[Mrs. Bowdich is the widow of Mr. Thomas Edward Bowdich,
who fell a victim to his enterprize in exploring the
interior of Africa, in 1824. Mr. B. was a profound classic
and linguist and member of several learned societies in
England and abroad. In 1819 he published, in a quarto
volume, his "Mission to Ashantee," a work of the highest
importance and interest. Mrs. B., whose pencil has
furnished embellishments for her husband's literary
productions, has published "Excursions to Madeira, &c.,"
and this amiable and accomplished lady has now in course
of publication, a work on the Fresh-water Fishes of Great
Britain.--The subsequent anecdotes are of equal interest
to the student of natural history and the general reader,
especially as they exhibit the habits and disposition of
the Panther in a new light. The Ounce, a variety of the
Panther is, however, easily tamed and trained to the chase
of deer, the gazelle, &c.--for which purpose it has long
been employed in the East, and also during the middle ages
in Italy and France.--Mr. Kean, the tragedian, a few years
since, had a tame _Puma_, or American Lion, which he
kept at his house in Clarges-street, Piccadilly, and
frequently introduced to large parties of company.--ED.]
I am induced to send you some account of a panther which was in my
possession for several months. He and another were found when very
young in the forest, apparently deserted by their mother. They were
taken to the king of Ashantee, in whose palace they lived several
weeks, when my hero, being much larger than his companion, suffocated
him in a fit of romping, and was then sent to Mr. Hutchison, the
resident left by Mr. Bowdich at Coomassie. This gentleman, observing
that the animal was very docile, took pains to tame him, and in a great
measure succeeded. When he was about a year old, Mr. Hutchison returned
to Cape Coast, and had him led through the country by a chain,
occasionally letting {37} him loose when eating was going forward, when
he would sit by his master's side, and receive his share with
comparative gentleness. Once or twice he purloined a fowl, but easily
gave it up to Mr. Hutchison, on being allowed a portion of something
else. The day of his arrival he was placed in a small court, leading to
the private rooms of the governor, and after dinner was led by a thin
cord into the room, where he received our salutations with some degree
of roughness, but with perfect good-humour. On the least encouragement
he laid his paws upon our shoulders, rubbed his head upon us, and his
teeth and claws having been filed, there was no danger of tearing our
clothes. He was kept in the above court for a week or two, and evinced
no ferocity, except when one of the servants tried to pull his food
from him; he then caught the offender by the leg, and tore out a piece
of flesh, but he never seemed to owe him any ill-will afterwards. He
one morning broke his cord, and, the cry being given, the castle gates
were shut, and a chase commenced. After leading his pursuers two or
three times round the ramparts, and knocking over a few children by
bouncing against them, he suffered himself to be caught, and led
quietly back to his quarters, under one of the guns of the fortress.
By degrees the fear of him subsided, and orders having been given to
the sentinels to prevent his escape through the gates, he was left at
liberty to go where he pleased, and a boy was appointed to prevent him
from intruding into the apartments of the officers. His keeper,
however, generally passed his watch in sleeping; and Saï, as the
panther was called, after the royal giver, roamed at large. On one
occasion he found his servant sitting on the step of the door, upright,
but fast asleep, when he lifted his paw, gave him a blow on the side of
his head which laid him flat, and then stood wagging his tail, as if
enjoying the mischief he had committed. He became exceedingly attached
to the governor, and followed him every-where like a dog. His favourite
station was at a window of the sitting-room, which overlooked the whole
town; there, standing on his hind legs, his fore paws resting on the
ledge of the window, and his chin laid between them, he appeared to
amuse himself with what was passing beneath. The children also stood
with him at the window; and one day, finding his presence an
encumbrance, and that they could not get their chairs close, they used
their united efforts to pull him down by the tail. He one morning
missed the governor, who was settling a dispute in the hall, and who,
being surrounded by black people, was hidden from the view of his
favourite. Saï wandered with a dejected look to various parts of the
fortress in search of him; and, while absent on this errand, the
audience ceased, the governor returned to his private rooms, and seated
himself at a table to write. Presently he heard a heavy step coming up
the stairs, and, raising his eyes to the open door, he beheld Saï. At
that moment he gave himself up for lost, for Saï immediately sprang
from the door on to his neck. Instead, however, of devouring him, he
laid his head close to the governor's, rubbed his cheek upon his
shoulder, wagged his tail, and tried to evince his happiness.
Occasionally, however, the panther caused a little alarm to the other
inmates of the castle, and the poor woman who swept the floors, or, to
speak technically, the _pra-pra_ woman, was made ill by her fright. She
was one day sweeping the boards of the great hall with a short broom,
and in an attitude nearly approaching to all-fours, and Saï, who was
hidden under one of the sofas, suddenly leaped upon her back, where he
stood in triumph. She screamed so violently as to summon the other
servants, but they, seeing the panther, as they thought, in the act of
swallowing her, one and all scampered off as quickly as possible; nor
was she released till the governor, who heard the noise, came to her
assistance. Strangers were naturally uncomfortable when they saw so
powerful a beast at perfect liberty, and many were the ridiculous
scenes which took place, they not liking to own their alarm, yet
perfectly unable to retain their composure in his presence.
This interesting animal was well fed twice every day, but never given
any thing with life in it. He stood about two feet high, and was of a
dark yellow colour, thickly spotted with black rosettes, and from the
good feeding and the care taken to clean him, his skin shone like silk.
The expression of his countenance was very animated and good-tempered,
and he was particularly gentle to children; he would lie down on the
mats by their side when they slept, and even the infant shared his
caresses, and remained unhurt. During the period of his residence at
Cape Coast, I was much occupied by making arrangements for my departure
from Africa, but generally visited my future companion every day, and
we, in consequence, became great friends before we sailed. He was
conveyed on board the vessel in a large, wooden cage, thickly barred in
the front with iron. {38} Even this confinement was not deemed a
sufficient protection by the canoe men,[1] who were so alarmed at
taking him from the shore to the vessel, that, in their confusion, they
dropped cage and all into the sea. For a few minutes I gave up my poor
panther as lost, but some sailors jumped into a boat belonging to the
vessel, and dragged him out in safety. The beast himself seemed
completely subdued by his ducking, and as no one dared to open his cage
to dry it, he rolled himself up in one corner, nor roused himself till
after an interval of some days, when he recognised my voice. When I
first spoke, he raised his head, held it on one side, then on the
other, to listen; and when I came fully into his view, he jumped on his
legs, and appeared frantic; he rolled himself over and over, he howled,
he opened his enormous jaws and cried, and seemed as if he would have
torn his cage to pieces. However, as his violence subsided, he
contented himself with thrusting his paws and nose through the bars of
the cage, to receive my caresses.
The greatest treat I could bestow upon my favourite was lavender water.
Mr. Hutchison had told me that, on the way from Ashantee, he drew a
scented handkerchief from his pocket, which was immediately seized on
by the panther, who reduced it to atoms; nor could he venture to open a
bottle of perfume when the animal was near, he was so eager to enjoy
it. I indulged him twice a week by making a cup of stiff paper, pouring
a little lavender water into it, and giving it to him through the bars
of his cage: he would drag it to him with great eagerness, roll himself
over it, nor rest till the smell had evaporated. By this I taught him
to put out his paws without showing his nails, always refusing the
lavender water till he had drawn them back again; and in a short time
he never, on any occasion, protruded his claws when offering me his
paw.
We lay eight weeks in the river Gaboon, where he had plenty of
excellent food, but was never suffered to leave his cage, on account of
the deck being always filled with black strangers, to whom he had a
very decided aversion, although he was perfectly reconciled to white
people. His indignation, however, was constantly excited by the pigs,
when they were suffered to run past his cage; and the sight of one of
the monkeys put him in a complete fury. While at anchor in the
before-mentioned river, an orang-outang (Símia Sátyrus) was brought for
sale, and lived three days on board; and I shall never forget the
uncontrollable rage of the one, or the agony of the other, at this
meeting. The orang was about three feet high, and very powerful in
proportion to his size; so that when he fled with extraordinary
rapidity from the panther to the further end of the deck, neither men
nor things remained upright when they opposed his progress: there he
took refuge in a sail, and although generally obedient to the voice of
his master, force was necessary to make him quit the shelter of its
folds. As to the panther, his back rose in an arch, his tail was
elevated and perfectly stiff, his eyes flashed, and, as he howled, he
showed his huge teeth; then, as if forgetting the bars before him, he
tried to spring on the orang, to tear him to atoms. It was long before
he recovered his tranquillity; day and night he appeared to be on the
listen; and the approach of a large monkey we had on board, or the
intrusion of a black man, brought a return of his agitation.
We at length sailed for England, with an ample supply of provisions;
but, unhappily, we were boarded by pirates during the voyage, and
nearly reduced to starvation. My panther must have perished had it not
been for a collection of more than three hundred parrots, with which we
sailed from the river, and which died very fast while we were in the
northwest trades. Saï's allowance was one per diem, but this was so
scanty a pittance that he became ravenous, and had not patience to pick
all the feathers off before he commenced his meal. The consequence was,
that he became very ill, and refused even this small quantity of food.
Those around tried to persuade me that he suffered from the colder
climate; but his dry nose and paw convinced me that he was feverish,
and I had him taken out of his cage; when, instead of jumping about and
enjoying his liberty, he lay down, and rested his head upon my feet. I
then made him three pills, each containing two grains of calomel. The
boy who had the charge of him, and who was much attached to him, held
his jaws open, and I pushed the medicine down his throat. Early the
next morning I went to visit my patient, and found his guard sleeping
in the cage with him; and having administered a further dose to the
invalid, I had the satisfaction of seeing him perfectly cured by the
evening. On the arrival of the vessel in the London Docks, Saï was
taken ashore, and presented to the Duchess of York, who placed him in
Exeter Change, to be taken care of, till she herself went to Oatlands.
He {39} remained there for some weeks, and was suffered to roam about
the greater part of the day without any restraint. On the morning
previous to the Duchess's departure from town, she went to visit her
new pet, played with him, and admired his healthy appearance and gentle
deportment. In the evening, when her Royal Highness' coachman went to
take him away, he was dead, in consequence of an inflammation on his
lungs--_Loudon's Magazine of Natural History._
[1: The panther in these countries is a sacred, or Fetish,
animal; and not only a heavy fine is extorted from those
who kill one, but the Fetish is supposed to revenge his
death by cursing the offender.]
* * * * *
Manners & Customs of all Nations.