ring his piece at the same moment. The bayonet broke off
short, leaving less than three inches on the musket; the rest remained
in the animal, but was invisible to us: the shot probably went through
his cheek, for it certainly did not seriously injure him, as he
instantly rose upon his legs, with a loud roar, and placed his paws upon
the soldier's breast. At this moment the animal appeared to me to about
reach the centre of the man's face; but I had scarcely time to observe
this, when the leopard, stooping his head, seized the soldier's arm in
his mouth, turned him half round, staggering, threw him over on his
back, and fell upon him. Our dread now was, that if we fired upon the
leopard we might kill the man: for a moment there was a pause, when his
comrade attacked the beast exactly in the same manner as the gallant
fellow himself had done. He struck his bayonet into his head; the
leopard rose at him; he fired; and this time the ball took effect, and
in the head. The animal staggered backward, and we all poured in our
fire. He still kicked and writhed; when the gentlemen with the spears
advanced and fixed him, while some natives finished him by beating him
on the head with hedge-stakes. The brave artilleryman was, after all,
but slightly hurt. He claimed the skin, which was very cheerfully given
to him. There was, however, a cry among the natives that the head should
be cut off: it was; and, in so doing, the knife came directly across the
bayonet. The animal measured scarcely less than four feet from the root
of the tail to the nose."

Captain Marryatt had a pretty serious adventure with a huge panther in
Africa, while his vessel lay at anchor in a river there, and he and his
men were busy in taking in a cargo of ivory. As they were thus engaged
one day, by some accident a hole was made in the bottom of the boat, and
they were unable to proceed with it. The captain told the men to remain
by the boat, and started himself to obtain assistance from the vessel.
He thought that if he could force his way through the canes which
abounded in that vicinity, a short distance down the river, he could
make signals to those on board, and that some of them would come to
their help. This expedition, however, proved a much longer one than he
anticipated, and much more perilous. He lost his way. "At first," he
says, "I got on very well, as there were little paths through the canes,
made, as I imagined, by the natives; and although I was