THE JAGUAR 487 



the blood of the steed or ox, and is much more commonly met 

 with in the herd-teeming savannas than in the comparatively 

 meagre hunting-grounds of the forest. 



Of all the carnivora of the New World, perhaps with the sole 

 exception of the grisly and the polar bears, the tyrants of the 

 North American solitudes, the jaguar is the most formidable, 

 resembling the panther by his spotted skin, but almost equalling 

 the Bengal tiger in size and power. He roams about at all times 

 of the day, swims over broad rivers, and even in the water proves 

 a most dangerous foe, for when driven to extremities he fre- 

 quently turns against the boat, -and forces his assailants to seek 

 their safety by jumping overboard. Many an Indian, while 

 wandering through thinly populated districts, where swampy 

 thickets alternate with open grass plains, has been torn to pieces 

 by the jaguar, and in many a lonely plantation the inhabitants 

 hardly venture to leave their enclosures after sunset, for fear of 

 his attacks. During Tschudi's sojourn in Northern Peru, a 

 j"aguar penetrated into the hut of an Englishman who had 

 settled in those parts, and dragging a boy of ten years out 

 of his hammock, tore him to pieces and devoured him. Far 

 from being afraid of man, this ferocious animal springs upon 

 him when alone, and when pressed by hunger will even venture 

 during the day time into the mountain villages to seek its 

 prey. The distinguished traveller whom I have just quoted 

 mentions the case of an Indian in the province of Vito, who 

 hearing during the night his only pig most piteously squeaking, 

 rose to see what was the matter, and found that a jaguar had 

 seized it by the head and was about to carry it away. Eager to 

 rescue his property, he sprang forward, and seizing the pig by 

 the hind legs, disputed its possession with the beast of prey, 

 that with eyes gleaming through the darkness, and a ferocious 

 growd, kept tugging at its head. This strange struggle between 

 the undaunted Indian and the jaguar lasted for some time, until 

 the women coming out of the hut with lighted torches put to 

 flight the monster, which slowly retreated into the forest. 



The same traveller relates that in some parts the jaguars had 

 increased to such a degree, and proved so destructive to the 

 inhabitants, that the latter were obliged to emigrate, and settle 

 in less dangerous districts. Thus, the village of Mayunmarca, 

 near the road from Huanta to Anco, had been long since 



