ORDEH of CAENIVOEA. • 3S1 



in inaction among tlie islets which stud the surfaces of the great 

 lagoons and rivers. In the evening it seeks its food, and levies 

 a heavy tribute on the immense herds of wild cattle and Horses 

 that graze in the Pampas of the Plata. With a single blow of 

 its paw it breaks the vertebral column of its victims. It fishes, 

 we are told, very adroitly, and is not afraid of attacking the largest 

 Cayman. 



The Jaguar climbs trees with agility, to the great discomfiture 

 of the Monkej^s which it pursues. Notwithstanding the fires that 

 travellers make at night to keep away these ferocious animals, 

 the}^ do not always escape its attacks. 



At the setting and rising of the sun it gives utterance to two 

 cries, which are well known to the natives and to hunters. It is 

 by this means that it announces to living nature the commence- 

 ment and the termination of its feeding operations, and thus 

 excites terror or joy. In certain parts of America, Jaguars were 

 so numerous, that, according to Azara, in the seventeenth cen- 

 tury, two thousand were killed every year at Paraguaj^ At the 

 present time many are yet to be found in that region, although 

 their numbers are considerabl}^ diminished. 



The Puma or Cougar {Leopardtis coiicolor), formerly improperly 

 called the American Lion, is an animal about four and a half 

 feet long,* and of an uniform fawn colour without any sj)ots. It 

 inhabits Paraguay, Brazil, Guiana, Mexico, and the United 

 States. It has the general aj)pearance of a Lioness, without 

 possessing its dimensions. 



This animal is alike remarkable for stealth and agility. It 

 makes great ravages among the herds, and diflTers from the 

 other Cats, in slaying numerous victims before it commences 

 to feed. To carry off the smaller domestic animals, it visits 

 human habitations during the night. It prefers living in the 

 open country, yet it climbs trees ; its agility is such, that at one 

 bound it can ascend upwards of twenty feet. 



The Puma is easily tamed, when it knows its master, and receives 

 his caresses with pleasure. No inconvenience results from allowing 

 it to run about at liberty. The celebrated English actor Kean, 



* The size of the Puma is frequently greater than here stated. At the early 

 settlement of the United States numerous children, even adults, were killed by these 

 animals. At the present date both white and red men dread them more than any 

 wild anirnal found iu their habitat. — Ed. 



