SOUTH AMERICA. 



213 



pain, 1 Heard the Indian say, " Massa, massa, you no Third 



Journey. 



Visited in 



hear Tiger?" I Hstened attentively, and heard the softly 

 soundincj tread of his feet as he approached us. The the night by 



^ ^ a Jaguar 



moon had gone down ; but every now and then we could '^•g^'"- 

 get a glance of him by the light of our fire : he Avas the 

 Jaguar, for I could see the spots on his body. Had I 

 wished to have fired at him I was not able to take a sure 

 aim, for I was in such pain that I could not turn myself 

 in my hammock. The Indian would have fired, but I 

 would not allow him to do so, as I wanted to see a little 

 more of our new visitor ; for it is not every day or night 

 that the traveller is favoured with an undisturbed sight of 

 the Jaguar in his own forests. 



Whenever the fire got low, the Jaguar came a little 

 nearer, and when the Indian renewed it, he retired 

 abruptly; sometimes he Avould come within twenty yards, 

 and then we had a view of him, sitting on his hind legs 

 like a dog ; sometimes he moved slowly to and fro, and 

 at other times we could hear him mend his pace, as if 

 impatient. At last, the Indian not relishing the idea of 

 having such company in the neighbourhood, could contain 

 himself no longer, and set up a most tremendous yell. The 

 Jaguar bounded oif like a race -horse, and returned no 

 more ; it appeared by the print of his feet the next 

 morning, that he was a full-grown Jaguar. 



In two days after this we got to the first falls in the Reaches the 



falls of the 



Essequibo. There was a superb barrier of rocks quite Essequibo. 



