The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1890-01-04
REMARKABLE BRAVERY.
Bold Encounter Between an In
- dian and Jaguar.

TN
"A To n gentleman who spent some of the
n ,est wears of his life in Brazil, we are in
n debted for the following account of an ad-
4 venture with jaguar IN one of the dark
u and vast forests of that country:
\ Jaguars are generally about the size OF
y large wolf, of brownish yellow, with
u black circles and spots along the upper
II parts, the skin gradully softening down to
a a pale yellow, and approaching to white
about the belly, legs and feet. They steal
Il upon their prey like the tiger, which, in
/ tierceness and strength, they much re-
n sembe. They are powerful enough to kill
horse an OK, or a mule, and carry OH or
il drag away the dead body afterWard.
Zone night" says our informant, las !
4 lay encamped in a dense forest, on the
Y bank of one of the tributaries of the Anna
q zon, with my guide and four negro servants
4 around me, was startled from my slum-
u bers by such screeching and yelling as /
pray Heaven / may never hear again!
q Jumped up, with my ideas all bewlldered
land confused. My campfire had pretty
Nvel gone down, but was still light enough
to show me the black, shadowy forms of
my attendants, dancing and bowling around
me like so many tiends. sea s-w~~sd
GAS soon as | could shake my senses to-
gether little let out my voice to its very
highest pitch, and, in stentorian tones, de-
1nanded the cause of this nocturnal
1umult. ~ @ss"r'
GA jaguar, master! jaguar among the
mulesn yelled every voice i'll reply.
s"Well, if there were forty jaguars, in
stead of one, they might have been scared
into fits by this time = returned | and SO
@ inf N ypl1ipuc and 1ilxn
soning human beings, tell me all you know
about it!'' ---~~ozs-s~ /
my cool and apparently unexcted man.
ner soon had the effect of calming down the
| frightened wretches to common-sense de-
| gree; and then | learned there had been a
Il great commoton among the mules which
4 were tied so as to feed without escaping,
Awithn short distance of the tre-and this
@disturbance was supposed to proceed from
the presence of the dreaded jaguar in their
$midst = though no one had seen him, and
none had possessed the courage to venture
#thither and ascertain.
# 81 lost no time in seeing that my rifle,
pistols and hunting knife were in proper
Sorder; and then getting my Indian guide,
#the least tlmid of the tlve, armed with his
4long lance, bow and arrows, to keep by my
side, with a blazing brand, l moved eau
Hiousy forward to the place where the
anules were tied, the four negroes keeping
close at my heels, crouching and trembling
with terror. g" y f~-s-
"On reaching the frightened animals I
was any thing but pleased to find that the
suspicious of my servants were correct, and
that valuable pack-mule was among the
1nissing. There were broad traces of blood,
and wide trail into some bushes, showing
where he had been dragged away by his
fierce and powerful assalant. / was SO
angry at the daring of the beast and my
loss, that l should have followed on, per-
#haps to my own destruction, had not the In
u dian guide taken hold of me, and emphatic
1 ally declared was mad to think of such q
I thing. ~
"'Don't you hear the beast growing over
a the carcass, master?' he said; 'and do you
think that now, when he can see so much
1 better than you, that he will let you ap
Il proach him and return alives'
"'And am to let the audacious scoundrel
4 escape, and he within reach of as good q
1 rifle ball as ever let out the hearts blood Of
his races' was my angry reply, as I halted
4 and listened to his ravenous snarls anG
1 growls.
'sLet us hunt him tomorrow, master
when we can do it with SO much less risk,
returned the Indian. My friend, Cotantin
1 a great hunter, lives within a few league.
I of here, and with his dogs and experienced
attendants he will make sure of him.
"a minutes reflection convinced me ther,
Il was nothing better to be done, for to attacl
the animal now, in the dark, was to Civ
him all the advantage; and so smothere'
l down my anger as well as l could, an,
passed weary night in keeping watcl
around the fire, not one of my party ventur
ing to again close his eyes in sleep.
4 "At the first blush Of day dispatched m.
guide in quest of his friend, charging hin
to bring him without fail, with all his at
tendants and dogs, and assuring him tina
If the animal was finally caught would pa
a handsome reward.
"After it became light went out into tn
thcket, and there found small portion Q
my mules carcass, the remainder havin
been eaten or carried off, or, perhaps, some
thing Of both; but made no further al
Tempt to trace the jaguar further, content
ing myself to wait for the hunters and dogs
There was small place, called Cozva, dis
iant some ten or twelve miles, to which on
u the blacks knew the way, and sent tn
iour OF them thither, with all the mules
riding. "a
A After my servants had gone was lei
aio,e 1or several hours, and | amused I'm.
sell oy secreting myself lib thicket Ian
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