THE PUMA. 



45 



CHILE. 



throughout the deserts of Patagonia, as far south as the 

 damp and cold latitudes (fifty-three to fifty-four degrees) of 

 Tierra del Fuego. I have seen its footsteps in the cordillera 

 of Central Chile, at an elevation of at least ten thousand feet. 

 In La Plata the puma preys chiefly on deer, ostriches, bizca- 

 chas, and other small quadrupeds; it there seldom attacks 

 cattle or horses, and most rarely man. In Chile, however, it 

 destroys many young horses and cattle, owing probably to 

 the scarcity of other quadrupeds. I heard, likewise, of two 

 men and a woman who 

 had been thus killed. It 

 is said that the puma al- 

 ways kills its prey by 

 springing on the shoul- 

 ders, and then drawing 

 back the head with one 

 of its paws until the ver- 

 tebrae break. The puma, 

 after eating its fill, cov- 

 ers the carcass with many 

 large bushes, and lies down to watch it. This habit is often 

 the cause of its being discovered ; for the condors, wheel- 

 ing in the air, every now and then descend to share in the 

 feast, and, being angrily driven away, rise all together on the 

 wing. The Chilean then knows there is a lion watching his 

 prey; the word is given, and men and dogs hurry to the 

 chase. 



The flesh of the puma is in great esteem, resembling veal 

 not a little both in color, taste, and flavor. 



