THE HUNTING-LEOPARD. 203 



which was employed, it is evident that there was at 

 least three animals so distinct as to entitle them to 

 various denominations. It is said that some of the 

 emperors, in their great hunting expeditions, were 

 accompanied to the field with a thousand hunting- 

 leopards. 



At the present period this sport is confined en- 

 tirely to India and Persia, and the hunting-leopards 

 alone is employed in it. They are so tame and 

 gentle, as to he led about in a leash like greyhounds, 

 but when brought to the hunting-field, they are car- 

 ried either on an elephant, or on horseback on a pad 

 behind the rider, but more generally on a cart made 

 for the purpose, and drawn by oxen. This carries both 

 the sportsmen and his attendants, and upon ap- 

 proaching the game, the animal is unhooded and 

 slipped. But the description of a chase by one who 

 has enjoyed the sport, will give the best idea of the 

 manner in which it is conducted. 



" Just before we reached our ground, the shuter 

 suwars, (camel courier,) who always moved on our 

 flanks in search of game, reported a herd of ante- 

 lopes about half a mile out of the line of march, and 

 the chetahs being at hand, we went in pursuit of 

 them. The leopards are each accommodated with a 

 flat-topped cart, without sides, drawn by two bul- 

 locks, and each animal has two attendants. They 

 are loosely bound by a collar and rope to the back 

 of the vehicle, and are also held by the keeper by a 

 strap round the loins. A leathern hood covers the 



