Nature, ever provident, has scattered with a bounteous hand her gifts
in the country of the Orinoco, where the jaguar especially abounds.
The savannahs, which are covered with grasses and slender plants,
present a surprising luxuriance and diversity of vegetation; piles of
granite blocks lie here and there, and, at the margins of the plains,
occur deep valleys and ravines, the humid soil of which is covered
with arums, heliconias, llianas. The shelves of primitive rocks,
scarcely elevated above the plain, are partially covered with lichens
and mosses, together with succulent plants and tufts of evergreen
shrubs with shining leaves. The horizon is bounded with mountains
overgrown with forests of laurels, among which clusters of palms rise
to the height of more than a hundred feet, their slender stems
supporting tufts of feathery foliage. To the east of Atures other
mountains appear, the ridge of which is composed of pointed cliffs,
rising like huge pillars above the trees.
When these columnar masses are situated near the Orinoco, flamingoes,
herons, and other wading birds perch on their summits, and look like
sentinels. In the vicinity of cataracts, the moisture which is
diffused in the air, produces a perpetual verdure, and wherever soil
has accumulated on the plains, it is adorned by the beautiful shrubs
of the mountains.
Such is one view of the picture, but it has its dark side also; those
flowing waters, which fertilize the soil, abound with alligators:
those charming shrubs and flourishing plants, are the hiding places of
deadly serpents; those laurel forests, the favorite lurking spot of
the fierce jaguar; while the atmosphere, so clear and lovely, abounds
with musquitoes and zancudoes, to such a degree that in the missions
of Orinoco, the first questions in the morning when two people meet,
are, "How did you find the zancudoes during the night? How are we
to-day for the musquitoes?"
It is in the solitude of this wilderness, that the jaguar, stretched
out motionless and silent, upon one of the lower branches of the
ancient trees, watches for its passing prey; a deer, urged by thirst,
is making its way to the river, and approaches the tree where this
enemy lies in wait. The jaguar's eyes dilate, the ears are thrown
down, and the whole frame becomes flattened against the branch. The
deer, all unconscious of danger, draws near, every limb of the jaguar
quivers with excitement every fibre is stiffened for the spring; then,
with the force of a bow unbent, he darts with a terrific yell upon his
prey, seizes it by the back of the neck, a blow is given by his
powerful paw, and with broken spine the deer falls lifeless to the
earth. The blood is then sucked, and the prey dragged to some favorite
haunt, where it is devoured at leisure.
Humboldt surprised a jaguar in his retreat. It was near the Joval,
below the mouth of the Cano de la Tigrera, that in the midst of wild
and awful scenery, he saw an enormous jaguar stretched beneath the
shade of a large mimosa. He had just killed a chiguire, an animal
about the size of a pig, which he held with one of his paws, while the
vultures were assembled in flocks around. It was curious to observe
the mixture of boldness and timidity which these birds exhibited; for
although they advanced within two feet of the jaguar, they instantly
shrunk back at the least motion he made. In order to observe more
clearly their proceedings, the travellers went into their little boat,
when the tyrant of the forest withdrew behind the bushes, leaving his
victim, upon which the vultures attempted to devour it, but were soon
put to flight by the jaguar rushing into the midst of them.
The following night, Humboldt and his party were entertained by a
jaguar hunter, half-naked, and as brown as a Zambo, who prided himself
on being of the European race; and called his wife and daughter, who
were as slightly clothed as himself, Donna Isabella and Donna Manuela.
As this aspiring personage had neither home nor hut, he invited the
strangers to swing their hammocks near his own between two trees, but,
as ill-luck would have it, a thunder storm came on, which wetted them
to the skin; but their troubles did not end here, for Donna Isabella's
cat had perched on one of the trees, and frightened by the
thunderstorm, jumped down upon one of the travellers in his cot; he
naturally supposed that he was attacked by a wild beast, and as smart
a battle took place between the two, as that celebrated feline
engagement of Don Quixotte; the cat, who, perhaps had most reason to
consider himself an ill-used personage, at length bolted, but the
fears of the gentleman had been excited to such degree, that he could
hardly be quieted. The following night was not more propitious to
slumber. The party finding no tree convenient, had stuck their oars in
the sand, and suspended their hammocks upon them. About eleven, there
arose in the immediately adjoining wood, so terrific a noise, that it
was impossible to sleep. The Indians distinguished the cries of
sapagous, alouates, jaguars, cougars, peccaris, sloths, curassows,
paraquas, and other birds, so that there must have been as full a
forest chorus as Mr. Hullah himself could desire.
When the jaguars approached the edge of the forest, which they
frequently did, a dog belonging to the party began to howl, and seek
refuge under their cots. Sometimes, after a long silence, the cry of
the jaguars came from the tops of the trees, when it was followed by
an outcry among the monkeys. Humboldt supposes the noise thus made by
the inhabitants of the forest during the night, to be the effect of
some contest that had arisen among them.
On the pampas of Paraguay, great havoc is committed among the herds of
horses by the jaguars, whose strength is quite sufficient to enable
them to drag off one of these animals. Azara caused the body of a
horse, which had been recently killed by a jaguar, to be drawn within
musket-shot of a tree, in which he intended to pass the night,
anticipating that the jaguar would return in the course of it, to its
victim; but while he was gone to prepare for his adventure, behold the
animal swam across a large and deep river, and having seized the horse
with his teeth, dragged it full sixty paces to the river, swam across
again with his prey, and then dragged the carcass into a into a
neighboring wood: and all this in sight of a person, whom Azara had
placed to keep watch. But the jaguars have also an aldermanic gout for
turtles, which they gratify in a very systematic manner, as related by
Humboldt, who was shown large shells of turtles emptied by them.
They follow the turtles toward the beach, where the laying of eggs is
to take place, surprise them on the sand, and in order to devour them
at their ease, adroitly turn them on their backs; and as they turn
many more than they can devour in one night, the Indians often profit
by their cunning. The jaguar pursues the turtle quite into the water,
and when not very deep, digs up the eggs; they, with the alligator,
the heron, and the gallinago vulture ore the most formidable enemies
the little turtles have. Humboldt justly remarks, When we reflect on
the difficulty that the naturalist finds in getting out the body of
the turtle, without separating the upper and the under shell, we
cannot enough admire the suppleness of the jaguar's paw, which empties
the double armor of the _arraus_, as if the adhering parts of the
muscles had been cut by a surgical instrument.
The rivers of South America swarm with alligators, and these wage
perpetual war with the jaguars. It is said, that when the jaguar
surprises the alligator asleep on the hot sandbank, he attacks him in
a vulnerable part under the tail, and often kills him, but let the
alligator only get his antagonist into the water, and the tables are
turned, for the jaguar is held under the water until he is drowned.
The onset of the jaguar is always made from behind, partaking of the
stealthy treacherous character of his tribe; if a herd of animals, or
a party of men be passing, it is the last that is always the object of
his attack. When he has made choice of his victim, he springs upon the
neck, and placing one paw upon the back of the head, while he seizes
the muzzle with the other twists the head round with a sudden jerk
which dislocates the spine, and deprives it instantaneously of life:
sometimes, especially when satiated with food, he is indolent and
cowardly, skulking in the gloomiest depths of the forest, and scared
by the most trifling causes, but when urged by the cravings of hunger,
the largest quadrupeds, and man himself, are attacked with fury and
success.
Mr. Darwin has given an interesting account of the habits of the
jaguar: the wooded banks of the great South American rivers appear to
be their favorite haunt, but south of the Plata they frequent the
reeds bordering the lakes; wherever they are they seem to require
water. They are particularly abundant on the isles of the Payana,
their common prey being the carpincho, so that it is generally said,
that where carpinchos are plentiful, there is little fear of the
jaguar; possibly, however, a jaguar which has tasted human flesh, may
afterwards become dainty, and like the lions of South Africa, and the
tigers of India, acquire the dreadful character of maneaters, from
preferring that food to all others.
It is not many years ago since a very large jaguar found his way into
a church in Santa Fe; soon afterward a very corpulent padre entering,
was at once killed by him: His equally stout coadjutor, wondering what
had detained the padre, went to look after him, and also fell a victim
to the jaguar; a third priest, marveling greatly at the unaccountable
absence of the others, sought them, and the jaguar having by this time
acquired a strong clerical taste, made at him also, but he, being
fortunately of the slender order, dodged the animal from pillar to
post, and happily made his escape; the beast was destroyed by being
shot from a corner of the building, which was unroofed, and thus paid
the penalty of his sacrilegious propensities.
On the Parana, they have even entered vessels by night. One dark
evening the mate of a vessel, hearing a heavy but peculiar footstep on
deck, went up to see what it was, and was immediately met by a jaguar,
who had come on board, seeking what he could devour; a severe struggle
ensued, assistance arrived, and the brute was killed, but the man lost
the use of the arm which had been ground between his teeth.
The Gauchos say that the jaguar, when wandering about at night, is
much tormented by the foxes yelping as they follow him: this may
perhaps serve to alarm his prey, but must be as teasing to him as the
attentions of swallows are to an owl, who happens to be taking a
daylight promenade; and if owls ever swear, it is under these
circumstances.
Mr. Darwin, when hunting on the banks of the Uruguay, was shown three
well-known trees to which the jaguars constantly resort, for the
purpose, it is said, of sharpening their claws. Every one must be
familiar with the manner in which cats, with out-stretched legs and
extended claws, will card the legs of chairs and of men; so with the
jaguar; and of these trees the bark was worn quite smooth in front; on
each side there were deep grooves, extending in an oblique line nearly
a yard in length. The scars were of different ages, arid the
inhabitants could always tell when a jaguar was in the neighborhood,
by his recent autograph on one of these trees.
The Indian Parents.
Captain William Wells was a noted hunter and ranger in the western
country. He was captured by the Indians when but a child, and raised
among them. When the Indians defeated the United States troops, who
were under the command of Generals Harmer and St. Clair, Captain Wells
fought among the red men, and distinguished himself by his courage and
skill. But when General Wayne was placed at the head of the United
States forces in the west.
Captain Wells came over to the side of the whites, and received the
command of a company of rangers, or woodmen, who acted as spies and
scouts for General Wayne. The captain performed many daring exploits,
and caused the Indians to feel that in losing him they had gained a
terrible enemy.
Captain Wells was desperate in battle, but he often displayed much
kindness and generosity. On one of his excursions with a party of
rangers, through the Indian country, he came to the bank of the river
St. Mary, and discovered some Indians in canoes coming across the
stream. The captain dismounted, and concealed his men near the bank of
the river, while he went to the bank in open view, and called to the
Indians to come over. As he was dressed nearly in the Indian style,
and spoke to them in their own language, the Indians, without
suspicion of danger came across the river. The moment the first canoe
struck the shore, Wells heard the clicking of the locks of his
comrades' rifles, as they prepared to shoot the Indians. But who
should be in the canoe, but his Indian father, mother, and their
children! As his comrades were coming forward with their rifles
cocked, ready to pour in the deadly storm, Wells called upon them to
hold their hands. He then informed them who the Indians were, and
solemnly declared, that the man who would attempt to injure one of
them should receive a ball in his head. He continued, "That family fed
me when I was hungry, clothed me when I was naked, and kindly nursed
me when I was sick. In every respect they were as kind and
affectionate to me as they were to their own children. No one
belonging to them shall be hurt." But four men were with the Indian
party, and they did not attempt hostility. The short, pathetic speech
of Captain Wells found its way to the hearts of his comrades. They
entered into his feelings, threw down their rifles and tomahawks, went
to the canoe, and shook hands with the trembling Indians in the most
friendly manner.
Captain Wells assured the red men that they had nothing to fear from
him, and after talking with them to dispel their dread, he said, that
General Wayne was approaching with an overwhelming force; that the
best thing that the Indians could do was to make peace; that the white
men did not wish to continue the war. He urged his Indian father to
keep out of danger for the future. The Indians appeared very grateful
for his clemency. After the captain bade them farewell, they pushed
off their canoe, and went down the river as fast as they could paddle.
Wells's conduct on this occasion proved him to be as generous as he
was brave. This famous ranger was killed near Chicago, at the
commencement of the war of 1812, in an attempt to save an American
garrison. At that time sixty-four whites were attacked by four hundred
red men, and all killed or captured. The Indians were very glad to get
the scalp of Captain Wells. He was as wild a spirit as ever shouldered
a rifle or wielded a tomahawk.