La Junta tribune., 1910-01-15


A German sportsman succeeded In one
Of his hunts In getting possession OF a
very young panther. Of which he tried
To make pet.
But one day when they had taken
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 on
them. threw them both to the ground
and tore their bodies open.
Subtle. swift and sinister. the pan
ther has hendish fondness for tor
turing his victims, beast or human.
He VIII play with half dead man
Ike n cat with broken winged bird.
Having crushed down 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 to
earth again. to be fought over by jack
ais. hyenas and vultures.
n. Jacques Arago. scholar and
traveller OF European celebrity. thus
draw the portrait OF tho panther:
is that tiger. a lizard. q serpent
or lion which no devoured spacef 10
II fiame whose movement flashes
with the rspIdity OF thought? II In the
panther In quest Of his prey: II II the
nimblest. the most agile OF the quad
rupeds that the hunter pursues. Your
ball must ny swiftly to overtake him.
The arrow Is not 80 swift as he. And
a.. 4, 20 ptE that ala 0ttf>
body which stretches out. curves.
bends about shortsnsf
How seize on the moving being TO
which all quiet u impossible, which y
refreshed by motion. snervated BY
calm and sleepy
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 dies.
"It is the PANTHER rather than the
lion or the tiger who should be known
Ms the king Of beasts"
More silent than other dangerous
BEASTS. the panther So contributes to
the perplexities OF his pursuers. His
cry, infreluently heard, Is harsh
noise, something between grunt and
cough He emits a short roar at
times when charging an assailnnt.
While difficult for parties TO circum.
vent. panthers are less suspicious OF
traps than lions etc, and they are
often caught I'm baitcd cage traps.
A writer In the American Field de
scribes thrilling panther hunt In Brit
ish East Africa. northwest Of In.
tebbe. illustrating the brutc's agility
resUurcefuluess aud tenncity To life,
We were following elephant tracks
into thlckct OF walt biz brushes
$50 named because ~ the annoying
thurnsi when u large leopard sprnng
"a front ~ rs, he says.
Burns. who was In the lead, took n
shot at him. but scored clean miss
ON account of his pony rearing TO the
side. | noticed the brute make for a
Z bush to tho 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 fired together. and
the brute made n leap as II hard hit.
Burns was about six yards TO the right
Of ne when be cried out:
Look out, Kid"
but before | had time to look the
leopard spraug aud toored me like a
tenpln. knocking my rifle from my
hands. He sprnng from the left side.
30 my right arm was free. As luck
would have II. my knife was ON the
right side OF my belt Drawing H. |
let the savage brute have It's point
clean In his snout just as he was In
/ the act OF ella wing nj my throat. Burns.
who had fixed his bayone,, came to
my assistance The brute thought II
best TO clear out
After creeping fifteen yards Burns
pointed Ia n bush. and there snw the
old fellow lying down, evidently In
great pnin. He would keep getting up
and lying down. nll the time licking
his side where the wounds were. This
time ". decided TO have n good broad
sid. NJ him. 81 Crcpt Ia the left. taking
care not 10 let the animal see us
When We got between nifty aud n hun.
dr-d yards from him we had good
view and watched his antics. Then.
lcycllng our rifles, ". fired together
The leopard sprnng up, lcapcd about
twelve feet and rolled over on his side
! was about to make run up to him
when old Burns luckily dragged me
back, for Just then up Jumped the
leopard aud cut some of the luc.r.st
cnpcrs ! ever saw. I.eaping suddenly
toward us In a last try for revenge.
he presented ns fearful u sight as I
ever want To see.
Burns let him have another shot
IN his side. Mt which he made n leap
IN the air aud cam. down all Of a
heap. dead.
"Ii l. seen TINT II took five well