HUNTING THE JAGUAR 23 



it was of no use to bring dogs into that country 

 to hunt which were not acclimated and accus- 

 tomed to the peculiarities of the Guiana bush. 

 Men who have bred dogs there told me that dogs 

 coming to Guiana from a cold climate usually 

 die off in a few months. This is due to several 

 causes ; first, they cannot endure the climate, and 

 fever seems to lay hold of them, while the ticks 

 and bugs literally worry them to death. Then 

 there are the usual dangers of the bush (the 

 word "bush" is employed there when referring 

 to the jungle), which the native dog or Creole 

 breed, as he is called, has learned to some extent 

 to avoid, such as giving wide berth to many of 

 the venomous snakes, keeping away from the 

 rush of the pugnacious bush-dog (there are two 

 species in Guiana, the peccary and the Kairuni), 

 frequently traveling in droves of fifty and up- 

 ward ; the crushing stamp of the tapir's forefoot 

 when brought to bay, and similar jungle dangers. 



To secure such a pack of dogs I was very 

 kindly assisted by Mr. Frank Fowler, Commis- 

 sioner of Lands and Mines, who gave me a letter 

 of introduction to a Mr. D. J. A, Spence, the 

 owner of a large rubber plantation, five miles 

 out of Georgetown. 



Mr. Spence, who has ten tigers to his credit 



