Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-06-23


man. One of the mysteries of the animal
world is the almost weird regard which that
fercest of creatures, the puma, has toward man.
This curious beast will attack anything from
jaguar to grizzly bear and yet will not only
refrain from attacking man, but has been
known to defend him.
Edmund Seous, in writing of this peculi-
arty, says 1T almost reads like fable,
but it really does seem to be true. There is a
story told by the Gauchos of who, while
hunting on the pa1npas broke his leg by
fall from his horse, and was left out all night
During the whole time he guarded, it
seemed, by puma, who, when jaguar drew
near to attack him, as he thought, sprang upon
it and prevented it from doing SO. All through
the night the puma and the jaguar fought about
the man, sometimes so near that he could see
their shadowy forms through the darkness,
while at other times their presence and actions
were betrayed only by the fierce sounds issuing
from them. These on the part of the jaguar
consisted of growls and roars; but the puma
has peculiar yelling cry which in itself is still
terrible and comes laden with fear to those
who do not know its habits. For this dreadful
sound the Gaucho kept listening, and when it
rang out long and shrill he hailed it as assur-
that the puma victorious, or at least
holding his own, and took courage. But
when it sank or seemed choked or muffled then
his heart sank, ard nervOusly grasping his long
thin knife, the only weapon left to him, he sat,
each moment expecting the Jaguar's spring.
The combat was kept up until morning..
animals Love man
TN commenting upon this the author declares:
1T looks to me like true tale, although we
have only the mans word for it. His strange
love of man may have brought the puma there
at first, and then all the rest would have fol-
lowed as it did That for some reason or other
rhaps to do with his scent-we must remem-
r how fond cats are of valerlan-the puma
lily does like man, and becomes quite mild in his
esence, can hardly, | think, be doubted. All the
uchos and all the 1ndians-the two races of men
10 come most in contact with the animal-assert
at such is the case and the very name which
2 Gauchos give the puma, The friend of man.
ars this out. They say that not only will he not
ack man, but that if attacked by him will allow
nself to be saug htered without resistance"
There is an old Spanish legend handed down by
? Spanish chronicler, Ruy Diaz de Guzman, which
ows that belief in this trait of the puma was
neral even then,
In the early days of the Spanish conquest Buenos
res a small town, with only a fort and
V soldiers to guard it. In 1886 it was besieged
Indians, and, the provisions giving out, severe
nine followed. Almost two thousand people died
starvation, and the decay of the bodies, which
re buried only in shallow trenches drew to the
ghborhood all manner of wild beasts from the
forests In their frantic search for
ID, however, many of the surviving natives used
venture out among the trees. Among them was
young and beautiful woman named Maldonada.
e finally captured by the Indians and received
them into their tribe. Later she was ransomed
d brought back.
This, as it turned out, only her misfortune,
she was accused by Ruiz, jealous lover,
having wished to betray the town to the Indians.
tried, convicted, and sentenced to be taken
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