64 NATURAL HISTORY IN ANECDOTE. 



precipice, but, being hotly pressed, and slightly wounded by 

 a musket-ball, he turned upon his pursuers, with that frantic 

 ferocity, which, on such emergencies, he frequently displays, 

 and, springing upon the man who had fired at him, tore him 

 from his horse to the ground, biting him at the same time 

 very severely on the shoulder, and tearing his face and arms 

 with his claws. The other hunter, seeing the danger of his 

 comrade, sprang from his horse, and attempted to shoot the 

 leopard through the head; but, whether owing to trepidation, 

 or the fear of wounding his friend, or the sudden motions 

 of the animal, he unfortunately missed his aim. The leopard, 

 abandoning his prostrate enemy darted with redoubled fury 

 upon this second antagonist; and so fierce and sudden was 

 his onset, that before the Boer could stab him with his hunt- 

 ing-knife, he had struck him in the face with his daws, and 

 torn the scalp over his forehead. In this frightful condition, 

 the hunter grappled with the raging beast, and, struggling for 

 life, they rolled together down a steep declivity. All this 

 passed so rapidly that the Other man had scarcely time to 

 recover from the confusion into which his feline foe had 

 thrown him, to seize his gun and rush forward to aid his 

 comrade, when he beheld them rolling together down the 

 steep bank, in mortal conflict. In a few moments he was at 

 the bottom with them, but too late to save the life of his 

 friend, who had so gallantly defended him. The leopard 

 had torn open the jugular vein, and so dreadfully mangled 

 the throat of the unfortunate man, that his death was inevit- 

 able; and his comrade had only the melancholy satisfaction 

 of completing the destruction of the savage beast, which 

 was already much exhausted by several deep wounds it 

 had received in the breast, from the desperate knife of the 

 expiring huntsman." 



The Jaguar. The Jaguar, otherwise known as the American 

 Leopard, belongs to the forests of South America, and has many 

 points of difference from as well as some of similarity with 



