UNSUCCESSFUL SHOOTING. 151 



the hunters generally make use of pistols. It is not that 

 the majority are unskilled in the management of this 

 weapon ; but, by means of their revolvers, it is possible 

 for them to wound the cat, when he begins to leap from 

 tree to tree, and renders the fun of the sportsmen more 

 complete. In a word, the animal is a living target, 

 against which each person displays his skill. Such a 

 mode of hunting is not in agreement, certainly, with the 

 " law Grammont;" but as the French legislator is un- 

 known across the seas, and as, in general, hunters are not 

 gifted with any very tender sensibilities, especially towards 

 wild beasts, amongst which the wild cat is accorded a 

 foremost place, I will abstain from any further remarks 

 upon this point. 



On one occasion I was witness of a wild cat hunt, 

 which terminated in a very extraordinary manner. The 

 tree on which the animal had sought refuge was a 

 monster poplar, tall as a mast, all of one girth, and 

 with its umbrageous crest apparently lost among the 

 clouds. The cat, having dodged the hounds, had clam- 

 bered up the trunk to the leafy tuft forming its crest, 

 whose form resembled that of a mushroom placed on the 

 summit of a cane. At length we discovered him crouch- 

 ing on one of the thicker branches, close to the stem, and 

 from thence looking down upon us as inferior creatures, 

 with an impertinence amounting to a defiance. In vain 

 we fired at the creature a dozen pistols ; he was so well 

 concealed, or rather, let me confess it, we were so un- 

 skilful that we found ourselves without munitions. The 

 dogs dashed themselves against the foot of the tree, bark- 

 ing furiously, but just as powerless as their masters. 



All at once we caught sight of a liana, whose sprigs 



