Satisfied with glutting its vengeance, the panther turned from the bear and came directly to the water’s edge to drink, and allay the parching thirst created by so great excitement, after which it looked down and then up the stream, as though it sought a place to cross, that it might avoid the water; and then, as if satisfied with revenge, and enjoying its victory, stood twisting and curling its tail, like a cat, and then commenced licking itself dry. The animal was now within thirty-five yards of me, and seeing no prospect of its recrossing the stream, I took rest for my rifle on a projecting limb of the tree on which I still sat, and fired directly at the panther’s heart. The moment I discharged my rifle the monster made a spring about six feet perpendicular, with a tremendous growl, which reverberated among the rocks, and fell in the same spot whence it sprang, with its legs extended, and lay in this situation, half crouched, rocking from side to side, as if in the dizziness of approaching death. I saw plainly that my fire was fatal, but I had too much experience to approach this enemy, until I could no longer discover signs of life. I therefore reloaded my rifle, and with a second shot I pierced immediately behind the ear. Its head then dropped between its paws, and all was quiet. On examining the panther, no marks of violence appeared, except where my rifle balls had passed completely through, within a foot of each other; but on turning the animal on its back, I discovered it to be a female, and a mother, and by the enlargement of her teats, had evidently been suckling her young. From this circumstance, I supposed the bear had made inroads on her lair, and probably had destroyed her kittens. I was the more convinced of this from the fact that I never knew from my own experience, nor could I learn from the oldest hunters of my acquaintance, an instance wherein a bear and a panther engaged in combat;--and again, no circumstance but the above would be sufficient to awaken that vindictive perseverance in the passions of a panther, which would lead to the annihilation of so formidable an animal as a bear.--_Cabinet of Natural History, and American Field Sports._ [Illustration: Cotton plant] The Cotton Plant. This plant grows spontaneously in the hot or tropical portions of the globe. It derives its name from the Arabian word _Kotôn_; and is one of the four great materials designed by Providence for human clothing--flax, wool and silk being the other three. It is remarkable that neither of these useful articles was the natural product of Europe. All were indigenous to Asia. Cotton and flax were also natives of Africa and America.