1 68 



THE BLACK LEOPARD. 



killed ! " " Look at my assagy," says another ; " I will strike it into your heart as 1 

 now do into the ground ! " (digs assagy deep into the ground several times) " Ah, 

 show your teeth, they will make me a necklace, and we will roast your heart ! " 



Suddenly, in the middle of their choice address, the Leopard would spring up, rush 

 at the stakes, and away would fly all the boasting Kaffir warriors. 



It was intended to have kept this animal, and shipped it in the bay for Cape Town, 

 but during the second night it nearly escaped ; and as some days would elapse before 

 the regular cage could be made, it was found expedient to shoot it. It was a fine an- 

 imal, in superb condition, and had committed an infinity of mischief in the neighbor- 

 hood. 



I ASSISTED an old Kaffir in building a cage near the Umlass river soon after this, 

 and one of the largest Leopards I ever saw was captured in a few days. This Leopard 

 was caged and sent down to Natal, where it brought a good price. 



Owing to the stealthy and watchful habits of this creature, it is not often seen, and 

 although the spoor may show that Leopards are plentiful in a particular locality, it does 

 not follow that the sportsman will obtain a shot at once. The marks of claws on the 

 stems of trees, will frequently be seen in those parts of the bush which the Leopard 

 frequents. 



If the hunter expects an encounter with a Leopard, it is a very useful precaution to 

 bind some leather and woollen stuff round the left hand and arm, so that if an accident 

 should happen, and the Leopard come to close quarters where the gun could not be 

 used, this shield would serve to protect the face or body, and a knife or revolver might 

 then be used with greater chance of success than when the independent arm was being 

 lacerated by the jaws of -the monster. 



Numberless instances are on record which prove the ferocity of the Cape Leopard, 

 and those who purpose a campaign against Ferae of this description, would do well to 

 remember that precaution is no indication of an absence of courage, for it frequently 

 happens that men whose intellects are the densest are incapable of seeing danger, 

 blunder into peril, and by great good luck blunder out again. 



I once caught a man smoking his pipe on the front of a wagon which was loaded 

 with some hundreds of pounds of powder. On another occasion a gunner of the ar- 

 tillery carried a burning portfire amongst two dozen or so of loaded shells, whilst he was 

 looking for the nipper with which to cut off the end. And I also knew a man who 

 went into a bush to attack a wounded Leopard with an old sword, and who was disabled 

 for life in consequence of his temerity. 



Now, none of these individuals ought to be called wonderfully brave for their pro- 

 ceedings, they were simply so thick-headed that they did not know how much risk they 

 ran. A Dutch Boer who lived over the Draakens Berg mountains, and who planned 

 an attack upon an old man-eater lion, which he followed on foot into a dense kloof, 

 and which he there shot dead, deserved praise for his courage, as he must have been 

 well aware of all the risks of the affair, and made his arrangements accordingly. In 

 leopard, lion, elephant, and buffalo shooting, the accidents usually happen to those 

 who pretend to despise, and who therefore do not take ordinary precautions. 



THE habits of the Indian Leopard are almost identical with those of its African 

 relative. Equally cautious when caution is necessary, and equally bold when audacity 

 is needed ; the animal achieves exploits of a similar nature to those which have been 

 narrated of the African Leopard. The following anecdote is a sample of the mixed 

 cunning and insolence of this creature. 



An ox had been killed, and the joints were hung up in a hut, which was close to a 

 spot where a sentry was posted. In the evening the sentry gave an alarm that some 

 large animal had entered the hut. A light was procured and a number of people 

 searched the several rooms of which the hut was composed, without discovering the 

 cause of the alarm. They were just about to retire, when one of the party caught 



