ce of the split trunk of
one of the hardwood palms.

The point of this spear is frequently without iron--only sharpened and
hardened by being held in the fire--and with this in his left hand, and
his short sword in the right, the hunter advances with confidence upon
his formidable adversary. This confidence has been fortified by a
contrivance which he has had the precaution to adopt--that is, of
enveloping his left arm in the ample folds of his blanket--_serape,
roana_, or _poncho_, according to the country to which he belongs--and
using this as a shield.

The left arm is held well forward, so that the woollen mass may cover
his body against the bound of the animal, and thus is the attack
received. The jaguar, like all feline quadrupeds, springs directly
forward upon his prey. The tigrero prepared for this, and, with every
nerve braced, receives the assailant upon the point of his short spear.
Should the jaguar strike with its claws it only clutches the woollen
cloth; and while tearing at this--which it believes to be the body of
its intended victim--the right arm of the hunter is left free, and with
the sharp blade of his _machete_ he can either make cut or thrust at his
pleasure. It is not always that the tigrero succeeds in destroying his
enemy without receiving a scratch or two in return; but a daring hunter
makes light of such wounds--for these scars become badges of
distinction, and give him _eclat_ among the villages of the Montana.

Just such a man was the guide whom our young hunters had engaged, and
who, though a tiger-hunter by profession, was equally expert at the
capturing of a bear--when one of these animals chanced to stray down
from the higher slopes of the mountains, into the warmer country
frequented by the jaguars. It was not always that bears could be found
in these lower regions; but there is a particular season of the year
when the black bear (_ursus frugilegus_) descends far below his usual
range, and even wanders far out into the forests of the Montana.

Of course there must be some inducement for his making this annual
migration from his mountain home; for the _ursus frugilegus_, though
here dwelling within the tropics, does not affect a tropical climate.
Neither is he a denizen of the very cold plains--the _paramos_--that
extend among the summits of eternal snow. A medium temperature is his
choice; and this, as we have already stated, he finds among the
foot-hills, forming the lower z