50 PANTHERS. 



(blanket), we took him to camp and put him in a rough 

 cage, which was carried about with us from place to place, 

 but he was too old to tame, and gradually pined away and 

 died. A brother officer had a tame one which he had 

 caught when very young, and which was kept chained to a 

 box in a corner of his compound. It was very fond of being 

 caressed, and was apparently of a gentle and amiable disposi- 

 tion, till one day in Burmah, an old woman who was gathering 

 sticks came within range, when the brute sprang upon her 

 and knocked her down, biting her badly. She was rescued 

 by a syce, but subsequently died of her wounds and the 

 effects of the shock. Panthers can never be trusted, they 

 have the reputation of being more treacherous than tigers. 

 This one, after various escapades, was brought home and 

 presented to the Zoological Gardens, Kegent's Park. All 

 experienced sportsmen who have written about shikar, 

 declare that the panther is a more dangerous animal than 

 the tiger, being pluckier and more crafty, while in agility 

 they are far superior to the striped cat. Native shikaries, 

 too, share this belief, but on the other hand very few men 

 escape with their lives from the clutches of a tiger, whereas 

 it is rather exceptional to hear of a fatal accident when a 

 panther is the aggressor except when pyaemia ensues. 



In all cultivated parts of Southern India the villagers 

 construct mechauns called munchals in Mysore in the 

 grain fields, which are platforms fixed on poles, and often 

 more than twenty feet above the ground. From these the 

 watchers scare away any game which may come to eat the 

 grain at night, or, rather, they try to do so, by blowing 

 horns, firing blank cartridge, and shouting, but in a short 

 time the game from elephant down to antelope get 

 accustomed to this reception, and decline to be ousted 

 until stronger measures are adopted. In some districts, 



