3t2 THE TORREAS OF MYSORE. 



him; and the last time I visited this locality the jungle had been almost 

 destroyed by woodcutters, and it will probably never again harbour a 

 panther. Such changes may be very satisfactory from a utilitarian point 

 of view, but the sportsman cannot look upon the transformation of spots 

 where he once followed his favourite pursuits without a feeling of regret. 

 The supplanting of natural and animal attractions by corn-fields and cattle- 

 pens robs localities of all their romance. 



The men who had assisted me in hunting these panthers were of the 

 Torrca caste, the professional hunters of Mysore. The gradual decrease of 

 game attendant upon the spread — or it may be more correct to say 

 resumption — of cultivation in tracts that were laid waste in the time of 

 Hyder and Tippoo, has of late years debarred the Torreas in great mea- 

 sure from following their former pursuits. Pig and deer have decreased 

 or disappeared in many places where they were formerly numerous, and 

 nothing larger than hares or pea-fowl now remain to the Torreas. These 

 remarks apply to the outlying coverts in the province only, as the great 

 belt of forest that almost encompasses Mysore is probably, owing to forest 

 regulations and other causes, now as full of game as it ever was. Much of 

 the old spirit and traditions survives among the Torreas, even among those 

 almost cut off from opportunities of the chase ; and in such hunts as the 

 one with the panther, they are proud of being called upon to show that 

 their craft is not entirely lost. I always took pleasure in encouraging 

 this feeling among those of the tribe with whom I became acquainted. 



The praise I had bestowed upon the villagers of Eamanhully was 

 wafted to a community of Torreas at Chuttra, a village three miles on the 

 other side of my camp near Eamanhully : and one morning four nails, or 

 tribal chiefs, came to say that a large male panther was in the habit of 

 staying in some covers near their village during the hot-weather months 

 each year ; that he was there then, and might be easily made to " eat the 

 bullets " of so redoubtable a sportsman as myself ! 



I determined to survey the surrounding country well, and take my 

 measures with deliberation, before commencing upon this panther; so I 

 appointed an early hour next morning to meet my new friends at their 

 village. I found them awaiting me, and we made a tour of examination 

 through the neighbourhood. It was a much less feasible place for hunting a 

 panther than the scene of our late hunt, Several square miles were covered 

 with low jungle, witli heavier patches here and there in numerous small 

 ravines ; these drained into one main ravine, capable of carrying off their 

 accumulated discharge in the rainy season. At one point of this main 

 ravine there was a dense cover of some ten acres in extent, composed of 



