The Puma, or Lion of America. 49 



to defend itself, does not seem really less wonderful 

 in an animal of its bold and sanguinary temper than 

 that it should follow the traveller in the wilderness, 

 or come near him when he lies sleeping or disabled, 

 and even occasionally defend him from its enemy 

 the jaguar. We know that certain sounds, colours, 

 or smells, which are not particularly noticed by 

 most animals, produce an extraordinary effect on 

 some species ; and it is possible to believe, I think, 

 that the human form or countenance, or the odour 

 of the human body, may also have the effect on the 

 puma of suspending its predatory instincts and in- 

 spiring it with a gentleness towards man, which we 

 are only accustomed to see in our domesticated 

 carnivores or in feral animals towards those of their 

 own species. Wolves, when pressed with hunger, 

 will sometimes devour a fellow wolf ; as a rule, 

 however, rapacious animals will starve to death 

 rather than prey on one of their own kind, nor is it 

 a common thing for them to attack other species 

 possessing instincts similar to their own. The 

 puma, we have seen, violently attacks other large 

 carnivores, not to feed on them, but merely to 

 satisfy its animosity ; and, while respecting man, it 

 is, within the tropics, a great hunter and eater of 

 monkeys, which of all animals most resemble men. 

 We can only conclude with Humboldt that there is 

 something mysterious in the hatreds and affections 

 of animals. 



The view here taken of the puma's character 

 imparts, I think, a fresh interest to some things 

 concerning the species, which have appeared in 



