CAPTURE. 133 



strongly rooted in and secured ; and at last 

 a pistol-shot put an end to his violence. I 

 am glad to say the second cock was scarcely 

 touched. A more beautiful animal than this 

 cat appeared on the following morning it 

 would be impossible to see ; the belly and 

 ground was a pale yellow, the back almost 

 black, with a succession of black spots in re- 

 gular stripes from the back to the belly, but 

 the spots diminishing most beautifully and 

 regularly as they approached the stomach. 



After he was skinned, the flesh looked so 

 very white that I had a piece of his back cut 

 into thin slices and broiled over the wood- 

 ashes, but it was so tough that it was impos- 

 sible to masticate the smallest mouthful. The 

 dogs refused it, but the vultures finished the 

 carcase in a very short time. This cat was 

 about the bulk of a moderate-sized pointer 

 dog. 



