Jf A 4* R R A T I V E O F A N
C H A P , X yïI I.:
A Tyger taken inPbe Camp—FatjiJ JRsncmnttir o f a .Férty
wïib ■ the Rebels* who >Weel federal o f > ièéiï&kafry&mi
forced the reft
*~Cwtagms t>iftet$peK$~i Sum de^ffóem iiïf
Nature.
ch a p .' T HAVEjuftmentionedthatfeVeralofficerske.j>.tpoultry,
xym. ^ j_ numbers of which were now taken away every^ni^ht
by fome unknown marauder ; yh en a Captain Bolts (fuf-
■ pe&irig \h.z coati-mondi, or crabbo-dago) made a trap of
an emptywine-cheft, only by fiipporting thé |id with, 2,
flick fe ed to a long cord, into which Xhavipgfeft ,fecjire<f|
all the other poultry^, he pufacpppfe, o f; liyp
whole guarded by twro. negroes at • fame, diffiyvg «1
had not bpen many, hours on theirpoft, when hearing, |i|te
fowls Ihriek, one negro pulled the rope, and the%-qthqr
ran to fecure the invader by fitting on the lid; when thi^
proved to be actually a young t;yger, who would yet have
cleared his way by beating againft the bqx^but .that
it was inquaediately fecured t>y- ftropgy roj^s^ \and - 'dj&'TO
along, with the prifoner in it,, to the river; ,where,. being-
held under water, he was drowned, under the raoft vigorous
efforts, by beating againft the cheft to effect his ef-
cape. Captain Bolts ordered the fkin to be taken off,
which he kept in remembrance o f fo very ftrange a cir-
cumftance.
The Count de Buffon afferts, that there are no tygers
in
E X P E I> 1 T I O N T O S'fc R I N A M. 40
in America, but animals much refembling them, which
go* by that name. I fliall however defcrib'e them, from
actual obfervation, as I found them, arid leave the reader
to determine whether they are tygers or not.
The firffc andferigeft is th at called the jaguar of Guiana.
This animal, which has by fome been reprefented as a de-
fpifeable little creature, not larger than a greyhound, is,
on the contrary, very fierce,feong, and dangërous; fome
o f them- m-eafuring, from the nofe to the root o f the tail,
not lefs than fix fe e t: and let US not forget the print o f
that- eriormous t i e r ’s foot, ffeeriby myfelf in the fknd> near
Patamaca; though it may be allowed, that creature was
of, an extraordinary fizë, and the fand very loofe.— The
jagua^ is óf a tawny ojrarfge cplöur, and the IfeRy whiter
oil-the back it ’l l fpotled;with longitudinal black bars;
on the fides with irregular rings, -light-coloured in the
center; and all. over the reft o f the body, and the tail, the
fpots are fmaller, and perfeótly black: its ftrape is in every
fèrtfe like that of the African tyger,'and being all’ o f thé
cat kind, they need no particular defeription;but their
fize and ftrength being fo much greater than that little-
domeftic animal,-they, devour a"ftieep, or a gafty with
the fame facility aïr a cat would kill a morifb dr a' r a t ;
nay, cows and hoffe's are not protected ftbm their at-
taefesy for thefe- they frequently-kith oil fife plantations;
and though they\canpOt carry them off into the foreft on
account' o f their weigh t, tbeytdar and m arigte thenrin a
dfeadfriï manner* onffJ fer the^ fake o f the blood, with
Vol. II. H’ which f.