108 LEOPARDS AND PANTHERS. 



seeing him, and were all inclined to give up the 

 search, concluding that he must have gone off to 

 the jungle which was near ; but the doctor persist- 

 ed in asserting that he must still be there ; I there- 

 fore desired them to beat it a third time, observ- 

 ing that their numbers being now considerably 

 increased, they might keep so close to one an- 

 other, that if he were there he must come out. 

 Before they had traversed half the field, we ob- 

 served something creeping by the side of the 

 rhur, not apparently larger than a jackall, which 

 we conceived it to be : it at last quitted the 

 rhur field, and we instantly discovered that it 

 was a leopard : he would have passed about fif- 

 teen or twenty yards from us, if we had not in- 

 terrupted him, by firing at him when at the dis- 

 tance of fifty yards. 



As soon as the report was heard, we saw him 

 drop, rise again immediately, and run straight to- 

 wards us : on looking round, I found that all 

 the soldiers had fired, for they were all four re- 

 loading their guns : this being the case, I deter- 

 mined to keep my second fire until he came quite 

 close to us : however, he changed his course, and 

 made off towards a hill that was near, formed of 

 large rocks and loose stones : when he had fairly 



