Jan. 1, 19011 
THE TEOPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
503 
'^racks in that direction. Tliis time, however, 
I determined not i© iirc a shot at the monkeyp, 
but reserved it for better sport. We soon dis- 
covered the leopard who seemingly saw us coming', 
and was skulking away looking over his shoulder 
at us, but turn round ; he would not or give me a 
decent shot. Oa, the beast went very stiff ap- 
parently, with his hind qua ters now and again 
giving way under him, Another rock cave came 
•in sight, and we lost sight of our game for a 
minute, till we got pretty close up to the entrance, 
DONE FOR. 
My courage at this instant seemed to fail me, 
for I stopped dead to think for a minute what I 
was about. Gaining my preserceof mind, I looked 
back for my tracker with my spare gun, and was 
not a little surprised to find I was alone. All 
was quiet ai d still as night in the dense forest; 
the baboons even had stopped their hideous noise. 
1 giasped my rille firmly although my legs were 
a little shaky. Just at this time, I heard the 
crackle of dead twigs behind me, which matle my 
heart thump against my side, at a furious rate. 
Upon looking round I found to my surprise and 
no little delight my men with the spare gun, 
A dozen or more paces forward brought us in 
full view of a handsome leopard lying on the 
ground, patiently waiting our approach at the 
mouth of the cave, just in the same attitude as a 
cat assumes when watehin? a rat, before the 
final spring. The position was a bad one, as 
I was below the level of the animal, but to go 
nearer was too risky, for I was only twenty 
paces or less away ; so no time was to be lost, 
and I fired, aiming right between the eyes. No 
.sooner had my bullet been felt by the brute then 
he bounded out of his lair ricfht towards us, giving 
ine no time for a second shot. The niggers were 
gone like a flash of lightning in one direction 
and in another. I pulled up after reaching the 
nearest tree and looked round to see if I couldn't 
get a second shot, and saw my tracker aiming 
at the leopard about ten yards behind me; the beast 
had pulled up, whether from exhaustion or funk 
at being between two guns I don't know ; but he 
had the contents of both my trackers' and my 
gun simultaneously and rolled over down the hill 
between us, now and again giving a bound in the 
air till all signs of life had gone. When we got 
up to the carcase I found my yesterday's bullet 
had gone right through his back close to the 
spine. My shot in the cave had torn a piece out 
of the side of his head, and my last bullet and 
my tracker's had both gone clean through his 
lungs. The overseer was despatched to bring men 
to carry home our quarry. I was soon at the bun- 
galow, and after a bath and a change, was as 
fresh as a daisy. The baboons were not heard 
again that day, although many a time both night 
and day, too, afterwards I was tempted to go 
out in search of leopards, presuming that 1 would 
get some sport, I never again succeeded in 
seeing a leopard being bayed by biboons again, 
I lound on one occasion, however, the hind quar- 
ters of a baboon that had fallen a prey to a 
leopard who had just left it on my arrival. 
LEOPARDS AND TRAPS, 
Leopards are very cunning, and dubious about 
going into a trap. I have frequently had a trap 
built of logs with a bait of a goat or dog in 
it, but never induced one to go in, although they 
have often enough walked round about the trap. 
On one occasion 1 had a dog put in the trap 
every night for about a month as a bait for a 
leopard, and the beast often enough walked 
round about the house and had a look at the 
dog. One night, however, the leopard, very hungry 
evidently, began by biting and clawing at the far 
end of the trap (although the trap door was open he 
would not enter and be caught) until he managed 
to introduce his forearm, and frightened the dog, 
so as to forc3 him to make a most desperate 
effort to escape — till he did manage it, and came 
home in the middle of the night in a terrible 
state. Upon my examination ot the surroundings 
next morning I found the leopard had hunted 
the poor cur at full speed from the trap to my 
very door, about half a mile. 
The African leopard is not destructive to cattle 
establishments and I have never heard of one 
entering a cattle kraal, although otten enough 
a stray calf has fallen a prey to their cunning 
in the bush without even the herd boy's know- 
ledge. Goats and pigs' houses are often entered 
by leopards, as also native huts, and the occupants 
carried away for a midnight meal. When 
hungry the leopard will eat almost anything, 
even to mulberries on a road-side, till he nearly 
dies from diarrhcea. This fact once came under my 
personal observation with an old leopard of mine. 
A TROUBLESOME BEAST, 
I was very much troubled by a most daring 
leopard who baffled all my attempts to capture 
or destroy by any means in my power. He was 
always about the neighbourhood, catching stray 
fowls in the forest, or on the estate round about 
the buildings, or in the surrounding villages. 
My dogs also became a prey to this determined 
robber. Fowls accustomed to be hunted by a 
leopard are grand watchmen, and make the 
most awful row you ever heard when their enemy 
arrives in the vicinity at night, rousing a whole 
household. One night about 1 o'clock, my fowls 
made such a row that I thought the leopard had 
got in amongst them, I seized my Lee-Metford, and 
a lantern and made tracks for my fowl-bouse, 
my dog Dan leading the way, making a rush 
through the garden gate in front of me. I found 
upon reaching the fowl-house that all my servants 
had congregated ready for any sport that might turn 
up; but, alas, to our disappointment, after a 
thorough search, no leopard was to be found. 
Neither was my dog Dan ; call as we might, he 
didn't turn up ; so I went off to bed, much dis« 
appointed and disgusted. ISlext morning the dog 
was nowhere to be found and upon examination 
of the premises, 1 discovered that he had been 
caught and carried away by the leopard just 
outside the garden gate. We followed the track 
into the neighbouring forest for about half-a-mila 
and came upon half my poor dog's carcase, bub 
no leopard could be seen anywhere ; so the only 
thing left for us to do was, after considerable 
search, to retire and leave him his tit-bit, well 
primed with arsenic, in case he should return 
to finish the remainder of his meal during the 
night. Next morning at dawn all were astir, 
and trackers with flint-locks and myself with a 
double "577 express set off in great haste, each one 
more eager than the other to get a close view of our 
troublesome robber. Upon reaching the remains 
of the dog, we found all the remains were finished 
except a foot. Silen'j and diligent search was 
made all round the spot till we found that the 
arsenic had taken efi'ect: about lOO yards off. Vomit- 
ing of dog meat, and much rolling about, was 
evidence of the arsenic causing much pain and 
trouble in several places, but the leopard was no« 
