One of the most remarkable circumstances related about the Leopard is the way in which it is attracted by persons suffering from small-pox; the odour attending that disease seems to have an irresistible fascination for them. Sir Emerson Tennent says that the medical officers at small-pox hospitals have to take special precautions against Leopards, which invariably haunt the spot. As with the other _Felidæ_, the only value of the dead Leopard is the price of its skin, no truly carnivorous animal being good eating; although it is related that one of the South African tribes will eat the flesh, not only of the Leopard, but even of the Hyæna, when they are hard pressed for food. CHAPTER IV. THE CAT FAMILY--THE JAGUAR, THE SMALLER WILD CATS, THE DOMESTIC CAT. THE JAGUAR--Its Character, Distribution, and Habits--Fondness for Negroes--THE PUMA--Its Character, Geographical Range, and Habits--Mode of Hunting the Puma--THE OUNCE--THE CLOUDED TIGER--The Character of its Fur, &c.--Its Habits--THE OCELOT--THE MARBLED TIGER-CAT--THE VIVERRINE CAT--THE PAMPAS CAT--THE LONG-TAILED TIGER-CAT--THE MARGAY--THE COLOCOLO--THE JAGUARONDI--THE EYRA--THE SERVAL--THE RUSTY-SPOTTED CAT--THE LEOPARD CAT--THE BAY CAT--THE SPOTTED WILD CAT--THE MANUL--THE EGYPTIAN CAT--THE COMMON WILD CAT--THE DOMESTIC CAT--Historical Sketch--Characters of Skin, &c.--Connection between Whiteness and Blindness--Habits--Use of Whiskers--Diet--Poaching Propensities--Fondness for Offspring--Foster-Children--Madness in Cats--Varieties--The Angora Cat, Manx Cat, Persian Cat, and Chinese Cat. THE JAGUAR.[19] The Jaguar takes the place of the Leopard in America, where it is the most formidable of beasts of prey. It extends across the whole of the central part of the continent; its northern limit being the south-west boundary of the United States. It is a slightly larger animal than the Leopard, fierce and sulky in expression, but more elegant in form, and far handsomer as to its skin. The spots are arranged in larger and more definite groups, each group consisting of a ring of well-defined black spots enclosing a space of a somewhat darker tawny than the ground-colour, in which lesser spots often occur.