1 8 AN AMERICAN HUNTER 



one of which, the mountain lion, he painted as a most 

 ferocious and dangerous opponent of man; while the 

 other, the panther, was described as an abject coward, 

 which would not even in the last resort defend itself 

 against man the two of course being the same animal. 



However, the wildest of all fables about the cougar 

 has been reserved not for hunter or popular writer, but 

 for a professed naturalist. In his charmingly written 

 book, " The Naturalist in La Plata," Mr. Hudson act- 

 ually describes the cougar as being friendly to man, dis- 

 interestedly adverse to harming him, and at the same 

 time an enemy of other large carnivores. Mr. Hudson 

 bases his opinion chiefly upon the assertions of the 

 Gauchos. The Gauchos, however, go one degree beyond 

 Mr. Hudson, calling the puma the " friend of Chris- 

 tians"; whereas Mr. Hudson only ventures to attribute 

 to the beast humanitarian, not theological, preferences. 

 As a matter of fact, Mr. Hudson's belief in the cougar's 

 peculiar friendship for man, and peculiar enmity to other 

 large beasts of prey, has not one particle of foundation 

 in fact as regards at any rate the North American form 

 and it is hardly to be supposed that the South American 

 form would alone develop such extraordinary traits. For 

 instance, Mr. Hudson says that the South American 

 puma when hunted will attack the dogs in preference to 

 the man. In North America he will fight the dog if 

 the dog is nearest, and if the man comes to close quarters 

 at the same time as the dog he will attack the man if 

 anything more readily, evidently recognizing in him his 

 chief opponent. He will often go up a tree for a single 



