THE INDIAN AND PANTHER. 123 



Soon our astonished eyes discovered a Carib creeping 

 along the ground. In his turn he ascended a tree, 

 the nearest to that which sheltered the panther, the 

 branches of the two being interlaced ; and, with all an 

 Indian's astuteness, crawled along until within a few yards 

 of the animal. 



Already the latter seemed to calculate the force and - 

 range of his spring ; only, he hesitated from a fear that 

 the branches might not be strong enough to support both 

 himself and the enemy he was about to attack. As for 

 the Indian, armed with a wooden stake and a bowie- 

 knife, he awaited the beast of prey, who lifted his feet 

 very cautiously, dug his sharp claws into the smooth bark 

 of the tree, advanced inch by inch, while his emerald eye 

 burned with sanguinary ardour. 



This moving spectacle rivetted us to the ground ; yet 

 a secret instinct appeared to warn us that, though the 

 peril was great, the man would conquer the animal. 

 Therefore, our sympathies did not prevent us from admir- 

 ing the elegance, the vigour, and the suppleness of the 

 panther. The hot breath, issuing from his open jaws, 

 seemed to reach the face of the Redskin, who, raising his 

 pole, dealt him a violent blow on. the head, to which he 

 responded with a deep hoarse roar. Thus warned, the 

 animal turned about so as to place his snout under a 

 branch which covered and protected him. But the Indian, 

 observing his open jaws, thrust into them his pointed 

 stake, eliciting a howl far more terrible than the first. 

 The panther collected his body, and stretched forward one 

 of his legs, to reach a branch which would place him on 

 a level with his enemy. The situation became critical ; 

 his enormous claws already touched the Redskin's knee ; 



