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 SURPRISING A LEOPARD 
 
 LONDON: DEAN & SOX, 
 11, Ludgate Hill. 
 
 S3 
 
 7 k 
 
 
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SURPKISTTirff A LEOPARD. 
 
 A GENTLEMAN named VViiiton, a Civil 
 Engineer on the Grand Indian Peninsular 
 
SURPRISING A LEOPARD. 3 
 
 Railway, stationed near Nassick, about 
 one-hundred and twenty miles north-east 
 of Bombay, communicates to a friend in 
 England the following deed of extraordi- 
 nary courage and endurance : 
 
 " A thrilling incident has just occurred in 
 this vicinity, that might be' called a phase 
 of_ life in the jungle, and recalls the 
 chivalric deeds of olden time. The 
 adventurous circumstance occurred to Mr. 
 Goody, our manager of the timber works 
 for the construction of the Railway, who 
 left Nassick on the 8th inst. on a 'abort 
 journey of inspection to the village of 
 Oombroola, which he reached about six 
 o'clock in the evening, at that time quite 
 light, and had his tent pitched by his 
 attendants adjoining the native dwellings. 
 While inspecting some timber within a 
 stone's throw of it, he perceived what he 
 imagined to be a tiger, stealing out of a 
 dense thicket of cactus plants, facing him, 
 and advancing at a slow determined pace, 
 its glaring eyes fixed intently upon him 
 at only a few paces distant, impatient for 
 the coming struggle. No pause, but a 
 
 
4 SURPRISING A LEOPARD. 
 
 moment's reflection for him, ere the 
 powerful leopard — as such it proved to 
 be — had reduced the space to a few feet, 
 and the momentary reflection of the brave 
 fellow was, " It's all up with me now ; if 
 
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 I run, I cannot escape ; he will spring 
 upon my back, and I shall rise from the 
 earth no more." (i I'll face him !" was 
 his instant resolution ; and he bent to 
 receive him. 
 
SURPRISING A LEOPARD. 5 
 
 A smothered yell, and the brute had 
 made its spring, its jaws extended, for the 
 death gripe, on its victim, who was struck 
 down with the force of the shock. Then 
 man and leopard rolled over, in the mad 
 struggle for life and death. An instant, 
 and the man was uppermost; the hot 
 fetid breath from its wide mouth panted 
 in his face, its horrid jaws extended to 
 grasp his throat, while the rapid blows 
 from its formidable paws, as they tore at 
 his form, tested terribly his resolute hold, 
 and he with naught to parry its wild 
 strength but a light riding whip in his 
 clenched hand. Instant though it was, 
 sternly had the Briton resolved to conquer, 
 as he thrust his left arm down the brute's 
 open throat and seized its tongue, then 
 with the other arm forced down his riding 
 whip as well. 
 
 Completely discomfited by this sudden 
 surprise, the leopard freed itself and 
 turned to retreat from his now prostrate 
 opponent, when he encountered a party 
 of natives, who, having fled in terror at 
 his appearance, had, by this time, returned 
 
6 
 
 SURPRISING A LEOPARD. 
 
 to the rescue with heavy canes. Ere 
 these had time to form an attack, or even 
 to oppose its course, the ferocious brute, 
 with a yell, sprang upon one of the group, 
 and bore him with a shriek of terror to 
 the earth. A moment of suspense, and 
 the wild shock had left the form of the 
 
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 feeble native mangled and lifeless. The 
 brute then bounded away towards a herd 
 of buffaloes, which it attacked. Poor 
 Goody, whom the natives had discovered, 
 was no sooner raised and sensible, than 
 with a cheer he led the pursuit, and soon 
 overtook his enemy in deadly conflict with 
 the buffaloes, which in sustaining the 
 attack had wounded their assailant, The 
 brave pursuer was the first up, and dealt 
 
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 SURPRISING A LEOPARD. 7 
 
 the wild brute a blow on the skull that 
 stunned it, when the hitherto terrified 
 natives fell upon it and dispatched it. 
 The victor then turned to think of him- 
 self. Scarce had he surveyed the con- 
 quest ere he sank fainting from the loss of 
 blood ; his left arm, which had been down 
 the leopard's throat, was fearfully mangled 
 and hung useless ; his thigh bitten 
 through, his body torn all over and 
 streaming with blood, and his clothes rent 
 in shreds from his body. In this condi- 
 tion he was carried by the Gharry wallahs 
 to his tent, and was only kept alive during 
 the night by being rubbed from head to 
 foot. 
 
 Ihe following morning he was carried 
 on a litter twenty miles to his home in 
 Nassick. The slain leopard, borne on 
 branches, preceded him in triumph, 
 attended by a troop of natives, each of 
 whom was envious of bearing the lion- 
 hearted victor. The gauzy covering of 
 the wounded man contrasted forcibly with 
 the appearance of the dead leopard — the 
 led horse of the wounded man with empty 
 
8 
 
 SURPRISING A LEOPARD. 
 
 saddle — the train of slim and white-clad 
 natives, looking more distinct as they 
 emerged from the overshadowing palms, 
 presented a picture that seemed to inter- 
 pret the sad history, and impressive 
 enough appeared the simple cortege as it 
 wound slowly through the rocky defiles 
 along the road to Nassick. As you may 
 imagine, the sufferer was in a most 
 deplorable condition, and remained for a 
 long time in great danger. My friend 
 who sends me the details describes the 
 animal as an unusually large leopard, 
 while the natives persist it was a tiger. It 
 measured seven feet long, and stood up- 
 wards of two feet six inches high. lis 
 skin is now spread out in my late room at 
 the palace of Nassick." 
 
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