THE WILD CAT. Ill 



charge of shot through find through the dangerous 

 reptik^s, and had rendered them quite incapahle of 

 further mischief. 



The Indians have a saying that the rattle-snake 

 lives on the miasmatic air of the marshes, and that 

 the wild cats live on the breath of slanderers. When 

 they are describing a quarrel in the tribe, they say 

 " So-and-so is breeding wild cats in his wigwam." 

 Pistols are used in hunting the cats in the marshes, 

 and when the hunters are armed with revolvers, the 

 cats are capital living bull's-eyes for the exercise of 

 their skill. 



One day, I was witness to a hunt after a cat, 

 which terminated oddly enough. The tree on which 

 the animal had sought refuge, Avas one of those enor- 

 mous poplars, straight as a mast, and whose tops 

 are lost in the skies. The cat had climbed to the 

 top, and we soon discovered him crouched up near 

 the trunk, and looking down as with an ill-concealed 

 air of contempt. After examining the tree care- 

 fully, we discovered a creeper which was twisted 

 all up the tree, and on which the cat was perched. 

 After cutting and unwinding this carefully, a sudden 

 jerk threw the cat off the tree, and after a few evolu- 

 tions in the air, he soon fell into the jaws of the dogs. 



I will bring this chapter on wild cats to a close, 

 by detailing an adventure that happened on a plan- 

 tation in South Carolina, not far from Beaufort, the 

 most picturesque town in that State, built in the 



