438 CLASS MAMMALIA. 



a Cat, when engaged in surprising a bird, not excepting the 

 agitation of the tail ; and purred when caressed like that 

 animal. 



An incident occurred a few years back, not far from New 

 York, which seems to disprove the assertion of Molina and 

 D'Azara, that the Puma will not attack a Man ; and while 

 it shows the ferocity of the animal, evinces that its power 

 is not much inferior to that of the Jaguar. Two hunters 

 went out in quest of game on the Katskill mountains, in 

 the province of New York, on the road from New York to 

 Albany, each armed with a gun, and accompanied by his 

 Dog. It was agreed between them, that they should go in 

 contrary directions round the base of a hill, which formed 

 one of the points in these mountains ; and that, if either 

 discharged his piece, the other should cross the hill as ex- 

 peditiously as possible, to join his companion in pursuit 

 of the game shot at. Shortly after separating, one heard 

 the other fire, and, agreeably to their compact, hastened to 

 his comrade. After searching for him for some time with- 

 out effect, he found his Dog dead and dreadfully torn. Ap- 

 prised by this discovery that the animal shot at was large 

 and ferocious, he became anxious for the fate of his friend, 

 and assiduously continued the search for him ; when his 

 eyes were suddenly directed, by the deep growl of a Puma, 

 to the large branch of a tree, where he saw the animal 

 couching on the body of the Man, and directing his eyes 

 toward him, apparently hesitating whether to descend and 

 make a fresh attack on the survivor, or to relinquish its 

 prey and take to flight. Conscious that much depended on 

 celerity, the hunter discharged his piece, and wounded the 

 animal mortally, when it and the body of the Man fell to- 

 gether from the tree. The surviving Dog then flew at the 

 prostrate beast, but a single blow from its paw laid the 

 Dog dead by its side. In this state of things, finding that 

 his comrade was dead, and that there was still danger in 



