60 PANTHERS. 



deciding to continue our researches on the pad elephant, it 

 was brought up and we mounted, having settled that the 

 Colonel was to be responsible for anything that appeared 

 on the port side, while I looked after the starboard. We 

 had not gone forty yards when I saw something white 

 move under a tree close to me ; it was the panther's belly, 

 and I immediately fired ; he rolled over growling and 

 biting the ground, and expired in a few seconds. The 

 Express bullet made a wound as large as the palm of my 

 hand ; it looked as though a shell had burst on the skin, 

 the reason being that the brute was end on when I fired. 

 We waited a short time before approaching the body, and 

 I pointed out the wound to my chief, who declared he 

 thought it was a flower which had dropped from an over- 

 hanging kino tree ! It turned out to be a leopard, and we 

 were surprised that so small an animal should attack and 

 kill a full grown buffalo. We then returned to camp, repre- 

 sented by a shady peepul tree, had a scratch breakfast, 

 followed by an awful ride in the hot sun to Raepurty, 

 where we arrived about 5 p.m. A few nights after, at 

 Eagheer, a panther patrolled round the camp for several 

 hours, making night hideous with a noise resembling 

 a cross-cut saw drawn through a plank of wood. We had 

 given directions to be called at four o'clock to go out 

 to shoot bears ; but Kistiah, who judged his time by the 

 stars, awoke us at 1 a.m. This disconcerted us a good 

 deal, and, being unable to sleep, owing to the panthers' 

 lullaby, we started about three o'clock and reached the 

 caves before daylight, but the bears had returned before our 

 arrival, as we discovered by their tracks. On returning to 

 camp I saw the panther basking on a rock in the morning 

 sun, and, sending one of the elephants which had come to 

 meet us, to distract its attention, stalked to within ninety 



