THE LEOPARD. 87 



an exciting Leopard-hunt, is taken from the Asian newspaper 

 of August 25th, 1893. On the occasion in question, says the 

 writer, he was sitting in his office, when there rushed in a 

 party of Burmese, with the information that "about a mile 

 \away, close to a village, two men had been coming across the 

 fields, when on passing through a small patch of jungle left as 

 >a hedge, one of them had been sprung on by a Leopard, and 

 the other had thereupon cut at the animal with his da una 

 (chopper) and wounded it. The two men had themselves 

 come ; they were scratched about, but not bitten or very badly 

 hurt. I gave them a letter to the Doctor, and then issued in- 

 vitations to those in the station whom I thought would like to 

 share in the fun. These were McG., B., and J. It was hot, so 

 we got steeds, and arrived on the scene. Open fields enclosed 

 with thorn-hedges, where the hedges met patches of jungle 

 which ran along here and there as a hedge — such was the spot 

 where the villagers had been mauled. We sent the beaters 

 round on to the other side, and posted ourselves, two on one 

 side, two on the other, a thin thorn-hedge running from the 

 jungle in question between us. The first beat in the jungle 

 was unsuccessful, and as the villagers then came along beating 

 the small thorn-hedge, in which one would not have great 

 hopes of finding a hare, we thought there was no chance of 

 finding our Leopard. The villagers thought so too, and came 

 along shouting and jeering, poking about in a desultory sort of 

 way, some getting brave under the circumstances. One ot 

 these, on coming to a bit of bush in the hedge which made it 

 look a little more likely, poked his head down and gave a jeer 

 and a prog, and was considerably surprised to hear a reply in 

 the shape of a roar, and still more so, I fancy, to find himself 

 warmly embraced. All the beaters surrounded 'Spots' and laid 

 into him vigorously in the most plucky but confused manner. 

 Poor ' Spots ' turned his attention from one to the other and 



