Page:Hunting and trapping stories; a book for boys (IA huntingtrappings00pric).pdf/69

 A gentleman living near Agra in India was very proud of a Great Dane dog that he owned. This dog was a great pet with the soldiers in the camp, and it is doubful if there was a finer specimen in all India. Now you must know that dogs of this breed are very large and strong and when attacked usually beat their enemies off easily.



One evening the gentleman while out walking on the edge of a small lake near a jungle heard his dog growling fiercely. He went in the direction of the sound to see what was the matter and found that his dog had flushed an enormous leopard. Neither had made any attack, but the instant the leopard saw a man approaching it made up its mind and sprang so quickly that the dog was taken by surprise. The leopard seized the dog by the throat and by dint of claws and teeth bore it the ground. Before the man could interfere the leopard had regained its feet without loosening its hold on the dog's throat and literally dragged it off into the jungle. The dog struggled manfully to get away but in spite of its size it was no match for the great cat and it was never seen alive again.

The leopard probably weighed less than the dog and if so this incident does credit to its enormous strength. Of course the leopard had an advantage in being quicker in movement and also armed with sharp teeth and powerful claws. In one sense the chances of the pair were about even for neither can be said to have taken the other altogether by surprise.