From A Princess of Chalco by Alfred Henry Wall, 1892.

From the Forester yearbook of Lake Forest University, 1917.  See How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.

Surely the word like in this caption alerts a figure of speech, but we do respect an adventurer who recoils from exaggeration.  The illustration is from The Wide World Magazine, 1899.

Ending a scene "with a jolt—the ubiquitous cat jump (a feline leaps out of the darkness with a screech). This is the oldest trick in the book." —John Kenneth Muir, Horror Films of The 1980s (2007)

The illustration is from Appleton's magazine, 1907.  The caption reads: "With a savage whining scream The Death hurtled through the air." 

An illustration from a 1902 issue of Cosmopolitan magazine.  The caption reads: "The great cat hurled itself at the white throat of the woman I loved."

Dedicated to Teresa Burritt.