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manners of animals. Two Indian children; a 

 boy and a girl, about eight and nine years of age, 

 were seated on the grass near the village of 

 Atures, in the middle of a savannah, which we 

 have often traversed. At two o'clock in the 

 afternoon, a jaguar issued from the forest, and 

 approached the children, bounding around them ; 

 sometimes he hid himself in the high grass, some- 

 times he sprang forward, his back bent, his 

 head hung down, in the manner of our cats. 

 The little boy, ignorant of his danger, seemed 

 to be sensible of it only when the jaguar with 

 one of his paws gave him some blows on the 

 head. These blows, at first slight, became ruder 

 and ruder, the claws of the jaguar wounded 

 the child, and the blood flowed with violence. 

 The little girl then took a branch of a tree, 

 struck the animal, and it fled from her. The 

 Indians ran up at the cries of the children, and 

 saw the jaguar, which retired bounding, without 

 making the least show of resistance. 



The little boy was brought to us, who appear- 

 ed lively and intelligent. The claw of the ja- 

 guar had taken away the skin from the lower 

 part of the forehead, and there was a second 

 scar at the top of the head. What meant this 

 fit of playfulness in an animal, which is not dif- 

 ficult to tame in our menageries, but which 

 shows itself always so wild and cruel in a savage 

 state? If we admit, that, being sure of it's 



