The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-02-13
W MORTAL FOREST FOES.
INsTAEoEs OF THE ENArITT OF TIE
PUMA AND JdGUAR.
Friendship or tire ss-CaIea Zion FOR siap-
Cases In South America where the .Purnn
mas Attacked n SaEuar ana Tnua saved
.hruunn Hletnra In Peril OF Their Lives.

turning one A1IeInOOn ITOu1 n ChIup u EuuUoN
Eathercrs on the Mntranta River, in tho upper
orInoco country. TO tho little pldsita Of Santa
Catalina said Il. L. Armstrong, who was in
Venezuela for several years ms agent for an
English rubber company. "Wo were on foot,
with o scanty amount Of daylight left TO do the
six miles Of distance in. Our path lay through,
forest all the way-sonietimcs a dense growth,
with the spaces between the tree trunks so
closely filed with climbing vines and under
growth that we could not SEQ FIVE PAGES to the
right or loft; and again opening into park-liko
reaches. with scattered trees upon the broad
spaces Of grcensward. After q while / noticed
that tho guide looked back from time to time
and that he had taken his macheto from his
belt and was swinging 1t in his hand.
"'What Ia It, Manuel = 1 asked him. rs
there anything wrongi'
"'Sehor. u tiDre 10 following u.s. he said.
"ln Central and South America the inguar Ia
always called a tiger, as tho puma is usually
called a lion. At tho guides words I stopped
short and looked back and all around. Wo
were In an open space where, except for n tree
hero and there. I could get q clear Wow for $50
yards in every direction. I could catch no
glimpse Of q jsguar. and said 30 to the guide.
81 have not seen him.. seior,' said Manuel.
But the man who has passed his life in the
forest need not see to know when Ell tigre 10 fol.
lowing him.. He feels his presence. have felt
this o~ne--felt his eyes watching us for the last
two miles we have come. As darkness falls he
will draw closer, for he Is a cebado imam eaterl'
This information set mt TO rejecting on my
folly In firing all my cartridges away at paro-
Duets and wood rats at the rubber camp. Now
my empty revolver was useless for the present
occasion. and we had only Manuels macheto to
DEFEND on IL the jaguar should attack us. as un-
doubtedly he meant to do at nightfall. We soon
had a half-mllo stretch Of dense forest to take
where our path under the heavy-topped trees
was shaded to ~semi-twilight. Manuel looked
behind him often AS we walked quickly on in
silence. Presently the guide paused and mo-
toned me to halt.
"'Listen, he said In q whisper. D you heart
Somewhere from the forest, of to the left OF
tho path. there came to my ears o faint, rustling
sound. Something was moving steadily and
softly through vines and underbrush in o direc-
ton parallel with our course. Tho sound drew
abreast of us and ceased.
LIT Is ci tfore, seior. He has stopped to
hearken.' said Manuel. Lot us hasten on
IAN open space ahead Of US was in sight,
when the cracking Of q dead twig on the right
of the path and tho rustling sound repeated In
that direction informed us that the jaguar had
crossed the path behind us and now was keep.
ing abreast OF us on that side. We came out
into tho opening ana clear daylight safely. The
sun was setting and there was another stretch
Of forest to travel which we knew would be
dark. Here 1t was to be expected that the
j jsi;S rN would | make make his attack SI;;i and \ d FOR f6o a p tu Il
tiger. is the most savage and powerful of the
feline race. wo were Ill prepared.
yards from the path. stood an aigarroba tree.
Something lying in the shadow of the. tree.
dish rock. suddo"ly quickened. and l saw that it
was an Immense puma, now risen to his feet,
R msns m OF Ss sn IN T be w 6ad ran u ioT i5t OF T ths tree a IKE ike,
icafy branches. ! looked back at the dark wood
tinctly among the shadows at the edge. and a
pair Of eyes like burning Goals shone in the
ITO. mo the puma meant anot6er enemy as
formidable AS the jnguar; but on Manuel's face
she e somere 1oo Ok OF slm amsieit ov at once rsl,s gave place to
"nssenor; Tic Ifers trnsSle Tigerl will not
him soon. and we may saunter home without
care, -, 81
struck across the opening into the las: stretch
Of forest that lay between us and the pin.ita.
on sish wo Of i ia mGrs s sSens to o da rtlssi ns a SehIcFoFqis n1
stead, when we were half way through the
scream such as l have never heard before or
since-the sudden. terrifying outburst of hatred,
rage. vengeance. that announced the coming to-
gether OF two invetcrnte. forest foes. The
scream merged into a confusion OF cries and
Erowlings almost exactly like tho sounds. a
fighting. might mako. 50 sudden and savage
was tho scream that 1t brought me Instantly to
M standstili with every err nerve rys, a1,9uiyer; and even
stopped breathless to listen. My first idea after
l found that the sound did not mean danger to
ing a moment, merely walked on. setting the
pace with his free. swift Indian stride.
We 81 sha taG see h nS S SSSst of sIfh e. t s,gre; he 'a'd'
The two combatants, evidently were settling
their differences near the place whore the fight
had begun, but their cries came to our ears un.
til we had got almost to Santa Catalina. where
we arrived without any further adventure. 1
and SO could not go back into the forest by day:
iiSht to learn the result OF the battle. Manuel
with a gun. expecting to find one or both OF the
fighters dead or disabled near the path. The
P !He %a IS our 81 rf frls sohe' S S@ ssid ne B Bopl lba nG 9sr fS,leT;
not dead In the path. he would track and kill.
feeling sure OF finding him in hiding at no great
when I returned to Santa Catalina. a month
later, Manuel showed me the jaguar's skin.
to the scene Of the fight and had tracked the
}sGuar dr on the spot to where II lay, badly
foot Of an NJ snS gih trse : s sssit th aae S Sad Shot ct In. ths
creature without difficulty. The puma had
gone back the way hs had come and was not
the two had fought and the blood drops along
his tracks that led from the place showed that
ing together Of the puma and the jaguar. It led
to my learning some curious things about these
two great cats in their relations to man and
each other. While the jaguar Is regarded as
implacably hostile to human beings, the belief
e general In Venezuela. as in several other
tho customary disposition OF the puma toward
man 10 gentle aud even friendly. He is a fierce
and powerful beast. destructive OF sheep and
young colts and cattle. and in the pairing sea
son or In case of the foInale puma with her
whelps, or when unusually deep snow In the
mountains oompels the great lion o the Andesto
not hesitate to attack man; but in general his
disposition is,such that among the U,aneros and
styled the friend of man. 1t is said OF the
puma that he will pursue and attack the jaguar
when the lattcr Is following HIS human prey,
and my experience which I have just related
Venezuela I heard several stories which would
60 to prove this theory. In the case of two OF
these narratives ! personally met the persons
eoneerned, and their accounts were confirmed
by people living about them. 1t is. of course.
entirely possible in every instance that the be-
lief that tho puma attacked the jaRunr In order
to save a human being from peril was a purely
fancitul one. NeVertheleBs. IL existed with tha