* Champawat, much like Pali, has grown significantly since the days of Jim Corbett, including the addition of modern concrete structures. However, on the preserved streets near the Baleshwar Temple—which itself dates back to the twelfth century—one can still see vibrant traces of the Old City, as Corbett would have seen it. With its narrow passages and ornate balconies, Champawat’s historic architecture is distinct from that found in the other towns and villages in the area, and harkens back to its days as a seat of dynastic power.
* One obvious question that does emerge from Corbett’s account concerns his companions from Nainital, specifically: Why didn’t they accompany him into the forest when seeking the tiger? The most obvious answer would seem to be that for the most part, thanks to the aforementioned gun laws, they were not allowed rifle permits, and would have had little training in the use of firearms. One exception may be Bahadur Khan, who is believed to have been among the six, and who would later go on to hunt with Jim Corbett, both as a gun-bearer and fellow shikari. At the time, however, Corbett seemed to have preferred taking only those with him who knew the lay of the land and could serve as guides; he considered it unwise, possibly even dangerous, to take along inexperienced hunters—at least until the tiger was located and beaters were needed.
* The Champawat Tiger’s 436th alleged victim also stands out as one of the only victims that may have been positively identified by historians. In 2014, Kamal Bisht, my guide in Kumaon, along with another group of Jim Corbett enthusiasts, located an elderly man in the village of Phungar, just outside of Champawat proper, who claimed that the girl had been the sister of his deceased father, and that she went by the name Premka Devi. He also believed that she was fourteen years of age when the attack occurred—which seems to match with Corbett’s observation that she was a teenager, although he estimated her age to be sixteen or seventeen. Other details of the elder gentleman’s recollections match Corbett’s account as well, and although difficult to prove, the identification certainly does seem credible.
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