The Paraguayrian lions seem unworthy of so great a name; for they are
quite unlike those of Africa in form, size, and disposition. They never
attempt any thing against horses, oxen, and men, and are dreaded only by
calves, foals, and sheep. The Paraguayrian lions suit well with the old
Spanish saying, _No es tan bravo el leon, como se pinta_, the lion is
not so fierce as his picture. You can scarce distinguish their flesh
from veal, so that the Spaniards and Indians devour it with avidity.
Their skin is tawny and spotted with white. Their head is large and
round, their eyes sparkling, and nose flat. Their whiskers are composed
of long hard hairs, like bristles, for I have handled them myself; but
hear on what occasion. The guards of the estates, both Spaniards and
Indians, had a custom of preserving the heads of the lions and tigers
which they slew, fastened with stakes to the folds of the cattle, as
testimonies of their vigilance and courage, in the same manner as the
heads and hands of criminals are seen fixed to a pole in the place
appointed for their punishment. In a certain estate I got up upon the
hedges, examined the heads of the lions and tigers, of which there was
an immense number, observed their eyes, ears, and teeth, and tore some
hair out of the whiskers of the tigers, which resembled wire, were thick
at the root, and endued with a kind of elastic property. I cannot
understand why the Abipones do not rear the whelps of lions, as they
reckon tigers' whelps a dainty, though they are never procured without
danger. Before they are full grown they give proofs of their native
ferocity, and with their little tender claws and teeth fly upon all they
meet, especially in the heat of the sun. One man deprived a tiger's
whelp of its teeth and claws, to prevent it from doing any mischief, but
though destitute of its arms, it used to rush upon children and calves,
and would certainly have crushed and strangled them, had they not been
instantly rescued. That the danger might not increase as he grew up, he
was forced to be shot.