F E LI S. 
in the northern roads, hundreds of-travellers are feen 
Ivith lanthorns carried-before them, to fecare them from 
thefe ravenous beads* The hunting of the tiger was, a 
common diverflon with the Chinefe emperors, in their 
progrefs into Tartary. At the age of fixty-nine, the great 
monarch Cam-hi died of tin illnefs contracted by the vio¬ 
lence of hrs exertions in the chace of one of thefe animals. 
It is remarkable that there aye no lions in China; theTirft 
ever feen in that country \vas a prefem made to the em¬ 
peror Tay-tfii, about the year 1324. 
The tiger feems peculiar to Alia, being found as far 
north as Chinefe Tartary, and about lake Aral, and the 
Altaic chain. It inhabits mount Ararat and Hyrcania, 
of old famous for its wild beads; but the greateft num¬ 
bers, the. larged, and the mod cruel, are met with in 
India and its iflands. In Sumatra, and the other Malayan 
ides, as well', as in the foreds of Java, they are very de- 
drudHve to the wood-cutters and cultivators of pepper ; 
and there a're indances even of their depopulating whole 
villages. Yet the natives will not dedroy them ; for they 
hold the doitrine of tranfrnigration fo-drong, that they 
even dread to revenge themfelves on a tiger, led they 
thould didurb or injure the foul of an anceftor. 
The tiger has always been a more rare animal than the 
lion; and yet brings forth an equal number of young, 
namely, four or five at a litter. The female is furious 
at all times; but, when her young are attempted to be 
taken from her, her rage is redoubled : die braves every 
danger ; die purfues the ravifliers, who are obliged, when 
hard prefied, to drop one of the young in order to retard 
her motion ; die dops, takes it up, and carries it into fome 
fecret place, and then returns and purfues the hunters 
into their villages or boats. The tiger excels the leopard 
in the brilliancy of its fur, and is hence thought to be the 
mod beautiful of wild beads. The dcin is much edeemed 
all over the eadern world, but particularly in’China. The 
mandarins cover their feats of judice with it;. and, during 
tiie winter, life it for cufnions and .pillows, The claws 
and teeth are articles of exportation. 
3. Felis pardus, the panther.—This animal is didin- 
guidied by having the upper part of its body marked with 
circular fpots like the, leopard, ana the-lower with dripes 
like the tiger. Whence it has-been faid to have fprung 
originally from a fortuitous contact between thofe two 
animals: but it is radically and truly a didindt fpecies. 
It has an intereding though ferocious afpefi ; his motions 
are bride and lively; his cry refembles the growl of an 
enraged dog, but more drong and- rough. 
The panther inhabits Africa-, from -Barbary to the re- 
meteft parts of Guinea ; and is next in lize to the tiger, 
being about feven feet long, exclufive of the tail : next 
to it alfo in cruelty, and in its general enmity to the ani¬ 
mal creation: it is to Africa what the former is to Alia, 
with this alleviation, that it prefers the fled),of brutes, 
-fieldom that of mankind, unlefs when prefled.with hun¬ 
ger, when it will attack every living creature without 
didinblion. Its manner of talcing its prey is the fame 
with that of the tiger, always by furprife, either lurking 
in thickets, or creeping on its belly till it comes within 
reach : it will alio climb trees in purfuit.of monkies and 
fmaller animals ; fo that nothing is lecure from its attacks, 
■he is not fo ungovernable, as the Bengal tiger; yet, not- 
withdanding the attempts., to render him obedient and 
tractable, he may rather be faid to be fubdued than tamed, 
for he never entirely lofes his natural ferocity. Accords 
ingly, when kept with a view to the hunting of deer, 
goals, or other animals, great care is necellary in training 
; him, and, dill greater in condudling hint. When leading- 
out to the field, they put him,id a cage, and carry him on 
a cart. When the game is fprung, they o.pen the door of 
the cage; he then indantly fpriqgs towards the animal, 
often Seizes him in a few bounds, throws him to the 
ground, and drangles him. But, if he happens to,mils 
his aim, lie becomes enraged, and lbmetimes falls upon 
his keeper, who, to prevent accidents of .this kind, gene¬ 
rally carries with him pieces of’flefh, or a lamb ora kid, 
which he throws to him to appeafe his fury. 
The Romans introduced great numbers of panthers in¬ 
to their public (hows. Scaurus exhibited at one time a 
hundred and fifty of thefe animals ; rompey the Great, 
four hundred and ten ; Atigudus, four hundred and 
twenty. Probably they: thinned the coafts of Mauritania 
of the panther; but they dill fwarm in the fouthern parts 
of Guinea. An animal of this fpecies is found in Buck- 
haria, called there babr it is feven feet long, dedrudtive 
to horfes, and even camels; the llcin is-fine, and valued 
in Ritllia at one pound llerling. In China there is a nioft 
beautiful kind, called loiicbu, whofe Ik ins fell at lix pounds 
fierling a-piece. This animal is not found on the Ameri¬ 
can continent. 
4. FelL leopardus, the leopard.—This fpecies is next 
in lize to the panther; its length from the r.ofe to the tail 
is about four feet; and its tail is about two feet and a half 
long, it is of a lively yellow/ colour, marked on the back, 
and lides with frnall fpots, difpofeu in circles, and, placed 
pretty clofely together ; its face and legs are marked with 
dingle fpots ; its bread and belly are covered with longer 
hairs than the red of its body, of a vvhitilh colour ; the 
fpots on its tail are large and oblong. It inhabits Senegal 
and Guinea, and will fometimes attack man, as well as 
other animals. When the beads of chace fail, the leo¬ 
pards delcend in crowds from the interior parts of Africa-, 
and make great havock among the numerous herds that 
cover the rich meadows of Lower Guinea : they tear their 
prey in pieces both with their claws and teeth ; and, 
though perpetually devouring, they are always thin ; the 
panthers are their enemies, and dedroy numbers of them. 
The negroes take them in pitfalls, covered at the top with ‘ 
flight hurdles, on which is placed fome young animal as 
a bait: when taken, they fead on its fledi, which is faid 
to be as white as veal, and well faded. The negrefles 
make beads or collars of its teeth, and attribute to them, 
certain virtues. Theirfkins are brought to Europe, and 
are valuable. 
In Afia, the leopard is found in the mountains of Cau» 
cadis, from Perfia to India; and alfo in China, where it 
is called poupi. The Buckharian traders, who often bring 
their fkins to Ruflia, call them bars. It inhabits Arabia 
alfo, where it is called nemr. It is faid that in that coun¬ 
try, as well as Egypt, it does no hurt to man unlefs pro¬ 
voked ; but will enter houfes by night, and dedroy cats. 
The manners and difpofition of the leopard are very fimi- 
lar to thofe of the panther; yet we have not heard of its 
being ever trained to hunting, or any way tamed. This 
fpecies feems to- be fubjeft to more varieties than the 
former; but thefe confifl chiefly in the darknefs or light- 
nefs of its colour. In the Tower of London is a black 
variety of the leopard, brought from Bengal by Warren 
Haflings, efq. The colour is a dufky black, fprinkled 
over with fpots of a deeper glofly black, difpofed in the 
fame form as thofe of the common leopard : but on turn¬ 
ing adde the hair, beneath appears a tinge of the natural 
colour. From its fuperior fize and drength, the late Mr. 
--Pennant confidered this as a variety of the panther. 
5. Felis juba-fa, the hunting leopard ; a beautiful ani¬ 
mal, of the fize and fhape of a large grey-hound ; of a 
long make, with long legs and a narrow/ deep ched ; it 
has a fmall head; eyes of a pale orange ; the end of its 
nofe black; a dulky line runs from each corner of the 
mouth to the corner of each eye ; its ears are fnort, and 
.of a tawny.colour, marked with a brown bar; its face, 
chin, and throat, are of a pale yellowdlh brown ; the face 
is flightly fpotted, and the body is of a light tawny brown, 
marked with numbers of fmall round black fpots, not in 
circles, but each diflinft. The fpots on the cutfide of 
the legs are larger titan thofe of the infide ; the hair on 
the top of the neck is longer than the red, forming a 
kind of mane ; that on the belly is white, and long ; the 
tail is of a reddifh brown, marked above with black 
fpots. It inhabits. India, and the fouth of Africa; and 
-is 
