Beyond doubt, the ounce of Buffon is the white leopard of the Himalayas, of late years often met with by Anglo-Indian hunters amongst the highest summits of those mountains, and rarely descending far below the line of the snow.
The jaguar, though often confounded with the leopard and panther of the Old World, is an entirely distinct animal, exclusively confined to America, and found there only in countries of a tropical or sub-tropical character. It is in the hottest tropical regions where this creature attains to its greatest perfection, in the size and strength if its body, and the fierceness of its disposition.
Buffon, who had a keen antipathy to everything American, describes the jaguar as an innocuous creature of inferior dimensions; but indeed this writer, whom the French love to designate as "a great naturalist," was little else than a verbose compiler, and his knowledge of natural history would scarcely exceed that of many a schoolboy of the present day.
Humboldt more correctly characterises the jaguars, when he states that he has seen specimens which, in point of size, equal the royal tiger of India; and another distinguished naturalist, Von Tschudi, has given the measurements of one, made by himself on the spot where it was killed, in one of the Peruvian valleys, and which goes far towards confirming the statements of the great scientific traveller.
I have never myself met with a specimen of the jaguar equalling the tiger of India in size, but more than one have I seen as large as the tigress; and I believe the true state of the case to be this:--The largest jaguars are about equal in size to the smallest tigers.
As regards fierceness of disposition, and the danger to be apprehended from an encounter with them, they are indeed the rivals of either the tiger or lion of the Old World; and the disbelief in this, often expressed by flippant writers who have never set foot in a South American forest, is simply an impertinent absurdity. Hundreds of human beings dwelling upon the banks of the Amazon, the Oronoco, the Magdalena, and other large tropical rivers, have fallen victims to the savage instincts of these carnivorous creatures; and, in the eastern Andes of Peru, it is well known that more than one village has been abandoned by its inhabitants, for no other reason than to avoid the danger of being devoured by the jaguars, which like the tigers of India, instead of diminishing in numbers, usually increase by the proximity of a settlement.
It is probable that there are several varieties of the jaguar, perhaps species, distinct from one another, as the leopards of the Old World are from the panthers.
But the black jaguar does not appear anything more than an accidental circ.u.mstance in the colouring, just as the "black panther of Java"--also found in Bengal--is but a darker variety of the panther itself.
And yet, taking the testimony of the native inhabitants of South America--Indians, Portuguese, and Spaniards--there would seem to exist something more than a mere accidental difference. All agree in stating that the black jaguar is fiercer, larger, and more powerful than the fulvous kind.
Perhaps fancy may have something to do in the formation of this opinion.
The former is not only far less numerous than the latter, but in most parts it is a scarce and rarely seen animal. Its habits, therefore, have been less observed. Fancy ever delights to attribute rare and wonderful qualities to that which is but little known. This may account for the peculiarities described as belonging to the black jaguar.
The nomenclature of the natives shows that, notwithstanding the difference of colour, they in reality regard these animals as being of one and the same species. "Tiger" and "black tiger," are their respective appellations in Spanish America, while the Indians of the Lower Andes know both as the "chinca," but distinguish them by the terms "yana chinca," and "chaque chinca," that is black and spotted "chincas."
Also in the "Lingoa Geral" they are respectively termed "jauarite" and "jauarite pixuna." This marking of the relationship between two animals by the natives of a country where these animals are found, is pretty generally a safe guide to the naturalist; more particularly in a country of savage hunters, whose whole lives are spent in the pursuit and consequent observation of these creatures.
We may a.s.sume, therefore, that the black jaguar is no more than an accidental variety of the species. In fact, if you suppose the yellow or ground colour of the spotted kind to be deepened to a maroon brown, you will have the black jaguar itself; for the latter is not black, as its name would imply, but of a dark chocolate colour. The ocellae or rosettes are thickly studded over its body just as upon the fulvous kinds, and these marks, although not visible to the superficial observer, can easily be distinguished when the animal stands in a certain light.
An incident which occurred to me some years ago, in which a black jaguar played a prominent part, proved that this creature, whether or not it be different in species from its yellow congeners, is at least their equal in boldness and ferocity of disposition.
I had gone up the Amazon to the Brazilian settlement of Barra, at the mouth of the Rio Negro; and having accomplished the mission of my visit to that curious locality, I was desirous of returning again to Gran Para. There was no way of getting back but by taking pa.s.sage on one of the trading vessels of the river; and on one of those which chanced to be going down to Para, I embarked.
The craft was one peculiar to the Lower Amazon, and known as an "Igarite." It had one mast amidships, with a lug sail, and was flat-bottomed, without keel. The cabin was nothing more than a "toldo"--an arched roof, thatched with leaves of the _bossu_ palm, and covering all the afterpart of the vessel, except a small s.p.a.ce for the steersman. A similar toldo was constructed over the forward half of the igarite, where much of the cargo was stowed; but as this consisted entirely of _manteiga_ (turtle oil), carried in large earthern _botijas_ of Indian manufacture, the weather could not injure it; and every available s.p.a.ce was crowded with the jars. Just enough room was left for four oarsmen, the captain of the craft (Joao, by name), and myself.
I have been thus particular in describing the igarite and its crew, as it has something to do with the adventure I am about to relate.
About half way between Barra and the island of Marajo, we had got into a somewhat narrow channel between two islets. The wind was blowing up-stream, and was therefore against us; but as there was a fair current, we were making a headway of about two or three miles an hour.
It was about mid day, and the sun over our heads was so intensely hot, that the captain had ordered the "tapinos" to desist from rowing.
The sail was down, and the igarite floated with the current. The crew, sheltering their heads under the roof of the forward toldo, soon fell asleep; and I myself in the after cabin, was nearly in a similar condition. Joao, acting in the double capacity of captain and steersman, alone kept awake.
I had been lying for a considerable time without hearing any other sound than the rippling of the water against the sides of the igarite.
Indeed, at that hour of the day it is always more silent than at any other time. Notwithstanding the abundance of animal life in the tropical parts of South America, the traveller will see or hear but little signs of it during the hours of noon. The animals all go to sleep. Even the howling monkeys take their siesta, and the preying ounce, and other fierce creatures, overcome by the heat, seem to give their victims a respite. The beautiful snow-white bell-bird is at this hour the only creature that cheers the solitude of the forest with its metallic monologue.
From my state of half-slumber I was awakened by the voice of Joao, which, in a sort of half-whisper, was heard repeating,--
"Senhor! senhor!"
I looked up; Joao"s face was peeping in through an opening in the back of the toldo. There was an expression upon it that told me something was in the wind.
"Well, Joao, what is it?" I inquired.
"Is your gun loaded, senhor?"
"Yes," I said, reaching forward and taking my double-barrelled piece from its rest--"what is it?"
"There"s a queer-looking creature ahead--may be a tapin or a jacare (crocodile); I can"t make it out--come and see, senhor."
I crept forward to the entrance of the toldo, and looked in the direction pointed out by the captain, that is, down stream, and nearly ahead of our course.
There was a point of the island that jutted slightly into the water, and against this point a small raft had formed, consisting of dead logs, branches, and river wreck.
The raft was not extensive, nor did it appear to be very firmly attached to the bank; but the logs themselves were tree-trunks of the largest size, and evidently of some light wood, as they floated high above the surface of the water.
On the top of one of them--that nearest the water"s edge--a dark object was visible. It was plainly the body of some animal, but what sort it was, I could not tell, nor could Joao, as it lay stretched along the log.
There was a back, and shoulders, and a neck, head, and legs, too, that appeared to be grasping the trunk on which the animal lay extended. It could not be a piece of dark wood, nor yet a _jacare_. The outlines of the alligator I should have known at a glance.
"A tapin," thought I, as Joao had at first suggested; but no, it could not be. Its odd position on the floating log contradicted the supposition of its being a tapin. A capivara! not that either; and none of the species of black monkeys would have lodged themselves so singularly. Besides, it was larger than any of the monkey tribe of these parts.
I thought over every animal that I knew to inhabit the regions of the Amazon. I never once thought of its being a jaguar. Of course the yellow-spotted skin of this monarch of the American forest, I, as well as Joao, would have recognised at a glance.
Both of us gazing and guessing--the tapino still slept--Joao had for the moment forgotten his office of steersman, and we perceived that the igarite was drifting right on to the raft.
The pilot instantly seized the stern oar, and with a strong pull, headed the vessel so as to clear the timber.
We were now nearly opposite, and I at length procured a fair view of the creature that had been puzzling us. What was my astonishment-- consternation, I may say--on discovering its true character? Instead of being a harmless tapin, or cavy, as we had been guessing, it was no other than the dreaded _janarit pixuna_--the _black jaguar of the Amazon_.
My first thoughts were about my gun, which I held in my hand. A look at the weapon, and I saw that both barrels were empty!
I now remembered having drawn the charges that morning, for the purpose of wiping the barrels, and I had neglected to reload. It would be too late to do so now. A cold fear crept over me. Except some dull cutla.s.ses for cutting brush, there was not another weapon on board. We were literally defenceless.
My gaze returned to the jaguar. He was asleep! His maroon-coloured body, almost as large as that of an Indian tiger, lay stretched along the raft, glistening in the sun--beautiful, but fearful to behold, especially from our point of view. The remains of a large fish, half devoured, lay close by. No doubt he had caught it, satisfied his hunger, and, yielding to the heat of the noon-day sun, had gone to sleep.
These were after thoughts of mine. I was in no humour for reflections at the time. I only noticed, and with some satisfaction, that the fierce creature slept.
Not a word had as yet pa.s.sed between myself and Joao--a sign only--and that was mutually, to enjoin silence. The captain saw that my gun was empty, and knew as well as I did the danger we had to dread. He knew well that should the jaguar awake, its first act might be to spring upon the igarite and attack us.
It was no groundless fear--such things had happened before--ay, even out into the mid-river, the jaguar had been known to swim, attack the pa.s.sing canoe, and drag its occupant overboard! This, too, in the case of a jaguar of the ordinary size and sort--but a _black jaguar_, one of monstrous dimensions!
Joao knew the danger. He stood like a statue firmly grasping the handle of his oar.
A few seconds only elapsed until the igarite was opposite the raft, almost touching it. Now was the critical moment.
The tapinos still slept. Would they awake?
I cast a hurried glance at them. They lay like bronze images in the bottom of the boat in different att.i.tudes; I could hear their breathing.
Mine and Joao"s could not have been heard--we scarcely breathed.
A word--a motion and we are lost! There is neither.
We glide gently on; the dreaded sleeper hears us not. How close!--I could almost touch its glossy hide with the muzzle of my gun! Softly, softly. Ha!