The day before we reached St. Luzia, our resting place at mid-day was under some trees, and not far from a cottage. I observed the skin of a jaguar, the _onça pintada_, in the language of the country, stretched upon several pieces of wood; it had the appearance of being quite fresh. I had afterwards some conversation with the cottager, and he told me, that he had killed the animal to which the skin had belonged, with the assistance of three dogs, only the day before. It had committed great destruction, particularly among the sheep; but had escaped for a length of time, from never appearing at the same place twice successively. The preceding day this man had gone out with his three dogs, as was occasionally his practice; his musket was loaded, but he was without any farther supply of ammunition, and he had his long knife in his girdle. One of the dogs got scent of the jaguar, and followed it up to the den; the beast was within, the dogs attacked it; one of them was killed, and another much maimed, which we saw, and even the third was hurt. The man fired as soon as the jaguar came out, and wounded it; and when he saw that it was considerably disabled, he ran in upon the animal with his knife, and killed it; in doing which, one of his arms was much lacerated, and this was bound up at the time I conversed with him. He asked for some powder, saying that there was still another jaguar in the neighbourhood. The skins are much valued in Brazil for saddle-cloths; and from the make of the saddles used in that country, a cloth of some sort, or a skin is required for each. I have the skin of a jaguar in my possession, which measures five feet and three inches. The _onça vermelha_, _felis concolor_, and the _onça preta_, _felis discolor_, are also to be met with; but the jaguar is more common, and more dreaded than either of these. The same day we passed over the dry bed of the Panema; it was the third river we had crossed since our departure from Açu, and all were in the same state.