1849.] Natural History of certain Animals. 789 



the nature of the thing or being, was unknown to me, and I requested 

 information on the subject. On this there was a little hesitation, when 

 after a time it was explained, that as I had seen more of tigers than my 

 companions, they fancied I might have also seen or heard something 

 of the animal that always preceded the tiger, called phnew from the 

 ceaseless iteration of a sound similar to its name. I required further 

 enlightenment as to this creature, when I found it was a " something 

 that preceded the tiger by six cubits, wherever he went, making the 

 noise phnew without end, looking for things for it.'' The old tales of 

 ' the lion and his provider' recurred to me at once ; and I bethought 

 me of the hospitality of some cat-like sound of felis tigris having led, 

 during his nightly search for prey, to the creation of the story. I have 

 done all I could, but in vain, to discover whether there were real 

 grounds for the belief, based on such a habit of the animal. I killed 

 several tigers in company with my friends afterwards, but though we 

 found no phnew with any of them, the silent faith of my believers in 

 the marvellous, has remained unshaken as to the existence of the myste- 

 rious animal. I subsequently learned that there is in Bengal a like 

 belief respecting it among the Hindus, who term the creature ghog.* 



There are few Englishmen in India who have not perhaps heard some 

 of the strange tales related by the natives regarding serpents. The most 

 remarkable to me, has always been the belief in the Raj Samp, or king 

 snake, who is represented as belonging to a superior order of serpent, 

 as exacting homage and obedience from his ophite subjects, and, some- 

 times, as appearing with the semblance of a crown, the type of his 

 authority. I was one day in company with a number of native gentle- 

 men, when the conversation turned upon the nature of antidotes in the 

 case of snake bites, the belief as to the cure effected, by applying to 

 the wound, the head of the identical reptile that had inflicted it, the 

 charms powerful to compel the snake to appear, — as to all which 

 matters I have never been able to obtain, amid many tales, any relator 

 daring enough to declare himself an eye-witness of the marvels he 

 recounted. At last, mention being made of the King Snake, a party 

 present said,—' At any rate I can assure you of the existence of him, 

 for it is well known that I have seen,' and the story, to the following 



* According to Babu Rajendralal Mittra, the Hindus distinguish the Ghog as a 

 different animal from the P'heu. — E. B. 



