170 THE LEOPARD. 
of them aid came too late, for its skull was literally smashed by a blow from the Leopard’ 8 
paw. The same animal had sprung upon and killed a goat which was picketed in the 
midst of the numerous servants that accompany an European. 
Another Leopard committed an act of audacity which very much resembled the 
exploit of the roof-clinging Leopard mentioned on p. 168. 
In a native hut some goats were kept, and as night had drawn on, the human 
inhabitants of the hut were beneath the shelter of their own roof. A Leopard which was 
prowling about, and was probably attracted either by the bleating or the scent of the 
goats, clambered up the low walls of the hut, and tearing away with his claws the fragile 
thatch, leaped into the middle of the room. In this case, the Leopard fared well enough, 
for the terrified inhabitants were without arms, and as soon as they saw the unexpected 
visitor come tumbling through the roof, they hid themselves like so many lean Falstaffs, 
in some wicker corn baskets that were standing in the hut, leaving the Leopard to his 
own devices and in full possession of the ground. 
The Leopard has a curious and ingenious habit of obtaiming a meal. He pays a visit 
to some village, and taking up a convenient post, at some little distance, sets up a loud 
and continuous growling. 
The pariah dogs, which swarm in ey ery village, present a curious contradiction of 
qualities. At the sound of a Leopard’s voice they will rush furiously to the spot, uttering 
their yelling barks, as if they meant to eat up the enemy on the spot. But when they 
come to close quarters, self-preservation obtains the upper hand, and they run away as 
fast as they had appeared, turning again and baying at their foe as soon as they see that 
he is not pursuing them. These habits render them of invaluable assistance to the hunter, 
who employs the pariah dogs to point out the locality of his fierce quarry, and to 
distract its attention when found. 
So at the sound of the angry growl, out rush the pariahs towards the spot from whence 
the sounds proceeded, yelping as if they would split their throats by the exertion, To draw 
the dogs away from the protecting vicinity of man is just the object of the concealed 
Leopard, who springs from his hiding place upon one of the foremost dogs, and bounds 
away into the woods with his spoil. 
Fond as is the Leopard of well wooded districts, it appears to have a distaste for trees 
around which there is no underwood. The long grass jungle which is so favoured by the 
tiger, is in no way suited to the habits of the Leopard ; so that if the hunter seeks for 
tigers, his best chance of success is by directing his steps to the grass jungles, while, if 
Leopards ave the objects of his expedition, he is nearly sure to find them among wooded 
places where the trees are planted among underwood reaching some seven or eight feet in 
height. 
When a Leopard is “treed,” ze. driven to take refuge in a tree, it displays great 
skill in selecting a spot where it shall be concealed so far as possible from the gazers 
below, and even when detected, covers its body so well behind the branches, that it is no 
easy matter to obtain a clear aim at a fatal spot. Its favourite arboreal resting places 
are at the junction of the larger limbs with the trunk, or where a large bough gives off 
several smaller branches. The Leopard does not take to water so re adily as the tiger, and 
appears to avoid entering a stream unless pressed by hunger or driven into the water by 
his pursuers. When fairly in the water, however, the Leopard isa very tolerable swimmer, 
and can cross even a wide river without difficulty. 
The Leopard has often been tamed, and, indeed, almost domesticated, being permitted 
to range the house at will, greatly to the consternation of strange visitors. This complete 
state of docility can, however, only take place in an animal which has either been born in 
captivity, or taken at so early an age that its savage propensities have never had time to 
expand. Even in this case, the disposition of the creature must be naturally good, or it 
remains proof against kindness and attention, never losing a surliness of temper that 
makes its liberation too perilous an experiment. The very same treatment by the same 
people will have a marvellously different effect on two different animals, though they be 
of the same species, or even the offspring of the same parents. 
Some years ago, a couple of Leopards, which lived in England, afforded a strong proof 
