THE SETTIT RIVER 181 



behind were not conducive to sport. I went to 

 the machan after dinner. 



March 1th. Passed a decidedly interesting night 

 in the machan. Nothing showed until 11 p.m. ; but 

 soon after, when the moon had set and I was dozing, 

 some animal made a rush at the goat, which screamed 

 loudly. I cocked and aligned my rifle, and turned 

 on the light ; but by this time the goat was dead, and 

 I could see some animal, not big enough for a lion, 

 tugging at it. I fired, and there was a scuffle, after 

 which the animal went off rather slowly to the right, 

 with a couple of loud snorts, which suggested a hysena. 

 I heard it moving for some time, and could make 

 out that at least two beasts were on the move, one 

 of them galloping about in a very excited fashion. 

 I heard these sounds for fully half an hour, and then 

 some beast came up cautiously, and began to eat the 

 goat. I again aligned, turned on the light, and fired, 

 when the beast went off with a growl at a gallop. 

 After this there was silence for an hour or more, 

 and then some beast moved up cautiously from the 

 right and began to eat the goat. I aligned, turned 

 on the light, and fired for the third time, when the 

 animal dropped to the shot and never moved again. 

 The light was insufficient to permit the determination 

 of what I had shot, and as nothing else was on the 

 move I went to sleep, and did not awake till dawn, 

 when I made out a striped hysena lying dead beyond 



