Indian Antiquary Vol 02

SR No.: 032494
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Jas Burgess
Publisher: Swati Publications
Publication Year: 1984
Total Pages: 428
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 20 MB

Page 137

APRIL, 1873.]
MISCELLANEA.
125
is à
dos à
number of lobes in its liver, had the hair covering the back of the head and neck not more than a few inches long. The dimensions of this animal taken as it lay dead on the ground were as fol. lows:Length from nose to tip of tail...... 8' 10"
of head and body alone...... 511" ,, of tail ......................... Height at shoulder ...................... Girth of neck ............................. - chest ..........................4' 1"
fore-arm .................... Length of hair on mane ............... 5"
In appearance its colour is very much like that of a camel or a female nilgåe, and I have on one occasion, when at a distance, actually mistaken a lion for the latter animal. From its colour it derives the name by which it is known in most parts of Gujarat, "Untia-Båg" or "Camel-coloured tiger." In the Gir however it is always called “Sawaj," a name that I do not think is known out of Kathiawad. The male is rather darker than the female and is a little heavier about the head and shoulders, the female being very much the same shape as the common tiger. Their habits are somewhat similar to those of the tiger. They always travel at night, leaving their daily restingplace about sunset. Their first visit is generally to the water, after which they wander about in search of food, often going many miles over hill and dale in their nightly peregrinations. In pasing from one favourite resting place to another they generally make use of the best roads the country affords, and I have often met their footmarks going for miles along the road I have been myself traversing; and if one did happen to travel in that country on a fine moonlight night, I can imagine nothing more likely to occur than a chance rencontre with one of these forest-kings. They feed chiefly on nilgåe, sâmbar, and wild hog, a single blow of their paw generally sufficing to break the back of the largest animal. They sometimes commit considerable depredations on the herds of buffaloes that are taken into the Gir for grazing. Owing to the great heat, the cattle are generally allowed to wallow in the mud and lie under trees during the hottest part of the day; and at night they are driven out to graze. As a rule they keep together, in which case they are never disturbed by the lion; but if by chance & sick one should lag behind, or should any wander away to a distance from the rest of the herd, the lion, if there be one near, is sure to bag it, how ever big and powerful it may be. As long as the herd keeps together, however, there is no fear, as the lion dare not attack. If the kill be made early in the evening and the lion be hungry, he
will at once commence eating it, but will always leave it about daylight and go and rest for the day at some secluded spot in the neighbourhood, either down near the water in the shade of karanda and other trees, or, what is perhaps more common, he will go on the top of some neighbouring hill where he may get a cool breeze, and where he lies out in the open under the shade of a big stone or, when procurable, of a large banyan tree. When disturbed he does not slink away like a tiger or panther, but walks or runs upright without any attempt at concealment. Being very nearly the same colour as the ground and of the scorched leafless trees with which these hills are covered in the hot weather, it is very difficult to see him before being seen oneself; and this generally happens, owing to the frequent absence of undergrowth in these jungles before the sportsman gets within range.
I have never heard an authentic instance of an unwounded lion attacking a man, but when wound. ed I should say that their ferocity would fully equal that of the tiger. It is a curious fact that not a tiger or a bear exists in a wild state in the whole of Kathiawad. Panthers however are very numerous in the Gir as well as in other parts of the country.
As far as I know from my own experience and from inquiries I have made, I am of opinion that there are not more than fifty lions in the whole country. The female generally has two cubs, but probably, as is the case with other animals of the kind, there are three born-it being supposed that the firstborn is always devoured by the mother. Capt. H. Trotter, R.E., in the Report of the G.T. Survey, 1871-72.
A HUMAN SACRIFICE. It is the belief of all Orientals that hidden treasures are under the special guardianship of supernatural beings. The Singhalese however divide the charge between demons and cobra capellas. Various charms are resorted by those who wish to gain the treasureg. A pujd is to sufficient with the cobras, but the demons require & sacrifice. Blood of a human being is the most important, but, . As far as it is known, the Kappowas have hitherto confined themselves to a sacrifice of a white cock, combining its blood with their own, drawn by a slight puncture in the hand or foot. A Tamil has however improved on this, as our readers will see by the following case, now in the hands of the Justice of the Peace.
Some kulis of Agravatte were led to believe that a vast treasure of gems was secreted somewhere in the neighbourhood, and consulted their Kodangt on the subject; he heartily joined in the