THE CHEETAH, OR HUNTING LEOPARD. 89 



bullock-cart, whicli tlie antelope are accustomed to see passing 

 daily. He sits side by side witli tbe driver, who, on sighting the 

 quarry, takes off the hood, and, having cautiously approached as 

 near as is deemed advisable, the animal is loosed. The creature 

 leaps from the cart, sometimes on the opposite side to the prey, 

 and commences its stalk, availing itself of any inequality of 

 surface to enable it to approach unobserved to within a certain 

 distance of the antelope. As soon as in this stealthy manner it 

 gets near enough, it jumps up and springs forward with a 

 surprising velocity, said to exceed that of any living quadruped, 

 and singling out the biggest buck in the herd, it dashes at him, 

 and fastening on his throat, generally brings him to the ground. 

 If, however, the quarry happens to get too good a start, so that 

 the cheetah cannot overtake him, it gives up the chase, and 

 returns sulkily to be rehooded. After a successful kill, however, 

 the keeper runs up, and, cutting the deer's throats, fills a tin 

 bowl, which he carries on purpose, with blood, which he gives to 

 the cheetah to lap up, which then submits to having its hood 

 replaced and to be led back to the cart. Vigne, in giving a 

 description of this kind of sport, writes : " It requires strong 

 epithets to give an idea of the creature's speed. When slipped 

 from the cart, he first walks towards the antelope, with his tail 

 straightened and slightly raised, the hackles on his shoulders erect, 

 his head depressed, and his eyes intently fixed upon the poor 

 animal, who does not as yet perceive him. As the antelope 

 moves he does the same, first trotting, then cantering after him ; 

 and when the prey starts off the chita makes a rush to which (at 

 least I thought so) the speed of a racehorse was for the moment 

 much inferior. The chitas that bound or spring upon their prey 

 are not much esteemed, as they are too cunning ; the good ones 

 run it fairly down. "When we consider that no English greyhound 

 ever yet, I believe, ran fairly into a doe antelope, which is faster 

 than the buck, some idea may be formed of the strides and velocity 

 of the animal, who usually closes up with her immediately." 



Colonel Barras, in his book,' describes cheetah-hunting as he 

 witnessed it in Kaladghi : " On arriving with my friends at the 

 3 " The new Shikari to our Indian Stations," 1885. 



