188 WILD SPORTS IN THE SOUTH. 



received another nip, not quite so bad, but sufficient to 

 put him on the sick list for the rest of the day, and doubt- 

 less some of the other dogs would have been hurt, had 

 not Mike fired and killed the wounded animal as the 

 hounds came crowding up. 



"Cat! cat!" "Yow! yow!" "Hit um a dip!" 

 " Ough ! ough !" were the sounds that came on the right, 

 as a big cat broke away down the beach. The Doctor was 

 just landing from his boat, and had a fair chance, as the 

 animal was close by. The shot wounded the furious beast, 

 so that it became completely confused, and being hard 

 pressed by the dogs, it took refuge in the only trunk it 

 could see, which happened to be the high curve of the 

 Doctor's cypress canoe, just landing end on to the beach. 

 In rushed the dogs after the animal, crowding the boat, 

 knocking about the paddles, and forcing the Doctor up 

 on the thwarts. The fierce animal fought with despera- 

 tion against the crowd of pursuers, thrashing around the 

 Doctor's legs, and tilting the boat from one side 'to 

 the other, till it finally upset, and dogs, and oars, cat, 

 and hunter, were ah 1 thrown into the water together. It 

 only needed a moment of open field, and the dogs, smart- 

 ing with their scratches, tore the cat almost in pieces, 

 and left the cat-skin, as one of the boys remarked who 

 had run down to help the Doctor, " 'bout chawed up." 



Jackson and I did not like to leave our places to help 

 in the fray, though we assisted all we could by laughing, 

 and Miss Jackson called out, after vainly trying to peer 

 over the land, to know what the matter was. 



