314 
THE STORY OF THE CIVET . 
and I have often known it taken in traps baited with a pigeon or a chicken. 
In the south of India it is very often tamed, and becomes quite domestic, and 
even affectionate in its manners. 
One I saw went about quite at large, and late every night used to work 
itself under the pillow of its owner, roll itself up into a ball, with its tail coiled 
round its body, and sleep till a late hour in the day. It hunted for rats, 
shrews, and lizards. Their activity in climbing is very great, and they used 
to ascend and descend my house at one of the corners in a most surprising 
manner. This palm-civet is common in Lower Bengal, and in the gardens of 
the suburban residences of Calcutta may occasionally be seen in the late after¬ 
noon or evening crawling among the leaves of a palm previous to starting on 
its nocturnal wanderings. That it will sometimes take up its quarters in the 
very heart of the town of Calcutta is proved by an incident which happened 
to the present writer when employed on the Geological Survey of India. At 
that time the office of the survey was situated in a street leading down to the 
Hoogli River, in the old part of the city. On arriving at the office I found 
my papers on the writing-table marked every morning with the footprints of 
some mammal. I thereupon set a trap, which caught a large civet the follow¬ 
ing night. 
