m
HUNTING A KUTTyVUSS, OR CIVET. 113
being private properly. Few are cnelosej, l.ul being formed in the mosl l^rem,
enteJ sitnatlon. are intended for ibe |u,blic use. Some of these tanks are
of very great c.itent, often eovcring eight or ten aercs, and besides having steps
of masonry perhaps fifty or si.xty feet in breadth, are faecd ivilli briek work
plastered in the most substantial manner. Tbe eoniers arc generally ornamented
in the ronnd or polygon pavilions, of a neat appearanee. I'lie great misfortiine
attendant upon all matters of this kind, throughout India, is. that , each loiinder
of a building or institution pays but little attention to its suceess or stability,
never repairing any thing done by his predecessor, he he who he may; looking
more to the commemoration of his own name invariably attaelicd as a designation
to his ostentatious work, and jealous of every slight otfered to that which
uiay go to ruin before he will replace a briek. or disburse another cowrie towards
its decent appearance.
These works arc nevertheless of considerable utility : they follow each other
rapidly and thus the country bas become amply stocked with water, partaking
o f \Ui e h the way-worn traveller oceasioually offers a fervent ejaculation n,
praise of him who, in all probability, never thought of gratifying any thing but
bis own pride. Let ,is not, however, depredate too mnch those ambitious
measnres, which produce such acceptable cfl'ects. fii our own country we have
to regret that immense sums are lavished on the most insignificant occasions, nilieu
of being applied towards the many important and substantial liencfits for
the industrious portion of mankind among whom, instead of an execrated name,
the most heartfelt gratitude aud praises of a benefactor might be heard.
Though in a suliseiiuent number the alligator will be spoken of more particularly
I t may in this place be proper to remark that, although these tanks
may be far inland, and far removed from other waters, they arc occasionally
found to contain this animal. These creatures sometimes announce themselves
suddenly byseidng a person bathing; but as they, fortunately, are amphibious,
and cannot exist without often inhaling the air, it rarely happens but
t h a t some discovery is made. It is wonderful , that, often in spite of sucb daily
depredation, the Hindoos cannot easily be deterred from performing their
diurnal ablutions, even at tbe fatal spot.
When an alligator is known to he in any water, numbers of people may be
seen awaiting with the intent to shoot him. They often succeed ; but the most
certain mode is to calch hilu by means of a hook. A large bait, sucb as a
bullock's liver, &c. being secured on a proper hook, is left hanging in the water
just over the edge of a large board or timber to which the chain is made fast.
This being urged into the deep water usually attracts tbe ravenous animal,
which may sometiuics he seen for a whole day agitating the waters in a most
violent manner, in the vain attempt to obtain a release from the unexpected
detention. The distress he suffers from the tloating ap|)eiidago is inconceivable !
He flounders about, striking at it with his tail, and drags it to the shore,
moaning vehemently, and chatteriug his teeth so as to be heard at a distance.
occasionally pawing with his fore legs. I saw one taken in this manner at a tank
near Barmsct; he was about seven feet long, aud of the koa.neer, or hull-headed
specics. A xheciirr^ shot him as he lay panting, bait out of water. The alligator
had struggled very hard, and was near esca[>iiig; he had succeedeil so far as to
leave the hook but little bent, and would infallibly have got away had not the
point passed undc]- the jaw bone, where the barb held him fast. Small as this
animal was it had several ornanieat^, snch as are worn by the cinldren of the
natives, together with a brass dog-collar in its maw.
When tanks happen lo be situate near to very marshy plains, aud arc not
mueh frerpicnted by travellers, &c. good shooting may always be expeclcd :
hares, partridges, and other game may always he found on their banks, while
in the proper season their surfaces will generally be well covered with waterfowl.
Hogs and hog deer frequently make such places their abode.
Every matter relating to dogs may be seen treated of in the aceount of I'latc
X X X V H I . which is allotted exclusively to that subject. At present it may
sutliee to ob.scrve, that a jiair of stout greyhounds often are found too sirongfor
a (/oo/tYi/i, who to age, nr natural weakness, often adds the infiriililies incident to
sucb as partake loo copiously of arrack, mowah, or gnujch. Hence it is c.itreinely
eoinmou to see, as representeil in this I'late, many a dog-kecper pulled llat on
his face by his eager charge ; which, rather than be dragged on the hard soil,
he mostly finds proper to liberate.
The tree in the front ground is a kmljuor, or date tree ; its leaves are more
pointed than those of the cocoa, and stand more at right angles with the center
ribs of the branches; which arc not so long as those of that tree. Its hark is
rougher and more graduated in horizontal strata, not very unlike the scales of an
alUgator. The fruit bangs in bunches dose iiiider the head, where the leaves
diverge from it. The internal ]jart of tbe crown is, when boiled, tolerably good ;
not unlike a cahbage in llavour.
The quantity of matter which crowded on the discussion of Plate XXVI.
preduded noticing at that time the curious nests made by a kind of very small
birds, similar lo wrens ; which being composed of very short grass, and lined
witii wool and feathers, are affi-xed most artfully by the little inhabitants under
the branches of the cocoa and kudjoor. Tbeir entrances arc at the bottom,
which the birds can close at pleasure by means of those materials within the
nests, obviously collected for that purpose. Exclusive of being sheltered suffid
e n t i y from the sun and rain, such situations are secure from the visiU of
snakes, which are often to be found in trees of this kind, hut arc unable to make
t h d r way down the branches; the leaves not only being slippery, and diflieult
to compress so as to afford a sufficient hold, but their edges, which arc sharp,
aud rough, causing considerable uneasiness. It is pleasant to sec hundreds of
little binls issuing from these nests, which are about tbe size and shape of the
largest pear.