64 



CENTRAL AMERICA. 



Indian at last came in, and told the leader 

 of our party (a very old half-caste) that there 

 was a herd of Cimarron cattle in a wood 

 near the great river's (Rio Grande) side, and 

 not more than a mile off ; but he was afraid 

 that they had been disturbed either by man 

 or "tigre."* 



There was a broad, but in that time of the 

 year shallow river, except occasional deep 

 pools, running through the forest, and to this 

 river we made our way. We entered the 

 stream about a mile below the expected 

 haunt of the cattle, with everything in our 

 favour, as we had to proceed up wind and up 

 the stream ; the wind being of importance in 

 getting near to the cattle and the stream, to 

 prevent our horses muddling the water, as 

 also to drown the noise of their splashing. 

 After working up stream in this manner 

 nearly a mile, avoiding the pools, which are 

 almost always occupied by a tenant in the 

 shape of an alligator, we turned a rather 

 sharp elbow of the river, and found ourselves 

 suddenly about one hundred yards from the 

 herd of Cimarron cattle, whose trail we had 

 been carefully searching for on both banks of 



* In Central America the panther is called " tigre/ ? 

 or tiger, and a known tiger hunter " tigrero." 



