70 
The Boldness of the Jaguar. 
in the morning, and soon after a hammock that had been washed and 
placed in the tent disappeared, and so on each following night anothei 
piece, a cloth or a cooking utensil was gone. Suspicion naturally fell on 
the Indians, in spite of their assurance that the jaguar was the thief. 
All attempts at scaring away the author of the mighty row proved in 
vain. The robberies soon extended to the tents of his three European 
companions, and suspicion was still further aroused against the villagers. 
The ferocious howl of the animal had naturally made the company 
cautious and my brother, while Avorking in his tent late at night after 
a recent robbery, had kept two loaded pistols at his side. He just 
happened to look up from what he was doing, when he saw in front of 
him something that he could not quite make out, owing to the hammock 
having been already slung: he accordingly held up the light only to 
recogniise the jaguar standing four paces ahead calmly gazing into his 
eyes, but before he had time to seize the pistol his troublesome visitor 
had disappeared. Next night he was awakened from sleep by an animal 
that was just about creeping under his hammock and brushing its back 
up against his: thinking it Avas one of his dogs, he gave it a sound slap- 
lie did not hit the dog, but the jagniar which, with a growl, made a spring 
through the tent-wall. In the morning a general hunt was organised in 
the course of which, not the disturber of the peace, Imt 'certainly the 
stolen goods, down to a tal)le-cloth, were found scattered through the 
brushwood. What prompted the animal to tliese extraordinary robberies 
it would be hard to say, because up to the present the magpie's lust for 
theft has never yet been observed in this genus. Our second cook, 
Adams, played a part in a similar visit during the journey to 
the sources of the Corentyne. In that case a loud cry of distress woke 
the whole camp out of their slumbers when the distractedly yelling cook 
told them that, unable to fall asleep he was lying awake in his hammock, 
when suddenly a large dark object which he soon recognised to be an 
animal, approached his bed and sniffed him from top to toe. Stiff A\ath 
liorror he lay in his liamniock as if dead until a ])air of glowing eyes 
approached his face: with that the spell was l)roken, and shrieking for 
help he had jumped out of his hammock. The jaguar had disappeared, 
but the tracks left l)ehind betrayed its presence. 
175. As the Museum possessed a collection of Guiana quad- 
ru}3eds and economy was essential, I received instructions on my 
departure from Berlin not to prepare and despatch any of the larger 
representatives: I now regret having obeyed the order and not having 
forwarded the varieties mentioned, because on my return I looked 
around for some of them in vain. 
176. The number of baskets with Brazil nuts that I found in the 
houses at Maripa shewed how plentiful the BerthoUetki excejsa must be 
in the Vindaua Ranges. 
177. The fever permitting of my making a short excursion to the 
neighbouring village, I wended my way there in company with some 
Indians through forest and over savannah where the Mnnritia fleaniosa 
reached a height of 100 ft. and the Maiiritia acnleata certainly one of 
50 ft. The small thick clusters and fan-like fronds of the latter, owing 
