34 THE PANTHER. 



below the village of Dhanda. Not expecting to see anything else, I had only taken a minia- 

 ture single barrelled Express rifle ("360 bore) by Henry, while my Shikari carried a shot gun. 

 After a time we heard a Kakur barking about a mile below us, but I thought it was too late 

 to go after him. A villager with me, however, declared that we had plenty of time, so we 

 went down the hill at best pace. There were some old fields, now uncultivated, in the middle 

 of the jungle at the foot of a steep hill : it was close to these fields that the Kakur was bark- 

 ing, but it left off before we reach the place. The path led along the hill-side, and we followed 

 it, keeping a good look-out below us. Suddenly Futteh Dm (my Shikari) called my attention 

 to a Panther which was lying on its back, with all its legs extended, in one of the fields. It 

 looked so large in this position that I at first thought it was a Tiger. I now regretted that I 

 had only brought the miniature rifle, but I determined to try it, and at once commenced the 

 stalk. I found that it was impossible to get very near the Panther, as after descending some 

 way, I saw that if I went any lower, a belt of high trees at the foot of the hill would conceal 

 the beast. I had, therefore, to climb along the face of some steep rocks till I could get a 

 clear view, when I found that I was still about one hundred and forty yards from the Panther, 

 which was now crouching with its tail towards me, but was looking back over its shoulder. 

 As soon as I fired, it sprang forward with a roar and took a regular ' header ' into the thick 

 jungle below : there was a growl or two, the bushes shook for a short distance, and then all 

 was quiet. On going down to the place where the Panther had been lying, I found some of its 

 fur and the base of the bullet flattened out to about the size of a fourpenny bit. My Shikaris 

 declared that the beast must be dead, but I did not feel at all sure of this, and insisted upon 

 caution. I gave Futteh Dm the gun loaded with No. 5 shot, and made over my hunting- 

 knife, together with a couple of rifle cartridges, to the village Shikari, telling him to hand the 

 cartridges to me quickly if necessary. I then led the way into the ravine, telling Futteh Din 

 to be careful not to shoot me if the Panther seized me. The jungle was very dense and 

 thorny, and I had to go in on my hands and knees, naturally keeping a very bright look-out ! 

 After going about fifty yards I saw the Panther lying under a rock within five yards, with 

 its broadside to me, but looking round at me. I whispered to the men that it was still alive, 

 upon which they rapidly retreated a few paces. The beast seemed to be rather stupid, and 

 I crept towards it till I could get a clear view ; but in order to do this, I had to pull aside 

 the bushes and grass. I then aimed between the eyes and fired : the brute jumped and 

 tumbled about for a minute or two, and again lay down under the rock, but was evidently 

 past doing mischief. This was perhaps rather lucky, for on putting out my hand for a 

 fresh cartridge, I found that the Shikari had carefully tied up those I had given him — to 

 be ready in case of emergency — in his ' kummerbund.' Of course I had others in my belt, 

 with one of which I quickly gave the Panther a finishing shot in the head. On dragging her 

 out I found that she was a great beauty, but it was very lucky that I had followed her up so 

 promptly. My first bullet had only hit her on the cheek, splintering the bone, but doing 

 no further injury, and she would probably have completely recovered in a very short time. 



On another occasion I received information of a Panther which haunted a certain village. 

 Having provided myself with a pariah dog as a bait, I went to the village, and by the advice 



