i io IN THE INDIAN JUNGLE. 



years ago. When the paddy is cut we do not thresh 

 it at once, but stack it in piles for a few days, when 

 the ears become loose, and are readily parted from 

 the straw on being trodden by cattle. Our head- 

 man and his son and three others were sleeping in 

 the fields near their piles of paddy. In the morning 

 the headman's son was missing, and on search being 

 made, the fatal pugs of the witch-panther were seen. 

 There was weeping in our village, and the most 

 noted Bagh-marees were sent for, and traps laid 

 for the witch ; but to no purpose. It seemed to 

 be able to avoid all snares. We asked the railway 

 sahibs (officials) to come to our help, but although 

 several hunts were organised, and several tigers 

 and panthers killed, yet the dreaded witch-panther 

 still remained at large. When we looked for it in 

 Bara, it was heard of in Derwa, and when we got 

 there, it was back again at Bara. Cocks, goats, 

 and even a buffalo calf were sacrificed, but th 

 panther continued its ravages, and a great fe 

 fell on all the villagers, so that many families left 

 for Patkoom and other places. I alone was not 

 afraid, as I had Gazee's charm, and this kept me 

 safe. Meanwhile the Sirkar offered fifty rupees for 

 the destruction of this brute, but it was of no use. 

 " Last November, the Huzoor will remember, 

 Matho's son, a young man, was taken from hi 

 house at night and eaten on the roadway, and onl 

 his head and legs were left. The Huzoor himse 

 saw this. Then the trap was set at the back of th 

 bawarchee-khanah (cook-house), and the witch wa 

 killed. At first we did not know it was th 



