A Panther Hunt, 



405 



it advanced slowly towards the dogs. A shot from one 

 of the party was heard, on which the cougar was seen to 

 leap to the ground, and bound off with such velocity as 

 to show that he was very unwilling to stand our fire 

 longer. The dogs set off in pursuit with great eagerness, 

 and a deafening cry. The hunter who had fired came up 

 and said that his ball had hit the monster, and had prob- 

 ably broken one of his forelegs, near the shoulder, the 

 only place at which he could aim. A slight trail of 

 blood was discovered on the ground, but the curs pro- 

 ceeded at such a rate that we merely noticed this, and 

 put spurs to our horses, which galloped on towards the 

 centre of the swamp. One bayou was crossed, then 

 another still larger and more muddy, but the dogs were 

 brushing forward, and as the horses began to pant at a 

 furious rate, we judged it expedient to leave them, and 

 advance on foot. These determined hunters knew that 

 the cougar, being wounded, would shortly ascend another 

 tree, where in all probability he would remain for a con- 

 siderable time, and that it would be easy to follow the 

 track of the dogs. We dismounted, took off the saddles 

 and bridles, set the bells attached to the horses' necks at 

 liberty to jingle, hoppled the animals, and left them to 

 shift for themselves. Now, kind reader, follow the group 

 marching through the swamp, crossing muddy pools, and 

 making the best of their way over fallen trees, and 

 amongst the tangled rushes that now and then covered 

 acres of ground. If you are a hunter yourself all this 

 will appear nothing to you \ but if crowded assemblies of 

 * beauty and fashion,' or the quiet enjoyment of your 

 ' pleasure grounds ' delight you, I must mend my pen be- 

 fore I attempt to give you an idea of the pleasure felt on 

 such an expedition. After marching for a couple of 

 hours, we again heard the dogs : each of us pressed for- 

 v/ard, elated at the thought of terminating the career of 



