PANTHERS. 47 



panthers had been seen in a nullah about two koss (four 

 miles) off, and that we could beat it without disturbing any 

 of the jungles where our buffaloes were tied up for tigers ; 

 we accordingly sent for beaters, and rode out to the spot 

 a large and shady nullah, from which smaller ravines 

 branched off towards the watersheds on each side. We 

 drew lots for places as usual, and Poulton got the centre 

 post, over the large nullah ; Manley about eighty yards to 

 his left, and I on some high ground on the right. About 

 one hundred yards to my front a ravine ran down the slope 

 to the big nullah, and two panthers soon emerged from it, 

 one of which turned down the hill towards Poulton, the 

 other coming straight towards me for a short distance, then 

 turned down the hill also, but stopped for a moment when 

 about eighty yards to my left-front. Seeing it was my only 

 chance, I fired, and he rolled over quite dead, the bullet, a 

 spherical one, passing through his heart. He was only a 

 leopard, and it was a lucky shot, considering the size of the 

 mark and its distance ; the other one managed to sneak 

 past Poulton without being seen, but was marked into the 

 lower end of the nullah, so we sent the beaters round to 

 bring it back towards us. In this beat I was posted over 

 the nullah, and Poulton at the edge of a ravine about 

 eighty yards to my right-front. A very large panther 

 soon appeared above Poulton, trotting down the slope 

 towards me ; he suddenly stopped to listen to the beaters, 

 and was polished off by him with two shots. He was a 

 splendid specimen of the panther proper, nearly as IMLT ;i s ;i 

 tigress, with a bull-doggy head, massive shoulders, and 

 beautifully spotted skin. About the same time a third 

 panther broke away far to our right, and entered a loiiu 

 strip of tree jungle on some rocky rising ground, half a 

 mile off. We accordingly sent the beaters to the farther 



