PREFACE 



WHAT I have actually seen of wild life during 

 a good many big game hunting trips in North 

 and South America, from Alaska to the equator, 

 is the theme of this book. Most of the ac- 

 counts were penciled in the shooting tent or 

 even on moonlit nights while awaiting some night 

 prowler. 



In two chapters I have attempted to give with 

 some exactitude the natural history of the black 

 bear and the jaguar, the two animals which in 

 captivity and the open I have most carefully 

 studied, but in general my object is to present as 

 clearly as possible the human side of the sport 

 the greatest sport in the world. 



If it proves that I am successful in taking my 

 reader with me, through mountains and jungle, 

 and if I make of the reader a convert to the life 

 of the open, I shall be glad, for I know of noth- 

 ing that gives so much and asks so little as nature. 



DANIEL J. SINGER. 



New York, 



September, 1914. 



