PUMA, COUGAR, OR AMERICAN LION.
They looked for wild vicunas among the mountains, but saw none. Manuel said there were lions farther down, and when they descended below the timber line he pointed out some tracks which he declared were made by that beast. The lion is better described as the puma, or cougar, and it has a range from the lowlands up to an elevation of ten or twelve thousand feet. It is not a courageous animal, and will flee from danger if it has the opportunity.
CAPYBARA.
A more dangerous beast than the puma is the jaguar, or onca, which is not infrequently called tiger. He is the most savage and the strongest animal in the South American continent, and in some regions is very destructive to cattle, though he rarely attacks man unless pursued and assailed. He is spotted like the leopard, but his spots are angular instead of rounded, and there are dots in the centre of the spots. Humboldt says he saw a jaguar "whose length surpassed that of any of the tigers of India which he had seen in the collections of Europe." He haunts the borders of rivers and lagoons, and his favorite food is the capybara; the latter is the largest of living rodents, and resembles a greatly overgrown guinea-pig. The capybara is amphibious and gregarious, and is found all through the valley of the Amazon and its tributaries; he is sometimes called the water-hog, from his general resemblance to the animal which supplies us with pork. His length often exceeds three feet, and the naturalists say he is a connecting link between the rodents and the pachyderms.
The first game secured by our friends was a capybara. It was resting comfortably on the bank of a river, where it was seen by the sharp eyes of Manuel. The guide made the motion of bringing a gun to his shoulder, and then beckoned for Frank to advance; the latter took his rifle from its sling, and cautiously crept forward in the direction indicated. Considerable manœuvring was required to get a good position for a shot, as Manuel had previously explained that it was necessary to kill the animal instantly, or it would dart into the water and be lost.
The rest of the party remained quietly in the rear until Frank had gained the place he wanted. Then a well-directed bullet crashed through the capybara's brain; Manuel ran forward and secured the prize, which furnished fresh meat for the next meal. It was a welcome addition to their stores, as the flesh proved excellent eating; the good taste of the jaguar was commended, and Fred said he wondered that the beast of prey should condescend to kill cattle as long as capybara meat was obtainable.