St. Landry democrat., 1884-02-16
The Jaguar.

OF all the animals the jaguar is be
yond all doubt the most vicious. He IS
assort of overgrown cat, and in his ma
tive state does not know what fear IS.
AS a general thing he attacks young
deer, sheep, calves and colts, generally
perching on some vantage ground and
springing upon his prey. He will lay
over the water of quiet stream and
pounce upon horse which comes to
drink, fasten his sharp claws into his
back and eat out his very entralls. In
Chill he will even attack men. Some
times he kills his victims by jumping on
their shoulders and drawing back
their head until their neck is distocated.
He is a swift and dexterous climber, yet
is frequently captured with the lasso or
driven to trees AND then shot. He Is a
cunning animal. He is found in guam
titles in Brazil, and there in the virgin
forest he can be seen silent and immov-
able on one of the lower branches OF
venerable tree. A deer comes trotting
through the underbr1sh to slack his
thirst at the babbling stream. He
comes near the spot where as silent as
midnight turks the deadly foe. The
iaguar S eyes dilate; they shine like
red-hot Goals; his ears are thrown
back; he crouches closer and closer on
the supporting branch. Nearer comes
the little, confiding, graceful deer, and
every limb of the enemy quiyers with
excifement-evary muscle is stiffened
preparatory to the final spring. At
last, with . fierce, exultant yell that
causes the timid deer to tremble as an
aspen. he pounces upon his prey, seizes
him by the back of his neck, breaks the
spine at a single blow, SO that he
falls dead upon the ground The
iaouar then sucks the blood,
and. at his leisure proceeds to
drag the carcass away. He makes ter
rible havoc among the horses OF the
Pampas, and even is a foe that the
shaggy buffalo has reason to dread. The
turtle is p great treat for him, and his
mode of securing them is unique. He
follows the turtles down to the sandy
beach, where they are about to lay
their eggs. takes them by surprise, and,
in order to enjoy them, comfortably
turns them on their backs. He pursues
them even into the water where it is of
no great depth and digs up their eggs.
His depredations' are as great among the
unfortunate turtles as the heron, yulture
or crocodile. Let them once taste
human flesh and nothing can check
them in the pursuit of it, They are
worse cannibals than .'Pot-o-mo-kee, =
| the King of the Cannibal Islands, A
few years since a jaguar got into q
church at Santa Fe, New Mexico, and
ate up . fat priest who came to say his
prayers. Soon, a fellow-priest went to
see what had become of his fat brother,
thinking, perhaps, that, like Enocn of
| old, he had been translated. He, too,
fell a victim to the animals ferocity..
/ Then third padre went to see what the
matter was, and he would have fallen q
victim to the man-eater's fury had not
he Jumped from pillar to post and
yelled like mad for help. The Guacho
hunt them with a long spear, following
them to their den. Dogs are sent in to
worry them. and bounding into the
light he leaps furiouslv on the Guacho,
who receives him kneeling and with so
much steadiness that he seldom misses
his aim. AS soon as the spear is culver
ing in the animals body the Guacho
leaps aside, and the jaguar stricken
sorely is soon destroyed. - Cincinnati
| Enquirer.