230 A TERRIBLE iiTRUGULK 
they had struggled close to two rocks, which had a rift 
between them, and Upcher by main force threw the leopard 
on his back into it — ^keeping his knee on his chest — his right 
hand in his mouth, and his left still tight round the animal's 
throat. At this moment Upcher's boy came up with a 
double-barrel gun, Upcher told him to put the barrels 
into die leopards mouth and fire. The bold little fellow 
obeyed him, pulled both the triggers and blew the beast's 
brains out, fortunately missing injuring the hand, which was 
fearfully mauled by the fangs, every finger being lacerated 
and the hand bitten through ; the forearm was also bitten in 
five places, and his left hand and arm were much injured. 
During this fearful encounter T» was standing on the rock 
with a double-barrel gun loaded with ball simply looking on. 
There were also half-a-dozen natives on the rock, but none 
went to the rescue, and if it had not been for the gallant little 
boy, Upcher must have been killed. The leopard was a large 
male, and on examination the ball from Upcher s gun had 
passed through the lower part of the chest, cutting the tendons 
of the heart. My gun is very much damaged, I belie ve, but 
1 have not seen it yet 
I was out after deer one windy morning near Peer-mund, 
and was watching a sambur with only one antler. I had sat 
down on a ledge of rocks and, just as I was moving away, 
I saw a leopard stealing through the grass about tw^enty yards 
below me. I clucked for him to stop, but the wind was too 
high for him to hear me, and he would have been- out of sight 
in a second or two, so 1 let drive at him as he was stealing 
through the grass like a snake ; he was evidendy after the 
stag. As the ball struck him he bounded clean round, when I 
threw him on his tracks with the second barrel ; on going down 
