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various species of the felis genus. Our fires 

 burning bright, and having by long habit be- 

 come tranquil (I might almost say systemati- 

 cally) respecting dangers that are not chimeri- 

 cal, we paid little attention to the cries of the 

 jaguars. They were attracted by the smell and 

 voice of our dog. This animal (which was of 

 the mastiff breed) began at first to bark ; and, 

 when the tiger drew nearer, to howl, hiding 

 himself below our hammocks, as if he sought 

 for the succour of man. During our halts on 

 the banks of the Rio Apure, we had been accus- 

 tomed to these alternations of courage and fear 

 in this young animal, which was gentle and 

 extremely carressing. How great was our cha- 

 grin, when in the morning, at the moment of re- 

 embarking, the Indians informed us, that the 

 dog had disappeared ! There could be no doubt, 

 that it had been carried off by the jaguars. Per- 

 haps, hearing their cries no longer, it had wan- 

 dered from the fires on the side of the beach ; 

 perhaps we had not heard it's moans, being 

 plunged in a profound sleep. We have often 

 heard the inhabitants of the banks of the Oroo- 

 noko and the Rio Magdalena affirm, that the 

 oldest jaguars, consequently those that have 

 hunted at night during several years, are suffi- 

 ciently cunning to carry off animals from the 

 midst of a halting place, grasping the neck so as 

 to prevent their cries. We waited part of the 



