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Wild Beasts and Their Ways

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fresh enemy, left the crumpled body of her antagonist and charged straight at her proprietor, who dropped his lantern and flew to the arms of his wife, whom he had left in bed. After some delay, during which the courage of all parties was restored, excepting that of the crippled leopard, the cow was appeased, and a shot from a pistol through the head of the enemy closed the episode. Every resident in India is aware of the depredations committed by this pestilent class of the carnivora. Lions and tigers may be dangerous in the jungles in every country which they inhabit, but they never invade the actual premises; it is exactly there where the leopard is to be feared. Nothing is too small or too large for its attack; from a fowl upon the roost to a cow in the pasturage, all that belongs to the domestic stock is fair game for the wily leopard. The cautious approach of this animal is so wary that a dog is pinned by the neck and carried off before it is aware of the presence of its enemy. Upon one occasion in Africa we were bivouacked for the night on the banks of the Settite river, and no sound disturbed the repose of the camp. Suddenly a leopard bounded into the centre, where the Arabs were sleeping around the embers of a splendid fire, and seizing one of the dogs, it sprang into the darkness, carrying its captive with it. The remaining dogs rushed off in pursuit, together with all the Arabs with swords and shields, and the leopard dropped its prize about 150 yards from our enclosure. The unfortunate dog had been surprised in its sleep, and it died in a few hours from the injuries sustained, the neck and throat being terribly lacerated. It would have been natural to suppose that the dogs would have given an alarm on the approach of the wild animal, but the noiseless tread of the leopard, as usual, was unheard, even in the extreme stillness of a calm night. The sudden attack of a leopard is generally so unexpected that a dog has no time for self-defence, and being invariably seized by the neck, it is at once rendered helpless, and cannot utter a warning shriek before it is carried off. I was walking with a very powerful bull terrier at Newera Ellia in Ceylon, when the dog, who was running through the jungle within a few yards of me, suddenly disappeared without a cry, and was never heard of again; this same dog would have made a good defence had it confronted the leopard face to face. On another occasion a dog named Matchless, a cross between foxhound and pointer, was seized by a leopard in open day when, together with a pack of hounds, walking through a jungle-path at Dimbola, not far from Newera Ellia. The leopard sprang suddenly from a tree, and, seizing the dog, immediately ascended, and took refuge among the boughs with the hound suspended in its mouth. The entire pack bayed the audacious enemy; it then dropped the dog and jumped from tree to tree, followed beneath by the excited hounds. At length the leopard reached a large tree, which was sufficiently isolated to prevent it from springing to any adjoining branches. In this position it was surrounded, and became the central object, where it remained snarling at the infuriated pack. The party of hunters now commenced a bombardment with stones, and a lucky hit induced the leopard to either jump or fall into the middle of the hounds. There was an exceedingly large dog named Pirate, a cross between mastiff and bloodhound; he immediately seized the leopard, and a general fight ensued, the whole pack supporting Pirate in his attack. Captain E. Palliser, late 7th Hussars, quickly thrust his hunting-knife under the shoulder, and in a few minutes the hounds were worrying a dead leopard. Some few years ago the hounds belonging to the late Mr. Downall hunted a leopard at Newera Ellia, and a tremendous struggle ensued. There were several very powerful and large seizers among the pack, and the enemy was overmatched, but although the big dogs had the mastery of the animal, they could not actually kill it outright. General J. Wilkinson was on the spot, and he thrust his hunting-knife into the fatal spot; but he was a little to slow in withdrawing the blade; the dying leopard made a quick blow with its fore paw, and inflicted a serious wound upon his hand, lacerating the muscles of the thumb to a degree that rendered surgical treatment necessary for several weeks. When using the hunting-knife, extreme dexterity is to be observed in delivering the stab, and instantaneously recovering the weapon. There is no object to be gained by keeping the knife within the wound, and there is considerable danger of injury to the hand. If the knife is used by an expert it will never be held with the point downwards like a dagger, but the handle will be grasped for a direct thrust, as though the weapon were a sword. In this position the knife is always well under command, and it can be instantly withdrawn and the thrust repeated upon a favourable opportunity. I had a very savage and powerful dog many years ago which was a cross of Manilla bloodhound with some big bitch at the Cape of Good Hope. This animal weighed upwards of 130 lbs., and became a well-known character in the pack, which I kept for seven years in Ceylon. Although I never actually witnessed a duel between this dog and a leopard, such an event frequently took place. It was the custom of Smut to decline all control, and when the hounds were secured in couples to prevent them from following the scent of a leopard, should recent tracks be visible in the jungle, this determined dog would erect the bristles on his back, emit low growls when summoned back, and would disappear to hunt up, single-handed, the scent of the dreaded enemy. Upon these occasions Smut would be unheard of during the remainder of the day, and he would return to kennel in the evening, proudly trotting along, covered with blood and wounds, but always so fierce that he refused all aid and medical attendance; he was merely ready for his dinner. He had of course tackled his adversary, and indulged his propensity for a stand-up fight, with results which we never could discover; probably the leopard had been glad to retire honourably from the uncertain conflict. This grand dog was ultimately killed in a fight with an immense boar, and his name will

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