HMS Leopard

“ The Melampus was not sent because she was too near the Chesapeake's armament, and resistance might be successfully made to any attempt at high-handed interference. Nor did he take the trouble to despatch one of his seventy-fours, which might have brought the Chesapeake under her guns, and compelled her to submit by the law that "might makes right"; but the Leopard was sent because she was just large enough to insure success, and yet to humble the American from the mere fact that he must inevitably yield to a vessel to which he should by rights make some resistance. ”

“ Another story, bearing the marks of greater antiquity, represents the animals as living together in peace and harmony, until the Leopard develops a taste for fresh meat, [11] and begins to prey upon the other animals. They hold a council, and finally decide to take the only boat in existence, and to remove to an island of the sea, leaving Mr. Leopard alone on the mainland. Every day some one is left to guard the boat, while the others are away procuring food. Once, while the Deer is left on guard, Leopard comes to the shore, and in a disguised voice calls for the boat to be brought across. ”

“ H.M.S. Leopard, at Sea, 22d June, 1807. “Sir,– In obedience to your signal this morning, to weigh and reconnoitre S.E. by E. I have the honor to acquaint you, that having arrived off Cape Henry, to the distance of about four or five leagues, I bore up, pursuant to orders from the commander-in-chief, to search for deserters on board the United States’ frigate Chesapeake. ”

“ One day, Leopard said to the others, “I have here a word to say.” They replied, “Tell it.” “We must go to kill Beasts (not of our company) for our food, at a place which I will show you a number of miles away.” And they made their arrangements.
After two days, he said, “Now, for the journey!” So they finished their preparations. And Leopard said to his nephew, “You stay in the town. I and the others will go to our work.”
They began their journey, and had gone only a part of the way, when Leopard exclaimed, “I forgot my spear! Wait for me while I go back to the town.” ”

“ After giving this order Commodore Barron went on deck to examine the Leopard; he then discovered the state of preparation on board the English ship, and that the latter was in a condition to fight at any moment. The Leopard was lying on the Chesapeake's weather quarter, her guns trained, matches burning, people at their quarters, and everything ready to begin a heavy fire; while the Chesapeake was littered and lumbered, her crew had not yet exercised their guns, and they'd only been mustered at quarters three times altogether. ”

“ The Leopard sent two shots athwart her bows. These were followed by a broadside poured into the hull of the Chesapeake. The American vessel, having no priming in her guns, was unable to return the fire, and after being severely bruised by repeated broadsides she surrendered to her assailants. Her crew was mustered by the British officers and the deserters carried away. One of them, a British subject, was hanged at Halifax and the others, being Americans, were spared on their consenting to enlist in the English Navy. ”

“ In 1807 a British squadron lay in a bay on the coast of Virginia. The American frigate Chesapeake put to sea from Hampton Roads, when the Leopard, one of the English ships, stopped her, and demanded the delivery of three or four alleged deserters on board of her. When the demand was refused, the Leopard sent no less than twenty round-shot through the surprised and unprepared Chesapeake, and British officers boarded her, and carried away the men. This outrage excited a hot war spirit among the Americans. The government ordered all armed British vessels to leave American waters immediately. ”

“ They proved the theft on Leopard himself, pointing out, "Here is the very meat in the house of one of your own family. We are sure that you yourself made the conspiracy with your nephew for him to do the stealing for you." And they all denounced him, "You are a thief and a liar! You shall not join with us any more in the same town."
Leopard went away in wrath saying, "Do you prove it on me? Well then! all you beasts, whenever and wherever I shall meet you, it will be only to eat you!"
So, leopards are always enemies to all other animals, and they kill them whenever they are able. ”

“ The story had circulated around on the ship, but had been pretty well forgotten when we sailed for the Mediterranean.
"When we went out to sea we encountered a British fleet of four ships that had been lying around there for several months, watching some French frigates which had taken shelter near Annapolis. One of them was the Melampus, from which the three seamen already mentioned had deserted; another was the Bellona, seventy-four guns; and another was the Leopard, fifty guns. The Leopard really carried fifty-six guns, which made her a much more powerful craft than the Chesapeake. ”

“ The instinct which teaches the Leopard to choose such localities is truly wonderful, and may be compared with that of the tiger, which cares little for underwood, but haunts the grass jungles, where the long, narrow blades harmonize with the stripes which decorate its body.
WAITING.
The skin of the Leopard has always been highly valued on account of its beauty, and in Africa, at the present day, a robe made of its spotted skin is as much an adjunct of royalty as is the ermine the emblem of judicial dignity in England. ”

“ Why it was that the Leopard was selected for the work which was to follow, is easy to surmise. Vice-Admiral Berkeley had determined, at all hazards, to search the American vessel to ascertain if she had in her complement those "British seamen" who had deserted from the fleet. Barron's refusal to allow a search made of his vessel while she was in port had been backed up by the United States Government. This had exceedingly exasperated the English commander, and he determined to wait until the Chesapeake was at sea before putting his cherished project into practice. ”

“ It has already been mentioned that the Leopard is smaller than the Tiger; indeed he seldom exceeds from three to four feet from the tip of the nose to the root of the tail, which latter is somewhat shorter than the body. Perhaps the largest authentic measurement is that of an animal, spoken of under the designation of Panther, but in all probability truly a Leopard, which was killed by Colonel Denham’s party in the course of that zealous and successful traveller’s late expedition, and which is stated at eight feet two inches from the muzzle to the extremity of the tail. ”

“ Finally, Leopard became tired of his losses; and, one day, without letting anyone know what he intended doing, he said, “I will take a little walk.” Rat says, “You go alone? May I accompany you?” Leopard said, “No! I go alone; I won’t be long away; and I do not go far.”
So Leopard went to the wizard Ra-Marânge, whom as soon as he saw him, exclaimed, “What are you come for? Are you in trouble?” Leopard told him the matter of the losses of the meat. Then Ra-Marânge jumped into his fire, and emerged powerful and wise. ”

“ In size the Leopard is decidedly inferior to either the Lion or Tiger; being not more than some seven feet six inches from snout to tip of tail, and two feet seven inches high at the shoulder. The tail itself is about three feet eight inches long. The female is somewhat smaller than the male, to which the above measurements apply. The whiskers are strong and white, and the eyes yellow.
The head-quarters of the Leopard are the African continent, where its range is almost co-extensive with the Lion’s, as it occurs from Algeria in the north to Cape Colony in the south. ”

“ Our stolen homestead being of native make, I had a great loop-hole made for me in the inner circle and remained inside our main camp, You have to do this miserable form of sport to bag leopards, because they are too cunning as a rule to appear in the day-time, and rarely walk about in the open way lions will. There is nothing magnificent about the character of a leopard. He is a mere cunning thief.
A rush, and the leopard was on his prey, his side towards me, his tail slowly lashing from left to right with pleasure as he drank the warm blood. ”

“ An ordinarily marked Leopard would be too conspicuous, and would die of starvation. The fittest—the black—survive, as they are not so easily seen. A black Pantheress who mated with an ordinary Leopard had two or three litters which showed no signs of being melanoid. In Africa the ordinary Leopard, as distinguished from the Panther, is most plentiful, and great numbers are killed every year by the natives with poisoned arrows. Numbers are caught in traps, and Colonel Montagu, of the Commissariat, caught twelve Leopards and one small Tiger in a trap in his compound at Shillong. ”

“ It is far more difficult to circumvent a leopard than a tiger; the latter seldom or never looks upwards to the trees, therefore it does not perceive the hidden danger when the hunter is watching from his elevated post; but the leopard approaches its kill in the most wary and cautious manner, crouching occasionally, and examining every yard of the ground before it, at the same time scanning the overhanging boughs, which it so frequently seeks as a place of refuge. ”

“ I have been told by English sportsmen (some of whom share in the popular belief) , that sometimes, when they have proposed to watch by the carcase of a Bullock recently killed by a Leopard, in the hope of shooting the spoiler on his return in search of his prey, the native owner of the slaughtered animal, though earnestly desiring to be avenged, has assured them that it would be in vain, as, the beast having fallen on its right side, the Leopard would not return. ”

“ A burst of white smoke, with a vivid red dash of flame from the centre, broke from the forward gun on the Leopard's main deck. There was a crash just abaft the break of the forecastle. A great splinter fully six feet long whirled across the deck. The shock was felt throughout the ship. A man who had been painting the bulwarks fell to his knees, arose, and fell again. ”

“ Leopard said to him, "I have come to tell you that, every day, while we are away, you must come early to where we are killing the animals; and secretly you must take away the meat and bring it here to my house." The nephew heard and promised.
Leopard returned to the others who were awaiting him on the road, and told them to come on. They went, and they arrived at the spot which he had chosen. There they hastily built a small house for their camp. The next day they said, "Now, let us go and make our snares for the animals." They began making snares; and set their traps early in the afternoon. ”

“ In the island of Java a black variety of the Leopard is not uncommon, and such are occasionally seen in our menageries; they are deeper than the general tint, and the spots show in certain lights only. Nothing can exceed the grace and agility of the leopards; they bound with astonishing ease, climb trees, and swim, and the flexibility of the body enables them to creep along the ground with the cautious silence of a snake on their unsuspecting prey. ”

“ It must have been, in some degree, weakened by its wounds; but its strength was yet great, for the man seemed to have no power of resistance to its attack. The leopard, having a hold of the sepoy in its mouth, darted off in the direction of a jungle close at hand, the other soldiers following up as fast as they could, but not daring to fire, lest they should injure their luckless comrade Sometimes they lost sight of the leopard and its bleeding burden; but the blood marks on the grass or on the sand enabled them to regain the trail, and to carry on the pursuit. ”

“ It is scarcely necessary to mention that the Leopard is a beast of prey belonging to the cat tribe, that its colour is tawny, variegated with rich black spots, and that it is a fierce and voracious animal, almost equally dreaded by man and beast. It inhabits many parts of Africa and Asia, and in those portions of the country which are untenanted by mankind, it derives all its sustenance from the herb-eating animals of the same tracts. ”

“ It was the one with the pit-fall inside [87] the door-way. Leopard, of course, jumped over it; but Wild Goat fell into it. And, as in the case of Rat, Leopard called out, “People of the town! This is your dowry-goods! I have brought it to you!” The next morning, Leopard took his journey, and came back home. When the people of his town asked him, as in the case of Rat, “Where is the friend you took with you?” he made the same reply, “Don’t ask me! He is entangled off there with women.” ”

“ All such creatures are untrustworthy, and they should be avoided as domestic pets. The only class of leopard that should become the companion of man is the most interesting of the species: this is the hunting leopard (Felis jubata) . I have never met a person who has shot one of this species in a wild state, and such an animal is rarely met with in the jungle. Most people are under the impression that the hunting leopard with non-retractile claws is incapable of climbing a tree ”

“ The leopard shuns any conflict with man, but when driven to desperation it becomes a formidable antagonist. I recollect very well two boors having attacked a leopard, and the animal, being hotly pressed by them and wounded, turned round and sprang upon the one nearest, pulling him to the ground, biting his shoulder, and tearing him with his claws. ”

“ When hunted, as he usually is with dogs, he instinctively betakes himself to a tree, when he falls an easy prey to the shot of the huntsman. The leopard, however, though far inferior in strength and intrepidity to the lion, is yet an exceedingly active and furious animal; and when driven to extremity, proves himself occasionally an antagonist not to be trifled with. The colonists relate many instances of arduous and even fatal encounters with the hunted leopard. ”