Page:Hunting and trapping stories; a book for boys (IA huntingtrappings00pric).pdf/71

 There are two animals, one large and the other small, living on the South American Continent that always seem to be having a hard time of it with the other creatures.

The Tapir is a large inoffensive sort of a creature, with a snout between an elephant and a pigs'. While shooting in a forest on the upper Amazon a hunter came across the fresh footprints of a tapir. He followed them for some time until he came to an open space among the trees. There he saw the tapir standing as still as though it were made of rock. The creature's back was towards him, and the hunter could see that the poor creature attention was riveted upon a huge serpent, only a few yards away from it. The hunter was tempted to fire as he very much wanted a tapir, but he waited awhile to see what would happen.

This hunter had been in many parts of the world, and from time to time he had been lucky enough to witness the most terrific battles between various wild creatures, and he knew that in fecorcity and cunning displayed they surpassed anything man has ever dreamed of.

The tapir could not take its eyes away from its dreaded enemy, while the great snake, on its part, was slowly coming down the tree trunk, each coil gliding so smoothly that the creature's body hardly seemed to be moving at all. The hunter thought each moment the snake would attack, but still it held off with the full consciousness of having its prey within its power.

Suddenly the hunter observed the grass swaying, only a few yards on one side of the snake, and the tapir observed it at the same instant. The movement served to break the spell, for the tapir turned quickly as if to run away. A second later the grasses parted and a splendid jaguar sprang with a roar upon the tapir. It all happened so quickly that the hunter was taken by surprise. Then a curious thing occured. The jaguar had made a very long spring and had not got as good grip upon its prey as it seemed. The ground was marshy and the tapir slipped, either by accident or with deliberate attempt; at any rate the jaguar was flung head over heels into the mud, and the tapir quickly scrambling to its feet, escaped. The jaguar gave vent to a roar of anger and prepared to follow its victim. The hunter saw his chance and quickly landed a bullet in the brute's neck. The jaguar turned on him in an instant, and before the hunter could step out of the way, for he too was standing over his ankles in mud, the brute knocked him flat on his back. He kept a grip on his rifle however and quickly getting on to his knees, sent a second bullet into the great cat, and this time the shot was fatal. The hunter's chest was torn by the jaguar's claws but he was not badly injured. It was