CLOSE QUARTERS WITH A PANTHER.

Otago Witness, Issue 2399, 22 February 1900, Page 59

CLOSE QUARTERS WITH A PANTHER.

In the year 1883 I was serving with my regiment, the 25th Bombay Light Infantry, at Bhooj, the capital of Cutch, a province of Western India. From a soldier's point of view Bhooj had seen better days, having been formerly an important frontier station with a large garrison of mixed troops, but at the time of which I write the garrison consisted of a single regiment. Theie were veiy few officeis present with my corps, and, except on guest nights, we seldom sat down more than four at table at mess. Not a lively sort of place tin's, you may think, 111 which to spend two of the best years of one's life. Ye^, Bhooj had its advantages. His Highness the Eas of Cutch, a first-rate sportsman, iained for his couitesy and hospitality, would often invite us officers to his shooting and pigsticking parties, and thoroughly we enjoyed ourselves on these occasions. Within easy distance of cantonments excellent duck and snipe shooting was to be had, and further afield were to be found bustard, oobara, imperial grouse, and black partridge. Near the native city, in a small village of their own, was a colony of Bheels, descendants of the camp followers of the former garrison. These humble folk, who earned a precarious livelihood as herdsmen, woodcutters, ov coolies, were ready to turn their hands to <u:v job that offeree!. Their hereditary instincts as hunters were still strong within them ; they possessed a rare knowledge of woodcraft, and were excellent trackers. The way they would follow the trail of a boar over hard ground where, to the unpractised r-y3,r -y3, not the vestige of a footprint was v be seen was maivellous. Foremost among iue Bheel shikaris were two old men, Natha and Ragonath. who had served in that capacity generations of officers. 1 was fortunate enough to secure the services of Ragonath. A thin, wiry fellow, with grizzled hair and beard, he was, whose age I should be sorry to que s -s at ; hard as naih, possessed of wonderful endurance, and seemingly impervious to fatigue. Ragonath would tramp over rough countiy through a long day under a broiling sun. and be fresh and hearty at the end of it : up beiore dawn next morning, he would scour the country in quest of game, and, returning generally with good khabr (news), would be ready for another day's hard work. By the end of February each year most of the feathered game has migrated from Cutch, and from that time until the monsoon, when the florican come in, there is little work for the sportsman s gun ; while as for rifle shooting, that pastime is. confined usually to practice at the regimental butts, varied by an occasional shot at a chinkara (antelope). One day, however, in the middle of the hot we.ithcr of 1883, the indefatigable Ragonath, with a broad grin of delight on his rugged physiognomy, announced to me the .surprising intelligence that v panther had bceu killing cattle near the village of Tapka Dcvi, and that the villagers had begged him to ask the sahibs to come and rid them ot the pest. I communicated the good news to Captain NutliKll. si brother officer, and we decided to take the field against "spots" on the fii'sl opporlunii.3-. We h.id not long to we it, for a clay or two later Ragcnaiii reported Ui&fc the panther,

■ — -* having killad a c.ilf, had dragged ih r -' cart* case of his victim into some ?ov/ scrulft jungle, end would return probably the same night to complete his mesl.

There being no tree 01 suitable cover o2 any kind within range. 0/ the kill, Ragonath; su^csUvl that he should construct an otha'' (that, if 1 recollect li^htlv. is what he ealk'l it), comy-aleci in which wo could draw, n bead on the pantlier while he was enjoying in* dmiu't. An oihr., J should explain,is d eirea 'sir enclosure o- brambles about 4ffj high. ;> .sort of miniature zareba, in fact. Fascinated by the simplicity of the scheme, we consented readily to Ragonath's proposal, and despatched the worthy skikari forthwith to carry his aichitectural design, into execution.

Aniving on the scene of action shortly before dark, we .-.aw the .slaughtered cal£ lying on the ground, and about 30 yards from it the otha, looking for all the world like a gigantic bird's nest. Into this Irail tenement we crept on hands and knees through a holo in the side ; and when the aperture had been closed AAith brambles .we fouad ourselves cribbed, cabined, and confined in what subsequently proved to be a very tight place indeed. "Nuthall and I were armed" with Mr.rtini-Henry carbines, while Ragonath carried a long-bladed hunting knife. About 2ft from the ground, 111 the side of the otha nearest the "kill," had been made two small loopholes through which to train our carbines on to the panthei should he be so confiding as to fali into the snare. Meanwhile we squatted opposite our peepholes to await developments.After waiting for a couple of hours or so we heard a slight rustling in the grass, and, straining our eyes through the gloom, beheld, not a panther, but a mongoose ! sneak cautiously up to the "kill." The little poacher first stood up on its hind legs, with cars cocked, as if to ascertain whether the coast was clear, and then, dropping down on all fours, began to nibble at the carrion. Possibly raw veal was not suitable to the palate of the mongoose, and it may be that he was seized with a sudden fit of indigestion, for after the first few mouthfuls ha scampered away and never returned. Shortly after the depaiture of this uninvited guest we heard the patter of approaching footsteps, seemingly of some large animal. Our hearts beat quicker as, grasping our carbines, we prepared for action. Surely it must be the panther this time. Nothing of the kind ; it >vas aa er.ormous boar, which, trotting up to the calf, sniffed at it for a moment, and then, with a contempi uous snort, ambled off into the jungle. Sell number two. After a few more hotu-s of tin-, dreary vigil had passed, the air filled suddenly with a low rumbling sound, faint and indistinct at first, , but growing every moment more audible. "The panther!" whispered I Ragonath. '" Lie still, sahib, and don't look through the loophole until you hear him. rending the calf, otheiwise he'll &cc you and be off." The sound, which, as it became more distinct, resembled the deep sonorous purring of a mighty cat, seemed to proceed from all round us; the panther was evidently making a detour of the position. Anon the purring ceased, and dead silence prevailed. Mjr companions and I held our breaths, fearful lest our presence should be betrayed to the crafty foe. Sucl- ' denly avo heard a stealthy footfall pacing slowly round the otha, and the disagreeable truth dawned upon us that thei panther had detected the ambuscade, anc£ was reconnoitring the position prior to attempting to carry it by assault. What was to b3 done? There ue were, caught like rats in a tiap. To use our weapons was impossible, for we were lying on our faces with our carbines beside us, and we could not see the enemy. The slightest movement 011 our part would either have brought the; panther on to the top of us, or have scared him away, and pat an end to all hope of bagging him. Ragonath, I knew instinctively, was fingering the blade of that confounded knife of his, and I could not help thinking that if the panther were to spring into our miclst the lethal steel would, as like as not, in the general scrimmage, find its way into my ribs or into Nuthall's. Also, there would be the panther's teeth, and claws to be reckoned with. All things considered, the prospects of promotion for the junior officers of the' 25th Bombay Light Infantry were for a short space decidedly - rosy, for it appeared highly probable thafe the appointments of left n-ing commander and adjutant would become vacant before morning. Nuthall and I, meanwhile, remained perfectly quiet, hoping that the panther would change his tactics and transfer his attentions from us to the calf, in which case we intended to assist the digestive process by dosing him with a couple of pills in the shape of Martini-Henry bullets. But that panther was no fool, and had nob the slightest intention of subjecting himself to amateur doctoring — not he ! Round and round the otha he tramped, with measured tread and slow, keeping us in horrible uncertainty as to his intentions, and appal* ently enjoying our discomfiture to the utmost. Feeling the game in his own hands, he was in no hurry to commence hostilities, and seemed bent on playing with us, as a cat plays witli a mouse before chawing it up. The suspense was becoming intolerable, and I was wondering how long the comedy, in which the panther was having the best of the fun, was going to continue when I heard immediately above me a long, deepdrawn sigh. Raising my head cautiously ta the level of the loophole, I saw a huge, fer-ret-shaped face", with gleaming yellow eyes staring straight down into mine. The breath that issued from the mouth of my; unwelcome vis-a-vis was not like the fragranc of violets — it resembled rather the quintessence of the odours emanating from a Brittany cesspool. Reader, if you have ever resided in the fair province of Hie efc Vilaine, you will be able to gather by thesimile a faint notion of the malignity of the pestiferous effluvium wafted into the narrow, confines of Ihe otha in which my companions and I were imprisoned in durance vile. The expression on that panther's facp. was, so fai as I could judge, one more of pity than of anger. His thoughts trans-, latecl into -words would probably have read, " Sorry as I am, my young friends, to have sv.ch a painful duty to perform, yoxi have, brought ll.;& uurfotfime uoon vourselvss.

and noAV I am about to ranke mincemeat of you." Meanwhile, I returned steadily the scrutiny of those glaring orbs, and, despite the threatened peril, the situation seemed so humorous thai I could hardly restrain an inclination to burst out laughing. Whether the panther was shocked a', the frivolity of 1113- demeanour, or whether, which is more likely, he caught the gleam of Eagonath's misty blade, certain it is that, seized with a siidcbn revulsion of feeling, and doubtful of the reception awaiting him in the otha, he gave a sudden spring backward*, and I saw him no more, nor d'd I ever hear of his being seen again in the neighbourhood 'of Tapka Devi. On reaching home wiih a sound skin, I registered a mental vow that next time I should go panther shooting by night, instead of repeating the otha experiment, I would try another.— F. R. H. C, in the Field. - •