bers, but the jaguar is the
larger, stronger, and more savage. He can never be properly tamed, and
never loses his innate treacherousness, but the puma becomes as tame as
a dog.

"The puma never attacks a man, but you must be on your guard against a
jaguar. Both are enemies of flocks and herds, but while the puma never
worries tame animals larger than sheep, the jaguar will often attack
horses, mules, and young cattle. The jaguar hunts only at daybreak and
twilight, or when the moon shines brightly; the puma only in the evening
and at night. The puma is dark reddish-yellow, the jaguar orange with
black spots and rings on his fur, a marking which reminds one of the
colour of certain poisonous snakes. The puma's cubs are charming little
creatures, like kittens, but larger. Their eyes do not open until they
are ten days old; then they begin to crawl about very awkwardly,
tumbling down at every other step, and climb up on their mother's back.
They soon become sure on their feet and, like kittens, play with their
mother's tail.

"The jaguar is a keen and patient hunter. He crawls along on his belly
like a cat, and from the recesses of the thicket watches his victim
without moving an eye. He creeps nearer with wonderful agility and
noiselessness, and when he is sure of success he makes his spring, tears
open the throat of the antelope, sheep, or waterhog, and drags his booty
into the thicket. Small animals he swallows hair and all. Of a horse he
eats as much as he can, and then goes off to sleep in some concealed
spot. When he awakes he goes back to his meal.

"On one road in South America twenty Indians were killed by jaguars
within a lifetime. If a man has presence of mind enough to shout and
make a noise and go towards the brute, the latter withdraws. Otherwise
he is lost, for even if he escapes with his life, the wounds inflicted
by the jaguar's blunt claws and teeth are terrible and dangerous. There
are Indians in South America who are said to hunt the jaguar in the
following manner. They wrap a sheepskin round the left arm and in the
right hand hold a sharp two-edged knife. Then they beat up the jaguar
and set dogs at him. He gets up on his hind legs like a bear, and
attacks one of the Indians. The man puts out his left arm for him to
bite, and at the same time runs his knife into the beast's heart.

"A traveller relates a very good jaguar tale. Some sailors from Europe
had landed on the bank of a river in South Ame