MAN-EATING PANTHERS. 27 



it turned out to be a girl of about 16 years ; the hair being full of 

 dust looked gray by the lamp-light. She was dead ; the body lay on 

 the back, the legs straight out, the head resting on the right cheek, the 

 right arm, adorned with two iron bangles, was bent as if it had been 

 thrown up towards the neck, the left arm lay along the side. There 

 was a cut, an inch long, on the chin, and the fatal teeth-marks in the 

 throat. As we looked, the blood poured from a hole in the neck just 

 behind the lobe of the right ear and made a large pool of black blood 

 on the ground ; the jugular vein had been opened. If we had gone 

 quietly there would have been a good chance of a shot, as the panther 

 was evidently very reluctant to leave its victim. But, of course, one 

 cannot prevent the shouting, as the panther might be frightened away 

 by the noise before he had killed, though I believe that death 

 must be immediate. I noticed the expression of the face was 

 quite calm and ordinary in this instance, as well as in the case of 

 the man killed at Karwa. I tracked the panther for some dis- 

 tance further by lamp-light down the road and across the fields, 

 and in this direction it was at least half a mile to the jungle, though 

 there were patches of jungle scattered in the fields. He had gone 

 at a walk when leaving the girl and was walking as far as I 

 tracked. I then suggested that the relatives should retire home 

 and leave the body where it lay, for me to sit near it in case 

 the panther returned, which I think he would have done, but 

 they declined to accede to this sensible proposition and insisted on 

 sitting round the corpse, with a number of sympathizing friends making 

 a great noise. The tracks were those of a large male panther. He 

 had dragged the body 100 yards. The girl, I think, must have been 

 at least seven stone weight. When the teeth are in the wounds no 

 blood flows, as I found none on the trail, except the large patch where 

 he had dropped it. Any blood that flows is probably drunk. This 

 girl was lying with seven other people all close together on the 

 ground, in the open space in front of the hut. She was nearest the 

 road. The panther entered by a gap between the corner of the hut 

 and the thorn fence and then had the girl's throat within his reach. 

 The girl was buried in the morning, and in the evening I sat, close to 

 the place where we found her, for five hours till the moon set, staring 

 at the road in case the panther should come up it. I also had two 



