VIII 
THE LEOPARD 
287 
the handle will be grasped for a direct thrust, as 
though the weapon were a sword. In this position 
the knife is always well under command, and it 
can be instantly withdrawn and the thrust repeated 
upon a favourable opportunity. 
I had a very savage and powerful dog many 
years ago which was a cross of Manilla bloodhound 
with some big bitch at the Cape of Good Hope. 
This animal weighed upwards of 130 lbs., and 
became a well-known character in the pack, which I 
kept for seven years in Ceylon. Although I never 
actually witnessed a duel between this dog and a 
leopard, such an event frequently took place. It 
was the custom of Smut to decline all control, and 
when the hounds were secured in couples to 
prevent them from following the scent of a leopard, 
should recent tracks be visible in the jungle, this 
determined dog would erect the bristles on his back, 
emit low growls when summoned back, and would 
disappear to hunt up, single-handed, the scent of the 
dreaded enemy. Upon these occasions Smut would 
be unheard of during the remainder of the day, and 
he would return to kennel in the evening, proudly 
trotting along, covered with blood and wounds, but 
always so fierce that he refused all aid and medical 
attendance; he was merely ready for his dinner. 
He had of course tackled his adversary, and indulged 
his propensity for a stand-up fight, with results 
which we never could discover ; probably the leopard 
had been glad to retire honourably from the uncertain 
conflict. This grand dog was ultimately killed in 
