60 THE TRAPPER'S ART. 



upon, it may escape with its prey the more easily. In this 

 wa} 7 it pursues men. A Jaguar has been known to follow the 

 track of travellers for days together, only daring to show itself 

 at rare intervals. A full grown Jaguar is an animal of enor- 

 mous strength, and will kill and drag off a horse or ox with- 

 out difficulty. They commit vast havoc among the horses 

 which band together in great herds on the plains of South 

 America. Full grown colts and calves are their favorite prey. 

 Goodrich, in his Natural History, describes their operations as 

 follows : " Frequently two Jaguars will combine to master 

 the more powerful brutes. Some of them lie in wait around 

 the salt-licks, and attack the animals that resort to these places. 

 Their habit is to conceal themselves behind some bush, or on 

 the trunk of a fallen tree : here they will lie, silent and mo- 

 tionless, for hours, patiently waiting for their victims. When 

 they see a deer, or a mule, or mustang approaching, the eyes 

 dilate, the hair rises along the back, the tail moves to and fro, 

 and every limb quivers. When the unsuspecting prey comes 

 within his reach, the monster bounds like a thunderbolt upon 

 him. He fixes his teeth in his neck and his claws in the loins, 

 and though the dismayed and aggravated victim flies, and 

 rears, and essays to throw off his terrible rider, it is all in 

 vain. His strength is soon exhausted, and he sinks to the 

 earth an easy prey to his destroyer. The Jaguar, growling 

 and roaring in triumph, already tears his flesh while yet the 

 agonies of death are upon him. When his hunger is appeased 

 he covers the remains of the carcass with leaves, sticks, and 

 earth, to protect them from the vultures ; and either remains 

 watching near at hand or retires for a time till appetite revives, 

 when he returns to complete his carnival." The Jaguar makes 

 its attack upon the larger quadrupeds by springing upon their 

 shoulders. Then placing one paw on the back of the head 

 and another on the muzzle, with a single wrench it dislocates 

 the neck. The smaller animals it lays dead with a stroke of 

 its paw. 



The Jaguar in external appearance and in habits closely 

 resembles the leopard of the Old World. The female pro- 

 duces two at a birth. The ground color of a full-grown 



