270 HUNTING THE PUMA. [chap. xii. 



on the wing. The Chileno Guaso then knows there is a 

 lion watching his prey — the word is given — and men and 

 dogs hurry to the chase. Sir F. Head says that a Guacho 

 in the Pampas, upon merely seeing some condors wheeling 

 In the air, cried, **A lion!" I could never myself meet 

 with any one who pretended to such powers of discrimi- 

 nation. It is asserted, that if a puma has once been 

 betrayed by thus watching the carcass, and has then been 

 hunted, it never resumes this habit : but that having gorged 

 itself, it wanders far away. The puma is easily killed. In 

 an open country, it is first entangled with the bolas, then 

 lazoed, and dragged along the ground till rendered in- 

 sensible. At Tandeel (south of the Plata) I was told that 

 within three months one hundred were thus destroyed. In 

 Chile they are generally driven up bushes or trees, and are 

 then either shot, or baited to death by dogs. The dogs 

 employed in this chase belong to a particular breed, called 

 Leoneros ; they are weak, slight animals, like long-legged 

 terriers, but are born with a particular instinct for this 

 sport. The puma is described as being very crafty ; when 

 pursued, it often returns on its former track, and then 

 suddenly making a spring on one side, waits there till the 

 dogs have passed by. It is a very silent animal, uttering 

 no cry even when wounded, and only rarely during the 

 Iweeding season. 



Of birds, two species of the genus Pteroptochos {megapodius 

 and albicoUis of Kittlitz) are perhaps the most conspicuous. 

 The former, called by the Chillenos ** el Turco," is as large 

 as a field-fare, to which bird it has some alliance ; but its 

 legs are much longer, tail shorter, and beak stronger ; its 

 colour is a reddish-brown. The Turco is not uncommon. It 

 lives on the ground, sheltered among the thickets which 

 are scattered over the dry and sterile hills. With its tail 

 erect, and stilt-like legs, it may be seen every now and then 

 popping from one bush to another with uncommon quick- 

 ness. It really requires little imagination to believe that 

 the bird is ashamed of itself, and is aware of its most 

 ridiculous figure. On first seeing it, one is tempted to 

 exclaim, "A vilely stuffed specimen has escaped from some 

 museum, and has come to life again ! " It cannot be made 

 to take flight without the greatest trouble, nor does it run, 

 but only hops. The various loud cries which it utters when 

 concealed amongst the bushes, are as strange as its 

 appearance. It is said to build its nest in a deep hole 



