m 1776. J anuary. terrupted by the arrival of another farmer and a little boy of (their party, -who informed us, that fome wild bead:, probably a tiger, had juft before come upon one of the hounds by Health, and torn it to pieces, while it was drinking out of the river, on the very Ipot where our informer told us he had juft been laying down for an afternoon’s nap, having rifen from it only half a minute before. They, as well as we, had only heard the dog give one Angle fqueak ; after which it was found quite dead. So that in all probability the wild beaft had, previoufly to this, lain in wait for the little hoy, in order (as they faid) purfuant to its ufual cuftom,. to kill him in a fly infidious manner, and then, after a ihort interval, to return and carry him off. In the mean while, this incident put us all inftantly into an alarm, and oceafloned us to take to our arms in order to revenge ourfelves. Accordingly, feveral couple of houndfe were put upon the fcent in a thicket clofe by the river fide, where the wild beaft ftill lay concealed, while we pofted ourfelves round about. The hounds, which followed the fcent with great eagernefs, foon drove the tiger out, and. that only forty or fifty paces from our beft ihot, a little old farmer, who ihot him flying, as it were, while he was fpringing from the ground. The ball was found afterwards to have entered at the upper edge o f the anus, and to have made its way through the whole length of the body, till at laft it came out at the animal’s mouth; as a great part o f the palate was miffing, and the remainder of it,, clofe by the fore teeth, was bloody, without thefe latter, however, being damaged in the leaft. .. I-do not know whether this can, be explained from from any particular pofition o f the animal, or rather from the circumftance of the ball, in confequènce of the refift- ance it met with, having gone out of the right line. On. the body of this wild beaft we found a little bippobofca, totally unknown to naturalifts, which they told me was ufually met with on the carcafles of tigers. They like- wife informed me, that a peculiar fort of fly, much larger than this, in all probability likewife of the bippobofca kind, fubfifted on the body o f the lion. The animals which I and the colonifts in this part of Africa call tigers, are of that kind which are reprefented in Tab. XI. XII. and XIV. Tom. IX. of M. d e B u f f o n ’ s work, under the denomination of panth er s and leopards» At the Cape I have likewife feen feveral fldns of the ounoe of M. d e B u f f o n , which, by ibme of the colonifts, was diftinguiihed from the former by the name of leopard, and was faid to live chiefly in the mountains, and to be leis common* bold and daring, though more treacherous and deceitful, than the animal ufually called tiger at the Cape, or the pa n th e r of M. d e B u f f o n : to which, however, it is equal in point of fize, though the ikin is not io beautiful, nor fo much coveted, as it is more ihaggy, and covered with longer hairs, neither is it fo much fpot ted nor fo glofly. . . . Both thefe forts, when they happen to comé in the way of fix or eight hounds o f the common fort, which, in fa<St, are ufed by the colonifts for this purpofe, are eafily caught, or elfe tom in pieces by them. I faw at one farmer’s only at G antze -cra a l, about fourteen or fifteen furs of tigers, as they are called, which were faid to have been taken and K k 2 k i l le d
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