86 SPORT IN NORTH AMERICA. 



soon forgot our sport in the delight of a more than 

 patriarchial hospitality. — The spoils of the day were 

 laid at the feet of the three charming daughters of 

 our host, and, according to the local journals, on 

 the occasion of a fancy-ball, which was given at the 

 Ocean House, Newport, on the 17th of August, 

 1847, the three Misses Q — , Fann}^, Eebecca, and 

 Lizzy, excited general admiration for the style in 

 which their lovely wliite shoulders were set off by 

 the skins of our panthers. 



The fur of the panther is highly esteemed by the 

 furriers of the United States. They make it into 

 splendid carpets, bordered xnth the skin of the black 

 bear. I saw in Philadelphia, at the house of a 

 wealthy physician, a room entirely furnished with 

 panthers' skins. The effect was magnificent and the 

 cost immense. The divans, cushions, and chairs 

 were all covered with this fur. 



The panther is a beast of prey, and hunts by 

 night, " seeking whom he may devour." Although 

 he seems to walk slowly, he moves his limbs with 

 such agility that he really gets over the ground with 

 extraordinary swiftness. If there be game about, the 

 panther soon finds a supper. In one or tv/o bounds 

 he easily seizes the prey that his appetite fancies ; 

 but if there be snow on the ground and the wind is 

 high, the panther will hide under a rock, near some 

 place where there are deer or small game, and there 

 he will wait until the herd of deer (whose habits h^ 



