1 THE FATHER OF GAME 47 
crouching form does he pass over fallen trees and 
ragged ledges, or through dense swamps and tan- 
gled thickets, till, if unobserved, within thirty or 
forty feet of his intended victim. If he can now 
attain a slight elevation and a firm footing, he 
springs directly upon his prey, but if upon level 
ground makes one or two preliminary leaps before 
striking it. The noise thus made frightens the 
deer, who makes a sudden and desperate effort to 
escape. But, if lying down, several seconds are 
necessary to get under full headway, and the pan- 
ther follows so rapidly, in a series of successive 
leaps, that it often succeeds in alighting on the 
back of its unhappy quarry. Its long claws are 
planted deep into the quivering flesh, and its sharp 
teeth make quick work with the ill-fated sufferer. 
If, however, the deer sees him in season, and can 
get a good footing for a sudden move, it commonly 
escapes, and the panther rarely follows it more 
than a few rods, for as soon as he finds that the 
deer is gaining on him he at once gives up the 
chase. In fact, a panther rarely secures more 
than one out of every four or five deer upon which 
he attempts to spring. Then, too, it not infre- 
quently happens that he strikes a deer when it is 
under such headway that it escapes; and when 
panthers were more plenty here than they now 
are, it was no uncommon thing to shoot a deer 
bearing deep scars upon its flanks—scars that 
were clearly made by the claws of this powerful 
