290 FORTY-POUR YEARS OF 



rageously, and the blood lay about in abundance. After 

 I came up, wi. hing to ascertain what kind of material 

 Reuben was made of, I let him see me, and then he became 

 almost frantic with ambition. He flew at the panther, and, 

 though beaten oif, sprang at him again and again, until 

 that animal's strong, sharp claws had cut him severely ; 

 when, thinking it was a pity to let him be torn to pieces 

 by such a vicious brute, I called him off, and found him 

 much worse hurt than I had supposed. 



The panther made a blow at the shoulder of the dog ; 

 but only one claw — which was the middle one, and, I sup- 

 pose, the strongest on the foot — entered his flesh. When 

 he found that he had hold of the dog, he crooked the toe 

 inwards ; but, as the dog pulled back, the panther's leg 

 was drawn out to its full length. He would draw the dog 

 almost up to his head, when the latter would pull back ; 

 and thus the contest continued, until I shot the panther in 

 the head and relieved the dog. 



That was the last panther I ever saw ; and I believe 

 there has been but one other ever seen since, or even the 

 tracks of any, in all our wilderness. Subsequently, I had a 

 hard chase after one, but was completely defeated. I pur- 

 sued him one whole day in January, then laid in the woods 

 during a very cold night, took his tracks next morning, and 

 ran him the whole of that day, until dark ; meanwhile, hav- 

 ing not a mouthful of anything to eat myself, or with which 

 to feed my dogs. I camped out the second night, being 

 determined to give him another day's chase ; but the night 

 was cold, and I was obliged to scrape away the snow and 

 sleep on the ground, if sleep it can be called ; for in that 

 kind of abed a man does not sleep at all, as he is so chilly 

 that it is only a state of stupor, and not sleep. 



In the morning, when I straightened out my limbs, I 

 felt stiff and hungry, and my dogs looked gaunt, and 

 eeeuied unwilling to rise up. What was worse, I did not 



