CLASS I. MAMMALIA: ORDER 5. CARNIVORA. 275 



boldt heard the jaguar's yell from the tops of the trees, followed by the sharp, shrill, long whistle 

 of the terrified monkeys, as they seemed to flee. None of the living quadrupeds appear to come 

 amiss to it, and birds and fish, which last it captures in the shallows, are sacrificed to its vora- 

 cious appetite. It is said to secure their, by proceeding into the edge of the water, where it 

 drops its spittle on the surface ; when the fish approach to seize it, he knocks them out upon the 

 shore with his paw. Though generally so sly in their habits, the jaguars frequently carry off cattle, 

 horses, and sheep from the inclosures of the plantations, and the havoc made by them is very 

 great. Nor are the reptiles free from its attacks. The shells of turtles were pointed out to Hum- 

 boldt as having been emptied of their contents by the jaguar, which, it seems, watches them as 

 they come to the sandy beeches to lay their eggs, rushes on them, and turns them on their backs. 

 He then insinuates his paw between the shells, and scoops out the contents as clean as if a 

 surgeon's knife had been employed. As the beast turns many more than he can devour at one 

 meal, the Indians often profit by his dexterous cunning. He will, it is stated, pursue this perse- 

 cuted race into the water where it is not very deep; he will also dig up and devour the eggs. 



Sometimes this formidable creature seems to forget his habitual ferocity. Captain Andrews 

 tells us of a jaguar that was set upon by the dogs of some hunters, which for some time would 

 not fight, but played with these animals in the best possible temper. He was not moved from 

 his sportive humor till he was shot in the shoulder. Humboldt relates a storv of two Indian 

 children, a girl and a boy, the one about seven and the other nine years old, who were at play on 

 the outskirts of a village, about two o'clock in the afternoon, when a large jaguar came out of the 

 woods bounding toward them playfully, his head down and his back arched, like a cat. He 

 approached the boy, who was not sensible of his danger, and began to play with him, till at 

 last the jaguar hit him so hard on the head with his paw as to draw blood, whereupon the 

 little girl struck him smartly with a small switch, and he was bounding back not at all irritated, 

 when the Indians, alarmed by the cries of the girl, came up. 



The jaguar is said to make its attacks on quadrupeds by springing upon the neck of his prey ; 

 then placing one of his paws upon the back of its head, while he turns round the muzzle with the 

 other, he dislocates the neck and deprives it of life. In his turn he falls a victim to man in many 

 ways. Sometimes he is driven by dogs "to tree," in which case he is dispatched with the musket 

 or lance ; sometimes the pack force him among the bushes, and then often is exhibited a daring 

 feat. A single Indian, with his left arm enveloped in a sheep-skin, and with a five-feet lance in 

 his right, goes boldly in to him. The hunter parries the onset of the furious beast with his 

 shielded arm, and at the same time deals him such a thrust with his lance as seldom requires 

 repetition. The lasso is also used with the best effect upon the plains. The object of this war 

 upon the jaguar is often to destroy a dangerous and destructive enemy ; the value of the skin is 

 also an inducement to the chase. This is much used by the Mexicans for saddle-cloths and 

 holster-coverings. Many thousands are annually exported to Europe, where they are in great 

 request for various purposes. 



Notwithstanding the courage and ferocity of the jaguar, instances have happened in which it 

 has been completely cowed and humbled by the convulsions of nature. We are told of a party 

 of travelers among the mountains of South America who fled to a cave during a terrific thunder- 

 storm. While here, a jaguar, seeking shelter from the tempest which made the rocks tremble 

 to their center, entered the cave. Instead of attacking, or even threatening the strangers, who 

 had no doubt invaded his lair, the beast crept almost upon his belly around them, and slunk away 

 amid the recesses of the cavern. 



Similar instances have been related of the tiger. In the inundations which occasionally take 

 place in India, the marshy plains along the rivers are often completely coyered by the water. 

 These regions are the abodes of numbers of ferocious beasts — tigers, leopards, and crocodiles, with 

 serpents, snakes, and vultures — all usually preying upon each other. But when the waters 

 sweep the land, numbers of these creatures may be seen together, in perfect harmony, taking 

 shelter upon the limbs of some gigantic tree that lifts itself above the flood. 



Malte-Brun gives us a similar picture in respect to Guiana. This country, he tells us, is sub- 

 ject to annual inundations during the rainy season ; the rivers, swollen by continual rains, over- 



