2 
state, the only one which seems to be susceptible of domesti¬ 
cation is the Cheetah (FelU jubata ), often known as the 
Hunting Leopard, which is found in India, south-western 
Asia, and Africa. It differs much in disposition from all of 
its kind, and so far surpasses them in intelligence and tracta- 
bility, that for many centuries it has been trained in the East 
for the purpose of the chase, the animal being blindfolded 
and led by a chain until a deer or antelope is started, when it 
is unhooded and loosed to run down the quarry. 
The claws of the cheetah being much less retractile than 
those of other cats, and the skull presenting some marked 
differences, it is usually placed in a separate genus— Cyrix - 
lurus. 
The Jaguar (Felis on<;a ) is the largest of the cats of the New 
World, Baron Humboldt having described one which equaled 
the average tiger in size; it inhabits the hottest parts of the 
continent from South America into upper Mexico, sometimes 
even ranging into southern Texas—the principal home of 
the species being in the dense forests which stretch away from 
both banks of the Amazon. In appearance it is very similar 
to the leopard—the jaguar having a shorter tail and the 
spots covering the skin presenting a more broken appear¬ 
ance. 
Many instances are given by South American travelers of 
the strength and ferocity of the jaguar; D’Azara, in particu¬ 
lar, relates that he once saw one drag off the body of a horse 
to a considerable distance, and then swim with it across a 
wide and deep river. 
The black jaguar is much more rarely met with than the 
black leopard, and in menageries is considered a valuable 
prize. 
The American Panther (.Felis concolor ) covers a greater 
extent of country in its range than any other existing cat, be¬ 
ing distributed through North and South America from Canada 
nearly to Cape Horn, though in the most settled portions 
of the former, civilization has generally driven it to the 
secluded parts of the mountains of the north and east, and 
the cane brakes of the south. 
They are notably wild and shy, and in regions where they 
are known to abound the animal itself is rarely seen. 
They are found of several shades, from silvery gray to reddish 
