The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1889-04-27

the lefs bank, and had just finished dinner,
when fire was discovered in the forest on
the opposite shore. The flames were two or
Z three miles back from the water, but hardly
I had we observed the great smoke before vari-
I Gus Wild animals began making the crossing
( We could see up and down the Oriuoeo for a
1 distance Of TIVE miles either way, and IN ten
inmates after we saw the fire the water for ali
{ this distance seemed lashed to foam. Wild
cattle, deer, tapirs. ant eaters, monkeys, ser
pents, peccaries and jaguArS came swimming
10 our side for life. The crocodIles for a
long distance up ard down the stream got the
caIl TO come 10 a rare feast, aud ] believe
that fall l,0O0 Of them we're in sight from
the launch. The stream here was over halt
a mile wide. xith cBrreat OF about three
miles aa boar WhAt with their fear Of the
flames behind them Aad the herce crocodiies
aroand them. The fleeing inhabitants Of tho
forest were in great terror. Il did not for
time occur 10 az shat ue were IN any danger.
bat saddenly We observed a huge serpent
heading straight for the launch, and some
one shoaied for all TO seek cover. The snake
came right aboard, And uAs followed in a
rniaute or two by iaguAr. Either Of the
visitors eould have easily passed 90 the shore
As We lay against the bank ia deep water, but
both smed determined 30 reasin With rs.
4; wusn't two inmates before the fierce
Erowls Of the iagnar proved that > eouli'es
vas imminent, and thirty seconds later ser
prns aud beast wcrO having It bot and heavy
along the harricans deck While the row
vas gu5ng on : secoad jaguaT boarded Hs
over the bows, which wrre open back 10 the
pilus hoass, and looking from window is
seemed a. Il we Wers bcses from the rirer
side. |, was ialI hAlf hour before the Panic
sabsslea. and By ,ha, sme every crocodile
must have bad sqaaEe meal aad over.
We had shat ourselves aP ~hen the serpsut
eams aboard A isEhs certainly took place
belwesn ,he snake and the hsss isguaz, snd
mAen the second cAuse aboAsa the hghs took
on a au~ phase. Whether the two beasts
wsre astacksax tho reptile together, OF
whether il was triangular contest. we eoald
not tell. bat after the panic along The nvsF
had sabss3ed we e@refally opsned the esb'H
doors and looked cat One % the iagasrs iay
dead on the deck, whlls the ether and ths
ssryeat wsre goss. An sxamiaaiioa Of the
dead beast showed tbAs be lad hesa eaught in
the folds os tbs snake, Aad thas the latter was
a boa constructor. The backbone and nearly
al shs ribs weFc broken.
Three or four days later wc bad . pear and
plain yicw Of a usll more singular eombAs.
We had tied sp to The bank fos she night,
and weFe ea,iag sapPeF, whsH w'1d bull
cane dowa 10 the watsF BY path only no
fseg above u.s. He was either very thirsty or
very reckless, for be gave US 20 attention.
wahin ten feet Of whcFc be lowered his bead
10 driuk wAs large tree, and the ball had
scarcely tasted Iha waieg when an enormous
serpeai iaag itself downward and euswsrd
from a large tiub and seized the bull. ThuFe
was . great fass instantly. The snake bad
tail hold on the limb, bat the bull was stout
aud strong and eoald not be Pailed on his
feet While taken hy snspriss, be was not IN
the least ratified, and from the way he used
hOof and horns sc saw that the serpent had
undertaken big job. Mud and leaves and
grass were flying in showers, almost hiding
the ball from our view, when a monster
crocodile came out OF a bed Of reeds few
rods above, and running along down the
bank seized the ball by fore leg. The de-
Cant roars Of the victim were now changed 10
bellows Of terror and dismay. While the
snake attempted 70 haul one way the eroco.
ollie pulled the other. After three or four
minutes the Saurian got 40 advantage, and
suddenly the serpent let go his hold Of the
tree. and then such a rumpus was kicked up
that we could see nothing OF the combat.
1 When the air cleared little the serpent was
escaping into thick fringe Of foliage. We
/ 6red our rifles at the bull and crocodile and
I scared them off The bull wss weak and
I evidently had been badly hurt.
T Let one travel on foot through the most
I populous districts in the United States and
/ one would not see 9 single house dog or cat
where We saw three jaguars along the on
noeo. There was not one hour during day
1 light for period Of three months that these
creatures we're not around US, aud most OF
the time one or more were in sight. When
ever we ran along close 10 the banks we saw
them crouehed down on food wood or NOV.
ing through the forest, and whenever We
came TO a sandy beach over which the turtles
crawled iaguar could surely be counted on
for every half mile In the three months we
killed upward of 200 of these animals, and ii
almost every instance saved the skin. In
only one case was any of US in danger from
this cunning and feroeious beast. The
steamer had been tied to the bank and VT
had been making excursions from that spo
for three or four days, when one afternoon
when only one of the young men was let
behind at the FIRE on the bank, jaguar crep
up and sprang upon him. 1t was wonder
ful spring, as we afterward discovered
From the spot where the beast erouched tC
the place where he alghted on his victim wa:
lust twenty six feet The young man wal
kneeling down and bending over specimen
which he was examining, and the jaguar fel
on his back and seized him by the righ
shoulder The man weighed almost l5C
nonnds and was a muscular fellow, but thu
iaguar trotted off with him as if he had beer
a shoulder of mutton, not lifting the bod,
entirely clear of the ground, but dragging
along Fortunately for the victim, the fores
, was very dense just there, and the beast hat
to take one of the several paths leading
through it. He had not gone above 800 fee
when he met one of the party on his wa
J back to the boat The iaguar sprang for
limb ten feet above his head, still holding t