to tear off the ragged points of their claws, and not, as 

 the Gauchos think, to sharpen them. The jaguar is killed, 

 without much difficulty, by the aid of dogs baying and driving 

 him up a tree, where he is despatched with bullets. 



Owing to bad weather we remained two days at our mcorings. 

 Our only amusement was catching fish for our dinner: there 

 were several kinds, and all good eating. A fish called the 

 " armado" (a Silurus) is remarkable from a harsh grating noise 

 which it makes when caught by hook and line, and which can be 

 distinctly heard when the fish is beneath the water. This same fish 

 has the power of firmly catching hold of any object, such as the 

 blade of an oar or the fishing-line, with the strong spine both of 

 its pectoral and dorsal fin. In the evening the weather was quite 

 tropical, the thermometer standing at 79. Numbers of fireflies 

 were hovering about, and the musquitoes were very troublesome. 

 I exposed my hand for five minutes, and it was soon black with 

 them ; I do not suppose there could have been less than fifty, all 

 busy sucking. 



October 15th. We got under way and passed Punta Gorda, 

 where there is a colony of tame Indians from the province of 

 Missiones. We sailed rapidly down the current, but before 

 sunset, from a silly fear of bad weather, we brought-to in a nar- 

 row arm of the river. I took the boat and rowed some distance 



