MAULED BY A PANTHER. 259 
close by, and that he had certainly not passed out or gone beyond. 
I took up a position from which I could command the small piece of 
jungle pointed out, and was having it driven when a police con- 
stable, Daghru, shouted from above that he had discovered 
a large hole with panther foot-marks going into it, and to corro- 
borate the statement he brought me some hairs found at theentrance 
of the hole which, on examination, I saw were long and white, so, 
remarking that they looked more like hyena’s than panther’s hair, 
I told him to see if there were any yellow or black ones about. I, 
however, clambered up the hill after the constable, having one 
loaded rifle carried by the Kotwal of the village close by me. The 
other I unloaded, as there was some climbing and nasty ground to 
be got over, and from accidents I had seen, I always dreaded rifles 
going off when in the hands of ignorant natives. The bearer of this 
second weapon I told to come on as quickly as he could. 
I went straight to the earth where Daghru was, and satisfied 
myself that the pugs-of a panther distinctly led into the hole. 
I was then taken to a second hole about 20 or 80 yards distant, which, 
the villagers asserted, communicated with the first. While here, 
taking a pull at my drinking water and making arrangements to 
light a fire of grass-and green leaves to smoke the brute out, in order 
that I might shoot him as he escaped at the other end, the police 
constable, Daghru, came running round in a great state of alarm 
and told me that two (baghs) panthers, had come out of his end of 
the earth, were simply playing the mischief amongst the beaters, 
and that unless I hurried round the beasts would get away. 
I seized my rifle fromthe hands (of a native standing close by me), 
and ran to about as strange ascene as it was ever my lot to witness, 
The panther had come out of the hole with a rush amongst the 
beaters crowding round; many of these were in the act of bolting 
as hard as they could down the hill, others were lying about, 
having gone in the knees from funk, and fallen in the extraordinary 
way natives sometimes do, and the last man standing was going over 
backwards before the infuriated panther when I arrived. 
Many seconds were not allowed me for contemplation of this scene 
as the panther charged straight at me. Owing to the number of 
beaters about—some on the ground, some picking themselves up, 
and some bolting—it was impossible for me to fire without the 
greatest risk of shooting one or two of them. I consequently had 
to wait untilthe panther was within a few feet of me, and I then 
