222 WANDERINGS IN 



Third While wG Were busy in preparing the stage, a tiger 



Journey. 



began to roar. We judged by the sound that he was 



not above a quarter of a mile from us, and that he was 

 close to tile side of the river. Unfortunately, the Indian 

 said it was not a Jaguar that was roaring, but a Cou- 



A Couguar. guar. The Couguar is of a pale, brownish red colour, and 

 not as large as the Jaguar. As there was nothing par- 

 ticular in this animal, I thought it better to attend to the 

 apparatus for catching the Cayman than to go in quest 

 of the Couguar. The people, however, went in the 

 canoe to the place where the Couguar was roaring. On 

 arriving near the spot, they saw it was not a Couguar 

 but an immense Jaguar, standing on the trunk of an 

 aged Mora-tree, which bended over the river ; he 

 growled, and showed his teeth as they approached ; the 

 coloured man fired at him with a ball, but probably 

 missed him, and the tiger instantly descended, and took off 

 into the woods. I went to the place before dark, and we 

 searched the forest for about half a mile in the direction 

 he had fled, but we could see no traces of him, or any 

 marks of blood ; so I concluded that fear had prevented 

 the man from taking steady aim. 



We spent best part of the fourth night in trying for- 

 the Cayman, but all to no purpose. I was now con- 

 vinced that something was materially wrong. We ought 

 to have been successful, considering our vigilance and 

 attention, and that we had repeatedly seen the Cayman. 



