154 
THE PANTHER. 
many people eat him as choice food; hut 
I never tasted of a panther,’ concludes 
good Mr. Lawson,—‘ so cannot commend 
the meat by mine own experience.’ 
“ The account of this quaint old historian 
is confirmed by other and later writers in 
most particulars. Mr. Darwin, in his enter¬ 
taining and instructive ‘ Voyage of a Natu¬ 
ralist,’ gives the same account of the puma’s 
neat habit of eating. He says that it 
covers the body of its prey with many 
large branches, and then lies down to 
watch. This habit is often the cause of his 
being discovered; for the condors, wheeling 
in the air, every now and then descend to 
partake of the feast, and, being angrily 
driven away, rise all together on the wing. 
It seems the puma has sense enough to 
learn by experience; for the herdsmen say 
that if he has been once betrayed in this 
way he never repeats the practice, hut, 
having made one hearty meal on the carcass, 
he wanders far away and never returns to it.’* 
“ Then it seems he has more sense than 
some people,” said Annie. 
“You will find, before we finish with him, 
that we may learn several things of him. 
