432 THE GREAT THIRST LAND. 



should chance to come so close upon him when at rest, 

 that he thinks that retreat is impossible, and therefore 

 his only safety is in doing battle. The English sports- 

 man of average pluck need trouble his head therefore 

 very little about them, or treat the probability of danger 

 arising from them as extremely remote. They are, more- 

 over, a large object to aim at, and although doubtless 

 possessed of great vitality, do not have it to the same 

 extent as their beautifully-striped confreres of the East. 

 Again, their activity is not equal to that of the tiger, 

 or the grizzly bear of the Rocky Mountains. The charge 

 par excellence of all the felidce is that of the leopard. 

 Its velocity is amazing beyond belief; and while in 

 the act does not present the easiest shot ; and its power 

 to do injury, although comparatively a small animal, 

 cannot be overrated. 



