CHAPTER XXVIII 



THE FEAR OF MAN 



IN a previous volume, " Animals of To-day," some 

 account was given of the evidence collected by ancient 

 and modern naturalists, from Don Felix d'Azara to 

 Mr. Hudson, that the puma, the second largest of the 

 big cats of South America, neither feared man nor 

 regarded human beings as its prey, but on the contrary 

 sought their society, and even protected man from the 

 attacks of the jaguar. Trustworthy facts which lend 

 additional confirmation to this interesting question 

 must necessarily be slowly acquired ; but the following 

 anecdote, which comes at first hand from one long 

 resident in British Guiana, supports the belief that the 

 puma seeks the society of man instead of attacking or 

 fearing him. When making an expedition up one of 

 the large rivers in a steam-launch, our friend gave a 

 passage to an elderly Cornish miner who was anxious 

 to reach the goldfields. Not wishing to intrude upon 

 his hosts, he did not sleep on board the launch, but 

 always slung his hammock between two trees on shore. 

 As climbing into a high-slung hammock is not easy, 

 he usually fastened it rather low, and his weight pro- 

 bably brought it to within three feet of the ground at 

 the bottom of the curve. One morning, being asked 



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