1 86 Travels and Adventures 



strangling" him, bearing him to the ground with the 

 force of the spring. It was a critical moment for 

 my companion, and had the jaguar been still un- 

 wounded, instead of having a broken leg, it would 

 probably have been the death of the native. While 

 the mad beast was doing its best to clutch the 

 neck of the prostrate Indian, I aimed a ball which 

 struck the brain, and the sleek, beautiful animal 

 rolled over motionless. It was a male, a fine 

 specimen, measuring seven feet six inches from the 

 nose to the tip of the tail. As we killed" it in 

 the thick jungle, where it was difficult to photograph, 

 there was no alternative but to carry it on our 

 shoulders to the edge of the lake, where we could 

 get a good light. One of the Indians was so 

 injured as to be unable to help in this operation, 

 so I shouldered one end of the pole, being determined 

 not to lose the chance of a picture. As soon as 

 this had been satisfactorily accomplished, we were 

 not long in taking off the skin, and this finished 

 our adventure with the jaguar for this time, though 

 by no means the only one. 



Anyone looking at the adjoining picture may 

 be puzzled to know how the photograph was taken 

 under the circumstances. Nearly all these pictures 

 have been made with Messrs. Rouch's patent camera. 

 I set the instrument in a position which I knew would 



