ke the butt of his rifle. He was
safe, however, from immediate danger; at least, he thought so, and
resolved he would remain where he was till his pursuers should abandon
their search. On examining the place which had afforded him so
opportune a refuge, he perceived it was a spacious natural cave, having
no other entrance than the hole or aperture through which he had fallen.
He thanked Providence for this fortunate discovery, as, for the future,
he would have a safe place to conceal his skins and provisions while
trapping; but as he was prosecuting his search, he perceived with dismay
that the cave was already inhabited.

In a corner he perceived two jaguars, which followed his movements with
glaring eyes. A single glance satisfied him they were cubs; but a
maddening thought shot across his brain: the mother was out, probably
not far; she might return in a moment, and he had no arms, except his
knife and the barrel of his broken rifle. While musing upon his
perilous situation, he heard a roar, which summoned all his energy; he
rolled a loose mass of rock to the entrance; made it as firm as he
could, by backing it with other stones; tied his knife to the end of his
rifle barrel, and calmly waited for the issue. A minute passed, when a
tremendous jaguar dashed against the rock, and Boone needed all his
giant's strength to prevent it from giving way.

Perceiving that main force could not dear the passage, the animal began
scratching and digging at the entrance, and its hideous roars were soon
responded to by the cubs, which threw themselves upon Boone. He kicked
them away, but not without receiving several ugly scratches, and,
thrusting the blade of his knife through the opening between the large
stone and the solid rock, he broke it in the shoulder of the female
jaguar, which, with a yell, started away. This respite was fortunate,
as by this time Boone's strength was exhausted; he profited by the
suspension of hostility, so as to increase the impediments, in case of a
new attack; and reflecting that the mewings of the cubs attracted and
enraged the mother, he knocked their brains out with the barrel of his
rifle. During two hours, he was left to repose himself after his
exertions, and he was beginning to think the animal had been scared
away, when another terrible bound against the massive stone forced it a
few inches into the cave. For an hour he struggled, till the jaguar,
itself tired, and not hearing the me