waste of heaving, tumbling billows, over which the boat seemed
actually to fly. Suddenly the clouds lifted, the wind ceased, and all
was as calm as before the storm. Nothing was to be seen of the dead
whale, and the crew was content to let it float where it would, while
they rowed in search of their vessel. Ere long they were safe and sound
on board with Captain Loomis. David could not help repeating from a poem
he had recited at school, the words: "Isn't God upon the ocean, just the
same as on the land?"

[Illustration: IN A STORM ON THE SEA.]

THE JAGUAR.

The jaguar, or American tiger, as he is sometimes called, is a native of
South America. He is beautifully spotted with rings containing smaller
spots on a deeper ground tint. He is a ferocious and destructive beast,
inhabits the forests, and seeks his prey by watching, or by openly
seizing cattle or horses in the enclosures. His depredations among the
herds of horses which graze on the prairies of Paraguay are vast and
terrible. Swift as lightning he darts upon his prey, overthrows it by
weight, or breaks its neck by a blow of his paw. His strength is so
great, he can easily drag off a full-sized horse. He is an expert
climber, and the prints of his claws have been seen on the bark at the
top of trees fifty feet in height and without branches. He sometimes
feeds on monkeys, but they are generally too active for him; having the
power to swing themselves from branch to branch with wonderful
swiftness, they are soon beyond his reach. After horses, oxen and sheep
are his favorite prey, and his devastations among them are often very
extensive. On account of this, efforts are constantly made to destroy
him. He is hunted with dogs, which run him to bay, or force him to seek
safety in a tree, where he is kept till the approach of the hunters, who
shoot him, or disable him with their long spears.

[Illustration: THE JAGUAR WAITING FOR HIS PREY.]

MILITARY DOGS.

Big dogs, little dogs; black dogs, white dogs--all sizes and sorts of
dogs are now carefully trained for use in the military service of France
and Germany as messengers, scouts, and sentinels.

These "dog-children of the regiment" are not chosen from any special
breed of dogs, because that would at once cause then to be recognized,
and so become a target for the foe whenever seen.

These military dogs are chosen on account of the promise they give of
"individual merit," and their education i