io DAYS AND NIGHTS OF SHIKAR 



and poured water from my drinking bottle over my 

 head and down my back ; but it was grilling all the 

 same. 



The Bhils started off from different points towards 

 the cave, creeping through cactus and prickly pear 

 scrub where they could. The panther was lying 

 outside the cave and, from my point of vantage on 

 the opposite side of a wide deep ravine, I saw him 

 for the first time, creeping along, but only for a second, 

 and then he disappeared under bushes making for 

 his cave. A Bhil woman went up a tangled narrow 

 path, the only one that led to the mouth of the cave. 

 She took with her a bundle of dry grass which she 

 placed inside the mouth of the cave and then set 

 fire to it in order to smoke the panther out. I did 

 not at first realize what she was doing, but when I 

 understood, I shouted to her to come back from her 

 dangerous position; she would not stir, however, 

 until she had got the grass well alight. She was 

 enveloped in smoke which blew the wrong way, 

 towards us, so did not do much good, but not till 

 then did she come away. 



The panther may have had another outlet, or 

 he may not have liked the smoke, for next morning 

 the Bhils discovered, by some tracks, that he had 

 gone off to another nullah in the bare hill where 

 there was no place for him to hide. They said that 

 this time we should surely get him. I was posted 

 on a small stone a foot or two high (for safety !) 

 on the side of the hill. The Bhil family climbed 

 to the top, and then beat the nullah down towards 

 me. The panther was at home. He tried to climb 



