The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1893-10-05
ON THE JAGUAR'S TRAIL.
A PERILoUs HUNT IN HONDURAS.

| A PERILOUS HUNT IN HONDURAS.
Some years ago, while engaged IL
the mahogany trade in British Hon
duras, / was temporarily encampeC
on small river, called by the native:
"Gualjo."
One morning, Pedro Gowzales, fore
/ man of the cutters, came into my
shanty and reported that a valuable
| yearling colt had been killed over
night by some wild beast-a tiger
| jaguar he supposed.
As this was the third loss of the
kind within fortnight, / determined
if possible to find and destroy the
perpetratOr.
Calling up two of my men, Juan
Costro and Antonio Felix, said to be
skillful trackers and hunters, / armed
each with double -barreled buckshot-
loaded gun, and myself with a heavy
revolver and repeating rife.
Going first to the grass grown val
ley where lay the colts half-consumed
carcass, the men, after some. trouble,
succeeded in finding, on soft spot OF
ground by the rivers edge, a number
Of tracks, which both at once pro
nounced to be those of an unusually
large tiger"
1t was quite evident that after gorg
ing himself, the brute had gone to the
water for drink, but had then made
off over a wide strip of pasture land
without leaving mark by which he
could be traced.
My companions spoke English and
Juan now said: "Tiger too full; won't
go far senior; likely he's up there
pointing to rocky range about two
miles away
Accordingly we went in that direc-
ton and shortly found that Juan was
right, for as soon as we left the grass
land and came upon stony tract,
both men found numerous signs-re-
Gently displaced pebbles and the like
which | should have passed hundred
times without noticing.
To make assurance doubly sure. we
by and by came to place where the
jaguar had apparently laid down and
rolled over and over IN wanton enjoy
ment, as a sort Of furrow, made among
the little stones by his body, was lib
orally sprinkled with fine hairs.
Must go mighty quiet now," eau
toned Antonio, the tigers belly's 50
full that he's sure to be fast asleep in
some dark place"
He won't ever wake up" chuckled
Juan. E'if we see him fore he sees u.s."
Although yet more than a half mile
from the heights, we had entered
prickly pear bushes, wherein the jag
uar might be anywhere concealed
Hence we crept on in absolute silence
and with extreme caution along
family defined opening, which the
men, on first finding it, had assured
me was made by the repeated passing
to and fro of the tiger"
However, we could see no side paths
where he might have turned off to
hide, and after going 400 yards or so
Juan intimated by pointing to the
naked rock strewn hills beyond. that
the beast had taken refuge there.
At last we reached the foot of the
range Here the bushy growth alb
ruptly ceased and the path brought
squarely up against the face of per
pendicular ledge-one which no wing
less creature could surmount. For
moment my trackers were at fault
Then, STOPPING down, they drew my
attention to a barely visible line along
the base Of the rock and about eigh
teen inches from the ground, while
underfoot they showed me a narrow
passageway between the edge Of the
thicket and the face of the cliff
Putting his mouth close to my ear,
Juan whispered 'iSee, the tigers
gone this way SO many times that his
fur brushing against it, has made a
smooth strip along the rock. Well
soon find him dow"
As it was impossible for two men to
go abreast here, Antonio, the more ex-
perienced hunter took the lead. Juan
followed, and brought up the rear.
In this order, softly as panthers and
silently as shadows. we went on until
the end of the precipice was reached,
Here the trail led down a tortuOus
ravine, bounded on both sides by
rugged masses of rocks and boulders,
forming fantastic recesses and dark
caves, wherein legion Of wild beasts
might have hidden.
None of us. Of course, felt personal
dread, as we all knew that, unless
driven to bay or defending its young,
not one jaguar in q thousand will at
tack even a single man in daylight.
Our only anxiety was that the cum
ming brute might see, scent or here us
and glide away before we could catch
sight of him. So as we stole along,
all three abreast now, we hardly dared
dared to breathe, while each one of us
held his weapon ready for instant use.
On and up, into the heart Of the
mountain led the ravine, and along its
bottom the trail still continued We
had gone through the breezless place
for nearly mile; the sun was now
high in the heavens and the heat some
thing terrific, when the path and
ravine suddenly terminated at a low
shelf of rock, on the further side of
which we saw, in the rough wall of
the mountain itself, dark, cavernous
hole, and IN front of the hole ghast
ly array of well picked bones
"We've found the tigers den sure
enough" observed Antonio, speaking
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