The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1889-11-21

eral thing, il is said that the isgnar contsnt4
himself with the TAIL and is in nOvFise partieuIa
about killing the alligator before amputatiug
this member with his teeth. Orton refers Ia
corroborative incidents, and both Smith and
Wallace speak Of this practice Of the jaguar a
well ascertained.
Like all the Felida, the American tiger ID
habitually nocturnal, and probably, as Il the
case with other species Of the cat mammalia,
the vision of what Barton Premium describes
as = his dull, deadly-looking eye" is impaired
by too much light. In remote and secluded
localities, however, DIR. Hartwig asserts that he
prowls about at all hours, and in this resembles
the lion, who does the same thing When the
Jaguar starts on a forage or hunting expedition
at night he generally, and again like the lion,
roars at intervals. and most frequently when
the weather Is stormy. Darwin who charae-
terlzes him as noisy animal states that his
deep, grating roar" as Barton Premium calls
1t, IS indicative of bad weather; that Is 70 say,
THAT THE JAGUAR ANTICIPATES THE COMING
STORM,
and announces its approach by more continuous
rOarings. He has the habit Of sharpening. or
more properly cleansing, his claws while going
along, and, according to Darwin, each animal
mas one particular tree which be prefers for
this purpose beyond others. Humboldt in
deed, attributes to him the same general liking
Tor p Etieular spots which a number Of OBJ
servers have noticed as characteristics OF
the panther and tiger. Jaguars have been
less commonly hunted by civilized sDorts-
men than the larger FelidB in other
parts Of the world, and, in consequences. va
have fewer accounts Of the in7ariabls
way" in which they kill their prey. Taking
general view Of the statements which have
been made on this point, there is no violation Of
evidence in saying that the animal adapts hin
mode of destruction to the character OF the ami
NAL attacked. That he constantly kills the
smaller species with blow Of his forearm In
certain, and perhaps Wood, Humboldt and
DIR. Holder describe the process used with
larger creatures as accurately as any writer's on
this subject. When a horse or other bulky
quadruped Is assaulted, says the former, he
leaps from some elevated spot upon the shonl-
ders places one paw on the hack Of
the head and another on the muzzle and then,
the neck"
By all accounts the jaguar Is the undoubted
overload OF his native Wilds and no animal,
including the native man, can successfully op-
pose him singly. Very cunning, very strong
and exceedingly active, his attack is at once
overwhelming, and although the present writer
has known cattle to escape after having been
seized, and on one occasion single man, armed
only with long knife, to kin this beast, such
examples are rare exceptions to the general
rule.
We now come to consider more particularly
the relations Of the jaguar to man and his be-
longings, and as might be expected are at once
met by statements the most contradictory,
since, as rule, they are congratulations from
limited individual experiences.
There is one fact, however, which b more
significant In this connection than host Of
witnesses to the creatures dangerous character,
and this is the etymology of the word jaguar.
1t is derived, says Burton, from the Indian
terms ia, meaning We or rs, and guara, which
arc 1a- 1. -
assumed that when native race called such An
animal their devOurer" they had good reasons
for doing so. SingulaTly enough, the accom-
piished missionary priests Artiega and Aeuna
make no mention Of the jaguar in that part Of
the account OF their explorations relating 70
the
NATURAL HISTORY OF NORTHERN BRAZIL.
for Gonzalo Pizarro and Orellana had both
previously born testimony to the danger 70 hu-
man life from his depredations. There il
of course, no more doubt that where men have
habitually opposed him with fire. anna
the animals character has altered, than
there is that in such places the number OF
these beasts has been lessened and the facts
mutually explain each other. But where the
relative positions of man and beast have not
changed, matters arrange themselves in the
old way; and the unprepared natives. as 10 the
ease with those lower tribes of India and Africa
exposed to tigers and lions, are constantly de-
stTOyed. 1t excites no surprise in one familiAR
with the literature relating TO wild beasts, %
read Bigg- WitheT's account Of the dread In
which the jaguar is held by the BOt0cudos In
dians. or to learn that in their country they are
very frequently man eaters. BartOu-Premium
states that although they do not seem 70 fear
the face OF man." no authentic instance Of Rn
attack made by one on an individual,
unless severely pressed by hunger" had cone
under his notice. To be severely pressed by
hunger is more the rule with wild beast than
the exception, and E. F. i'm Thurn assures us
that along the Brazilian frontier Of GuianA
the tigers" are so destructive that the foress
people sleep in hammoeks raised beyond the
reach of their spring. ]. W. Wells and Water
ton also describe the manner in which they
prowled around their tents at night, in = way
that fOrcibly recalls many thrilling tales Of
camp life in the Indian jungles or on the Afri-
can plains Humboldtis maStif was carried OF
from his camp on the Rio Negro; Darwin says
that on the Parana they have killed many
wood-cutters, and have even entered vessels as
night" and Won Tschudi relates that one broke
into an Englishman's hut, seized bis boy, bore
him of into the forest and devOured him. On
the other hand, H. II. Smith doubts whether
the jaguar would ever attack q camp. Franz
Keller looks upon what James Orion truly calls
" the 6ereest and most powerful animal In South
Ameries" rs creature very readily tanned, and
Poppig who, during his long residence in Yuar-
mangua, never saw but one jaguar, seems to
regard him as rather harmless because this one
did not tear him TO pieces. Limitation of space
brings this subject tOa rather abrupt conclusion,
but two statements may be made in this con-
nectiOn before closing. namely, that Humboldt
records having seen jaguar larger than any
tiger he ever beheld, and Wood reports that on
one occasion specimen of this kind was known
to swim across wide river, kill horse. drag
it for some 90 yards to the water side; TO plunge
into the stream, swim across the river with its
prey, drag it out of the water after reaching
the opposite bank, and. finally, to carry it or
into a neighboring wood" Something has been
said in q desultory and discursive way in the
course of these papers on wild beasts. 70 show
that their instructive fear of man is 3 fallacy,
their susceptibility to civilization 4 mistake,
and that organization and heredity cannot be
done away with by training. The jaGu&r may
be confidently assumed to be perfectly conscious
of his own powers, and, speaking generally, il
people who come in contact with this animal
find him harmless it is because the beasts in
tellect," informed by transmitted or acquired
experience. has taught him that with civilized
men he is usually placed at a disadvantage.
To Be e0RtiRWsd-l