1877.] V. Ball — Mammals occurring in the Mdhanadi Basin. 171 



So far as I have been able to ascertain there is no authentic case of a 

 Rhinoceros ever having been observed in the forest region bordering the 

 Mahanadi. It has occurred to me as possible that the rumour may have 

 got abroad from the fact of there having formerly been tame specimens in 

 the possession of some of the Eajas. 



At Burpali in the Dakin-tir of Sambalpur the Raja told me that on 

 the occasion of a marriage between a daughter of one of his ancestors and 

 the Bamra Raja, the bride's dowry tad been a Rhinoceros, which before 

 that had for some years been kept at Barpali. 



In Patna (Sambal|)ur) I met with an old Cabuli who had retired from 

 his former business as a trader. He told me that one of his speculations 

 was a Rhinoceros which he purchased in Calcutta and marched down offer- 

 ing it for sale to various Rajas en route till he reached Jaipur, where he dis- 

 posed of it for Rs. 11,000 which sum, however, he said, he never received. 



It is perhaps unnecessary to state that it is unadvisable to believe all 

 that one hears from the people at the head quarters of these states though 

 the lower classes of the population may be truthful enough. But I shall 

 mention one example of an untruthful statement. A friend of mine shewed 

 me a live specimen of a Cockatoo which he had received from one of these 

 Rajas who assured him* it had been caught in his own district. My friend, 

 whose ornithological knowledge was limited, was expecting a further supply 

 of the birds which the Raja promised to have captured for him during the 

 rains when, according to their annual custom, they visited his jungles. 



In conclusion I do not know of any cover or grazing grounds in the 

 vicinity of the Mahanadi between Cuttack and Sambalpur suitable for a 

 Rhinoceros. The bed of the river is either rocky or sandy^ and marshy 

 jlieels occur but seldom in its neighbourhood and are then, in all cases, of 

 small extent. 



Axis poecinl^s, Linn. 

 During the present year, in the Jaipur District, I saw a single speci- 

 men of the Hog-deer. I had a good view of it as, owing to its horns, 

 being in velvet, it had come out to the edge of the jungle to feed in tlie 

 day time. The species must, I think, be rare as I understood from Capt. 

 Blaxland, the Assistant Agent, that he had never either seen or heard of it. 

 A large collection of horns brought in by the natives did not include any 

 of this species. In Chota Nagpur I do not know of its occurrence. 



Antilope ceryicapra, Pallas. 



The Antilope is very sparingly distributed throughout this area. At 



Barwa in Palamow near the sources of the Sunk and Koel rivers there is 



a large herd and further west, in Sirguja, outside the present limits, I have 



met with several distinct colonies. But to the south of the Mahanadi I 



