an instant for the powerful cougar to break with his strong jaws
the neck of the poor backwoodsman.

In this rare case of a panther (_Felis concolor_) voluntarily
attacking man, it will be noted by the student of natural history that
the victim was lying upon the ground. Probably the animal would not
have left his perch among the branches of the oak, where he was
evidently waiting for the approach of the deer, if the _upright_ form
of the man had been seen. Go to a southern bayou, which is rarely, if
ever, visited by man, and where its saurian inhabitants have never
been annoyed by him,--place your body in a recumbent position on the
margin of the lagoon, and wait until some large alligator slowly rises
to the surface of the water. He will eye you for a moment with evident
curiosity, and will in some cases steadily approach you. When the
monster reptile is within two or three rods of your position, rise
slowly upon your feet to your full height, and the alligator of the
southern states--the _A. Mississippiensis_--will, in nine cases out
of ten, retire with precipitation.

There are but few wild animals that will attack man willingly when face
to face with him; they quail before his erect form. In every case of the
animals of North America showing fight to man, which has been
investigated by me, the beasts have had no opportunity to escape, or
have had their young to defend, or have been wounded by the hunter.

It was nearly ten o'clock A. M. on Friday, March 26th, when our merry
party left Old Town Hammock. This day was to see the end of the voyage
of the paper canoe, for my tiny craft was to arrive at the waters of the
great southern sea before midnight. The wife and daughters of our host,
like true women of the forest, offered no forebodings at the departure
of the head of their household, but wished him, with cheerful looks, a
pleasant voyage to the Gulf. The gulf port of Cedar Keys is but a few
miles from the mouth of the Suwanee River. The railroad which terminates
at Cedar Keys would, with its connection with other routes, carry the
members of our party to their several homes.

The bright day animated our spirits, as we swept swiftly down the river.
The party in the shad-boat, now called "Adventurer," rowed merrily on
with song and laughter, while I made an attempt to examine more closely
the character of the water-moccasin--the _Trigono cephalus-piscivorus_
of Lacepede,--which I had more cause to fear than the