of teeth and claws, that in a few minutes he was
master of the field. True, he soon afterwards
breathed his last; but the results of the
encounter were, one Arab dead on the spot, eight
seriously wounded, and several marked with the
creature's sign manual. It is clear that the
panther of the province of Constantine is by no
means an inoffensive and timid animal, as
certain sportsmen, in their inexperience, have
asserted.

At the foot of the great mountain named Le
Chailla, seven or eight-and-twenty miles to the
east of Batna, there are vast thickets composed
of evergreen oaks, Aleppo pines, junipers, and
lentisks, which form a capital cover for the king
of animals. He rarely leaves them, except by
night; and he then follows the numerous
footpaths which wind across them in all directions.

An Arab, going to cut wood, hatchet in hand,
was thoughtlessly following one of those paths,
when, at a sudden turn, he found himself in the
presence of an enormous lion. The animal, as
much taken aback as the man, bristled his mane
and uttered low growlings; while the Arab,
believing the lion about to swallow him, brandished
his hatchet with threatening gestures, which
could only serve to irritate him. In fact, the
lion did advance; and then the Arab, mad with
terror, dealt him a terrible blow on the head
with his axe. The edge of the tool penetrated
deep; but, although a little stunned, the brute
rushed upon his aggressor, and with his formidable
jaw broke his thigh. The poor wretch's
screams of pain, repeated by the echoes from
rock to rock, seem to have made the lion believe
that he was surrounded by several enemies, for
he let go his prey, and fled, with rapid bounds,
to his secret fastness. The unhappy man, in
spite of his wound, profited by the momentary
respite. With a superhuman effort he hauled
himself up a tree; at the foot of which, the lion,
soon discovering his mistake, stretched himself
at full length, to watch the victim who had
just escaped from him. It took an hour and a
half for the inhabitants of the douars to understand
his position and come to his succour.
Seventy or eighty Arabs, all armed with guns
and yataghans, halted about a hundred paces from
the perch on which the poor fellow could hold
no longer. They shouted to him to pluck up
courage, and that they would soon deliver him.
Amongst them was a famous runner, a brother
of the Sheikh Belale, who used to run races with
horses. "Fire all at once at the lion," he told
them. "To attack you, he will quit the tree. I
shall soon be there, and up it; and then I can
sustain the wounded man, until a favourable
opportunity occurs of helping him down and fetching
him away." A general discharge was made.
The lion, only wounded, rushed upon his
aggressors, who showed him their heels with such
agility, that he could not catch a single one of
them. Tired of his onslaught, he returned to
the foot of the tree, up which the sheikh's brother
had nimbly climbed, and was holding the patient
in his arms, more dead than alive with fright
and suffering.

Meanwhile, after reloading, the Arabs came
back, determined to make an end of it. Forming
a circle, they advanced within fifty paces of
the lion, and at a signal from the eldest present,
fired all at once, and immediately once more fled,
furiously pursued by the exasperated animal.
Taking advantage of the moment, the runner
slipped down the tree, bringing with him the
wounded man, whom he hoisted on his back, and
then hastened to escape. The lion, who had
seen every movement, was on the point of seizing
his prey a second time, when the two
brothers of the victim, who had prudently
reserved their fire to cover his retreat, discharged
their guns point-blank on the animal, who, this
time seriously wounded, fell, but speedily got up
again. One of the brothers then plunged his
yataghan into his belly. The lion turned upon
him sharply; with one stroke of his talons and
one bite of his jaw he killed him. Leaving this
victim on the ground, the Arabs accompanied
the original sufferer to the douar; where, after
embracing his wife and children, he soon breathed
his last sigh. The survivor of the three then
swore an oath over his brother's corpse, either
that he would kill the lion, or that the lion
should kill him. After earnestly imploring the
sheikh to take care of his own and his brothers'
children, he stripped himself of all his clothing,
took two guns and one pistol, and then gave an
express prohibition for any one to follow him.

Arrived at the scene of the recent combat, he
saw the lion lying on the ground, about ten
paces from his brother's body, close to a copse
of evergreen oak. The lion allowed him to
approach within twenty paces, without seeming
to pay any attention to him. The Arab took
aim between the head and the shoulder. At
the shot, the lion, in two bounds, reached his
aggressor, who coolly stuck the muzzle of his
second gun into his ear, and blew his brains
out. Of course the victor, after receiving
everybody's loud and hearty congratulations,
was carried in triumph to his douar.

This tragic episode suggests to M. Chassaing
the following observations:

If, at their unexpected meeting, the first
Arab had not made threatening gestures with
his hatchet; if, in short, he had remained
motionless, the lion, he believes, would have
taken to flight. In any case, he ventures to
afiirm that if the man had quietly stepped aside
from the path, the lion would not have followed
him. The conclusion from which is, that if ever
you happen to be in similar circumstances, you
will find, either that the lion will take himself
off, or that he will peaceably permit you to allow
him to pass.

Whenever the Arabs undertake an enterprise
against the great carnivores, it is very rare that
somebody does not get killed, and several
individuals maimed or badly wounded. The
military authorities, therefore, do all in their power
to discourage such dangerous battues. For
people so poor in strategy as the Arabs, and,
above all, so badly armed, it is a desperate game
and a misapplication of courage to attempt, by