A NEW SUBSPECIES OF THE PUMA. 197 



horse, this seemed an excellent opportunity and I was not slow in giving 

 chase. Although the animal had several hundred yards the start of me, 

 I rapidly gained on him, and when he reached the head of a small caflon 

 at the opposite side of the narrow table I was not more than one hundred 

 yards in the rear. On reaching the point where he had disappeared over 

 the crest of the bluff I halted for a moment to reconnoitre. I knew the 

 inability of this animal, like all the others of his tribe, to maintain any 

 considerable speed for a long distance, and that when once beyond my 

 sight he would seek refuge in concealment rather than flight. Over the 

 slopes and bottom of the shallow caflon there was a considerable growth 

 of scattered brush. By carefully scanning the ground about these I soon 

 discovered the object of my search stretched at full length upon the 

 ground. To despatch him with a rifle ball was the work of but a moment 

 and required neither skill nor courage. I preserved both skin and skele- 

 ton, and, much to my surprise, they have been considered by Dr. C. 

 Hart Merriam as belonging to a new subspecies. 



Almost every traveller in Patagonia has remarked upon the naturally 

 timid and cowardly nature of the puma. So far from a general disposition 

 to attack man these animals are, as a rule, exceedingly timid, and examples 

 are not at all uncommon where, when brought to bay, they have sought 

 the shelter of a bush, and, without offering any real resistance, allowed the 

 hunter to despatch them with his sheath knife, or by knocking them in the 

 head with his bolas. Such timidity is not, however, universally charac- 

 teristic of these animals, which are among the most abundant and by far 

 the largest and most powerful of the Patagonian Carnivora. A notable 

 exception to the rule, which came to the writer's knowledge, may be 

 mentioned in this connection, since the facts connected with it are sup- 

 ported by unimpeachable authority. The case referred to is that of Seftor 

 Theodore Arneberg, Chief Engineer in charge of the work of the Southern 

 Division of the Argentine Boundary Commission. While engaged in his 

 work in the vicinity of Lake Viedma in the autumn of 1898, in walking 

 one day through a tangled mass of brush and tall grass, he came suddenly 

 and unexpectedly upon a puma lying in concealment. The animal not 

 only made no attempt to escape, but, instantly and without warning, 

 attacked the intruder in the most savage manner. Springing upon him 

 with its full force, it hurled him to the ground, although Mr. Arneberg is 

 a large and powerful man, and the lion seizing him by the lower jaw, sue- 



