The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1909-07-21
ceivfng i've or elk balls In the body

OF - hunts In getting possession of
very young panther, Of which he trie,
to make q pet.
But day when they had takel
him into the forest he was long In re
turning to his masters, and two serv
ants were sent to learn what had be
come Of him. The panther sprang OF
them, threw them both to the groun(
and tore their bodies open.
Subtle, swift and sinister, the pan
Their has a flendish fondness for tor
turing his victims, beast or human
he viii play with a half dead mar
like a cat with a broken winged bird
Having crushed down a native, the
panther will spring into the bushes
and hide. The unfortunate, thinking
his enemy gone, essays to rise or crawl
away, only to be suddenly struck t.
earth again, to be fought over by jack
ais, hyenas and vultures.
NJ. Jacques Arago, a scholar and
traveller Of European celebrity, thus
draws the portrait Of the panther:
us that a tiger, a lizard, a serpent
or a Lion which 30 devoured space2 Is
1t q fame whose movement flashes
with the rapidity Of thought? 1t is the
panther in quest Of his prey; 1t is the
nimblest, the most agile Of the quad
rupeds that the hunter pursues. Your
ball must fly swiftly to overtake him.
The arrow is not so swift as he. And
how is it possible to strike that elastic
body which stretches out, curves,
bends about, shortens?
'How seize on the moving being to
which all quiet is impossible, which is
refreshed by motion, enervated by
calm and sleep?
"You aim at the earth. The panther
you thought to strike with an infalli-
BILE missile draws your eyes above
your head to see him. He does not 60
on feet; he flies.
ut is the panther rather than the
lion or the tiger who should be known
as the king Of beasts"
More silent than other dangerous
beasts, the panther so contributes to
the perplexities Of his %pursuers. His
cry, infrequently heard, Is a harsh
noise, something between a grunt and
a cough. He emits a short roar at
times when charging an %assailant.
While difficult for parties to circum-
vent, panthers are less suspicious of
traps than lions, etc., and they are
often caught in baited cage traps.
A writer in the American Field de-
scribes a thrilling panther hunt in Brit
ish East Africa, northwest Of En-
tebbe, illustrating the brute's agility,
resourcefulness and tenacity to life.
"We were following elephant tracks
into a thicket Of wait a Bit brushes
$50 named because of the annoying
thorns) when a large leopard sprang
III front Of u.s." he says.
Burns, who was in the lead, took a
shot at him, but scored a clean miss
on account of his pony rearing to the
side. l noticed the brute make for a
bush to the right of us, so we started
after him on foot, leaving George to
look after the ponies. Suddenly up
jumped the leopard about twenty yards
from US. We both fred together, and
the brute made a leap as If hard hit.
Burns was about six yards to the right
of me when he cried out:
"'Look out, kid!
But before l had time to look the
leopard sprang and floored me like a
tenpin, knocking my rifle from my
hands. He sprang from the left side,
so my right arm was free. AS luck
would have it, my knife was on the
right side Of my belt. Drawing it, l
clean in his snout just as he was in
the act of clawing at my throat. Burns,
who had fixed his bayonet, came to
my assistance. The brute thought it
best to clear out.
"After creeping fifteen yards Burns
pointed to a bush, and there 1 saw the
old fellow lying down, evidently in
great pain. He would keep getting up
and lying down, all the time licking
his side where the wounds were. This
time we decided to have a good broad
side at him, so crept to the left, taking
care not to let the animal see US.
When W. got between fifty and a hun
dred yards from him we had a good
view and watched his antics. Then,
leveling our rifles, we fred together.
The leopard sprang up, leaped about
twelve feet and rolled over on his side.
l was about to make a I'll up to him
when old Burns luckily dragged me
back. for Just then up jumped the
leopard and cut some Of the q~ueerest
capers l ever saw. Leaping suddenly
toward US in a last try for revenge,
he presented as fearful a sight as I
ever want to see.
Burns let him have another shot
in his side, at which he made a leap
in the air and came down all of q
heap, dead.
ut Is seen that 1t took FIVE well
aimed bullets from guns designed for
elephant and lion killing, in addition to
my knife thrust, to lay low that brute"