THE KATHIAWAR LION. 13 



makiniT such a ilownrioht assertion applicable to the whole of India. 

 He evidently had no experience of the Kathiawar lion, for there is 

 sufficient evidence, I consider, satisfactorily to prove that black 

 nianed lions have been known to occur in that Province. 



The evidence I refer to is as follows : — 



(1). Many of the Q'w pagis including one old and very celeorated 

 one of the name of Hebat, who, I fancy, is now dead, have over and 

 over ao-ain told me that black maned lions did occasionally occur in the 

 Gir and had actually been seen either by themselves or their fathers 

 before them. These men were not called upon to settle the question 

 of manes — they only knew the lion of their own country, lions with 

 black manes had been known to exist, and therefore they stated as 

 much. By the side of further evidence I had no reason to doubt 

 their word, although I had not myself come across a lion with a 

 wholly black mane. 



(2). The late Colonels Watson and Scott, both of whom were very 

 well acquainted with the Gir and its lions — the former especially 

 so — have on more than one occasion mentioned in my presence the 

 rare occurrence of lions with black manes in the Gir. The former 

 was a very observant officer and a great shikari, and one who would 

 not have made such a statement had the slightest doubt existed in his 

 mind on the point. 



(3). In an old Agency document which came before me in a case 

 in which the Junagadh Darbar and an old Kathi Chief, one Harsur 

 Khachar (formerly of Chelna in the Gir) were the interested parties, 

 (I am stating these particulars in order to locate the evidence should 

 any one hereafter care to see it), it is incidentally stated to the effect 

 that " Colonel Le Grand Jacob, while on his way to the Gir to shoot 

 a black maned lion, had been obliged to give up the expedition and 

 return to lia]kot to transact some important business which had to be 

 seen to without delay." 



This piece of evidence is in itself sufficient, I consider, to remove 

 all doubts upon the point. 



(4). I saw the lion mentioned before which was shot by the late 

 Lieut. Percy Hancock. It was a fine beast with a good mane. / 

 noticed several black locks in the latter. Of course, a few black hairs d(t 

 not make a black mane, but the black locks were unusual, and had the 

 lion lived, the whole mane might in course of time have turned black. 



