136 RIO PARANA, [cHap. VII. 
One day, when hunting on the banks of the Uruguay, I was 
shown certain trees, to which these animals constantly recur for 
the purpose, as it is said, of sharpening their claws. I saw three 
well-known trees ; in front, the bark was worn smooth, as if by 
the breast of ‘the animal, and on each side there were deep 
scratches, or rather grooves, extending in an oblique line, nearly 
a yard in length. The scars were of different ages. A common 
method of ascertaining whether a jaguar is in the neighbourhood 
is to examine these trees. I imagine this habit of the jaguar is 
exactly similar to one which may any day be seen in the common 
cat, as with outstretched legs and exserted claws it scrapes the 
leg of a chair; and I have heard of young fruit-trees in an 
orchard in England having been thus much injured. Some such 
habit must also be common to the puma, for on the bare hard soil 
of Patagonia I have frequently seen scores so deep that no other 
animal could have made them. The object of this practice is, I 
- believe, to tear off the ragged points of their claws, and not, as 
the Gauchos think, to sharpen them. The jaguar is killed, 
without much difficulty, by the aid of dogs baying and driving 
him up a tree, where he is despatched with bullets. 
Owing to bad weather we remained two days at our moorings. 
Our only amusement was catching fish for our dinner: there 
were several kinds, and all good eating. A fish called the 
“armado” (a Silurus) is remarkable from aharsh grating noise 
which it makes when caught by hook and line, and which can be 
distinctly heard when the fish is beneath the water. This same fish 
has the power of firmly catching hold of any object, such as the 
blade of an oar or the fishing-line, with the strong spine both of 
its pectoral and dorsal fin. In the evening the weather was quite 
tropical, the thermometer standing at 79°. Numbers of fireflies 
were hovering about, and the musquitoes were very troublesome. 
I exposed my hand for five minutes, and it was soon black with 
them ; I do not suppose there could have been less than fifty, all 
busy sucking. 
October 15th.—We got under way and passed Punta Gorda, 
where there is a colony of tame Indians from the province of 
Missiones. We sailed rapidly down the current, but before 
sunset, from a silly fear of bad weather, we brought-to in a nar- 
tow arm of the river. I took the boat and rowed some distance 
