Omaha daily bee., 1883-06-13
A PU MA aU "
Frederick Boyle In B~slgrsyia.

got. Many droll facts and stories he
told us before bvd time, OF which l
noted down a part. We drew him to
the "a, aot Of wild beasts, aad our
host ~. nothing less than an Illus
trsted encyclopedias. He had q pair
| Of tame pum., bohiad the house, and
We sailed forth with lights TO yisit
I them. L. was bo,utlful to see the
creatures start from sieop and resr
s~hemsslvo, against the bars, their
great, clear eycs Intent With curiosity.
Tbs mSster put Ia bis hand and
scratched them, whilst thsy srched
their backs to press II, purrlng like
Data. No su'mAl has . prest'er head,
moro graceful body nor moro v~elvety
paw.; bat the proportion 10 not cor.
rect. Tao head Of the puma 10 too
ANAL, hat Of the jsgusr, lis rival, IL
too large and brssd. IA body Ia too
long. and i.s paws are INDUSTRIOUS,
thsss beats were 20 porfectly tame
that our host would not have oonfasd
thsm II there had bsen no children
about the ranch. d 1t mono OF their
spsAA Gan bs trusted with children.
The puma ard the jaguar Are tn.
rsnchero's special hate; he calls them
lion and t!gor. The homestead of Ln
vsrgon vas surrounded by y marrow
belt OF forsst, which hsdged 1t from o
uuabsr of savsunshs where the herds
pAtured. An thu large oarnivora for
miles about collected In this strip of
woodland, lying Ia ambush f,- nn OK
that streyed beneath the trees. Sine
took up thoir quarters psrnnauently
until destroyed; others returned h3mo
sftor the meal; others paid q visit
longer or shostss. We asked how on
earth these facts were known, and the
ranohs.o confessed that no had no
proof; the authority of his IndiAr
hunters sstiadod him. Of these he
kept . little staff, Who turned out every
day for service. He paid them wages,
and o dollar o pisoe head money fos
pumas killed, half . dollar for jaguars.
The tigrsros psrAded, ugly. squat
Indians, with big heads, ANAL grave
eyes, aud q stupid type of mouth,
They NIL came from Nioaragosn terri
tory, for there are no Indlsns In Costa
Ric., saving the wild tribes Of Gustuao
and Ts!amsuoA-so, ct least, We we're
sssussd. The %istter, l fancy, ar
known we'll enough. 1t Is not dan
gerous for a peddler to visit them, and
those anxious to learn their appearance
and their will fad pub,i,hed
material that 10 to asy, l thiak 30, FOL
our travels never led us near thell
country, aud, personally, l know
nothing The Gaa.usos or PranzoI
are much more savage, aud no mar
, living Ii that day, l cannot tell how l
= bs now, could give serious Inf jrmatior
regarding them.
, A couple Of spears, one long anc
one shorter, made the equipment o
tho tigrOrc. Their dogs, big slouching
> H~ght-colored animals, ere evidentl,
: related to the coyote. DAngerou
: rather than savage, not prone to bark
they pc, form the role of house dog
badly. The Don assured US that pup
plea will not bark at all unless laugh
oy others. Bat they learn nc ooce
thus d If ring from the thoroughbreu
i coyote, which III only howl an
/. whimper Ia the first generation of dc
g mesticity, and seldom succeeds 1
f learning a true bark until the third
8 We asked why o dollar was granite
Q for a slain puma, and but half for
Q jagusr, aeeing that the latter animal
o much more dangerous and destructive
1t appears that in tho fa.htoa ut hon'
Ing to which theae Indians obstinetel
adhere, the leEs terrible beast CANE
the greater loss OF life. Tigreros e
10 In couples, the head man In advanc
n with his two spears, the suoordinsI
'r following with bis machete or chopin
knife. The jaguar Is essily tracked
's and no does not go far when rousst
10 So soon as 1t il thoroughly c>nveye
1t to his mind that these intruders wis
IT to zee him personally he turns with
l, roar that always gives sufficient war;
?. ing to such praotlced shikaris.
moment after ward ne comes trottin
up. The foremost Indian kneell
7, holding q spear In either hand, tn
o long one fsrthest out-his oompanio
stands at the side. The jsguar dot
not pause, but gathering himself u
~cleaves the ar In a mighty bound, h
. forelegs vide asundsr, and oiav
hooked to rend. Very seldom does
10 happen that the long spear fails
9: transfx his unprotected chest, or Il
shorter one his throat.
IN Such IL not the puma's oonduc
r When disturbed, he skulks swift
Though tho brushwood, and oommo
ly escapes. Ia following . jagusr do
are seldom hurt, for he di,regsrt
D. them, and they have ne noed to pre-
HIN But the puma turns CONSTANT,
mAssacres a hound. and speeds
,ir again. Even II wounded he is slow
stand; but when brought to bay
~ length It 10 q more deadly risk to f.
him. For this combat tho spears a
useless. Springing with his paw
oroslod tbs puma would dash the
9; aside. His feet firmly planted, kni
Ia his left hand, mschete In his RICH
the Indian stand forward. He h
one blow In mid-A!r. IL 1t falls,
the skull be not cleft like an sppl
brute and man roll over In y hideo,
le embrace. At such . time the cor
&c rsde seldom wanted In jsguar huntiI
would be Invaluable. But when 4
Indian sets out Intentionally to trac
, q pama he goes alone. 50 did b
= fathers aud 30 does he.
4, Very, very rarely a jagusr sprinI
At with his paws crossed, and tasl the
ID Is wsiling In the tigrero's hut. For Il
al spesrs upon which he relied are twls
I'd cd from his grasp, and the huge bsa
"a falls upon him kneeling. II the oou
I'd padre with the mschete be trus, ii
n tiger has probably two Victims instet
of one. The slngle chance of the
poor Indians lies in their dogs, aud