MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 1023 



wild cattle, with their calves, would congregate before nightfall for refresh- 

 ment. It was an exceedingly pretty sight to see the extraordinary variety of 

 wild animals that came to these troughs to drink when the sun was setting, 

 and, in order to obtain a better view of this proceeding, I had erected, in close 

 but hidden proximity, a machan in a large " kadam " (Anthoceplialus cadamba) 

 tree amidst dense foliage, where my presence would never be suspected, and 

 into this I used frequently to go and sit before sunset, in order to watch these 

 different animals come for their evening drink. It was most interesting to 

 note the regularity of order in which the same animals used to come, a certain 

 sequence being invariably kept, beginning with the wild cattle themselves, 

 followed by nilghai, antelope, jackals, wolves, hyaenas, wild boar, and, lastly, 

 panther ! One evening, in close proximity to the tree in which I had erected 

 my machan, I noticed a tree, of which the trunk near the ground had been 

 much marked by, what looked like, scratches deeply engraved into the bark and 

 around it were panther pug marks. I also noticed that the scratches extended 

 up the trunk, and upon casually looking up into the branches, saw, quite 25 

 feet from the ground, something white hanging upon the bifurcation of one 

 of the main branches, regarding the exact nature of which, in order to satisfy 

 jayself, I directed my orderly, who was with me at the time, to climb up and 

 ascertain. It turned out to be the half devoured carcase of a calf, which 

 had evidently been dragged up there by a panther, whose scratches on the 

 trunk all the way up were marked, as well as pug marks around it on the 

 ground, showing ample evidence as to the perpetrator! My suspicions were 

 not long in being substantiated. On that same evening, before sunset, I took 

 up my position in the same machan, but this time with my '303 rifle, and await- 

 ed events. As usual, the same string of animals, in absolutely identical order, 

 came and went, till at last, after several sounders of pig had departed, a fine 

 boar came and wallowed for a good many minutes in the mud and slush which 

 inevitably accumulates around these drinking troughs. I was so interested 

 watching this beast having his bath that my attention, for the time being, 

 was rivetted upon him ; but suddenly, as if a puff of wind or something had 

 aroused him from his dream, he sprang to his feet and stood looking fixedly 

 in a certain direction — the opposite to which I had been looking — when I also 

 turned my head to look, and there was a panther standing about 30 yards off, 

 slowly moving its tail. I remained still, though my friend, the boar, did not 

 wait long, but, turning on his heels, scuttled off into the jungle in the opposite 

 direction. I sat still watching the panther. She went up to the tree I have 

 mentioned (at nearly the very top of which she had spitted her evening meal 

 in a nice cool larder under the thick foliage aloft) and smelt around and 

 looked longingly up, evidently making up her mind to ascend, when she sud- 

 denly changed it and came slowly up to the place where the boar had been wal- 

 lowing, and after a fairly long pause, during which she was looking about and 

 around, lowered her head and began to drink. I thought this should be my 

 opportunity, so I quickly brought the head of my rifle on to the back of her 



