A MORTAL COMBAT.

Evening Star, Issue 4202, 15 August 1876, Page 4

A MORTAL COMBAT.

About three years ago, a leopard took it I into his head to try the beefstakes of a very savage and sharp-horned cow, who, with her calf, was the property of a blacksmith. It was a dark, rainy night, the blacksmith and his wife were in bed, and the eow and her calf were nestled in the warm straw of the cattle shed. The door was locked, and all was apparently secure when the hungry leopard prowled stealthily round the cow-house, snffing the prey within. The strong smell of the leopard at once alarmed the keen senses of the cow, made doubly acute by her anxiety for her little charge, and she stood ready for the danger, a3 the leopard, havimjmo nted on the roof, commenced scratching his way through the thatch. Down he sprang, but with a splendid charge the cow pinned him against the wall, and a battle ensued, which can easily be imagined. A coolie slept in the corner of the shed, whose wandering senses were completely scattered when ho found himself the unwilling umpire of the fight. He/ushed out and shut the door. In a few minutes he succeeded in awakening the blacksmith, who struck a light, and proceeded to load a pistol, the only weapon he possessed. During the whole of this time the bellowing of the cow, the roars of the leopard, and the thumping, shuffling, and tramping which proceeded from the cattle shed explained the savage nature of the fight.' The blacksmith, who was no sportsman, shortly found himself with a lantern in one hand and a pistol in the other, and no idea what he meant to do. He waited, tlv refore, at the cattle shed door, and holding the lights so as to shire through the numerous small apertures in the shed, he looked in. The leopard was no longer growling, but the cow was mad with fury. .She alternately threw a large dark mas 3 above her head, then quickly pinned it to the ground on its descent, then bored it against the wall as it crawled helplessly towards a corner of the shed. This was the beef-eater in reduced circumstances ! This gallant cow had nearly killed him, and was giving him the finishing strokes. The blacksmith perceived the leopard's helpless state, and boldly opened the door ; he discharged the pistol, and the next moment was bolting as hard as he could, with the cow after him ! She was regularly " up," and was ready for anything or anybody. However, she was at length pacified, and the dying leopard put out of its misery.—"Eight Years in Ceylon," by Sir S. Baker.