THE PAMPAS OF PATAGONIA. 31 



saw but two. One of these, a really magnificent male, with 

 any luck I ought to have killed, but as I dismounted, and 

 before I could disengage my rifle, he galloped off. 



I then tried to mount, intending to ride the puma down, 

 but my horse became unmanageable, and before I could quiet 

 him the puma disappeared into some dense scrub, in which 

 I failed to find him again. 



Seeing pumas is largely a matter of luck, for the stony 

 hills and bushy country in which they abound offer end- 

 less hiding places, of which this distinctly cowardly animal 

 takes full advantage. Again and again I wished I had 

 had half-a-dozen good terriers or mongrels with me, for 

 not one of the hounds or collies would take the trail of a 

 puma, though generally ready enough to bustle a fox out 

 of a thicket. With a pack of suitable dogs I believe ex- 

 cellent sport might be had with pumas, though it is cer- 

 tainly the poorest-spirited of all the great cats. Captain 

 Musters tells how an Indian will attack a puma armed 

 only with his boleadores, and this is still done at the present 

 day, yet, though the puma has no great reputation as a 

 fighter, instances have been known of one turning savage 

 when at bay. They are the constant and inveterate enemies 

 of the Patagonian sheep-farmer, taking a heavy toll from 

 the flocks, and often killing a dozen or more animals in a 

 single raid. They also continually stampede the horses 

 of travellers, a very annoying matter, as I know to my cost. 

 These creatures are very readily tamed, and are often kept 

 as pets till almost full-grown. One settler near Lake Ar- 

 gentino lived alone with two three-quarter grown pumas 

 throughout the winter of 1901 in his little single-roomed 

 hut. A strange taste in companionship ! 



This chapter would not be complete without some men- 

 tion of the Tehuelche methods of hunting. In former times 

 the fabled Patagonian Indians hunted on foot as do the Onas 

 to-day in Terra del Fuego, but since the introduction of 



