The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-05-30

away, so near that the tip of one OF its
lower branches almost overhung me. l
merely glanced up among the leaves, and,
seeing nothing to cause the sound. thought
that it was made by a bird or monkey. and
went on with my reading. In place OF the
rustling came another sound, steady Flip
flap, which I could not understand, and 1
looked up into the tree again more care
fully; but still seeing nothing TO alarm me
have found the novel so absorbing had
known, as l presently found out. that the
rustling was caused by a jaguar lying upon
limb of the tree within easy spring1ng
distance of me, and that the f1ip-happing
sound was made by his tail
"A turkey came along at last. a. solitary
one, and | shot it directly opposite the blind.
The instant the bird fell. struggling, the
jaguar leaped from the tree upon ii, struck
1t down with. his paw, and, turning
The only cartridges had along were loaded
with fine snot, and there was but one LETT
in my gun. I did the only thing possible
head, destroying both his eyes. He sprang,
but the shot made him swerve. and he land
run. Blinded as he was, the jaguar chased
me all the way home to the ranch house,
guided only by the sound of my move
mentS and his sense of smell Running
slap against tree trunks and whatever else
might lie in his way, he nevertheless LED
me SO close a chase that had not my path
laid through woods he certainly would have
overtaken me. l had no cartridges with
which to pepper him as l ran, having left
Cartridge
blind with my book in the hurry of get
"A garden fence before the house stopped
the jaguar and while he was nosng along
it trying to get through 1 had time to dash
indoors and get some buckshot cartridges
for my gun, with which came out ana
finished him. 1 had had close call, closer
than ever l care to repeat; and never
went out shooting again in the tropics With
out taking both ball and buckshot cart
ridges with me. That the jaguar lay SO
long in the tree without springing directly
upon me l attribute to the probability that
he was not very hungry 1t was the slght
of the fiuttering turkey, it's natural prey,
and the smell of its blood that woke the
jaguars savage instincts.
oco, l saw an Indian woman named Josefa
Arabundo, who bore sad marks OF a ia
life, and she incurred them in defending
her child from being carried away 1t oc-
Cured in this way: AS she sat at her door
one day with the child beside her a jaguar
suddenly appeared seized the child, and
turned to dart away with 1t into the forest.
In desperation the mother grabbed the
dropped the child, and, turning upon Josefa.
with one stroke of his paw tore through
flesh and muscles from her hip to her knee.
Again he seized the child, and again the
mother caught him by the tall This time
the jaguar attacked her more SaVagely than
before, tearing her with his claws and bit
ing her terribly in the breast. once more
the brute seized the child, but the little
f1ve-year-old Indian, with the jaguar's teeth
in it's hip, fought so fercely, hammering
the beasts head with his fists and at last
pushing it's finger into his eye, that the
jaguar dropped it for the third time
by this time the father came up and at
tackled the jaguar with his machete. In his
excitement he missed the first stroke, mere
ly severing one of the jaguar's ears. Again
he struck as the animal turned on him,
this time cutting off one of the jaguars
feet. The blow caused the jaguar to miss
it's spring upon him, and gave the Indian
chance for fair stroke at the neck, which
severed the head from the body. The
mother showed me the scars of her wounds,
and I saw the child that the jaguar had
seized now grown up to young womanhood.
She had sustained no permanent injury
from the teeth Of the brute.P