Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 25, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 January 1914 — CHASE of AFRICAN BIG GAME [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

CHASE of AFRICAN BIG GAME

A LTHOUGH a big game shooter’s diary generally shows a monotonous register of game killed without any striking events, yet there are red-letter days which are impressed on the memory either by a narrow escape from a wounded animal or by the unusual boldness and cunning of the hunted quarry. Some years ago, says a writer in London Field, I. was encamped in a district which was seldom visited by Europeans in India, And news was brought to me of a large panther which had its homeln some rocky hills not tar from my encampment. Many years’ experience with these wary animals had taught me that it was necessary to build a machan at least a day before sitting up for'them, so one afternoon I proceeded to the hills, where the panther’s den was pointed out to me. Lair Difficult of Approach. A scrutiny of the ground showed It to be most unfavorable for securing a suitable position. The cave in which the panther had taken up Its abode was at the foot of some high precipitous basaltic rocks, where it/was impossible to select a site above the cave, while th 4 ground from the cave sloped steeply downward to the valley beneath, and was covered with large boulders Interspersed with serub jungle. As it was impossible to find a tree strong enough to bear a machan a platform raised about three feet from the ground, so as to get a view over some boulders, had to be buUt, and this was inclosed to the front and on both sides by leaf screens. After this was built a goat was tied about twenty yards in front of the machan In a position where it would be visible from the entrance to the cave. Having seen to all the preparations, I returned to camp, and the tfiext morning the shikaris reported that the goat had been killed. 9 At 3:30 p. m. Tajam went to the place and, as the goat had been almost entirely devoured, another goat was tied and the Bhikari and myself took our seats on the platform. To my disgust I found that the shikari had a cold, and his sneaking and coughing were sufficient to drive away any animal. I therefore sent him away, and he had not been gone more than ten minutes when I heard a deep growling behind me. _ Turning around suddenly, I saw a large panther lying full length in the scrub, watching me from about three yards’ distance. He immediately made a couple of bounds to the left of my machan, where he sat on his hindquarters watching me and growling viciously.

It was impossible for me to shoot, as the leavesMn tbe screen to the left were too tightly interlaced even If the panther would have remained until I could sight the rifle upon him. My only chance for a shot was that he would pass along In front of where I was sitting, toward the goat. This apparenriy.he had no intention of doing, and we remained In our respective positions until it was nearly dark, when he quietly made off. On whistling up my men I told them about the behavior of this panther, and the shikari informed me that on leaving he bad met it atx?ut fifty yards 'from where I was seated, and as it would not move he threw a stone at It, when it slunk off snarling and growling into the Jungle. As it was now quite dark, I unloaded my rifles, and we proceeded together to untie the goat Game Finally Bagged. We had not gone half a dozen yards when there was a rush and we heard a struggle. The shikari and myself both said that It was the panther at the goat, but the other men would not have/It I, however, reloaded, and as it was too dark to see, advanced slowly to the goat. On coming up to it w® found It in its last death struggle, the pantiter having seised it by the neck as It rushed past As I was leaving the next day, I was unable to sit np again for the panther, bat the next year when I was at the same place I was told the panther was still there, so I again sat in the place, when the panther came early, and a right and left from a 12smooth bore loaded with Lyon’s Itheal

bullets enabled me~Xo add his skin to my trophies. A second curious experience with A panther was within a couple pf hundred yards of the place where the last panther N was killed. Here the position was on the ground, but I took the precaution of having a screen all round. This time, too, a goat had not been tied up the previous night, so I| had not much hope of the .panther coming before dark. However, I took up my position with the shikari early in the afternoon. At about 4 p. m. the shikari, who was on my left, touched, me. For some time I could see nothing, but the shikari, with his eyes, showed me that there waß something to his left and close to him. 1 then through the screen made qut a panther lying full length close i<p against the screen intently watching the goat, which had not seen him. * I did not know \yhat the feelings of the shikari were, but I expected him to cough at any minute, as I myself felt a most extraordinary inclination to do so, a feeling which Invariably comes over one while waiting for a shot with nerves at high tension. Luckily, both of us managed to keep quiet, and the panther, after making a prolonged survey of his surroundings, rushed upon the goat, but to my intense annoyance, the rope by which the goat was tied snapped, and the panther, carrylhg the goat, bounded right up against the front of my screen. Luckily the screen held. The panther was aststartled as we were, and dropped the goat. However, we did not hear him make off, so the shikari quietly raised himself to look over the screen, when, with another rush, the panther seized the goat and bounded across the narrow clearing with it. As he did- so j fired with the 500 cordite, and simultaneously the goat waß dropped in his tracks* I thought I had hit him badly, but I found afterward np sign of a hit, and with disgust I had to write "missed badly” in my diary that evening.

ON STANLEY POOL