The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1898-03-02
MISCELLANY.
Two Mortal Forest Foes.


"With my Indian guide, Manuel,
was returning one afternoon from q
camp of rubber gatherers on the Ma
tranta River, in the Orinoco country,
to the little plazitd of Santa Catalina"
said e. l.. Armstrong, who was in
Venezuela for several years as agent
for an English rubber company. "We
were on foot, with scanty amount of
daylight left to do the six miles OF dis
lance in. Our path lay through forest
oil the way-sometimes dense growth,
with the spaces between the tree
trunks 30 closely filed with climbing
vines and underground that we could
not see five spaces to the right or left;
and again opening into park-like
reaches, with scattered trees upon the
broad spaces of greensward. After a
while l noticed that the guide looked
back from time to time and that he had
taken his machete from his belt and
was swinging it in his hand.
"What is ii, Manuel?' asked him.
is there anything wrong?'
"'Senor, a tigre is following u.s. he
said.
Gin Central and South America the
jaguar is always called tiger, as the
puma is usually called lion. AT the
guides words stopped short and
looked back and all around. We
were in an open space where, except
for tree here and there, could get a
clear view of 100 yards in every direc-
ton. could catch no glimpse of q
jaguar, and said 30 to the guide.
Il have not seen him, senor,' said
Manuel. But the man who has passed
his life in the forest need not see to
know when el tigre is following him.
He feels his presence. have felt this
one-felt his eyes watching US for the
last two miles we have come. AS dark
ness falls he will draw closer, for he is
a cebGdo man eater ,
"This information set me to rejecting
on my folly in firing all my cartridges
away at paroquets and wood rats at the
rubber camp. Now my empty revolver
was useless for the present occasion,
and we had only Manuals machete to
depend on if the jaguar should attack
US, as undoubtedly he meant to do at
nightfall. We soon had half-mile
stretch of dense forest to take where
our path under the heavy. topped trees
was shaded to semi. twilight. Manual
looked behind him often as we walked
quickly on in silence. Presently the
guide paused and motioned me to halt.
"'Listen,' he said in whisper. DO
you hear2'
Somewhere from the forest, off to
the left of the path, there came to my
fol int
thing was moving steadily and softly
through vines and underbrush in a di-
rection parallel with our course. The
sound drew abreast OF us and ceased.
est is Ell tigre, senior. He has
stopped to hearken,' said Manuel. Let
us hasten on
can open space ahead of us was in
sight, when the cracking of q dead
twig on the right of the path and the
rustling sound repeated in that direc-
ton informed us that the jaguar had
crossed the path behind us and now
was keeping abreast of US on that side.
We came out into the opening and
clear daylight safely. The sun was
setting and there was another stretch
of forest to travel which we knew
would be dark. Here it was to be ex-
pected that the jaguar would make his
attack, and for a tussle with such a
beast, which, next to the Bengal tiger,
is the most savage and powerful of the
feline race, we were ill prepared.
"Midway in the opening, about a
hundred yards from the path, stood an
algarroba tree. Something lying in the
shadow OF the tree, which at first glance
took to be lump of reddish rock,
suddenly quickened, and 1 saw that it
was an immense puma, now risen to
his feet, gazing at us in a wondering
sort of way. A moment more and he
had run up into the tree like tawny
streak and disappeared among the
leafy branches. l looked back at the
dark wood we had just quilted. Some
thing moved indistinctly among the
shadows at the edge, and a pair of
eyes like burning Goals shOne in the
darkness. The jaguar was drawing
nearer.
"To me the puma meant another en-
envy as formidable as the jaguar; but
ON Aanuel's face the sombre leok of
anxiety at once gave place to an ex-
preston of almost joyous relief.
"'Senor, Ito ISgre Uncle Tiger
will not trouble US further to-day he
said confidently. tito Leon [Uncle
Lion will have business with him soon
and we may saunter home without
care.'
"However, we did not waste any
time, but struck across the opening in
to the last stretch of forest that lay be-
tween us and the plaz,ta. There was
no more sound Of rustling underbrush
or sight of flaming eyes to cause us
anxiety. Instead, when we were half
way through the wood there came from
the darkness behind us a scream such
as have never heard before or since
the sudden, terrifying outburst of hat
red, rage, vengeance, that announced
the coming together of two inveterate
forest foes. The scream merged into a
confusion of cries and growlings almost
exactly like the sounds, hundred
times magnifed, that two cats, fiercely
fighting, might make. So sudden and
savage was the scream that it brought
me instantly to standstill with every
nerve a.quiver; and even Manuel, sea-
soned by lifetime in the forest, stop
ped breathless to listen. My first idea
Of fnup1 that tho oonn6 did NOT