THE TIGER.

Paraguay abounds in tigers from the number of its cattle, which are the

food of these beasts. They are all marked with black spots, but the skin

of some is white, that of others yellow. As the African lions far exceed

those of Paraguay in size and ferocity, the African tigers yield in like

proportion to the Paraguayrians in the size of their bodies. In the

estate of St. Ignatius, which belongs to the Cordoban college, we found

the skin of a tiger, that had been killed the day before, fastened to

the ground with wooden pegs: it measured three ells and two inches in

length, which is no smaller than the dimensions of the hide of a full

grown ox. But the largest tiger is much slenderer than any ox.

Tigers, whether springing out like cats or in the act of flight, run

extremely quick, but not for a long time together; for as they soon

tire, an active horseman may overtake and kill them. In the woods they

defend themselves amongst the trees and rocky places, and pertinaciously

repulse assailants. It is incredible what slaughters they daily commit

in the estates. Oxen, sheep, horses, mules, asses, they kill without

difficulty, but never eat till putrid. They devour stinking flesh in

preference to sweet, as the following facts will clearly prove. Should a

Spaniard, an Indian, and a Negro sleep together near the same fire and

in the same place, the tiger will reject the Spaniard and Indian without

hesitation, and rush to devour the Negro; for Negroes' flesh they reckon

a dainty, because it is most stinking. Tigers will devour, to the last

morsel, horses' carcasses streaming with liquid putrefaction, though

living horses be at hand. Both Spaniards and Indians conspire against

these destructive beasts. They construct a very large chest, like a

mousetrap, composed of immense pieces of wood, and supported upon four

wheels, and drag it with four oxen into that place where they have

discovered traces of tigers. In the farthest corner of the chest, a very

stinking piece of flesh is placed, by way of bait, which is no sooner

laid hold of by the tiger, than the door of the chest falls and shuts

him in, and he is killed by a musket or a spear put through the

interstices of the planks. In the town of the Rosary we spied a tiger

not yet full grown, but menacing and formidable to all he met, in a

wood, a gun's shot distant from my house. Myself and three armed

Spaniards flew to kill him; on seeing us, by flying here and there

amongst the trees and brambles, he contrived to get out of sight.

Following his footsteps we found him lurking in an aged, very large, and

almost hollow tree, which, to deprive the tiger of all egress or means

of escape, we strewed about with pieces of wood, making a hole in the

side of it, that the lurking beast might be put to death with arms,

which I at last effected without the least danger to myself. You cannot

conceive how the tiger leapt up and down in the hollow of the tree after

receiving a few wounds. The skin, which was pierced with shot and the

sword till it was like a sieve, could be made no use of, though the

flesh afforded the Abipones a sumptuous supper. But as tigers are

possessed of singular strength, swiftness, and cunning, it is scarcely

safe for one person to pursue them in the open plain. I do not deny that

a tiger may be sometimes pierced or strangled, by a Spaniard or Indian

alone. But a Spaniard or Indian is often torn to pieces by a tiger from

the spear's thrust missing, or failing to inflict a mortal blow; for

unless the interior of the head, the heart, or the spine of the back be

wounded, this powerful beast does not fall, but gets infuriated, and

attacks the aggressor with rage proportioned to the pain of the wound.

On this account, whenever any of those beasts are to be destroyed, many

men armed with spears unite together; the use of the musket alone is

almost always dangerous; for unless the tiger is knocked down by the

first ball, he leaps furiously to the place whence the fire proceeded,

and tears the man that inflicted the wound. He, therefore, that does not

choose to run the risk of his life, goes accompanied on each side by two

spearmen, who pierce the tiger as it advances to attack him, after he

has fired his musket. Taught by the danger of others, I found that

bullets must not be rashly used against tigers. Travelling with six

Mocobios, from the city of Santa Fè to the town of St. Xavier, I passed

the night on the banks of the round lake, in the open air, as usual; the

earth was our bed, the sky our covering. The fire, our nightly defence

against tigers, shone for a while in the midst of us as we slept, but at

length grew very low. In the middle of the night a tiger crept towards

us. My Indian companions, that they might not appear distrustful of the

friendship of the Spaniards, had begun the journey unarmed. Anticipating

no danger, I had neglected to load my musket. At my direction,

firebrands were dexterously hurled at the approaching tiger. At each

throw he leapt back roaring, but resumed courage, and returned again and

again, more threatening than before. Meantime I loaded my musket. But as

the darkness deprived me of all hope of killing the tiger, and left me

only the desire to escape, I loaded my musket with plenty of shot, and

fired it off without a ball. The beast, alarmed at the horrid

thundering, instantly fled, and we lay down to sleep again, rejoicing in

our success. Next day, at noon, in a narrow path, bounded on one side by

a lake, and on the other by a wood, we met two tigers, which would have

been caught with a noose by the pursuing Mocobios, had they not fled and

hidden themselves in the wood.

Innumerable tigers are yearly caught with leathern thongs by the

Spaniards and Indians, on horseback, and are strangled, after being

swiftly dragged for some time along the ground. The Pampas wound the

tiger's back with a slender arrow, and kill him instantly. At other

times, for the same purpose, they use very strong arrows, or three round

stones suspended from thongs, which they hurl at the tiger. How great

their strength must be you may judge from this, that if they meet two

horses in the pastures tied together with a thong to prevent their

escaping, they will attack and slay the one, and drag him, along with

the other live one, to their den. I should not have believed this, had I

not myself witnessed it, when travelling in company with the soldiers of

St. Iago. Their cunning is equal to their strength. If the wood and the

plain deny them food, they will procure it by fishing in the water. As

they are excellent swimmers, they plunge up to their neck in some lake

or river, and spout from their mouths the white froth, which, swimming

on the surface of the water, the hungry fishes eagerly devour as food,

and are quickly tossed on to the shore by the claws of the tigers. They

also catch tortoises, and tear them from their shells by wondrous

artifice, in order to devour them. Sometimes a tiger, lurking unseen

under the high grass or in a bramble bush, quietly watches a troop of

horse passing by, and rushes with impetuosity on the horseman that

closes the company. On rainy and stormy nights they creep into human

habitations, not in search of prey or food, but to shelter themselves

from the rain and from the cold wind.

Though the very shadow of this beast is enough to create alarm, yet

those are most to be dreaded which have already tasted human flesh.

Tigers of this description have an intense craving after men, and

continually lie in wait for them. They will follow a man's footstep for

many leagues till they come up with the traveller.

It will be proper in this place to give account of some methods of

defence against tigers. If you climb a tree to avoid falling into the

clutches of a tiger, he will ascend it also. In this case urine must be

your instrument of defence. If you cast this into the eyes of the tiger,

when he is threatening you at the foot of the tree, you are safe—the

beast will immediately take to flight. In the night a blazing fire

affords great security against tigers. Dogs also are dreaded by them,

though these they sometimes cruelly flay and tear to pieces. The

Spaniards have mastiffs which are very formidable to tigers. In the town

of St. Ferdinand a tiger often stole by night into the sheepfolds,

killed the sheep, sucked their blood, and leaving their bodies, carried

away their heads. This audacity at length appearing to us no longer

endurable, at sun-set twenty Abipones armed themselves with spears to

kill the mischievous beast, and placed themselves in ambush. Another,

armed with pistols, lay down in the midst of the flock. Though the men

were silently concealed in the court-yard close by, yet the tiger, aware

of the circumstance, either from the smell or hearing, durst not

approach the sheepfold. At length, despairing of his arrival, the

watchers, about night-fall, returned to their huts. Scarcely had they

turned their backs, when the tiger returned and tore to pieces ten

sheep. To search him out, all the Abipones that were at home set off on

foot, armed on both sides with spears, ready to strike whenever the

beast appeared. At the request of the Indians, I closed the company,

armed with a gun and bayonet and some pistols. After diligently

exploring the vicinity, as no tiger appeared, we returned home without

effecting our business, and saluted by the hisses of the women. But the

very same tiger at sun-set daily approached the town, to tear away part

of the carcass of a dead horse, without ever being caught by the Indians

who lay in wait for him. The Abipones have continual contests with

tigers, and unless the spear misses, are uniformly victorious. Hence an

Abipon is very rarely devoured by a tiger, but innumerable tigers are

devoured by the Abipones. Their flesh, though horridly ill-savoured even

when quite fresh, is eagerly craved after by the equestrian savages, who

also drink melted tiger's fat, esteeming it nectar, and even believing

it a means of producing valour. They all detest the thought of eating

hens, eggs, sheep, fish, and tortoises, imagining that those tender

kinds of food engender sloth and languor in their bodies, and cowardice

in their minds. On the other hand, they eagerly devour the flesh of the

tiger, bull, stag, boar, anta, and tamandua, having an idea that, from

continually feeding on these animals, their strength, boldness, and

courage are increased. In repeated battles with tigers many persons are

wounded by their claws. The scars, after the wounds are healed, occasion

excessive pain and burning, which no time nor medicine can ever relieve.

The tigers themselves are tormented with the heat of their own claws,

and in order to relieve the pain, they rub them against the tree

_seibo_, and leave the mark of their nails in the bark.

The tiger spares no living creature; all it attacks, but with various

fortune and success: for horses and mules, unless they save their lives

by speedy flight, are generally overcome; asses, when they can gain a

place where they may defend their backs, repel the assailant, by going

round and round, and kicking very quickly for a long time; but in the

open plain they seldom obtain a victory. Cows, trusting to their horns,

defend themselves and their calves with the utmost intrepidity. Mares,

on the contrary, at the approach of a tiger, desert their foals and take

to flight. Antas lie down on their backs, await the advancing foe with

expanded arms, and immediately on his assault squeeze him to death, if

we may credit the testimony of the natives. Tigers' skins are used by

the Abipones for breastplates, for horsecloths, for carpets, and for

wrappers. In Spain, every skin is sold for four, and sometimes six

German florens. In the hope of gain, a number of Spaniards join together

in Paraguay, and go out to hunt tigers. A vast quantity of tigers' skins

are yearly sent to Spain. In the city of Sta. Fè, I knew a Spaniard at

first indigent, who, from this trade in skins, within a few years

excited the envy of others by his opulence.

To the tiger kind belong two other wild beasts, but smaller, and not so

ferocious. One of them is called by the Spaniards _onza_, the other by

the Guaranies _mbaracaya_. These, though seldom offensive to other

animals, often depopulate a whole henroost by night, but are seldom seen

by day.