MISCELLANEOUS N0TJ2S, 551 



^lad Iiappened to the kilK I found it had been dragged 3 or 4 yards, and that I 

 must have aimed at the black patch of ground on which the kill had originally fallen. 

 As the panther had evidently not been touched, I thought he might possibly return 

 before morning, and determined to finish the night in the machati. I had th? carcass 

 of the cow dragged back to its original place, which was in better view of the 

 macharii and tied hy the horns and quarters to adjacent saplings, The villagers 

 were very noisy and talkative, but eventually I got rid of them and went back to 

 ray maclian. While settling myself into a good position, I saw that the stump of 

 a bamboo torch which the villagers had left on the ground close to the kill had 

 been fanned by the wind and was glowing brightl}-. However, I thought it 

 would soon burn itself out, and did not trouble to move it. I had not been in the 

 machan more than 10 minutes, and the villagers were still talking loudly within 

 earshot, when I heard the same sounds, as of the kill being dragged. I could 

 hardly believe that the panther had returned so soon after being shot at, but so 

 it was. This time he found it more than he could manage, and proceeded to 

 begin his meal where he was, in spite of the still glowing embers within a couple 

 of feet of him. At this time it must have been about 7-30, and I could 

 distinguish nothing in the darkness, so I held my hand in the hopes that his meal 

 would last until the moon rose. This was not to be however; the erusliing 

 of bones went on for about f of an hour, then suddenly the sound ceased, and I 

 thought I heard him moving off. I still hoped he would return towards morning, 

 as I knew he could not nearly have finished the carcass, and this time I was 

 not disappointed: he returned about 2-30 a.m., when the moon was well up, and 

 began sucking up the blood which had collected in the stomach of the kill. I 

 could now see his outline clearly, aiul made a lucky shot — he went a few yard* 

 and then fell dead. The panthers that hang about the villages here are usually 

 very suspicious and wide awake, but this one was a remarkable exception. He 

 was a young male in very good condition, measuring 6' 6". 



P. L. COX, Lieut. 

 Suvanivadi. 



No. XI.- MEASUREMENT OF SAMBUE HORNS. 



I beg to send you, as a matter of interest and for publication in tbe Society's 

 Journal, the dimensions of a Sambur bead found by my friend Colonel Salmon 

 in the Pili jungles of tbe Satpura Hills in tbe Ellichpur District of Berar. 



I may add that I assisted him in taking tbe measurements, and can there- 

 fore add my testimony to bis that they are as exact as care could make tbem. 

 The bead is an exceptionally fine one. 



KENNETH MACKENZIE, Col. 

 Amraoti. 



