A Jag-uar-Hunt on the Taquary 83 



horsemen. He lay flat on the ground, panting, unable 

 to catch the scent. Kermit threw water over him, and 

 when he was thoroughly drenched and freshened, thrust 

 his nose into the jaguar's footprints. The game old 

 hound at once and eagerly responded. As he snuffed 

 the scent he challenged loudly, while still lying down. 

 Then he staggered to his feet and started on the trail, 

 going stronger with every leap. Evidently the big cat 

 was not far distant. Soon we found where it had swum 

 across the bayou. Piranhas or no piranhas, we now in- 

 tended to get across; and we tried to force our horses 

 in at what seemed a likely spot. The matted growth of 

 water-plants, with their leathery, slippery stems, formed 

 an unpleasant barrier, as the water was swimming-deep 

 for the horses. The latter were very unwilling to at- 

 tempt the passage. Kermit finally forced his horse 

 through the tangled mass, swimming, plunging, and 

 struggling. He left a lane of clear water, through which 

 we swam after him. The dogs splashed and swam be- 

 hind us. On the other bank they struck the fresh trail 

 and followed it at a run. It led into a long belt of tim- 

 ber, chiefly composed of low-growing nacury palms, with 

 long, drooping, many-fronded branches. In silhouette 

 they suggest coarse bamboos ; the nuts hang in big clus- 

 ters and look like bunches of small, unripe bananas. 

 Among the lower palms were scattered some big ordi- 

 nary trees. We cantered along outside the timber belt, 

 listening to the dogs within; and in a moment a burst 

 of yelling clamor from the pack told that the jaguar was 

 afoot. These few minutes are the really exciting mo- 

 ments in the chase, with hounds, of any big cat that will 



