144 
RIO PARANA 
CHAP. 
was the matter, escaped with difficulty. The beast was destroyed 
by being shot from a corner of the building which was unroofed. 
They commit also at these times great ravages among cattle 
and horses. It is said that they kill their prey by breaking 
their necks. If driven from the carcass, they seldom return to 
it. The Gauchos say that the jaguar, when wandering about 
at night, is much tormented by the foxes yelping as they 
follow him. This is a curious coincidence with the fact which 
is generally affirmed of the jackals accompanying, in a similarly 
officious manner, the East Indian tiger. The jaguar is a noisy 
animal, roaring much by night, and especially before bad 
weather. 
One day, when hunting on the banks of the Uruguay, I 
was shown certain trees, to which these animals constantly 
recur for the purpose, as it is said, of sharpening their claws, I 
saw three well-known trees ; in front, the bark was worn 
smooth, as if by the breast of the animal, and on each side 
there were deep scratches, or rather grooves, extending in an 
oblique line, nearly a yard in length. The scars were of 
different ages. A common method of ascertaining whether a 
jaguar is in the neighbourhood is to examine these trees. I 
imagine this habit of the jaguar is exactly similar to one which 
may any day be seen in the common cat, as with outstretched 
legs and exserted claws it scrapes the leg of a chair ; and I have 
heard of young fruit-trees in an orchard in England having 
been thus much injured. Some such habit must also be 
common to the puma, for on the bare hard soil of Patagonia I 
have frequently seen scores so deep that no other animal could 
have made them. The object of this practice is, I believe, to 
tear off the ragged points of their claws, and not, as the Gauchos 
think, to sharpen them. The jaguar is killed, without much 
difficulty, by the aid of dogs baying and driving him up a tree, 
where he is despatched with bullets. 
Owing to bad weather we remained two days at our moor¬ 
ings. Our only amusement was catching fish for our dinner : 
there were several kinds, and all good eating. A fish called 
the “ armado ” (a Silurus) is remarkable from a harsh grating 
noise which it makes when caught by hook and line, and 
which can be distinctly heard when the fish is beneath the 
water. This same fish has the power of firmly catching hold 
