uld not undo
them, as this would require a slight motion of my body. At last I felt
the weight sliding down my ribs till it left me; and I perceived, that
in order to take a better leap at the meat, the puma had moved on a
little to the left, but in so doing one of his fore paws rested upon the
chest of the _padre_. I then obtained one of the pistols, and was just
in the act of cocking it under my blanket, when I heard a mingled shriek
and roar. Then succeeded a terrible scuffling. A blanket was for a
second rolled over me; the canvas of the tent was burst open a foot
above me; I heard a heavy fall down the chasm; the _padre_ screamed
again; by accident I pulled the trigger and discharged my pistol; and
the Indians, not knowing what was the matter, gave a tremendous
war-whoop.

The scene I have described in so many lines was performed in a few
seconds. It was some time before we could recover our senses and inquire
into the matter. It appeared, that at the very moment the puma was
crouching to take his leap, the _padre_ awaking, gave the scream; this
terrified the animal, who dashed through the canvas of the tent above me
with the _padre's_ blanket entangled in his claws.

Poor _padre_! he had fainted, and continued senseless till daylight,
when I bled him with my penknife. Fear had produced a terrible effect
upon him, and his hair, which the evening before was as black as jet,
had now changed to the whiteness of snow. He never recovered,
notwithstanding the attention shown to him by the Indians who
accompanied him to St. Louis. Reason had forsaken its seat, and, as I
learned some time afterwards, when, being in St. Louis, I went to the
mission to inquire after him, he died two days after his arrival at the
Jesuits' college.

As to the puma, the Indians found it dead at the bottom of the chasm,
completely wrapped in the blanket, and with most of its bones broken.]

The amphibious are the beaver, the fresh-water and sea-otter, the
musk-rat, and a species of long lizard, with sharp teeth, very like the
cayman as regards the head and tail, but with a very short body. It is a
very fierce animal, killing whatever it attacks, dwelling in damp, shady
places, in the juncks, upon the borders of some lakes, and is much
dreaded by the Indians; fortunately, it is very scarce. The Shoshones
have no particular name for it, but would sooner attack a grizzly bear
than this animal, which they have a great dread of, sometimes calling