Stories about the instinct of animals, their characters, and habits . dy, but trailed along the ground 140, STORIES ABOUT INSTINCT. behind him. As he was thus creeping by a largebush of reedsj he heard a loud, sudden noise,between a bark and a roar ; he felt something heavy-strike his feet, and, mstantly jumping up, he saw tohis astonishment, a large puma actually standingon his poncho; and, perhaps, the animal wasequally astonished to find himself in the immediatepresence of so athletic a man. The man told mehe was unwilling to fire, as his gun was loadedwith very small shot; and he therefore
Stories about the instinct of animals, their characters, and habits . dy, but trailed along the ground 140, STORIES ABOUT INSTINCT. behind him. As he was thus creeping by a largebush of reedsj he heard a loud, sudden noise,between a bark and a roar ; he felt something heavy-strike his feet, and, mstantly jumping up, he saw tohis astonishment, a large puma actually standingon his poncho; and, perhaps, the animal wasequally astonished to find himself in the immediatepresence of so athletic a man. The man told mehe was unwilling to fire, as his gun was loadedwith very small shot; and he therefore remainedmotionless, the puma standing on his poncho formany seconds ; at last the creature turned liis head,and v\alking very slowly away about ten yards,stopped, and turned again: the man still maintainedhis ground, upon which the puma tacitly acknow-ledged his supremacy, and walked off. • I dare say the man was very glad to be soeasily quit of such a formidable visitor, UncleThomas. No doubt of it, Frank. I have oneother story to tell you about the puma, which. THE MAN AND THE PUMA. Tatre 140. THE PUMAS GRATITUDE. 141 fortunately exhibits it in a more favourablelight than some of those which I have told • During the government of Don Diego cle-Mendoza, in Paraguay, a dreadful famine raged atBuenos Ayres: yet Diego, afraid to give the Indiansa habit of spilling Spanish blood, forbade the in-habitants, on pain of death, to go into the fields, insearch of relief, placing soldiers at all the outlets tothe country, with orders to fire upon those whoshould attempt to transgress his orders. A woman,however, called Maldonata, was artful enough toelude the vigilance of the guards, and to effect herescape. After wandering about the countr}- for along time, she sought shelter in a cavern ; but shehad scarcely entered it, when she became dreadfullyalarmed, on obsei-ving a puma occupying the sameden. She was, however, soon quieted by the animalapproaching and caressing lier. Th
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