PANTHERS, AND OUR OTHER CATS, 423 
The sun was now sinking in the west. Two of the hunters 
separated from the rest, to procure venison, whilst the 
squatter’s sons were ordered to make the best of their way 
home, to be ready to feed the hogs in the morning. The 
rest of the party agreed to camp on the spot. The cougar 
was despoiled of its skin, and its carcass left to the hungry 
dogs. Whilst engaged in preparing our camp, we heard the 
report of a gun, and soon after one of our hunters returned 
with a small deer. A fire was lighted, and each hunter 
displayed his pone of bread, along with a flask of whisky 
The deer was skinned in a trice, and slices placed on sticks 
before the fire. These materials afforded us an excellent 
meal, and as the night grew darker, stories and songs went 
round, until my companions, fatigued, laid themselves down, 
close under the smoke of the fire, and soon fell asleep. 
I walked for some minutes round the camp, to contemplate 
the beauties of that nature from which I have certainly 
derived my greatest pleasures. I thought of the occurrences 
of the day, and glancing my eye around, remarked the 
singular effects produced by the phosphorescent qualities 
of the large decayed trunks which lay in all directions 
around me. How easy, I thought, would it be for the 
confused and agitated mind of a person bewildered in a 
swamp like this, to imagine in each of these luminous masses 
some wondrous and fearful being, the very sight of which 
might make the hair stand erect on his hu.d. The thought 
of being myself placed in such a predicament burst over my 
mind, and I hastened to join my companions, beside whom 
I laid me down and slept, assured that no enemy could 
approach us without first rousing the dogs, which were 
growling in fierce dispute over the remains of the cougar. 
At daybreak we left our camp, the squatter bearing on 
his shoulder the skin of the late destroyer of his stock, and 
retraced our steps until we found our horses, which had not 
strayed far from the place where we had left them. These 
