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2^<r,OHs. 



THE I^RGE AND SMALL GAME OF BENGAL 

AND THE NORTH-WESTEEN 



PROVINCES OF INDIA 



%1 



BY 



CAPTAIN J. H. BALDWIN, F.Z.S. 



LATB OB H.P. BBNOAL BTAVF COBFS 



* H<BC olim meminiae juvabit* 



' To sit on rocks, to muse o'er flood and fell, 
To slowly trace the forest's shady scene 
Where things that own not man's dominion dwell, 
And mortal foot hath ne'er or rarely bSen; 
To climb the trackless mountain all unseen, 
With the wild flock that never needs a fold' 



ChUde Harold, canto ii. stanza 25 



^ 



HENRY S. KING ^ CO., LONDON 

1877 



\ • • 



-^ ' 



t • 



>>'■ 



! ' 



A»TO«, LENOX AND 
IILDEN FOUNDATlONa. 

1898. 



(The rights of translaiian and of reproductum are reserved) 



PBEFACE. 



DuEiNG a lengthened furlougji in England on medical certificate, 
I have agreeably occupied myself and whiled away many a long 
winter's evening by transcribing and condensing extracts from old 
journals, game registers, and note books, which I have kept reli- 
giously for a series of years, in fact almost from the day I entered 
the service seventeen years ago until the present time. 

Throughout my Indian career I have had the good fortune, for 
one so enthusiastically fond of field sports, to be quartered in some 
of the best game districts in the Bengal Presidency, such as the 
H Central Provinces, Oude, Assam, and Central India, where both 
large and small game were plentiful and varied, and where I had 
every opportunity of studying their habits. Moreover, on five dif- 
ferent occasions I have made extensive sporting expeditions into the 
interior of the Himalayas, and twice visited parts of the most unfre- 
quented and least known quarters of that glorious range, including 
one excursion in 1863 over the snow passes into Thibet. 

Throughout these wanderings I have always made it a practice 
every evening on returning from the hill-side or the jungle, while 
impressions were still fresh on my memory, to note down anything 
that had occurred during the day that might possess an interest for 
the sportsman or the naturalist. 

From constantly following my favourite pursuit at all times and 



vi PEEFAOE. 

in all seasons, whenever my duties would permit, in the hills and in 
the plains, while continually in search of the denizens of the forest 
and the jungle, I have been fortunate enough to procure with my 
own gun and rifle specimens of almost every description of large 
and small game to be found in Bengal and the North Western 
Provinces of India, and I can consequently testify from personal 
experience as to their ways and habits, and the best manner of 
hmting then,. 

I have no pretensions to be a scientific naturahst, but may claim 
to be a close observer, and certainly a lover of nature. 

My remarks on ' the Tiger * and * Tiger Hunting ' have been ex- 
tended to greater length, and related with more detail, than obser- 
vations on animals of less note. It must, however, be distinctly 
understood that my reason for dwelling longer than ordinary on 
this particular subject is not that my experience in tiger-shooting 
has been greater than in the pursuit of other large game — for I am 
well aware that in comparison with the achievements of many of 
our renowned Anglo-Indian hunters my own exploits have been 
inconsiderable — but because I beheve that the general public take 
an especial interest in reading anything new in connection with the 
habits and chase of the royal tiger. 

In writing this book — more especially in giving to the different 
animals their correct and scientific terms — I have derived much 
assistance from the valuable works of the late Dr. Jerdon, viz., 
* The Mammals ' and the ' Birds of India.' I have generally adopted 
that able writer's appellations for the different beasts and birds, 
have frequently quoted from his works, and on the rare occasions 
when I have ventured to express a contrary opinion on any point, 
it has always been with much diffidence. 

All the animals depicted in the illustrations (with the exception 
of the Rhinoceros, Argali, and the three skulls of Buffalo and Ovis 



PBE'PAGE. vii 

Ammon) fell to my. oym rifle, and in the first instance were preserved 
in a rough state by my own hands. 

The sketches of Himalayan scenery, angl also that of the old 
Bundeela fort, have been engraved from my own drawings tak^en 
on the spot.^ • 

I gladly take this opportunity of tendering my grateftJ acknow- 
ledgments to numerous friends who have kindly assisted me with 
their advice and encouraged me to persevere in bringing this work 
to its present complete form. 

In conclusion, I beg from my readers and critics the indulgence 
usually accorded to a first attempt. I venture to hope that the 
young hunter about to start for the East may glean some useful 
hints from these experiences, and that even the old Shikary, who 
has long since cast anchor in his native land and bid farewell for 
ever to the dense jungles and sunny plains of India, may feel a 
sympathetic interest in some of my adventures, and find his sporting 
recollections awakened by the perusal of the following pages. 

J. H. B. 

' The sketch of ' Howdah Shooting * has been kindly supplied by a friend. 



CONTENTS. 



-•o*- 



CHAPTER I. 

THE TIGER, 

Where found — ^Description of Terai — Great loss occasioned in certain districts by tigei 
Increase of reward necessary — Size and strength of tigers — ^Tiger very careful when 
returning to a kill — lion and tiger^ which most powerful — Lion MUed by tiger — 
Tigers easily found in hot weather — Goats in hot and cold weather — ^Death of a herd- 
boy — ^How that a sportsman^ to be successful^ should show kindness to natives — ^Boar 
of tiger seldom heard — Tigers will swim to avoid danger — ^Tiger shot crossing river — 
Account of a tiger said to have been killed by pack of wild dogs — ^Tigers in Assam 
driven into nets — Traps for tigers — Extraordinary occurrence near Jhansie of a tiger 
having killed and partially devoured a bear — ^Howdah-shooting — ^Driving jungle with 
beaters and machan-shooting — Danger of shooting on foot — Method of killing tigers in 
the Mirzapore country — ^Importance of obtaining elephants — Shikaries and their duties 
— Elephants in tiger-hunting — Tiger biting rifle-barrels — A tiger and howdah-elephant 
killed by a single bullet — ^Time of day to start — ^The hankwa described — Objection 
to using men to beat — Glass of natives employed as beaters — Glever trackers — Two 
anecdotes of imfortunate accidents — Great labour and exertion shooting on foot — 
General rules for tigernshooting on foot — Care necessary in approaching a tiger 
apparently dead — ^Three tigers killed in one day — Machan-shooting — Watching a 
pool — Gonstruction of a machan — Gare necessary in selecting a tree — Objections to 
sitting up at night — ^The preservation of tiger-skins — Personal superintendence neces- 
sary — ^Best description of rifle for tiger-shooting . . . paoe 1 



CHAPTER 11. 
THE PANTHER. 

Great similarity of panther and leopard — ^The distinction between them — Where the 
animal is usually found — An officer killed by a panther near Eamptee — Gry of 
Panther — A panther escapes — A panther springs on a pony — Alarm in camp — A 
panther shot from a machan — A pair of panthers put our elephant to flight . 59 



CHAPTER III. 

THE LEOPARD. 

iori|ition — WTiPi* found— Dojfs &«)«pdi1_v Cftniod off liT Ipopnrd* — SpikM pollftw — 
A pt doR «imed off— Honlteys n favnurili- prey — A K'"[iard bIiuI iienr Nvnee Tal 
— Ijpopards dongerDus when wouoded — A sUut at a iMpanl . fibs 68 



CHAPTER IV. 
THE SSOW LKOPAHD. 

|\^'h^'^e found— A cub cn|jlured in 1^03 — Old Icopenl killed b; TliibeUiu 

CHAPTER V. 
THE BED lYXX. 
T or— The Thibft Ivni — Anecdote of mooting «ith ona 



CHAPTER VT. 
THE IIUXT/XG LEOPARD nil CHEETAH. 



CONTENTS. xi 

hunting bears — A Chinese bear-hunter — A bear attacked by wild dogs — A bear 
killed in an oak tree — She bear ^ry savage and courageous when with cubs — 
Unfortunate colour of beards hide— Bear killed — A sad occurrence . page 09 



CHAPTER IX. 
THE IIY^NA. 

Description — Where found — His usual prey — Habitat — A heavy stupid animal — ^A tame 
hyaena at Jhansie — A hyaena shot — Can be ridden down and speared . .113 



CHAPTER X. 
THE INDIAN WOLF. 

De.?cription — Habitat — Mischievous brute — Constantly carries off children — A wolf shot 
— A tame wolf — The Thibet wolf — A mistake and its result — Wolves ravenous 
brutes — Rapidity with which they devour animals . . . .118 



CHAPTER XI. 
THE WILD DOG. 

Description — Seldom met with — A shot at a dog near Mussoorie— Wild dogs seen in 
Lullutpore jungles — Anecdote by a Bombay sportsman .... 126 

CHAPTER XII. 
THE WILD BUFFALO. 

Where found — Description of bulls and cows — Usual number of a herd — Ferocity of 
animal — Speed over rough ground — Manner of hunting buffalo — Danger of shooting 
them on foot — Personal adventure with a bull buffalo — Tiger said only to attack a 
cow with calf — Buffalo seldom killed with single ball — Experiment on head of dead 
buffelo — Great thickness of hide — How they will charge elephants — Damage done 
during night by buflalos — A buffalo shot by Captain G s . , .129 



CHAPTER Xm. 
THE INDIAN ELEPHANT. 

Where found — Often met with in Assam — Danger of elephant-himting —Large elephant 
seen — A rogue elephant severely wounded — Elephants numerous in Bhootan 
jungles .......... 140 



xii CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

THE GREAT INDIAN RHINOCEROS. 

Where found — Description — Damage done to crops — Elephant severely hurt by horn of 
rhinoceros — Difference between foot of elephant and rhinoceros — Extraordinary 
fact in connection with rhinoceros ..... page 144 

CHAPTER XV. 

THE WILD BOAS. 

The spear, not the rifle, the weapon for slaying him — When a legitimate sport to shoot 
hog — Description — A boar shot by moonlight — Terrible use boars make of their tusks 
— Habitat of animal — An adventure with a sounder of hog — ^Hog exceedingly 
common in Jhsuisie district — Tiger versus wild boar — ^A drive for wild hog — A rash 
act — Wliether wild hog ever feed on carrion . . , . . 147 

CHAPTER XVI. 
THE GEROW OR 8 AMBER. 

Description — Whether gerow and samber are one and the same animal — Difficult to say 
exact time of shedding horns — Haunts of the gerow — A stag shot — Numerous enemies 
— Poaching tricks of hill-men — Gerow close to tent, in the night — The samber — 
Slight distinctions between that animal and gerow — ^Now very scarce — Manner of 
driving jungle for samber — A stag shot in an extraordinary spot — Hints on stalking 
and woodcraft — Walking the jungle — ^Importance of a slow pace — The art of spooring 
— The alarm cries and calls of wild animals — Always reload before moving after a 
shot •••••••••. 156 

CHAPTER XVII. 
THE SWAMP DEER, 

Description — Where found — Becoming rare . . . . . .169 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
THE CHEETUL OR SPOTTED DEER. 

Description — Where to be met with — ^Alarm note — A leopard met with when beating for 
cheetul — ^Extreme difficulty of distinguishing cheetul when standing motionl&ss 
in thicket — ^Tigers and cheetul inhabit the fame jungle — A regimental pet — ^Beauty 
of skin .......... l71 



CONTENTS, xiii 



CHAPTER XIX. 
THE PABAH OR HOG DEER. 

Description — Still common in many parts — Difficulty of shooting parah in thick grass 
from a howdah — Number of shots to bag one hog deer — Time of year for shooting 
hog deer — Extraordinary state of a parah*s hide . . . paob 174 

CHAPTER XX. 
THE KAKUR OR BARKING DEER, 

Description — Where found — A remark of Jerdon's as to kakur being a solitary animal — 
The bark of the animal — Difficulty of distinguishing animal when standing motion- 
less in thicket — Beware of a kakur's canine tooth — A right and left at kakur — 
A fawn hunted by martens ....... 177 

CHAPTER XXL 
THE MUSK DEER. 

Description — Where to be met with — Becoming rare — ^The musk pod — Manner of 
snaring musk deer practised by natives — Numbers caught — A musk deer wounded, 
but escapes ......... 182 



THE ANTELOPES. 
CHAPTER XXII. 

THE NIL GAI. 

Description — Where met with — Hindoos persist in calling the animal a * cow ' — Tenacity 
of life of nil gai — Easily tamed — A blue bull shot .... 186 

CHAPTER XXni. 
THE INDIAN BLACK BUCK OR SASH/ ANTELOPE. 

Description — Length of horns — Great difference in colour of sexes — Great numbers in 
vicinity of Allyghur — Habits of black buck — Tenacity of life — A dog trained to 
follow wounded antelope most useful — Manner of approaching a herd — Care neces- 
sary in approaching wounded buck — Account of an accident at Allyghur — Extraor- 
dinary speed of animal — Dangerous pets when full grown — Bucks fighting — Buck 
struck on horn with bidlet and bagged — Horn shot off a buck*s head by bullet — ^Buck 



xiv CONTENTS. 

killed with charge of shot — ^Number of bucks killed in a single day — Damage done 
to crops by herds of antelope — ^Young of antelope often fall a prey to yermin of all 
kinds — Danger of rifle-shooting on level plains — A right and left at black buck — 
A white buck — ^Eye-pits of antelope — ^The ' Hal-lal ' . . pagb 189 



CHAPTER XXIV. 
THE CHIKARAH OR INDIAN GAZELLE, 

Description — Beauty of animal — \^Tiere found — Favourite sport among Europeans — 
Extraordinary tenacity of life — A wolf stalking a chikarah — Two jackals pull down 
a wounded gazelle — Manner of hunting gazelle with falcons and greyhounds — 
Swiftness of gazelle — One coursed and pulled down — Easily tamed — Old female 
with fine horns shot by accident ...... 203 



CHAPTER XXV. 

THE FOUR-HORN ED ANTELOPE. 

Description — Where met with — Four males shot at Lullutpore . . 200 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

THE SVRROW. 

Description — Where found — Wary animal — A miss fire — The * Takin ' . .212 

CHAPTER XXVII. 
THE GOORAL. 

Description —Comparison between European and Himalayan chamois — Danger in fol- 
lowing the gooral — Manner of hunting the animal .... 215 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 
THE THAR OR TEHR, 

Description — Danger in following the animal — Beauty of snowy range — Number of thar 
seen in a day — Old males found together — Care necessary, or animals may be lost — 
Walking the thar ground — Use of alpenstock — Danger of landslips — Best time 
of year for the sport— Objections to shooting in the rainy season — Out all night on 
the hill-side — Perilous position of a hill-man — Flesh of thar — Occasionally several 
may be killed out of one herd ....... 218 



CONTENTS. XT 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

TEE BURHEL, 

Description — Jerdon on the ourial — Habitat of burhel — ^Extreme shyness of animal — Care 
necessary in a stalk — Large herds — Difficulty in making out the animals when lying 
motionless — The sitting position for a shot — Beware of ^ort rifle-barrels — A success- 
ful day's sport — ^Two burhel shot — ^Burhel fond of salt— Burhel and thar on same 
ground — How to recover lost game — Alarm note— Best time of year foy himting 
biurhel ......... page 228 



CHAPTER XXX. 

THE oris AMMON, 

Description — Habitat — Extreme wariness of genus ovis — Powerful animals — A yoimg 
ammon captured alive — A male ovis ammon shot .... 239 



Part H. 

THE GAME BIRDS. 
CHAPTER I. 

THE INDIAN PEA'FOWL, THE RED JUNQLE-FOWL, AKD 8PUR-F0WL8. 

I. — The Indian Pea-fowl. 

Description — The peafowl a sacred bird — When shooting peafowl can be called sport — 
Peachicks good for the table — Where foimd — ^Eeen eyesight of this bird — ^Numerous 
enemies — An eagle strikes down a peahen ..... 246 

II. — The Red Jungle-Fowl. 

Description — A\Tiere foxmd — Manner of beating — Strong flyer — Great runner — Foimd in 
same jungles as tigers — Size of spurs — My first jungle cock . . . 249 

III. — The Red Spue-Fowl. 
Description — Have only once met with it . . . . . . 252 

IV. — The Painted Spue-Fowl. 

Description — Common in vicinity of Jhansie — Often seen when beating for big game — 
Rapid movers — Delicate birds to rear ...... 253 



xvi CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER li. 

HIMALAYAN PHEASANTS. 

I. — The Moonal Pheasant. 

Description — Contrast of plumage between cock and hen — * Mountaineer*8 ' description of 
flight of moonal — Where I have met with this pheasant — ^My retriever distingoiahea 
himself — Paharies snare these birds — Becoming scarce in many parte — Good sport, 
three moonal shot ....... pagb 266 

n. — The Simla Horned Pheasant. 

Description — Not the real argus pheasant — Rarity of bird — Nmnbers caught and shot by 
hill-men — Meet with the bird near Ramnee — Failure of an attempt to shoot the biida 
— * Mountaineer's ' description of this homed pheasant .... 269 

in.— The Snow Pheasant. 

Description — Foimd on bare hillnsides — Numbers seen in Thibet — ^Burhel alarmed 'bj 
whistle of snow pheasant ....... 262 

IV. — The Cheeb Pheasant. 

Description — Rarity of bird — Where to look for cheer — 'Mountaineer' on the cjeer 
pheasant .......... 264 

V. — The Koklass Pheasant. 

Description — Where found — Swiftness of flight — Cry in the early morning — Jerdon on 
the koklass ......... 267 

VI. — The White-Crested Kallioe Pheasant. 

Description — Conunon all over lower ranges — Haunts of the kallige — Pugnacity of the 
biipd — A great runner — ^The best dog for this sport — Swift flyer — Number of enemies 
— Cruelty of hill-men killing pheasants with young — Peculiar drumming noise made 
by this bird — Two other species of the kallige pheasant^ shot in Bhootan and 
Cossyah Hills — ^Dog Dash gets his master into a scrape . . . 269 

CHAPTER m. 
INDIAN PASTRIDGE8, 

I. — The Black Paeteidgb. 

Description — ^Beauty of cock bird — ^Never perches in trees — ^Black and painted partridge 
often mistaken one for the other — Bags made in olden days — Birds not nearly so 
numerous in these times — Where found — Peculiar call of black partridge • 276 



CONTENTS. xvii 

II. — Thb Painted Partridge. 

Description — Similarity of plumage to the black partridge — Perches and roosts in bushes 
^3ommon in neighbourhood of Jhansie — Gall of painted partridge . page 280 

III. — The Grey Partridge. 

Description — Oommon over the whole ooxmtry — Terrible runner — ^Manner of capturing 
the bird practised by natives — Favourite bird for cage in India . . 281 

rv. — The Ktah, or Marsh Partridge. 
Description — Where found — ^Note by Jerdon — ^Erroneously called chikor . . 283 

V. — The Chikor Partridge. 

Description — Almost similar to French partridge — Found in coveys — Manner of beating 
for chikor — A pair of tame birds attract wild ones .... 284 

VI. — The Snow Partridge. 
Description — Where met with ....... 286 

VII. — The Black-throated Hill or Peurah Partridge. 
Description — Where found — * Mountaineer ' on the Peurah .... 287 



CHAPTER IV. 
THE QUAILS. 

I. — Large Gret Quail. 

Number of species — How they collect in dense numbers in certain localities — Number 
shot in a day — Pretty sport — Oflfer an easy mark — Description of cover they frequent 
— Difficulty in finding a winged bird — Manner of beating for quail — Great runners 
— ^Arrive in the night — Quaileries — Bush Quail — Care required when natives are 
cutting their crops — Oaught in great numbers by natives — The Button Quuls . 290 

II. — The Black-breasted or Rain Quail. 
Very similar to the first mentioned — Both species flushed in 8€une crop— Call of bird 295 

a 



xviii CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER V. 

THE SAND-GROUSE, 

I. — The Large Sand-Gbouse. 

Description — Where met with — Five grouse with two harrels — Exceedingly wary birds 
— Dri>'ing grouse ....... page 296 

II. — The Common Sand-Grouse. 

Description — Difference in plumage male from female — Cry of the bird — Difficulty in 
distinguishing birds when on the ground — Xery numerous near Jhansie — Remark of 
Jexdon*s — Grouse met with in Thibet ...... 297 

in. — The Painted Sand-Grouse. 
Description — Most beautiful bird — Very common near Jhansie — Easily shot . 300 



CHAPTER VI. 
THE BUSTARD, OOBARA, AND FLORIKEN 

I. — The Indian Bustard. 

Description — WTiere met with and shot — Time of year for the sport — Extreme ciuming 
of the bird — ^Two bustards shot — Similarity of flight at a distance between bustard 
and Tulture — A bustard bagged — A magnificent cock bird shot at Jhansie — Stalking 
the birds behind a tame buffalo^My first bustard — Difficulty in removing skin of 
bustard — Shikaries frequently catch the birds — An eagle pursuing three bustards — 
Habit of squatting down to avoid danger — An old bustard outdone . . 302 

II. — The OobAra. 

Where found — Description — Food — Flight — Manner of hunting oobara in Sind — A 
trained camel necessary ........ 310 

in. — The Bengal Floriken. 
Description — Plentiful in Assam — Other resorts of this bird — Food . . 313 

rV. — The Lesser Floriken. 

Description — The ground they frequent — Some say that there are two species of lesser 
floriken — ^Jerdon's opinion on this point — Much resembles the laige floriken in 
habits, also colouring of plumage — Excellent bird for the table — Jerdon on the eggs 
and nest of this bird ........ 316 



CONTENTS. 



xiz 



CHAPTER VII. 
THE PLOVERS. 

I. — The Green Plover or Crested Lapwing. 
A remark of Jerdon's erroneous — Met with in Philibheet — The ' Did he do it ' page 319 

II. — The Black-sided Lapwing. 
Rare bird — Have never shot a specimen ...... 320 

III. — The Golden Plover. 

Slight difference between British and Indian species — Where shot — Nowhere 
common .......#.. 320 

rv. — The Stone Plover. 

Known in England as Norfolk Plover — Common in India — Habitat — A remark of 
Jerdon*8 — ^A thief detected ....... 320 

CHAPTER VIII. 
THE CRANES. 

I. — The Common Crane, or Coolung. 
Description — WTiere met with — Food ...... 322 

n. — The Demoiselle Crane, or Karearrah. 
Description — Where met with — A remark of Jerdon's .... 323 

V 

CHAPTER IX. 
THE WOODCOCK AND SNIPE, 

I.— The Woodcock. 

Have frequently flushed the bird in the Himalayas — Twice shot it — Bheem-Tal favourite 
resort for woodcock ........ 325 

IL—The Snipe. 

Two species, but so much alike as to be hardly distinguishable the one from the other — 
Where snipe come from — Best snipe-shooting localities — Dogs seldom of much use 
for this sport — ^A few hints for the tyro — Rice-fields — Slow-running rivers good for 

a2 



CONTENTS. 

snipe — ^Believe that English snipe more difficult to bring down than Indian bird — A. 
good morning's sport — Strange incident of snipe remaining very late — ^Hawks very 
annoying, carrying off birds that fall to the gun. . . . pagb 326 

IIL — The Jack Snipe. 
Exactly similar to Britii^h bird — ^A remark of Jerdon*s .... 331 

rV. — The Wood Snipe. 

Description — Twice met with — Extraordinary sport, eight killed in one day near foot of 
Himalayas ......... 332 

V. — The Himalatan Solitary Snipe. 
Jerdon^s description — Never have shot this bird — One flushed near the Pindur river 333 

VI. — The Painted Snipe. 

Description — Not a true snipe, and hardly worth a charge — Very beautifully marked 
bird — Remark of Jerdon^s ....... 334 

CHAPTER X. 

ON WILD-FOWL SHOOTING IN INDIA. 

How our Indian lakes teem with fowl during cold winter months — Where especially 
numerous — A morning scene on the banks of a jheel — Time of arrival of fowl — ^Lakea 
of Thibet where the birds breed — Account of great flight of wild fowl passing in the 
night — Description of Indian j heels — \\Tiat fowl arrive first — Those later — Wild fowl 
often miscalled by sportsmen — Manner generally adopted of shooting wild duck — 
Jheel near Jhansie — An evening's sport — Shooting from boats or canoes — ^How 
natives net wild-fowl ........ 336 

CHAPTER XI. 
WILD GEESE. 

I. — The Common Wild';Goose. 

When they arrive — Favourite resorts near Allyghur — Wary birds — A successful stalk — 
An unsuccessful ' wild goose chase '...... 345 

II. — The Bae-headed Goose. 

Description — Where found — Smaller than common species — A successful stalk — Six 
baggfKi .......... 348 

III. — The BiJiCK-BACKED Goose. 
Description — Remains and breeds in the plains — Good bird for table , . 348 



CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER XII. 

WILD DUCKS. 

I. — The Mallard. 
By no means common — ^Pretty nmnerous in Philibheet . . . jpaqe 361 

II. — Spotted-billed Duck. 
Description — Believed to be peculiar to India— Note of Jerdon's . . . 361 

in. — The Widgeon. 
Oomparatively speaking a rare bird ....... 363 

IV. — The Pin-tail Duck. 
Very common in certain localities — ^Very swift flyer ..... 363 

v.— The Gadwall. 
Exceedingly common in North- West Provinces ..... 364 

VI. — The Shieldrakb. 
Bare in Northerri India — One shot at Allyghur . . . . . 364 

VII. — The Ruddy Shieldrakb. 

Description — Sacred bird — ^Very common on banks of large rivers — 'Has been accused of 
being a foul feeder . . . ... . . 366 

VIII. — The Shoveller. 
Common over North- West Provinces — ^Beauty of drakes* plumage . . . 366 

IX. — The Red-crested Pochard. 
Description — Very fine bird — Common in certain localities — Powerful flyer . 367 

X. — The Red-headed Pochard. 
Common over Northern India — Great diving duck ..... 368 

XI. — The White-eyed Pochard. 
Very common — Affords capital sport — Often erroneously called widgeon . . 368 

XII.— The Tufted Duck. 
A rare bird— Only once shot it .... . . 369. 



XXll 



CONTENTS. 



XIII. — The Mebqanseb. 
Deecription — A rare bird — Only shot twice — Observed it in Himalayan riyers paob 360 

XIV. — The Gabganey, ob Blub-winqbd Teal. 

Exceedingly common — ^Last to come and last to go — Fourteen bagged with two 
barrels . • . . • • 860 

XV.— The Teal. 

One of the first to arrive — Exceedingly swift flyer — Immense numbers caught by natives 
in nets .......... d61 



XVI. — The WHiSTLiNG-TEAJiS, OB Tbee Ducks. 
Hardly worth the sportsman's notice — Slow flyers — Perch on trees . 

XVII. — The White-bodied (Joose-Teal. 
Description — Does not migrate — A remark by Jerdon 



. 362 



. 863 



CHAPTER XIII. 
MISCELLANEOUS. 

The Flaxii760. Beauty of bird — ^Three killed with two barrels — Extraordinary shape 

of bills — A scene near Allyghur ....... 364 

The Bittsbn ......... 365 

The Oublew. Nowhere very numerous ...... 366 

The Whdcbbel ......... 366 

The Qbeen Pigeon. Description — Number of species — Food — Anecdote . . 367 



CHAPTER XIV. 
THE INDIAN HARE. 

Description — Goes to ground when hard pressed — Foimd in valleys of lower Himalayf 
Snow hare — Indian hare very common over N. W. Provinces — WTiere found — 
Numerous enemies — A hare coursed and killed by jackal . . . 369 



CHAPTER XV. 

GUNS, RIFLES, AND SPORTING EQUIPMENTS; CAMP EQUIPAGE, 

AND CARRIAGE .... 373 



LIST OF ILLUSTEATIONS. 



-•o*- 



Howdah-Shooting ....... Frontispiece, 

PAOB 

Mt Camp vrab, Wan, in thb Hixalatas. Aretrsx 1868 . . . . 99 

Thb Stmpsd Ht.£9A ........ 113 

Tmt Wild Buffalo. Skull of Malb . . . . . . 129 



ff n 9f 



Fexale . . . . . . 139 



View of ihs Bhootan Hills fboic the Bala Stockade. Apbil 1865 . .142 



The Gbeat Indian Rhinocebob . . . . . . . 144 



The Gsbow ob Saioeb ......... 156 



The Swaxp Debb ......... 169 



ZXIV 



LIST OF ILLUSTBATI0N8. 



Camp Sxtkkot. Auorsx 1863 



PAOB 

178 



The Black Buck 



. 180 



The Ohixaeah, or Indian Gazelle. Male akd Female . 



. . 203 



The Foub-horned Antelope. Male 



. 200 



The Gooral, or IIimalatan Chamois. Male 



. . 215 



The Thar, or IIimalatan "Wild Goat. Mai^ . 



. 218 



A Group of Trophies . 



to face 227 



The Bubhel. Male ......... 228 



Female Burhei 



J » 



. 238 



Skull op Ovis Ammon 



230 



The Argali op Northern Asia 



. 246 



Camp at Goomur Tal. September 1864 



. . 280 



Fort op Burwah Saoar, near Jhansie . 



. 336 



THE 



LAEGE AM) SMALL GAME OF BENGAL 



-«>o>Koo- 



CHAPTER I. 

THE TIGER (Felis Tigris), 



Far off in desert dank and rude, 
The tiger holds its solitude. — Hebeb. 



The Tiger, in spite of numerous enemies and constant persecution, is 
still to be found in nearly all the large forests of India. In former 
years tigers were doubtless a scourge, now they are becoming rare 
even in the wooded ports of the country, where in days of yore they 
abounded, and where once a dozen could be shot by a party in the 
hot weather with but little diflSculty. Two or three now will only be 
bagged over the same ground, and these not without great exertion^ 
and perseverance. 

Skirting the base of the Himalayan range from end to end, and 
running in a direction nearly east and west for many htindreds of 
miles, stretches a vast irregular tract of high, and in many parts 
inipenetrable jungle, termed the Terai. 

The greater portion of this immense and almost unbounded cover 
consists of forest, dense thicket, and tangled vegetation ; but in many 
parts, especially near the banks of rivers and margins of lakes, a 
very high description of tall feathery- tipped grass, appropriately termed 
* elephant grass,' grows abundantly and spreads for miles over the face 
of the country. Where this grass has been burnt by the villagers 
to obtain fresh pastures for their cattle, '^ark-like glades, clothed 



i4 



y 



B 



2 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

in bright green, prevail, and to complete this splendid game preserre 
(perhaps, taken altogether, the finest in the world), namerous jheels 
and swamps here and there occur. Many of these patches of water or 
morass are of large extent, although from a distance, half-hidden firom 
view by thick belts of tall reeds and sedge which encircle their margins, 
they may appear to be of no great size. 

Sundry of these swamps, such as the well-known 'Mala' in the 
Philibheet district, never, however great the heat or scanty the rain- 
fall, become dried up, but remain from one year's end to the other 
fathomless quagmires, of such a highly dangerous nature that only the 
foolhardy or ignorant sportsman would attempt forcing a howdah 
elephant over their treacherous surface. 

Ere now, elephants urged on by their impetuous masters have been 
swallowed up in these abominable quagmires. So long as a wild beast 
is cunning enough (and there are many such) to make his den in one 
of these swamps, lying hidden throughout the day, only issuing forth 
from his lair in search of prey after nightfall, and returning again to his 
sanctuary before the dawn, he may reach a good old age, and eventu- 
ally die a natural death, for nothing in the world can harm him. 

This Terai, throughout its full extent is intersected and abundantly 
watered by divers noble rivers and purling streams, having their sources 
for the most part in far distant glaciers, or high up amidst the eternal 
snows. After cutting a passage through the higher steeps, and by 
many a tortuous route at length reaching the deep wall-bound glens 
dividing the middle ranges, the main streams gradually increase in 
volume, as each small rivulet and mountain torrent join in, and by 
degrees widen out their channels, and gliding rapidly over their rocky 
beds, as they progress through the broad open valleys of the lower hills, 
at length debouch into the plains. 

Many of these glorious rivers, on reaching the comparatively speaking 
level country at the foot of the mountains, divide into numerous and 
more or less rapid watercourses, which form between their winding 
channels islands of all shapes and sizes. Some of these 'churs' 
(as they are termed by the natives), formed of shingle and sand, 
are partially or entirely bare, others are clothed in high thick grass 
and jhow (a description of shrub common on the banks of many 
Indian streams), while others again are covered with clumps of 
splendid forest timber, often including in their ranks gigantic specimens 
of s&l and seesum. These islands, when overspread with jungle, more 



THE TIGER. 3 

especially when there is an undergrowth of matted creepers, brake, and 
thick grass combined, harbour all kinds of wild animals, and are the 
special habitat of the royal tiger. With the towering Himalayas 
hard by, affording in their deep gorges and rocky clefts, many a safe 
retreat and unapproachable sanctuary; with numberless herds of 
deer and sounders of hog within easy reach, and thousands of yillage 
cattle feeding unprotected in the grassy glades of the Terai ; and, 
finally, with an abundance of water (a sine qtui non with the Feline 
genus), the mighiy cat yet holds his own ; and in out-of-the-way nooks 
and comers, impracticable for the use of howdah elephants, or per- 
haps beyond the reach of the well-equipped hunting parties which 
each year sally forth from our Indian cantonments bent on his de- 
struction, * Felis Tigris ' may yet be said to flourish in almost undi- 
minished numbers. 

The Terai I believe to be by far the largest stronghold for tigers in 
the Indian Peninsula, but there are numberless other farourite haunts 
which, though of less extent, are many of them of such a nature as to 
present insurmountable difficulties to sportsmen. Such, for instance, 
are the well-known Sunderbuns, a group of low forest-covered islands 
situated at the mouth of the Ganges, and celebrated for holding a very 
large-framed breed of tiger. 

There are various other jungles throughout Lower Bengal where 
tigers occur more or less abundantly ; but it would be tedious to the 
reader, and, indeed, an almost impossible task, to name them all, so I 
will pass on, and briefly refer to quite another, and perhaps equally 
famed tract of country for holding tigers. I allude to Central India, 
or that vast region north of the Nerbudda, which includes Bhopal, 
Gwalior, Bundelkund, and numerous other states and provinces : 

A country full of hills and rugged rocks, 

Replenished with fierce, untamed beasts. — Shaksfeabe. 

Here again we have an immense stretch of wild, arid, and in many 
parts almost uninhabited country, which, though altogether differing in 
character from the Terai and the Bengal Sunderbuns, is yet perhaps 
equally good for holding tigers, and, moreover, presents fewer difficulties 
and obstacles for hunting them, so much so that I venture to say there 
are few Central-Indian jungles which, by the aid of elephants or 
beaters, cannot be thoroughly searched through or driven. 

B 2 



4 THE GAME OF BENGAL, 

To this last fact T should attribute the yearly increasing scarcity of 
tigers in Central India. In some parts the animals are now altogether 
extinct, though doubtless there are still many good beats which year 
after year yield a limited number of the animals, and I have no doubt 
there are many other retreats in certain localities (such as the southern 
part of Rewah for instance) which have hardly ever been visited, much 
less thoroughly explored, by English sportsmen. 

The Government reward' for slaying a tiger in Northern India 
is ridiculously small, only five rupees or ten shillings. This is very 
absurd, for nearly always there is more or less risk in ridding the 
country of such a formidable beast. Recently I believe the rewards 
have been increased in consequence of the consternation created by 
the reports sent home, and published in the newspapers of the loss of 
life, and injury to the villagers, by their cattle being carried off by 
tigers. It is undoubtedly true that great numbers of buffaloes and 
bullocks are annually destroyed in certain districts by tigers, panthers, 
and leopards. But even the destruction to cattle is much exaggerated. 
Almost in every village of Northern India, there is a low caste tribe 
called Chumars, who deal principally in hides, and are much given to 
killing cattle by means of poison, and various other ways, and putting 
the deaths down to tigers, and as it is contrary to the religion of high 
caste Hindoos (who are generally the proprietors of cattle) to have 
anything whatever to do with a deceased bullock, the hide naturally 
goes to the Chumars, who have a prescriptive right to the hide of every 
bullock dying in the village. But the reports of deaths of human 
beings have been, I believe, greatly exaggerated. Many of the published 
reports of deaths by wild animals included those occasioned by snake 
bites. 

Now, from personal experience, I venture to assert that for every 
one native, killed by all wild animals put together, at least ten lose their 
lives from the bites of cobras and other poisonous snakes. I am 
speaking of our North- Western provinces in general. During the rainy 
season and following months, from the beginning of July till the end 
of September, it is something terrible to calculate even approximately 
the number of poor creatures who die from snake bites. It is such a 
common thing for natives to lose their lives from the bite of a cobra, 



' In 8ome parts of Soutliem India the reward \r, I am told, 20 to 25 rupees, 
for a * man-eater/ sometimes 50 or 100 rupees, according to the special nature or 



and 
the 



case. 



THE TIOEB, 5 

that little notice is taken of such an occurrence. Whereas if a man 
is killed by a tiger or panther, the fact is noised abroad through the 
whole district. There can be little doubt that the proper way to keep 
tigers down is to increase the reward; native shikaries (or hunters) 
will then take the trouble to make tiger-shooting a profession. 
Usually speaking, their fire-arms are of the rudest description, but 
they never throw a chlarge away, and generally when they get a fair 
shot, lodg^ the buUeti — often a piece of hammered iron — or slugs, in 
the tiger's body, causing his death eventually, if he does not fall dead 
on the spot. 

In certain parts of the country where tigers, panthers, and leopards 
have been exterminated, wild hog and deer of various kinds have so 
increased that the crops of the villages are very much injured by 
swarms of game feeding on the com under cover of night. These 
creatures are the natural food of the tiger, and nature intended that 
he should prey on them, and a single pair of the royal beasts keep, 
down other game over a vast extent of jungle, and thus do immense 
good instead of harm. 

Some assert that there are two or three species of tiger in India 
alone, and that the animal found in the Sunderbuns is larger than, 
and of a difierent species from, his Central-Indian brother, but I do 
not think this is the case. Undoubtedly there is much diversity in 
colour, shade, size, and general appearance among tigers. I have seen 
skins of every shade : some, light yellow with numerous and narrow 
stripes, others, very dark yellow or rufous, with broad transverse bars of 
black. Some have a kind of double row of stripes as it were, some have 
small yellow spots in addition to the stripes, I have seen the skin of 
a white tiger (this however is a great rarity), and lastly, I have often 
seen skins of old animals very much faded, and the stripes almost 
imperceptible. No two tiger skins are ever I believe exactly alike. 
Yet, as I said before, in spite of skins differing in size, colour, and 
number of stripes, they all belong to one and the same species of tiger. 

Another point of frequent discussion among sportsmen and natu- 
ralists, is the size of tigers. I have actually read of a tiger 15 feet in 
length, and need hardly say, that no such animal ever existed. Jerdon 
in his * Mammalia' says: *The average size of a full-grown tiger is 
from 9 to 9^ feet in length, but I fancy there is little doubt that 
occasionally tigers are killed 10 feet in length and perhaps a few 
inches over; but the stories of tigers 11 feet and 12 feet in length, so 



6 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

often heard and repeated, certainly require confirmation, and I have 
not myself seen an authentic account of a tiger that measared more 
than 10 feet 2 inches or 10 feet 3 inches.' 

I have consulted several of our most experienced Bengal sportsmen 
on this point, and with the exception of two, who extend the extreme 
length of a tiger to 10 feet 6 inches, they aU bear oat Dr. Jeidon's 
statement, and pronounce it to be correct. I myself hare seen many 
large tigers fairly measured with a tape from the tip of the nose down 
the centre of the head and back to the tip of the tail, but only on one 
occasion have I seen one exceed 10 feet. This was a particularly 
fine male tiger, and he measured 10 feet 2 inches exactly. Tiger skins 
often measure 11 feet and upwards but these afford no criteria of 
the size of the animals they adorned, and a skin recently taken off an 
animal, will often stretch a foot and more, if pegged out very tight. 

The tigress is smaller than the tiger, she is not so thickly built, nor 
has she such enormous muscular fore arms. In both sexes, the chief 
strength is in the fore part of the body, the neck, chest, shoulders 
and arms, which are immensely thick and powerful, enabling the 
animals to pull down and destroy their prey with hardly an effort, but 
the loins and hind quarters, though symmetrical and admirably pro- 
portioned, are not nearly so strongly built, and I believe that it is 
from this cause that tigers are unable to climb trees like other cats. 
They can make prodigious springs, but cannot clamber up a tree like a 
leopard or bear. The tigress generally produces two or three cubs at a 
litter, sometimes four, and only a few years ago five cubs were found 
in the body of a tigress killed in Central India. This, however, was an 
extraordinary occurrence. 

On the birth of the young ones, or soon after, I believe, the male 
tiger separates from the female, though he is generally to be found in 
the neighbourhood. We often hear of the tiger striking down his prey 
with his paw, and doubtless occasionally he does so, but I am of 
opinion that this is not his usual mode of proceeding ; he more generally, 
I believe, springs from an ambush, or by grovelling along the g^nnd, 
approaches to within springing distance, then with a mighty bound, or 
succession of springs, he launches himself on his victim, and seizing 
it with his fangs by the back of the neck (not the throat), brings it to 
(he ground, and then gives that fatal wrench or twist, which dislocates 
the neck and at once puts an end to the struggle. I have examined 
the carcases of many scores of bullocks killed by tigers, and have in 



THE TIGER. 7 

the great majoritj of cases found the neck broken and the deep holes 
at the back of the neck caused by the tiger^s fangs. Sometimes, 
though certainly less often, I have discovered undoubted evidence that 
the dead bullock had in the first instance been felled by a blow from 
the terrible fore-arm of the tiger. 

Again, we hear of the tiger^ having despatched his victim, proceed- 
ing to drink the blood from the neck, but this is never the case ; fre- 
quently there is very little blood to be seen on the dead bullock or deer. 
I have never noticed the veins in the throat of a carcase laid open, 
or torn, as if for the purpose of getting at the blood, and if the tiger 
were in the habit of lapping the blood of a creature just killed, there 
certainly would be marks to show this on the throat. 

Natives of India invariably drive their cattle home about sunset : in 
some villages in Bundelkund I have seen the cattle coming home of 
their own accord as it becomes dusk ; instinct tells them of the danger 
of being abroad after sundown. The animals are then generally shut 
up in large pens, or sheds, or driven into some open spot in the centre of 
the village, and tethered to pegs or small posts driven into the ground. 

Even then they are not always safe. I remember in Assam, a 
tiger in the dead of night leaping over a fence nearly five feet high into 
an enclosure such as I have described, seizing one of the largest 
oxen therein, and again leaping back, dragging the bullock after him 
across several fields, and over two hedges, a distance of over two 
hundred yards, till he reached some grass jungle, where he partly 
devoured his prey. In company with a brother oflScer, I sat up over 
that bullock for several hours, but no tiger came, so home we went. 
Our disgust was great, to hear next morning, that when we were under 
our blankets, he had come later and made a hearty meal off the re- 
mainder of the carcase, for only the head and hide remained. As I 
have said, this was a large, full-grown ox, and if I had not seen the spot 
with my own eyes, and carefully examined the pen in which the cattle 
had been shut, and from which this beast had been so easily extracted ; 
and if I had not heard the account from the people of the village, 
how they had been awakened by the noise of the marauder and his 
struggling victim, and seen the traces across the fields made by the 
tiger dragging the carcase, I could hardly have believed it possible 
that the brute was possessed of such prodigious strength. 

I remember hearing of another remarkable instance of the enormous 
muscular power possessed by these animals from a friend, which I will 



8 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

relate as told to me. In the beg^inning of the rainy season i,e» about 
July, whilst he was encamped at a place called Dangra, Central 
India, intelligence was brought in to him, about mid-day, that a 
tiger had just before carried oflf a fine full-grown bullock from a herd 
grazing within a mile of his encampment. My friend proceeded 
to the place and inquired into the particulars. The cowherds showed 
him the spot where the bullock had been killed in the middle of 
an open field. The carcase had then been dragged by the tiger to the 
edge of a nullah, and thence carried across into a dense jungle. This 
per 86 was nothing very extraordinary, but on examining the tracks, 
it appeared that the tiger had dragged the bullock to the edge of 
the nullah, and then had evidently jumped with it held in his mouth 
across the ravine ; of this there could be no doubt, for there were the 
tiger's footmarks up to the edge on the one side, but not a mark in 
the nullah below, the bed of which consisted of soft mud. On the 
far side he again found the prints of the brute's paws, and the deep 
indentation in the soft bank where the body of the bullock had struck 
the ground as the tiger landed with his prey. 

Cattle are very often pulled down in broad daylight, the natives in 
charge not daring to interfere. The tiger almost always seizes one of 
the best conditioned beasts in the herd ; he does not trouble himself about 
the old or the lean, a skeleton of this kind might wSiider about all night 
with impunity. Having dragged his victim under some bushes, into a 
clump of grass, or a neighbouring nullah, he usually devours a portion of 
the carcase, commencing always at the tail, leaving the remainder for a 
future meal ; sometimes, though not often, he conceals the portion left 
for a second visit, probably the following night, and a cunning tiger who 
has been hunted, and is suspicious, will make one meal only off a carcase, 
never returning for fear of falling into a snare by so doing. Jerdon in 
his ^ Mammals of India ' writes as follows (from information obtained 
from the late Major Sherwill) on the tiger : * Tigers are very partial 
to certain localities, and avoid others to all appeamnce quite as 
favourable covers. Year after year they will be found in one localitj* 
and killed, and never be seen in another close at hand apparently quite 
as suitable.' The above are admirable remarks, and well describe the 
peculiar liking tigers have for certain spots. 

A pair will take up their residence in a certain hiding place, probably 
on the banks of some river where there is plenty of thick cover to con- 
ceal them, and numerous herds of cattle in the neighbourhood to prey 



THE TIGtlR. 9 

apoiL. At length their repeated depredations are reported to the district 
officers, and a party organised to put a stop to their evil doings. They 
are probably driven out and shot, but the strange thing is, that nvithin 
a few months, a second pair, or perhaps one old male tiger, will have 
pitched upon the same stronghold ; though it is difficult to say where 
they can have come from or what there is so particularly attractive in the 
spot. A tiger ftiakes a long round in search of food at night, usually 
a circle of many miles, and woe betide the stray ox or horse that has 
not been driven home at eventide. A tiger on returning to a kill is 
most careful and suspicious in his approach, generally making a circle 
round before attempting to take his supper. If the carcase of the 
bullock has been disturbed from the position he left it in, handled in 
any way by a human being, or removed to more open ground> an old 
tiger will at once suspect danger and make o£F. 

Usually speaking, a tiger, when shot through the body, if he escapes 
at the time, dies shortly after ; he is a hot-blooded animal, and a wound 
soon mortifies. Bears, on the contrary, recover from desperate wounds. 
I need hardly say that, like the rest of the felidse, tigersV claws are re- 
tractile ; there are five on each fore paw, four on the hind ; the claws are 
carried in a case as it were, and the tips never touch the ground except 
when he is running. In the centre of the foot there is a round pad, 
enabling the creature tOv walk without making the slightest noise and 
approach to within springing distance of such timid, restless creatures 
as many of the deer tribe are, without being discovered. I have often 
noticed when passing through the forest, deep indentations on trunks of 
trees, where a tiger has been stretching his claws (as we see our domestic 
cats continually doing). Some say it is to sharpen them, others to clean 
them, I think that it is just a lazy way of stretching themselves. 

Jerdon in his * Mammals of India,' when speaking of the leopard, 
tells us that, * Like the tiger, the leopard wilJ, if hungry, eat any dead 
carcase he can find.' Now, though I readily admit that occasionally 
the tiger will feed off a carcase which he has had no hand in killing, 
yet I am convinced that such an occurrence is most exceptional, and I 
venture to assert that one of the chief characteristics of the tiger is, 
that in its wild state it will only feed on prey of its own killing. 

African hunters tell us of lions, when prowling round an encamp- 
ment at night, carrying off meat hanging from trees; now tigers 
occasionally will walk round the tents and carry off a stray bullock or 
horse* Even camels are sometimes pulled down and devoured. This 



lo THE GAME OF BENGAL, 

has twice occurred to my own knowledge in the LuUutpore district ; 
but never I believe will they touch venison or flesh of any kind, and 
the gentleman who a few years ago, when we heard so much about 
Indian tigers, proposed in a letter to one of the newspapers to exter- 
minate * Felis Tigris ' by scattering hunks of meat saturated with poison 
in jungles inhabited by tlie royal beast, was not well acquainted with 
the habits of the animal, or he would never have made so absurd a 
proposition. I have often heard the question asked, ' Which is the 
more powerful animal, the African lion or the Asiatic tiger? and 
in a fair combat which of the two would prevail ? It certainly would 
be a grand sight to witness such a battle royal, and it is difficult to say 
which of two such powerful animals would come off the victor. An 
Anglo-Indian would, I imagine, argue in favour of him with the striped 
coat, and an African hunter probably back the gentleman with the 
shaggy mane. Such a battle did actually occur many years ago, at a 
menagerie, if I remember rightly. A tiger burst through the partition 
separating him from an African lion, and killed the latter in a few 
minutes, but the duel was not a fair one, for the tiger was a fine lusty 
male in the prime of life, whereas the lion was a patriarch whose best 
days had passed and whose teeth were in anything but fighting order. 

Tigers can be found with tolerable certainty during the hot 
weather months, from about April 1 till June 15 ; the jungles during 
this period become dried up by the intense heat and scorching wind, so 
that for miles not a blade of green grass is to be seen, and nearly all 
the forest trees have dropped their leaves ; moreover, the natives set 
fire to the grass in all directions to obtain a fresh crop, so that what 
was once a thick dense cover concealing all kinds of wild animals 
becomes a desolate black wilderness in a single day. The consequence 
is that only on the banks of rivers or swamps where there is yet mois- 
ture is there a particle of jungle left, and here, huddled together into 
this small compass, are the whole of the animals, both camivora and 
ruminantia, of a large extent of country. When so situated tigers do 
not wander far ; they can procure food close at hand with little trouble ; 
starting after dusk for their nightly rounds, they return before day- 
light to the same lair. 

After the first fall of rain, however, the grass and vegetation grow 
up with surprising quickness, and once more the animals spread over 
the country ; one day a pair of tigers may be in one spot and the next 
ten or twelve miles away ; in fiujt, there is no certainty where they may 



i 



THE TIOEE, II 

be found, and conseqaently during the rains and cold season but few 
tigers are brought to bag. 

In the hot weather the big eats have a beautiful smooth glossy 
coat, the hair being very short ; as the temperature becomes colder the 
fur grows, and by November or December the winter coat is about an 
inch in length, and at the neck (especially just behind the jaws, where 
often there is a regular tuft of hair) still longer ; this long coat again 
drops off about March or April. A tiger if in good health keeps his 
coat in perfect order : those we see at home, shut up in cages, never 
show the splendid condition, the muscular power, or the glossy coats 
and briUianc}*' of fur displayed by the wild ones of the jungle. 

Not only is the tiger found all along the foot of the Himalayas, 
but it is not uncommon for the animal to ascend the valleys of 
that splendid range to a considerable height. I have seen their foot- 
marks and traces at a height of 8,000 feet. I remember a tigress 
inhabiting a forest above the Pindur river in Gurhwal for several years, 
and a deal of mischief she caused. A poor herdboy was killed within a 
mile of my tent by this tigress. The unfortunate fellow was driving 
home his buffaloes at eventide, later than was prudent, knowing, as he 
must have done, that this dangerous beast frequented this part, and as he 
was crossing a deep valley, by a narrow footpath with a dense jungle 
on either side, the tigress suddenly sprung on a cow-buffalo lagging 
behind the others and pulled it down. The brave lad most foolishly 
went to the rescue and attempted to drive the brute off her prey, and 
in doing so received so terrible a blow from the paw of the tigress that 
he never spoke again. At the time this happened my leave was up, 
and I had not even a day. to spare, or I should certainly have devoted 
a week or two in an endeav«)ur to destroy this pest. 

Not far, however, from the spot where the tragedy now related 
occurred, a gentleman, a tea-planter, residing in that part of the 
country, killed a fine tiger with a single ball. 

It is commonly supposed, I believe, by those who have never visited 
India, that it is a dangerous practice in the daytime to pass through 
jungles inhabited by tigers, but it is astonishing how very seldom one 
of the animals is seen unless search is made for him in his very lair. 
Moreover, when the sun is up, all wild beasts retire to their dens or 
caves, where they lie asleep till night sets in, so that there is little 
probability of meeting with a tiger in broad daylight. And should 
such an extraordinary, not to say unpleasant, meeting take place. 



12 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

forty-nine out of fifty tigers would be only too glad, with a surly 
growl, to get out of the way of a man on foot passing through tlie forest 
— I will not guarantee anything after dark — provided that the latter 
only stood steady on viewing the enemy, or passed on as if he had 
not observed him with the striped coat. 

Only once during my many wanderings have I met a tiger unex- 
pectedly, and when unprepared for such a vis-a-vis. It happened as 
follows : Many years ago, when I was a * GrifiSn ' (or a novice in 
Indian ways and customs), I was quartered with a wing of my regi- 
ment in Assam. It was a very out-of-the-way part of the country and 
by no means a favourite station, but as the shooting in the neighbour- 
hood was good, I was perfectly happy. Like most young fellows who 
are sportsmen, I made use of some of my servants for shooting 
purposes. Now bheesties, or water-carriers, are frequently useful 
men to take out on a shooting excursion, especially when after wild- 
fowl ; and often enough the man who has charge of your dogs, called 
* mehtur * or sweeper, is pressed into the service, but I made use of 
my * dhobie ' or washerman, for shikar expeditions, which was a most 
unusual practice, for as a rule they are a mild race of beings, quite 
unsuited for sport. 

Nor was this man an exception, for though clever enough at his 
own vocation, he was a useless wretch at shikar, and was continually 
telling me, when I reproved him for anything, that it was not his busi- 
ness, which was true enough. He was very particular about his feet, 
and complained about the thorns lacerating them, so I gave him a pair 
of native shoes to wear when out with me. The consequence was that 
he made such a noise clumping along that when on the look-out for 
deer I always made him follow at a distance. It happened that we 
had a dinner-party at the mess : the guests consisted of two or three 
civilians and a few planters, who composed the whole of the station. 
We were short of supplies, having to live almost entirely on ducks 
and fowls, and my commandant requested me to sally forth and rein- 
force the cuisine with some game. I did not require much persuasion 
to go out ; so about three o'clock I made a stai-t, and as usual pressed 
my dhobie into the service to carry my rifle. 

Within a mile or two of our barracks there was a dense jungle in- 
habited by buffiilo and other animals, and I had been warned by the 
planters and others acquainted with the country that I ought never to 
be without a rifle, as at any time one might come across tiger, buffalo. 



TIIE TIGER, , 13 

or even rhinoceros within a few miles of the station, and towards sunset 
there was a good chance of a shot at a hog-deer or a wild boar, so I 
always carried a weapon loaded with ball. We made our way through 
the grass in the direction of a village situated in the middle of the 
jungle, where a large extent of ground had been cleared for cultivation, 
and where I knew from previous visits there was very fair bird shoot- 
ing. There were some fields of mustard skirting the grass jungle, 
and of an evening two descriptions of partridges, viz., the black and the 
kyah or marsh partridge, issued forth from the high cover to feed in 
the mustard. The sport was better than usual ; in less than a couple 
of hours I had several brace of birds, including five quail, strung on 
the stick, and just before giving over, a hare jumped up, which I 
knocked over. This was a treasure, for hares were rare in that part 
of Assam. It was then time to leave ofiF, for the sun was already 
low, we had a long two miles to tramp, and night sets in rapidly 
in the £ast. 

We bent our steps homewards, I leading the way, with my 
shot-gun on my shoulder, my companion close behind carrying rifle 
and birds. The path was a winding one and led through tall feathery 
grass ; every now and then we came to broad glades in the jungle, 
where, a few weeks before, the cover had been fired by the natives ; 
these glades or openings were now covered with short fresh grass, 
and were favourite feeding-places for deer, especially early in the 
morning or towards sunset, so when we came to one of them, I 
slackened my pace, advanced more cautiously, and looked carefully 
round in hopes of viewing one of the animals I have mentioned. 
We had got through about half the journey, and the sun had alto- 
gether disappeared, though there was still sufficient light to see 
objects clearly, when we came to one of these above- noted glades, a 
narrow strip, perhaps a hundred yards long, and nowhere naore than 
twenty yards broad, covered with grass about a foot in height, with 
small clumps of bushes here and there. 

As I paused on coming out of the tall cover I noticed something 
moving about forty or fifty yards oflf to my left front, the tall 
feathery grass swaying about slightly, but quite sufficiently to attract 
attention ; only a few minutes before, I had observed several head 
of cattle, and imagined that it was a stray bullock causing the 
movement on the edge of the cover; but the next moment a very 
different sort of creature appeared, for out walked a full-grown 



14 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

tigress, and close behind, her a cub of about ten or twelve months, 
I should say. She was crossing the glade broadside to me, from 
left to right, and quite unaware of my close proximity. Now as 
usual my follower was lagging behind, but the halt that I had made 
allowed him to catch me up : and on he came ^ clump, clump, clump,' 
with his thick shoes. It was in yain that 1 motioned to him with my 
open hand to walk lightly, he only opened his eyes and inquired 
*Kya hai. Sahib?' (What is it, Sir). I kept looking at the brute 
and then at the approaching man, till at length, as I expected, the 
tigress looked round, saw us at once, and slowly sank down in the 
grass, her eyes still fixed on us until nothing but her round head was 
to be seen. 

I kept motioning to my stupid servant to give me the rifle and take 
the gun ; he could not comprehend what was the matter till he was close 
to me, and just as I snatched the rifle from him and flung the gun on the 
ground he saw the head above the grass ; he trembled all over and turned 
a kind of ^ pea-green ' colour. I put my hand on his shoulders and pushed 
him down behind a small thorn bush, and was just kneeling on one knee, 
not knowing very well in my own mind what was to be done next, 
when the tigress turned round, and by a rapid movement covered the 
remaining distance to the opposite side of the glade from that she 
had come from, and as she disappeared, in the very act of entering 
the high jungle, I took a snap shot at her. She gave a deep growl 
in return, but did not turn round on us. It was a foolish thing 
to do, but I could not for the life of me resist the temptation. I 
fancied I heard the thud of the bullet on her side, and asked my 
dhobie if such was his opinion, but he was in a state of collapse and 
only muttered ^ let us be off out of this,' and indeed it was time to be 
off, for it was rapidly getting dark, and for what we knew to the 
contrary, there might be more tigers about, possibly paterfamilias him- 
self, so having i-etired a short distance and reloaded, we left the path 
that we had hitherto been following, and by a detour in a few minutes 
reached a more open country, my servant leading the way and continu- 
ally looking behind him, and I must confess that I caught myself more 
than once doing the same ; but we were not followed, as might have 
happened after the provocation I had given to a tigress with young. 

We reached the barracks soon after, and, full of excitement, I related 
the adventure to my brother officers. We ordered out four elephants 
with three howdahs up, to be ready soon after daylight, and the following 



THE TIGER. 15 

morning went straight to the spot, where I had seen the tigress, but 
after a careful examination could not discover a drop of blood or a sign 
that the animal had been wounded. We carefully searched the jungle 
in the neighbourhood, and within a quarter of a mile of the place dis- 
covered a regular den, where evidently the animals had resided for a long 
time : the heavy grass and reeds were beaten down flat, for a space of 
several yards, there was an unwholesome odour in the vicinity, and the 
ground was strewn with the bones of bullocks, deer and pigs, but the tigers 
had wisely taken their departure. I regretted when too late my hastiness 
on the previous evening ; it was a rash act under the circumstances to 
have fired a shot, and had I left the mother and cub alone and unmolested, 
the probabilities are that they both would have fallen to our rifles the 
following morning. As for my dhobie, he prayed for his discharge, 
declaring that he wished to have no more of such adventures, and that 
* shikar * was not what he had enlisted for in my service. There was 
some truth in this, so I promised to drag him out with me no more, 
and we made peace. 

I believe tbat the greater number of tigers prey principally on 
cattle. It is so much easier for them to procure a fat bullock 
than to roam the whole jungle through after deer and hog, creatures * 
always on the qui vivSy and who frequently discover and escape from 
their enemy ere he can make good his spring. In Bundelkund a 
pair of tigers often in the hot weather take up their abode within 
a mile of a village, probably on the bank of some river or stream 
where there is sufficient cover to conceal them. Every three or four 
days these tyrants sally out from their lair and pull down a bullock 
or young buffalo; this state of things goes on often for months 
together, and the damage occasioned is enormous ; but the natives 
appear to look on their losses in the light of a tax, or as their fate, 
that must be endured ; day after day they drive out their flocks and 
herds to the very jungles where they well know that ^uite recently a 
bullock was taken. 

The villagers, moreover, do not appear to be anxious, generally speak- 
ing, to get rid of their enemy. Many castes have a superstitious dread 
of assisting in killing a tiger, and if a party of European gentlemen do 
come into the neighbourhood purposely equijii^^ for shooting tigers, 
such is the apathy of the people of the country, that unless they are 
acquainted with * the sahibs,' or know them to be officers over their 
own district, with whom, for obvious reasons, they desire to be on good 



1 6 TUE GAME OF BENGAL. 

terms, likely enough they will not open their mouths, or give the 
slightest information, although every one of them could, if he chose, point 
out the very spot where a tiger, which has quite recently devoured 
dozens of their cattle, lies at the very time concealed. This appears to 
be very extraordinary and unaccountable, but such is the case in many 
districts that I have visited, such as Jhansie, LuUutpore, and Gwalior. 

A sportman to be successful in such wild districts as I have just 
named must be a tolerable linguist, accustomed to the ways and habits 
of the natives, and, above all, not too proud to associate and converse 
with the poor jungle tribes. He should invariably show kindness to 
the villagers, and keep his servants in a strict state of discipline, not 
allowing them to annoy or bully the natives, as they are constantly in 
the habit of doing, e.g, of obtaining food without paying for it, or of 
beating down the legitimate prices of the village bunniah or grain- 
seller. 

On arriving at a village, he should in the evening send for the head 
men of the place, speak kindly to them, inquire after their crops, find 
out if the bunniah has sufficient com, flour, &c., to supply him and bis 
camp followers, and if not (which ia very often the case, and such a 
sudden invasion is sometimes most inconvenient, not to say a severe 
tax on the villagers) he should enter into such arrangements that the 
people may have no cause to complain, and finally, he should make it 
an invariable practice, when striking his camp, and about to march 
elMwhere, to inquire if eyerything supplied to himself, servants, camp 
followers, and beaters, has been fully paid for. The probabilities are, 
that should he visit that same village on a future occasion, he will be 
welcomed by its inhabitants, and if there be a tiger prowling in 
the neighbourhood, the people will not only give information where to 
find him, but assist in driving him out. 

Though several of my predecessors, well experienced in the ways 
and habits of the tiger, have pointed out that the animal seldom if 
ever roars, and altogether differs from the lion in this respect, yet we 
constantly see allusion made in print to the * roar of the tiger j ' in fact 
it is almost a proverbial expression. The only occasion on which I ever 
heard the animal give utterance to what might perhaps be called a 
roar, was once when T was encamped near a jungle, which had till quite 
recently been inhabited by a pair of tigers. The male tiger had how- 
ever just before our arrival, fallen to the matchlock of a Thakoor, 
and the disconsolate widow, the tigress, for hours together on the night 



THE TIGER. • 17 

of onr arrival, continaed calling for her mate, often in a loud mournful 
cry which, as I said before, might perhaps be called a roar. 

Mr. Dunlop, in his interesting work * Hunting in the Himalayas,' 
weU describes the truly unpleasant sound which a tiger utters when, 
fuU of fury, he comes out, and charges his foes. He says : 

* Its charge is accompanied with a succession of rapid, startling, 
coughing growls.' But this again cannot be called a roar. 

I have frequently at night heard tigers when going their rounds, 
(and hungry, I believe), make a low yawning whine. This is generally 
done by a tiger holding his head close to the ground : the yawn ends oflf 
with a kind of subdued grunt, not unlike distant thunder. More than 
once, when encamped high up in the Himalayas, on a still night, 
I have heard this same yawning whine, far down in the valleys below. 
Once when halting at a place called Eamgurh, between Nynee Tal and 
Almorah, in company with two friends, we heard a tiger, apparently 
about half a mile off, in a deep valley behind the Dawk Bungalow, and 
soon after, the repeated barking of two kakur {Cervuhis aureus, the 
little barking deer) on the face of an opposite hill, showed the 
direction which the tiger was taking. 

Again, when in camp with my brother-in law in the Philibheet 
district near the banks of the Sardah, I was awakened one night by a 
police sentry, who was in a bit of a funk, I suspect, at having heard 
a tiger passing down the opposite bank cf the river, only a few hundred 
yards off, and uttering, at intervals of perhaps a minute, the same 
moaning yawn that I have already described. The following morning 
1 came across the tiger's punjahs, or foot-prints, and from the 
size of them he must have been a grand beast. Most cats dislike 
water, but a tiger disturbed by beaters and suspecting danger in front, 
will not shrink from taking to water, and swimming across a river, to 
avoid the snare laid for him. I have twice seen this happen. 

A very extraordinary occurrence took place a few years ago near a 
place called Morari in the Lullutpore district. I tell the tale as it was 
told to me. Three sportsmen were out in the month of May beating 
for tigers, and one day put up a pair of them on the bank of a river. 

n 8 (the narrator of the story) was posted on one side of the river, 

where the bank was very steep, rocky, and bare of trees ; his com- 
panions G n, of the 93rd Highlanders (then stationed at Jhansie, 

and later of Ashantee fame), and C-^— e, were on the other bank, 
seated on a ledge of rock overhanging a thin strip of sparse jungle 





i8 THE GAME OF BENGAL, 

between them and the river. All round them the foliage and thicket 
was very dense. As I have said, a pair of tigers were found, and driven 
forward by the shouts of the beaters. These showed themselves within 
gun-shot of the position where the two hunters on the rock awaited 

them. One beast came forward, and was hit through the body by G n. 

It scrambled down the bank of the river, took to the water, and com- 
menced swimming across a large, deep pool directly towards H s, 

who called out to his comrades to cease firing, and that he would put an 
end to the wounded brute as soon as ever it reached his side of the river ; 
which would have been an easy matter, I imagine, for he showed me 
where his post was, above the water and well out of harm's way. The 
pair of sportsmen however, did not take this good advice, but fired 
several more shots at the beast in the act of swimming across, and 
when it had reached about the very centre and deepest part of the 

pool, a shot from C e took efiPect, and killed at once. H s 

informed me that he believed the bullet struck the tiger on the back of 
the head, and then, extraordinary as it may read, the beast slowly sank 
and was never found again. 

H s assured me that from his position, whence he had a com- 
manding and clear view, he could for nearly half a minute see the carcase 
of the tiger sinking farther and farther down in the deep blue water, 
until it altogether disappeared, and for ever; in spite of a large 
reward being offered, and every effort made to recover the dead animal. 
It was certainly a hard piece of luck. T have passed the spot several 
times, and once noticed within a mile of the place a pair of crocodiles 
lying side by side asleep on a slab of rock. It is possible that they 
or some of their brethren benefited by this extraordinary occurrence, 
for I suspect a crocodile would at once take advantage of such an 
opportunity and gladly make a meal off the carcase. I have read of 
instances in which the scaly reptile has not shrunk from a single 
combat with a tiger, when the latter has approached the water's 
edge to drink. One thing sportsmen should remember from the above 
tale — don't fire at a tiger when swimming in deep water. 

The tiger has few enemies able or willing to attack him besides 
man. 1 have frequently been told by the jungle tribes of the Central 
provinces and Bundelkund, that the tiger, great and powerful as he is, 
fears the wild dog ; that he would leave a jungle as soon as ever a pack 
of these ravenous brutes enter it, not only from dread of Cuon rutilans 
but also because he weU knows that game of all kinds desert a jungle 



THE TIGEB. 19 

Boon after the arrival of a wild pack : and that occasionally they had 
known of tigers having been killed and devoured by wild dogs. I 
could never bring myself to believe this, though so repeatedly assured 
by old shikaries that to their certain knowledge instances had occurred 
during their time. It seems so unlikely that wild dogs should attack 
such a formidable foe as a tiger, in a combat with whom they would 
be certain of getting plenty of hard knocks even if they did prevail iu 
the end, especially when the jungles hard by were probably full of all 
kinds of deer, which they could hunt down with ease. I say that until 
the last few years I was of opinion that such an occurrence was too 
improbable to be believed ; my belief, however, was very much shaken 

by an iijquiry held by my friend H s and myself into the facts 

of the reported killing of a tiger by wild dogs in 1872, and I am not 
nearly so incredulous now. 

Before joining H s for our usual hot weather campaign against 

the ferse of the Lullutpore jungles, he had written to me, saying that 
a report had recently come in from the southern part of the district, 
of a tiger having been killed and devoured by wild dogs, and that he 
proposed we should make a point of visiting the spot and instituting 
a strict inquiry into the whole circumstances of the case. We did 
so about a month after, and from the testimony of the people of the 
place, it appeared that the natives inhabiting a small village in a very 
wild and out-of-the-way part of the country, had been aware for 
several months that a pair of tigers were in possession of the surround- 
ing jungles. One night early in the hot weather, several of them when 
sitting out in the moonlight, heard a most extraordinary noise in the 
forest hard by ; they imagined it to be occasioned by two male tigers 
fighting ; not an unusual occurrence at certain times of the year. On 
the following morning when going out to cut wood, a party of them by 
chance came across the bones of a tiger recently killed, lying in every 
direction, with a large piece of flesh and skin adhering to one hind leg ; 
moreover they found three wild dogs lying dead in one spot. We 
examined five or six most respectable natives separately, and cross- 
examined each one severely, to elicit the truth, and they certainly did 
not contradict one another in any material point, in fact so ^trong and 
complete was the chain of evidence, that we both felt inclined to change 
the opinion we had hitherto held on this interesting topic. Since then 
I have heard of another combat between similar champions, not ter- 
minatihg, however, with the same result. A sportsman was out in camp 

c 2 



A. 
I 



20 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

in Central India in 1873, and a tiger killed a bnllock not far from the 
encampment, and apparently while occupied at his gory repast was 
attacked by wild dogs, probably endeavouring to obtain possession of 
the prey. A tremendous battle had taken place, and no less than five 
wild dogs were left dead on the field, while the tiger appears to have 
made good his escape. 

I am indebted to a friend for the following interesting anecdote 
giving an account of a mortal combat between a tiger and wild boar. 
He says : — 

* In the cold weather of 1865, when shooting in the Saugor district 
near a place called Preprasser, I found a large patch of grass trodden 
down and covered with blood and bristles. On searching about we found 
an old grey boar of the largest size lying dead, and on beating another 
cover close by for spotted deer, came across a dead tiger covered with 
wounds, and his bowels protruding. On tracking back we found marks 
of blood leading from where the boar was lying. The inference was 
clear. The tiger and old solitary wild boar had evidently had a fight, 
the former most probably the aggressor in the first instance. The 
result was the death of both the champions.' 

The natives of Assam at certain seasons of the year kill numbers of 
deer, hog, and such like animals, by driving them into nets skilfully 
placed on the outskirts of thick patches of grass and thicket. Not 
unfrequently a tiger in endeavouring to steal oflf becomes entangled in 
the meshes of one of these nets, when there is usually a • cut and run ' 
made by the hunters. When stationed at Tezpore, in May 1866, an 
unfortunate native was struck down by a netted tiger, and fearfully 
injured. The case was not altogether hopeless, if the sufferer had, 
without a mementos delay, received proper treatment from a skilful 
surgeon, but the wounded man happened to be a * Holy Brahmin,' so 
his friends would not consent to his being attended by an Englishman, 
and the consequence was he died shortly after. 

In the Cossyah Hills, where tigers are very destructive in certain 
localities, I often noticed traps set for them, but have never known one 
captured, though leopards were constantly caught. 

The tigers on the Eastern Frontier have an especial predilection for 
horse flesh, and when I was stationed at Cherra Poonjee in 1865, tigers 
at night constantly ascended the bare table land on which the station 
is built, from the heavy jungles at the foot of the Cossyah range, and 
carried off horses and ponies. Two of my brother officers sat up one 



THE TIGER. 21 

evening over the carcase of a * tattoo ' or pony, which had been killed 
the previons night, but only a small portioli devoured, so that there was 
every probability of the marauder returning for a second meaJ. They 
took up a position in the ruins of an old building, 01. the edge of a 
plateau. Before the sun had set the tiger appeared, and two or three 
shots were fired at him, but he made off, though the sportsmen believed 
that he had been struck. 

An extraordinary event happened while I was stationed at Jhansie. 

Our brigadier. Colonel B n (since dead, I regret to say), and one of 

his subalterns, C ft, were out together in the Seepree district tiger 

shooting. One morning they put up a large tiger and shot him. The 
beaters reported to them that they had come across the carcase of a 
bear, recently kiUed and half eaten, near the spot where they had first 
put up the tiger just accounted for. The two sportsmen examined the 
remains of the bear, and became convinced that the tiger had not only 
killed, but devoured the missing portion of poor * Bhaloo.' To clear 
up all doubt they had the tiger opened, and portions of the bear's flesh 
were found in his stomach. This is the only instance of the kind that I 
have ever heard of. It is not unusual when beating for large game to 
put up tigers and bears, sometimes also panthers, in the same cover.. 

There are three ways of carrying on tiger shooting practised by 
English sportsmen in the East. The first and most general plan is 
howdah shooting. A well-orgauisod party of perhaps four guns, with 
fifteen or twenty elephants, more or less, even in these times may bag 
perhaps twenty tigers in a month or six weeks, besides other game. 
Howdah shooting in my opinion is decidedly the best mode for carrying 
on the sport. 

Next we have the * hankwa,' or driving certain patches or tracts of 
jungle with an army of beaters, the guns posted in advance, either in 
machans (seats made with poles in lofty trees) or on the top of rocks 
or other commanding positions. Under such circumstances there is 
little if any more danger than in howdah shooting so far as the sportsmen 
are concerned, though there is always a risk of some of the beaters 
getting mauled. Occasionally, especially when driving the broad bed of 
a river, the guns are simply posted in an irregular line to cover the 
ground, and the sportsmen stand behind bushes or patches of grass, 
there being no trees or rocks at hand to take advantage of. I need 
hardly say that the sport is then dangerous, and is really what we so 
often hear about — Shooting on foot. 



22 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

This plan of carrying on tiger shooting is adopted in Bandelkand, 
Gwalior, and other parts of Central India ; also in Bombay ; ifvherever, 
in fact, the groand is impracticable for using elephants. 

In certain localities — only in forest country, I imagine — a system of 
driving the jungle with beaters in the direction of a line of machans 
has been successfully carried on for a series of years, but only, so far 
as I am awai^e, in one particular part of the country specially adapted 
for the sport, viz. the Mirzapore jungles in the neighbourhood of the 
Soane river. The manner of conducting and carrying out successfully 
this excellent and safe method of tiger shooting has been fully 
described quit^ recently by * A late Customs' OflScer ' in his interesting 
work, ' Past Days in India.' 

There is yet another way of killing tigers, generally despised by 
Europeans, and that is, sitting up in a irachan or tree over a kill or 
pool of water, and waiting till the tiger comes to make his supper 
or quench his thirst, as the case may be, and then giving his royal 
highness a warm reception. I must confess that I myself have a 
partiality for the sport, though I cannot boast of having met with any 
great success. 

T have never had the good fortune to be included in one of the 
well-equipped and thoroughly organised parties that each year sweep 
through portions of our own and the Nepaul Terai, sometimes 
numbering thirty or more elephants. Good sport under such circum- 
stances is almost certain, and a number of tigers are yearly killed in 
this manner with little difficulty, and with hardly any danger to the 
sportsmen. Such opportunities of sport are, however, usually speaking, 
open to only a few. I may say, however, that I have seen a fair 
amount of howdah shooting in Assam and Bohilkund, and for the 
benefit of those unacquainted with the manner of carrying on this 
sport, I will describe the general plan of procedure, and add a few 
hints which I have learnt b)' experience, and which may possibly be of 
use to a tyro. 

The first and great point, after procuring leave of absence, making 
up a party, and agreeing to start on a certain date, is to obtain a 
sufficient number of elephants to beat with, and a few extra steady 
ones accustomed to the sport, to put the howdahs on. Often this is no 
easy matter. In certain parts of the country, such as the Philibheet 
district, for instance, elephants fit for tiger shooting are numerous and 
easily procured. Almost every Mussulman Zemindar, or native of any 



THE TIGEF. 23 

rank, possesses one at least, sometimes two or three elephants, and in 
such a quarter there is little difficulty (especially if a district officer 
forms one of the party) in collecting the desired number. On the 
other hand, in Bundelkund, Gwalior, and in the Central Provinces, 
elephants for the most part are exceedingly scarce. Often there is 
the greatest trouble in engaging six or eight, and to obtain these 
the sportsmen have generally to depend on the assistance of the com- 
missariat officer of the nearest large station. Some of the best howdah 
elephants that I have ever come across have been the property of 
Grovernment. Having bespoken and engaged a sufficient number of 
both howdah and pad (beating) elephants, the next thing is to send 
out a gang of experienced shikaries as an advance guard a full 
month before a start is made, with instructions to proceed through 
the tract of country determined on as the most likely to produce 
sport, and to make foil inqairies m route from the villagers and 
country people, and especially from local shikaries, if tigers are about, 
and where. They should ascertain where cattle have recently been 
killed, and proceed to the spot themselves to discover the lair of 
the tiger or tigers. I have already mentioned that in the hot weather 
these animals do not wander much, but keep in one particular spot ; 
they will then inform the country people that * the sahibs ' are coming, 
and that if they will furnish reliable * khubber * to the sportsmen on 
their arrival a few weeks l^ter, and keep an eye meanwhile on the 
cattle slayers they will recieive a handsome reward for their trouble. 

Probably before the hunters get under way the leader of the gang 
sent in advance will have returned from his rounds, and if he is an 
intelligent, trustworthy man, a very good idea may be formed from his 
report of the prospect of a good bag being made, or the contrary. 

By ascertaining all this before starting, and altering the course 
accordingly, so as to pick up one tiger reported here and another 
there, an immense amount of labour and time is saved. 

On the arrival of the party, near some spot where a tiger has been 
reported to be in the neighbourhood, and an encampment having been 
ibrmed — probably in a tope (clump) of trees near a village for the 
convenience of getting supplies — a consultation is held, in which the 
village shikary, should there be one, and the aheers or cattle-keepers 
of the village, are included. If the tiger, by recent depredations, has 
shown his exact whereabouts, or has been tracked to his lair, then no 
time should be lost in looking him up. But if, as is often the case 



24 THE OAME OF BENGAL. 

thongh he is known to be prowling about, there is a doubt, on account 
of the extent and denseness of the cover, as to his exact lair, other steps 
may be necessary to lead to ultimate success before ordering the 
elephants out. 

An excellent plan, under the circumstances I have described, 
though it may appear cruel to some, is, to have four or five bullocks, or 
still better, young fat buffaloes, tied up that same evening in certain parts 
of the jungle frequented by the tiger, and left out during the night. 
The buffaloes should be hobbled, not tied up by ropes round the neck. 
The latter proceeding often awakens the suspicions of a cunning tiger, 
who straightway declines meddling with the bait, and makes off. The 
probabilities are that the jungle tyrant will within a day or two, likely 
enough the very first night, take one of these baits, and make a hearty 
meal off the unfortunate victim, and then there is every chance of his 
coming to grief, for usually speaking, having procured his dinner and 
filled his stomach, he becomes lazy, and meditating a second repast ere 
long off the same carcase, proceeds to some hiding-place not far off, 
lies down, and, gorged with flesh, speedily falls into a heavy sleep. He 
is awakened by a crashing in the cover, caused by a mob of huge 
animals forcing their way through the thicket, with his enemies the 
white faces on their backs. At once he comprehends the danger of his 
position, and stealthily attempts to flee, but in vain ; his striped coat 
is seen, and presently a volley from the howdahs rolls him over ; with 
an angry growl he recovers his legs, and turns round on his pursuers, 
but only to be speedily shot down. 

After a * kill ' — the term used in India for the carcase of a bullock or 
buffalo killed by a tiger — has been reported, the usual plan adopted is 
for the sportsmen to turn out, get their howdahs up, and with as little 
delay as possible beat up carefully all the most likely places in the 
vicinity of the carcase. But before starting, an experienced leader 
should be elected from among the party, one well acquainted with the 
country and the manner of conducting howdah shooting, and his 
orders must be implicitly obeyed by all. 

It is a fine sight to witness a line of elephants beating for big game, 
more especially to one mounted on a steady staunch elephant, with 
double-barrels arranged in readiness on each side. Sometimes on 
great occasions, as many as forty or fifty elephants are employed by one 
party, but I have never been out with more than twelve, which is a 
good number for three guns, one on either flank, slightly in advance 



THE TIOEB, 25 

of the general line, the third in the centre. The elephants should not 
be hurried or pressed, but allowed to push their way leisurely through 
the cover. 

K the jungle is very thick, and festoons of creepers and dense 
matted thicket bar the way, as is often the case, especially in forest 
country, the elephants should be kept tolerably close together. On 
reaching a more open country, with shorter or less tangled cover, they 
may be again extended, according as the leader may direct. He also 
gives orders for wheeling, changing direction, or any other manceuvre 
that he may deem necessary. 

When beating thick grass jungle extending for miles over a level 
country, as is often the case in Assam, the whole body of elephants 
will be kept in line ; but when driving valleys or nullahs at the foot 
of ranges of hills, it is often necessary to send one or more guns on 
ahead to guard passes or gorges, through which a cunning tiger may 
make his escape, and then reach some rocky mountain where elephants 
cannot follow. These ^ stops ' having reached their positions in 
advance by a detour, and with as little noise as possible, the remainder 
of the elephants beat up towards them, and should t^e tiger be at 
home, he is placed between two fires, and probably one or other of the 
sportsmen gets a shot. 

When sent on in front to guard a passage such as I have attempted 
to describe, the sportsman on reaching his post should if possible place 
!his elephant behind a bush or clump of grass sufficiently high to par- 
tially conceal him, and yet with a good view all round ; perfect silence 
and a good look-out should be kept. It is wonderful bow silently the 
big cats approach. 

I was once posted in such a position^ far in advance of the beaters 
(it was in Bundelkund, where men are used to drive the jungle), and 
soon after the first shouts from the distant host had given notice that 
the ^ hank,' i.e. drive, had commenced, a large tiger came stealing along. 
When I fired at him he certainly was not ten yards oflF, creeping 
along below my position, and without any idea that his days were 
numbered. By good luck my first shot struck him fair between the 
shoulders, breaking his back and completely flooring him there and 
then. I had taken the precaution, knowing the elephant to be an 
unsteady one, of turning his tail towards the beat) and thus obtained 
one steady shot before the elephant was aware of the proximity of the 
tiger. Immediately the former learnt by the dying growls of the 



26 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

tiger what was up, he attempted to bolt, bnt fortunately the mahout 
managed to stop him aftei some little trouble. Tigers can see but 
little in the full glare of an Indian sun, and if an elephant will stand 
tolerably steady, even with little cover in the vicinity, and especially 
in the bed of a river, with rocks and boulders around him resembling 
much in colour his own hide, nine chances to one an advancing tiger 
does not become aware of his awkward position till quite close up, and 
well within range of the occupant of the howdah. Then with a pause 
and a look up he comprehends the snare laid for him, but probably 
all too late to escape the danger. 

Half the battle in howdah shooting, in fact the chief and most 
important point of all, is to be mounted on a staunch elephant, with a 
good mahout on his neck, not afraid when the time comes to take 
his charge into action. A very moderate shot, under such favourable 
circumstances, may even in these times kill his half-dozen tigers in a 
single month, and without incurring the slightest risk or danger in 
accomplishing such a feat. 

If on joining a party you are permitted to choose an elephant for 
your own howdah, do not be in a hurry or trust too much to appear- 
ances in making your selection. Pine^ handsome tuskers are often the 
greatest cowards, and small, insignificant-looking females the very best 
and pluckiest ; in fact I think female elephants are generally to be pre- 
ferred. 

Having selected your elephant find out if possible all about his 
or her antecedents and various peculiarities, and also inform )'our- 
self by inquiries what sort of character the mahout bears. Promise 
the latter a small reward for every head of large game you kill, and 
take an early opportunity of showing the man that you use straight 
powder. This will give him confidence, and he will not be afraid when 
the time comes to take you up to a crouching tiger. A mahout does not 
care to go in for a scrimmage knowing that he has a muff behind 
him, and that likely enough his elephant, perhaps himself, may get 
mauled in the first encounter. The mahout can with ease, should he 
be so inclined, and without his master being a bit the wiser, not only 
make his elephant unsteady, but prevent the animal, however willing, 
from going up to the tiger at all, although apparently, with voice, arms, 
and legs, using every endeavour to urge the huge beast on in the 
desired direction. 

However, I have learnt by experience that it is as well if possible to 



THE TIGEB. 27 

keep on good terms with your mahout and not lose your temper should 
he through nervousness or other cause misbehave. Sometimes he 
certainly is most aggravating, but it does not make things a bit 
better to abuse him continually, as I have known many do. At the 
same time watch the man carefully at first, especially if he is unknown 
to you. If you are certain that he is trifling with you, or not exert- 
ing himself to the utmost to obtain you shots, and keeping tha 
elephant in his proper place at all times, then speak firmly to the man 
on returning home, and until his conduct improves stop all * buksheesh ' 
or reward. Generally speaking this will speedily bring him to his 
senses. After a good day's sport, if your elephant has done well, see 
him properly fed yourself, and give him a basket of native sweetmeats 
or * mithais ' as these balls of sugar are called. There is nothing the 
noble brute likes better, and he knows perfectly well that he only gets 
such delicacies when he has been a good boy. 

Before starting for a day's shooting you should see your own how- 
dah put up. If you are not present your servants will be almost certain 
not to fasten it properly, and before you have been up half an hour, 
you will find the howdah all on one side. Then comes an untying of 
ropes and uncoupling of chains, and an attempt made once more to put 
the heavy box upright in its place again^ at the same time keeping 
everyone waiting. Moreover, when once a hoWdah has slipped, 
it will be almost certain to slip again^ but If put on square and properly 
secured at first starting it will remain so all day% 

Perfect elephants for tiger shooting are extremely rare ; some, the 
great majority by far, will not even approach a tiger; others, perhaps, will 
permit the occupant of the howdah to take a shot, but should the tiger 
charge, will wheel round and make oflf with a scream of terror. Others, 
again, become so excited as to go in for a little sport of their own, and 
when a tiger is rolled over by a bullet, rush forward with trunk in the 
air, and try to kneel on, kick, or stab him with their tusks. Pew indeed 
are those that will stand perfectly steady when a tiger charges, trusting 
to their master in the howdah to save them from the teeth and claws 
of the enejmy. It is impossible for the best shot in the world to do any 
execution mounted on the back of a bolting elephant ; generally speaking 
it is as much as the unfortunate sportsman can do to hold on and keep 
his position, and should there be trees in the vicinity he runs a risk of 
coming to fearful grief against a low bough, which may dash the how- 
dah to pieces and perhaps injure him severely. On the other hand, if 



28 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

the elephant stands firm there can hardly be an easier shot than a tiger 
making off or charging, and there is no excuse for missing such a mark. 

A sportsman on the back of a steady elephant is perfectly safe, and I 
have never heard of a tiger succeeding in taking a man out of a howdah, 
though I have from off a pad elephant. I remember seeing the barrels 

of a rifle belonging to General V h at Gowpatty deeply indented 

by a tiger's teeth. This tiger, in spite of being wounded, made good his 
charge on to the General's elephant. The old gentleman having fired 
'every shot in the locker,' had to hold his rifle barrels across the 
assailant's jaws to prevent the brute from seizing him and dragging 
him from his howdah until a brother sportsman (if I remember rightly) 
came up alongside and knocked the tiger off with a ball through the 
body. 

Occasionally, in spite of repeated wounds and a shower of balls, a 
tiger will succeed in making good his assault, and spring right on to 
the elephant's head or body (£ have seen this happen twice), and then 
great care is necessary to get rid of the foe, for a ball carelessly aimed 
may severely injure or even kill the elephant. A most extraordinary 
accident of this kind happened some years ago in the Philibheet 
country. A zemindar of that district^ by name Bam Lai, a good shot 
and sportsman, accidentally killed a tiger and his own elephant both 
with one bullet. Bam Lai himself related the story to me, and to this 
day I believe the bones of the elephant may be seen lying where this 
unfortunate affair took place. If I remember rightly Bam Lai had 
wounded the tiger near a swamp called the Mala ; he was mounted on 
a female elephant, well known to be one of the best and staunchest for 
tiger shooting in Bohilkund. One or two friends were with him at 
the time, but their elephants could not be induced to face the 
wounded tiger, so he went in at the brute alone. The tiger charged 
and succeeded in fixing himself high up on the elephant's head. The 
mahout called out to his master to save him, and Bam Lai leaning 
over the howdah-rails attempted to shoot the tiger through the head 
and succeeded in doing so, but at the very second he drew the trigger 
tlie poor elephant, doubtless in great pain, threw up her head, and as 
ill luck would have it the bullet dropped both tiger and elephant stone 
dead, the latter uttering a loud cry as she fell. 

The sportsman should always be in readiness for a shot. As I 
have said before, it is often when least expected and likely enough 
in the most unlooked-for quarter that you come across a tiger. I 



THE TIGER. 29 

well remember once in Assam losing my chance through not being 
in readiness when the time came. In company with two brother 
officers, I had been out beating with elephants through a long, hot 
day, and towards evening we turned in the direction of home, agreeing 
to fire at anything that might get up. Presently an old boar jumped up 
in the grass, almost between the feet of my elephant, and old * Jung 
Bahadoor * tired and half asleep with the day's toil, gave such a start, 
that for the moment I was thrown ofiF my balance. Steadying myself 
again, I fired right and left : one bullet told loud on his hide but took 
effect too far back to stop him, and when T had snatched up my 
second gun he had passed me. The second howdali poured in a 
broadside of three barrels, but the thick grass made the shooting diffi- 
cult and on went piggy with a grunt of defiance ; he had still, however, 

to pass a third enemy. Captain G e of my regiment, a steady good 

ball shot. Bang ! the boar staggered, but plucky to the last, on he 
went, at lessened speed ; a second shot however closed his career and 
he subsided in the grass. We got down and in a few minutes 
had the beast ' padded,' (t.e. plaoed on a pad elephant) much to the 
apparent satisfaction of several of our Seikhs behind us in the howdahs, 
who prefer the flesh of the wild hog to any venison. We were then 
within two miles of our barracks, and imagined the day's sport to be 
over ; about 200 yards from where we had * padded ' the boar, some- 
thing stirred in a patch of grass, in front of my elephant, moving from 
left to right. The elephant stopped, curled up his trunk and trum- 
peted. Instead of being ready and prepared for a shot, I was sitting 
down in the howdah smoking, and now when all too late I caught up 
a loaded rifle (I had not even taken the trouble to re-charge the empty 
guns), but the animal, whatever it was, had passed on : my friend on 
the right fired at the moving grass but without effect ; the jungle was 
too thick to let us catch a glimpse even of the game in front of us, 
till presently, to the astonishment of everyone, a fine tiger broke*, 
cover and made right across the open for the edge of some very high 

reeds. Captain G e fired twice but the distance was too great. 

Having reloaded, we went in pursuit, but the opportunity was lost ; 
the tiger reached some very thick jungle, and, do what we could, he 
was not to be found again ; the sun got low, and we were compelled to 
give up the chase and make for home. 

Usually speaking eight or nine o'clock is quite early enough to 
start 09 a tiger-shooting expedition in the hot weather months. Wild 



30 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

animals, after wandering about in search of food all night, generally reach 
their lairs and dens about daylight ; still it is just as well not to begin 
too early, or before the sun is well up, and perhaps by that time the 
gangs of shikaries and trackers, who will have been out very early, and 
gone their rounds to ascertain by the tracks what wild animals have 
been on the move since the previous evening, may have returned with 
the latest intelligence of their movements. 

The howdah sportsman, beating for large game in forest jungles, 
will do well to keep a vigilant look-out for, and avoid brushing against, 
or even passing anywhere near, the nests of vrild bees, which may often 
be seen hanging from the boughs of trees in the Terai, and in most of 
our Indian jungles. 

The vicious inhabitants of these nests, are not to be trifled with. 
Not unfrequently, they will, without the slightest provocation, furiously 
attack the hunter, his attendants, and worst of all, the elephants. 
What follows can be easily imagined. Maddened with pain, and 
shrieking with terror, the elephants, in spite of the best endeavours of 
their mahouts to restrain them, rush headlong here, there, and every- 
where. The unfortunate occupant of the howdah, driven frantic by a 
swarm of the abominable insects stinging him on the face and neck, 
his guns flying about in every direction, while he continually has to 
duck his head to avoid a scrape in the face from a branch, or the risk of 
being half strangled by the pendent loop of some tough creeper, considers 
himself lucky, if at length his mahout regains control over his affrighted 
charge before the howdah is dashed to pieces by coming in contact 
with the bough of a tree. 

Bees' nests are fortunately not quite so common in Central India, 
though I can recall to mind a regular stampede in the Saugor country 
caused by one of our party carelessly shaking the very branch from which 
three bees' nests were hanging. 

I will now pass on to the second mode I have mentioned of shoot- 
ing tigers during the hot season, as carried on in Bundelkund, Gwalior, 
and other parts of Central India, viz. ; by driving (or hanking as it is 
called) certain portions of jungle, generally the banks or beds of rivers, 
deep ravines, or low ranges of hills, with an army of beaters. 

I need hardly say that this system of tiger shooting is only adopted 
in parts of the country where, on account of the rocky and broken state 
of the ground, it is impossible to use elephants, or where elephants 
cannot be procured to assist the sportsmen. I have already mentioned 



THE TIGER. 31 

how difficult it is in many districts, especially in Central India to 
obtain even a few elephants for sporting purposes. 

Sometimes in a * hankwa ' (or drive with beaters) the guns are posted 
on the tops of rocks or other commanding heights, or the sportsmen 
clamber up into trees, high enough to be out of harm's way, and sit 
astride of boughs ; occasionally in forest country, machans or plat- 
forms made of stout poles and boughs, or charpoys (native bedsteads) 
lashed firmly to trees at a height of twelve or fifteen feet from the 
ground, are prepared for the guns. Sometimes, though not often, 
there are no trees, high rocks, or commanding positions to take advan- 
tage of, when the guns have simply to stand behind bushes, or patches 
of grass, to cover the ground on a level with the tiger should he show 
himself. This of course is dangerous, and under such circumstances 
not less than two well-armed sportsmen should be together at each 
post ; but the great objection to this system of tiger shooting is, that 
there is always a danger, even when the best and most careful arrange- 
ments have been made, of some of the poor beaters getting mauled. 
It is the bounden duty of sportsmen to protect these poor fellows, who, 
for two annas (three pence)— often less — with nothing but a stick in 
their hands, enter a jungle so dense that often they can only see a few 
paces in front of them, to drive out a ferocious brute. 

The great proportion of the wild beings who yearly offer their 
services as beaters, to Central Indian sportsmen, are poor, miserably 
clothed, and often half-starved mortals. And yet, savages as they are, 
I have seen them on trying occasions, and when exposed to real danger, 
exhibit wonderful pluck and coolness. They are in general honest and 
cheerful people, and among their leaders, are some of the most re- 
nowned trackers that the world can show. 

The Red Indian of North America has long been renowned for his 
address as a tracker, whether it be on the hunting path or war trail ; 
and the Caffre of Southern Africa has won golden opinions from English 
hunters Jfor his ability and dogged perseverance in the art of * spooring.' 
But Anglo-Indians, who like myself hav« repeatedly witnessed (and 
doubtless as often been lost in wonder at) the consummate skill and 
marvellous sagacity habitually displayed in following up the tracks of 
some wild animal by the lynx-eyed Bheels, Gonds, and Sahariahs of 
Bundelkund, more especially when the work is beset with every sort 
of difficulty — I say that those who have been spectators on such oc- 
casions will bear me out when I assert that these poor jungle people 



32 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

are second to none as trackers, and that they cannot be surpassed bj any 
nation under the sun in this, the most important qualification of all 
in the mysteries of woodcraft, — an accomplishment only to be acquired 
by years of patient study and practice. 

It is wonderful how, in a large jungle extending for miles, these 
people will post the guns with extraordinary and unfailing skill and 
sagacity in the exact spot where the game, if there, will surely pass. 

I have twice been present when unfortunate accidents have luip- 
pened to beaters. Both instances occurred within the space of ten days, 
and it may have been the same tiger that struck down both the poor 
fellows. In the first instance no one was to blame but the unfortunate 
man, who lost his life through his own rash conduct in acting contrary 
to the express orders we had given that same morning — that there 
was to be no straggling, but that all the beaters were to keep together 
in one compact body. We were after a well-known savage tiger, that 
had killed several people at different times, and had no fear of human 
beings. For years he had been the pest of a whole district, and we had 
journeyed far in search of him. Knowing the character of the brute we 
had to deal with, we took special precautions to avoid accidents. A 
dozen policemen with loaded muskets were distributed among the 
beaters to protect them, and several more were furnished with blank 
ammunition to squib off as the beat advanced, and thus to drive the 
beast before them, till he reached a certain open spot, where the 
guns would be posted and where it was hoped that he would meet with 
his deserts. 

The beat extended along the bank of a small river, covered with 
dense thorn bushes, and the edge of the water fringed with thick patches 
of bright green willow and reeds. 

The tiger retired into one of these clumps and would not move 
further, in spite of stones being hurled in from above, and numerous 
shots fired. We had a single howdah elephant with us, but it was 
impossible, so steep and rocky were the banks of the river, to get him 

down to the required spot. My companion H s ordered some of his 

men to set a light to the jungle, and after several futile attempts, they 
at length succeeded in establishing a regular blaze, which soon burnt 
up the thorn bushes, grass and everything dry, but the patch of green 
willows and reeds remained ; and ensconced in the midst crouched the 
tiger. We were yet consulting what was to be done to oust the brute, 
when a savage growl, followed by a rush of the beaters up the bank. 



THE TIGEB. 33 

attracted our attention, and then several of the men called out that one 
of their number had been struck down by the tiger. It was too true : a 
fine young * aheer ' or cattle-keeper, without saying a word to his 
companions, who were quite unaware of his intentions, had foolishly 
crept forward, to try and discover the actual spot where the tiger was 
hiding. He must have approached within a tew feet of the animal, 
for it struck but one blow, without moving or exposing its body, and 
dashed the unfortunate man with great violence to the bottom of 
a stony ravine, fix)m whence his comrades dragged him before we 
reached the spot. The *poor fellow had a fearful injury on the head, 
caused either by the tiger's paw or the rocks against which he had 
been dashed, but we had hopes that it was not a mortal wound. We 
made the best bandage we could, tearing up a shirt, and having cut 
down some boughs and made a litter, speedily conveyed him to the 
higher ground, where the elephant was standing, and at once had him 
carried to our tents, while arrangements were being made to have 
him sent to the nearest hospital, where he would be properly at* 
tended to. But all was of no avail ; the unfortiyiate man died that 
same evening ; his skull was fractured, either by the blow of the tiger's 
paw, or by the fall into the nullah, probably the former. 

Now, as I said before, no one was to blame in this unfortunate 
business but the poor lad himself ; still it was a very sad occurrence, 
and we felt it the more when, afker having made every eflFort to avenge 
his death, we were a few days later compelled to give up the chase of 
this cunning beast. 

About nine or ten days later, near a place called Bh6nta, where I 
had shot a very large male tiger the previous year, we met with another 
catastrophe, possibly occasioned by the same brute. The jungle we 
were beating was on the same river and only eight or ten miles dis- 
t^t from the scene of the first unfortunate affair, and this wa49 an 
instance of what may occur at any time when beaters are used. 

We were driving a long patch of thick scrub jungle overhanging 
numerous narrow ravines and deep water-courses bordering the banks 
of the river Jamin, where a tiger was known to reside. Every possible 
precaution had been taken beforehand to prevent accidents, and only 
those who were willing to assist us in the hunt were employed as beaters. 
I was mounted on an elephant which on this occasion we were able to 
bring into use, and posted nearly half a mile ahead of the rest of the 
guns, where there was a break in the cover, and from my howdah I 

D 



34 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

could obtain a tolerably clear shot at an animal passing up the bank of 
the river. We distributed several armed men among the beaters and 
cautioned them to keep well together. Whether the tiger had heard 
or seen us as we made a detour to take up our posts, I am unable 
to say, but evidently he suspected danger ahead, and after being 
moved once or twice and driven forward by the shouts and noise behind 
him, he deliberately crouched down in a narrow crevice in the ground 
well concealed by the grass and bushes around, and there waited till 
the line of beaters approached ; then he charged through them with a 
savage growl; a poor fellow crossed his path and was immediately 
struck down. He received a very severe flesh wound on the shoulder 
from which, however, he eventually recovered. But doubtless had the 
blow been delivered on the throat or head, the consequences would have 
been the same as in the first sad affair. 

Now here was an instance of a beater getting severely mauled 
through no fault of his own or of anyone else, and it is the liability to 
such accidents that is the great objection to using men to drive the 
jungles for tigers. We certainly were most unfortunate in that year, 
and the two accidents which I have related are the only ones which 
have happened when I have been present, but I have known of many 
narrow escapes. 

A pair of elephants, or even a single steady beast, are of the very 
greatest assistance in beating for tigers in the manner I have just 
described. Perhaps a tiger is fired at and woxinded, and retires into 
some thick clump of bushes : to follow him into the covert on foot, 
under such circumstances, is the height of folly ; and many an English 
gentleman has lost his life through rashly infringing this golden rule. 
These large cats, even on open ground, crouch so low and lie so flat 
that it is often difficult to distinguish their yellow coats from the 
sandy soil, and in tangled thicket or grass jungle it is impossible, even 
at a distance of a few paces, to make out distinctly the treacherous brute 
crouching to the earth and in readiness to make his spring. Then is 
the time when, if the ground will permit of his being brought into 
play, a single elephant comes in so usefully. With one or two sports- 
men on his bacK, in readiness for a shot, guided by his mahout he ad- 
vances into the thicket and compels the tiger either to show himself, or 
move his position, and in doing so the probabilities are that he exposes 
himself and offers a chance to one or other of the sportsmen ; but the 
great point of all is, that this is accomplished without risking the lives 



THE TIGEB, 35 

of either hunters or beaters : it is therefore a matter of the greatest im- 
portance before starting on a tiger-shooting expedition with beaters, 
to secure the services of one or two steady elephants. Moreover, 
the animals are most useful for various purposes on the line of march, 
such as carrying tents and baggage, and also for bringing home the 
game after a successful hunt. 

Howdah shooting is a most luxurious way of carrying on sport, 
with your guns ranged on either side of you, and a big umbrella held 
over head by a native in the back seat of the howdah. Things under 
these circumstances are mightily different and considerably less harass- 
ing than plodding along all day on foot in the hot sun. 

Of all sports tiger shooting on foot during the hot weather months 
is the most trying and arduous. It requires a man to be in robust and 
soand health and with the real spirit of the chase in him to go out day 
after day in a broiling sun, with a blast of scorching hot wind blowing 
as if from the mouth of a fomace, a blinding glare, clouds of dust, 
continual thirst, bathed in perspiration, much toil, and often after all 
with but poor success as a reward. He must indeed have the bumps of 
patience and perseverance strongly developed to carry him through such 
harassing work with equanimity. I have had my hands covered with 
blisters from the heat of the rifle barrels, my face and neck scorched and 
burnt to the colour of mahogany by the terrible sun, water constantly 
having to be poured on the back of my head to prevent a sun stroke 
and over my shoes to make the heat of the leather bearable. These 
are some of the trials a hunter must put up with ; but when at last 
he is successful and brings in one, perhaps a pair of royal tigers as 
the fruit of his exertions, he feels repaid for all that he has gone 
through, and his success encourages him to try again. 

In Gwalior, Bundelkund, and other parts of Central India, the 
sportsman in search of tigers during the hot weather months in the 
vicinity of such rivers as the Scinde, Betwah, Dessaun, and many others, 
has frequently to cross miles of high, arid table lands covered with slabs of 
rock, low stunted trees, and bushes, a dreary desert without a vestige 
of a green leaf or sprouting twig, the ground baked as hard as iron by 
the glaring sun and scorching hot wind, and not a sigif^ a living crea- 
ture except, perhaps, a stray ravine-deer, or may be a pair offSand-grouse. 
Suddenly and unexpectedly the scene changes, and the hunter comes 
upon a deep yawning ravine, called by the natives a * koh,' the bed of 
which in the rainy season is a roaring rapid, but now is clothed in rich 

D 2 



36 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

green verdure and foliage, most refreshing to the eye after crossing 
miles of yellow dried-np plain. The rocky sides of these ravines are often 
perpendicalar, some only a few score yards across fix>m side to side, 
others of great breadth ; generally there is a stream of water trickling 
down the centre, or here and there springs of water slowly ooze out 
and drip from the rocks, forming small pools below, and here, at- 
tracted by the water and cover, the wild animals from the adjacent 
country are collected ; not only tigers, panthers, and bears (the latter 
especially) resort to these deep nullahs, but samber, cheetul, and 
other cervidse. 

Each of these deep chasms has a name, and daring the months of 
April, May, and June they are the most likely spots of all to hold big 
game. Moreover, they can, generally speaking, be beaten with ease 
and success. So steep and wall-bound are the sides that no living 
creature can ascend them, except in certain spots well known to the 
natives, and here the guns are placed. Perhaps the sportsman is 
posted high up in the boughs of an old mangoe or burgot tree, well out 
of harm's way, or stands on a slab of rock overlooking the pass he is 
directed to guard ; sometimes though not often in the very path 
where he with the striped coat, if at home and disturbed by the 
shouts of the beaters, will presently show himself. Generally speak- 
ing, two guns are sufficient, one on either side, to command one of 
these nullahs ; occasionally when it is over 100 yards in width, and the 
foliage at the bottom is very dense, a third gun is necessary in the 
centre to prevent a tiger creeping by unseen. 

A herd of samber or cheetul speedily show themselves after the beat 
has commenced, and the black coat of old Bruin, as he comes shuffling 
along in his usual ungainly fashion, is sure to catch the eye of the 
sportsman ; but a crafty old tiger, perhaps accustomed to this kind 
of thing, advances slowly and cautiously without a sound to betray 
his footfall, now crouching along the sandy bed of the nullah, with 
overhanging bushes to screen him from view, now stealthily taking 
advantage of each patch of scrub, creeper, or low tangled thicket, and 
seldom crossing the open or exposing his yellow striped coat to his 
enemies. He, I say, unless a most vigilant watch is kept, will 
pass on, successfully run the gauntlet, and make good his escape 
without having been perceived by one of his numerous enemies. • 

There are cei^tain rules for tiger-shooting on foot, which, if care- 
fully attended to, generally lead to success, and to the avoidance of 



TEE TIGEB. 37 

accidents. I am alluding to exceptional occasions, when, on account 
of there being no trees or high rocks to take advantage of, the guns 
are posted on foot, behind bushes, grass, or cover of any kind capable 
of affording concealment. 

Never under the above circumstances fire at a tiger coming towards 
you, but allow him to pass, and then take your shot. There are 
several reasons for adhering carefully to this rule. In the first place 
unless the beast is shot dead, he probably observes his enemies in 
front of him, and if wounded, will be almost certain to charge. If he 
does, the position of the sportsman, unless well supported, is highly 
dangerous, for, like all cats, a tiger occasionally appears to be endued 
with nine lives, and in spite of receiving numerous mortal wounds, 
he may at length succeed in reaching his foes, and before dropping 
dead, inflict some fearful injury on the hunter or his followers, (hi the 
other hand, by remaining perfectly quiet till the tiger passes by and 
then taking a steady shot at him, much danger is avoided, for if not 
shot down, he nearly always springs forward, with a growl, and passes 
on without turning back on his enemies. Again, when a tiger is 
fired at coming directly towards the guns, if he does not charge he 
will almost to a certainty turn back, and should the beaters be close 
up will probably maul one or more of them. 

Lastly, it is a very bad practice to fire in the direction of a 
number of beaters. I have often seen it done by thoughtless men, 
but it is most unfair to these poor fellows, who have quite enough 
danger to face, without being exposed to this additional risk. If the 
ground is at all level, a spinning bullet may make its way through 
several hundred yards of brushwood and grass, and with a large body 
of men advancing it is highly dangerous. I remember seeing a 
leathern bag which, suspended from the neck of a shikary assisting in 
a line of beaters, had been perforated by a bullet discharged from the 
rifle of a reckless and inconsiderate sportsman ; in this case the ball 
must have passed within a few inches of the man's body. 

To illustrate the danger of firing at a tiger coming towards you, I 

will relate what actually occurred to my friend H s, when out 

tiger-shooting, near Danwur, on the banks of the Saur river, LuUutpore 
District, in the hot season of 1868. The account also shows the 

difficulty of getting a fair shot at the head of a tiger. H a, who 

was by himself, and driving the jungle with beaters, commenced the 
' morning: of a splendid day's sport by a double shot at an enormous 



38 THE GAME OF BENGAL, 

tiger, which went away wounded, and was found dead the day after. 
Shortly after, in the same beat, a tigress and two nearly full-grown 
cubs came but close below his post. The tigress received a shot 
which tumbled her over dead into a crevice in the rocks, whence she 
was afterwards extricated. One cub disappeared, but the other came 
on and was quickly served the same way as its mother. The beat 
ended, and it was proposed to leave the dead tigers where they were 
lying, and beat higher up the river. My friend was next posted in a 
particularly awkward, not to say dangerous position. He stood 
between the steep bank of the river, which just about this spot was 
very deep, and a lot of rocks and brushwood on his right hand. The 
jungle in front was very dense, with only a small path running 
through it, evidently made by animals going to and fro to drink. 

Shortly after the beat began H s saw a tigress swim across from 

the right to the left hand side of the river and ensconce herself in a 
cave, but the beat coming on, she left this and came back to the right- 
hand bank, and then made her way straight down for where my friend 
was standing. She descended by the path I have mentioned, and 

presently came directly opposite to H s and within a few paces of 

him. It was a truly awkward position; my friend aiming straight 
between the eyes of the brute, fired, and wounded it most severely, the 
animal was flung backwards as it were, but recovered herself again in 
an instant and, half-stunned, commenced battering a thorn bush to 

pieces close by, using both teeth and claws. H s could not get 

a clear shot at her while thus occupied, and dared not fire again for 
fear of attracting her attention until he could make certain of killing 
her on the spot. At length he obtained a chance, and planting a shell 
fairly in the centre of the neck dropped her dead. 

On examination it was found that the first shell had struck her the 
leiist thing too high, and glancing over the skull had only partially 
stunned her. 

Take up the position pointed out to you as your post without 
making the slightest noise or talking ; there should be no chopping of 
branches or snapping of dry sticks to assist in screening the guns; no 
tiger will show himself anywhere near a post after such a warning of 
danger. Never object to your post ; if the man who places you is a 
competent authority on such matters, be assured that if, as is gener- 
ally the case, he is a resident of the nearest village and knows every 
inch of the surrounding country, he understands far better than you 



THE TIOEB. 39 

do where a tiger is likely to be found and which direction he will 
most probably take when aroused. Never neglect to take up as safe 
a position as possible ; whether you believe a tiger will show himself or 
not, take advantage of a commanding spot, such as a high rock or a 
natural knoll. Do not remain at the foot of a tree, when you have been 
directed to climb up it, because you do not expect to see a tiger walk 
out, or are too lazy to make the exertion. Always face ^ half right,' 
not. directly towards the beat ; it is generally easy enough, however 
cramped your position may be, to shoot to the left, but often very 
difficult, especially, when sitting astride a bough, to turn round suffi- 
ciently to your right hand to bring the sights to bear on a beast 
passing quickly. 

Tell your men sitting with you*, should they happen to see something 
advancing before you, not to speak, but to draw your attention by 
pulling your coat, or touching you, and pointing. Keep your eyes well 
about : a tiger when driven forward by beaters approaches at a leisurely 
pace, and without making the slightest noise: he does not come bound- 
ing past, but deliberately, as if scorning to hurry himself. Unless 
passing through the thicket er at a distance, there can be no excuse for 
missing such a fair mark, but there is something about the grand brute 
a8 he comes striding along that is liable to make the heart beat quickly 
and unsteady even those accustomed to meeting with a royal tiger. 
But if possible get the better of such feelings before our friend draws 
near ; let him come on, even in an exposed position : if your clothes 
are of some dull tint, as they should be, and you remain perfectly 
motionless, the brute will not observe you — a movement, however, or a 
rustle of leaves will draw immediate attention — allow him to pass, and 
then, take a steady, deliberate aim, just behind the shoulder, and draw 
trigger. Whatever happens, hit or miss, remain quiet, not a move, 
keep your eye on the beast if possible, and put in a firesh cartridge. 
If you have dropped him in his tracks, although to all appearance he is 
stone dead, be most careful in approaching ilie animal. Many a sad 
accident has happened at the moment of victory through too great 
eagerness and want of caution in going up to a beast lying apparently 
dead, but yet with just enough life left in it to strike a last blow. Before 
walking close up to the prize, make one of your men throw two or 
three stones at him, and should there be a sign of his again recovering 
his legs, put in another shot at the back of the head, which probably 
will be a settler. Never leave your post or show yourself till the 




40 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

beaters actually reach you. I have known a tiger suddenly appear at 
the very end of a beat, and only a few yards in front of the line of 
coolies. 

It is a good plan always to pay the beaters yourself after a day's 
shooting, or at any rate to see them paid in your presence, and before 
starting in the morning give to each man a wad, to be produced in the 
evening at pay time. This is necessary to prevent la^y rascals, who 
have done nothing, putting in their claim with those really deserving, 
and in a large assembly of men, perhaps eighty or a hundred, it is 
impossible to decide who has rendered assistance or the contrary, and 
the production of a wad as a ticket does away with this difficulty. 

I will now relate the most successful day's tiger-shooting that I ever 
was engaged in. As is very often the case, we met with a great piece 
of luck when we little expected it. 

In April 1871, 1 left Jhansie to join my old sporting friend H s 

at LuUutpore. The weather, as is usually the case at that time of 
year, was exceedingly hot; however, the greater the heat and drier the 
weather, the better chance there was of sport, which was some conso- 
lation to us. I found my friend encamped on the banks of the river 
Betwah. There was a large ' mela,' or fair going on, and an immense 
concourse of people assembled, and he, as police officer, was there to 
keep order. The mahseer fishing in the Betwah was fairly good, 
though the fish averaged a small size, and there was also a little 
shooting in the neighbourhood, so time passed pleasantly enough, 
and at length, when the fair cd,me to an end and the multitude had 
dispersed, we were able to pack up and be ofiF. We steered south in 
the direction of the Saugor country, making for a village in the vicinity 
of which a pair of tigers had made themselves notorious by their depre- 
dations. 

Our disappointment was great on reaching the place to hear that a 
Thakoor had been there beforehand, and a week previously had shot 
the male tiger from a machan ; however, the tigress was stiU said to 
be in the neighbourhood. We encamped under a splendid old tamarind 
tree, and that evening, when sitting out in the moonlight enjoying our 
smoke, we heard the tigress roaring, doubtless for the loss of her mate.^ 
Sometimes the sound appeared to come from one direction, sometimes 
from another. I could not sleep soundly, and when I did sleep at all 

^ I have already alluded to this exceptional instance of a tigress roaring, at page 17. 



THE TIOEB. 41 

it was to dream of tigers. We made sure of finding her the following 
day, but after four fruitless beats on the morrow we gave it up and 
returned to camp. That night the jungles were silent for the first time 
(so the villagers informed us) since the death of the tiger. 

The following morning we tried the jungles in another direction, 
working hard all day ; but though plenty of game was seen, there was 
no sign of the tigress, so we struck our camp and again journeyed fur- 
ther south, till after several marches we came on the Jamin river, and 
encamped near a small village called Midurwaho. The country in the 
vicinity was very wild, covered with scrub jungle, very little cultiva- 
tion, and few villages. H s had arpolice guard here, and on our 

arrival the men composing the guard assured us that there were un- 
doubtedly tigers in the neighbourhood, and that numerous cattle had 
been killed quite recently, a buffalo only one day before, and within half 
a mile of our tents. The following day was spent in collecting beaters 
and making every preparation for a ' hank ' ; towards evening a thunder- 
storm came on, and heavy rain fell. Now although this made the air 
cool and pleasant after three weeks of exceeding great heat, yet nothing 
could have been more unfortunate for our chance of sport. In very 
hot, dry weather tigers remain near water, and lie panting under some 
overhanging willow close down to a pool or stream, but when rain falls 
they often leave their haunts, and wander about all over the country. 

However, after the rain the ground was soft and in fine condition 
for tracking, and we fully expected to hear when our men came in, 
that, although the tigers had left their lair and gone either up or down 
the river, yet that our trackers, by following the punjahs, or footmarks, 
had been able to trace and mark down the noble game. The gang of 
shikaries returned about eight o'clock, but with no encouraging news 
to cheer us with. They had discovered no recent traces of the tigers 
since the previous night's rain, and it seemed doubtful if they really 
were in the neighbourhood. The morning was cloudy j thunder still 
rumbled overhead. About nine o'clock we turned out, and proceeded 
to beat both banks of the river in the most likely spots. Large herds 
of spotted deer came trooping out, among them several fine stags, but 
not a trigger was drawn at such small game for fear of disturbing the 
animals of which we were in search. 

The first three beats proved blank, and there was only one short 
one left. ~ It began to rain again ; our men wished us to return home 
as they believed that there was little use in persevering under such 



42 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

lacklcss circumstances, but most fortunately we agreed after a brief 
consultation y in spite of the rain which now descended in torrents, to 
finish up by driving the remaining small strip. We did not even take 
the trouble to draw lots for posts as usual. 

The Jamin river in the locality we were about to beat was very 
narrow. There was thick thorny jungle only on one bank (the side 
we intended to drive). The river curved considerably at this spot, and 
just at the chief bend there was a ford across, where the stream ran 
very shallow, and this was the position selected to post the guns and 
bar the way. 

Our shikaries informed us that if a tiger were put up and came 
forward, the chances were that he would either take along the crest of 
the steep bank, where the cover was densest, or descend and attempt a 
passage across by the ford I have mentioned to the opposite bank, with 
the intention of reaching and making his escape among a labyrinth of 
deep nullahs and watercourses lower down on that side. My post was 
a very commanding BJid safe one on the summit of the high river bank, 
which was almost perpendicular where it faced the water. In front of 
me, and entrenching, as it were, my position, wound a deep and broad 
ravine, running from the open country, and gradually deepening till 
at length it cut through the steep river bank, and joined the main 
channel of the Jamin. This gully was now dry, though doubtless in 
the rainy season it became a roaring torrent. Not only was my station 
a secure one, but it was impossible for a tiger to pass down the river 
without my obtaining a full View of him, and offering a splendid chance 
and a clear shot to my rifle as he crossed the dry nullah I have at- 
tempted to describe directly below me, and extending far away to my 
right. 

H s* post was a very different and far less satisfactory position, 

dangerous, in fact : of that there could be no doubt — about midway 
across in the bed of the river, and just above the ford, there was a 
sandy island, and at one end of it a group of low, shelving rocks. My 
friend stood on a flat slab, the highest of these boulders, but even then he 
was only a few feet above the level of the ground, and by no means at a 
safe elevation. I looked right down on my companion, perhaps sixty 
or seventy yards from me, and we each had a couple of stout fellows 
well armed, seated behind us. 

H s evidently did not expect much, for when the rain had 

stopped, I saw him sit down and pull a book out of his pocket to occupy 



'*h 



TEE TIQEB. 43 

himself, while our shikaries went round to arrange the beaters. We 
neither of us had an idea what an exciting scene was about to take 
place. 

Presently the ^ hankwa ' began. First, a single shot as a signal, 
immediately followed by the usual shout raised from one end of the 
line to the other, a crashing caused by stones hurled down from 
above, a braying of horns and the rub-a-dub-dub of numerous tom- 
toms — altogether a din and combination of discordant sounds enough 
to scare every living creature within miles of the spot. Out poured 
the inhabitants of the jungle. An old solitary boar, several cheetul, 
including one fine stag, and scores of pea-fowl. I was just admiring a 
beautiful spotted deer, standing in front of us within twenty yards, and 
offering a most tempting shot, when one of my companions pulled my 
coat and pointed, at the same time whispering *Dekho, Sahib ; " Sher " * 
(or, look sir, a tiger), and sure enough about a hundred yards off there 
he stood on a rising piece of ground fronting towards us, partially con- 
cealed by the bushes, and looking back over his shoulder towards the 
beaters, with his tail moving slowly from one side to the other ; in 
another moment he disappeared, coming right towards us. I gave a 
low whistle to my companion, who looked up, and the signal I made 
with my hand soon brought him to * attention.* The next minute the 
grass moved about thirty yards to my right fronts and out stepped a 
tiger. Before descending the ravine between us he paused, looked up^ 
and saw us ; drew back, and crouched down so low that I could only see 
his head and white throat. I aimed rather low and fired^ A savage 
growl followed, I could not see for the smoke what actually happened, 
but both my men said that the beast was severely hit, for that he half 
reared up and fell over. At my shot the shouts of the beaters, the 
noise of drums, horns, and all kinds of music redoubled, and just 
when I had reloaded I saw a second and a larger tiger, or rather tigress, 
show herself near the same spot where we had originally viewed the 
first one. She came on, but the last glimpse that I caught of her 
showed that she was making for the river, and probably with the inten- 
tion of crossing, so I called out to my friend to look out below, 
and the words were hardly out of my mouth when bang went his 
rifle. The shot was followed by a succession of savage growls, and 
the next thing we who were above beheld, was the tiger charging 
straight at H — s. A general volley from the guns staggered her 
resolution, and she partially turned, and as she did so received a ball 



44 TEE GAME OF BENGAL. 

behind the ear which rolled her over dead. I remember feeling that I 
could breathe again as I saw her throw up her head and pitch over, for 
although at the last she appeared to change her original intention of 
taking revenge, yet she was a deal too near H s to be pleasant. 

The tigress was an old one, yetj beautifully marked, and of larger 
size than ordinary, measuring 9^ feet. The first thing to be done was 
to stop the beat, for there was the first tiger yet xmaccounted for, and 
it was not improbable that he might yet have strength to do mischief, 
although both my men were of opinion that, if not dead, he could 
hardly move from the spot where he had dropped. A careM re- 
connaissance was made round the patch of grass and bushes where the 
least had fallen over wounded, and at length one of the scouts — a 
Pathan policeman, who would persist in thrusting his head wherever 
there was most danger — spied him out, lying extended on the ground, 
but with life still in him« He asked if he should put an end to him 
with his musket. We assented, and the next moment our second 
tiger was accounted for. Not one of us had an idea that there was 
yet a third which had hitherto escaped the notice of everyone, and which 
lay crouching to the earth only a short distance from where we were 
standing. 

ITie beat was over, and the main body of beaters descended by a 
path to the river to quench their thirst and refresh themselves after their 
exertions. H — — s went back with some of his men to try and get 
one of the elephants down to carry home the game. After some 
trouble he succeeded, and presently returned, mounted in a howdah, 
and fortnnately with his loaded rifle beside him. The ground, covered 
with deep cracks and holes, was very trying and embarrassing to the 
elephant's advance, but in about a quarter of an hour or so he succeeded in 
surmounting the varioiis obstacles in his path, and at length approached 
to within sixty yards or so of the spot where, in company with three 
or four men, I was standing close to the carcase of the tiger first fired 
at, which proved to be a young male about four years old, and 
measuring close on nine feet. At length, after turning backwards 
and forwards two or three times, the elephant gained the edge of the 
high bank overlooking the river. There happened to be a thick patch 
of tall dry grass and thicket directly in the way of his further progress, 
and the huge beast came crashing and forcing a passage through the 
centre of it, in order to reach the spot where we were standing, and 
pick up the dead tiger. 



THE TIGER. 45 

When about forty yards fix)m us the elephant, while still in the 
middle of the thicket, stopped, and trumpeted. The mahout, imagininj^ 
that his charge smelt for the first time one of the dead timers, gave 
the poor beast a thump on the head with his iron hook to urge him 
forward. The elephant, with trunk curled and ears pricked up, slowly 
advanced, and then, to the astonishment of everyone present, with- 
out other warning than a loud *wouf,' a tiger sprang right from 
under the animal's very feet on to the upper part of his trunk. The 

elephant shrieked out, but stood tolerably steady; and H s, 

catching up his rifle, in an instant stood up in the howdah, and 
gave the foe a good shot in the body, which fairly doubled him up, and 
dropped him like a sack among the bushes below, not dead, however, 
for before another shot could be put in, he scrambled down over the 
edge of the bank, and took refuge among a mass of roots, creepers, 
and thick foliage. When we had recovered a little from the surprise 
of thus meeting with a third tiger, we held a consultation what was 
to be done next. We first attended to the poor elephant whose trunk, 
badly clawed, though fortunately not bitten, was streaming with 
blood. He retired out of action, and we directed the mahout to 
send down a second elephant we had in reserve by the same route 
that the first had taken, that the injured beast might return home at 
once, to be cared for and have his wounds dressed. 

Our day's sport, and truly it was an extraordinary and exciting one, 
was not over yet. The third tiger had, as I have already mentioned, 
taken refuge on the almost perpendicular bank of the river, where he 
was safe from his enemies for the present, for it was impossible to 
see him from above, hidden as he was under a mass of overhanging 
creepers and bushes. That he was severely wounded there could be 
no doubt, but on rolling stones down we could hear him ^ swear,' so 
probably there was some fighting left in him yet. What was to be 
done? The river flowed broad and deep directly below where the 
beast lay concealed, and the only possible way of getting a shot at him 
seemed to be from the other side of the water, so it was agreed that I 
should cross over by the ford, and come round till directly opposite the 
spot, while my companion kept guard above. 

In about ten minutes I reached the desired position, and found' 
the water shallower than we had imagined. Wading in, knee deep, I 
approached to within twenty yards of where the tiger was concealed, 
and in perfect safety, for the river ran rapidly between myself and 



46 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

the enemy. For five minutes or more we (that is, I and two 
natives) stood straining our eyes, and then gradually approached 
nearer, till the water reached our hips. Still we could make out 
nothing, when suddenly the man on my right clutched me by the arm, 
and eagerly pointed to my right front, where the roots, creepers, and 
hanging bushes overshadowed a hollow in the bank. Then at last I 
made the brute out, lying perfectly flat, only his head and neck, the 
ridge of his back, and here and there a glimpse of his tawny hide were 
visible. He seemed to be aware that he was now discovered, for as I 
raised my rifle he put back his ears, opened his mouth, made that face 
that cats only can make, and spat at me. The next moment a heavy 
bullet struck him just where the neck joins the shoulder, and passing 
through the body lengthways, made its exit on the opposite side : it 
was a finisher. His head dropped, he hung for a moment, then slowly 
rolled over, and down he came crash through the bushes and splash 
into the river below. He was evidently quite dead, for his head 
remained under water ; we watched him for a few moments to make 
sure that life was extinct, and then when there could be no further 
doubt, approached closer. The water at the deepest part was up to 
our armpits, but as we neared the high bank it became shallower 
again. 

Presently one of my companions got a grip of the hind leg of the 
dead tiger, and I clutched him by the tail, the third man also giving a 
helping hand, but we could only just hold him and prevent the carcase 
from sinking, and perhaps from being swept away by the current. 
Assistance was, however, at hand ; in another minute half a score of 
beaters reached the spot, and out we lugged him on to the shingle. 

It was only then, when the excitement was over, that I discovered 
that I had a splitting headache, and felt faint and done. It took us 
fully another half-hour to get the tigers carried up on to the higher 
ground, and strapped, one in front of the howdah, and two behind, 
making with ourselves a veiy tolerable load for the elephant to carry. 
It was late in the afbemoon when we reached our tents, and as we passed 
the village, the inhabitants came out to meet us, one and all rejoicing at 
their enemies being thus disposed of. The beaters received a suitable 
reward ; to our policemen, who had worked hard, and rendered great 
assistance, we gave a fat sheep for their dinners, and half-a-dozen 
of rum to make merry with ; and that evening we ourselves killed 
onr tigers again over a couple of bottles of champagne. 



THE TIGEB. 47 

When making a start for a day^s tiger-shooting, whether with or 
without elephants, it is always as well to bring a basket of fireworks 
with you. In a country intersected with ravines and nullahs they 
often prove most useful. For instance, a savage tiger may take refuge 
under a mass of creepers and bushes in some deep rocky gorge where, 
on account of the nature of the ground, an elephant is of no use 
whatever. Then is the time when a well-aimed rocket will often move 
the beast, without the necessity of men being employed to drive him 
out, and in doing so endangering their lives. 

There is a very simple kind of firework, called by the natives * anar,* 
procurable at any small town, a kind of hand-grenade, made of clay 
and baked hard, and filled with combustibles (the natives constantly 
use these things at marriage festivals). On being lighted by a small 
fuse, and thrown into a patch of thick jungle, this diminutive bomb 
explodes with a loud report. I have seen bears driven out of caves 
several times by these explosive balls, and when rockets are not pro- 
curable, they make very tolerable substitutes. Sometimes these inven- 
tions are dangerous things to handle. A poor Sikh policeman, who 
was assisting us one day in driving out a tiger, had his hand badly 
cut and shattered by one of these balls exploding before he could 
throw it into a bush, as was his intention. Fireworks seem to ruffle 
the temper of the tiger, and often a well-aimed rocket, or half-a-dozen 
explosive balls fizzing, banging, and jumping about near his royal 
person, exasperates him to such a degree that out he comes and 
immediately charges his foes. 

Tigers have been known to charge elephants immediately on 
l)eing found, and without a shot having been fired to irritate or provoke 
them: a tigress with cubs is especially given to this practice. 
Generally speaking, I think they will charge when wounded, followed 
up, and driven into a comer, but I have seen a tiger even under 
these circumstances turn tail, and make every endeavour to escape, 
without attempting to molest his pursuers. The very last one I shot — 
a fine heavy brute with a splendid skin — behaved in this manner, and 
showed no sport ; but he was very severely wounded, and perhaps not 
in a condition to fight. 

Three of us were out in the Bala Behut country, Lullutpore, and 
one morning proceeded to drive the bed of a small river, where a tiger 
was known to be lying concealed. Two macbans had been prepared 
the previous evening commanding the principal passes ; in fact, two 



.•^ 




48 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

guns were quite sufficient for all purposes, and there was hardly 
room for a third anywhere. On drawing lots, my two friends got the 
posts, and I imagined that I was out of it altogether, and had not the 

remotest chance of getting a shot. H s, who had killed many 

tigers in his time, good-naturedly offered me his machan, the most 
likely position of all for a shot, but luckily, as it turned out, I said 
that I would abide by the lot I had drawn. In company with two 
natives carrying rifles, and a shikary, who offered to put me where 
there was just one chance, I followed by his directions the high bank 
of the river, till we came to a spot where several small ravines branched 
off in different directions from the main channel of the river close at hand. 
This river, I must explain, like many others in that part of India, 
dwindled down in the hottest time of the year to a mere stream, and 
often disappeared altogether under ground for a certain distance, leaving 
nothing but boulders, rocks, and dry shingle to mark its course when 
flooded, again to reappear further on above the surface of its deep-cut 
channel, and slowly glide past in full view. At the spot where I 
had taken up my position the bed of the river below me was perfectly 
dry for a space of perhaps a hundred yards, though thickly covered 
over with low stunted willows and bushes. There was a high rock 
with an old tree overshadowing it, and my guide directed me to take 
my seat on the top of a slab, which I accordingly did, but without even 
a distant hope of viewing the tiger, much less getting a shot at him. 
After waiting upwards of half an hour the line of beaters at length 
approached our posts As yet only a bear had been seen, and he had 
broken back and made his escape. I was about to resign my rifle to 
an attendant, when, could it be possible ? I caught a glimpse of a tawny 
hide gliding through the thicket. Again I saw the striped yellow 
coat, but only for an instant ; the beast was ftdly eighty yards off, and 
making off in the direction of the opposite bank. For the third time 
I saw the tiger, and instantly fired, and on ducking my head under the 
smoke, great was my delight to see him lying sprawling. In another 
instant, however, he had recovered himself, glared round (I should not 
have cared to have been standing anywhere near him just at that 
moment), and then bounded across the open shingle to a rather large and 
almost isolated clump of green vdllows- — my second shot striking the 
stones under his belly — and disappeared under the foliage. I imme- 
diately despatched one of my men to inform my companions of what 
had happened, and to desire tHem to join me, and ordered a second man 



THE TIGEE, 49 

to ascend a higli tree close at hand, and to keep a sharp look-out if the 
wounded beast again moved from where we had last seen him. Pre- 
sently H 8 and F n came up, and we consulted together what 

was to be done. 

I have already mentioned that the clump of jungle into which the 
tiger had retirepl was almost detached from the mainland, being joined 
to it by a long narrow sandbank covered with bushes and g^ss, and 
with the exception of this one narrow strip in rear, the patch was 
surrounded by a perfectly open shingle of dry rocks and white pebbles. 
We had not an elephant with us, or there would have been no 
difficulty whatever in finishing ofiF the wounded beast. At length it 
was agreed that I should advance in company with three good men in 
a compact body, and examine the spot where the tiger had last been 
seen. 

H s was to cross the river some distance back, and come round 

the farther bank, till he reached a spot directly opposite to where we 
supposed our friend to be hidden, so as to give him a warm reception 
if I drove him across. This was a dangerous task, none of us were 
positive that the tiger had not proceeded beyond the clump of jungle I 
have named, and reached the mainland, and if so, he might be crouching 
anywhere in the dense thicket, or among the numerous narrow ravines 
and clefts which covered and intersected the river bank, and I need 
hardly say, that to come suddenly on the wounded and exasperated 
brute under such circumstances, would have been highly perilous. 

However H s insisted on undertaking the duty, and in company 

with two well-armed followers, made a start. F— : — n remained be- 
hind, and occupied a position directly overlooking and covering our 
advancing party. 

When all was in readiness, I descended with my three allies (all 
stout fellows, and to be depended on) into the rocky channel of 
the river, and formed up my men in the following manner. On my 
right I placed a man named Bhopal, a first-class shot, and a deter- 
mined fellow, who had slain many tigers at different times ; he was 
armed with a heavy double 8-bore breechloader. On my left stood 
my Sikh orderly, a fine strapping fellow, named Lena Sing (who, I am 
positive, was all the time longing for a regular scrimmage) ; he carried 
in his hand my double gun heavily charged with bullets and slugs ; 
and still further to the left a man named Bahadoor, with his loaded 
musket and fixed bayonet guarded our flank, while I myself in the 

E 



50 TEE GAME OF BENGAL. 

centre with my double 12-bore Reilly charged with shells, completed 
a formidable party. I had no fears of an accident, even if the tiger 
had the temerity to come out in the open and charge. We advanced 
slowly, keeping close together, with our weapons at full cock and 
at the ready, and shoulder to shoulder, moved up, till at length we 
reached the spot where the beast had received his wound and rolled 
over. A large patch of blood clearly marked the place, and quickly 
as the animal had covered the distance from thence across the open 
to reach his present hiding place, there was no difficulty in tracking 
his course, for the white stones were thickly besprinkled with drops 
of blood, and on advancing a few steps further, we came upon still 
more evident signs. The tiger was very severely, probably mortally 
wounded, for in addition to the spots of blood dropping from the 
wound, we CAme upon long spirts and splashes of bright-coloured 
frothy gore, manifestly ejected from the animal's mouth, a sure 
sign that he was hit through the lungs. At length we reached a 
position, perhaps fifteen yards from the willow clump, and this was 
quite close enough. The tips of the long green boughs hung down 
so close to the pebbles that nothing was to be gained by stooping 
down and attempting to peer underneath. So I directed Lena Sing (the 
man on my left) in a whisper to throw in a stone; he stooped down, 
picked up a large pebble, and threw it into the centre of the patch, 
but with no result ; not a sound or movement followed. * He is dead, 
sir,' said the man on my right ; but hardly were the words out of his 
mouth, when a deep * wouf ' and a swaying of the foliage proved that 
this was not the case. The cover was so thick that it was impossible 

for any one of us, even for H s, all in readiness for a chance as he 

was, to catch a glimpse of him ; but it was evident that he was slowly 
beating a retreat by the neck of land already mentioned, connecting 
the clump of willows with the mainland. 

Our chance of success now appeared to be less hopeful. There was 
nothing to prevent the wounded beast reaching the foot of the high 
river bank, aJong which to the right and^left as far as we could see 
there ran a dense fringe of willows, grass, and matted thicket, and 
there was no saying how far, or in which direction he might wander. 

H s, carefully feeling his way, advanced still further along the 

high bank of the river, but so dense was the cover below that he 

could make nothing of it. The animal was not to be seen, and a 

£"00(1 half-hour was spent in a fruitless search. All of a sudden, when 



THE TIGEB, 51 

our hopes were on the wane, I noticed an old Sikh policeman about one 
hundred and fifty yards to my right, waring his arms like the sails of 

a windmill, and energetically beckoning me to join him. H s 

(who had just returned from his inefifectual search on the opposite 
side) and I ran towards him, and when we came up to where he was 
standing on the margin of a broad pool of water, to our astonishment, 
directly opposite to us on the far side, close in to the bank (which 
there was nearly perpendicular), and almost up to his neck in water, 
was the wounded tiger. While yet looking at him, and preparing to 
fire, he made an efibrt to scramble up the steep slope, but slipped 
down again, and fell back into the same position as before. There was 
only his head, neck, and upper part of his shoulders for a mark, and 
I suppose the distance was sixty yards or thereabouts. I fired, and 

missed, the old Sikh did the same, but H s planted a shell fairly 

in the centre of the animal's forehead, literally blowing the head to 
atoms, for when the skin was afterwards removed and the flesh scraped 
off, the skidl fell to pieces, and had to be held together by wires. 
On examining the body, we discovered that my first bullet, fired 
from above at a distance of about eighty yards, had struck the tiger 
on the tip of the left shoulder, had passed through his lungs, and 
taken its departure lower down on the right side, almost directly behind 
the shoulder, and we were of opinion that if the bullet had taken effect 
one and a half or two inches lower, the brute would probably have 
remained where he first roUed over. 

But I must explain how he reached his extraordinary position up 
to his neck in water. On examining the river bank (which, as I 
have already said, was fringed with overhanging willows), it was evident 
enough that the wounded tiger had attempted with puch difficulty — 
for he had slipped and fallen every few yards— to pass down the river 
and make his escape under cover of the willows. At' first even in 
his crippled state he had met with few obstacles, but presently 
coming to where the river curved close in to the almost perpendicular 
bank, he had not the power to ascend such a steep incline, so attempted 
to pass on by a very narrow ledge, but failed ; probably his broken 
limb gave way, and he fell down headlong into the water. The splash 
thus made attracted the attention of the old Sikh, who perceiving the 
beast's grim countenance above the surface of the water, summoned 
us immediately, and pointed him out, and the animal then received a 
finishing shot from H^— s, as already described. He was a fine thickly 

s2 




52 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

built male tiger, measuring nine feet eight inches in length, height at 
shoulder three feet seven inches, size round head two feet ten inohes, 
with a superb rufous-coloured skin in perfect order. One of the canine 
teeth in the upper jaw was broken off close to the gums, and the 
stump decayed far back to the very root of the fang. On the out- 
side of the face there was an inflamed swelling, corresponding with 
the position of the injured tooth, and doubtless the animal had 
for a long time suffered much pain from toothache. This successful 
day's sport took place on May 24, 1872, and I made the remark 
when we started in the morning that the day was a propitious one, 
being her Majesty the Queen's birthday. 

I will now briefly speak of machan shooting, or shooting tigers 
from a platform constructed in a tree, and overlooking a pool of water, 
or carcase of a buffalo or bullock recently slain by one of the Felidce. 
As I have already remarked, this is a method of destroying wild beasts 
usually adopted by natives. 

Machan shooting is not a popular mode of killing tigers among 
European sportsmen as a rule, and is generally pronounced to be slow 
work; perhaps it is so, but in my opinion, watching a solitary pool 
of water for an hour or two before nightfall has its attractions, and 
I can recall to mind many a pleasant evening spent in this manner. 
It is most interesting and instructive to the young naturalist, to watch 
from his place of concealment the ways and habifcs of the denizens of 
the forest as they come stealing forth to take their drink about sundown. 
The first, usually speaking, to make their appearance, as shadows 
lengthen, and the fiery sun descends behind the tree tops, are musters 
of peafowl with their bills open, so parched are the birds' throats 
with thirst. An old hen, after craning her neck, and peering around 
to satisfy herself that all is safe, at length emerges and leads the way 
to the precious water. Hardly have the birds retired when they are 
succeeded by a troop of Lungoor monkeys {Preshytis entellus)^ leaping 
from tree to tree with unfailing precision, and swinging themselves 
down fix)m bough to bough with wonderful dexterity. There is a 
pause before they descend and trust themselves on the ground. These 
gentry know well that treacherous leopards and other enemies lie in 
wait near these drinking places, so are particularly careful that the 
coast is clear before they alight on the rocks that surround the pool ; at 
length a hoary old patriarch, after a cautious look around, jumps down 
from the tree, and informing his numerous relations by a croak that 



THE TIOEB. 



53 



all is right, strides to the margin of the pool, and bones his face in 
the water. The remainder of the troop, taking courage from his example, 
speedily join him ; a short delay, a few gambols and practical jokes 
by the juniors of the party, and once more they ascend the sloping 
rocks, reach the tree tronks, and amid a swaying of foliage, quickly 
disappear in the forest. 

A pair of spur fowl, and a brace or two of sand grouse, next arrive : 
the latter having their nests on the bare tableland hard by. Whole 
bevies of bush quail come hurrying down over the hot rocks for their 
evening drink. Still later a sounder of hog allay their thirst and 
cool their carcases in the water, and just before darkness sets in, 
suddenly and quietly, and passing below the very tree in which the 
hunter lies concealed, a noble stag samber emerges from the forest. 
Perhaps the temptation of possessing his wide-spreading antlers is too 
strong and not to be resisted, or the patience of the sportsman waiting 
for still nobler game is exhausted, and he takes his shot. 

A machan is usually constructed of poles eight or ten feet in length, 
placed across, and resting on the higher boughs of some tree ; these are 
lashed firmly in their position with cords ; smaller poles and sticks are 
placed transversely and fastened securely like the larger ones ; then 
boughs and binders are interwoven between, till at length a tolerably 
firm platform is set up, capable of sustaining the weight of the sports- 
man and an attendant. Thick green leaves and small boughs are 
arranged around the edge of the machan so as to screen the occupants 
from the view of an animal below, and the hiding-place is then 
complete. 

Another method frequently adopted by sportmen, is to procure 
a large-sized ' charpoy,' or native string bedstead, from the nearest 
village,' and secure it in the desired position with ropes. A few 
branches and twigs are entwined or tied round the wooden frame- 
work of the ' charpoy,' and an efficient place of concealment is thus 
easily provided. 

The machan, to be perfectly safe from the reach of a springing tiger, 
(I have already said the animal has not the power of climbing) should 
be erected at a height of fifteen feet, not from the foot of the tree, which 
may be situated in a hoUow or gorge, but above the level of the sur- 
rounding country. , 

An officer was pulled out of a tree and killed by a tiger not many 
years ago in Central India» He was seated on a bough at a con- 



54 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

• 

siderable height from the foot of the tree and bed of the nullah that he 
was guarding, but unluckily he forgot that the summit of the high 
banks of the ravine on either side were almost on a level with him : the 
consequence was, that a tiger he fired at and wounded when passing 
below, had the cunning to ascend the bank to the higher ground, and 
from thence made good its spring on to the unfortunate sportsman, 
dragged him down, and mauled him so dreadfuUj that he did not long 
survive the fearful injuries he received. 

It is, however, exceptional for a tiger, or any oth^ animal, even when 
wounded, to attempt an assault on a man well hidden and posted at a 
reasonable height from the ground, provided that he remains steady after 
firing a shot, and does not draw attention to his position by moving or 
speaking. 

The tree selected for the machan should be situated some little 
distance from, and yet within easy gunshot range of, the 'kill' or 
pool of water, whichever it may be. If the platform is erected in 
a tree close above the dead bullock, or too near the margin of the 
water, the probabilities are that a cunning brute will at once discover 
the ambush, and make off. I have known this happen once with a 
tiger who was distinctly visible in the moonlight some distance off, 
but would come no closer, and I have several times been discovered 
by samber and cheetul, animals especially careful when approaching 
water. 

Usually speaking, it is of little use ascending into a machan to watch 
water, or lay up over a dead bullock, till the sun gets low. The time 
of all others to be especially on the alert is the last half-hour before 
night sets in. After a hot sweltering day, when the cattle have been 
driven home, the villagers are in their dwellings, the birds are gone to 
roost, and the forest has become perfectly quiet, then the jungle 
tyrant, stretching himself after having lain asleep all day, issues forth, 
and makes straight for the spot where he weU knows he will find the 
lifeless body of his victim of yesterday. Naturally of a suspicious 
nature, however, hungry as he is, he takes a careful look round before 
going close up to the carcase. If the jungle has been disturbed since 
his former visit, bushes or boughs cut away, the machan (in which 
his enemies are lying ensconced) not sufficiently concealed, or the 
position of the bullock altered from that in which he left it, he at once 
suspects that all is not right, and makes off. 

But if, on the other hand, care has been taken to make as little 



TEE TIOEB. 



55 



noise as possible in arranging the maehan, the tree has been well 
selected, and the guns properly posted and concealed, the chances are 
that, after a cautious reconnaissance, the brute at length silently 
emerges from the jungle, and striding up to the carcase, commences his 
gory repast. 

Usually speaking, unless there is a full and very bright moon, and 
the carcase lies on open ground away from the gloom of trees or 
bushes, I have found it to be of little use waiting after night has 
regularly set in, and except under the above-mentioned favourable 
circumstances, when it may be worth while to remain yet another hour 
or two, I recommend the sportsman to light his lantern and descend 
from his perch, for there is little likelihood of his gaining anything by 
remaining. 

I have shot deer, hog, and other animals, by sitting up all night 
over pools of water in a machan, and generally the sportsman obtains 
a shot or two about daybreak ; but my experience is that it is unsatis- 
factory work, and does not repay one for the loss of rest, and, moreover, 
there are other objections ; for instance, after nightfall, except during 
the hot dry months when no dew falls, jungles in the neighbourhood of 
water often become unhealthy ; and the consequence of sitting up for 
a single night in the open air is often an attack of fever and ague, 
or some other ailment equally bad. 

Mosquitoes and other noxious insects generally swarm in myriads in 
the neighbourhood of these pools of water in the jungle, and the worry 
and irritation they inflict is sometimes exasperating, and hardly to be 
borne with equanimity. And lastly, though I may say that I am 
a tolerable rifle shot by daylight, ^et in spite of white cotton or 
phosphorus on the sights, white tape down the rib between the 
barrels and various other contrivances to enable the sportsman to aim 
correctly (most of which 1 have tried), I never could make even 
moderately good practice with a rifle in the dark, and have often missed 
animals within a dozen yards of me. Perhaps repeated failures may 
have something to do with my disbelief in night shooting. 

Tiger skins, when the animals they once adorned have been shot by 
the sportman's own rifle, are always objects of value and interest, 
especially to adorn the hall or drawing room. It is very seldom one 
ever sees a perfect tiger skin ; the fur is nearly always rubbed ofiF more 
or less, the whiskers are missing, or there is some other defect, 
and generally speaking these blemishes (and however slight they may 



56 TEE GAME OF BENGAL. 

be, tlicy in a measure detract from the exquisite beauty and finish of 
a skin) have been occasioned from want of care, and a little cir- 
cumspection on the day when the slain beast was brought into camp. 
Tigers are generally shot at the very hottest time of the year, and 
I have known the fur come ofiF the hide on the eve of the very day 
that the animal had been killed. So no time should be lost in 
removing, cleaning, and stretching the skin directly the carcase is 
brought in. I know well how little inclined the sportsman feels 
when he returns to his tent exhausted and toil-worn, after having 
been exposed all day to the terrible heat and glare of the sun, to 
superintend himself the operation of removing the striped coats of 
his prizes. But if he wishes to preserve them complete, and with- 
out a defect of any kind, he must make it his duty personally to see 
this work properly done, for let him rest assured, if he confides in 
natives, of whatever class, ten chances to one they will do something 
or other wrong. 

Having retired under the shade of a tree, begin by placing the 
noble beast on its back, and with a sharp knife (a common butcher's 
knife, I think is the best), make one long, straight, but not deep cut, 
from the centre of the lower lip to the end of the tail, then take the 
legs, make clean cuts commencing just above the pads of the feet and 
carry the knife along the under side of the giant arms till the main 
incision is reached. 

Then separate the hide from the body. First, extract the claws 
and put them carefully away, as they are a great temptation even to 
honest natives. If the hide is blood-stained or dirty, send a man with 
it to the nearest river or pool of water, and direct him to wash it 
thoroughly, and in the meantime have a clean, smooth place swept clear 
under the shade of a tree. To stretch a skin to dry in the sun is a 
common but fatal error. Next have a number of sharp pegs prepared 
of some tough description of wood, such as the babul (Indian Acacia) 
and when your man returns from the river with the skin properly 
cleansed, stretch it out fur downwards, on the spot prepared for it, 
making a small hole with the point of a sharp knife through the tip of 
the nose, and a second one about an inch from the extremity of the 
tail. Drive a long, stout peg through the hole in the nose deep into 
the ground, draw the skin out moderately tight lengthways, and drive 
a second peg through the hole near the tip of the tail, then extend 
the fore arms and hind legs. You yourself should stand at the head 



IHE TIQEE. 57 

of the skin, to see that it is stretched evenly, while your assistants, 
two on either side of the hide endeavour, under your directions, so to 
peg it down that, when firmly fastened to the ground, the arms and legs 
may lie squarely extended, and exactly at the same angle on either 
side to the body, for as it is stretched and dried in the first instance 
80 will it remain for ever afterwards. 

The sides of the skin are then drawn out taut^ and pegged down 
along the edge. 

The next process (and it is a very important one) is to have the 
hide most thoroughly cleared of every particle of flesh, fat, and sinew ; not 
an atom of oily matter or grease of any kind should be left to melt into 
the skin. A low caste race of natives called ^ Chumars,' who reside in 
almost every village, are usually employed for this work, but they should 
be carefully watched> or, with their sharp oval-shaped knives, they are 
likely enough to pare the skin itself, instead of removing extraneous 
matter adhering to it, and unless immediately checked may do much 
mischief. 

Finally, when the above measmres have been completely and effec- 
tually performed, apply freely to the nose, edge of mouth, root of ears, 
tail, feet, or any dark patch where congealed blood has collected, caused 
by bullets or shells tearing the carcase, an ample dressing of strongs 
arsenical paste, and over every inch of the remainder of the skin> spread 
a thick coating of finely powdered alum (I always carried about with 
me a giant pepper box filled with alum for besprinkling skins) and 
last of all leave a native to rub the alum well into the skin with the 
palm of his hand. In the hot weather months the skin will probably 
become perfectly dry in twenty-four hours or less; it should then 
be taken up and hung over a tent rope, and be put out daily in the 
open air, but not in the sun $ at night it should be carefully folded up, 
and put away. This is only a necessary precaution, for if a fresh skin 
be carelessly left out all night, likely enough some hungry village cur 
or prowling hysena will tear it to pieces. A Mend of mine had a fine 
tiger skin utterly spoilt one night by a pariah dog or jackal dragging 
it away from his tent and gnawing the tail off. A skin, that has been 
treated in the manner just described, will keep in perfectly sound 
condition for a long while, though at the same time the sooner it is 
put through the permanent process of preservation by a professional 
furrier the better. 

To preserve the skulls of tigers, t recommend in the first place, 



58 THE GAME OF BENGAL, 

that as much of the flesh as possible should be scraped off, the brains 
taken out, and the head thoroughly cleaned, and then hung up every 
day in a tree, where Indian crows, as well as wasps, ants, and other 
insects will soon find it out, and speedily remove the particles of flesh 
still sticking to the bones. 

I much prefer this plan to burying the head in the ground or boil- 
ing it. My two first tiger skulls were completely spoilt, and rendered 
worthless, by being allowed to remain too long buried in an ant hill. 
When dug up they fell to pieces. 

The fat of a tiger, if boiled down and refined, is very useful for oiling 
guns and other purposes. Natives say that it is a certain remedy for 
rheumatism, but I cannot certify to the truth of this. 

It is an invariable rule in all big game shooting, that the skin of 
an animal brought to bag belongs to the fortunate sportsman whose 
bullet first struck the mark, however slight the wound may be. I 
remember an instance of a leopard being claimed by a sportsman whose 
bullet broke the animal^s tail within ten inches of the tip. 

There is often a difficulty in deciding this point, especially in 
howdah shooting, and when several shots are fired almost simultaneously. 
The best plati Wheh this occurs is to draw lots for the trophies, or, at 
the end of an expedition to divide the skins and heads of doubtful 
ownership^ 

There is much difference of opinion among sportsmen what 
description of sporting rifle is the best for tiger shooting ; some like an 
express rifle, others a large bore» I believe both weapons are equally 
efficient, though I myself prefer a rather heavy ten or twelve bore, 
on Forsyth^s system of rifling, capable of burning four or five drams 
of powder, and carrying a spherical ball with accuracy up to 120 or 
150 yards, and also when required, shells at shorter ranges. 



THE PANTHEB. 59 



CHAPTER 11. 

THE PANTHER (FeUs pardus, Hodgson). 



Tet though lonely seem the wood^ 

Therein may lurk the beast of blood. — From the OaUstan, 



The late Dr. Jerdon in his valuable work ' The Mammals of India,' 
following, as he tells us, the leadership of Mr. Blyth^ apparently after 
some hesitation, classifies the Indian panther and leopard as ^ simple 
varieties of the same species of cat ^ under the single specific title of 
Felis pardvs, 

1 fear that it will be considered presumption on the part of a 
common observer and sportsman like myself to commit to paper an 
opinion at variance with the views of such renowned naturalists as the 
two above-named gentlemen. Nevertheless, holding the convictions 
I do on this point, after having carefully studied the subject^ I find no 
other course left open to me, and have therefore ventured to follow the 
arrangement of Hodgson, and place the two cats distinctly apart^ 
under the specific names of Felis parduB for the panther^ and Felis 
leopardus for the leopard. 

I have no desire whatever to reopen an old controversy, which has 
been so often discussed by far abler pens than mine, but feel bound briefly 
to give my reasons for having in this single instance ventured to differ 
from my usual and unerring guide Dr. Jerdon. 

1st. As has been frequently pointed out (among others, by that 
distinguished authority, Sir Walter Elliot), the shape of the head of 
the two cats differs most materially, the panther's skull being long 
and pointed, the leopard's shorter and more rounded. This distinction 
between the two creatures I look upon as of itself conclusive evidence 
in this disputed question. 

2nd. It cannot be denied that the coats of our large Indian cats 



6o THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

vary much in shade and marking in different individuals ; neverthe- 
less the true panther of Central India (which part of the country I 
believe to be the great stronghold of this comparatively rare animal) 
ha* certain characteriBtic dark markings on the coat which, though 
difficult to describe in words, yet to an experienced eye, at once pro- 
claim it to be of another species from the leopard. . The general tint 
of the panther's skin is pale taWny yellow, that of the leopard more of 
a rufouB and darker tinge. The irregular dark markings decorating 
the coat of the former are larger, and not so distinct as the clear black 
blotches and spots adorning the hide of the latter. 

3rd. Last, though by no means least, the two animals altogether 
differ from one another in size and character* The one is a large, 
powerful, and thoroughly vicious wild beast, highly dangerous to cope 
with when provoked, and in the opinion of many old and experienced 
sportsmen even more to be feared than the royal tiger, which preys 
principaDj on such Lu-ge gan^e as samber, nilgai, wUd hog, and more 
especially village cattle; the other is an altogether smaller, less 
courageous^ and, in comparison with the panther, insignificant cat, 
that preys chiefly on smaller descriptions of deer, calves, sheep, goats, 
and especially dogs. 

I may add that I never yet have met with an experienced Central- 
India sportsman who did not fully recognise the panther as altogether 
a distinct species of cat from the leopard, or, in &ct, who had a single 
doubt in the matter. 

The panther is to be found in the nullahs and ravines of Central 
India, on the sides of rocky hills> where from under the shelter of 
an overhanging rock he can survey the countiy below, and descend 
on some stray bullock or other victim. In the hot weather he is often 
put up when parties are out beating for tigers on the banks of rivers, or 
in small islands where the cover is sufficient to afford concealment. like 
the larger cat the panther chiefly depends on village cattle for food, 
though he will pull down full-grown samber or other large deer if 
he comes across them. Occasionally he takes to man-eating, though 
not so frequently as tigers do. I remember hearing of one in Gwalior, 
that had devoured over fifty human beings, and was the terror of a 
whole district. 

Some years ago, in the neighbourhood of Kamptee, an officer in the 
Artillery and a native shikary were both pulled out of a tree by a 
wounded panther, and so severely hurt that neither of them survived 



THE PANTHER. 6i 

it. The unfortunate officer, if I remember right, had fired at the brute 
when passing below the bough of a tree upon which he was sitting, 
and wounded it. The panther, however, climbed up the tree and, pull- 
ing him down, mauled him dreadfully, then actually climbed up again 
and killed the native shikary. The latter must have lost all presence 
of mind, for he did nothing to assist his unfortunate master, or even 
to save his own life. 

The cry of the panther is a series of measured grunts, or coughs, 
repeated four or five times, and often heard about the pairing season. 
I shall never forget once hearing this same grunting noise a deal nearer 
than was pleasant. When out in camp during the hot weather, the 
nights were often so oppressively close that it was impossible to get 
any rest inside a tent, so we slept outside in the open air ; no dew falls 
at night during the hot months, and I believe it is much healthier 
to sleep in the open. We generally retired to rest about ten o'clock, 
our beds being placed out on the plain, often at some little distance 
from the tents. A couple of men fanned us with punkahs till we 
appeared to be asleep ; and then our dusky attendants quietly slipped 
away. Now this was all very well when encamped in a tope of trees 
with no jungle in the vicinity, but we were then in the very thickest 
part of the Lullutpore jungles, near a place called Bala Behut. We 
frequently heard the sharp bark of the spotted deer and the bell of the 
samber close to the encampment at night ; and more than once, I had 

said to my companion H s that I did not much like this sleeping 

in the open, with all kinds of brutes close at hand. He only laughed, 
replying that there was no danger and that he had made a practice 
of doing so for years in preference to sleeping in a stifling tent. How- 
ever, I was not convinced, though I said no more, but I took the pre- 
caution of invariably placing my loaded rifle close to the bedside. 

One night we had retired as usual, and after a chat about our plans 
for the morrow, had dropped off to sleep. All of a sudden I awoke 
with a strange feeling of danger. I sat up and listened, and immedi- 
ately the measured * hough, hough, hough, hough,' of a panther close 
at hand, broke the stillness of the night. The brute could not have 
been fifty yards off, and from the cry appeai*ed to be in a ravine below. 
I hastily awoke my companion, and informed him of the close proxi- 
mity of our ugly visitor. He, however, treated the matter lightly, and 
turning over, was speedily asleep again. There was no more rest for 
me, with this beast close at hand ; so I lighted a cheroot and paced 



62 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

tip and down. Presently day began to break and the camp to bestir 
itself; but the panther still continued making his abominable cry, and 
in spite of men moving about, seemed loath to retire to his den, 
wherever it was. 

It was soon broad daylight. My companion presently arousing 
himself, sprang up, and remarking to me, * We will teach this brute a 
lesson for breaking our night's rest,' gave hasty orders for the assem- 
blage of as many of his policemen and camp-followers as could be 
collected, and ordered them to proceed as quickly as possible about a 
quarter of a mile in a certain direction, and then to beat up the nullah 
in which the panther was, to a place which he pointed out, where 
we were to be posted. We hurried away, rifle in hand, to take up 
positions in front of the beat on either side of the nullah. A sporting 
Thakoor belonging to the neighbourhood, who had joined our camp a 
few days before to assist in beating, accompanied us. He was a fine 

big man, but a notorious cattle-lifter, H informed me ; h^ was 

lame from a terrible wound in the right foot caused by the bite of a 
wounded tiger. He had his matchlock with him, and as the nullah 
was wide and required three guns to command it, we put him in a 
position between us, in the bed of the nullah, where there was a 
chance of a shot, should the beat be successful. 

The natives with us imagrined that the brute would come creeping 
along one side or the other of the ravine where the cover was thickest. 
These large cats when driven forward by beaters, almost invariably 
take advantage of any grass and bushes in the way, that is sufficient to 
afford concealment, in preference to crossing open ground, for their 
instinct tells them the danger of exposing themselves. However, on 
this occasion, strange to say, the panther took right up the centre of 
the nullah. We only just reached our places in time; the beat had 
already commenced. I caught a glimpse of the brute, a very large one, 
coming quietly along, every moment I expected the * fizz,' ^bang ' of the 
matchlock ; but no — he passed and was presently seen further on. We 
ran for several hundred yards higher up the ravine, in hopes of 
heading him, but no such luck. He took up a narrow deep gorge in 
the direction of the river, and none of us saw him again. 

My friend was indignant at the escape of the night disturber, and 

asked the Thakoor how it was he didn't get a shot. Our native ally 

denied that he had seen the beast. But I am almost certain that it 

passed dose to him, but prol^bly the man, having already been fear- 



THE PANTHEB. 6$ 

ftiUj manled once by one of the large cats, dared not risk a shot with 
his rustj old matchlock, and considered on this occasion, that discretion 
was the better part of valour. We said no more, but returned to 
camp baffled and disappointed. 

Three nights after, near this same spot, the whole camp was aroused 
about midnight by shouts of * A tiger ! ' * A tiger ! ' Servants tumbled 
over tent ropes, bullocks tore past, tails on end, dogs barked, and horses 
struggled to get loose. 

The confusion and uproar were so great that it was some little time 

before we could discover what had really happened. H 's office 

writer, a portly Bengali Baboo had stupidly picketed his pony some 
little distance from the other horses, and out of the general camp 
circle. An animal which the natives declared was a tiger, though 
I am almost certain it was this same panther that had disturbed 
us on the previous occasion, suddenly sprang on the pony and pulled 
it down. The latter, however, a sturdy beast, used his hoofs with good 
effect, and with the assistance of a number of bullock-drivers and 
camp-followers shouting and throwing stones, managed to shake off 
his antagonist, and take refuge among the other horses. On examina- 
tion we found that the pony was bleeding a good deal at the throat, 
though the wounds were not serious. Now a tiger, as I have before 
stated, almost invariably seizes his prey by the back of the neck ; 
leopards and panthers not unfrequently by the throat; so, in spite 
of the assurances of numerous natives that the marauder was a tiger, 
I am convinced that it was only a panther or leopard. 

The panther, I have already stated, can climb trees with facility, 
but I have never heard, in spite of frequent questions to native hunters, 
of his dropping on deer and other creatures from trees ; though the 
jaguar of America, an animal somewhat similar in appearance and 
habits to the panther, is said constantly to lie in ambush in some thick 
tree over a pathway frequented by deer and hog. 

I once heard of a panther concealing himself along the bough of 
a tree up to which he had clambered, to avoid danger. He was, 
however, observed by some beaters as they passed underneath, and was 
pointed out and 6hot dead. 

I had the good fortune to shoot a panther, or rather to finish him, 
within a year of my arrival in India, and was not a little proud of such 
an achievement. In those days I was stationed at Benares, and was 
living with a Captain P — -y, who was in the Public Works Depart- 



64 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

ment, and had charge of the (Government road between Mirzapore and 
Saugor. Early in March 1859, m y friend informed me that he was 
^«^€ rvZ ^ about to inspect some new works, that he would be out abont a month, 
/ and would be glad of my company, if I was not afraid of the heat. I was 

delighted to meet with such a chance. I had a new gun and rifle and 
had long wished for an opportunity to bring them into play against the 
inhabitants of Indian jungles. The drill season was over, so there 
was no difficulty in getting a month's leave. 

We reached Mirzapore the day after leaving Benares, and without 
delay commenced our march in the direction of Saugor. Within a week 
I had slain my first black buck, and soon after a splendid old cock 

bustard, besides a large bag of small game. Captain P ^y, a keen 

sportsman and splendid shot with both gun and rifle, sometimes accom* 
panied me in my expeditions, but often was detained by his work. 

In about ten days we reached a rocky gorge through a range of 
hills, called the Kuttra Pass ; and here, to the surprise of my com- 
panion, and much to my delight, news was brought in of a tiger within 
a few miles of the pass, at the foot of which we were encamped. 

Captain P y informed me, that panthers, leopards, and bears were 

not uncommon in the neighbourhood, but that tigers were seldom met 
with. However, the cattle-keepers declared that for weeks past a tiger 
had been preying on their herds, and that a bullock had been killed 
on the evening previous to our arrival. We decided to have a look 
at the * kill ' ourselves, in order to be able to form an opinion whether 
it really was a tiger or only a panther or leopard. On reaching the 
spot where the cow had been killed, we found only a small portion 
eaten. The carcase had been dragged into a ravine; it was a large 
heavy beast, and had the appearance of having been killed by a tiger ; 
but on account of the hard rocky state of the ground, we could not find 
a single clear foot-print to decide the point. There was a large 
* burgot ' tree within thirty yards of the kill, and we agreed on sitting 
up that very evening, as the natives seemed to think it probable the 
beast would return for his supper. 

Having dismissed our followers, retaining only one old man armed 
with an axe, we ascended to our posts, I sitting astride of a large 
bough, about fifteen feet from the ground, facing in one direction, 

Captain P ^y with his back to mine, guarding the opposite quai-ter. 

I forgot to mention that the cow had been killed on the side of a hill 
where it had strayed, and that the tree in which we had taken up our 



THE PANTHER. 65 

position was on the verge of a steep decline. Neither of ns had an idea 
from which side or direction the beast, whatever it was, wonld be likely 
to approach. The jungle was thick around the spot. A large number 
of vultures, scared from their repast on the carcase by our approach, had 
flown into some neighbouring trees, and as the jungle had become once 
more quiet they now returned. Although in a very unfrequented part 
of the country, with only one small village within many miles, the vultures 
had discovered the carcase, half-hidden as it was. Every minute fresh 
birds with half-closed wings descended with a tremendous whish^h-h-h, 
while others, gorged to repletion, flew with apparent difficulty on to 
trees or rocks close by, and, as customary after filling their stomachs 
inordinately, spread out their wings and remained motionless. As each 
new comer arrived and settled somewhere close by, he waddled up with 
hasty strides and lowered head, and wedged himself in by force 
between his comrades. 

At times the carcase was altogether screened from view by the 
mass of birds, all pulling, struggling, and fighting over the prey. It 
was an interesting sight to watch, though we were rather too near 
the dead animal for it to be pleasant to the nasal organs. Presently 
the shadow of a large bird made us look up, and after soaring round 
once or twice, with his legs straight out behind him, Leptoptilos 
Argdla, or as we call the huge crane * The Adjutant,' settled hard by ; 
tucking his wings under him, with measured strides he approached 
the ravenous crew ; some of the vultures respectfully made way for 
so distinguished a personage. One who blocked the path received 
immediately a tremendous dab on the bacl^^ by way of a reminder 
to quicken his movements. Having received the latest arrival in 
proper form, the ring closed once more round the horrible feast. The 
sun had now got low ; there wf^ not a breath of wind, and with the 
exception of the flapping of wings caused by the birds of prey as they 
kept coming to and going from the carcivse, not a sound of any kind 
was to be heard. 

Suddenly a great commotion arose among the ravenous group 
around the dead bullock. The vultures took wing into trees as if they 

had heard or were aware of something approaching. Captain P ^y 

whispered to me over his shoulder, * Look out.* Two or three minutes 
passed and it began to get quite dark, still nothing appeared. Presently 
my companion touched me with his elbow, and on ray looking round 
towards the carcase, to my astonishment I beheld what I thought was 

F 



66 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

a veritable tiger, never having seen one ; but in reality it was a very 
large panther tearing the flesh. The next moment a ball from my 
friend's rifle crashed through the brute's body, rolling him over ; in an 
instant he had recovered himself, and not knowing probably from what 
quarter the danger came, made direct for our tree. A second shot from 
the same rifle struck the ground between his fore legs when quite close ; 
the animal paused for a moment and glared up at ns (I shall never 
forget the devilish expression of that terrible countenance), as if half- 
meditating an assault. At this moment I had brought my rifle to 
bear ; instead of shooting him through the head, however — I was too 
excited, and in too cramped a position for such accuracy — my bullet 
struck him in the back over the loins, crippling him in the spine ; he 
sprang forward and went rolling down the side of the hill, getting 
another shot from my left barrel as he disappeared. It was evident 
that the beast could not go far, for he with difficulty dragged himself 

along ; but in spite of all my persuasions Captain P y would not 

hear of following him up or anything of the kind, knowing full well 
from experience the danger of such an act, especially as night was fast 
coming on, and it was already dark. 

I was rather disappointed, although he assured me that we should 
certainly find the panther dead on the morrow. I slept very little that 

night, and soon after daylight, leaving Captain P ^y asleep, took my 

rifle, and started for the scene of the previous night's adventure. In 
the first half mile, however, I met a mob of natives, four of them 
staggering along with the dead panther slung on a pole across their 
shoiQders. His tongue was hanging out of his mouth and his teeth 
close shut were driven through it. The natives had found him lying 
dead, within twenty yards of the place where he had disappeared. 
Both shots were mortal wounds, but it was astonishing that the brute 
had been able to move a step after being struck with the first ball, 
for it was planted fair in the centre of the shoulder, and had passed 
out on the other side. The animal measured within an inch of eight 
feet in length, and was veiy thick and muscular. 

Panthers when provoked will charge elephants as readily and daringly 
as tigers. I have seen this happen two or three times ; and once, when 
mounted on the back of an elephant totally unfit for this kind of sport, 
I was regularly pursued by a snarling, vicious panther. We, that is, 

H s and myself, having heard of a pair of these animals that had 

been for weeks together doing a deal of mischief, borrowed two elephants 



THE PANTHEB. 67 

m>m the Bajah of Teeree, and went to look for them. After a deal of 
hard work, towards the close of the day, and just as we were about to 
give up the chase, or rather search, we came upon them in a patch of 
thick bushes. Now, I knew nothing of the elephant I was mounted 
on ; he was a huge tusker, and the mahout had been only a few 
minutes before expatiating on his merits and steadiness when facing 
tigers and other big cats, little thinking how very soon he would have 
a chance of showing his real worthy 

Instead of a howdah, I was mounted on this occasion on an 
abominable kind of flat seat, with iron rails round it, and from this 
native invention it was difficult — so cramped was the position — to 
use a rifle at all, much less shoot accurately. However, we had 
but one howdah, so made the best of it. I have already said that after 
a diligent search, we came upon the pair of panthers we had so long 
been looking for. In spite of sundry thumps on the head, my 
elephant did not seem at all incb'ned to advance to the attack ; and 
presently when one of the panthers gave an angry growl, to my disgust, 
the brute of an elephant, with a shriek of fear, swung round, and made 
off at full speed with his trunk in the air. The panther in front of 
us immediately perceived the advantage he had gained, and the terror- 
stricken ^ hathi ' making off, he came out with a bound, growling and 
snarling, and attempted to spring on to the elephant's hind quarters ; 
in this he failed, but followed us up for a good thirty or forty yards. 
As for attempting to take a shot at our pursuer, that was out of the 
question ; for it was as much as I could do to hold on, much less put a 
rifle to my shoulder. I lost my hat, as well as my temper, got a fine 
scraping across the face and neck from the bough of a prickly tree, 
and twice, the elephant, blundering over rocks and stones, nearly came 
down altogether. At length the mahout managed to stop the frightened 
brute, which was trembling from head to foot ; but nothing would induce 
it again to approach the cover into which the panthers had retired. In 
the meantime my companion, mounted on a female elephant, had 
fared little better ; she with the howdah on, perceiving the flight of 
my tusker, retired out of action in an opposite direction, though not 
at such a headlong pace ; it was a ridiculous sight, but trying to the 
temper. The end of it was, we had to give up the hunt, and return 
home. We sent the elephants back that same evening to the Bajah, 
vovring that in all our lives we had never come across such useless 
brutes. 

w2 



68 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 



CHAPTER in. 

THE LEOPARD (FeUs Leapardtis, Hodgion). 



On every side the ambushed leopard strains, 

No passage for the bounding deer remains. — ANYXsri-SiTHAiii. 



In general appearance (as already mentioned when speaking of the 
panther) the Indian leopard so much resembles the panther that thej 
are often confounded, and to the present day classed by some as one 
and the same animal. In the Himalayas the leopard is very common, 
and a perfect pest, continually carrying off dogs, close to the outskirts 
of our hill stations. A dog that is in the habit of leaving his master 
and wandering from the foot path, when traveUing in the hiUs, is 
almost certain, sooner or later, to be carried off. I. have known of 
many fine sporting dogs taken when shooting pheasants and chikor. 

Leopards are in the habit of watching foot-paths, from some hiding 
place above, whence they can view everything that passes. As soon as 
they perceive a dog or goat loitering behind or astray, they steal 
rapidly and silently down, and before poor * doggy * can join his master, 
or an unfortunate goat his comrades, he is seized by the throat and 
swept off the path without having time to utter a cry or offer the 
slightest resistance. A good stout dog is almost a match for a leopard, 
if brought face to face with him on open ground, but the cunning cruel 
cat creeps up and buries his fangs into the neck of his prey when he 
least expects him, and once in the fatal grip, a dog or any other 
creature hardly ever escapes. I remember, however, a pluc^ little 

terrier belonging to Colonel D s of the 37th, making his escape 

from the clutches of a leopard, and returning to his master with a 
wound in his throat. 

Two moderate-sized setters, the property of a gentleman at 



TEE IF.OPAliD. 



69 



HuBsoorie, turned on a leopard which attacked one of them, and 
speedily got the better of their assailant. They so worried the beast 
that it was unable to make its escape, and was easily despatched. 

It is not uncommon for the Thibet sheep dogs — -large powerful 
animals {sometMng like the Newfoundland breed with heavy 'jowls ') 
and specially retained to guard flocks and herds — to be carried off by 
leopards ; sometiuies these dogs escape through wearing broad spiked 
iron collars. I remember seeing a collar deeply indented by the teeth 
of a leopard ; the wearer had escaped with his life after being dragged 
some distance, but was grievously wounded. 

Leopards are seldom seen in the daytime. I have only on three 
occasions seen them in the Himalayas, although I have travelled and 
wandered a great deal in our liill ranges ; yet they are common enough. 

The first thing that takes yonr eye m the early morning as you 
leave your tent, is the scratch on the turf from the foot of a leopard ; 
if yon examine the outskirta of your tent, yon will likely enough find 
his ' png,' where he has been sniffing under the canvas for ' Dash ' or 
' Jnno i ' and the sap yet running from a neighbouring tree shows that 
he has only an hour or two before been stretching his claws on the 
hark. I had a setter whose mother had been taken by a leopard, 
and who himself ha^ had more than one narrow escape. This dog 
always slept on my bed, and more than once has awakened me on 
a dark night by his growling and trembling all over, and nestling 
closer to me, evidently from fear of some brute close at hand, probably 
a leopard. The first expedition I ever made to the hills I lost a pet 
dog named ' Snip,' carried off by a leopard ; he was by no means 
a well-bred dog, rather the contrary; a thick-built brown terrier, 
rather bandy-legged, curly-tailed, with a pair of prick-up ears, and 
brown intelligent eyes. I bought hira from a soldier in the barracks 
. at Allahabad when a pup, for one rupee, and though not a valuable 
dog, he was a prime favourite of mine. For several months this poor 
dog was my only companion ; we always shared our meals together, 
and sometimes both Snip and 1 had to put up with very 'short 
commons,' and retire to rest after only a scanty meal. One windy 
wet night, having collected sundi7 scraps, and filled a plate princi- 
pally with rice for my dog, I placed the dish at the entrance of the 
tent, and soon Snip was in the full enjoyment of his meal. Having 
tied a lantern on to the tent pole and lit a cigar, I took up a book and 
lay down on my bed. In another minute I was startled by the sharp 



70 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

cry of my poor dog, and jumping up, I rushed out of the tent. I 
could see a dark object making off: catching up a lighted piece of 
wood from a fire burning outside, I hurled it at the animal; but 
although the sparks from the burning wood striking the ground 
almost between the creature's feet showed it to be, as I expected, a 
leopard, the animal would not drop his prey. I ran after it shouting, 
but the brute disappeared in the darkness down the face of a steep 
decline. I went back, got my gun, a lantern, and two men with torches. 
We searched everywhere, called the dog by his name and whistled, 
but in vain, and in half an hour we returned wet through from a 
fruitless quest. 

On another occasion, within six miles of the spot where my dog 
was carried off, a leopard one evening suddenly sprang upon a small 
white milch goat, which was browsing on some bushes about fifty yards 
below my tent. 

The little creature would have undoubtedly shared the same &te as 
my terrier, had it not fortunately been coupled by a stout rope to 
another and larger goat. The leopard dragged both the animals for 
several yards down the face of a steep decline, but so impeded was the 
beast by their united struggles, that assistance arrived ere the marauder 
could reach his den, which we afterwards discovered within a hundred 
yards of our bivouac. 

The leopard is one of the chief enemies to the monkey tribe ; he 
stalks them when the animals are on the ground in search of nuts and 
roots, lies in wait for them near pools and springs of water, and 
occasionally will ascend trees in pursuit of them. Monkeys always 
show the greatest consternation on viewing their enemy. As I have 
before stated, I have been made aware of a tiger or leopard being on 
the move through the jungles by the demeanour of wild monkeys. 
They will follow the big cat from tree to tree, and rock to rock, as he 
passes below, their hair bristling, tails on end, shaking the branches 
with their paws, and stooping down, making hideous grimaces at 
their foe, keeping up an incessant chattering and swearing the while, 
and showing in every possible way their hatred and fear of him. I 
have frequently been told by native hunters that monkeys are some- 
times so fascinated by a glaring leopard, that they become power- 
less to make their escape, and will even drop from the bough of a tree 
into the very jaws of their dreaded enemy. No doubt this is true, 
especially with young creatures. I have noticed that, in a beat, pea- 



THE LEOPARD. 71 

fowl invariably show alarm on the proximity of any of the cat tribe. 

My friend H s assured me that he has frequently been made 

aware of the approach of o;ie of the large cats by a peculiar sharp 
kuk, kuk, kuk, cry of alarm made by pea-fowl. Leopards also prey 
on porcupines. I remember in the hills finding a porcupine near the 
mouth of a leopard's den, eyidently just killed, for it was yet bleeding 
at the throat. 

Leopards often take up their quarters in the hills under some pile 
of rocks and bushes close to a station, and every night prowl about 
the houses, carrying off stray dogs and goats. A friend of mine at 
Nynee Tal was one evening returning home with his rifie on his 
shoulder, and when close to the station, his attention was attracted by 
his dog, a setter, suddenly returning to him with his tail down and 
looking back, as if pursued by some creature. On carefully looking 
round, he observed the head of a leopard projecting from an over- 
hang^ing rock above the footpath, his eyes glaring, and his whole 

attention still fixed on the dog. S d took a steady aim at the 

brute's head, fired, and killed the beast on the spot. 

During the summer months, when the snow passes between the 
Himalayan range and Thibet are open, the Bhootias who inhabit the 
villages on the confinies of our territory, bring down large herds of 
goats laden with salt, which they dispose of at Almorah, Sirinugger, 
and other towns, and return later in the season supplied with flour 
for their own use, and to barter with the Thibetans. Many of these 
useful creatures faJl a prey to prowling leopards, and it is nothing 
unusual for a party of traders to lose eight and ten of their goats in a 
single journey between the Neti Pass and Sirinugger. 

Leopards, like all the cat tribe, are dangerous when wounded or 
brought to bay. Two ofiScers, to my knowledge, have been severely bitten 
and clawed at different times within a few miles of Almorah by wounded 
leopards. Hill leopards are in the habit of ascending the high open 
ground above the forest in quest of burrel and thar (wild sheep and 
goats). They often stalk these animals by getting above them, and then 
gradually descending behind a ridge or some other cover till within 
springing distance. That the animals are often successful in their en- 
deavours to surprise such prey as I have just named, is proved'beyond 
dispute by the amount of hair always observable in the llBopard's ordure. 
I have only once shot the hill leopard, and then, though mortally 
wounded, the beast managed to creep under some rocks, and the 



72 THE GAME OF BENGAL, 

9 

body was only recovered some weeks after when the skin was spoilt. I 
was encamped at a {^ace called Tappoban in Gurhwal, on the look- 
out for bears. One morning some of the villagers reported having 
seen a leopard in broad daylight, lying on a rock sunning himself near 
the bank of the river close by, and only a short distance from my tent. 
This was most nnnsnal, but on proceeding to the spot I found his 
fresh tracks, and discovered a cave with a narrow entrance near where 
the animal had been seen, and which I was certain was his hiding-place. 
That evening I had a goat tied up vrithin short gun-shot range of 
the leopard's lair, and took up my position on a flat rock above. After 
waiting upwards of an hour, the bleating of the goat brought him 
out, but he was grovelling so close to the ground that, in the long 
grass and nettles, I could with difficulty get a clear shot. Just as 
the brute was about to spring on his intended prey, I fired, and had 
the satisfaction of seeing him roll over apparently dead. I descended 
from my post, but on reaching the spot where I had expected to find 
the carcase, discovered to my disgust that he had succeeded in reaching 
his den by means of another entrance lower down which I had not 
previously observed. There could be no doubt of this, for there were 
drops and patches of blood up to the very mouth of the hole. It 
was hard lines, but there was nothing to be done, for the entrance was 
small, and the animal's den evidently extended some distance under a 
mass of huge boulders. I therefore gave it up as a bad job. 

Two years after I again visited that same village, and a man of the 
place, with whom I had made friends, came in the evening to make 
his salaam, and the very first thing he told me was, that about two 
months after my former visit, one of the men of the village, passing 
near the leopard's cave, had observed the remains of a dead animal 
lying near the mouth, which proved to be a leopard, and doubtless 
the same creature that I had fired at and wounded. He had either 
come out to die (as some animals always do) or, as the narrator thought, 
had been washed out by a very heavy fiood of rain. 

A description of black leopard is occasionally found in India, but 
very rarely. I have heard of it once in Gwalior, but never in Bengal 
Proper. The term in Hindustani for the leopard is ^ tendooah,' but 
in Kumaon, Gurhwal, and other hill provinces, the natives call the 
animal (erroneously I believe) ^ lukhar bughar ; ' properly speaking, this 
title belongs to the hysena, and is the term by which that animal is 
known all over the North- Western Provinces. 



THE SNOW LEOPARD. 73 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE SNOW LEOPARD (FeUa Undo). 



How waked the spotted beasts of prey, 

Deep sleeping from the face of day. — Joaqxtik Miller. 



The Snow Leopard, called also the Ounce, is a yerjrare animal, only to 
be found in our territory among the high peaks and passes of the Hima- 
layas, and always' in the vicinity of the snows. I once had a snow 
leopard cub tied up in my tent for upwards of a fortnight, and great 
indeed was my disappointment when the young creature sickened and 
died, for I had fully determined that, be the cost what it might, it should 
be sent home to the Zoological Gardens. I believe that it would have 
been considered a valuable acquisition, for I have never heard of such 
an animal having yet reached this country.^ 

I will now relate the remarkable manner in which I became 
possessed of this cub. In 1863 I had been upwards of a month in 
Thibet on a shooting expedition, and had been tolerably successful. 
I was quite by myself; a friend who had accompanied me over the 
Neti Pass had left me. The only human beings within many miles 
were a gang of some eight or ten Thibetans, living in one of their usual 
tattered tents, with their flocks and herds around them. I may 
mention eii passant that recently, when travelling in Norway, I visited 
a party of Laplanders in the vicinity of Tromso, and was much struck 
with the strong resemblance these people bore in features, dress, and 
general appearance to the inhabitants of Thibet. The Laps, however, 
do not wear * pig-tails.* One evening I sent my BhooJ^ia shikary over 
to try and get some yak butter from these people; he returned in 
about an hour's time with what I required, and casually mentioned 

* I observe that the ' Eeport ' of the Zoological Society of London, dated April 29, 
1876, page 22, fully bears me out in this statement. 



74 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

that the Hooniahs (as the Thibetans are sometimes called) had for sale 
the skin of a very handsome snow leopard, which they had recently 
kiUed. I was surprised to hear this, knowing that these people seldom 
use fire-arms, but how else could they have killed it? I wished to see 
the skin, though without the remotest idea of purchasing it, for I only 
value heads and skins that have come to me by my own rifle. 

The following morning we happened, when starting in search of 
burrel, to pass the camp of the ' pig-tailed ' gentlemen, and I sent in 
a message that I wished to see the skin they had for sale. Presently 
two men came out with the snow leopard's skin. It was a large one, 
and had been very handsome. It was of a light grey colour, with black, 
irregular spots ; there was a black line running lengthways over the 
hind quarters ; the hair was long on the neck, and the tail was remark- 
ably long, ringed with black, and black at the tip. I should say that 
the animal when alive had been probably about the size of a panther, 
but on account of the careless manner of dressing the hide it was quite 
spoilt, the fur having come off in large patches. I could see no bullet 
holes, and desired one of my men to ask them how it had been shot. 
They replied that the animal had been kiUed by one of their party 
rolling a stone down on it. I laughed and told them that I did not 
believe it. On this the elder of the two men told the whole story to 
my Bhootia, and he interpreted it to me in Hindustani. 

It appeared by the man's tale that the leopardess lived in a cave 
on an opposite range of hills vrith a pair of cubs, and for months past 
had given great annoyance to the Thibetans by continnaUy carrying oflF 
their sheep and goats. One day one of their party coming along by 
chance over this range of hills, saw her lying out on a rock, basking in 
the sun at the mouth of the den, and fast asleep. The man rolled a 
large stone down with such accuracy that it struck the sleeping animal 
in the middle of the back, breaking its spine; he then descended and 
finished it with a short but heavy dhow knife that he had in his girdle. 
Such was the Hooniah's account, and improbable as it at first appeared 
to be, I believed it, for in the centre of the skin, about the middle of 
the back, there waB a dark, congealed patch of blood, where the 
animal had evidently been much injured when alive, and the Hooniahs, 
without my asking them, pointed this out as the spot where the stone 
had struck the leopard. I did not think at the time of asking any 
questions about the cubs. 

Two days after, I was returning in the afternoon from an unsuc- 



THE SNOW LEOPARD. 75 

cessful day's sport. We (my two Bhootias and myself) had been out 
since daylight, and fagged hard up hill and down dale, and were tired 
alter our exertions ; fatigue is always more felt when the * bag is empty,* 
so we sat down to have a rest and a smoke. It happened to be on the 
summit of the very hill where the Hooniah had killed the leopard in 
the remarkable manner I have related. While sitting down I noticed 
a pair of what appeared to be ravens swooping at something in the 
valley below; they kept wheeling round and round, and striking at 
some animal, I thought, in the grass. I imagined it to be a hare or 
marmot, and desired the younger of my two companions to go down 
and ascertain what it was. On reaching the spot I saw him stand 
amazed, and then eagerly make signals for us to come down. We 
accordingly descended, but before the spot was reached, a grey animal 
jumped up in the grass, and took refuge among some boulders. On 
reaching the place my man told me that it was a large cat, and pointed 
it out to us crouching under a rock. Directly the elder of the Bhootias 
saw the beast, he pronounced it to be the cub of a snow leopard, and 
then I remembered the Hooniah telling us about the pair of cubs. 
One of the men took off a blanket he was wearing over his shoulders, 
and after some trouble, in which all three of us got clawed, we managed 
to tie up our young friend in the folds of the blanket and carry him 
home. It was about the size of a lynx, with large feet and broad head, 
of a dusky white colour, with irregular black spots. The animal was 
miserably thin, and had evidently been starving for days. He ate 
burrel flesh ravenously when placed in front of him, and clawed my dog 
across the face handsomely for attempting to get a share of the meat. 
I chained him up to the pole of the tent with my dog's chain and collar, 
and made him a bed of straw ; but he gave much trouble, especially on 
the march. However, in ten days he grew to be quite strong, slept 
day and night on my bed, and in time would doubtless have become 
quite tame. 

One day, however, on returning from shooting, the cub lay dead, from 
what cause no one could or would explain, but I had a strong suspicion 
that He had been poisoned with some of my arsenical paste by one of 
the servants, to avoid the bother and trouble he gave to them all. 
However, this was only a suspicion, though there were grounds for 
supposing that the animal had not died a natural death, as his body was 
much swollen and distended. As can easily be imagined, the death 
of my pet was a great disappointment to me. 



76 



THE GAME OF BENGAL, 



Two gentlemen of my acquaintance once actually came upon a snow 
leopard feeding on the carcase of a burrel which he had just pulled 
down, but unfortunately they missed their shots ; they consoled them- 
selves however, by carrying off the slain burrel. I was one march 
behind them, and remember on arriving at the camping ground which 
they had vacated the previous day, seeing the feet of the burrel lying 
by the remains of their camp fire» 



THE BED LYNX. 77 



CHAPTER V. 

THE RED LYNX (FeHs caracal). 



Piercing like lynx's eyes. — Shakspeasb. 



The LynXy like the tiger, leopard, and others of the cat tribe, is nocturnal 
in its habits, and is seldom shot, or even met with, in northern India. 
Though found in certain localities, it is decidedly a rare animal. .Once 
only during mj many wanderings and excursions have I seen one. 
It was in the Central Provinces: one of my companions got a long 
shot, but unfortunately missed. 

The lynx when caught young can be reared without much trouble, 
and with care and kind treatment becomes exceedingly tame, and 

makes a good pet. My friend H s had one for several years at 

Lullutpore. 

I once came across the Thibet lynx {Felis isahellina) — quite another 
variety troia F. caracal j and equally rare — in 1863 when hunting 
burrel, beyond British territory, and niight have shot this uncommon 
animal, but for the stupidity of my followers. I will transcribe the 
occurrence from my journal. 

In July 1863, in company with two Bhootia shikaries, I was out 
one day on the look-out for burrel. Soon after we started we had the 
good fortune to discover a fine herd of the wild sheep feeding on ground 
exceedingly favourable for a stalk, so that it required but little de- 
liberation to decide on the plan of operations. We could perceive by 
the aid of our glasses that the greater part of the herd were old 
females and young, which I seldom meddled with ; but there were, as 
is often the case, several young males, full-grown, and well worth the 
trouble of bringing to bag. We were favoured by the ground, and 
the wind was in the right direction, so that I had fully made up 



78 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

mj mind that at least ope of the sheej), if not two or three, should 
famish us with a supper. 

We made a wide circuit, and approached the herd with all 
possible care; but what was my surprise and disgust, on peeping 
oyer a certain bush which I had marked as the spot from which to 
take mj shots, to find the animals beating a retreat in a long line 
over an opi)Osite hill. They were making off at a fast trot, and evidently 
had taken alarm at something or other. T tried to persuade myself that 
we had not been the cause of our iU-success, but what else could have 
done the mischief in such an out-of-the way part ? There must have 
been a watchful sentry that we had overlooked, who had given his 
comrades a hint to be off, and that was the only conclusion we could 
come to. When the burrel were out of sight, we walked slowly forward 
to the spot where they had been feeding only a few minutes before, and 
quite by chance I almost put my foot on to a lamb about a month 
or six weeks old, lying dead in the grass. The blood was yet flowing 
ftt)m a wound in its throat, evidently quite recently inflicted. I 
placed my hand on the body and it was warm. There had evidently 
been an opi)Osition stalker at work, who had been beforehand and 
cut us out; but where was the gentleman? We looked round; the 
ground in the vicinity was covered vrith loose boulders and stones. I 
fancied that between two rocks about sixty yards off, I could make out 
the head of some animal looking attentively at us. 

Now, I have nowhere met with men gifted with keener eye-sight 
(accustomed as they are to this description of hunting) than the Bhootia 
shikaries who are in the habit of accompanying Englishmen on hunting 
trips into the wilds of Thibet. Generally speaking, they are to be 
trusted in scanning the face of an opposite hill or valley below, and if 
burrel, or other animals are in sight, however motionless and well con- 
cealed they may be by the colour and shade of the ground, nine times 
out of ten one of these men will almost instantly detect them. I 
pointed out to my comrades this object like a head between the rocks, 
that had caught my eye, and appealed to them to decide if it 
was a living creature or the contiury. After a careless glance, they 
both shook their heads, remarking that it was nothing ; so I gave one 
of them my rifle, and throwing myself down, prepared for that usual 
soother to the feelings under adverse circumstances, a smoke, but 
hard luck was in store for me. Suddenly the younger of the two men 
thrust my rifle into my hand and clutched me by the shoulder. I 



THE BED LYNX. 



79 



looked round, and from behind the very two rocks, where a minute 
previously I had rightly imagined that I could make out the head of 
some animal intently gazing at us, a lynx was rapidly stealing off. 
Before I could recover myself, stand up, cock the rifle, and take a rapid 
aim, he had gained the brow of the hill, and was in the act of disap- 
pearing as I drew the trigger. Under the circumstances the shot was 
a good one, for the buUet struck the ground close to the animal, but 
a miss is as good as a mile, and though I ran forward in hopes of 
giving him a second barrel, I never saw the lynx again. I remember 
that I was very wrathful at this unlucky affair, and roundly upbraided 
my two companions on their carelessness, and certainly they richly 
deserved the reprimand they received. As I have already mentioned, 
this is the only instance that I ever came across the Thibet lynx, and 
few Indians of my acquaintance have had the luck to bag one. 

The general colour of the skin of the Thibet lynx much resembles in 
tint the coat of the animal it so frequently preys upon — the burrel. 

The tail is rather short and tipped with black. 



So THE GAME OF BENGAL. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE HUNTING LEOPARD ob CHEETAH (Felu Jubdta), 



Couched low he lies, and meditates the prey. — Popb. 



DESCBIPTiON. 

Eaireme Length — From 7 to 8 feet 

Height—Yxom 2^ to 3 feet. 

Head — Round in shape. Ears short 

Pod'y— Slender in form. 

Limb» — Longer than either panther or leopard ; claws only slightly retractile, and not 
so sharp and curved as those of true cat 

General Colour — Light red on bock and sides, white below, thickly spotted with black, 
spots very distinct (more so than markings of leopard) and small. 

Tail — Long, generally carried curled at the tip. 

Hair — On neck rather long and bristly, but can hardly be called a mane. The fur is 
rather rough, and wanting the sleekness of true cat. 

The Cheetah, though classed among the cats, differs from the rest of 
the feline race in one or two material points. It has been described 
by some writers as the connecting link between the cat and dog. 
I have never seen the animal in its ¥dld state, though it is by no means 
uncommon in many parts of India. A friend of mine who was stationed 
for many years in Bajpootana, informs me that when out pigsticking 
in the plains near Nuseerabad, cheetahs have frequently been put up 
and speared from horseback. 

He states that they give a short but very quick run, and when 
brought to close quarters have seldom been known to show fight ; but 
it was always considered . prudent not to let a wounded cheetah get 
behind your horse, as cases have been known of their springing on to a 



THE BUNTING LEOPARD OB OHEETAE. 8i 

horse's back after it has passed by ; in which case a cheetah not only 
becomes an ugly customer to dispose of, but may inflict serious wounds 
on a valuable hunter, and utterly spoil his nerves. 

My friend H s has constantly shot the cheetah in the Lullutpore 

district, when beating for big game. The animal, I have been informed, 
is generally to be found in rocky ravines where there is sufficient scrub 
and bush to afford concealment, seldom in very open country. 

As is well known, the cheetah is kept by rajahs and other rich 
natives for hunting antelope. It is a mistake, however, to imagine 
that the cheetah in its wild state chiefly preys on the common Indian 
antelope. He will certainly pull a black buck down, when the latter 
enters bush or grass jungle, — the natural haunt of the cheetah, — but 
he does not follow the antelope on to open flats or plains. The 
bush-loving chikarah, the four-horned deer, stray^goats and sheep, form 
the cheet<ah's principal prey. 

The method of hunting antelope with the cheetah, as practised 
in India, has so often been described that I will only briefly allude 
to it. A party of us, mounted on horseback, went out at the invitation 
of a native rajah near Benares to witness a hunt. A pair of cheetahs, 
in a flat cart drawn by bullocks, were chained up, with collars on, and 
hooded. We soon found a herd of antelope, among them four or five 
bucks, at which to loose the cheetahs. The antelopes were tame enough, 
and allowed us to approach within 300 yards or so, whe^ we came to 
a halt. The keepers then let loose one of the hunting leopards, a male, 
and the creature seemed to know perfectly well what his duties were, 
for immediately his hood was taken off, and the collar chain unfkstened, 
his eyes were riveted on the antelopes, now risen to their feet, and 
staring at us. He at once commenced approaching them, almost in a 
direct line, not taking advantage of some sand hills to conceal his stalk, 
as he might have done, but grovelling and crouching close to the 
ground. That the antelope saw their enemy was evident, but instead of 
making off, they appeared to be either paralysed from fear or wrapped in 
curiosity, till they allowed him to approach within springing distance. 
Then, as the foolish creatures turned to flee, the cheetah made two or 
three bounds forward, and with extraordinary speed pulled down, not a 
buck as we had hoped and had been told he would do, but a poor old 
doe with a young one at her heels. We galloped up, but it was too 
late to save the poor creature. The cheetah had already buried his 
teeth in her throat. He glared and growled at his keeper in a savage 



82 



THE GAME OF BENGAL. 



manner when pulled off the carcase by his collar, and I imagine it 
would have been dangerous for a stranger to have meddled vrith him. 
We had no further sport, and one and all agreed that, though the 
spectacle was worth seeing just for once in a way, there was nothing 
much in it from a sporting point of view. 

Cheetah-hunting is probably to be seen to the greatest advantage 
at Baroda, where it is carried on in a far more scientific style than I 
have above described. What I have related is merely from personal 
experience* 



THE INDIAN BLACK BEAB. 83 



CHAPTER Vn. 
THE INDIAN BLACK BEAR (Ursua labidtus). 



In the night, imagining some fear, 

How easy is a bush supposed a bear. — Shakspeabb. 



Dbscrtption. 



Extreme Length — From 5^ to 5} feet, both sexes much about the same size. 

Height— ^{ to SJ feet 

Head — Bald about the face, the lower part of which is a dingy white colour ; lips 
large and coarse ; ears rather short and round at the tips ; eyes small. 

Neck — Short. Shoulders high. Hair of a black colour, coarse and shaggy. Very long 
above neck, and over fore part of body, a dingy white mark on chest, as also on tips of 
paws. 

Limbs — Rather short, thick, and muscular, fore legs rather bow-shaped. 

Feet large^ soles bare, armed with very large, curved, non->retractile claws. 

Tail short. 

In general appearance the most unwieldy of all the Ursidad family.^ Nearly always 
more or less mangy about stomach and lower parts. 

This bear I have only met with in the Central Provinces, Bundelktind, 
and Gwalior ; but I believe it is also to be found in the hills of the 
Madras Presidency, as well as in many parts of Bombay, where low 
ranges of mountains occur, covered with rocks and scrub jungle, and 
where the animal can conceal itself during the day in deep caves. 

Bears are, generally speaking, inhabitants of very cold countries, 
such as Russia, Norway and Sweden, and the Arctic Regions, but Ursus 
lahidtvs is an exception to this rule, for he is constantly to be found 
in the very hottest parts of India. I need hardly mention that the 
different species of the UrsidoB family inhabiting cold climates hyber- 

^ As Shakspeare says of bears, ' They are ill-favoured rough things.' 

o 2 



84 ^HU GAME OF BENGAL. 

nate, or lie dormant in their dens daring the rigours of winter. I am 
unable to state for certain whether Ursus hbidtus is given to this practice 
or not, but I imagine that he is an exception to the role, and does not 
hybemate. 

I believe that this black bear has never been accused of killing 
goats, sheep &c., for food. Undoubtedly the Himalayan species 
frequently does so. In my numerous expeditions and sporting trips, 
involving constant association with native shikaries, I never once heard 
such a thing stated, and Ursus hhidtus can hardly therefore be included 
among the camivora. In fact, though continu^y hunted and bullied 
by sportsmen, he is, generally speaking, a very harmless creature. His 
principal food is wild fruit, such as the mango and mowah (especially 
the latter), various berries, sugar cane, if growing near his haunts ; also 
various kinds of insects, such as centipedes, spiders, beetles, ants, espe- 
cially the white ant, and honey when he can get at a bees' nest. I 
have more than once seen an old beai<, just after daylight, hard at 
work with his huge curved claws, scooping out the nests of the wliite 
ant, and although the ground is often as hard as iron, he makes prodigious 
holes. Another favourite amusement, or rather occupation, when he 
is in quest of food, is turning over loose stones in search of insects. 

I once shot one thus occupied, after watching him for fiilly a quarter 
of an hour at his work. He turned the stones over with ease and by a 
single eflfort of his huge paw — some of them large flat slabs, deeply 
sunk into the ground — and immediately licked up whatever * delicacy * 
there might be underneath. It was just about sunrise in the middle 
of the hot season ; I had been quite unable to sleep from the terrible 
heat of a fearfully close, muggy night, and so about four o'clock took 
my rifle and, in company with an orderly, clambered up a rocky hill 
near my tent, where a pair of bears were said to be. We took up a 
position above some caves, in hopes that when daylight came we might 
catch * Mr. Bear and his wife * as they returned from their nightly rounds. 
There was not a breath of air, and the rocks on which we were sitting 
were still warm fi^m the hot blasts of the previous day. Having waited a 
full half-hour, my companion got impatient, and asked leave to be allowed 
to go higher up the hill and have a look around. I consented. He re- 
turned in a few minutes full of excitement ; he had seen a bear in a valley 
below, but on the opposite side of the hill ; and this was the gentleman 
I have already described as turning the stones over. We managed to 
descend without being seen, so busy wps the animal at his work, and 



TUE WDIAN BLACK BEAK. 



85 



crept up within easj rifle aliot. After we bad waited some minutes, 
poor ' Bhaloo ' seemed to tlmik it was time to be away home, and 
commenced making off, when T bowled hirn over with a bullet through 
the neck, which killed him insUintly. 

Sitting up before siinriae over caverns and dens is a common way 
of shooting bears j but although I have very often tried it, this was the 
only time I wag repaid for turning out so early, and then the bear was 
not killed returning to his lair, but was discovered quite by chance, afl 
just related. This reminds me of a most absurd occurrence that 
happened many years ago. 

I bad been persuaded by a village sbikary to get up very early and 
sit up over some caves on the brow of a hill, where he assured me an old 
Reech (as the jungle tribes of the Central Provinces sometimes call the 
black bear) had resided for years. My companion informed me that 
he was a 'burha,' or old gentleman, who lived quite by himself, — 
probably an old bachelor — I had twice previously gone througb the 
performance of sitting over this very spot, in hopes of intercepting 
this bear, but with no luck, anil this was the third and last time. 
There were so many caves and holes in the liill — a regular honeycomb, 
in fact — that my companion was puzzled where to post me to the beat 
advantage, and finally, after some deliberation, decided on the very 
highest point of the hill, from whence I could see in every direction. 
There we sat hour after hour, and I suppose from previous disappoint- 
ments I was not sufficiently vigilant. As day began to break we heard 
the loud cry of a hyiena as he retired to his lair, and the calls of 
numerous peafowl in the valley below. Suddenly my excitable com- 
panion clutched me by the arm, quite startling me, and throwing me 
off my balance, and whispered ' Reech, Sabib, Reech ' (A bear, sir, a 
bear !), pointing at the same time down the hill behind us. By the 
time, however, that I had turned round ready for a shot, it was too 
late ; for all that I beheld was a glimpse of the huge ' posterior ' of 
tlie bear, as he was in the act of disappearing into one of the numerous 
entrances of his cave : bo we were regularly done, and went home 
disconsolate. 

One word more on the subject of sitting np for bears. The sports- 
man should bear in mind when choosing a. position that his post is not 
accessible &om above. 

Some few years hack a gentleman in the Civil Service was severely 
hurt by neglecting this precaution. 



^■ift 



86 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

I will relate the story as told to me. R ^1 of the survey, and 

S g of the Civil Service, one evening late in the month of April, 

agreed to sit np for bears, which were known to inhabit some hills near 
a village named Sitapur, in the Kirwee district. 

Their positions were about 500 yards apart, R L in a machan 

built in a tree near the head of a pass, commanding a good view of a 
path, along which ^ BhaJoo ' would probably come, and also overlooking 
both banks of the ravine. 

S g posted himself nearer the caves where the bears were said 

to be, on a kind of spur projecting from a hill, and overlooking a pool 
of water. 

The latter had not been long in his place when he saw two or three 
bears making straight towards him from the hill side above. One came 
on along the crest of the spur, and continued to advance towards 

S g, till quite close up. S g gave the brute both barrels, and 

in stxx)ping for his second rifle either slipped or was pushed by the bear 
over the edge of the rock on which he was standing, and fell down 
among the boulders below. 

B 1 who had heard the shots and a native shouting for help, on 

reaching the spot, found S g lying severely hurt, at the foot of the 

rock : his collar-bone was broken, and he was very severely bruised, 
having fallen over twenty feet. 

The wounded bear fell over the other side of the spur, and was never 
seen again. 

Bears, I believe, nearly always have two cubs at a time, sometimes 
only one. I had often been told by natives that an old she-bear with 
young ones, when in danger and beating a retreat, will put her cubs on 
her neck and shoulders and carry them there ; and this I can assert 
to be perfectly true ; for in my last shooting trip with the late Captain 

B s of my regiment, and H s, in the Lullutpore jungles, the 

latter shot a she -bear, driven towards us by beaters, and endeavouring 
to escape, with a very small cub buried in the matted hair of her neck. 
The beaters reported having seen a second cub; only one, however^ was 
secured. 

The black bear if left unmolested is, usually speaking, a harmless 
creature enough; but I have known many exceptional cases when, 
without being provoked or molested in any way, a bear has attacked 
and severely injured natives. A very remarkable instance occurred in 
the hot weather of 1872 in the jungle I have so often mentioned, viz. : 



THE INDIAN BLACK BEAR. 87 

Lullutpore, when in company with my friend H s of the police. 

We were returning early in June, from the Bijawur country, having 
met with very fair sport. I transcribe the bag from my old game 
register : 

*Four tigers, two bears, seven samber, two cheetul, one four- 
horned antelope, one hysena, four black buck^ four chikarah, and two 
wild boars — total twenty-seven head.' 

As it was evident by the masses of clouds collecting in every quarter 
that the rains were close at hand, we had agreed to finish off by 
looking up a pair of bears concerning whom we several times had 
received ^khubber' (or intelligence). Accordingly we made a couple 
of marches, and pitched our tents near a river (the name of which I 
cannot remember), and within a mile of the place where the bears were 
said to be. Our camp was in dangerous proximity to several huge 
bees' nests, hanging down from some steep cliffs bordering the river, and 
only fifty or sixty yards from our tents. Strict orders were given to our 
camp followers that no one was to approach or to irritate in any way 
these dangerous insects, as we well knew what terrible creatures these 
wild bees are to meddle with, and the disastrous results of human beings 
molesting or even approaching their nests. 

But I am digressing. We could get no certain information where 
the bears' caves were, so agreed to assemble thirty or forty men, 
and drive the neighbouring hills and valleys. Now in that part or 
the country villages were • few and far between, and we could not 
collect more than eight or ten men from each miserable group of huts, 
called a village, so we had some trouble in getting sufficient coolies 
together for our purpose. 

The evening previous to the intended hunt H s sent out four 

of his policemen with orders that they were each to go to such and 
such a viUage and come back early the following morning with as 
many men as they could get. As these policemen would have to pass 

through portions of forest and jungle after dark, H s very properly 

ordered (as usual on these occasions) that each man should take his 
loaded musket, to protect himself if necessary from any wild animal 
he might meet with. We retired to rest as usual, and, as it was 
fearfully hot, agreed to sleep out in the open. I awoke very early, 
had drunk my usual cup of tea, drawn on my pantaloons and boots^ 
and was busily occupied in my ablations. H- — s was still seemingly 
fast asleep, although his old bearer had been going on, ^ Sahib, Sahib, 



88 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

pancli baja liai,' (meaniug that it was five o'clock) for the last quarter 
of an hour. All of a sudden I ceased rubbing myself with a towel, 
perfectly astounded at a most hideous outcry from I do not know how 
many voices, and seemingly only a short distance off. I could hear 
among others, cries of * A bear, a bear !' and then a loud * Ow, Ow, Ow.' 
I recognised the latter at once ; there could be no mistaking it ; it was 
very certain there was mischief going on, and Bruin concerned in it. 
Hastily drawing on a shirt, I seized the rifle lying loaded under my bed, 
and in company with half a dozen servants and others, ran as fast as 
possible in the direction of the uproar, which had now nearly ceased, 
my companion promising to follow. The first person we came to was 

one of H s' policemen, a great fellow, but a man we had often 

suspected of being anything but a * brave ' ; he was rolling on the 
ground, howling with pain, his clothes much torn, and his arm bleeding 
from some rather deep scratches, but otherwise not much hurt; so 
leaving a man to take charge of him to camp> we went on in the 
direction whence we had heard numerous voices. About fifty yards 
further, we came to a solitary tree with eight or ten natives sitting in 
the branches. It was a kind of sycamore with very light bark, and on 
approaching I was horrified at seeing a stream of blood running down 
the stem of the tree. A poor fellow with his leg terribly torn about the 
calf> was being supported by, three other*. I immediately ordered 
them to lower him gently down, and as he reached our arms he 
fainted. There was water close by, to the edge of which I carried 
him, and ordered some of those around to pour water over his temples, 
while I made a hasty bandage with my bearer^s puggree to stop the 
bleeding. The wounded man soon revived, and having sent for a bed 
from our camp« we carried him there> dressed the wound — a very severe 
one — properly, and two hours afterwards started the patient, carried 
by six men, for the LuUutpore hospital, where he soon recovered. 

The next thing was to hold a * court of inquiry' on the whole 
business. The policeman made out 'that two bears attacked them 
as they were returning from their expedition in the dark, and that 
he was knocked over, and knew nothing more.' But among the poor 
viDagers there were three or four very intelligent men, who were afraid 
to speak out in the presence of the policeman ; but on giving them a 
second hearing we soon extracted from them what had reaUy happened, 
which was as follows. The whole party, numbering ten or a dozen 
men, left their village about three o'clock, when it was quite dark, the 



THE INDIAN BLACK BEAR. 89 

policeman with liis loaded musket leading the way. They had arrived 
within a quarter of a mile of the camp, and were walking in single file 
through a rather dark clump of bushes, following a well-beaten path, 
when they all of a sudden found themselves confronted by two bears 
coming from the opposite direction. The policeman, instead of showing 
a good example, threw away his musket and bolted down the side of 
the hill, and as he did so, one of the brutes made a blow at him 
with its paw, grazing his arm and tearing his clothes as I have 
described. The unfortunate coolies, deserted by their cowardly pro- 
tector, and with nothing in their hands to defend themselves, naturally 
took to their heels; this ^ame bear, evidently a vicious one, after 
them. There was only one tree near ; they all attempted to climb 
up it at the same time, and all but one succeeded bef6t>e the bear reached 
the foot. As this unfortunate was being dragged up by his companions 
— some of whom attempted to keep the brute ofiF by shouting — ^the 
bear caught him with its paws, bit him through the calf of the leg, 
and passed rapidly on. Now all this was occasioned by the cowardly 
conduct of the policeman.^ Had the fellow stood his ground like a man, 
shouted, or even fired his musket, the chances are ten to one that the 
bears would have taken to their heels; but it is the same with all 
brutes : though by instinct they fear human beings, still when they see 
a man run away from them they fully comprehend the advantage gained, 
and gathering courage, proceed to further measures. There is not a 
surer way of bringing a wild animal, be it a tiger, panther, or in fact 
any savage beast, on to the top of you, than by running away. The 
policeman was found guilty, and sent home in ^ghice. However, he 
deserved his punishment, and as H— • — s remarked^ it was a very good 
test what the man was worth. 

Two days afber we had our revenge. I was unwell, but H — ^s 
sat up over the cave into which these two bears had been marked 
down : just before dark they came out and squatted at the mouth of 
their den, offering a fine chance. He killed one, and wounded the other 
most severely ; but unfortunately the second one was not brought to bag. 

I have been told by native hunters that they have seen a bear 

^ Shakspeare says with truth, and his lines apply not only to the boar, but to all wild 
beasts — 

To fly the boar, before the boar pursue, 

Were to incense the boar to follow us, 

And make pursuit when he did mean no chase. 



90 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

struck by a bullet stuff grass into the wound to stop the bleeding when 
making off: this sounds improbable. The most deadly place to shoot 
a bear (except through the head, which, of course, drops any animal) 
is in the white patch on the chest. Often the brute, hearing your ap- 
proach, and not having made out whether you are friend or foe, stands 
up on his hind legs to have a better look, and then the white crescent 
offers a fine mark to aim at. If struck within that white mark, the 
animal neai'ly always drops dead on the spot. Through, or behind 
the shoulder, are also good places to plant a bullet, but an old bear 
will take any amount of lead in the stern, and make off. The eyesight 
of these animals is by no means good, but their hearing is tolerably 
keen, and sense of smell very powerful ; so in stalking one, be careful 
about the wind, or you will assuredly be discovered. 

Remember always, if possible, in approaching a bear, to get above 
him to take your shot, and then you are comparatively safe; for if 
the creature attempts to come up hill, he affords a chance which can 
hardly be missed, whereas firing at a bear from below is dangerous, 
for it is astonishing how quickly they can come down hill. I have 
never been charged by the Indian black bear, though I have been 
by the Himalayan species — an anecdote hereafter to be related — but 
it is very certain they wiU occasionally charge in a very savage manner.' 
I know of two Englishmen and a great number of natives who have 
been mauled by the Indian bear. Bears, if they make good their 
charge, almost invariably strike a man in the face ; and it can easily 
be imagined what fearful punishment they can inflict, furnished as 
they are by nature with such powerful muscular arms, and terrible 
curved claws. I have seen poor fellows fearfully disfigured and muti- 
lated by a single blow from the paw of a bear. A shikary named 
Dhun Singh, a native of Lullutpore, who was a most enthusiastic fol- 
lower of the chase, and always joined our shooting party in the hot 
weather months, had by a single blow from the fore paw of a bear been 
disfigured for life in an instant, and left senseless on the field. He 
was afterwards such an awful object, that I never could look at him 
without shuddering. 

It is a very common thing to read in books, and to hear people 
speak of a beards hug ; in fact, the expression is proverbial. The 
animal, I believe, is supposed to be in the habit of squeezing a man to 
death. ^ Raising itself on to its hind feet, it squeezes its enemy be- 
tween the fore legs,' says one vniter. American bears may act thus. 



TBE INDIAN! BLACK BEAR. gi 

thoogh I imagine it is noL the case. Oiir bears in India certainly, 
to the best of my knowledge, never attempt such a thing. They strike 
with their fore paws, or draw a man towards them, to bite him through 
the face or arm, but there is uo squeezing or hugging. I have put 
this question over and over again to natives who have Uved among 
bears all their lives, and have invariably received a reply in the negac 
tive. When in Norway, I also mode enquiries on this point, and my 
opinion waa confirmed thei-e by :ieveral old bear hunters whom I con- 
snlted. The Norwegians atlirm, that U. areloa when provoked, ia a 
dangerous animal to cope with, but that he never attempts to hug, or 
squeeze a man, but strikes him in the face with bis paw. 

Although the bear is an awkward brute both in appearance and 
maimer of shuGQing along, it is exti'oordinary at what a pace he gets 
over rough ground, oa will soon be discovered by anyone on foot at- 
tempting to follow him up when he is alarmed and making off. 
After sleeping all day, be emerges from hia den in quest of food just 
oa darkness ia coming on, issuing forth without making the slightest 
noise, and generally squats at the mouth of it for a few minutes before 
sallying forth on his rounds : he then almost invariably makes straight 
for water. 

Though, generally speaking, these animals are nocturnal in their 
habits, and are back iu their caves before the suu is high, yet in out- 
of-the-way places, where they are not hunted or disturbed, I have seen 
them out much later, especially in doll cloudy weather, or after a 
thunder storm. Perhaps the rumbling in the skies awakens and disturbs 
them. In the rainy season they constantly remain out in the forests 
during the day, but though the hunter comes across their nuniistak- 
able tracks, the grass and jungle is then so high and thick that they 
are not often seen. Moreover, at that time of the year, the forests 
begin to get unhealthy, and few sportsmen care to be out. 

Generally speaking, the Indian bear is not so fat or tn such good 
condition as bis hill brother, which is not to be wondered at, consider- 
ing that the former inhabits the veiy hottest parts of India while the 
laller's habitat is among hills often of great elevation, and in a cli- 
mate and temperature exactly the contrary to that which V. Uibidtus is 
compelled to endure. Consequently through the intense 'grilling' 
tlie Indian bear yearly undergoes, not so much fat is to be got from 
his carcase as from that of F. Tibetanus. There ia a certain amount of 
boar's fat usually found between the animal's hide and the flesh, but 



92 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

by far the most and best bear's grease is obtained from about the 
creature's bowels in certain places that natives know where to look for 
it. I have procured as many as eleven bottles of grease from a single 
Himalayan bear, but never remember getting more than four from the 
bear of the plains. This grease is well worth keeping and preserving, 
as it is useful for many purposes, and sells for one or two rupees a 
bottle. T\^e skin of Ursus lahidtus is very coarse, and does not make 
nearly such a good rug as that of the hill species ; moreover it is one 
of the most difficult to dry and preserve that I know of. 

Bears are cunning enough to shake the boughs of mangoe trees 
not strong enough to bear their weight, to make the fruit fall ; they 
then descend to devour what has dropped. 

Natives affirm that bears are immensely fond of honey, and wiU 
persist in storming a bees' nest, in spite of thousands of bees settling 
on their faces and stinging them. If the nest is in a position pos- 
sible to be got at, they say that * Bhaloo ' nearly always makes good 
his assault, and retires glutted and smeared with honey. This is all 
hearsay, but I believe it to be true. 

The Indian beer is easily tamed, but makes a clumsy and trouble- 
some pet. British soldiers ofben have one chained up near the barracks. 
I remember hearing of an amusing occurrence at one of our Bengal 
stations many years ago. A gallant European regiment, with rather 
a peppery colonel, was formed up one morning in readiness for the usual 
drill. Just as the commandant galloped up at one end of the parade 
ground, the pet bear of the regiment came shuffling across from the 
opposite direction* The colonel's horse took fright at the brute, and 
in a loud voice the rider called out to the sergeant-major to drive the 
animal away ; but the bear was ftill of play, bounded about through 
the ranks, first here, then there^ till the men were in fits of laughter, 
and their commander in a towering passion ; at last four buglers had 
to assist the sergeant-major to capture the animal, and lead him back 
to the barracks. 

Natives constantly bring bears round to exhibit sundry tricks and 
performances, such as dancing, wrestling with a man, and so on. These 
dancing bears nearly always have their teeth and claws drawn, a great 
piece of cruelty which should be stopped. 

I have known elephants steady enough with tigers, that could 
hardly be brought to face a bear ; and horses often exhibit great fear 
on viewing the animal, though bears not unfi^quently have been 



THE INDIAN BLACK BEAR. . 93 

speorecl from on horseback by Englishmen. I shall never forget the 
fright a horse of mine, named ' Fiddle,' got one dark night in the hot 
weather, from what we supposed was a bear. 

The affair happened thus. I had received news from a native friend 
residing in Scindioh's country, near Aumdla on the banks of the Scinde 
river, that a pair of panthers, and several stag samber, driven by the 
iutenBe heat from the neighbouring hills, had taken up their quarters 
among the patches of willow, grass, and jungle skirting the river, and 
that if I would come out, he would provide beaters for a ' hank.' A 
friend stationed at Jhansie at once accepted my invitation to accom- 
pany me. We had little difficulty in obtaining ten days' leave, and 
having sent on our traps three days before, and then laid out two 
horses on the Seepree road, we ourselves started to drive out the tbrty 
miles' journey in my dog-cart. 

It was a bright moonlight night when, after dining at mesa, we 
lit our cheeroota, and made a start. Our first horse was a borrowed 
one, and he got through his share of the journey, some twelve miles, 
in good style. We found the change horse ready waiting under a 
thick burgot tree. This animal was hired for the occasion from a 
Parsee merchant, and though his action, from a screwed leg, was 
awkward in appearance, he was a good one to go, and speedily rattled 
us over the second stage of sixteen miles. So far things had gone 
well, and we had only some ten more miles to get through to reach 
Anmolo, where our journey ended. Unfortunately, however, this last 
stage was by far the worst of the three, though the distance was 
shorter than usual, for we had driven the hired horse three miles 
beyond the ordinary changing place. Yet the wretched state of Hie 
iinbridged, sandy road, made the work heavy and laborious for the 
horse, and knowing, from previous expeditions, tliat tliia was the case, I 
had reserved my gallant stud-bred — he with the fiddle-head — to pull 
us through this difficulty. 

By the time we had got him into the trap, the moon had got bo 
low that my companion remarked, it would be as well to light up. I 
struck a match and opened one of the lamps, when to my disgust I 
found a mere stump of a candle, not more than an inch or two in height, 
and the correspondiug lamp proved to be in a similar state. Turning 
wrathfully to the syce and demanding an explanation of his care- 
]e«sneas in not placing fresh candles, I found him, like tlie geuerahty 
of native servanta, ready with an excuse. ' He had been sent on in front 



94 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

the previous evening ; how could he see whether on starting the can- 
dles had been renewed 9 ' and so on ! It was no use grumbling, so 
having lit the stumps of candles, we got under way again. At first 
the road was good enough; but as we approached the flat-topped 
range of hills skirting the Scinde river, through w^ich the track wound, 
things did not improve, and the springs of the * tum tum ' were more 
than once severely tried as we jolted and bumped across nullahs and 
fords. Still we made progress, till at length the roar of the Scinde 
could be heard in the distance. 

Within a short mile of the river the road descended through a 
deep gorge, with high banks, covered with bushes and jungle on 
either side, and so narrow that the branches of trees hanging over, 
ofben scraped our hats. As we approached the very worst bit of road, 
as a matter of course, the lamps went out with a flare and a sputter 
and we were left almost in total darkness. There was nothing to be 
done but to allow the horse to pick his own way slowly and surely. All 
of a sudden our nag came to a halt at the bottom of a ravine, 
snorted, and commenced pushing the cart back. Imagining that 
there was something lying in the road barring the way, I gave the 
reins to my companion, jumped down, and went up to the horse's 
head. There appeared to be nothing so far as I could see, to 
prevent our advance, and I began patting him, and then for the 
first time noticed that he was trembling all over, — and still backing. 
I was about to remark * he must be ill,' when my companion suddenly 
exclaimed, ^Take care; there is something moving in the bushes 
above you.' 

This was pleasant, certainly, and I did not like it. We had no arms 
with us of any kind, and if we had had gun, rifle, or pistol, they 
could have been but of little service in such a state of almost pitch 
darkness. I stood close in with my back to the cart ; there was not 
a breath of wind, and all was again silent, though a moment before 
something had unmistakably moved in the jungle above within a few 
yards of us, and as I could not help thinking just at an inviting dis - 
tance for a spring. * See if you can find a stone,' presently remarked 
my friend in a whisper. I put down my hand and got hold of a lump 
of * kunkur,' and threw it in the direction of the suspected danger : 
immediately there was a .rush of some heavy animal retreating, which 
made the horse rear up in the shafts. Again I threw clods of earth, 
and we shouted as loud as we could ; nothing further was heard, and 



THE INDIAN BLACK BEAR. 95 

after a deal of patting and persuading, the good horse resumed his 
course, and we reached Aum6la in safety. 

The natives told us the following morning that a pair of bears from 
a neighbouring hill not unfrequently crossed this road at night, on 
their way to and from the river; but panthers and leopards, occa- 
sionally a tiger, were also in the neighbourhood, and it was possible 
enough that one of the big cats had been lying in wait by the roadside, 
on the look-out for a stray bullock or horse coming along : or it may 
have only been a mangy hysena afber all that had so disconcerted us. 

In America the flesh of the bear is considered fit for human food ; 
in fact, we constantly read about bear hams, but the only people I have 
ever known eat bear's flesh in India are the Saharias of Bundelkund, 
and they, I believe, will eat anything, for I have actually known them 
devour a hysena. I have never met or heard of a European who 
would make the experiment of having a piece of bear's flesh cooked for 
his dinner, though I imagine it cannot be so very unpalatable. Once 
when in company with a brother oflScer on a shooting trip near Mossoorie 

1 happened to shoot a bear, and reminded my friend, just as a group of 
paharies (hillmen) were taking the skin off, that I had heard him say 
he would not mind trying a piece of bear's flesh, and that now was his 

time to pick out a * tit-bit.' Gr s, however, on viewing the sinewy 

carcase of the poor bear — not unlike in shape a short, thick-built man 
— shook his head, and declined to try the experiment. 

I have said that the extreme length of the Indian bear is from 5^ 
to 5 1 feet, but I once shot one larger than this, for he measured 6 feet 

2 inches, an unusual size for Ursus labidtvs. He was, moreover, very 
thick in proportion. I will conclude this chapter with an account of 
how this bear was bagged. 

It was in the hot season of 1870, that I sallied out in company 
with a friend in the Boyal Scots at Jhansie, for ten days' shooting. 

I must mention that, a few months before, I had made friends with 
a sporting Thakoor, living near Aumola on the Scinde river, and he 
had promised to let me know, when the hot weather had set in, if any 
tigers, panthers, or bears came into the neighbourhood of his village. 
He kept his word, for one morning I received a letter informing me 
that a pair of tigers had been killing bullocks on the banks of the 
Scinde, and that if I came out sharp with two or three other Sahibs, 
he thought we might beat the royal pair out, and have some sport. 
I could only, however, persuade one friend to accompany me. The 



96 THE GAME OF BENGAL, 

'\ weather at the time, the first week in June, was certainly nncom- 
• -^ fortably hot, and this deterred others from joining us. 

We reached Aum6la in safety, and put up in a small bungalow 
close to the ban^ of the river. The Thakoor came to make his salaam 
early next morning, and afber a lengthened considtation we agreed to 
have a big hankwa the following day. However, luck was against 
us, and though fresh traces of the tigers were numerous, we never 
caught a glimpse of them. My friend killed a panther by a most ex- 
traordinary good shot, and I bagged a mangy hysena, and that was all 
after three days' hard work. 

The hyaena I killed from a machan. After sitting up for many 

hours, with I n over a dead bullock (which had evidently been killed 

by a very large panther or a tiger) we had given up all hope and 
were preparing to descend the tree and return home, when a rolling 
stone on the opposite hill followed by a rustling in the bushes, raised 
our expectations from the lowest ebb to the opposite extreme ; another 
movement lower down, when, to our disgust, instead of a splendid 
royal tiger, a sneaking, dirty hysena slowly emerged. He was aDowed 
five minutes to enjoy his last meal, and then a two-ounce ball rolled 
him over. 

The next day, with the aid of a basket full of fireworks we drove an 
old bear out of his den, and most certainly he should have been bagged ; 
but the powder was not straight, and though very severely wounded, he 
escaped. In the evening of the same day we were returning home to- 
wards sunset, tired and disconsolate, both on horseback, with the coolies 
straggling along behind us. A few hundred yards to our left was a 
hill, quite by itself, with a bumt-up level plain all round. I should say 
this hill was about half a mile long at the base. The side facing us was 
flat, sloping gradually to the base ftx)m a rocky ridge which ran along 
the summit, and about half-way up there was a step or terrace, on 
which grew four large mango trees covered with fruit. My syce, a 
. very sharp-eyed man, whose keen vision had been the cause of many a 
poor black buck coming to grief, presently came running up, and 
pointing towards the hill said, * Sahib, what animal is that?* We 
came to a sudden halt, and, after gazing half a minute in the direction 
in which the man pointed out a certain black mass under the mango 
trees, we both exclaimed almost simultaneously, * By Jove, li^'bear ! * 
There was little time to make arrangements (the sun was already low 
down), so we held a hurried consultation. We happened to have two 



TBE INDIAN BLACK JiKAR. 



97 



iuree hog-apears with us, for 1 often distributed spears among the 
beaters. 

My friend, a great hog-liunt«r, proposed tliat the coolies should 
drive the bear down the hill on to the plain, and that we should then 
spear hiin, but I objected, knowing full well for one thing that directly 
my pony saw a bear, he would certainly bolt in exactly the opposite 
direction. Not so, I argued ; we will first have ' a shoot ' at the brute, 
and then you may spear him if you can. At length he asked me 
to make an arrangement for a beat, and as the Thakoor had gone 
home, and there was no one present capable of forming a plaji, I did 
my best under the eir cum stances, I told the coolies — they were only 
twelve or fifteen in number— that they were to gain the back of the hill, 
as quickly as possible, by a detour, extend in a line with the flanks 
well forward, and then come over the brow, and by shouting and rolling 
down stones, drive the beast to the place I pointed out to thein where 
the guns would be stationed. While yet explaining what they were to 
do, a second bear was seen descending from the trees, and both ap- 
peai'ed to be bard at work devouring the fruit, which I daresay they 
had shaken down. 

We put our ponies behind some bushes, and advanced carefully. 
I placed my friend near the right of the base of the hill, and myself 
about three or four hundred yards from him to the left. The mango- 
trees, beneath which the bears were feeding were some little distance up 
the slope of the bill, and we agreed before parting that if the brutes 
took down the hill to the right, I was to run as bard hs I could in that 
direction, to be in time to get a shot wlien they reached the open 
phiin ; if to the left, my friend was to cross over and afford me 
suppoi't. Most luckily, about the last thing I did was to place a 
boy who was with uie, on the branch of an old tree about a hundred 
yards from my post ; he was only some fifteen or twenty feet from the 
ground, but was quite high enough to be able to see which way the 
bears might take. 

I had not been in my plaee many minutes when I saw snndry black 
heads bobbing about on the brow of the hill against the sky ; and 
presently a volley of stones, followed by a sbout from the beaters, and 
an angry growl in return from the B/idloon, told us that the fun bad 
commenced. 

Immediately after. I caught sight of a black object rapidly making 
its way towards the right in the direction of my ally ; so catching up 



98 



THE GAME OF BENGAL. 



iDj rifle, I started running in his direction as fast as I could put legs 
to the ground. I had passed the tree in which the boy was posted, 
when I heard him shouting to me to stop, and on my pulling up he 
told me that the bears had changed their course, and were now coming 
back along the base of the hill directly towards me. I listened, and 
in a few moments the cracking of sticks and rustling in the bushes 
made me aware that they were approaching. Presently they came 
close past, and as luck would have it I got a good view of one as he 
scrambled over some flat rocks, and immediately fired. A deep groan 
followed, and we heard the beast roll down the side of the hill several 
yards. When my friend had joined me, we carefoUy advanced and 
found this fine bear lying dead. The shell from my rifle had struck him 
on the shoulder and made a fearful wound. The other bear broke back 
through the coolies, and madet his escape. 




CHAPTER VIII. 
THE HIMALAYAN BLACK BEAR (Ur».<i TihetHimt). 

(JhurliBh HB II benr, — >'4llAKBPKAItG, 



Small in eUe in cdnipftriami witli Iwnre of Nortbem Aain, Europe, niid Anicrira, 
Ki-tremr Lmgih.—fi^ lo 6 feet 
/fr^A/.— 3 to ^ frBl. 



To^-^o 



loo THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

Hard, — Sather long. Face square and flaL Sosa pointed. Eyes tmsU. Eara erect, 
rounded, and of moderate length. Neck short. 

Fur. — Short, crisp, and of a glossj jet black coloui ; a fringe of longish hair bsbiDd 
each ear. 

CAin. — \Miite. A very distinct, pure white creaceat-sHaped m&tk on cheet, extending 
acrosa tips of shoijlders. 

Limbs. — Thick and muscular. 

Fr^. — Large, with live toes, soles bare, armed with stout black clans, not so large or 
curved as those of V. Labiaiut. 

Tail.— Short. 



This is the common bear of the Himalayas, and much resemblcB the 
black bear of tbe plaios in its general habits, bo that my remarks on 
U. labidtus apply also to this Bpecies, except in one or two points. I 
have already said that the hill bear will undoubtedly, not unfrequently, 
prey on the flesh of animals, such as that of goats, sheep, cfJree, or 
even ponies ; worse still, he will readily devour putrid carCEises. On 
my first visit to the hiUs, I very soon learnt that this bear was a flesh- 
eater, BO iar as regards sheep, goats, &c., but I could hardly believe that 
he would make a repast off such abominations, though the paharies 
repeatedly informed me that such was the case. 

One day, however, I saw a bear busy making a meal off a bullock 
that had died of disease and bad been tiirown into the bed of a stream. 
In the autumn of 1868 I was encamped in the Neti valley in a locality 
famed for bears, and one morning was busy outside my tent stuGBng a 
moonal pheasant. The road from Thibet passed close by, and nmoerouB 
flocks of goats and sheep laden with packs of salt kept passing, en 
route to Serinugger or Almorah. Presently a Bhootia, with a heavy 
load on bis shoulders, came up and asked for a light from the cooking- 
tent, and I heard him say that only a quarter of an hour or so before, 
he and his companions had Been a bear below the road eating some- 
thing. I asked him two or three questions, but could hardly believe 
tliat such a thing was possible, as it was near raid-day with a warm 
sun. Not half an hour afterwards, three more Bhootias came by ; one 
of them walked straight up to me and said, ' Sahib, if you want a shot 
at a bear, there is one only half a mile back, for we saw him a few 
minutes ago at the bottom of the valley.' He also pointed out a curve 
in the path, below which they had seen the animal. 

I at once took my rifle and, accompanied by a chuprassie, walked up 
the road as fast as I could in the direction pointed out. Long before 



T/Zff IHMALATAN BLACK PEAR. loi 

reaching the spot I saw several vultares soaring round the head of the 
valley and descending somewhere about the spot I waa making for. 
On reaching the curve in the road and looking down, we saw right 
below us on the farther bank of the river among the rocka and stunes, 
a large hear busily engaged feeding on a. carcase. He waa surrounded 
by ti, circle of vultures waiting for their turn at the feast. The rocks 
around were also covered with these birds. While watching the scene 
below and considering what was to be done, I waa amused to see 
how on two occasions the selfish old bear, by making a kind of half- 
jump forward and a growl at the same time, kept the vultures at a 
distance. 

There could not be a more awkward pla«e. On our side of the 
etreani — now much flooded and impassable, through the snow melting 
above — there was a landslip for a height of fully 500 feet, with patches 
here and there of bush and grass, but the cover was nowhere thick 
enough to afford concealment. Not only would it have been dangerous 
to attempt the descent of this rolling mass of stones and earth, but 
we should have been immediately discovered, for it waa impossible to 
take a single step without sending pebbles and earth clattering down, 
which would betray our approach in an instant. The ground above 
the bear on the opposite bauk was rocky, and several trees and bushes 
hung over the bank close above him ; capital cover to creep up behind, 
but unfortunately tliere was only one bridge by which to cross the torrent, 
merely a few planks resting on rocks on either side of the stream, with 
stones at each end to keep them steady ; and this bridge was a few 
hnndrt'd yards below the place where the bear was. If I couM only 
manage to steal across without being noticed it would be all right; 
in fact this was the only chance, unless I took a long shot across from 
above the landslip. 

I chose the former plan ; so putting four or five hall cartridges into 
my pocket, I descended alone by a narrow footpath leading to the bridge ; 
but I was discovered before T even put foot on the plank. I have 
already mentioned how keen is the bear's sense of smell ; I had quite 
forgotten that there was a strong wind blowing up the valley from 
where 1 was right in the direction of the brute. On taking a look 
towards him I saw that he had left off feeding and that his snout was 
elevated in the air, evidently suspecting that something was wrong 
(one would have bnagined that the ' delicacy ' in front of hiin would 
bare drowned all other olfactory sensations), and the next moment he 



I02 THE GAME OF BENOAL, 

began retiring slowly, looking over his shoulder and halting every few 
paces. It was too far for a shot, so I watched him till out of sight. 
The next minute my chuprassie came running down from above, where 
he had obtained a better view than myself, with intelligence that he 
had seen the bear enter a cave under some rocks. This was glorious 
news, and I made sure now of getting a shot. 

Taking the chuprassie with me to show the exact spot where Bhdloo 
had retired, we crossed the bridge and carefully making a detour, 
descended as nearly as possible above the cave, when having chosen 
a favourable position on the top of a rock guarding every direction, I 
ordered my man to roll some stones down and shout. He toppled 
over a loose rock, which thundered down and broke to fragments on 
the shingle beneath. A sullen growl of defiance from the depths of 
the earth was the only result. The man, who was a plucky little 
Ghoorkha, went still lower down and threw stones right into the mouth 
of the den, but with no better success. A number of men, among them 
several of my servants, had now assembled on the road opposite. I 
called out to them to come down and bring with them as much dry 
grass and straw as they could collect. In a quarter of an hour or so, 
some twenty or thirty men, with four large sheep dogs, came across 
with straw enough to fill a bam. They crammed this into the mouth 
of the den, pushing it down from above with poles ; still all was silent 
within. 

A piece of rope was then lighted, and the chuprassie descended and 
soon made a huge bonfire. The smoke poured out in every direction 
from twenty diflferent fissures, showing to what a distance the cavern 
extended: but still all in vain. Old Bruin would not bolt. One of 
the men, by my order, squibbed off some powder, holding the barrels 
of my shot gun as far down into the cave as he could reach ; at the 
report we all heard the bear growl again, and much to the amusement 
of the lookers-on, the man with the gun clambered up the bank 
a deal quicker than he went down. At length, after fruitlessly ex- 
pending several hours, we had to give it up ; and next morning I found 
fresh footmarks at the mouth of the den, where in the middle of the 
night Bhdloo had issued forth in safety. 

This animal usually feeds at night, but on cloudy, wet days, especi- 
ally when it is foggy, he may be found wandering about in the day- 
time ; in November it is nothing unusual to find bears in the oak forests 
looking for acorns at all hours of the day. Just at dawn of day is 



THE imtALATAN BLACK BEAIi. 



'°i 



the most likely tiino of all to come sicrose a beoi-; tliey may tlieu be 
met even on public roads, returaing to their laira. 

The hill bear is especially partial to all kinds of fruit. I Imve known 
them invade gardens in the night close to the back of large villages, 
and not only despoil the trees of their crops, biit break and twist the 
branches into all manner of shapes. 

It is nothing uncommon to meet with apricot trees ntterly ruined by 
the repeated visits of bears. 

The wild cherry appears to be eiactlj suited to Bruin's taste, and 
the animal has also an especial liking for a yellow raspberry which 
grows abundantly in many parte of the Himalayas. 

I recollect a native directing my attention to the roof of his 
house ; there were the stalks and remains of a Idnd of melon or 
pumpkin hanging about the thatoli, but the fruit was all gone. On 
the previous night a bear had actually clambered up on to the roof and 
made a hearty supper, wtiJe the owner was sound asleep inside the 
hut. I could not resist laughing at the poor fellow as he related the 
story of his wrongs, for whenever he came to the word 'bear' he 
coupled with it terms of abuse to the animal's father, mother, and 
almost every other relation for generations back, as is the usual practice 
among natives. In some years the Himalayan bear is very plentiful, 
in others hardly one is to be met with ; hiUmen say every third year.- 

I have noticed that when the crops are good, bears appear to be 
numerous, and vice vcrna. The brutes having discovered some fields 
where the ' niundooah ' is ripe, take up their quarters in the neigh- 
bourhood for the season or so long as the crop remains uuharvested, 
probably in some deep ravine, or among piles of rocks and boulders 
on the bank of a river not fur distant As soon as it is dark they 
sally out and commit fearful depredations, although the poor people 
of the country sit up on platforms, shout, hurl stones, and do every- 
thing in their power to frighten them away. I have sat up many times 
on moonlight nights on some commanding spot and got one shot, some- 
times more, at the marauders, but have never once been successful in 
killing one. It is bo difBcult to shoot with accuracy at night, even 
when n black object suddenly looms out from the darkness close at 
hand ; and, as I have before mentioned, bears, unless shot through 
the head, neck, shoulder, or some such vital spot, can carry away many 
bullets in their carcases, and even recover fi-om desperate wounds. 

Jerdon remarks — speaking of this animal in his ' Mammals of India * 



I04 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

» 
— * Its specific name is unfortunate, since it is rare in Thibet/ and 

undoubtedly this is a just criticism. So far back as 1863, and many 

years before I perused Jerdon's works, I made an observation in my 

journal to the same effect. Though common enough throughout the 

Himalayas, it is hardly ever seen in Thibet, nor have I ever met with 

a sportsman, European or native, who had shot the Himalayan bear 

in that country. Moreover, judging from that portion of Thibet north 

of Gurhwal which I visited in 1863, it is a country to all appearance 

totally unsuited to the animal's requirements. There are no trees there, 

and but little bush or scrub jungle to afford concealment, and there 

is almost a total want of its natural food, such as standing crops of 

com, wild fruit, or berries. 

The animal, generally speaking, on meeting a human being, turns 
away with a surly growl, but occasionally, like U. labidtus, it has unpro- 
voked fits of fury. 

Many sportsmen think bear-shooting poor fun, but I must confess 
that in my opinion it is a fine sport, with just enough danger about it 
to make it exciting. 

It is amusing to witness the ludicrous confusion of Bruin when 
suddenly surprised, or perhaps fired at, more especially when he is for 
the moment unaware from which direction the danger threatens. 

One morning just after daylight, in the month of August 1869, as I 
issued forth from my tent, pitched on some high ground overlooking 
a deep valley, the sides of which were cut into a series of broad 
terraces, one above the other, and at the time were covered with a ripe 
crop of * mundooah,' my servants pointed out to me far down below 
two bears busy devouring the com. 

I managed to creep down unperceived to within easy range, and 
then, before a whole village of spectators, disgraced myself by making 
a clean miss. It was a very raw morning, and my fingers were so cold 
that I could hardly feel the triggers, at any rate I made that my excuse. 

The bears startled out of all propriety by the loud report, commenced 
dancing about, growling, and snarling at one another, and altogether 
conducting themselves in such an absurd manner that it was with 
difiiculty I restrained myself from bursting into a fit of laughter. 

The result was that presently when the awkward creatures had 
recovered somewhat from their first alarm, and began to shuffle off, my 
aim was so erratic that the bullet from the second barrel only made 
them quicken their pace. 



rnn nnfALAYAN dlaok nr.AR. 105 

I have only once beeu regulajlj- charged by u hill bear, who managed 
to come much closer than was pleasant, but it was all through my 
breakJDg a well-known rule, which I liave already given — always, if 
possible, approach a bear from above, and unless you bave a comrade 
til siipjKirt yon, never fire at him from below. 

The adventure occurred near a place called Jhoseyinut in Upper 
Gurhwal. I had been resting at a small bungalow there, after a trip 
over the snows, and met with a celebrated shikary belonging to the 
neighbourhood. We fraternised, and had a long talk on hunting iu 
general, and agreed to have two or three days' shooting together on some 
very high crags not far off, where nay new acquaintance promised to show 
me some Ihar (Himalayan wild goat). We could not take a tent up to 
the place where we intended going, but the paharie informed roe that 
there was a goat-shed near the spot, where two men of his village were 
grazing the sheep and goats on the upland pastures, and that wc should 
be able to put »ip there for three or four days without any difficulty. 
All that was necessary for us ia take with us was bedding, a few pots 
and kettles, some cold meat, a tin or two of soup, and the like. Aa 
we had a very severe uphill march the 6r8t day, to reach our hunting 
ground, we agreed to make a start very early to avoid the heat ; so 
having arranged oar traps and loails the previous evening, and placed 
them in readiness, we retii'ed to rest sooner than usual. Next mora- 
ing after a cup of coffee and a biscuit, taken by candlelight, and a 
delay of half an hour or so, while we waited for sufBcient daylight 
to permit of a start being made, we got under way about five 
o'clock. 

The party consisted of myself, — leading the way, rifle in hand, — 
the shikary I have mentioned, close behind, bearing my shot gun, 
and two other men in rear, carrying my bedding, altid our provisions. 
Aft. It was a dull rainy morning, with heavy clouds hanging about 
the hill tops in a threateniTig manner. However, we oared little about 
the weather, and soon were toiling step by step np the steep side of 
the mountain. At length we came to an oak forest, through which 
the path led. Happening to look up, I saw a pair of large animals 
under the shade of an oak tree, about sixty yards or so above us. 
They were busy turning over the leaves in search of acorns. It 
was 80 dark that at first I thought they were pigs; but the man 
behind assured me they were bears. One of them was standing in 
a most tempting position broadside on : and luckily before firing I 



«^ 



io6 THE GAME OF BENGAL, 

marked an old oak tree close at hand, to step behind if necessaiy. 
I took a steady aim and fired. The bear, hard hit, rolled over, 
making a hideous noise ; the other one immediately made off. Sud- 
denly the wounded animal recovered his legs, his head being in 
our direction ; he evidently saw us, for instantly, and with savage 
growls, he advanced to take revenge. The quickness with which he 
covered the distance between us was truly astonishing. By the 
time that I and the paharie, who was carrying my shot gun, and 
who stood firmly at the charge, had got behind the old oak, and I 
had dropped in a fresh cartridge, he was only ten yards or so from 
us, coming down hill like an express train. I fired at the white of 
his chest as he came on, but the ball only grazed his throat; and 
when I drew the trigger of the left barrel he was close up on the other 
side of the trunk. I think he must have seen the white ^ kamarband ' 
or waist-band of the paharie, for he attempted to get round at us from 
his side of the tree, and as he did so he received from my rifle a heavy 
shell fair on the top of the shoulder, which exploded in his chest, 
and killed him on the spot. My companion during this trying moment, 
still held his gun at the charge, facing the enemy, and as he informed 
me was in the act of drawing both triggers together right in the brute's 
face, when I gave the bear the coup de grace. I believe that at such 
close quarters two barrels of No. 5 shot would have finished or blinded 
the animal ; bat, as it was, things had ended well. I still have the 
skin of that bear, and have only once slain a larger or more formid- 
able brute. My first shot had given a mortal wound, and the bullet 
was so well placed behind the shoulder, that the wonder was it did not 
prove instantaneously fatal ; but it is only one instance among many 
that I have known, showing the extraordinary tenacity of life of this 
animal. 

Bears nearly always travel in single file, and like all camivora, 
when on the move after nightfall, prefer keeping to roads and footpaths 
rather than forcing their way through thick scrub or wet grass. 

I have never seen more than three bears together, but it is not 
unusual to meet with four, or even five at the same time. 

Bears' dens are generally in some deep gorge, choked up with grass, 
nettles, and matted thicket, and ending in a cave ; or often simply a 
hollow under an overhanging rock. I have frequently noticed in the 
viciniiy of these lairs, generally in trees close at hand, flat nests or 
platforms, made of broken boughs and sticks, where I suppose the 



TBE HIMALAYAN BLAOK BEAB. 107 

brutes sit out and sun themselves. I have never seen Bhdloo occupy- 
ing one of these platforms or nests, but have constantly noticed them, 
and always not far from his den or lair. I have generally come 
across a bear when I least expected it; several times when bird 
shooting, or taking a stroll, once when mahseer fishing, and again in a 
very remarkable manner at Mussoorie, close to the mall, in broad day- 
light. • 

This was such a notable occurrence that I will relate the account. 
In May 1868 — a terribly hot season by the bye— I was obliged to take 

leave to the hills on account of my health. In company with G s 

of my regiment, we journeyed to Mussoorie, and put up at a friend's 
house on the outskirts of the station. 

We were both so weak and seedy at first, that we were fit for very 
little work ; but the bracing air of the hills gradually pulled us round, 
and we were soon able to take long walks. Instead, however, of bending 
our steps in the direction of the mall, and joining the gay throng there, 
as is the usual custom of an evening in our hill stations, we avoided the 
town and made for the country, which was more to our taste, wandering 
about the slopes of the hills that looked down over the glorious Dhoon. 
There were gooral to be found, but that was all that could be said, 
for the said gooral were few and far between, and to say that they 
were wild, does not at all express the difficulty of approaching those 
Mussoorie chamois. We always^ however, took a light rifle belonging 
to our host, with us, as it was possible we might get a chance shot 
now and then. 

One evening we had been for our usual stroll, and had reached the 
outskirts of the station just before sunset. We sat down on a rock to 
smoke, within a quarter of a mile of General C 's house. 

While talking I had been looking down the khud (or side of the 
hill), and presently saw a black object among some wild raspberry 
bushes, but imagined it to be a stray bullock, till, to my astonishment, 
I beheld a btar standing erect on his hind legs, clutching with his 
big paws at some tempting bunches of the wild fruit. The brute was 
only some three or four hundred yards below. We drew back, descended 

by a very awkward, steep ravine — in doing which G s lost his hat, 

which went bounding down the slope till lost to view, and for ever, — 
till we had reached a certain old stump' I had marked as the place to 
take a shot from. I then advanced on all fours, and on peeping over 
a piece of rising ground, came right on to Bruin, still busy at the rasp- 



io8 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

bemes. He did not see me, however ; I drew back and returned to 

G s, who, never having sh^t a bear, was eager for the fray. We 

examined the priming of the muzzle-loader, and then once more 

advanced, G s leading the way. On reaching the spot I pointed 

out, he looked over, and fired a hasty shot. The bear with a ' growl * 
went down the side of the hill seemingly not much the worse, and 
when •we went up the mark of lead on a rock showed that the shot 
had missed. We returned home. The rifle shot had been heard by 
several people on the Mussoorie mall ; and when we spoke of having 
seen aud fired at a large bear, many smiled incredulously, and well they 
might, for with so many natives about, and cattle feeding, with men 
to look after them, it was indeed rashness on the bear's part to 
show himself in broad daylight in such a place. 

I have been informed more than once by sportsmen, that dogs, 
even the commonest curs, are most useful at certain times when shoot- 
ing bears. The latter instead of attacking the man, invariably make 
for the dog, thus giving a fine opportunity for his master to put in a 
deadly shot. I knew a Chinaman, belonging to a tea garden north 
of Almorah, who owned four or five large dogs : these animals would not 
actually attack a bear, but would surround him, and by barking attract 
the brute's attentijon. The gentleman with the pig-tail was a plucky 
fellow, and at the same time a good, steady shot, and he had accounted 
for a very considerable number of bears in the neighbourhood of the tea 
plantation where he resided. 

A gentleman I formerly met in the hills, a famed sportsman, related 
to me a most interesting anecdote of an encounter between a pack 
of wild dogs and a bear, which he had witnessed. He was crossing 
a range of hills in the early morning, and by chance came across a 
ravenous pack baii^ng a poor bear, who, though making a stout resist- 
ance, was nearly done. His coat, and portions of his flesh, were 
torn to strips; and although he had killed, more than one of his 
opponents, he could not have held out much longer. If I remember 

rightly, B 1 put an end to him with a bullet, and the wild pack 

made off. 

I have several times found bears in trees. T once caught one up 
among the highest branches of a group of oaks. I was not in search of 
or thinking of bears at the time, but had been for hours on the look- 
out for surrow (forest goat) in company with a native, and had, quite 
by chance, come under the oak trees. The old bear must have seen 




THE HIMALAYAN BLACK BEAR. 



109 



118, and remained quiet : and we, quite unconscious of any brute heing 
near, sat down to rest ourselves. Presently I heard something move, 
and jumped up; my companion looked round, but soon returned, 
remarking that it must be some pheasants close below that we had 
heard. I was about to sit down once more, when again I heard 
leaves move, and this time the sound seemed to come from above, so I 
looked up, and there high up in the lofty oaks, half hidden by the 
foliage, eat an old bear. As soon as he saw me coming round to get 
a better look and a shot at him, he seemed to understand that he was 
discovered, and with sundry growls began to rapidly descend, stern 
first as bears always do. I fired at him, the bullet struck bim just 
above the root of the tail, and passed up through the whole length of 
his body: we afterwards found it in the skin of the chest. His arms 
ceased to clasp the old oak truub, and he fell with a most tremendous 
thump on the turf, without a spark of life in him. 

The hill bear is a clever and powerful swimmer, as the following 
extmct from my bill journal of 1864 will illustrate : — ■ 

Late one evening, after an unsuccesefnl ramble after gooral {Hima- 
layan chamois), I was descending the face of a very precipitous moun- 
tain in nil haste so as to reach my tent, which was still far below, before 
being overtaken by nightfall. 

My whole attention was given to maintaining my footing, as step 
by step, assisted by my iron pointed staff, I carefully made my way 
down the dangerous grassy decline. All at once, a shaggy-headed 
paharie, who was carrying my rifle close behind me, gave my coat a 
pull and pointed out a certain black object crossing a broad reach of 
the river Pindur, far below us. 

Though fully half a mile off, we had no difficulty in making out tlio 
swimmer to be a bear, and halted a few moments to watch his movements. 
....^be river was much flooded by heavy rain, which had fallen some 
;viously, and though broad at the part selected by Bruin for hia 

across, yet about the centre was running like a sluice. 

^^o human being, however strong a swimmer, could have stemmed 
such ft roaring rapid, but would have been instantly swept away. But 
the old bear, as I watched him through my telescope, gallantly breosti-d 
the torrent, and buffeting the current with his brawny limbs, though 
carried down perhaps a score yards in bis transit from one bank to 
the other, yet was evidently quite able to hold his own ; and speedily 
reached the far side in safety. 



no THE GAME OF BENGAL, 

We saw him pause a few moments on the shingle, after slowly 
wading out of the water, give his dripping coat a shake like a Newfound- 
land dog, and then shuffle off into the thicket hard by, where he was 
soon lost to view. 

Most animals, the thar and burrel, for instance, or the little gooral, 
are furnished by nature with coats much resembling in colour and 
shade the ground they frequent. An old thar lying motionless, is 
exactly like a clump of dead feiiis or gi*a8S, often like a stone covered 
with dark moss and weeds. A burrel, with his ashy blue coat, resem- 
Jbles one of the loose grey stones constantly to be met with on the 
bare hill side ; and the brown hair pf the little gooral also affords him 
excellent protection from the observation of enemies, be they biped or 
quadruped. But the black bear is an exception to this general rule, 
for his coal black hide renders him clearly visible to his enemies at a 
great distance, especially when the herbage is short ; it then requires no 
telescope to pronounce what the black object is, even when miles away. 
I have many a time, however, been taken in by the black stump of a 
charred pine, imagining it to be an old bear. 

The paharies (hillmen) not imfrequently bring bear cubs into our 
hill stations for sale. I recollect meeting a man a few miles north of 
Almorah carrying a basket containing two very small cubs. They were 
so very diminutive that I imagined they could have only been born a 
few days, but the owner (an intelligent though wild-looking native 
from northern Gurhwal) assured me that they were at least two 
months old. 

A bear when struck with a bullet, even when only slightly wounded, 
nearly always makes an uproar that may be heard a considerable 
distance, but occasionally he disappears without even a growl, as the 
following extract from my hill journal exemplifies. 

In the month of Auguet 1869, I was encamped at a place called 
Wan, two or three marches north of the river Pindur ; my tent was 
pitched under three most magnificent deodars (if I remember right the 
largest of the three measures considerably over twenty feet in cir- 
cumference, and is supposed to be one of the finest in the Himalayas). 
The sport was pretty good : I shot an enormous boar, and one day had 
very good sport with Koklas and Kallige pheasants, which were 
exceedingly numerous. 

On the fourth day after my arrival, in company with a shikary 
belonging to the village, I made a lengthened expedition in a new 



THF: nuULAYAN ISLACK HEAP. iii 

direction, but Fortune did not araile on our efforts. We suddenly came 
on a gerow sta.gy whicli disappeared almost iminediatt-iy, before I 
could raise my rifle, and I missed two shots at gooral. About five o'clock 
iu tlie afternoon it became very dark and cloudy, so we turned home- 
wards, but still in hopes of better luck. We were descending the side 
of a rather steep mountain by a rocky spur, or ridge, and had made a. 
halt at a spot wliere my companion iuformed me that he had con- 
stantly seen gooral grazing towards the evening. 

We were lying down, and I waa carefully examining the valley 
below with my telescope, when, as I was about to return tlie glosses 
to their case, I beheld, to my astonishment, on the edge of the 
jungle, not fifty yards off to my left, a black bear standing broadside 
to us. He had evidently not as yet seen us, but he had hia nose 
elevated, and appeared to be snuSiiig the air. I simply turned half 
round, and resting both elbows on the ground, took a deliberate shot at 
)iim. As ia often the case with breech-loaders, the smoke htmg so 
thick around me, that for the moment, I could not see what had 
happened, but when at lengtli the cloud made by the di8chd.rge had 
partially cleared off, the bear had vanished. 

I turned to my companion, and asked him if it was a hit or 
miss ; but he gave a cluck with his mouth, and scornfully shook tiis 
head. And I also had my misgivings, that in spite of such a very 
easy shot, I had made a mess of it ; for I had not heard the bullet 
tell on Uie animal's bodj-, nor had the bear uttered a growl, or 
sound of any kind, and this was strong presumptive evidence that I 
hail missed the mark. However, having reloaded, according tu my 
invariable custom, I walked forward t« look. There was tlie hole 
in the turf made by the rifle ball, and my companion commenced 
digging the piece of leatl out with a stick. I had turned with a sigh 
to leave the spot, when a single drop of blood on a white stone qnite 
by chance caught my eye. Hastily ordering ray attendant to join me, 
we took up the spoor, and had not goue a dozen paces, when we 
came upon the bear lying stone dead; the bullet had struck him just 
behind one shoulder, and passing through his body, taken its departure 
almost exactly iu the same spot on the other side, and had thon 
ploughed the hole in the turf. He was not a particularly fine bear, 
but his coat which is shown, pegged out, in the sketch of my en- 
campment, was a fine glossy oue, iu first^rat« order. 

The mention of this village, Wan, always recalls to my mind a 



112 THE GAMe OF BENGAL. 

painful incident ^hich happened during mj stay there. An old and 
faithful Mussulman servant was suddenly taken very ill and died on 
the third day, although I did everything in my power for the poor 
fellow. I had not at the time the remotest suspicion of foul play, and 
on reporting the circumstances to the civil authorities, I informed the 
magistrate of the district that I believed his death had been occasioned 
by an aggravated case of dysentery. There were some Mahomedans in 
lihe neighbourhood, and I got them to inter the body decently in the 
bed of the river below. Not long afterwards a bheestie (water-carrier), 
whom I had foolishly taken into my service at Nynee Tal without 
inquiring into his character, robbed my tent while I was away shooting, 
and deserted. And then my chuprassie and other servants informed 
me for the first time, that this scoundrel had quarrelled with my 
deceased khitmughar a few days before he died, and had been heard to 
mutter threats against him, and that they believed the villain had 
given the old man poison in his food. It is certain that although the 
runaway was searched for everywhere, and every effort made to arrest 
him, he succeeded in making his escape, and was never heard of after- 
wards. 

The Government reward for killing a hill bear is four rupees, and 
in some years great numbers of bear skins are brought into our hill 
stations by shikaries claiming this fee. 

On returning southwards, in 1868, from an expedition into the 
interior of Gurhwal, I sent in four l)ear skins to the Almorah coUectorate, 
and claimed sixteen rupees. I was informed, however, by the autho- 
rities that if I received the money it would be necessary to cut the 
paws off the skins to mark them. 

I need hardly say that such a mutilation of my trophies would 
have utterly spoilt them, and as three of the skins were fine glossy 
coats, well adapted for making door-mats or carriage-rugs, I demurred 
and received back my bear skins intact. 

It is, however, quite necessary to mark skins of leopards, bears, &c., 
brought in by natives in some indelible manner, to prevent good-for- 
nothing rascals producing the same skins a second time — a practice to 
which, I have been informed, the hill-men were much given before the 
precaution of cutting off the paws was adopted. 




lW.r.!i.\ {HjHcna Slria 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE HY^NA (Byana Striata). 



Outeriee be nised amid the beasts tha,l prowl 

AloDg thffwaate; Cfluaed village dogs to howL— AXT.(B-I-SlIHAfLt. 



IJeSCBIPTIO!!. 



Ertreme Lmglh. — 4} to 5 feet. 

Height.— 2^ to 3 feet. 

Hettd. — Forehead round, jaws ext»mely powerful, teeth large and formidable, ears 
prick up, bare of hair, and pointed. 

Body. — The back is rounded, drooping towaids the hind quartugj nedi, short j 
Bhoulden, thick and powerful. 

Limbi. — Moderatelj thick. 

Feet. — Much like those of a large dog ; clavs, stout, blunt, of a black colour, end non- 
letnctile. 



114 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

Tail, — ^Moderately long, and * swishy.' 

General Colour, — ^Dingy gray, with numerous irregular, dark, transTerse bars or streaks ; 
throat and upper part of breast, black ; a coarse mane, or fringe of long hair, runs down 
the neck and back. The hide is generally iU-conditioned and mangy. 

There are, I believe, three species of hyaena in Africa, but the Striped 
Hysena is the only one found in India or in Asia. This animal is 
not gregarious, but is generally met with singly or in pairs. It is 
more or less common over our Northern Provinces of India, but 
especially so in Central India, where, from constantly meeting with it, 
I had many opportunities of studying its habits. Though usually 
nocturnal, I have on several occasions met the beast prowling about, 
long after the sun was up, or late in the evening. During the 
rainy season especially, it is not unusual to meet him in broad 
daylight. At night the hysena wanders round the outskirts of villages 
on the look-out for stray goats, sheep, or dogs. He visits the neigh- 
bourhood of slaughter-yards in search of bones and offal, and in the 
early morning an observer may notice his fresh foot-prints on the banks 
of rivers, especially in the neighbourhood of burning ghats (or places 
where Hindoos are in the habit of burning their dead). For what 
purpose he prowls round such spots can easily be imagined. Some- 
times he will enter a hut and carry off a sleeping child, but I think 
this is exceptional, and though occasionally mischievous, he is exceed- 
ingly useful as a scavenger. He is also said to visit graveyards in his 
rounds, which I take to be not unlikely. It is the spotted hyaena of 
Africa, that from its unearthly cry is called the * laughing hysena ; * but 
the cry of the striped species is also hideous and indescribable, and 
may be heard at a great distance off on a still night. Dogs become 
greatly excited, and cannot be restrained from barking on hearing him. 

The hysena often breeds in regular burrows, like those of a rabbit, 
only on a larger scale. I have known, but only on one occasion, as 
many as four together, and though we hear of African hyaenas 
collecting and hunting in packs, this is not the case with the Indian 
species. 

The hyaena is a most cowardly brute, though sometimes dangerous 
when wounded or driven into a comer. I have never known or heard 
of one attempting to attack or face a man. He is in the habit of 
devouring the remains of bullocks, deer, &c., left by tigers ; and his 
extremely acute sense of smell enables him invariably to discover ^ the 
kill.' It is amusing to witness the stealthy approach of the hyaena to 



THE BY JEN A. ii^ 

ihe carcase, and to see how carefully he looks ronnd before beginning 
his meal, as if fully aware that he was trespassing on the preserves of 
others. It is astonishing what powerful jaws he is provided with. 
I remember once when watching over a kill, seeing a hysena only some 
twelve feet below the tree in which I was concealed, snap through the 
rib of a buffalo with a single effort. 

It is a bad plan to slip greyhounds or dogs of value after him, for 
if they succeed in overtaking him- in an opdn country fast dogs 
very soon will — and attempt to pull him down, he will almost to a 
certainty turn on his pursuers, defend himself desperately, and maul 
one or more severely with his fearful teeth. The hysena, unlike the 
cat tribe, does not always seize his prey by the neck, but often by 
the flank or hind quarters. At night he will visit an encampment, 
and devour deer skins pegged out to dry. I do not think he hunts by 
scent, like a dog, but creeps up and springs on his victims. 

The animal inhabits our Himalayas, but only in the very lowest 
ranges, never ascending to any considerable height ; nor have lever 
heard of him in the interior of the hills. I once heard the cry of 
this animal close below a small bungalow called Mungowlie, on the road 
up from the plains to Nynee Tal, and that was an unusual elevation 
for it. 

The hycena has been described as * very cunning and suspicious,' 
but that is not my experience of him ; on the contrary, our Indian 
species, at any rate, is a heavy, stupid brute, and a traveller, whose 
name I cannot recall to mind, mentions that to this day certain of 
the Arab tribes call a stupid person * dubbah,' which is their term for 
bysena. 

The creature is naturally of an untameable disposition, but if taken 
when young, may be brought up without much difficulty, and will 
readily follow its owner about like a dog. An artilleryman, belonging 
to a battery at Jhansie, had a pet hysena. I saw the beast several 
times following his mpjiter about, and it appeared to be perfectly quiet 
and tractable. During the day he reclined on the man's bed in the 
barracks, and though constantly bullied by numerous dogs belonging 
to the gunners, was well able to hold his own and take care of 
himself. I heard afterwards that this animal deserted from the battery 
when on the march to Cawnpore, and reappeared at Jhansie again: 

My bungalow at Jhansie was on the outskirts of the cantonment, 
and a pair of hysenas constantly passed through the garden at night on 

1 2 



ii6 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 



their way from a rocky liill, only half a mile from the house, in which 
they had their den, to the slaaghter-yard, where they doubtless picked 
up bones, &c. I had often searched for their lair, and attempted 
on moonlight nights to get a shot at them, as they passed backwards 
and forwards, but never succeeded. One morning, just after gun-fire, 
when there was only light enough to distinguish objects ynih difficulty, 
I was aroused by the furious barking of several dogs close to the house. 
It was in the hot weather, and the doors were wide open, so I jumped 
up to see what was the matter, and putting on a pair of slippers, 
walked out into the verandah ; and to my astonishment the first thing 
I saw was a large hysena crossing the garden at a slow gallop, with five 
or six pariah dogs close at his heels. I ran back, snatched up a rifle 
and a couple of cartridges, which happened to be lying re^dy at hand, 
and returned in time to take a snap shot at the animal as he was in the 
act of scrambling over the compound wall. lie fell back evidently 
wounded, but again attempted to scale the wall. My second shot 
• missed, so I went back and put on my clothes, and by the time I 
had reloaded my rifle, and reached the spot where I had last seen 
him, I found that he had not only succeeded in getting over the 
!; wall, but was half-way aeross the cavalry parade-ground, evidently 

l" making for the rocky hill I have already alluded to. The pack of curs 

!l were still yelping at his heels and pressing him hard. After running 

|i some distance I could see that he was done and could go no farther, 

and when he reached the foot of the hill he was unable to ascend it, 
ji but sat down with the pariah dogs snapping at him on every side. 

' By taking advantage of a deep ravine, I crawled up to within fifty yards 

l, and dropped him dead. The first bullet had passed through his hind 

quarters, and it was surprising that, with such a wound, the poor brute 
had struggled so far. It was a large male, and as usual the skin was 
not worth keeping ; but the hea^, with a ruff round the neck, was in 
good order ; so I cut it off", and have it stuffed at home. A portrait 
of this very animal's pleasing countenance heads the chapter. 

The hysena — generally called * Lukhar-Bughar ' by the natives of 
Northern India — has frequently been speared by a well-mounted sports- 
man. The pace of the animal while it lasts is, I have been told, quicker 
than that of the wild hog, but generally speaking, after a short biu^t 
a plucky Arab, on tolerably open and rideable ground, will, within 
half a niile of the start, take his rider alongside of the chase, and then 
the hunt is speedily terminated, for the hysena, unlike the Mord of 



THE BY2ENA. 



117 



the sounder/ never shows fight, but ignominiously bites the dust. As 
already mentioned, the neck of the animal is short, but Pliny exagge- 
rates when, speaking of the hysena, he says, 

Cui cum spina riget, collum continua imitate flecti nequit, nisi toto corpore cir- 
cumacto ; 

for, although the neck is not very flexible, I have frequently seen the 
animal look back over its shoulder when alarmed at something and 
making off. 

Some horses, though courageous enough to close with boars of great 
size and ferocity, show fear on viewing a hysena for the first time, 
and appear to dread approaching within spearing distance, and this is 
hardly to be wondered at, for the hysena is an awkward uncouth-look- 
ing brute at the best of times. 



ii8 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 



CHAPTER X. 

THE INDIAN WOLF (Cam's pallipes). 



With their long gallop which can tire 

The hound 8 deep hate^ and hunter's fire. — Mazeppa. 



Dbscriptiok. 



Much resembles European species, but smaller. 

Extreme Length. — About 4J feet. 

Height.— 2i feet. 

Head* — Long and pointed; teeth, large and formidable; ears, prick up and rather 
pointed. 

Feet.— Like those of a dog ; claWs, stout and blunt. 

Tail. — Moderately long, scantily bnished ; the tip black. 

Gener(tl Co/owr.— Grizzled rufous gray, lighter below; the fur rough and coarse. 
The male rather thicker built and darker in colour than female ; but no considerable 
difference in appearance between the sexes. 

The Indian wolf, or * Bheria/ as he is called by the natives, is pretty 
common throughout the North- Western Provinces, still more so in 
Central India. I often came across him within a few miles of Jhansie, 
and in LuUutpore also it was bj no means a rare occurrence. 

In general colour and appearance the wolf is very like a large 
jackal, and from a distance I have very often mistaken the one for the 
other. We read of wolves in Eussia, Siberia, and other countries, collect- 
ing and hunting in large packs, but not so the Indian species. Some- 
times two or three are together, but oftener only one. I once saw a 
pack of seven, all seemingly full-grown, but this was most exceptional. 
The wolf in many countries is regarded as a ferocious and dangerous 
wild beast, but the Indian species is a cowardly brute that would 
never think of attacking a man ; though in carrying off stray goats^ 



THE INDIAN WOLF. 119 

sheep, &c., lie is fully as mischievous, if not more so, than the hysena. 
The animal is not altogether nocturnal in its habits, and may be seen 
often in broad daylight, watching a herd of antelope or goats, for an 
opportunity to pounce on a victim. 

It is notorious that in many parts of the country, great numbers 
of children are carried off by wolves. Returns sent in to magistrates 
of districts show a fearful loss of life caused by these brutes, though 
perhaps— as all classes of natives are given to infanticide — the wolf is 
credited with a greater amount of child- slaying than he is really guilty 
of. Every sportsman, however, should do his utmost to destroy 
such pests whenever an opportunity occurs. 

I have generally come across these animals when hunting chikarah, 
near the banks of large rivers such as the Jumna and Ganges, more 
especially where the banks were intersected by deep ravines and 
gillies choked with grass and bushes; or still oftener, on the low 
rocky hills of Bundelkund. Between AUyghur and Somna, where 
there are numerous sandy* ravines and patches of grass jungle, wolves 
were pretty common, and natives frequently brought in cubs to the 
former station when I was there, for the government reward. 

A native one day made his appearance at a small station near 
Meerut with several wolves' heads, for which he claimed and received 
from the magistrate the usual reward. The heads were then taken 
from him and buried, but the cunning rascal having ascertained where 
they were interred, scratched them up again in the night, without 
being discovered, and produced them again before the magistrate of an 
adjoining province and succeeded in defrauding the Government, for he 
again received the same amount as before. 

I have always found these animals wary and difficult to approach, 
but, by continually hunting them, have killed a good many at different 
times. The first one I ever shot jumped up in a dhal field, and two 
barrels of quail-shot within six or eight yards most effectually gave 
him his quietus. I have mentioned, .when writing on the hysena, 
that the animal, when seizing its prey, such as a sheep, goat, or other 
unfortunate, does not invariably fasten on to the neck or throat, as the 
leopard does, but often on the flank or hind quarters. The same 
remark applies to the wolf, and I may add that both these animals, 
having pulled down a victim, almost invariably, I believe, commence 
their repast by tearing a hole in the stomach or flank, and not at 
the tail, like the large cats. 



I20 THE OAMU OF BENGAL. 

I will relate an anecdote showing this to be the case. One after- 
noon during a break in the rains, I was fishing in a stream only two 
miles or so from Jhansie. I had ridden out to my fishing ground, 
and as usual my syce carried a double-rifle, as it was more than pro- 
bable we might come across a black buck or chikarah during the day. 
I had been bnsily occupied with my sport for upwards of ^ hour 
when my attention was taken by two villagers talking in an excited 
tone to my syce some fifty yards ofiF. Presently all three of them 
came up to where I was standing, and my groom then informed me 
that the two men, or rather boys, were in charge of a herd of goats, and 
that only a few minutes before, a pair of wolves had pulled down an 
old goat belonging to them, and seeing me close at hand, they had 
come for assistance. 

Hastily putting down my rod, I bade them show the way. The 
ground in the neighbourhood was covered with low bushes and scrub, 
intersected here and there by deep sandy ravines. We had only gone 
some two or three hundred yards when one of the herdsmen desired me 
to halt a minute, while he went forward to reconnoitre. Presently he 
beckoned me forward, and the next minute I came right upon a pair 
of wolves at the bottom of a ravine, tearing a poor old black goat. 
One of the assassins heard me approaching and looked up. I could 
hardly have missed such a chance, and knocked her over with a bullet 
through the shoulders. At the report of the rifle, the other one bolted 
down the nullah, and as he was concealed by the bank, I did not see 
him again till he ascended the opposite side, about 140 yards off, or 
thereabouts, and halted a moment to look back. It was rather a long 
shot, though I ought to have killed him ; the bullet, however, fell 
short, and he made off. 

On examining the dead goat, I noticed that large portions of flesh 
were torn off the side and hind quarters, but not a mark on the throat 
or back of the neck ; she had evidently been seized by the flank, and 
pulled down. The wolf I had shot was an old female with a mangj" 
coat, not worth preserving. She was dead before we reached the spot 
where she had fallen : to all appearance she had cubs, doubtless hidden 
not far off. My attendant cut the head off to obtain the government 
reward of three rupees. 

The wolf has not the powerful jaw of the hyaena, but his teeth, in 
proportion to his size, are very formidable, and with a single bite — his 
jaws closing like the snap of a trap — he can inflict a severe wound. 



THE INDIAN WOLF. 121 

When stationed at Benares many years ago, I had a young wolf 
chained np to a tree in my compound, but finding him a troublesome 
pet, I only kept him a few weeks. One night he broke loose, scrambled 
over the compound wall, and made good his entrance into an enclosure 
where some ducks, belonging to a lady in the next house, were shut 
up, and killed several of them. The brute was caught in the very act, 
and got his master into a scrape. I often watched this animal playing 
with a puppy belonging to a brother officer, and in time, I think he 
would have become in a certain measure tame, but, as 1 have already 
mentioned, I did not keep him long. He was a perfect nuisance at 
night, continually keeping us awake and banishing all sleep with the 
noise he made. There is an old saying i * The wolf changes his coat, 
not his disposition ; ' and to a certain extent I believe this to be actually 
true. I have seen many wolves chained up, or shut in cages, but not 
one of them was thoroughly tame ; they always are of a most suspicious 
nature, and, however kindly treated, never seem entirely to get over 
their fear of man. 

We know that the wolf of Europe and America is constantly in the 
habit of howling, especially at night ; but my experience leads me to 
the conclusion that the Indian species only utters a peculiar baying 
call, totally different from a howh 

There is another species of wolf found beyond our Himalayas, but 
seldom if ever, I believe, on our side of the passes. This animal, 
called * chanko * by the natives^ is tolerably common in Thibet, though 
seldom shot by sportsmen. I twice saw one when over the snow passes, 
but on both occasions failed in getting a shot. Judging from their 
appearance at a distance^ and from skins which I have seen, the Thibet 
wolf must be considerably larger than the Indian, and with a much 
thicker and warmer coat, only natural in such a climate. Moreover, 
the fur of the former animal is of a lighter colour altogether than the 
latter. 

I was very anxious to shoot one of these * chankos * to complete 
my collection. When looking for burrel we constantly came across 
his spoor, probably where he had been doing a little hunting like 
ourselves, and more than once a dismal howling in the night was 
attributed by my Bhootia followers to the Thibet wolf; still I was 
unsuccessful in getting a shot. 

One day I shot a ^ kyang ' or wild horse, as the animals are 
usually called. They abounded in the neighbourhood, and there was 



122 THE GAME OF BENGAL, 

no sport in shooting them ; but I had killed this particular specimen 
to examine the creature closely, and make notes, as to its size, shape, 
&c. En passanty I may mention that I found these kyang a great 
nuisance when out after ovisammon, or burrel. They appeared to be 
of a most inquisitive disposition, and with their large, donkey-like ears 
erect, persisted in dogging our steps and following us wherever we went, 
till I was often compelled to send a man back to drive them away. 

But to return to my tale. My followers had taken the skin of the 
kyang ofiF and I believe had eaten a portion of the flesh, though they 
denied it, and left the carcase, about 300 yards from my tent, lying 
on the brow of a hill. There appeared to be no vultures thereabouts, 
but four enormous ravens that followed my camp from pla&e to place, 
soon found out the carcase, and were busy enough. Two days after, 
happening to pass near the spot, I cotdd not help noticing that a 
large piece of flesh off the hind quarters was missing, and there was 
every appearance that some wild beast had been making a meal off 
the carcase during the previous night. My companions, two Bhootia 
shikaries, having examined the ground in the vicinity, found the spoor 
of some large animal, which they pronounced to be * chanko ' again. 
I enquired if the animal would be likely to return after dusk, and 
receiving a reply in the affirmative, I determined to lie in ambush and 
wait his arrival. 

Within thirty yards or so of the spot, there was a mass of large 
boulders, well suited for a hiding place, and it was agreed that the 
three of us should sit up concealed among the stones that very evening, 
and give Mr. Chanko a warm reception, should he put in an appearance. 
It was a bitterly cold night when we took up our posts ; the wind 
made my teeth chatter, in spite of being well wrapped in a warm 
blanket; there was a bright moon, which favoured our plans. Many 
hours passed without a sign of a living creature, except occasionally 
the sound of hoofs, as herds of kyang capered about on the plains 
around, a troop now and then coming to drink below us in the 
river; at last, tired after a hard day's fag, I fell asleep. • I was 
awakened by a pull at my blanket, and a hoarse whisper, ^ Sahib y 
ChanJcoJ In a moment I remembered where I was, and on looking 
towards the carcase of the kyang, beheld a large animal of some sort 
on the body, and could hear him gnawing at and tearing the flesh. I 
could see the brute against the sky line very distinctly, and taking as 
good an aim as I could, fired. There was no need for my attendants 



THE INDIAN WOLF. 123 

informing me that the beast was * hit/ that was evident enough, for it 
gave a loud yell, and in beating a retreat made an outcry, which at 
the time struck me as being most unlike that of a wolf. However, 
my Bhootias still declared that such the creature was, though I had 
my suspicions, for they showed little readiness to follow up the wounded 
animal, and I noticed were conversing in whispers as we returned to 
camp. 

The following naming, in company with my two men, I attempted 
to follow up the spoor of the wounded beast, but the ground was too 
hard and stony for tracking. At first we found a few drops of blood, 
but could trace the animal only for a short distance, so soon gave it 
up. That same evening four Hooniahs came to our tents, from an 
encampment a few miles ofi*, and commenced an angry altercation with 
my followers. I was engaged at the time, completing a sketch, and at 
first took little notice of what was going on. At length I deemed it 
necessary to interfere and inquire what was the cause of the quarrel, and 
after some little difficulty ascertained that the Thibetans accused some 
of us of having shot one of their sheep dogs. Here was a pretty busi- 
ne^. As a matter of course, native like, my men stoutly denied all 
knowledge of the matter ; but as soon as I discovered the cause of the 
quarrel, I at once ordered my interpreter to tell the Hooniahs the whole 
circumstances of the case, and how the mistake had occurred. It ap- 
peared that the Thibetans had loosed three of their sheep dogs the pre- 
vious evening at dusk, as is their usual custom, to guard the goats and 
sheep from wild animals ; and at daylight they discovered that one of 
the dogs, which had strayed away, for what purpose we already know, 
and which they described as the best and largest of the three, had 
returned wounded in the hind quaiiers, and apparently had been shot. 

Knowing that I was in the neighbourhood, and, at the time, the 
only human being within many scores of miles possessing fire-arms, they 
very properly came to the conclusion, that I, or one of my followers, had 
been the cause of the bullet wound in the sheep dog. Naturally they 
were angry and excited, for these Thibet sheep dogs are large and 
valuable animals, and I saw at once that it was a matter of great 
importance to me, alone as I was, and far away from our territory, 
that the mattdr should be settled amicably and without loss of time ; 
so I offered to accompany them back to their encampment, do what I 
could for the wounded dog, and, moreover, pay them whatever compensa- 
tion they thought proper for damage done. 



124 THE GAME OF BENGAL, 

On reaching their tents, I was glad to find that the dog, though 
severely was not mortally injured. The bullet had entered the side, 
passed along under the skin/ and just missing the hip bone, had taken 
its departure over the hind quarters, and as far as I could make out 
no bones were broken. The poor dog seemed to know that, I had been 
the cause of his anguish, and growled at me furiously ; two of the 
Hooniahs, however, held him down, while I cut the hair away and 
washed the wounds, completing the business with a bandage fastened 
on with string. I paid the Thibetans five rupees in money, and gave 
them a cup full of gunpowder with a few bullets as an additional 
present ; and after sundry glasses of rum had been imbibed by them, 
we parted good friends. About five weeks after I saw this dog again, 
in a fair way of recovery, though there was still an unhealed wound 
where my bullet had,, struck him» Finally, I gave my two Bhootias 
a severe reprimand for having l^een the cause of this untoward affair, 
and declared that I would deduct the five rupees paid to the Hooniahs 
from their wages, a threat not carried out. After all, I never succeeded 
in shooting a chanko^ 

Indian wolves are often hunted by English sportsmen on horseback, 
with dogs, but seldom successfully even on good riding ground. The 
well-known untiring pace of these animals is generally too much even 
for greyhounds. 

The rapidity with which a pair of these ravenous brutes will devour 
a carcase is something extraordinary and almost past belief. 

I remember early one morning in the hot weather of 1870, when 
out after big game in Scindiah's territory, in company with a young 
friend in the Artillery, we were making for a nuUali we intended to 
drive for a pair of panthers known to be in the neighbourhood, our 
attention was taken, on coming over the bro\y of a hill, by a herd of 
cattle suddenly, with tails on end, dasljing wildly out of a clump of 
bushes, where they had been peaceably grazing just before. From 
the terror displayed by the drove, we rightly concluded that some brute 
had scared or assaulted them. We descended the hill, and on reaching 
the bottom, a single cow left the herd, and came towards us. She 
was making a low moaning noise, was evidently distressed, and at 
the same time affrighted at something in this clump of jungle ; 
and as we advanced towards the spot she approached us, as if for 
protection, with ears pricked forward and eyes dilated. My companion 
and I, cautiously stole forward, keeping close together, and in readineas 



THE INDIAN WOLK 125 

for a shot. It was only just after daylight, when in the hot weather 
months, tigers, panthers, and such like have not always reached their 
dens after their nightly rounds. 

1 fully expected, knowing as T did that a pair of panthers were in 
the neighbourhood, that we should presently come across one or both 
of them devouring a bullock, but we were disappointed ; a few steps 
further brought us to a glade, and out in the open, near the centre of 
it, was a pair of animals which I at first took for large jackals, busy 
tugging at what proved to be a fine calf. They were, however, wolves, 
and hearing us approach, looked round, and so suddenly dived into a 
deep crevice in the ground leading into a nullah close at hand, that we 
were taken by surprise, and neither of us succeeded in getting a shot, 
though we followed the blood-stained pair some distance. On returning 
to the carcase, which was that of a fine young heifer, about one-third 
grown, I was astonished to find that nearly one-half the body had 
been already devoured, though not more than six or seven minutes at 
the utmost had elapsed since the time when the herd had taken to 
flight, and the calf had been pulled down by the murderers. 

My companion, not up to the ways and religion of the Hindoos, 
innocently suggested to a group of natives who had now joined us, and 
who were nearly all Eajpoots, that they should take the remainder of 
the carcase, and cook it for their dinners, as it was very good meat. 
His Hindustanee was not very explicit, but the looks of disgust ex- 
changed between the gentlemen of high caste, showed that they well 
understood the unlucky suggestion my companion had ofiered anent the 
sacred cow, and I felt bound to tell them that he had done so quite 
unintentionally. 



126 TnE GAME OF BENGAL. 



CHAPTER XI. 

THE WILD DOG (Cuon rutilant). 



And the wild dog 
Shall fleeh his tooth in every innocent. — Shaksfeabe. 



Dbscription. 



In size rather larger than a full-grown jackal, measuring perhaps 20 inches at shoulder. 

Head, — Foxish in appearance, nose pointed, eyes rather small. 

Ears, — Black, moderately long, erect, but rounded, very hairy inside. 

Body, — Straight and long. 

Limbs. — Bather short. 

TaU, — Kather short, thin at root, and expanding suddenly into a thick brush of a dark 
brown colour, tip black, the animal carries the tail almost horizontally, never erect 

Colour, — Bright rufous, darker down the face and centre of back, lighter below ; hair 
on back of neck grows rather long. 

I HAVE only twice met with this animal, once within twenty miles of 
Mussoorie, and again in the Lullutpore jungles. On the former 
occasion, I was returning at dusk to my tent after having been out 
after gooral. I met a dog on the footpath, and in the gloom took the 
brute at first for a large jackal, till my companion, a paharie, called 
out to me to fire, and then it only struck me that jackals seldom ascended 
the hills to that height. I only had time for a snap shot as the animal 
disappeared, but imagine that I struck him, for the creature certainly 
uttered a cry. However, we could find no blood, and never saw it again, 
although I returned and searched carefully for it on the following day. 
The paharie with me and the villagers were perfectly certain that 
this was one of a pack that had infested some very dense jungles in the 
neighbourhood for some months before my arrival at the place, and, 
they informed me, had driven away almost every head of game in the 



THE WILD DOa, 127 

vicinity. I very frequently came across the tracks of wild dogs in the 
hills, and once found the remains of a female gerow that had recently 
been devoured ; the bones were scattered about in every direction, 
and I noticed that many of them had been cracked by the powerful teeth 
of these ravenous brutes. 

I have already related well-authenticated anecdotes of a tiger and a 
bear having been attacked by wild dogs, and both coming off second 
best in the battle ; the result being that the former was torn to pieces, 
and the latter so cruelly mauled that he could only have held out a 
short time longer, had the fight continued to the end. The animals 
are in the habit of travelling about from place to place, sometimes 
crossing over a vast extent of ground in a single night. Wherever 
they go the inhabitants of the forests flee before them and make for 
other resorts. 

Once in Lullutpore, when out beating for samber, a pack of nine 
wild dogs had the impudence and temerity to hunt and follow a herd 
of pig that our beaters had put up. They came by me with their 
noses to the ground : unfortunately the scrub jungle and grass was so 
thick that I could not obtain a clear shot. The animals were not 
exactly giving tongue, but I distinctly heard them utter a low kind of 
whimper as they passed within twenty yards of my post. Soon after 
they had gone by they were fired at by a native, who wounded one of 
the pack, but, much to my disappointment, the animal escaped. I 
believe that when once wild dogs are on the track of a gerow, or any 
animal, in fact, the fate of the creature is well-nigh sealed ; for it hardly 
ever escapes from the jaws of the bloodthirsty, untiring crew. Natives 
have informed me that they will tear in pieces and devour a large bullock 
or full-grown samber in a very short space of time. 

A Bombay sportsman has kindly furnished me with the following 
interesting anecdote about the wild dog. He writes : 

*In the hot season of 1861 I was out tiger-shooting with a party 
in the Khandeish jungles, at the foot of the Satpoora Mountains. 
One day we had shot a couple of tigers, at some distance from our 
camp, and as usual had sent them on an elephant to the tents, where 
in the course of the evening, wq superintended the process of removing 
and pegging out the skins. The carcases were then dragged a few 
hundred yards off, to the rear of our tents, and left as food for the 
jackals and vultures. 

* Next morning sQon after daybreak, as I and another of the party 



128 



THE GAME OF BENGAL. 



were going into the jungle, we happened to pass within sight of the 
carcases, which had been pretty well demolished during the night. 
We noticed three or four thin-looking animals, which we at first 
took to be mangy jackals, gnawing at a carcase; on perceiving us 
they simply ran a short distance into the jungle and there seemed 
to wait until we had passed by. Looking at these animals a little 
more carefully, they appeared to be lighter in colour and taller than the 
ordinary jackal, and not knowing exactly what they were, we ran back 
to our tents, fetched a couple of rifles, and killed two, which stood for 
an easy shot at a distance of only forty or fifty yards. On going up to 
and examining the dead brutes we were still puzzled — so extraordinary- 
looking in appearance were they — to imagine what animals we had killed, 
so had them brought into camp. The Bheel shikaries, on seeing them, 
at once pronounced them to be ' Junglee Kutas,' or wild dogs ; adding, 
that they inhabited the jungles in the neighbourhood, though scarcely 
ever seen. 

* These dogs, in appearance, were something between a pariah dog 
and a jackal, light red in colour, with erect pointed ears, and a long 
thin tail, not bushy. They were very thin and long in the leg, and 
appeared from their make and condition to be capable of great speed 
and endurance.' 




CHAPTER XII. 
THE WILD BUFFALO (Ilubalu> Arm). 



And their ooetrih nix'il. to meet the tor, 
Amid the ebeltering element the; rut. — i 



Uewriptios. 

Ei-tmii' LftigfX—Vniin 12J to l;ij f»et. 

Jleiff/U,^ Vtoai & trtX S inchua to (t f»«t. oooiBiuuuUv n lew iuches more. 

Horn*, — Vnrj- luiii^h in sixe, length, and curve in both sf.ies; but especiaUy those of 
ihti cow, whii'b &re not ntori;/ ni Ihkk — considsntbly luii)»r, nud much Blnij.'hter than 
tboce of the bull. Th>' horns of the cow oI^d pmjuct itlmoet horiiootally from tho 



I30 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

skull ; the tips pointing upwards — in other specimens, the horns slope hack over the neck 
and shoulders. 

Head. — ^Forehead much rounded, especially that of the cow, not protected by base of 
horn. 

Body. — ^Immensely thick and rounded. 

Limbs. — Very stout and muscular, rather short. 

Feet. — Very large and^/fo^. 

General Colour. — Dusky black. 

The Wild Buffalo of India is found in large herds on both banks of the 
Berhampooter, and is a general inhabitant of the dense jungles of 
Assam, in some parts of which province thejr are very plentiful. Ooca- 
sionallj, though rarely, they are to be met with in the Terai, below Nepaul, 
also in the Central Provinces in the jungles of Baepore. They are also 
very numerous in Bhootan and elsewhere. The buffalo of India is the 
water buffalo, and should not be confounded with the shaggy-headed 
prairie bison of America, a totally different animal in every respect. As 
many as eighteen or twenty may be found in a herd, but, usually 
speaking, from five to ten only are together. The bulls are often found 
alone. A bull may be distinguished from the cows at a great distance 
by his size. Old solitary bulls are generally very dangerous, and will 
attack human beings in the most vicious manner without the slightest 
provocation. It is a common occurrence to hear of natives losing 
their lives when passing through the jungles or when cultivating their 
crops. Though to all appearance a clumsy, unwieldy animal, it is 
capable of wonderful activity. Its pace, when making off, is a heavy, 
awkward gallop. When passing through high jungle, it carries its 
horns weU back over the shoulders, and it manages to cross very rough, 
uneven ground, at surprising speed. 

During the heat of the day these animals retire into swamps and 
dense marshy jungles, but early in the morning or late in the evening 
they may often be seen in the open, especially on the sandy banks and 
islands of the Berhampooter. We frequently shot them at Tezpore 
within a few miles of our barracks, and at night they often came close 
to the outskirts of the station, and did immense damage to the crops. 
The usual way of hunting them, in fact the only practical method in 
such a country as Assam, is by beating with a line of elephants. They 
are also occasionally stalked and shot on foot. This is a highly 
dangerous sport, as I know to my cost, for when shooting on the edge of 
the Lowqua jheel, near Tezpore, Assam, though not in search of buffalo 
at the time, in March 1866, 1 was most severely mauled by a vicious 



THE WILD BUFFALO, ■ 131 

old * bnff/ and my sporting career very nearly came to a sadden and 
inglorious end. 

It happened as follows: On March 2, 1866, Captain G s of my 

regiment and I obtained three days leave to * visit the district/ or, in 
other words, to * go shooting/ On the previous evening we had dis- 
patched our servants, guns, and traps to the opposite bank of the 
Berhampooter from Tezpore, where we were then stationed, and the 
following morning crossed over in a boat. The passage of the river, 
which is very broad thereabouts, took several hours^ and the current 
was so strong that we were swept far down and grounded several 
times, and had to take our turn at the oars and toil like galley slaves. 
The day was very hot, without a breath of air, and the glare from the 
water and white sand extremely trying; and when we reached the 
Lowqua bungalow, a resting-house for travellers, built on piles, but 
always made use of by sportsmen, my companion complained of a bad 
headache, which was not to be wondered at. So in the evening I 
went out for a stroll alone, or rather accompanied by a single native, 
a *klassie,' or tent-pitcher, belonging to my regiment, who often 
attended me on my expeditions. 

We started about three o'clock in the afternoon, and as we intended 
looking for big game, took rifles only. I had a pair of rifles, one a 
heavy double, burning 4 drs. of powder and carrying 3-oz. bullets 
intended for bufialo, rhinoceros, and such like; the other an old 
favourite two-grooved rifle, lighter than the first, and which I generally 
used for deer. I gave the big weapon to my companion, and taking the 
smaller rifle myself, we made a start, I leading the way with my 
attendant at my heels. Having often been over to Lowqua on former 
expeditions I knew the jungle paths well, and the most likely spots for 
game. We made our way in the direction of a jheel, a large patch of 
water surrounded by high jungle and reeds, the haunt of the wild 
elephant, the rhinoceros, the wild buffalo, as will fully be exemplified, 
the tiger, and other ferse, and where, on account of the denseness of 
the jungle, no sane mortal should have entered, as it was almost 
impossible for a man on foot to see two yards in front of him. But I 
was at the time inexperienced, and although my commanding officer. 

Captain G e, was constantly telling me * that some fine day he was 

sure that I should come to grief,' I only laughed at his advice, never 
for a moment imagining how soon his warning would prove true. I 
knew that deer and other animals would probably come out towards 



X 2 



132 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

sunset to drink at the edge of the lake, and after such a hot, close day 
there was every prospect of sport. 

We reached the lake about five o'clock, and after proceeding about 
half a mile along the margin came to where a small point of land jutted 
out into the water. There were several clumps of bushes on the point, 
and behind one of these we decided on hiding. Within a hundred 
yards of us were three or four lanes and ^ tunnels ' in the grass, made 
by rhinoceros, buffalo, and other brutes going to and returning from 
the water. The soft mud was covered with tracks of the inhabitants 
of the neighbouring forests. Presently a splashing in the water about 
sixty or seventy yards off, attracted my attention. The animal, what- 
ever it was, instead of appearing at the mouth of one of the tunnels I 
have spoken of, had unfortunately come to drink where a patch of 
bushes screened it from our view. On stooping down I could make out 
the legs of apparently some large deer, perhaps after all only a common 
Farah or Hog deer, but as it was getting late and only half an hour or 
so of daylight remained, I determined on attempting a stalk to see 
what it was at any rate, so motioning my companion to follow, we 
slowly crept up towards the game. On reaching the patch of bushes 
which had prevented my getting a shot, and looking over, the animal 
had disappeared : perhaps it had heard us approaching, or having 
drunk its fill had retired into the grass again. 

We advanced cautiously a few paces, till we reached the spot where 
the deer had been standing a few moments previously. I was just 
pointing out to my companion the water yet trickling into the slots 
made by its feet, when something moved in the grass close to us. I 
turned round sharply, but all was again silent. There was a tunnel 
under the reeds and jungle, up which the deer we were following had 
gone. I made sure that what we had heard in the grass y^as the 
sound of this deer retreating, little thinking that a treacherous 
monster in the shape of an old bull buffalo was ready waiting for me : 
so stooping, I followed the tracks. It was a reckless thing to do in 
such a spot. We were up to our ankles in mud, and the overhanging 
reeds, nearly meeting overhead, made it very dark. I had only 
taken four or five paces, and was in a cramped position, listening as 
I took each step, and straining my eyes to catch a glimpse of the. 
deer's hide, when there was a crash in the jungle close to me, and 
before I could turn round to my right and bring the muzzle of my 
rifle to bear, in a second of time, I was hurled to the ground, with 



TUE WILD BUFFALO. 



ns 



astonishing quickness, by a tremeudoua butt ou tbe right shoulder, 
followed np by a pair of huge knees on my chest crushing me down. 
My rifle had been sent flying out of my hand at the first shock, but 
had I retained possession of it, it could not have assisted me ,in the 
least. My companion was close behind me at the time, and I called 
out twice to him in Hindustani to fire, but he rendered me no assistance 
in the hour of need. The buffalo commenced buttintf me with bis 
huge head; I was covered with foam from his vile mouth. Most 
luckily the ground was very soft, or I must have been killed. I 
had fallen on my back, but mannged by clutching the root of a small 
tree to draw myself from under him, but as I did so and turned over, 
he struck me a terrible blow on the back, with bis foot, breaking 
two ribs, and then I was powerless and imagined all hope of escape 
to be over. 

He gave me a bad wound on the left arm, nnother dangerous one 
under the arm-pit, a third on the hip, uJl with his horns, and then I found 
myself lilted off tlie ground and thrown a tremendous s<imersault in 
the air. I must here mention that on this disastrous day I happened 
to be wearing a pair of strong English cord pantaloons, in which the 
animal when thrusting at me had caught the tip of one of his horns, and 
in trying to get clear, or in attempting some other vicious nianccuvre, 
during which he succeeded in giving me another terrible gash, as I 
have already said, sent me flying. I believe I descended on my h^ad, 
but stilt having a portion of my senses about me, I remained perfectly 
still where I had fullen. Most luckily 1 was half bidden by a low thorn 
bush, and was almost on the edge of the lake again. About four yards 
off, from under the bush, I could see the head and shoulders of the 
enemy, and, as may be supposed, I watched him with anxiety. He was 
snuffing the gronnd where he had been pounding me. He seemed to 
listen for a few moments, and then to my inexpressible relief, went to 
look for me in exactly an opposite direction, and presently entirely dis- 
appeared. Now or never wai the time to escape. I managed to 
struggle to my feet, the trees and grass seemed to be whirling round 
uie, I took twenty or thirty hurried, tottering poees along the edge of 
the lake, and then, bleeding fearfully, fell over insensible. The next 
thing I remember, on coming to my senses, was my wretched com- 
panion kneeling by my side, crying, and attempting to stop the bleeding 
of my arm. In a moment [ rememtiered all that had happened, Uid 
whispered him to be silent, and support me to my feet, which he did. 



mJ^ 



134 THE GAME OF BENGAL, 

We managed to stagger along for perhaps fifty yards and I could 
go no farther ; I had a fearful thirst on me ; he had my hat in his 
hand, I told him to bring water in it ; he brought some from th^ lake, 
poured a little down my throat, and the remainder over my head. I 
made him cut his linen coat into strips, dip them in the water, and 
bind up my arm as well as he could, and then run for assistance, first 
having put his rifle at full cock by my side. 

Night came on and I fell into a kind of doze. It seemed very long 
before I heard voices, and then saw tlie glare of torches, and friends 

standing round me. G s, after a long search in the dark, had fonnd 

out where I was lying. He poured some brandy down my throat, and 
put me on a bed carried by four men. We reached the bungalow in 
an hour. My friend rapidly cut my clothes off, washed and bound up 
my wounds so cleverly that when, soon after, a doctor, accompanied by 
two others, made his appearance, he would not unbind the bandages 

that G s had so skilfully put on. It was many weeks before I 

could move hand or foot, and for a full month after I did get on my 
legs again, I was only able to hobble about with difficulty with the 
assistance of a stick. But I was in good health at the time, and my 
wounds healed rapidly. However, * Qua nocent docent,' I had been 
taught a severe lesson, and since that have been more careful when 
shooting on foot, especially in jungles where there was a chance of 
meeting an old bull buffalo. This old bull received his deserts shortly 
afterwards. My brother officers, bent on revenge, crossed the Berham- 
pooter with a number of elephants. They beat up the edge of the 
swamp near the scene of my late disaster, and speedily fonnd the old 
Urnah at home. He charged them once and died game, with his 
carcase riddled with bullets. 

Natives have often told me, and I believe with truth, that a tiger 
will never molest buffaloes when in a herd, though he will take 
advantage of a poor cow with her calf. 

A buffalo is not often dropped with a single bullet, though I have 
seen this happen occasionally. The very first one I ever fired at, near 
Gowhatty, fell stone dead, with a shell behind the ear. The neck, and 
just behind the shoulder, are deadly spots. I have often heard of 
bullets being flattened on the skulls of bull buffaloes, and the animals 
escaping, but this is not my experience; even a common double-; 
barrelled gun will generally, I believe, with a good charge of powder, 
at a moderate distance, drive a ball through the skull of the most 



I 



THE Wn.D BUFFALO. 135 

thick-beaded ' buff.' At Tezpore we brought in oue day the head of a 
very fine biifiFalo, and placed it by way of experiment against the 
wall of a building, and at a distance of several paces, a double- 
barrelled gun, beiongiug to our doctor, who backed the gun, loaded 
with three drama of coarse powder and spherical bullet, drove the 
ball not only through the skull and neck of the buffalo, but with 
great force against the wall beyond. The skin of the wild buffalo, 
especially about the neck, is of immense thickness, and ia valuable 
for leather : when properly cured it is worth from twelve to sixteen 
rupees. 

I have several times seen buffaloes charge a line of elephants in 
spite of a shower of bullets from the howdah. Very few elephants 
will stand steady when charged, but almost invariably turn their stents 
to the enemy. Two or three of our elephants in Assam were gored by 
the horns of buffaloes ; but I can only remember one that was at all 
severely hurt. It was an old female ; she had a large swelling in the 
stomach for several weeks, caused by the horn of a wounded cow 
bufl'alo. 

In jungles where wild elephants abound, and the game is not often 
fired at and disturbed, buffaloes will often take little notice of howdah 
elephants approaching, especially if there are only two or three of the 
latter, if no noise is made, and silence is kept by the occupants of 
the howdabs. They apparently mistake them for the forest elephants 
which tbey often meet with, and do not fear. Tlie tame village buffaloes 

onfrequently mix with the wild ones. An experienced sportsman 
will recc^nise at a glance a tame buffalo : he is never so plump or 
in such fine condition as his wild brethren. But care should be taken ; 
I have seen absurd mistakes made, and a heavy bill to pay to the 
villagers through the impetuosity of gentlemen too eager for the fray. 
There is a Government reward of three rupees for a wild buffalo! 
this is quite necessary, for in parts of Assam, out of the reach of 
spcrtsmeu, the animals increase rapidly, and do great mischief to the 
crops of the poor villagers- I have seen a field of rice utterly spoiled 
. a single night by an invasion of ' buffs ' : not only do tbey devonr 
immense quantities of the rice when getting ripe, but trample down and 
destroy with their huge feet even more than tbey eat. Unless there 
is a iihikary with bis matchlock in the village, the unfortunate inhabi- 
tants are afraid to meddle with the enemy, and it is not to be wondered 
at, for the wild buffalo is a sulky dangerons brut« at any time. 



136 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

Sometimes they are taken in pitfalls, but I do not think traps oi 
this description meet with much success. 

The natives 'of Assam, in districts where I have been quartered, 
seldom keep tame bull buffaloes for breeding purposes, but at certain 
times in the year, when the cattle are driven out to feed on the jungle 
side, * a distinguished visitor ' in the person of a huge Umah, or wild 
bull, makes his appearance from the neighbouring swamp, speedily 
curries favour with the tame cows, and finally takes entire possession 
of the herd, making threatening demonstrations with his horns, and 
pursuing the herdsmen, on their attempting an approach for the pur- 
pose of driving home their erratic kine. The latter, in spite of being 
called from a distance by their owners, appear to be perfectly content 
with their new lot, and nothing loath to acknowledge the huge inter- 
loper as their lord and master for the time being. 

Several times when stationed at Tezpore, the natives came to our 
barracks, imploring us to rid them of these troublesome Umahs. 

In April 1865, an old herdsman came one morning with the usual 
story, and begged us to render him assistance. A wild bull had 
carried off five of his cows, and for the space of a whole week, the sup- 
plicant had been unable to reclaim his property. This bull had been 
seen that very morning enjoying a bath in company with the tame 
beasts, and as the spot was only some few miles distant, my brother 
officers determined on looking him up. 

At the time, I was hors de combat y and only slowly recovering from 
the severe mauling I had undergone early in the previous month, 
so — much to my disappointment — was unable to accompany my com- 
panions. 

They ordered out four elephants with three howdahs up, and having 
taken the old cattle-keeper with them to show the way, soon made a 
start. I remember that it was a particularly still day, without a breath 
of wind. Presently, perhaps an hour after their departure, I became 
excited on hearing a distant pop, bang, bang, in the direction of the 
Berhampooter. My friends returned soon after, with the head of an 
enormous bull buffalo slung to the back of one of the howdahs : by 
their account, however, he had not .shown much sport. 

The marrow-bones and tongue of a buffalo are worth keeping for 
the pot, and, as I have already mentioned, the hide is valuable for 
leather. 

One more anecdote of a successful encounter with a buffalo (or 



THE WILD BUFFALO. 137 

rather in which a friend was successful), and I will pass on. The 
Lowqua lake during the cold weather swarmed with thousands of 
wild fowl. Pintail ducks and gadwall were especially numerous, and 

we made many a good bag there. Captain G s of my regiment and 

I had the shooting of this large jheel almost entirely to ourselves. It 
was in an out-of-the-way part, and few English sportsmen visited 
the place. On January 22nd9 1864, having crossed the Berhampooter the 
previous evening, we found ourselves at an early hour, guns, dogs, and 
attendants, on the edge of the lake, bent on a day's duck-shooting. 
Boats had been prepared on the previous evening, and as had been 
agreed on, four fishermen, the owners of the same, met us at the water's 
edge. As is often the case early in the morning in the cold weather 
months, especially in Assam, a very dense fog hung over the surface of 
the water. 

The first thing to be done was to decide how we were to shoot the 
lake with the best chance of success. One of our boatmen, remarked, 
that, before commencing our attack on the ^ moorghabies ' or ducks, 
it would on such a morning be well worth while to paddle quietly 
round the edge of the jheel, and probably we might get a shot at a 
rhinoceros, or still more likely a * jungli bhyns ' or wild bufialo. This 
advice seemed good, and we determined on adopting it, so made a 

start in the larger of the two boats, G s sitting at the bow, and 

I at the stern. Instead of using paddles, which would be sure to 
make some noise, our men produced a pair of long poles, and with 
these they were able to punt us along with no further sound as we 
made rapid progress through the water than that caused by the ripple 
against the bow of the canoe. We glided along silently, only able to 
see twenty or thirty yards in advance. Vast flocks of ducks kept 
rising in front, scared by our approach, and a large description of 
purple coot abounded in the thick reeds bordering the lake. 

We had gone I suppose about half a mile in this manner, when 

the man standing next to G s suddenly ceased urging the boat 

forward, and held up his hand, as much as to say * listen.' There 
was a dead silence. We heard a * splosh,' * splosh,' * splosh,' in the 
mud close at hand. The boat had still way on, and continued 
gliding forward. The next moment sevei'al huge creatures loomed 

out of the fog close to us. G s was the nearest, and before I was 

ready, bang went his rifle, a short Enfield, at a bufiiilo standing within 
thirty yards of us with his nose elevated in the air, and stupidly 



138 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

eyeing our approach. The bullet told with a loud ^ whop * on the 
black hide. There was a desperate flounder and splash, and a crash in 
the reeds, and the herd vanished. What was to be done next? (This 
was previous to my disastrous affair with the old bull, already related, 
or the probabilities are we should have acted less rashly.) One of the 

animals was struck without doubt : G s thought somewhere in the 

chest. 

While yet debating what was to be done, we were all startled 
by a loud, deep, and terrible moan. The boatmen became intensely 
excited, exclaiming, * Sahib, bhyns murgya,' meaning ^ the buffalo is 
dead.' We listened for a few moments, but all was still, and the noise 
we had heard was not repeated. We landed, and agreed to follow up 
the track, if we could find blood to distinguish the wounded buffalo 
from his brethren. There was no diflSculty in this ; on the edge of the 
jungle we found blood, and in plenty : it was a bright colour and frothy, 
a sure sign of a deadly wound. The track led up a dark tunnel under 

the reeds. I did not much admire the look of things, but as G s 

gallantly led the way without a remark, I did not like to show or say 
what I felt. Closing up one behind the other with rifles at full cock, 
eyes opened to the widest, and * arrectis auribus ' to cat<jh the slightest 
sound, we entered the jungle. The mud was something fearful, and 
we were soon ankle deep in the mire, and the exertion of first drawing 
one leg out and then the other was severe in the extreme. One thing 
was certain : if we were attacked, we must then and there fight it out. 
There could be no running away. 

We laboured along slowly, when G ^s suddenly halted, aild was 

about to raise his rifle to his shoulder. I stayed his arm, and inquired 
by raising my eyebrows, * What do you see ? ' Moving a little on one 
side, he pointed straight in front, and then I saw for the first time a 
black object on the ground, and could just make out * a tail.' It was 
little use firing into the animal's stem, even when so close : if alive, 
and the shot did not kill it on the spot, likely enough it would bring 
the brute on to the top of us. There was a long pause, still not a 
move ; * He must be dead,' whispered my companion, making a step 
forward : another pace, and at length we arrived close up, and sure 
enough there lay a very fine * buff' quite dead. The body was distended 
to an extraordinary size ; we found out afterwards caused by internal 
bleeding. An artery had been di^rided by the bullet in its passage, and 
the animal had probably died from suffocation. The ball had passed 



THE WILD BUFFALO. 139 

Dearly tbroagh the body lengthways, and we found it baried juet under 
the akin behind the ribe. Leaving a man with a batcbet to hew off 
the head of the prize, cut out the marrow-bones, and take off the skin, 
we made for the boat, delighted with our success, hnd later returned 
heavily laden with near twenty conple of dock and teal. 



TirK WrLD Buffalo. Ski'll or Fkmmx. 



I40 TEE GAMS OF BENGAL, 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE ELEPHANT (Cephas Indtc^ts), 



The beast who hath between his eyes 
The serpent for a hand. — Macaulay. 



In former years wild elephants, now much, reduced in nambers, 
abounded in the dense forests at the foot of the Himalayas, especially 
in the Dhoon and Sewalik range. They are to this day plentiful in 
Assam and Burmah. Many are yearly caught and tamed by Grovem- 
ment o£Scers for the use of the State y some for dragging big guns, others 
for the commissariat. We often saw wild elephants in Assam when on 
shooting expeditions, but did not molest them. 

In my opinion, though I am no elephant-hunter, following up a 
^ rogue ' elephant on foot, especially in swampy ground, is the most 
dangerous of all sports, not excepting tiger-shooting under similar cir- 
cumstances. It is a common error to suppose that the giant elephant is 
unwieldy and easily to be avoided in thick jungle ; but only those who 
have been pursued by an enraged elephant, or who have witnessed the 
extraordinary speed sometimes displayed by a wounded one when bent 
on revenge, can understand the exti-eme peril in which the sportathan is 
placed as he endeavours to escape, with the huge monster crashing 
through the thicket, close behind him. When howdah-shooting, otir 
mahouts were always anxious to keep clear of wild elephants, as their 
own beasts got very excited and troublesome on viewing their confr^es 
of the jungle. 

I remember one day when snipe-shooting with a brother officer, on 
the margin of the Lowqua jheel, in the Tezpore district, we came across 
a very large * tusker.' This jheel or lake was surrounded by heavy 
jungle, and nearer the water by dense masses of reeds and tall g^rass ; 



THE ELEVUANT. 141 

a narrow atrip of swampy ground on the very margin of 
the lake, covered with short rushes ; and here in the cold aeaeon snipe 
were to be found, though not in great abundance. There was jnst 
room for a couple of guna to walk abreast, with two men between us, 
The gun next the water got nearly all the shooting, but every now and 
then we changed places. We had just landed from a ' dugout,' or a log 
of timber, generally from the mango tree, hollowed out into a canT>e, 
had advanced only about Bfty yards, and hardly commenced operations, 
when a crackling in the Jungle close at hand brought us to a halt, and 
soon to a retrograde movement in the direction of our boat. 

There were only wild animals, such as rhinoceri, elephants, and 
buffalo in that neighbourhood, and not a village within many niiles. 
It was evident that some big brute was approaching the water: we 
had only our shot guns, so that the best thing to do was to retreat and 
get out of his way. We therefore scrambled into the canoe again, and 
in a few minutes a huge elephant came out of the grass, probably 
either to drink or bathe ; but on seeing us he pricked up his ears and 
came to a halt. We asked the boatmen if he was a wild elephant, or 
one that had escaped from Nowgong. a station six or seven miles off. 
They replied that the beast was undoubtedly a wild one, and that they 
had often seen him before near this very spot. He stood swinging his 
trunk and eyeing us, as we imagined, in any but a friendly way, hut 
presently turned round and walked slowly back again into the reeds. 
He might have been, and probably was, a harmless beast enough, but 
we did not begin our snipe-shooting again till we had paddled a good 
quarter of a mile from the place where we had viewed our friend. He 
was one of the largest elephants that I have ever seen. Not far from 
this same jheel, I fired at and wounded most severely a 'rogue' 
elephant. 

This brute had been for Gome time the terror of the district, and 
there was a reward offered by Government to the person who should 
kill him. He was in the habit of walking into villages, the inhabitants 
of course taking to their heels ; and out of pure mischief would unroof 
the hats, and take whatever he fancied from ^e bunniahs' (grain-sellers') 
shops. 

On January 3, 1864, in company with G b of my regiment, we 

crossed over to the Lowqua lake from Tezpore for a couple of days' duck- 
shooting, and soon after reaching the spot, intelligence was brought to us 
that this notorious elephant had been seen that very morning on the edge 



143 TUE GAME OF JSENGAl. 

of a small lake, only a short distance from the larger piece of waler.1 
We had brought our rifles with as, and agreed that before firing at wild I 
fowl we would look round this lake. By the time we bad reached the 1 
spot it was near midday, and an extremely hot buu overhead. On I 
peering through the tall grass bordering the water, there (almost I 
directly opposite, and certainly not fifty yards off), stood a huge I 
elephant, exactly tallying with the description we so often had heard of I 
the well-known ' rogue," and the object of our search. 




E Itjii.i S7v>cKJi>i:. Arnii 



To all appearance the animal was asleep, for with the exception of 
slowly moving his ears when the flies teased him, he was motionless. 
After a hurried consultation, we knelt down and took deliberate aim 
at this huge target; he was broadside to us, so we aimed at the root 
of bia ear, and fired almost at the same instant. The bullets told loutUy 
on the beast's skull. The elephant gave a shrill scream, and came 
down on his knees, and then almost on his side, but shaking his hind. 



J 



THE ELEPHANT. 143 

recovered hiuiHelf, receiving as he ditl so another ballet from my rifle, 
and a second barrel from mj cotiipanion. In another moment be 
had disappeared. What was to be done nest? 'Better leave him 
alone,' I aaid ; ' if he dies we shall be sure to find him ; ' but my 
companion was a rash man, and insisted on going round to see the 
result of our shots. 

He led the way ; vre kept clear of the grass, and walked round in 
the water, making as little noise as possible, till we i-eached the place 
where the animal bad been standing. There we found a patch of 
blood on the grass and reeds where he bad entered the jungle, and my 
friend, in a louder voice than was necessary, was calling my attention 
tfO it, when close at hnnd there was a crash in the reeds. I ducked 

under a thick thorn bush, G a taking to his heels along the edge 

of the lake. Every moment I expectfd the beast to come out in 
search of bis persecutors, but we saw him no more, and thought it 
advisable to beat a retreat home. The animal was very severely 
wounded, but he made straight away for some distant hills, and was 
never seen or heard of again, but there can be little doubt that be 
died of his wounds. 

Elephants are numerous in the Bhootan jungles. When on service 
there in IS65, we were encamped for several months near Eala. We 
not unfrequently heard elephants at night breaking the trees; and 
early one morning, when in search of jungle fowl, and passing through 
a very dense timber forest, I caught a glimpse of tliree huge ele- 
phants rapidly and silently disappearing among the tree trunks. Two 
of our baggage elephants, lent by the Kooch-Behar rajah, made their 
escape, and we supposed joined the herds of wild ones. They had been 
recently caught, and were not thoroughly tamed. 

Elephant- hunting in these times can hardly be included among our 
Indian sports, for in parts of Bengal where I have been stationed at any 
rate, the practice of shooting such useful creatures is forbidden, so that, 
excepting now and then when a reward is offered for the destruction of 
a ' rogue ' who has rendered himself conspicuous by his depredations, 
the sportsman seldom gets an opi>ortunity of slaying such noble game. 
I am informed that the Government of Ceylon also now prohibits 
elephant hunting, and certain it is that if some restrictions had not 
been put in force to prevent the wholesale destruction of elephants in 
that island, sooner or later, and probably at no distant period, they 
would have become extinct. 




CHAPTER XIV. 

THE GKEAT INDIAN RniNOCEROS iftiin 



\Vilt Ibou Iriiat hioi Ijecaus* his Etrc'i:f:lb is great? — Jufl. 



XJESCRIfTiaS. 

ErlretHi LmfftA.— From 12 to 13 feet. 
Jl^ht.—Vtom 5i to 5j feot. 

Honii. — Bcrlli ««iee have n duple iiorn, tiitualcd near llie «DiI of tbe b 
curved, and [loiuliag' bturkwanl^, from 15 to 30 ioches in length. 



THE GREAT INDIAN BHINOGEBOS. 145 

Ears — Haiher long and rounded. When erect they point forwards. 
Et/e8 — Small and twinkling. 

Neck — Very short and thick, and overlapped by two or three heavy folds of thick 
skin. 

Body — Very broad, and much rounded. Back slightly hollow. 
General Colour — Dirtv black. 
Limbs — Short and thick. 
Feet — Divided into three toes. 
raiV— Short. 

The IndiaD Ebinoceros is found in Assam, where it is still plentiful, and 
also in the Bhootan jungles. During the campaign of 1865, an advance 
guard, when marching very early one morning between Bala and 
Buza, suddenly came upon a huge * Gainda ' standing in the middle of, 
and completely blocking, the naiTOw path. The animal, however, 
quickly wheeled round, and disappeared in the jungle. Later, a 

very fine rhinoceros was shot by my commandant. Colonel S d, in 

the neighbourhood of Buxa. In former years it was to be met with in 
the forests bordering on the Sardah in Nepaul and the Philibeet district, 
and also in Gorruckpore ; but it is now extinct there or very nearly so. 

The Indian Bhinoceros, mule and female, has a single hoi*n, seldom 
growing to more than eighteen inches in length. 

Bhinoceri are usually found in swamps where the reeds and grass 
are very dense, remaining hidden, often asleep, during the day : at night 
they come out to feed on the edge of the forest. They sometimes will 
travel long distances to reach rice and corn fields, and do immense 
mischief, so much so that there is a Government reward of twenty 
rupees to anyone shooting a rhinoceros. If left unmolested they are, 
usually speaking, harmless, but when wounded, dangerous, especially 
to a sportsman on foot. They will occasionally, in this condition, like 
the buffalo, charge an elephant with their eyes closed, and inflict severe 
wounds. I have never seen this happen, but I remember an instance 
of a howdah elephant being very dangerously hurt by the horn of a 
rhinoceros. A young tea-planter near Tezpore had charge of a fine 
elephant for the use of his garden, but occasionally took him out for 
shooting purposes. On returning one evening from the jungle, he 
came across two rhinoceri. He fired at and struck one, and followed 
it up into a swamp ; suddenly he came upon the animal in the thicket, 
and it immediately charged : the elephant swung round and was about 
to make off, when the rhinoceros caught him a tremendous butt in 
the side, nearly knocking him over, and inflicting a severe wound 

L 



146 THE GAME OF BESGAL. 

several inches in len^h, very deep, and, I need hardly add, extremely 
dangerous. For many months the poor beast was unfit for work, and 
became very thin and emaciated, and all thought he would die, but he 
eventually recovered. 

The hide of the rhinoceros is so very thick, being covered with huge 
plates, that unless struck on the head (behind the ear is also a very deadly 
place) bullets from a common gun do him little harm, and even rifle 
balls with large charges of powder, unless well placed, are ineffectuaL 

We often hunted this huge animal in the neighbourhood of Tezpore, 
where it was by no means rare ; an exceedingly fine specimen was shot 
by my brother o£Scers, near the margin of the Lowqua Lake in the 
month of April 1865. 

We usually came across them on the edge of some, inland jheel 
or lake, where tlie water was surrounded by dense reeds, grass, and 
jungle. The animals like to roll and wallow in the soft mud, and 
generally speaking their hides are thickly coated with a layer of clay. 
On being disturbed by the approach of the elephants, they generally 
with pricked-up ears, more like huge pigs than anything else, stand 
staring and offer a fair mark to the nearest sportsman. Often, how- 
ever, the jungle where ^Gainda,' as he is called by the natives, is 
to be found, is so high and thick that it is almost impossible to catch 
a glimpse of him as he makes off. 

The foot of the rhinoceros is divided into three, that of the elephant 
into five toes, so that their footmarks are at once distinguishable the 
one fix)m the other. Moreover, the prints differ in size, the elephant's 
being much larger. The horn of the rhinoceros can be removed with 
ease, whereas the tusks of the elephant are extracted with great diffi^- 
culty. Rhinoceri are in the habit of depositing their ordure in one 
particular spot. I have several times come across these places: 
apparently, fi»om the heap of soil and the rankness of the grass around, 
they had been used for very many years, and on examination I invari- 
ably found fresh traces of the brutes. Natives have told me that often 
savage encounters take place at these spots between the males, who, I 
suppose, have casually met. The Assamese build machans in trees near, 
and on moonlight nights wait for the rhinoceri and sometimes shoot them. 

Jerdon in his ' Mammals of India ' describes a second species, * The 
Lesser Indian Rhinoceros * [Rhinoceros sovdaicus)^ which he tells us is 
found in the Bengal Sunderbuns. I regret that I am unable to supply 
any information regarding this animal. 



THE WILD BOAE. 147 



CHAPTER XV. 

THE WILD BOAR (Sm Indicus). 



So fares a boar whom all the troop surrounds, 

Of shouting huntsmen, aud of clamorous hounds ; 

He grinds his iv'ry tusks ; he foama vnXh ire ; 

His sanguine eyeballs glare with li\'ing fire. — The Iliad. 



I AM touching here on delicate ground. The spear and not the 
rifle is the usual and more legitimate weapon for hunting hog, and 
shooting a boar in many parts of India is considered a worse crime, if 
possible, than shooting a fox is in England. I can fancy many an old 
Indian turning from this parfc of my sketches in disgust ; but this rule I 
venture to say only applies to certain districts, where hog can be speared 
from horseback, and no sportsman worthy of the name would ever think 
of shooting them, under such circumstances, or anywhere within reach 
of a tent club. But in the Himalayas, or among the rocky hills and 
nullahs of Bundelkund, and in many other parts of the country where 
spearing hog is impossible and out of the question, it is a perfectly 
legitimate sport to shoot boars at any rate. 

Wild hog differ so much in size and appearance in diflferent parts 
of India, that it is difficult to give a general measurement for all. The 
largest that I have ever seen have been in the Himalayas ; but those 
of Assam and Lower Bengal often reach a great size and weight. One 
killed by a brother officer near Gowhatty, in 1866, measured close on 
forty inches at the shoulder. On the other hand, the hog inhabiting 
the scrub and bush jungle of Bundelkund and Gwalior are of small 
size, fully one- third less I should say than the first mentioned. The 
largest boar that I ever measured, shot in the Himalayas, reached five 
feet ten inches in length, and over three feet at the shoulder ; he was 

L 2 



148 THE GAME OF BENGAL 

ail enormous brute ; but they not unfrequeiitly exceed even this. This 
boar I shot in the middle of the night, and under rather remarkable 
circumstances, so I will relate the story. 

In one of my numerous rambles in the Himalayas I happened to be 
encamped in the upper ranges on the look-out for bears. My tent 
was pitched about 200 yards above a small village, where I procured 
supplies, and on the borders of an oak forest ; directly below the tent 
were some fields of com, one beneath the other, on the side of the hill, 
like huge steps, and I could not help noticing on the evening of my 
arrival at the place that the crops had suffered much from the ravages 
of wild animals, more especially hog : the upper fields close below my 
encampment were rooted up in all directions, and half the crop de- 
stroyed. 

That same night I was awakened several times by my dog, who 
slept by my side, continually moving and growling, but imagined that 
the animal's restlessness was caused by some of the village curs prowl- 
ing about in search of scraps, as they are in the habit of doing. At 
length, when only half asleep, I became aware of a munching noise, 
caused by some animal feeding not far off, so I sat up and listened, 
and presently determined to look out in the direction the sound 
appeared to come from. At the back of my tent was a window, or 
rather a square hole, with a piece of canvas hanging over it to keep 
out the night air, and fastened by buttons ; this window happened to be 
just over my head, so kneeling on the bed, I unfastened the flap, and 
looked out. It was a still bright night, and a full moon shining on the 
side of the hill made objects at a moderate distance, and away from the 
shadow of the trees, easily discernible. And there within fifty yards 
or so of the tent was U large dark animal in the middle of the crop, 
hard at work devouring a red kind of corn. I had no difficulty in 
making this out to be a wild hog of large size, and took measures 
accordingly. 

My rifles were close at hand, tied to the pole of the tent, and 
my pouch of cartridges under the bed : it did not take me two minutes 
to unfasten, slip the cover off, and load one of the weapons, but 
my dog got so excited at these unusual midnight preparations that 
I had the greatest difficulty in restraining him from whining and 
spoiling the sport. On looking out again, however, the muncher was 
still there, broadside to me, so I took a shot at him, and almost 
simultaneous with the loud echoing report, I heard the unmistakeable 



THE WILD BO An, 149 

tbnd of the bullet on the animars hide; but away he went, as if 
nothing had happened. 

My servants and the villagers were awakened by the rifle shot and 
presently came running up to inquire what was the matter, but I sent 
them home again, as nothing could be done till daybreak. I was up 
earlier than usual the next morning, and in company with a Ghoorkha 
<!huprassie followed the track of the animal I had fired at. There was 
ample evidence by the stream of gore that the pig was hard hit, and 
we had not gone twenty yards into the forest, when we came on a 
huge wild boar lying dead, with a bullet wound through his carcase. 

The hide of this animal is, I think, very much the same colour all 
over the country, viz., dull black, covered more or less with black hair 
and bristles. 

The young are first striped ; then brown ; later still, when they 
have reached their full strength, dingy black ; and on reaching old 
age, the animal often becomes a grizzled, grey colour. Old males are 
armed with large semi-circular tusks ; those in the lower jaw much the 
longest, curving outwards and upwards, and meeting when the mouth 
is closed, a shorter and thicker pair in the upper jaw ; it is by rubbing 
these teeth together that the wild boar keeps the curved edges per- 
petually sharp. The tusks of a very fine Indian boar sometimes reach 
eight and a half and nine inches in length ; but anything above this is 
exceptional, and the veiy largest pairs of canine teeth that I have seen, 
were much smaller than the tremendous weapons which garnish the 
jaws of the African Valke Vark or Emgallo. None but those who have 
witnessed it can conceive the rapidity and terrible power with which 
when enraged tfie wild boar uses these formidable tusks. I have seen 
a dog nearly cut in two by a single stroke. Occasionally in hog-hunting 
horses are teri'ibly injured, and poor beaters are not unfrequently cut 
over with ghastly wounds. Sportsmen have frequently been nnuiled, 
and a European in the Customs Department near Jhansie, many years 
ago, lost his life, so fearfully was he gored by a hog that he had 
wounded. The strength of the animal is proverbial, and his si>eed such 
that the fleetest Arab horse often has to be ridden to the utmost to 
bring his rider alongside the chase. 

There is hardly a more dangerous brute to cope with on foot than a 
woimded boar. He will fight to the last and then die game, and natives 
in the hills have told me more than once that they would rather face a 
bear. He lies hidden during the day, generally under a thick patch of 



ISO THE GAME OF BENGAL, 

bushes, surrounded witli dense grass, in the bed of a nullah. A patch of 
sugar cane, or high grass jungle, especially if near the edge of a swamp^ 
is also very likely to hold a sounder. 

Often \vhen bird-shooting in the neighbourhood of Jhansie, I have 
almost fallen over a wild hog lying asleep and completely hidden in the 
long grass and thicket. At dusk he sallies out in quest of food, and 
often travels many miles to plunder fields of grain or sugar cane, or to 
dig up certain kinds of roots and ground nuts to which he is partial. 
He generally returns before daylight, and when the sun is fairly up, 
has once more reached his retreat. 

In the hills the animal is especially fond of acorns and walnuts ; 
there also he is a terrible spoiler of the harvest. The mischief and 
havoc created by a sounder of hog in a single night is incredible. Not 
only do they root up young com with their noses, cut the sugar cane 
as if with a knife, but they trample on and spoil even more than they 
devour. The unfortunate natives in many parts of the country, 
especially the inhabitants of villages bordering on the forest, lose 
quite half of their crops by these nightly visitations. Often on wet, 
stormy nights, I have heard poor fellows in the hills shouting to drive 
the pigs and bears off their corn ; night after night, till the crop is cut, 
they sit up on machans, or platforms raised on poles, and by beating 
t^m^-toms and shouting, whenever they hear wild animals approaching 
or devouring the corn, to a certain extent scare them away. 

I need hardly mention that the hog is regarded by all true 
followers of the prophet as an unclean animal ; but Ghoorkhas, 
Bajpoot&, Seikhs, and Paharies in general prefer the flesh of the 
wild pig to any venison. 

One of the most extraordinary scenes that I ever witnessed during 
my sporting career, was in an encounter with a herd of wild hog high 
up in .the Himalayas. In the autumn of 1864, I obtained a couple of 
months' leave to the hills, and as usual, having completed my arrange- 
ments, made all haste to reach some happy hunting grounds north 
of the Pindur river. In a former expedition, as I was returning 
south, I had quite by chance discovered a range of hills where thar 
and moonal pheasants were abundant. I had then no time to make a 
halt, but noted the spot for a future visit. Within ten days from 
leaving the plains, I had crossed 

0*er bleak Almorah s hill. 



THE WILD BOAR. 151 

and my camp was pitehed in this out-of-the-way spot ; but for a whole 
week I met with little success, only bagging one thar,- a young male. 
The weather was most annoying and tantalising ; day after day, soon 
after dawn, a thick damp fog rolled up the valleys and enveloped us in a 
cloud, through which it was impossiblcf to see an object distinctly, even 
when quite close. Still we persevered in hopes of a change of luck. 

On several occasions when ascending from my tent to the crags 
above I had noticed the fresh marks of wild hog, where they had quite 
recently rooted up the soil with their snouts; but my companions 
(two men fix>m the only village within many miles) were unable to tell 
me where the animals retired during the day. There was a large 
patch of oak trees, and in the vicinity the pigs had ploughed up the 
dead leaves and mould in all directions, evidently in search of acorns. 
One morning I had turned out as usual very early, and after a short 
breakfast made a start, in company with my two men, for the higher 
ground in search of thar. On the way up we happened to pass 
through the clump of oaks I have mentioned, and to my surprise we 
suddenly came upon a herd of hog busily engaged turninjg up the 
leaves. I motioned my companions to remain behind a tree while I 
crept forward ; it was an easy stalk. The animals were close together, 
and by getting a pair of huge oak trunks in a line with them, I 
advanced to within fifty yards without being discovered. On peeping 
round a tree, I counted seven, all apparently boars of the very largest 
size, hard at work turning over the leaves and quite unconscious of 
danger. Taking a deliberate aim, I fired at one, the nearest to me ; he 
rolled over and over, and the poor beast appeared to suflter intense agony 
in his death struggles, for his squeals might have been heard a mile off. 
This was remarkable, for the wild boar generally dies without uttering 
a groan. I began to reload my rifle, an old two-grooved muzzle-loader, 
and while feeling for a cap in my pocket, was about to advance 
towards the still struggling boar, and put it out of its misery, when I 
heard an angry grunting from the direction in which the other six hogs 
had made off, and to my utter astonishment beheld ^lem returning 
in a body. Obstupuiy steterunique comcB. The first thing that struck me 
was that they were advancing to attack me, and avenge their fallen 
comrade ; but no, grunting furiously, they tore down to where their 
friend still shrieked murder, and I saw several of them viciously prod 
him with their tusks. 

I had now completed my loading, and taking another shot, heard 



152 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

the bullet tell loudly on the brute aimed at ; however, he did not drop. 
Away went the sounder; the ball from the left barrel striking the 
ground too low. I now left my place of concealment, and advanced 
to examine the boar dropped by the first discharge; he was quite 
dead, and I noticed several scfapes on his body, the marks evidently 
• of his friends^ tusks. Leaving the slain, we then took up the spoor of 
the wounded brute ; it was easy enough to follow him, for there was 
blood at every step. Though wc followed the tracks a long distance, 
we were unsuccessful in overtaking him ; the red drops and patches 
became fewer and farther between, till at length we lost all trace 
and returned to camp. I afterwards heard that the carcase of a large 
boar, doubtless this wounded one, was found by two wood -cutters, fully 
four miles from the spot where I had fired at him, but this discovery 
was made after I had left the neighbourhood. 

To returrr to tbo extraordinary conduct of these wild boars after 
I had dropped the first one of their number. What could have been 
the meaning of such conduct on their part? It has been a never- 
ending puzzle to me, and I am unable to give a satisfactory explana- 
tion. I can only suppose that these animals had never heard a rifle 
shot before, and after recovering from their first alarm caused by the 
report, not seeing anything further to terrify them (for I was hidden 
from their view), returned to discover what was the matter with their 
shrieking friend; but that they should have treated him in the manner 
they did is to me most unaccountable. I lately saw a farmer lifting 
a hog from a sty into a cart, and the animal on being seized commenced 
squealing in the manner pigs only can. There were a number of other 
pigs in the yard, and immediately they heard the one in the farmer's 
clutches raising his voice, they all stopped feeding, and collecting 
together and grunting, apparently in an angry manner, advanced in a 
body towards the man who was carrying their comrade. These tame 
pigs reminded me forcibly by their demeanour of my adventure with 
the wild ones years ago in the Himalayas. 

I have seen the marks of wild hog at a great elevation in our hills. 
Once very high up, over 15,000 feet, 1 remarked the fresh traces of this 
animal on bare ground far above the forest, where the soil had been 
turned up by his snout in search of roots. They, however, only visit 
such spots during the night, ascending by the valleys, and returning to 
their lairs before sunrise. In Bundelkund, especially in the Jhansie, 
LuUutpore, and Saugor districts, they are very common, oft;en in 



thf: ivn.v poar. 



I S3 



large henje of over rortv- I have already remarked on tTie mischief 
done to crops by these creatarea, especially in parts of the country 
where tigers, panthers, and other carnivoi-a have been exterminated. 

At Jhansie I veiy frequently pat np hog when bird-shooting, often 
within two miles of cantonments ; and on several occasiona wlien out 
very early have met troops of pigs returning to the bush scrub after 
being out all night. As with solitary male elephants, and si|]gle bull 
buffaloes, very old boars are generally met with alone: these patriarchs 
are often sulky, and dangerous to meddle with, and few among the 
felidio dare to measure their strength with such grim and powerful 
adversaries. Old boar^ when wonnded will often turn round and charge 
with the greatest impetuosity and fury, and unless stopped by a well- 
aimed bullet, will speedily inflict the most fearful injuries with their 
terrible curved tusks. 1 have noticed that a boar when standing in 
thick bushes and about to charge, draws hack a little, just before 
rushing forward; probably to get a little more room for 'full speed 
aheud.' 

The villagers about Jhansie often begged us to turn out, and, as 
riding in such a rocky i-ountry was out of the question, shoot the 
devourers of their crops; and not unfrequently 1 have seen as many 
as five and six hog shot in a day. Tlie usual way of hunting them was 
to collect twenty or thirty beaters, and drive the sides of low hills 
covered with thick bushes. The guns were posted well in advance 
where the scrub was least dense, and it was possible to see around. 

I remember that four pigs and a blue bull were rolled over at a 
regular warm corner in the Lullutpore district in one beat, and then 
the shooting was not particularly good, for some forty hog were driven 
ont within easy range, and over twenty shots fired. Three of us were 
out on this occasion, and two Bundeela Thakoors also brought their 
matchlocks, and took post in line with the other guns. 

Presently the beaters approaclied ; game of all kinds came streaming 
out in every direction, and a rapid independent firing commenced. 
I had made a good beginning by rolling over an old grey boar passing 
within a, few yards of me, when one of the Thakoors seated behind a 
bush on my left, in endeavouring to stop an old sow trotting by, let fly 
a long irou bolt from liis rnde weapon. The missile struck the trunk 
of a tree, glanced ofl', ajid then canit> hurtling past close over my head. 
The result was tha^ immediately after I missed three easy shots in 
Quccession. 



154 THE GAME OF BENGAL, 

A wild boar galloping past offers a fair mark, much easier in mj 
opinion to Lit than a bounding antelope ; but unless struck on the 
head, neck, shoulder, or other vital part, he will probably make his 
escape for the time, though if shot through the body, his carcase 
will generally be recovered, if good search be made the following day. 
Old boars are very cunning, and I have often watched one approaching 
my post, when beating ; he will halt, listen, snuff the air, as if sus- 
pecting danger in front, and after all charge back through the beaters, 
rather than face the ambush laid for him. When a sounder is coming 
towards him, the sportsman hidden behind a bush or rock is generally 
made aware of the approach of the hog, before they actually come in 
sight, by the sound of their feet among the leaves or clattering over 
the rocks, and the conversation kept up by the grunters. So long 
as the cover is tolerably thick, they advance, driven forward by the 
shouts of the beaters, at a deliberate trot, pausing every now and 
then to listen ; but on breaking cover) and fairly taking to the open, 
the pace is quickehed, and away they go at a slashing gallop. • 

Wild hog are in the habit of visiting pools of water during the 
night, especially during hot weather, and they enjoy wallowing in the 
mud. In the hills I have frequently seen deep clay holes with the fresh 
traces where the animals have been rolling. They often rub the 
mud off against trees hard by. I believe this coating of mud is intended 
to resist the stings of winged insects. 

One day I was bird-shooting in company with a young friend ; we 
were beating some bush and grass jungle for quail. Presently the 
beaters between us roused a huge wild'-boar from his lair under a 
thorn bush. He was trotting off sulkily at a moderate pace, when, 
most foolishly, my companion saluted him with a charge of quail shot in 
the posterior. The teute stopped immediately, grunted angrily, and with 
gleaming eye, half faced rounds with a look as much as to say, ^ Just you 
do that again.' He looked so ugly, that I fully expected we were in 
a scrape and that he would charge. However, after a momentary halt, 
he again made off and disappeared. I devoted a few minutes to giving 
my companion a blowing up for his thoughtlessness. 

Sir Samuel Baker, when writing on the wild hog of Ceylon, tells us 
more than once that he has known the animal feast on the carcases 
of putrid elephants and other animals. Possibly the Singhalese wild 
hog is of a different species from the animal inhabiting our Indian 
peninsula. But my own experience has led mo to infer that the wild 



THE WILD BOAR. 155 

boar of NortLern India never eats flesh of any kind ; on the contrary, I 
believe wild hog as a rule to be remarkably clean feeders. A sports* 
man passing through the jungle, rifle in hand, in search of game, 
will invariably have a look at the carcase of a buffalo or bullock that 
he may come across, in the hope that one of the carnivora may have 
been the cause of the animal's end, and that he may profit thereby ; 
and a group of gorged vultures on the top of a tree, in an out-of-the- 
way part, will at once attract the attention of a hunter who knows what 
he is about, and very probably on wending his steps in the direction 
of the birds, he may come acroRS the carcase of a bullock, samber, 
or nylgai, with the deep tusk holes in the back of the neck, showing 
that murder has recently been committed. I have examined many 
scores, I might say hundreds, of such carcases, and have frequently 
found traces of various animals, but never once have I discovered the 
print of a wild hog's cloVen hoof in close proximity, much less recog- 
nised the mark of his teeth ; and I believe that our Bengal wild 
boar would scorn to feast on such-like carrion. However, errare 
humanum est, and I am open to correction if mistaken on this point ; 
and I must confess that one or two experienced sportsmen whom I have 
consulted, have expressed a different opinion from my own in this 
respect. Jerdon tells us that * wild pigs haVe been detected feeding on 
the carcase of a dead elephant, in Southern India.' 

American writers affirm that the peccary, a small and exceedingly 
fierce description of wild hog, readily devours snakes and other reptiles 
when he happens to come across them. On two different occasions I 
have been assured by the inhabitants of Bundelkund that the wild 
hog inhabiting their jungles will devour snakes, but I cannot vouch for 
the truth of this statement. I may mention here that Indian goats 
when out grazing are said to kill snakes with their feet) but this also 
requires confirmation^ 




TiiK Gehow or S.\»HRn. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

OEROW on SAMBKIt {Susa Angio/flii) 



Then stopp'd and sUnip'd impnlientlT, 
Then shoolj his head and antlere liigh. 
And then hU keen linms tncttn-ard threw 
l^pon his ehouJdera bhifld nnrf brown, 
And IhruHt hix muzzle in the air. 
Snuffed proudly. — JoAQlTK MlI.I.IJK. 



Dbscriptios. 
jreiffht. —Troia four and a hair to Hvo feet. 

Ej'/reme Length. — About six and three quarter feet. The largest of seren aUigt 
that I hare shot measured seven and a third feet in length. 

Horns. — Larfre nnd hravy, differing mtirh in shape and direi'gence. Thoae of the 



GEROW on SAMBEB, 157 

anioial Gguring at the head of the chapter measure three feet one inch in length round 
the curve ; there is one upper and one lower tine to each horn, and the former measures 
eleven inches, the latter thirteen inches in length. The horns in this ^mrticular head are 
very dark in colour, rough and knotted, very thick at base. It is not uncommon to see 
gerow horns with extra knobs or points, generally very short. In the head from which 
the measurements I have' given were taken, there is a short point, projecting from the 
left horn behind the junction of the upper tine and the main horn. 

Colour, — Very dark brown. 

Iletir, — Long and coarse, especially on the back of head and neck, where there is a 
regular thick bristly mane. The hair on the forehead of old males is very dark, almost 
curly, giving the animal quite a * bull ' appearance. 

Abdomen, — Much lighter ; the tail is rather long and tipped with black. 

Ears, — Very large and open, long white hair inside ; the powers of hearing are very 
acute. 

Eyes. — Large and full. 

Chett, — Very dark. 

The hind differs much, both in form and colour, from the stag ; her limbe are less 
massive and of lighter build. I should say she weighs fully one third less than the 
stag. Iler coat is of a lighter colour, more a yellow than a brown tint, especially when 
young. I need hardly add that the hind samber (like all the Oerndse, with the exception 
of the reindeer) is without horns. Shikaries say she has one young one only at a birth. 

The footprint, or ' slot,* of the stag ditters much from the hind : the former is broader 
and rounder at the tip ; and, naturally from his greater weight, the print is deeper. 

I observe an interesting distinction made in the Cet-vidte Family y in Jerdon*s ' Mammals 
of India.' The author of that work, when describing the ' Genus Rusa * (to which the 
Gerow or Samber belongs), says, * Canines in the upper jaw in both sexes * ; but, when 
speaking just before of the ' Genus Rucervus * (Hodgson), (which in aspect he says is in- 
termediate between Gervus and Rusa, and includes the noble swamp deer) he remarks, 
' Canines in the males only,'' 

I HAVE been puzzled whether to speak of the gerow and samber as one 
and the same animal, or as two distinct species of deer. I myself 
imagined till quite recently that the gerow of the hills and the samber 
of the plains were decidedly distinct species^ but as such well-known 
naturalists as Blyth, Jerdon, and others far better able to give an 
opinion than myself have decided to the contrary, I will treat them 
as of one species, merely commenting on them separately. 

I have often been perplexed to form an opinion as to the time of 
year that the stags drop their horns, for it seems to be very uncertain. 
1 have known a stag samber without horns, having dropped them early 
in March, and I have seen a stag still retaining his antlers in June, 
and what was most remarkable, on the latter occasion, there was a 
second stag in company with him, about the same size and age appar- 
ently, whose horns, about a foot long, were in velvet : there could be no 



158 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

mistake about this. I was in company with a friend at the time ; we 
were beating a deep gorge in the Lullatpore district, called the Tnpsooa 
Koh — which I may mention en passant was a favourite hiding-place 
during the Mutiny of 1857 for wandering bands of rebels, who, defeated 
and scattered over the country in every direction, took refuge amid the 
dense jungles and rocky ravines of Central India — we were in search of 
a tiger that had been seen that very morning ; the samber were driven 
towards us by the beaters, and stood quite unconscious of their danger 
within a few paces of where we were concealed, their whole attention 
taken up with the shouts of the advancing beat. 

Generally speaking the stags have all dropped their horns by the 
middle of May. Both horns do not invariably drop oflF at the same 
time. I have frequently seen stags with a single antler. By the first 
week in October the new horns are generally perfect, but here again 
there are exceptions, for I remember well, many years ago, during 
Christmas week, seeing a very fine stag samber shot., which, much to 
the disgust of the successful sportsman, had his horns in velvet ; this 
however was a most exceptional case, but as I said before, there appears 
to be no certainty on this point. 

The gerow, one of the largest and most noble in bearing among the 
deer tribe, though now-a-days from constant persecution much thinned 
in number in comparison with former years, is yet tolerably common 
throughout the middle and lower ranges of the Himalayas. It also 
occurs at considerable elevations. I have observed its foot-print at an 
altitude of 12,000 feet, and I have reason to believe that it occasionally 
wanders much higher, ascending the mountains by remote valleys to 
the very limits of forest bordering the snows. 

It is a particularly shy and wary animal, hiding during the day on 
the sides of hills covered with dense shady forest ; or lying concealed 
far down in the bed of some deep dry gloomy ravine, where patches of 
the ringall bamboo, thick ferns, and long grass grow abundantly. 

The Himalayan sportsman when abroad in search of game will 
constantly come across the fresh sliding footmark of the gerow, but, 
unless a skilled hunter and acquainted with the crafty habits of his 
quest, in vain he searches for the animal's lair. I have found a stag 
in an out-of-the-way part reclining under the shade of an oak in broad 
daylight, and that on tolerably open ground, but such luck does not 
often happen. 

It was not till my third expedition to the Himalayas that I 



GEROW on SAMBEB. 159 

succeeded in slaying a stag gerow, viz., in the autumn of 1868 ; but 
I then made amends for the ill-success of former years, for I shot four 
fine stags and a poor hind (the latter by mistake when standing in the 
thicket). One of these stags was a magnificent brute, and I cam^ 
across him quite by chance. 

Early in October 1868 I was returning south from Upper Gurhwal, 
where I had been hunting thar : and one morning made a very early 
start, as the march was a long one, for a place called Eamnee. 
Instead of following the road taken by the coolies carrying my baggage, 
I was in the habit of making a detour through the jungle picking up 
any game I came across, and reaching my camping-ground about mid* 
day, when the tent would be pitched and a late breakfast ready. On 
this occasion, I had obtained a guide who promised to show me some 
moonal pheasants, a gooral or two, and perhaps a musk deer. 

We made a start when it was yet dark, and commenced clambering 
up to the higher ground by a spur very steep and rocky on the one 
side, and covered with thick trees on a more gradual slope on the other. 
My two companions every now and then desired me to halt while they 
descended a short distance on the look-out for gooral (chamois), but 
nothing was seen. About an hour after starting, still following the 
same ridge upwards, I had made a momentary halt to recover breath, 
for it was hard work, when one of my mer gave a low * hist,' and held 
up his hand ; a dead silence followed, then we distinctly heard, far down 
below, something moving about among the dead oak leaves. It was 
impossible to catch a glimpse of the animal whatever it was on account 
of the density of the foliage. * Bhdloo ' (a bear) said the paharies, and 
I thought it very likely to be the case ; but how to get down was the 
diflSculty. The animal appeared to be directly below us ; but if we 
descended, which was no easy matter, just at the spot, by the face of 
the open slope, we certainly should be discovered ; so at length we 
determined to reti-ace our steps for a few hundred yards to where the 
descent was less steep. 

We got down without much difficulty and commenced carefully 
advancing up the gorge ; and presently, to my delight, on turning 
a corner, came right upon a fine old stag. He stood staring at us, 
offering a splendid chance. I was rather above him, and just as he 
turned round to make off, hit him behind the shoulder with a heavy 
bullet ; he stumbled forward, fell over, and while he was attempting 
to regain bis legs, my second shot dropped him dead. He was a noble 



i6o THE GAME OF BENGAL, 

brute ; I brought his stuffed head to England, and it figurefl at the 
opening of this chapter. 

The gerow has other enemies besides man ; tigers not unfreqnentlj 
come up the hill valleys from the Terai, and constantly pull down 
the big deer, especially the hinds. Leopards are numerous and often 
kill the young ; but perhaps the worst foes of all are packs of wild dogs. 
If a ravenous troop of these animals once take up the track of a gerow, 
or any other deer in fact, his fate is nearly always sealed, for they 
hardly ever give up the chase till they have run the animal down and 
torn him to pieces. The hillmen have told me that the gerow, when 
hard pressed, generally makes for a pool or a river, and standing up to 
his knees in water, comes to bay, and attempts with his horns to keep 
his enemies at a distance ; but all in vain, for in the end the dogs tire 
him out, pull him down, and Speedily devour him. 

Like all deer, gerow are very fond of salt ; the hillmen, aware of 
this, put salt on flat stones in certain places frequented by the animals ; 
if they find the salt licked off, they lie up close by on the following night, 
and generally get a shot, for the gerow will be almost certain to return 
after dark. The paharies also catch these deer in nooses set on the 
borders of their fields ; and after a heavy fall of snow sally out in snow- 
shoes, and with packs of dogs slaughter the unfortunate animals as 
they flounder about helplessly in the snow. 

The alarm note of the animal is a very deep, loud kind of bellow, which 
may be heard a long distance. I jremember once my camp was pitched 
above a village called Elanee, near a deserted old cattle-shed. One 
very still morning, my bearer came into my tent before daylight to call 
me, and stioick a match ; immediately he did so, there was a tremendous 
bellow close to the back of the tent, which brought me out of bed in no 
time : hurrying on a pair of slippers and taking up my rifle, which lay 
ready loaded, I slipped out. There was a second still louder call, not 
twenty yards off, but I could see nothing, though I could hear the 
sound of the animals' feet. Unfortunately they (for there were two) 
were on the slope of a hill facing me ; the moon was behind the hill, 
and consequently just the part of the cover where the gerow were 
standing was in the deep shade, and it was in vain I strained my eyes 
into the darkness. Shortly after I heard the clattering of their feet 
as they made off. I believe they had come in search of salt, which is 
always spilt about more or less near these places where goats and sheep 
are kept; and were unaware — for my tent had been only pitched 



GEROW OB SAMBEB. i6i 

there the previous night — of human beings being in the neighbourhood 
till they heard the sound of the match being struck on the box. 

I have said that one of the -worst enemies to the gerow is the wild 
dog, and that he seldom escapes, when once a pack of these ravenous 
brutes is on his trail. I will conclude my remarks on this animal by 
relating an anecdote which may interest the reader, of a stag gerow, 
which I believe had been pursued and made his escape from wild dogs. 

It was early in the montii of October ; I was hunting thar on a 
range of mountains just below the snows, in a very out-of-the-way 
part of Gurhwal. One day, in company with two paharies, I had 
ascended by a valley some likely hills for the wild goats we were in 
search of. On coming over the brow of a hill, overlooking a vast 
extent of country below, we sat down to rest ourselves, and also to scan 
narrowly the surrounding ranges and crags. I was occupied eating a 
stalk of crisp wild rhubarb, which one of my men had peeled for me — 
and mighty refreshing it is, after the fatigue of climbing a steep hill 
side — when suddenly one of my companions, a very sharp-eyed young 
fellow named Gopal, pointed out for my inspection, a certain brown 
object far down below us, quite a mile off. After a long look through the 
glasses, I distinctly made out an animal of some kind. Now came the 
puzzle, what could the creature be ? It was not a thar, male or female ; 
it was of too large a size; nor was it a burhel, for the same reason; 
moreover the coat was too dark for the latter. Could it be a surrow ? 
(a large kind of goat antelope). No, that would not do. We decided 
to descend lower and have a closer inspection. There was an opportune 
spur running down from the mountain we were on, and by following 
it we could reach a spot overlooking the place where the animal was 
' reclining under the shade of a thick bush. 

We descended XJarefully for several hundred yards on the side of 
the ridge farthest from the game, and then once more cautiously 
peeped over, and, to our astonishment, at once made out the creature 
to be a gerow stag, for his sweeping horns were now discernible. But 
what had brought this inhabitant of the forest into such an unlikely 
spot, far out in the bare grouncj, above the jungle, puzzled us immensely. 
By descending still farther, about 300 yards, we reached a favourable 
position for a shot. He was across the valley on the opposite slope, 
about 120 yards oflf. I sat down, took a careful aim and fired. The 
stag reared up and fell over ; my men rushed forward. Slowly, to my 
disgust^ the huge beast began to roll and slide down the hill side. I 



i62 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

shouted to the men to be quick and seize hold of him ; but they had to 
perform a considerable circuit to arrive at the place. By the time they 
had reached the spot it was all too late ; the dead animal had revolved 
four or five times ; in vain they attempted to stay the lifeless body ; 
down it went, each second turning quicker and quicker and gaining 
fresh impetus, till I saw it bounding and rolling far below and, at last, 
with a loud crash it fell among the rocks and stones in the bed of the 
mountain torrent, fully 400 feet beneath us. 

My men reached the spot with some difficulty, and shouted up to 
me that both horns were broken oflF, at which piece^ of bad news I 
was not the least sm'prised. Only three months before, within twenty 
miles of Mussoorie, a similar contretemps had happened, when, as on 
this occasion, a stag gerow on receiving its death wound, had rolled 
down a khud, and smashed both antlers ofiP. On descending to have a 
look at the beast, we could not help noticing that the carcase, irre- 
spective of the injuries it had recently sustained by such a disastrous 
fall, was splashed and stained with mud, the feet were cut, and the 
skin torn, with here and there dry blood marks, and the whole appear- 
ance of the poor brute evinced that he had been lately through some 
great exertion and fatigue : a hunted wanderer on the wild. My men 
declared that this stag had quite recently been pursued by a pack of 
wild dogs, which I believe to have been the case. 

I will now oflFer a few remarks on the samber of the plains, an 
animal which, as I have already mentioned, so closely resembles the 
gerow of the hills, that Blyth, Jerdon, and other naturalists have pro- 
nounced them to be of one and the same species. I have hunted the 
samber in Rewah, Saugor, Jhansie, Gwalior, and LuUutpore ; also- many 
years ago on the banks of the Soane, and have found little diflFerence to 
speak of between specimens from these districts. But, on the other hand, 
many observers have pointed out a distinction in one or two points 
between these animals of Central India and the gerow found on the 
upper ranges of the Himalayas ; for instance, the latter animal is said 
at certain times of the year to have a darker coat and longer hair than 
the samber ever has, and 1 believe that this is quite true ; and again, 
the gerow is said to have antlers of a size and thickness never seen in 
the plains ; and I must say that this is also my experience. Perhaps, 
after all, the gentlemen I have named are right in coming to the 
conclusion that there is not sufficient distinction between the two to 
warrant their being classed separately. 



OEBOW OB S AMBER. ^ 163 

The samber of the plains, from being constantly pursued, have of late 
years become quite as scarce and diflScult to find as the gerow in the 
hills. Jerdon when alluding to the number of samber found in a herd, 
says, * being often found in herds, varying from four or five to twenty 
and upwards.' I am afraid, however, that now-a-days, in the Bengal 
Presidency at any rate, such a glorious sight as a herd of twenty samber 
is a very rare occurrence. Speaking from my own experience I have 
never seen more than eight together, and more generally I believe the 
animals associate in parties of four or five. In parts of the Central 
Provinces and Bundelkund, the usual manner of hunting the animal 
is to take the field with some thirty or forty beaters (more or less, 
according to the extent of the country), and drive the forest. The 
guns are posted in advance, sometimes as far as half a mile, and at such 
distances apart that an animal driven forward by the beaters cannot 
pass through without running the gauntlet, or in other words, passing 
within sight and range of one sportsman at least. If the jangle is 
thick, the guns have to be posted close to cover the ground, if the 
contrary the line is more extended. 

In Lullutpore, where I saw much of this ^ hanking ' as the sport is 
called, each beat had a name. The positions for the sportsmen were 
well known; and probably, the same beaters had been assembled 
year after year, whenever the Sahibs paid a visit to the districts ; 
so that no * arranging ' (or making a * bundo-bust ' as the expression 
in Hindustani goes) was necessary; for each beater knew well the 
direction he should take, and no mistakes were made. I have stood at 
a position, behind some old tree, thick bush, or perhaps a rock, from 
whence, in years gone by, scores and scores of samber and other big 
game have been rolled over by sportsmen's bullets. As can 'easily be 
imagined, a jungle constantly driven in this manner soon becomes 
devoid of game, and twice in a year should be the limit ; even then the 
animals often are too wary to fall into the snare, and knowing from 
former experience that, in spite of the noise behind, the danger really 
lies in front, break back through the beatei*s. An old stag, if in com- 
pany with one or more hinds, as is not unfrequently the case, is 
particularly cunning ; instead of showing the way, he often craftily 
remains in the rear, allowing his better half, an old hind, to precede him, 
even urging her to the front with his horns. With his antlers laid 
back on his shoulders, to prevent them striking against boughs and 
sticks, he pushes his way through the densest thicket or where he 

M 2 



1 64 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

imagines the danger to be least. I have known a stag come within 
a few yards of nij post without being seen or heard ; and then, 
just as the beaters are emerging from the jungle, and you are patting 
your rifle at half-cock, a crash close at hand followed by a shout 
from the coolies vainly attempting to turn the beast back towards you^ 
announces that a samber has made his escape through the line. 

I remember, in the month of March 4870, shooting a rather good 
stag on the banks of the Scinde river, near a place I have often men- 
tioned, called Aumola, the account of which is, perhaps, worth relating. 
Nearly opposite to a bungalow at the above-named spot, high up on 
the top of a cliflF, overlooking the Scinde, are the remains of an old 
fort, which many years ago is said to have been held by a gang of 
Mahratta freebooters. At the back of this ancient stronghold there is 
a high wall, loop-holed all round, enclosing a large patch of ground, 
perhaps ten or twelve acres in extent ; which was, at the time I 
am speaking of, covered with very thick high grass, bushes, and scrub. 
To my astonishment I was informed by a sporting Thakoor in the 
neighbourhood, whose acquaintance I had made the year previously, 
that this enclosed piece of jungle was a favourite resort of samber, 
and that if I was agreeable he would assemble twenty or thirty men, 
and beat the patch out. I readily assented ; and early the following 
morning my native friend made his appearance armed with a long 
matchlock. 

We clambered up to the deserted old fort by a flight of steps which 
led from an old gateway down to the river, and then held a whispered 
consultation as to our plans. There were two or three breaches or 
gaps in the wall, encircling the patch we were about to beat. The 
Thakoor placed me in an old tree overlooking one of these gaps, while 
he himself went round to marshal the beaters. The drive commenced, 
and within a minute after the usual shouts and yells began, a clatter- 
ing of feet made me draw back the hammers of my rifle, in readiness 
foj a shot ; and presently out came a herd of noble samber. An 
old hind, with a half-grown young one close behind, led the way, with 
her ears pricked up, then a young stag with short horns, followed by 
two more hinds. They came trotting along at an easy pace, directly 
towards the very spot where I was hidden. I was sitting on a bough 
almost over the gap; and the animals, quite unconscious of danger, 
passed close below me. The old hind had already cleared at one bound 
the low breach, and I was just preparing to fire at the young stag. 



QEBOW OR SAME EH. 165 

when a native, perched by my side, pulled my sleeve, and on looking 
round I saw a much finer one with a good pair of horns, ungallantly 
bringing up the rear, and coming towards us. I let him advance till 
almost below me, and then a ball from my rifle struck him fairly be- 
hind the ear, killing him instantaneously. I must confess that I was 
much surprised to find so fine a herd of deer in such an unlikely spot. 

Driving the jungle, or hanking, is an exciting sport ; but I myself 
infinitely prefer a quiet stalk after samber at daybreak or eventide, with 
a single attendant, to turning out with an army of beaters. 

Like wild hog and other inhabitants of the forest, the samber, in 
hot sultry weather, delights to roll in water, and I have seen trees 
plastered with mud by them. They are also in the habit of rubbing 
their horns against the trunks. I have frequently noticed young 
saplings with the bark stripped oflF from this cause. 

The samber has been called * Elk ' by Ceylon sportsmen, but I need 
hardly say that this is a mistake, for the true elk of Sweden, Siberia, 
and other countries is the cervus alcesy the moose of North America. 

The latter animal has been described as * displaying courage and even 
ferocity when attacked ; ' a samber, so far as I am aware, though he 
will, when pressed by dogs, use his antlers to defend himself, will never 
attack, or, even when wounded, face a human being. 

I need hardly mention that it is unsportsmanlike— a crime in fact — to 
slay a stag without horns, or with antlers in velvet. The month of 
October is about the best time of year for the sport. 

The hunter who wishes to succeed in obtaining the trophies from 
a noble stag must above all things be an early riser; and should 
make a point of starting for the forest or hillside at the first sign of 
daylight. It is then that the sportsman comes across the stag brows- 
ing on the edge of the wood, or meets an old bear returning to his 
den after his nightly rounds in search of food. A few hours later, 
however, the hunter will only find numerous traces of the object of 
his search, the fresh foot-print, and the young shoots cut ofif whtre 
Busa Aristotelis had been feeding. Now he is lying down in perfect 
security, in the midst of the densest jungle, wliere nothing can 
approach him without being detected. The bear that at dawn was 
making for his lair, is now curled up and sound asleep. In fact, the 
lazy sportsman, who arrives late on his ground, will not view one- 
fourth the number of the inhabitants of the forest that he would 
have done had he been up before the sun. 



1 66 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

Always carry your own rifle. This is another most important rule, 
which few adhere to, especially in the hill ranges, where the hunter, in 
following large game, has continually to &ce and scale very steep 
crags and slopes, and consequently is liable to become fatigued, and 
to feel the weight of a rifle on his shoulder. Speaking for myself, 
though by no means a strong man, I am not joking when I assert 
that I can walk better with a gun on my shoulder than without one ; 
and the sportsman in the hills should accustom himself, whenever he 
leaves his tent for a range through the forest, invariably to carry his 
own weapon, and not to trust it to an attendant ; for however expert 
the latter may be in placing a rifle in his master's hands, opportunities 
of taking a shot will frequently be lost ; and just as the hunter obtains 
a grip of his weapon, the animal — often the very creature the sports- 
man has toiled unsuccessfully to find all day — bounds away before 
there is time to fire. I firmly believe I am not exaggerating when I 
say that the stalker who trusts his rifle to a native to carry for him, 
instead of shouldering it himself, loses fully one- third of his shots. 

Again, how few of us Englishmen can walk as a hunter should ; 
it seems natural for us to tread heavily, and many start for a ramble 
through the forest in search of game, wearing a pair of thick creak* 
ing iron-shod English boots, instead of soft samber leather -shoes. 
How is it possible to walk with the former over rough stony ground 
without being heard by creatures like the gerow, for instance — an 
animal constantly in the habit of being stalked by his natural four- 
foeted enemies, such as leopards with paws of velvet, who creep up 
to their prey without rustling a leaf or making the slightest noise 
of any kind, and even then often fail? Hill-men seldom wear shoes, 
and, with the exception of. a * dhotie ' or waist-cloth, are little encum- 
bered with clothing. This is a great advantage to them ; but the care- 
ful though unhesitating way in which they tread, avoiding alike brittle 
stick, loose stone, and crackling leaf; the wonderful skill with which 
one of these wild men of the woods will, stooping, pass under a miass 
of overhanging thorns and brambles, hardly disturbing a twig, should 
be witnessed to be appreciated. The * white face,' his companion, on 
attempting a similar manoeuvre, is caught hopelessly in half-a-dozen 
places. 

When out * still hunting' — that most appropriate and expressive 
American term for the hunter in the thick forest — the pace should be 
always slow. However accustomed a man's eye may be to take in 



GEROW OB SAMBEJi, 167 

everything within range, it is quite impossible that he can examine 
properly every patch of scrub and tangled thickefc when walking 
quickly. Every Indian sportsman knows what an exceedingly difficult 
thing it is to see a spotted deer when standing perfectly still in the 
thicket probably watching his approach all the time. In the middle 
of a clump of overhanging bushes, the animal is almost undistinguish- 
able to any but a practised eye ; and it takes time and care to detect 
creatures in their native haunts, furnished as they are by Nature for 
concealment and protection with coats exactly similar in shade and 
colour to the objects around them. 

When passing through thick cover, pause every now and then for a 
moment or two, and make the best use of your ears. A crackling 
branch in an oak forest in the hills has before now betiuyed an old bear 
eating the acorns ; and the finest gerow stag I ever shot first drew 
my attention by the sound of his foot-fall among the dead leaves in 
a ravine far below. Stoop down when passing heavy clumps of over- 
hanging shrubs and bushes, and look well underneath ; by so doing 
you will often be able to make out the legs of more than one deer 
standing motionless. 

When on the look-out for big game, there should be no talking 
between yourself and attendants. If it becomes necessary to address 
one of your companions, always speak in a low tone. Much can be 
done by signs with the hands, which is preferable to using the voice. 
If by chance you get separated from your comrade 'in the covert, 
and wish to know where he is, a low whistle should act for * where 
are you ? ' and a return whistle gives the desired information without 
having disturbed the ground in front. Make yourself thoroughly ac- 
quainted with spooring, and never be above acquiring information 
on the subject from natives capable of instructing you. You should be 
acquainted with the foot-print of every animal in the jungle, and be 
able to form an opinion how long it is since the creature passed 
by, whether it was walking at the time, or going at speed. Be familiar 
with the various cries and calls of the inhabitiints of the forest ; and 
be able to distinguish and recognise their alarm notes, such as the bark 
of the kakur, the hiss of the gooi:al, or the shrill whistle of the thar, 
or burhel. 

Even the cries of birds frequently a£Pord useful information 5 wild 
animals know how to profit by such tokens, and so should human 
beings. On a summer's evening at home the ^ twit-twit-twit ' of an 



1 68 THE OAME OF BENGAL. 

old blackbird, the harsh alarm note of the jay, or the impatient 
monotonoas call of the white-throat, has the effect of immediately 
dispersing a group of ^ bunnies.' Just before they were peaceably en- 
gaged cropping the turf; now they scuttle off to their burrows, fully 
aware, by the warning notes of their feathered friends, that danger is 
near ; perhaps from a biped armed with a g^n, or a prowling fox or cat* 
It is the same with large animals. I have lost my shot more than 
once at deer through the irritating screech of a plover, named the 
* Did- he-do-it ' from its cry. Once when stalking bnrhel in Thibet, 
three snow pheasants rose in front of me and uttering their shrill 
alarm cries spoilt my chance of a shot. A querking marmot, on another 
occasion, put an old ovis ammon on the qui vivcj so that I was imable 
to approach within shot. 

Peafowl make a peculiar clucking note when a tiger or leopard is 
on the move. By unremitting perseverance and attention the young 
sportsman will soon become familiar with the ways and habits of 
wild animals, and their various cries and modes of communicating with 
and warning one another. 

Finally, always make a practice of reloading before moving a step, 
whether successful or not ; and make it your wont invariably to walk 
up to the spot where the object you fired at was standing or passing, 
even when convinced that your bullet has missed the mark. I have 
often taken a shot at an animal, and imagined that I had missed 
clean ; but on reaching the place, and examining the ground, a patch 
of fur or hair or a drop of blood has told a different tale. 

I have dwelt longer than I intended, with the risk of wearying the 
reader, on the interesting subject of woodcraft. My observations, 
however, have been offered in the hope that they may be of some 
practical use to the young sportsman, and this must be my excuse. 




Tub Swamp Dbsb. 



CHAPTER XVn. 



THE SWAMP-DEER OR GHOND (BlRA-BiBoax). 
(KuMTVuf DiBOHeMii.} 



'And when he atandeth still he rtretcbeth fanh hia proud amhitioua neck, as if be 
ant to wound the flrmoment with forked horns.' — Siukspbare. 



Descriptton op Male. 

Height. — Rather less than the Mmber ; about 4 feet, a few inches more or 1ms. 

Zm^A.— From to 6} feet. 

CdUiar. — Ldgbt brown ; in «ome almost jellow ; abdomen lighter. 

Hair. — Not so coarse and rough as that of the somber. 

Ear*. — Open and rounded. 

Eye*. — La^e and fuU. 

JTbnu.— Not so dark, rougb, and knotted as tbe samber's, nor is the span across the 
tips so great. There are numerous points in a cluster on the upper part of tbe horns, 
which curre much forwatd. The lower tines point straight to the boot, and join tbe 



lyo THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

main horn at the root, as in the samber. This lower or basal tine is from 10 to 13 
inches long, and the horns are generally under 3 feet in length. In a full-grown stag 
there are often ten or twelve points, irregular as to length and size. I have one head 
with fourteen points. 

The female is smaller, but does not differ so much in size and proportion as the stag 
samber does from the hind, I have seen hinds of a very light colour. 

• 

I FiBST met with this fine aDimal in Assam, where it is very plentiful 
in some parts. We used to beat them out of heavy swamps with the 
aid of a line of elephants, and shoot them from howdahs. The ghond 
is often put up in very wet marshy ground, several inches deep in 
water. I have seen them in the Bhootan jungles, always in grass or 
reeds bordering on patches of water ; also in Philibeet, where, how- 
ever, from continued persecution, the animal is now rare. It formerly 
was common in the grassy islands of the Sardah. 

I once saw a most magnificent stag, early one morning, on the 
edge of a swamp bordering Nepaul. I have never met with this 
animal in Central India, though I have been shown heads of the swamp 
deer shot by sportsmen in that part of the country, diflfering little if 
at all from those I had myself procured in Assam. It is a remarkable 
fact that although the samber, an animal much resembling the swamp- 
deer in general appearance and habits (and often frequenting the same 
cover near the foot of the Himalayas), ascends the mountains to great 
elevations ; yet the latter, so far as my experience goes, seldom if ever 
wanders upwards from its natural habitat amid the swamps and 
thick grass jungles of the Terai, or inhabits the forest-covered slopes of 
even the lowest ranges of hills. 

I am not acquainted with a single instance of the bara-singha — as 
the swamp-deer is generally termed by sportsmen and natives — Shaving 
been shot in the interior of the Himalayas. 

ITie swamp- deer associates in much larger herds than the samber 
ever does. It is nothing uncommon, in out-of-the-way parts of Assam, to 
come across large herds of these noble deer, numbering thirty and forty 
individuals in a troop. I have never personally witnessed so glorious a 
sight, but mention the fact of swamp-deer congregating in vast herds, 
on the authority of a well-known sportsman and resident of Assam, and 
I observe that Jerdon also mentions tha^t they are very gregarious. 



THE OHEETUL, OB SPOTTED DEER. 171 



CHAPTER XVni. 
THE CIIEETUL, OR SPOTTED DEER (Axis maculatus). 



' And a deer came down the pathway, 
Flecked with leafy light and shadow.* — Lon6FELLOW. 



Description. 



In size and general figure much resembles our own fallow deer {Cervus damn). The 
horns, however, of the cheetul terminate in sharp points ; whereas those of the fallow deer 
are palmated and curve much forward. 

Colour, — A rich glossy red, beautifully spotted over with white on the back and sides ; 
many of these spots are of an elongated shape. A white line runs lengthways down each 
side of the body. The abdomen, the chin, and half-way down the throat, and beneath the 
tail, white. A dark brown streak down the middle of the back. No considerable difference 
in the size and appearance of the sexes, except that the female has no horns. But old 
stags are generally more stoutly framed and rather darker than the hinds, especially about 
the upper part of the neck and back of head, at which part they often become grizzled 
white with age. Ears, very dark brown externally, pinkish white inside ; muzzle nearly 
black. 

Horns. — Thin, long, and smooth in comparison with those of the samber, swamp deer, 
and other stags. They show great variety in shape, length, and curve. 

The cheetul is nearly always found in herds. I have met with a 
herd of over forty at one time, stags and hinds mixed ; and Jerdon 
tells us of having seen over a hundred together at the foot of the 
Neilgherries. In certain localities it is very •common, living on the 
banks of rivers, or islands covered with bushes and grass ; also in 
glades in the forest, but never far from water. It often frequents, 
especially in the hot season, the very spots likely to hold tigers. On 
the banks of the Betwah, Chumbul, Jamin, Scinde, Desan, and other 
rivers of Bundelkund and Gwalior, cheetul were once very numerous ; 
but, like other big game, they are now not nearly so plentiful as in 
former years. The call of the cheetul is a short, sharp kind of bark. 



172 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

easily distinguishable from that of any other inhabitant of the jangle. 
When encamped in the forest at night, the sportsman will hear this 
call on every side. It is also the alarm note of the animal. 

I remember onqe, when howdah-shooting, just before sunset, in 
company with my brother-in-law in the Civil Service, our attention was 
attracted by hearing several spotted deer calling loudly close to us. 
On pressing the elephants forward, two cheetul came bounding towards 
us, but I did not fire, as I was certain that some beast was pursuing 
them, and sure enough the next moment an elephant on my right 
trumpeted and swung round. We turned in that direction, and 
presently saw a leopard stealing along. On hearing us approach, 
he crouched down till I could only see his head and the line of his 
back. I fired low for the shoulder, but through the smoke hanging 
around me could not see what the result was. The man behind 
me in the howdah and tbe mahout declared that the brute rolled 
over; but natives are rather too fond of shouting out *Lugga!' or 
* Hit!' at their master's shots ; at any rate, there was no blood to be 
found, and although we hunted through every patch of grass in the 
vicinity, nothing was to be seen of the leopard. What I wish to 
show by this anecdote is, that the call of the cheetul is used by the 
creature when frightened, and probably to warn others to be on their 
guard. 

I have already remarked on the great difiiculty of discovering the 
spotted deer when standing perfectly motionless in a clump of over- 
hanging bushes. I have often carefully scrutinised one of these 
clumps, and decided in my own mind that no living creature was 
therein concealed, till a crash close by, and a clatter of feet and 
bobbing away of white tails on the side farthest away, has disclosed the 
fact that not one animal, but several, had escaped my notice. The 
cunning creatures on these occasions stand perfectly still, until, with 
one sudden dash, they make ofi*. 

The early morning is the time to stalk cheetul. Curiously enough, I 
never once remember seeing spotted deer in the Assam or Bhootan 
jungles, nor in the neighbourhood of Dacca, Cachar, Sylhet, or the 
forests below the Cossyah hills. At any rate, they were extremely rare, 
if they existed in the provinces I have named, although the jungles were 
in many parts exactly similar to those of Bohilkund and Central India, 
which abound with cheetul. 

The first cheetul I ever shot was at Chukkyah, near Chunar, many 



THE GEEETUL, OB SPOTTED DEER. 173 

» 

years ago, when stationed at Benares. The Bajah had a 'nimnah* or 
preserve at the above-named place full of game, and occasionally the 
ofiScers of the garrison were invited to shoot. 

The cheetul is very easily tamed, and when full-grown there can 
hardly be a more beautiful creature than a stag. We had a very 
handsome one belonging to the band of a European regiment I was 
attached to, which always appeared on parade, and led the way on the 
line of march. If I remember rightly, this animal accompanied us 
down to Calcutta when we were ordered to China, and was stolen, much 
to the disgust of the men, just before we embarked. 

The creatures are mischievous pets when allowed to roam about. 
I remember one devouring half a towel. The same animal would also 
eat paper. 

The cheetul never, I believe, leaves cover for the open country, 
except at night to consume the crops of the villagers ; so that greyhounds 
have no chance of coursing it. Even, however, in open country I 
much doubt if the fastest dogs could come up with a full-grown 
unwounded stag. They are often shot from howdahs, and it re- 
quires practice to roll one over handsomely when bounding through 
grass, catching a glimpse of him only now and then. In my opinion, 
however, it is a much easier shot than a hog-deer under similar circum- 
stances. In the Philibeet district, on the banks of the Sardah, I have 
several times, in company with another sportsman, brought home four 
or five stags strapped on to a pad elephant in one morning's sport. 
Jerdon and also one or two other writers say that there are two distinct 
species of spotted deer, and give reasons for that opinion. I regret 
that I have not suflSciently observed specimens, shot in various parts, 
to be able to judge or decide on this interesting subject. Unlike 
the antilopinoBj the cheetul does not leave its droppings in one par- 
ticular spot, but scattered about in the manner of goats. 

The hide of this animal, when properly preserved, is the most beau- 
tiful of all deer skins, and makes, when mounted, a handsome door-mat. 



174 TEE GAME OF BENGAL. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

THE I'ARAH OR HOG DEER {Axis porcinus). 



' Where the deer rustle through 
The twining brake/ — Thomsox. 



Dbscrtptiow. 

Edireme Length, — About 4J feet. 

Jleif/ht.— From 2J to 2J feet. 

Ilotms. — Somewhat similar in shape, and with the same number of points as those of 
the cheetul, but much shorter, hardly ever exceeding 18 inches, I believe. 

Tftil, — Rather long. 

Colour. — Like many others of the family Cermda^ the coat of the hog deer varies much 
in shade at different Ibasons of the year. In winter, when the hair grows long, those 
that I have examined have been of one uniform glossy tint of deep yellowish or olive 
brown, slightly darker down the back. In the hot-weather months, when the animal has 
dropped its long coat, it lias altogether a lighter appearance : the face and front of legs are 
darker in tint ; hoofs, black ; under parts of body, inside the thighs, and under the tail, 
wliite. Like the swamp deer, the young of the parah are distinctly spotted with white ; 
but as the animal reaches its full growth the spots appear to fade, if not altogether to 
disappear, and in old specimens I have searched in vain for the white markings. 

The sexes much resemble one another in size and general appearance, so much so that 
when the male has dropped his horns they are undistinguishable even at a very short 
distance. 

The parah altogether lacks the remarkable beauty and grace of the cheetul, canying 
its head low, and dinng through the grass like a pig ; hence its title of ' hog deer.' 

The Hog Deer is exceedingly common in many parts of our Northern 
Indian Provinces, and, I am also told, in Sind, generally frequenting 
long grass and reeds on the edges of swamps and rivers ; it is oft^n 
found also in tliin forests, where there is grass under the trees. Sandy 
islands in large rivers, when covered with grass, are also fiivourite 
places for parah, or amongst * Jhow,' a kind of bastard cypress. 

It is generally found singly or in pairs, and is usually shot from 
hbwdahs. The animal often jumps up in the grass under the yerj 



1^ 



THE PAR AH OB HOG DEER. . 17s 

feet of the elephant, and rushes oflF. It carries its head low, and has a 
habit of stopping very abruptly, thus causing many a miss. There is 
no animal, probably, at which so many ball cartridges are fruitlessly 
expended as the hog deer. In my opinion, when the grass is so 
high as to screen it as it makes o£P, and the sportsman is compelled 
to fire where he supposes the animal to be, it is the most diflScult of 
all rifle shooting. I have not the slightest doubt that many more 
parah might be killed if buck shot or slugs were used, instead of a single 
ball ; but during my service I never yet met with nor heard of a single 
Indian sportsman who resorted to such a bad practice. Animals, 
when struck with spinning bullets, escape only too often to die a 
lingering death, but many more do so in countries where the missiles 
I have above named are used, and I suspect buck shot is only adopted 
by those who cannot depend on their shooting with ball. 

When exposed to view in the open, the parah is easy enough to 
hit with ball, but in thick grass it is another matter. It requires very 
great practice ; and I can only recall to mind two, among many scores 
of hunters with whom I have been out, real proficients at the sport. 
One was an Assam tea-planter, and the other a police-officer in our 
Worth- Western Provinces. • 

A common double-barrelled gun is a capital weapon for the sport. 
Eemember always to aim low and well in advance of the moving grass, 
if you wish to stop * Axis porcinus ' as he rushes post. I shall never 

I forget, when a * griffin,' my first introduction to this animal ; it was 
also my first attempt at howdafi shooting. In the month of December 
1866^ in company with G s of my regiment, we went out in search 

of deer and buflFalo, in a jungle near Gowhatty in Assam. We had 
hardly entered the first patch of cover when up jumped a parah, and, 
as usual, the grass moving showed his whereabouts as he made o£P. I 
fired twice ; there was no further stir in the grass, and I was congratu- 
lating myself on such a good beginning, when on approaching the spot, 
the animal made ofi^ as before. This time T emptied another double 

gun, and G s on my left also poured in a broadside from his howdah, 

and we were both perfectly satisfied that, at any rate, the creature was 
now dead enough. The mahout below me, who probably had been out 
often before, to my astonishment muttered, * Nahin lugga. Sahib,' or 
* Not hit. Sir.' I was in the act of wrathfuUy rebuking him for hinting 
at such a thing, when once more the hog deer sprang up close to us. 
This time, however, he exposed himself to view, and was struck through 



176 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

the back ; but which of us made the lucky hit it was impossible to saj, 
for the two shots were fired almost simultaneously. I distinguished 
myself later on the same day by shooting through the head, at the first 
shot, a huge bufPalo — the very first wild one I ever saw. 

So similar is the parah to the wild hog in general colour, and in its 
way of carrying the head low as it darts rapidly oflF, that often when 
the animal has been partially concealed by the grass I have been 
puzzled for the nioment to decide which of the two creatures was before 
me. Jerdon tells us * that the hog deer is rarely found in Central India,' 
speaking in comparison with other districts. I have shot over a great 
portion of Central India, but have never come across the animal. 

I remember, when crossing a range of the Cossyah hills in our Eastern 
Frontier, viewing a parah on the road in front of me ; he had come up 
one valley and was about to descend another. This was remarkable, 
because in that part of the country a traveller or sportsman may ride 
or walk — search far and near for days together — without catching a 
glimpse of a quadruped of any kind. Even birds are very scarce indeed 
on those flat-topped Cossyah ranges. 

The best time of year to shoot parah is towards the end of February. 
In the Terai and other forests, the old dry grass having by that time 
been burnt, only patches of cover are left here and there, and in these 
clumps the hog deer take refuge. The sportsman with a single 
elephant can with little difiSculty drive them out, and get capital shots 
as they run across the open. - 1 shot a fine male parah one day in the 
Philibeet district, apparently in excellent health and condition. The 
animal's skin, to all outward semblance, was in good order; but on 
removing it, to my astonishment, the body underneath was one mass 
of living maggots, and when the hide had been stretched and dried, it 
had th^ appearance of having been riddled with a charge of shot; 
what the cause could have been of the animal being in such a fearful 
state, I am at a loss to say. 



THE KAKUU, MUNTJAC, OR BARKING DEER, 177 



CHAPTER XX. 

THE KAKUR, MUNTJAC, RIB-FACED, OR BARKING DEER. 

(jCervulua aureus,) 



' Thy graceful gait bore off at once my heart/ — Bybon. 

*- — 

Description. 

Eleprant in form. 

Height, — A little over 2 feet 

Extrenw Length,-^ feet^ a few inches more or less. 

Horns, — From the top of the head a pair of curious stalks, about 3 inches in length, 
covered with thick bristly red hair, project in a line with the frontal bone. From the 
top of these stalks the antler commences, and just above the point of junction there is a 
very short branchlet projecting diagonally forward an inch, sometimes less, in length. 
Above this the horns, rising from 3 to 4 inches more, and gradually diverging, make a 
graceful arch, or rather hook, inwards, turning towards each other ; but at the same time 
the points curve backwards ; the tips about 3 inches apart. 

Colour, — A beautiful bright glossy red, or chestnut, inclining. to golden yellow about 
the neck. Inside of the legs, and under parts of chin and tail, white. 

Ears, — Moderate size, erect. 

Eyes, — Small. 

Tail, — liather long in proportion to size of animal. I observe that certain writers 
mention among the characteristics of genus Cervulus ' tail rather short j ' but I think this 
is an error. 

The females are very similar to the males, but have no horns. There is a kind of 
knob, however, in that part of the head where the horns of the male are situated, and 
often the coat of the former is of a lighter tint than that of the latter. 

It obtains its name of * rib face ' from two peculiar dark folds running down the middle 
of the face, giving it an ugly appearance. The nose is pointed, the tongue long, and 
limbs rather short and slender. The feet very small and pointed. The body rather thick 
and compact ; no sign of dark stripe down the back. 

This pretty little animal still abounds all over the lower ranges of 
the Himalayas eastward to Darjeeling,* Sikkim, Bliootan, Sylhet, 
and Cachar. It is also found in certain hill ranges of the Central 



.78 



THE GAME OF BENGAL 



Provinces, I once 8:iw three brought in by a slicRiting-ptirty at Ni^ 
gode. Jerdoii saya • tlie rib-faced deer is found in all tJie tbick jniigles 
and forests of India ; ' but my experience does not coiueide witb his, 
for I have atddoui met with the unimal in the forests of Bengal or away 
from the foot of the Himalayas. I never met wjtli it, nor do I believe 
it is ever found, in the Jbunsie or Lnllutpore djstriute, nor have I 
ever heard of it in any ]»art of Gwalior. In luy numerous expe- 
ditious to our glorious hills, stalking the little kakur has been i 
of uiy fiivonrit* amusements, and a goodly number have fallen to my 
rifle at different times. 




The kakur, I believe, pairs like the roe-deer, which animal it nmcb 
resembles in many ways. Jerdon says, ' It is a solitary animal, very 
rarely even two being found together ; ' this certainly is not mypersonal 
experience ; for frefinently, when out for a. stroll with my rifle, I have 
come upon a pjiir of kakur browsing together, and I have seen four 
within a short distance nl' one anotht-r in the same glen. 

It delights to frequent the shady dark woods and oak forests of the i 
interior of our hill ranges, where ferns arc thick and vegetation abnti- 



\ THE KAKUB, MUNTJAC, OU BARKING DEER. 179 

• 

dant. Early in the morning and late in the evening I have seen it 
close to the back of villages, occasionally grazing on the crops ; and in 
our hill stations, especially Nynee Tal, it is not uncommon to hear a 
kaknr barking after sunset above the houses on the hillside. ' 

The call of the kakur, from which it derives its name of barking- 
deer, is an alarm note, and never uttered, I believe, except when the 
animal is frightened or startled by something unusual. They bark 
constantly, especially at night. I have heard three and four making this 
noise at one time, generally a sign that a leopard is on the move, and 
on a still night the call may be heard a long distance, quite two miles 
I should say. Both sexes bark, and I am of opinion that there is a 
perceptible difference in the call of the male and female. 

The animal becomes very cunning from being constantly hvntad, 
and is therefore difficult to get a shot at. In some of the lower ranges 
of Kumaon, where once this pretty little deer was very abundant, it is 
now seldom to be met with, and has almost entirely disappeared. How 
can it be otherwise where deer, chamois, pheasants — all sorts of game, 
in fact — are indiscriminately hunted and snared by gangs of poachers 
from one end of the year to the other ; and in consequence of there 
being no game laws, no one has the power to forbid or hinder these 
rascals from exterminating the game. 

With such a bright-coloured skin, one would imagine it an easy 
matter to distinguish the kakur when standing in the covert, but the con- 
trary is really the case, as the sportsman will soon discover. Next to the 
cheetul, I do not know a more Sifficult animal to spot when it is perfectly 
motionless under the shade of a clump of bushes. Many a time I have 
walked right up to where the creature was hidden, unconscious that it 
was close to me, till startled by the crash in the bushes as it darted aw^ay. 

When the kakur makes off, it often commences its retreat by a 
succession of bounds, bringing all four feet to the ground at the same 
time, and making several quick coughing barks till it has gone some 
little distance, when it moderates its pace, and at intervals of a quarter 
of a minute or so regularly utters its peculiar, deep, hoarse cry. After 
once having alarmed the animal without getting a shot, when it Iihs 
entered the thick jungle covert, it is of little use, generally speaking, to 
attempt following it up at once, as the chances are you will not succeed 
in catching sight of it again, much less in getting within distjince. 
Though I have obtained my shot and been sometimes successful under 
these circumstances, it is better to leave it alone, without further 

y 2 



i8o THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

disturbing the jungle, till another day, when probably, if you visit the 
spot about the same time, but with greater caution than on the previous 
occasion, you will find the animal, if' not precisely in the same place, 
at any rate somewhere in the neighbourhood. 

It does not follow when you hear a kakur bark near at hand, that 
you are the cause of the creature's alarm, though, usually speakings 
doubtless it will be so» The best plan on hearing the first call is to 
halt and listen which direction the animal is taking. I remember 
killing a fine buck one evening as 1 was returning to my tent after a 
day's shooting. The animal sHiddenly called within fifty yards, just 
below me. I halted, and presently had the satisfaction of hearing 
footsteps in the leaves : T stood behind an oak tree and got a shot, 
within ten yards or so, which rolled him over dead. It turned out 
that two men with a dog were passing along a footpath below, and it 
was at them the kakur had taken fright. I have several times heard the 
animal, when bounding away, click its feet together. 

It has been stated that only the male kakur is famished with 
canine teeth, but I can assert the contrary to be the case, though the 
tusks of the female are smaller than those of her consort. I believe 
that the animal uses its tusks and also its feet to rake up leaves 
when searching for food. I have frequently noticed bare patches, 
where the leaves have been turned over, with marks where the creature's 
little foot had been used, and also what I believe to have been the 
marks of this projecting canine tooth. 

A sportsman should be careful when approaching a wounded kakur. 
A Hill- man once showed me a scar on his hand of what had been a very 
severe wound, which he informed me, and I believe truthfully, was 
occasioned by a buck kakur striking him with his projecting canine 
tooth, when attempting to seize and dispatch the creature ; and I know 
of an instance where a kakur with a broken hind leg inflicted a 
dangerous wound on a dog attempting to pull it down. 

The kakur is another of those animals that, when running, holds 
its head low, and makes its way through the most impenetrable jungle 
of thorns with a quickness and ease quite wonderful* The skin of the 
animal is very tough, but at the same time very pliable, and is prized 
by the natives for making bags to hold flour, &c. The flesh is ex- 
ceedingly good— the best venison T am acquainted with. 

A party of sportsmen, in the autumn, when driving the hill-sides 
for pheasants, frequently bag one or two kakur in the courae of the 



THE KAKUR, MUNTJAO, OB BARKING DEER. i8i 

day. A charge of shot, lodged well forward, will double up the little 
fellow, bounding past within twenty yards, as eflFectually as any bullet. 
I have known this animal ascend our hills to a height of 10,000 feet ; 
but hills of far less altitude are its usual resort. It requires a neat ball- 
shot to drop him, especially when bounding off. I once made a right 
and left rifle-shot at two kakur ; I came suddenly upon them, feeding 
in a ravine, within a dozen yards or so, and, as they ascended the 
opposite bank, fired, dropping both, one dead and the other unable to 
rise to its feet again. 

The paharies catch these animals in nooses set on the edges of 
their fields, where they come out to feed at night. I have often seen 
kakur browsing on the borders of tea plantations, especially where the 
cleared patches of ground for growing the tea plant are away from build- 
ings and the noise of men. I have never yet seen a kakur thoroughly 
tamed, though, doubtless, when caught young it may be reared. The 
time of gestation with the female is five and a-half months. The usual- 
food of the creature is fresh grass, the young shoots of shrubs and bushes, 
and it will also descend at night from the Jiills and graze on young com. 

Jerdou, when speaking of the Indian marten, observes ^ that that 
animal is said sometimes to make the young of the kakur deer its 
food.* I firmly believe that the above is a correct statement, from an 
occurrence that happened when I was encamped at a place called 
Sunkot, in the Himalayas, in the autumn of 1869. Unfortunately I 
did not myself witness the affair I am about to relate ; but my servants, 
on my return one evening from shooting, informed me that, about 
mid-day three of them, according to custom, were cooking their food 
on the bank of a stream within 100 yards of the tent ; that, while so 
occupied, they saw a young kakur on the opposite side of the water, 
closely pursued by four or five martens or * tuturalas,' as natives call 
them. The fawn — for by their description the deer was little more 
than half-grown— appeared to be much distressed, as if it had been long 
hunted ; and while the group of animals, pursuers and pursued, were 
in sight, they saw the martens spring up several times at the throat of 
the kakur. Two of the men, my bearer and a chuprassie, gave chase, 
but lost sight of the animals in the thick bushes. I am convinced that 
this account was correct, for the men could have had no possible object 
in concocting such a story, and were eager to relate the occurrence to 
me directly 1 returned from shooting. 

The kakur is the smallest antlered deer that I have ever met with. 



1 82 TEE GAME OF BENGAL. 



CHAPTER XXI. 
THE MUSK DEER (Moschus moachffetw). 



* Together graze two deer, from one proceeds 
Pure fragrant musk.* — ANvXR-i-SunAni. 



Dbsckiption. 

The smallest of Himalayan four-footed game. The body is rather heavily formed, and 
the animal stands rather high on its legs. 

Extreme Length, — From 3 to 3^ feet 

Height.— WiOMi 2 feet. 

General Colour, — Like many other Himalayan quadrupeds, the colour of the musk 
deer s coat varies much in different localities, and is consistent with the season of the 
year. Those that I have examined in the autumn months, shot in Upper Gurhwal, have 
been of a rather dark grey tint on the upper part of the body tinged with brown, and grizzled 
here and there with dingy white. Darker over the hind quarters, beneath altogether 
paler, and whitish inside the limbs. 

Ears. — llather lai'ge and erect : dark externally, white inside. 

Head. — Rather long, of an iron grey colour. Without horns. The canine tusks 
project downwards from the upper jaw ; they are slender, slightly curved, and very sharp. 
Both sexes have tusks, but thoi:e of the female are smaller. 

Limbs. — Slender and wiiy ; the feet delicate and very pointed. 

Tail, — Ver\' sliort. 

The winter coat is a strong, bristly description of brittle, coarse hair, which has not a 
particle of gloss about it. Xor does it lie smooth, but appears to be in a rough semi-erect 
state at all seasons of the vear. 

This timid and much persecuted little animal, formerly so plentiful 
on the tops of our Himalayan range, is now scarce, and in many 
remote parts has been altogether exterminated. I have only met with 
it occasionally when shooting thar on very high ground, and have 
generally come across it in some out-of-the-way spot when least 
expected. It is a particularly hardy animal, and is little affected by 
cutting blasts, severe frosts, and drifting snows of winter, remaining on 



niE MUSK DEER, 183 

the higher grounds after other creatures ha\e been forced Jbelow by 
the weather. T never have seen more than two at a time, and gene- 
rally only one. I have met with it as high up as 14,000 and as low as 
7,000 feet, according to the season of the year. Once I came on one 
lying basking in the sun, apparently asleep, and missed him clean, 
within fifty yards, as he bounded ofiF; but the animal is a small mark 
for a bullet even when standing, and when leaping down the hill-side 
is one of the most diflBcult rifle shots. 

The musk-pod is found in the male only, and very often even he 
has none. It is contained in a small kind ot gland situated under the 
abdomen. The musk, from which the well-known perfume is extracted, 
is of a brown colour, and the scent is very powerful. It is a common 
occurrence for natives at our hill-stations to offer musk-pods for sale, 
especially to strangers ; but generally speaking only about one-quarter 
of the mixture, in each pod shown as musk is really so, and the re- 
mainder is simply rubbish. However small an amount of musk, even a 
few grains, may be placed in the pod, it is quite sufficient to scent the 
whole, and the natives are so clever at copying the true article that it 
requires experience to detect the adulteration. 

To obtain this pod, the poor creature is continually hunted and 
snared by professional poachers, who live the whole year through in 
out-of-the-way spots below the snows, trapping musk deer, pheasants, 
and other game. I have often come across a line of these snares, 
which are generally set in the following manner. Having selected a 
piece of ground frequented by the ' kustoora,' — as he is called by the 
natives, — the hunters, or rather poachers, set to work making a hedge, 
generally down a spur of the mountains. This hedge often extends for 
a mile and more, and constructing one is a work of great time and 
labour. The men first mark the spots for a noose to be set where 
musk deer are in the habit of passing, for they very frequently, like 
many animals, use the same path : here a gap is left in the hedge 
which is made about three feet high, and very thick at the bottom, so 
that nothing can force its way through. The trap set at each opening 
is what most schoolboys are acquainted with, made by a stiff switch or 
binder bent down, with a strong twine noose attached to the end. The 
binder is kept in its place by a contrivance so devised that when touched 
by a musk deer's foot it is released and springs up, the animal being 
caught, generally round one of its legs, by the noose. The foolish little 
creature, when crossing from one hill to another, on being stopped by 



1 84 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

a hedge^ instead of leaping over, as it is fully capable of doing with 
ease, follows the line, looking for a gap to pass through, and presently 
attempts a passage where the fatal noose is ready awaiting it. Hun- 
dreds are killed annually in this way, and I know of numerous spots 
where, years ago, when I first visited the hills, musk deer were often 
to be seen hopping about ; now, through poachers having been con- 
tinually at work, there is not one. 

The musk deer on being started bounds away, bringing all four feet 
to the ground at once, and after proceeding a certain distance gene- 
rally halts to have a look back, offering a fair though small mark, 
and is very easily missed. The animal will bound down the side of a 
precipice with extraordinary ease. If I had not witnessed many 
times the truly wonderful manner in which the creature will descend 
the face of a cliff, I could hardly have believed it possible. 

The musk deer gives a hiss when frightened, very similar in sound 
to the alarm not« of the gooral. The dung of these animals, in spots 
frequented by them, may be seen collected seemingly for years and 
years, and smells strongly of musk. 

The flesh is justly considered exceedingly good for the table, and 
there is no perceptible taste of musk, as might be imagined, in the 
flavour of the venison. 

I have several times started the musk deer when beating the tops 
of the hills for moonal pheasants. One day I had placed myself behind 
a rock on the face of a slope covered with rhododendrons and other 
shrubs, and sent three boys — sons of a shepherd — round, to try and drive 
some old moonal cocks down to me, for they were too cunning to be 
stalked, and this was the only chance. The boys showed themselves 
several hundred yards above me, and came down in a line ; presently I 
heard one of them shout out that a musk deer was coming towards me ; 
and then I heard the measured thump, thump, thump of the creature 
as it brought its four legs each, time to the ground. The kustoora 
crossed the path in which I was standing about twenty yards from me, 
with one of its flying bounds, and received a charge of No. 3 (I only 
had my shot gun), which rolled it over. My setter, usually speaking 
steady enough till told to move, was sitting at my feet, but this was 
too much for him; he sprang down the hill, and got so much in my 
way that I could not fire a second barrel, which probably would have 
been a settler. The deer recovered its feet, went down a decline which 
was too steep for me to follow, and eventually escaped. To complete 



THE MUSK DEER, 



i8S 



mj misfortunes, while caught in a thick bush, and struggling to follow 
the animal, four old cock moonal whizzed down close overhead, without 
mj getting a shot at one of them. When my dog came slinking back, 
well knowing that he had misbehaved, a tuft of hair in his mouth 
showed that he had been very close on to the chase. 

Jerdon mentions that the * young of the musk deor are spotted with 
white.* I was unaware of this. 



1 86 THE GAME OF BENGAL 



CHAPTER XXIL 

NIL-GAf, OR NYI^GHAU (Po:ta,r Pictus). 



* Antelopes in jungles shelter/ — Freiugrath. 



Description of Male. 

Kvtreme Length, — From 7^ to 8 feet. 

Height, — From 13 to 14 hands. 

Head, — Rather long, and narrow at the muzzle. 

Ears, — Broad and open. 

Neck, — Thick and short. 

Shoulders, — High. 

Limbs. — Rather short and thick. 

Feet. — Large ; the print much resembling that of the samber. 

TVifV. — Ix>ng for an antelope, perhaps averaging about 2 feet in length, with a tufk of 
coan^ dark hair at the extremity. 

Hortis. — Black, smooth, apart at the base, and tapering to ratlier sharp points ; the 
tips projecting slightly foiward. The bonis of a full-grown animal measure 7 or 8 inches 
in length. I have seen a pair which measured lOJ inches. 

Colour. — General tint, dtep iron grey; darker under the fore part of the body. The 
legs almost black, excepting two horizontal white marks, divided by a black bar, between 
the fetlocks and hoofs. There are two whitish spots on the cheeks lelow the eyes. A 
short dark-coloured mane runs along the neck and ridge of hump, and from the front of 
the neck, aUmt half-way down, there is a pendant tuft of dark hair, some 6 or 8 inches 
in length. Above this tuft, directly under the throat, is a patch of wliite, narrow above, 
broad below. At the back part of the hind quartei*s there is a broad blaze of white, 
extending downward.**, ir.sidc the thiglis, to nearly tlie centre of the alxlon:en. 

The female is altogether smaller than her consort, weighing, I should say, fully a third 
less. Iler general colour is pale reddish brown ; she has no horns. 

The Nil-gai is by far the largest of our Indian antelopes. I am not 
sure, but believe it to be peculiar to Uindustau. It cert4iinly is not 
found in Africa. 

The meaning of the Hindustani ^nil-gai' is * blue ox.* Withont 



NIL-GAT, on NYL-GUAU. 187 

doubt the animal is a true antelope, but it is vain attempting to convince 
a Hindoo that such is the case. His religion forbids him to slay a cow ; 
it is one of the greatest crimes he can commit ; and he will persist 
to the last in asserting that the nil-gai belongs to the cow, and not 
to the antelope tribe. 

Antelopes, generally speaking, are most elegant and graceful crea- 
tures in appearance, but the nil-gai is an exception; his limbs are 
thick, massive, and short in proportion to the body ; and his gallop is 
awkward in the extreme. The animal does not— as has been asserted 
— frequent thick forest, but is generally to be found in bush jungle, or 
low rocky hills covered with scrub, thicket, and stunted babul bushes ; 
also in high grass. It is occasionally found on the lower ranges of the 
Himalayas, but does not ascend to any great height. One was shot 
many years ago in the Mussoorie park ; but it is exceptional to he&r 
of the creature in such altitudes. In the Central Provinces, especially 
in the Saugor country, also in the Lullutpore and Jliansie districts, the 
nil-gai is exceedingly common, generally in small herds, but I have 
seen as many as seventeen together; these were all females. Few 
sportsmen care to hunt or search for the nil-gai, as there is little plea- 
sure or sport in the pursuit. He (for only the male is worth firing at) 
is generally speaking easily stalked, and offers a fair mark, hardly to 
be missed. Unless struck in a vital part, however, he will make off, 
being most tenacious of life. I have known an old blue bull escape 
though wounded in four places. 

When beating the jungles for samber in the Lullutpore district, we 
usually took our sliot at a blue bull if he came by, but never went out 
specially in search of him. A friend of mine, a noted hog-hunter, has 
ridden and speared nil-gai repeatedly ; but it takes a really good horse 
and a good rider to accomplish such a feat, especially if the ground is 
rocky and uneven. 

The nil-gai, like many other antelopes, and also certain of the deer 
tribe, is in the habit of daily visiting certain bare spots, and dropping 
its dung there. 
J^ The creature is easily tamed and reared, if caught when young. I 
have seen a pair trot well in harness ; and, frequently, two or three 
tame ones are allowed to wander about our Indian cantonments, where 
at night they commit fearful havoc in the vegetable gardens of the 
residents. The leather from the hide of a blue bull is of value, on ac- 
count of its toughness, for gaiters and boots, and the skin is always 



1 88 TEE GAME OF BENGAL. 

worth sending to the tan-yard. Tigers not unfrequently prey on the 
nil-gai ; and it has numerous other enemies, such *a8 leopards and 
wild dogs. 

The nil-gai feeds chiefly on the young shoots of certain bushes and 
shrubs ; among others the babul ; is especially fond of the mowah 
berry, like nearly all the antelopes and deer tribe. At night it visits 
the corn-fields anywhere near the jungle ; and if left uninterrupted, 
soon commits havoc with a crop. I once, when out with my rifle, saw 
a blue bull standing up on his hind legs, with the fore feet resting 
a-gainst the stem of a tree, a position goats often adopt, to reach an 
extra tempting sprout on a high branch, I suppose. The call of the 
nil-gai somewhat resembles that of the samber, but the note is shorter 
and sharper. 

One evening, in the hot weather of 1872, 1 was returning with my 

friend H s on foot through some bush jungle; we had been unlucky 

on that particular day, for we had driven the whole of the neighbouring 
hills unsuccessfully ; not that game had not been found, but, as is often 
the case, things had gone wrong. Two stag samber had broken back 
through the beaters, and other creatures had escaped from one cause or 
another ; perhaps, moreover, the powder had not been very straight. 
We were several miles from our camp, and the sun had set some little 
time, so that it was nearly dark. My companion was leading the way 
along a narrow footpath, with his rifle over his shoulder. We were 
skirting the bottom of a hill, when a clattering of hoofs and a crash 
through the bushes drew immediate attention to a dark moving object 
on the side of the hill. My friend, as quick as thought, took a hasiy 
aim and fired. We both fancied that we heard the thud of the bullet 
against the hide of some animal, and the noise ofreti*eating hoofs ceased 
altogether at the shot. In company with several natives we ran forward 
to have a look round. There was not a breath of air, and everything 
was still. We searched about, blundering and tripping over rocks 
and stones in the darkness, but could find nothing. I was about to 
remark that we had better give it up, when I was startled by a deep 
sigh, and there at ray feet lay a large blue bull, that had just breathed 
its last. The bullet had passed through the lower part of the neck 
where it joins the shoulder, a very fatal spot. 

This animal, in addition to the term 'Nyl-ghau' or* Nil-gai,* is 
also called ' Eoz ' in some parts of the North- Western Provinces. 




Tub Black Blc 



CHAPTER XXIII. 
THE INDIAN BLACK BUCK, or SASiN ANTELOPE (AiUL'opt btsomlica). 



' Our rands are bore, but duwn Ibeir slope 
Tbe Btlverr- footed antelope 
As gracefully and gaily springs 
As o'er the marUe courts of kings." — Lalia Sookh. 



The Iu(Iian antelope, the male of which is the well-known 'blact 
back,' is in appearance a most noble, graceftil creatore. Among the 
namerone African antelopes there is not one, in my opinion, euperior 
to an old Indian black'buck in beanty and elegance. The male stands 
about two and a-half to two and three-quarter feet at the shoulder, 
and aboat four and a-half feet in length, including the tail. The body 



I90 THE GAME OF BENGAL, 

is well-rounded and beautifully proportioned. The horns, in colour 
black, are spiral, making three or four turns, with rings at short intervals 
from the base to within two or three inches of the tips,, which are smooth ; 
the points often very sharp ; the average length perhaps from seventeen 
to nineteen inches. The latter would be counted a good pair. It is 
not uncommon to kill a buck with horns of twenty-two inches, and 
occasionally a pair of twenty-three and twenty- four inches. The latter, 
however, is exceptional. At different times I have slain over 200 
black bucks, and the horns of only one among them reached twenty-five 
inches fairly measured ; but 1 must confess luck has not smiled on me 
in this respect. 

Many a time, on walking up to a fine old buck just rolled over by 
a rifle bullet, I have said to myself, * Well, here are horns over the 
twenty-five inches at any rate ; * but the measuring-tape, on being fairly 
applied, has once more proved that I was jnistaken. I once saw a 
buck brought in that had been shot by a brother oflBcer, the horns of 
which very nearly reached twenty-six inches ; and many years ago I 
saw at Agra a very old pair, exactly one inch longer than the above. 
They were just under twenty-seven inches. 

Very old bucks are of a deep glossy black down the spine, and 
brown at the back of the head and neck. In old patriarchs the face 
is often quite grizzled with age ; the haunch is also brown ; a patch of 
white extends round the eyes and under the chin ; the eyes are large 
and prominent ; the belly, as also down the inside of the legs, pure 
white. Young bucks at first are of a light yellow, similar to the 
females, which tint gradually deepens to a rich brown, and about the 
third year they become really entitled to be called * black bucks.' 

In none of the runiinantia is the distinction of sex more marked, in 
external appearance, than in the Sasin antelope. The female is rather 
smaller than her lord, and her coat is of a sober tint in comparison 
with his. She is of a pale yello»v above, with a light streak along each 
side of the body ; the ears of both sexes are long. The female has 
rarely more than one young one at a time : she has no horns. 

Some pairs of bucks' horns differ much from others. I remember a 
standing joke we had against a youngster who bagged a buck with 
what he thought an extraordinary pair ; it turned out, however, that 
the tips had been sawn off, and that the animal, when shot, had only 
been wild a few days, having escaped from a native's house. 

Some horns are very thick at the base, with rings very strongly 



THE INDIAN. BLACK BUCK OB SASIN ANTELOPE. 191 

marked, and diverging at a broad angle. In my opinion these are the 
handsomest ; and I noticed that in the Saugor country horns of that 
description were common. Others only diverge slightly, and at the 
tips are but a short distance apart. The length of horns is not always 
a criterion of age ; 1 have seen them of unusual length in quite young 
bucks, and vice versa; nor can the age after the first few years be 
ascertiiined by the number of twists or curves. The animals not 
uhfrequently break their horns when fighting. 

In certain parts of India antelopes are very numerous, generally 
where there are large grassy plains. I was once quartered at AUyghur, 
a well-known part of the country for black bucks, and where I had many 
opportunities of watching them and studying their habits. I have occa- 
sionally seen herds there of two or three hundred, but nowhere else, 
ihough I have been informed by sportsmen from other provinces that 
they have seen upwards of a thousand in one herd. It is not the custom 
of these animals, even when much hunted and fired at, to leave certain 
tracts, or to wander far away to other haunts ; the same herd will be 
found again and again within cei*tain limits, perhaps a radius of a few 
miles. They never migrate like the spring bucks of Africa^ nor do 
they ever congregate in such enormous numbers. I have frequently 
seen five or six herds on one plain, and if alarmed by a rifle shot, they 
would not join together, but make off in distinct parties. The does are 
much moi*e numerous than the bucks, and an pld buck immediately 
attacks and drives away another of his own sex who attempts to 
intrude himself on his select party. 

During the heat of the day they retire into high grass, standing 
crops, or sugar-cane, and lie down, coming out to feed again in the 
evening, and grazing all night. If the sun is not very powerful, 
however, they will often be found reclining in the open plains. The 
early moniing is the best time to look for them, when they will proba- 
bly be found feeding on the crops. Unless much bullied and shot at, 
it is generally not a diflBcult matter to approach within rifle-range of a 
herd ; but a sportsman, to be successful, must be an accurate judge of 
distance, and it should be his object not to hit the animal somewhere 
in the body, but in a vital part, so as to drop him dead. There are 
many who hardly ever do this, but break the limbs, and often through 
bad shooting allow the unfortunate beast to escape wounded, only 
to l>erome the prey of wolves and jackals or die a lingering death. 

With the exception of the chikai*ah, and one or two others, I am not 



192 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

acquainted with an animal more tenacious of life than our Indian ante- 
lope. I have known a buck struck with three bullets, two of them 
having passed through the body, give a long chase before being run 
down. And a friend writes, ^ I once hit a buck four times with round 
bullets from a 17-gauge rifle. These bullets formed a triangle 
about four inches on each side, close behind the cent, e of the shoulder, 
the fourth went through the kidneys, after which the buck ran nearly 
or quite a mile.' As for a buck with a broken fore-leg, unless you 
have a greyhound or some other description of fast dog ready to let 
slip, or a good horse close at hand, you are no nearer your object 
than if you had missed the mark altogether. I have more than once 
seen a buck with a broken fore-leg fairly beat a well-mounted rider, and 
make good his escape. I once had a horse that would allow me to rest 
my rifle on the saddle without moving, which was a great advantage, 
for not only did it enable me to take a steady aim, but I had only to 
throw my leg over the saddle if it was necessary to pursue the quarry. 
A dog trained for the purpose, even a common pariah, such as one 
that I had at Allyghur, is of great use for retrieving wounded bucks. 
This animal, rejoicing in the name of * Tiger,* always accompanied me 
on my expeditions after antelopes. One of my servants followed about 
200 yards in rear with the dog held by a slip ; if, after firing my shot, 
it was apparent that my bullet had reached the mark, and I held up 
my hat, it was the signal to ' chor do,' or * let go.' It was wonderful to 
see how quickly the sagacious brute would single out the stricken crea- 
ture from a large herd. If T had missed, he would speedily return to heel, 
knowing well how useless it was for him to attempt the chase of 
an unwounded antelope. Though of no great speed, he had an un- 
tiring pace, and in the end was generall}' successful. This dog had only 
one fault, I am afraid rather a bad one ; if my nag and I were not pretty 
close up when he pulled down the buck, he often tore a hole in the body 
where the bullet had made an entrance or exit. 

A hog spear is a useful weapon for a horseman pursuing a wounded 
buck. Sometimes a sportsman, by taking advantage of a clump of 
bushes or patch of grass, can approach very close to a herd for his shot, 
but often enough the antelopes are on the level plain with no cover 
anywhere near. If so, he should dismount at some little distance, cany 
his rifle concealed as much as possible on the side away from the herd, 
and gradually circle round at a leisurely pace in the direction of the an- 
telopes, never looking at nor appearing to notice them but from the 



THE INDIAN BLACK BUCK OB SASIN ANTELOPE. 193 

corner of his eye, marking the buck with the best pair of horns. 
Probably the creatures, if lying down, will, as the sportsman approaches, 
rise up one by one — the old buck is ihe last to rouse and stretch himself — 
and, suspecting danger, gaze intently with ears pricked up at the 
object of their distrust. Having decided on a victim, he should edge 
round till within range, 130 or 150 yards perhaps; then, gradually 
slackening his pace — not suddenly stopping, or the creatures maj' take 
to 6ight — lei. him pause, bring the sights to bear, and slowly draw the 
trigger. He will probably get a second barrel as the antelopes bound 
away across the plain, but it requires much practice to be successful at 
running shots of this description. He should never fire into the ruck 
should the antelopes make off in a cluster ; it is very often done, but 
is roost unsportsmanlike. If a buck has fallen to his shot, let the 
sportsman reload, and in advancing to despatch a living animal by 
cutting its throat, let him be careful never to approach within reach 
of the hind leg, even when the creature is to all appearance stone dead. 
(I remember a native many years ago being severely hurt by the dying 
kick of a black buck.) He should walk up quietly, and seize firml}*^ with 
his left hand the root of one of the horns, turn the points down, and 
if the poor brute has still life in it, put an end to its sufferings as 
speedily as possible with his hunting-knife. 

Mounted on a good Arab horse, a gallop across country after a 
wounded buck, with a dog to assist in the chase, is an exciting 
pursuit; but the sportsman, in such districts as Agra and AUyghur, 
should beware of yawning dry wells, found all over that part of the 
country, as they are most dangerous. These wells are dug by the vil- 
lagers to cultivate their fields ; and there is nothing above ground to 
warn a man riding fast of the danger in front till he suddenly finds 
himself on the brink of a dry well, often too late to pull up and save 
himself from being precipitated to the bottom. One of our native 
officers at Allyghur, a tough old Pathan, mounted on a sturdy nag, and 
riding after a buck my Commandant had wounded, fell headlong down 
one of these fearful traps, horse and all, and, wonderful to relate, was 
extricated without having broken a bone or injured himself materially, 
though he was naturally much bruised and cut about. He was, how- 
ever, one of the most wiry, tough men I ever came across, but how 
he escaped so easily is a wonder. 

A buck, if severely wounded, nearly always separates from the herd. 
Sometimes, if without horse and dog, it is better to watch him without 

o 



194 ^SE GAME OF BENGAL. 

being seen yourself, instead of following him up, A rising piece of 
ground, for instance, should be taken advantage of, and your telescope 
brought into play. The poor brute will direct his steps probably to 
the nearest cover, such as a patch of sugar-cane or high grass ; do not 
move till he has disappeared, for before entering he will be sure to 
take a final look round to see if enemies are following him ; and shoald 
he catch sight of you, he will once more break into a trot, instead of 
lying down as he had intended, and likely enough make his escape if you 
cannot keep him in sight, or at any rate give you much additional 
trouble. If, however, you succeed in marking him down, do not be 
in a hurry to go near. If he has entered a patch of thick jungle or 
cane, do not go in yourself, or probably when in the densest part you 
will hear a crash as the animal jumps up and makes off, but will not 
be able to see him, and by the time you again reach the other side he 
may be out of .shot. The better plan is to wait till your attendants 
join you ; instruct them to give you time to reach the far side of the 
cover, and then to beat in a line towards you. Probably the buck 
will jump up and come out near you, giving a broadside shot. I have 
known wounded antelopes lie very close indeed before they would 
move and show themselves. It is not usually the buck that is on the 
look-out for danger, but, generally speaking, an old doe who gives the 
alarm on the approach of the sportsman : she, after gazing steadily 
at him for some time as he gradually approaches, and impatiently 
stamping her feet, comes to the conclusion that he is up to no good, 
and sets the example to the remainder of the herd by making off at a 
sharp trot ; the others follow in a long string, then one after the other, 
with curved backs and heads lowered, they commence a series of pro- 
digious springs and bounds, a beautiful sight to behold. The old bfack 
buck, having first taken care to complete his select party by driving 
them together and in doing so gallantly facing the danger, generally 
follows last of all, and if the stalker is then wjthin even a long shot, 
he should not delay, but fire at once. Sometimes the herd, after pro- 
ceeding a short distance, slacken their pace gradually and halt, to have 
another look at the intruder they suspect ; but more often, after bound- 
ing in the manner I have described, they quicken their pace, settle 
down to a slashing gallop, and speedily disappear. Sometimes, instead 
of a noble old black buck and his twenty does or more, the sportsman 
comes across a small lot of young males : unless in want of flesh, how- 
ever, he passes on. 



THE INDIAN BLACK BUCK OB SASIN ANTELOPE. 195 

I should be afraid to sblj the extent of ground I have heard on good 
authority that an antelope has been known to cover at a single bound, 
but it was something wonderful, and almost past belief, and the African 
term * spring buck ' might with justice be applied to our species. And 
this reminds me that I have seen it stated that the Sasin or Indian 
antelope is to be found in certain parts of Africa: it is a mistake, for the 
animal is found in Asia only, and I believe is restricted to Hindustan, 
though I am not positive about Persia. 

When at full speed the pace of this creature surpasses that of any 
quadruped with which I am acquainted, and only under most excep- 
tional circumstances is an unwounded, full-grown buck ever pulled down 
by greyhounds. I have seen the attempt made over and over again, 
hundreds of times I might say, but never once with success. On the 
plains of our North-Western Provinces, or in the Deccan, I do not 
believe it to be possible, but on heavy sand or boggy ground, occa- 
sionally (especially in the rains, when blown out with grass and out of- 
condition), a buck may be run down. This antelope trusts almost en- 
tirely to sight for protection, though doubtless the sense of smell also 
in some measure warns it of danger, and the size of ears which nature 
has bestowed shows also that the sense of hearing must be keen. 

Single bucks are usually, I think, easier to stalk successfiiUy than 
several collected together. If the sportsman finds a herd on the alert, 
and likely to take to flight before he is able to get within rifie shot, it is 
a good plan for him to drop behind a bush or clump of grass, and let 
his syce advance leading his horse, not going too close, however, but 
simply drawing oflF the attention of the game, and thus enabling his 
master to make a successful stalk from another direction. I have 
practised this mancDuvre successfully many a time. 

The animal, if taken when young, is easily reared and becomes 
quite tame ; but a buck, as he gets old, and his horns grow, is a trou- 
blesome and dangerous pet. I remember a grasscutter at Benares being 
ba<lly hurt^and a syce at Mozuffernugger, lying asleep on a charpoy (or 
native bedstead), was killed by a tame buck goring him in the side, for 
no apparent reason, and it was supposed in play. 

At certain times of the year, about January and Febniary, when the 
rutting season begins, the bucks may constantly be seen in pairs fighting, 
with their heads down and horns locked, pushing one another backwards 
and forwards. When thus engaged there is a good opportunity to make 
a rapid stalk in. I once got within thirty paces oC a pair fighting in the 

u 2 



196 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

manner just described, not on the open plain, but in the bed of what 
had been a jheel or patch of water. The lake was now dry, and the 
mud at the bottom caked hard, and covered all over with cracks ; and 
here, quite by themselves, these two champions were occupied in a 
desperate duel. There was a fringe of grass and rushes skirting the edge 
of the hollow pool, which I took advantage of, and, creeping up within 
close range, 1 knocked one over dead with the right barrel, and so severely 
wounded the other with the lefb that he went but a short distance. 

When a buck has triumphed over an adversary and put him to flighty 
he generally follows up his success, and chases him all over the 
country ; and I have more than once got capital shots by hiding and 
waiting till the pair passed within range. I have on three occasions 
dropped black bucks, seemingly stone dead, but only stunned for a few 
seconds by the bullet striking one of the horns. On two occasions the 
animals recovered themselves and made off. But once, near Agra, I 
bagged a very fine buck only struck on one horn by the bullet. I was 
out with a brother officer shooting quail ; we had marked down a num- 
ber of birds in a narrow strip of sugar-cane, and as the canes were too 
high and thick to walk through, and at the same time see to shoot, 
we placed ourselves on either side of one end of the patch and directed 
our beaters to commence at the other, form line, and walk towards us. 
I had brought my rifle with me, and a lad was standing close behind 
with the weapon over his shoulder. Almost immediately after the 
beaters had begun to drive the patch, I heard some animal come 
rushing through the cane towards us, and immediately changed my 
gun for the rifle, fully expecting to see an old boar break cover ; but 
presently out bounded a splendid buck, with his horns carried well 
back over his shoulders. He came past at a great pace. Aiming well 
in front of the shoulder, I fired, when he fell to the shot, apparently 
quite dead. I reloaded, and then, in company with my friend, 
who had left his post to have a look at the game, walked slowly up. 
By the time we had come within a few yards of the antelope, he began 
to show signs of life, twice managed to raise himself on his knees, and 
fell back again. Instead 5f firing another shot, as I should have doile, 
I put my rifle down and drew my hunting-knife ; by that time he had 
gained his feet and was staggering away. I ran after him ; he still 
further recovered himself, and it was only by a great effort that I suc- 
ceeded in seizing him by a hind leg ; he dragged me several yards, 
but at length I dropped my knife and got hold of the other leg, and just 



THE INDIAN BLACK BUCK OB 8A8IN ANTELOPE. 197 

as I did 80, one of the beaters, with a tremendously thick bamboo-lathi, 
or long club, in his hand, came to ray assistance, and struck the pooi 
buck a blow on the back of the head, that dropped it on the spot. 
On examination we found the mark of the lead about two inches from 
where the horns join the skull. 

I have seen a buck with one horn wanting, the missing one having 
been knocked off its head by a bullet from the rifle of a brother ofiScer. 
This animal, a particularly fine one, escaped, and we repeatedly saw him 
afterwards ; but he had learnt a good lesson, and was so cunning, keejH 
ing out in the centre of a vast plain, that there was no chance of getting 
^ a shot at him again. During the heat of the day, antelopes often retire 
into grass or bush jungle and lie down ; at such times thoy will crouch 
very closely indeed. One day I had marked down a floriken in a clump 
of grass, and had walked the patch through twice without flushing the 
bird. The third time I beat it, a black buck jumped up from under my 
very feet. Such a shot could hardly be resisted, and a charge of No. 5, 
at the back of the head, turned him over like a rabbit. Often when 
bird-shooting I have been startled by these animals suddenly jumping 
up in close vicinity.** 

When at Allyghur I once shot five bucks in a day, which was just 
four too many, and any tolerably steady rifle shot, by continually 
hunting the creatures, might have made a very large bag in that 
district ; but though now and then I like having a day at antelopes, it 
is not a sport I am partial to, simply because there is so little diffi- 
culty in being successful. It is a pity to kill too many of such noble 

creatures. My Commandant, Colonel S d, a giant Nimrod, was a 

great slayer of bucks ; and, if I remember rightly, once, in a single day, 
killed eleven. However, if we had not shot a good many, I don't know 
how the villagers could have existed ; the crops were often fed quite 
close off by hundreds of antelopes during the night. Moreover, our 
men were only too glad to get the flesh of those we shot, so none was 
wasted. The flesh is, in my opinion, at the best of times only tolerable, 

* I am not aware that the common Indian antelo|)e has any call or alarm hiss, to 
warn its comrades of approaching danger. AVhen travelling by night and jmssing throu^^h 
a black-huok countr}-, I have heard the male* grunting close to tie high road, and 
when a buck is paying court to the ladies of his harem, with no^e in the air and tail 
on end he sidles up to some one of his favourites and accosts her with a deep, hoarse grunt. 
When struck by a bullet the buck also sometimes utters a harsh lellow~if it can be 
80 called — and generally this b the sign of a severe wound. 



198 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

and not to be compared to mutton. At certain periods of the year, how- 
ever, the saddle of an old buck is well worth keeping. Black buck 
hams are also excellent when properly cured, and in flavour much re- 
semble the mutton hams of Scotland. 

It is astonishing how soon after their birth the young of this ante- 
lope are able to follow their parents, and in a few weeks distance any 
but swift dogs. The old doe cunningly hides her fawn when very 
young, hovering about in the vicinity. Many, however, fall a prey to 
wolves, jackak, foxes, eagles, and pariah dogs ; the latter especially 
are very destructive to young antelopes. These village curs turnout 
in gangs, and systematically hunt through patches of cover, snapping up 
the young of antelopes, hares, &c. Infested as the country is with ver- 
min of all kinds, the wonder is that many more do not fall victims. 

In some districts antelopes are driven into nets and numbers de- 
stroyed, but this is not a general practice among the natives. As was 
natural when the railway was first made through the North-Western 
Provinces, the herds of antelopes grazing in the plains through which 
the line passed, were frightened out of their lives by the snorting iron 
horse. They, however, soon got quite accustomed to the noise and 
rattle of a passing train ; and recently, when travelling through the 
Mecrut and Allyghur districts, I saw large herds reclining quietly on 
the grass, and although the train passed within a few hundred yaixls of 
them, they did not even take the trouble to rise to their feet. My 

Commandant, Colonel S d, shot bucks several times from off an 

engine, between Toondla and Koel, when the line was being made. 

It is a common practice for sportsmen, especially young shikaries, 
to blaze away at herds of antelopes, on flat, level plains with long- 
range rifles, quite regardless of villages in the distance, their bullet3 
ricochetting among poor people cutting their crops or cultivating 
their fields, or tending herds of cattle that are in the line of fire. 
I need hardly remark on the danger of such recklessness. I have 
known natives on three different occasions struck with bullets fired 
by too eager sportsmen ; two of these unfortunates died from their 
wounds ; one, a poor woman, was killed on the spot. Natives, when 
cutting a crop, are in the habit of squatting down, so that often their 
heads are below the level of the standing corn ; and many a time I 
have been horrified, after taking a shot I thought safe enough, to 
see numerous black heads bob up, startled by the whizz of the bullet, 
Ls^tterly I used nothmg but rifle shells on these level plains^ which 



THE INDIAN BLACK BUCK OB SASIN ANTELOPE, 199 

mitigated the danger to a great extent; for on making a miss the 
shell exploded on the ground, and the lead being blown into several 
irregular jneces, flew but for a short distance. It is the long, thin, 
solid, conical bullets — which spin across the plains for great distances 
— that are so unsafe. This description of bullet, moreover, so often 
fired from small-bore rifles, is most unsuited for shooting black buck. 
I have already mentioned how very tenacious of life the animal is ; 
and on being struck by one of these small bullets, unless hit in a 
vital part, even when it passes right through the body, although 
the wound may be eventually mortal, as is usually the case, the animal 
is often capable of galloping many miles and escaping, only to be 
torn to pieces by jackals. Now had this same animal been struck 
by an express bullet or rifle shell, exactly in the same spot, he would 
probably have dropped in his tracks or been bagged at any rate with- 
out much trouble. 

In the hot season, antelopes generally visit pools of water or rivers 
twice a day to drink and a shot may be got at them by lying in wait, 
for they nearly always follow the same path backwards and forwards. 
Once, in the Lullutpore district, I caught a herd returning from water, 

and made a satisfactory' right and left. We, that is, myself and H s, 

of the police, had come in from a march about 12 o'clock in the* hot 
weather of 1871, and had sat down to breakfast in our shirt sleeves, our 
tents being pitched under a clump of trees on the banks of the Dassaun ; 
presently a chuprassie came running in with news that he had just 
seen a herd of * Haran * or antelopes come down the opposite bank of 
the river, only a few hundred yards from our tents. We were short of 
provisions, so catching up our rifles, ran out just as we were ; on 
peeping down from the high bank of the river we saw some twenty or 
thirty antelopes drinking about 100 yards farther up on the opposite side. 
We hastUy formed a plan : I was to cross over by some stepping-stones 
below, concealed from view by a curve in the liver, climb up the op- 
posite bank, and by a detour come round to a patch of bushes just 

above the spot where the creatures were. H s was to take a shot 

from his side when I had reached my post, and probably I should get 
a chance as the animals made off. The plan succeeded exactly as we 

expected. H s fired across ; the herd ascended the bank by a steep 

path, and came past me within a dozen yards. One I rolled over 
directly he appeared on the top of the bank, and a second, as he 
passed at full speed, fell to a shot from the left barrel. 



200 THE GAME OF BENGAL, 

During the rainy season of 1864 a white buck was reported to ha^e 
been seen on some plains a few miles from AUjghur. The poor 
brute had been driven from the Etah district, where naturally the un- 
usual and unlucky colour of his coat drew attention to him in par- 
ticular ; he was lame, probably from a rifle bullet ; and exceedingly 
wary, as well he might be. I liad a good look at him through a pair 
of glasses on one occasion. He evidently was rather an old buck, but his 
coat, though much lighter than usual, was not white ; and it turned 
out when he was shot, some time after I had seen him, that his skin 
was mangy and ill-conditioned, which accounted for his unusual appear- 
ance at a distance. Natives, especially Holy Brahmins, often asked 
me for buck skins. They use them for saying their prayers on. 

All antelopes have eye-pits, or the infraorbital sinus, more or less 
developed ; but in the black buck this hollow gland below the eye is 
very large, and when ai^gry or excited the animal opens it wide* I 
noticed this at Allahabad : we had a tame buck tied to a peg in the 
compound, and one day a greyhound attacked the creature, or, at any 
rate, stood barking opposite him. The antelope lowered his horns, and 
it was then that I noticed this eye-pit distended in the manner 1 have 
described. When stufling heads and removing the skin from the face 
in which there is a hollow in the skull, where the gland, about the 
size of a small chestnut, rests, I have noticed a strong, unpleasant smell 
arising from the eye-pit, and also a thick fluid discharge from it. I 
have never been able to come to a satisfactory conclusion, not being a 
good enough naturalist, to say for certain what use this gland is to 
the creature. 

The reader probably is aware that no true follower of the prophet 
(Mahomed) can ever eat the flesh of any living creature — except of a 
fish, which they say has been already ^hallaled' by the Creator — that has 
not been despatched by himself or one of his creed. * Hal lal kama ' 
the operation is termed by the Mahomedans ; and while the knife is 
being used at the throat of the unfortunate animal, it is necessary, 
while the victim is yet alive, to pronounce the word * Bismillah,' or 
* In the name of God,' and the flesh is then rendered fit for food ; but 
an animal that has once breathed its last before being despatched by 
the knife is ' Haram ' or unlawful, and of no use whatever to a Ma- 
homedan. This rule, however, is by no means strictly kept or acted 
upon. 

Often when stationed at Allyghur, and starting for a day's black* 



THE INDIAN IILACK BUCK OR SASIN ANTELOPE. aoi 

back shooting, I toot one or two of my servants out with me to carry 
home an antelope for their own dinners, if fortnne fnvoured ub. I 
ma/le a, practice of giving the sliun animals alternately to Hindoos 
and Mahomedans, to prevent jealousy or ill-feeling between the two 
sects. When it was the turn of the Mussulman to receive a buck, my 
' bheestie ' (water-carrier) generally accompanied me with his knife to 
perform the ' Hal lal ; ' his name was Khan Mahomed, and he was a 
very good servant, and was looked upon as a genuine follower of the 
prophet. Nevertheless, not once or twic?, but I might say over a dozen 
times, I have been amused at the cunning displayed hy this man, and 
the easy manner with which he broke through the laws of his reli- 
gion as laid down iu the Koran. If I fired at a buck, and the 
ball happened to strike it in the head or neck, so that it dropped dead 
on the spot, the flesh was ipso /ado rendered unfit for a Mahomedan, 
as already explained ; bnt my bheestie was not iu the habit of being 
too particular on this point, so long as he imagined that I was iguorant 
as to the true state of affairs, and had not observed that the antelope 
dropped lifeless. He would olten run up and, in spite of the buck 
being stone dead, cut the animal's throat, and pronounce the ' Bisuiillah,' 
OS if everything was quite correct and in form. If, however, I walked 
forward, and there could be no donbt that I must have perceived the 
true state of atlairs — with a sigh he would remark ' Kisniat-kee-bat' 
(• It is fate '). So, to prevent any difficulty of this kind, when I had an 
idea that a buck lia*l fallen dead, I loitt-red behind and pretended to 
be occupied in re-loading, all the time, however, watching the Khan's 
movements. With a glance over his shoulder, to make sure that I was 
not observing him loo closely, be vrould commence hacking at the dead 
animal's throat, and muttering, at the same time, the authorised prayer. 
When t was yet a ' Griffin,' and stationed at Agra many years ago, 

I incun-ed the displeasure of uiy Commandant, Colonel S d, through 

quite unintentionally leading astray one of the Mahomedan native 
officers of the regiment, a sturdy little Sonbabdar, whose name I 
cannot recall to mind, but witb whom I was on good terms. In those 
times I was unacquainted with the religious customs and ways of 
the natives, having hitherto been attached t« European corps. One 
day I bad been out with my ritle and shot two ravine deer, and with 
my own hand put the animals out of their misery in the usual manner 
with my hunting-knife. On returning to our encampment I sent 
one oF the prizes with my compliL:ent3 to my friend the Soubahdar, 



20Z 



THE GAME OF BENGAL, 



who accepted the present without asking any questions — for very good 
reasons of his own, I suspect — how the animal had come to its end. 
That evening at mess I casually informed my Commandant how I had 

disposed of one of the ravine bucks. Colonel S d inquired if they 

had been * Hal lalled.' * Oh, yes/ I innocently made answer, * for I 
performed the operation myself.* I remember that I received a severe 
lecture for my pains, for my commanding oflScer was exceedingly par- 
ticular in matters of this kind. He told me that I was not fit to com- 
mand a * naick (corporal) and four.* 




It I:i1IIAI< GA/KLLB. MAtE AUtt FEMAt 



CHAPTER SXIV. 
THE CIIIKARAH, or INDIAN GAZELLE (GauSa BttmHlit). 



I never nura'd a dear gazelle, 

To glad me with its soft black eye, 

But when it came to know me well 

And love me, it was sure to die. — Latia Rookh. 



This beautiful and harmless creature is very common in certain 
localities of India, but not nearly so widespread over the country as 
the black buck. Its prominent, soft, dark eye proclaims it at once as 
belonging to the genus Crazellc. The average height of four fine 
bucks measured at Jhansie, was ob nearly aa possible two feet. Extreme 
length about four feet. The general colour of the coat is pale reddish- 



204 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

brown but some are much lighter in tint than others, more of a sandy 
hue, and exactly resembling in shade the desert country so often the 
favourite haunt of the animal itself. The chest, belly, and part 
between hind quarters, are white. There is a dark brown mark 
on the face, extending from the corner of the eye to the comer of 
the mouth ; also a dark mark on the biidge of the nose ; remainder 
of face, light brown. Old animals are often quite grizzled from age 
on the upper part of the face. Tail, long and black. Ears, long in 
proportion to the size of the animal ; open, and pointed. The 
limbs are slender in the extreme. Both sexes have horns ; those of 
the male generally average about eleven or twelve inches in length. 
From over a hundred bucks that I have shot at different times, only one 
pair measured over fourteen inches : it was a splendid pair, and reached 
fourteen and a third inches* 

Like the black buck, the horns of the Indian gazelle vary much 
in curve, divergence, and thickness. 

The gazelle of Syria, Arabia, and other countries of Western Asia 
{Antilope Dorcas), though much resembling the Indian chikarah in 
general appearance, has yet one or two peculiarities in the shape and 
curve of the horns, su£Bcient to distinguish it from the latter. The 
horns of the male Dorcas Gazelle are considerably curved, slope back 
over the neck of the animal, and curve inwards at the tips ; whereas 
those of the buck chikarah are straighter, and have little slant to the 
rear, but rise nearly erect from the summit of the forehead. 

I have two fine pairs of ravine bucks' horns ; the rings are twenty- 
one in . number, and the horns are three-and-three-quarter inches 
apart at the tips ; on the other are nineteen rings, and they are very 
nearly the same distance from tip to tip. The points of the first, 
however, curve forward more than those of the second. 

The female resembles her mate very much in colour, but is smaller ; 
and her horns are quite different in shape and size. I have a fine pair ; 
they are six-and-a-quarter inches in length, which is unusually long. 
One horn often differs from the other in curve. They do not incline 
so much forward as those of the buck, and they are also much closer, 
within an inch apart at the points in this particular specimen,* 

The little ravine deer is a regular bush-loving antelope, and much 
resembles a wild goat in its appearance and habits ; hence the name of 

* See figxires at the head of this chapter. 



THE CHIKABAH, OB INDIAN OAZELLE. 205 

* goat antelope ' in some parts of the country. It roams in small herds 
on broken ground, especially on the sides of large rivers, where the 
banks are high and much broken up into ravines and gullies. In 
Bundelkund, the chikarah is far more common than the black buck, 
especially in the Jhansie district, where I have seen more gazelles, 
and in larger herds, than anywhere else. They frequent low hills 
covered with bush and grass, especially in the neighbourhood of culti- 
vation. The chikarah, as regards feeding on the crops of the natives, 
is not so mischievous as the common antelope. It prefers various kinds 
of weeds to young corn, and I have often observed it browsing on 
the young leaves of various bushes, such as the acacia; it feeds 
later than the common antelope, and is of a more restless disposition. 
In former years there were great numbers within a few miles of 
Agra, on the banks of the Jumna. I shot over forty in that neigh- 
bourhood in the cold weather of 1863. In the Saugor and Jubbulpore 
country this graceful little creature abounds, also inBewah and Bandah; 
in Gwalior and Lullutpore the animal is often found, and generally in 
dry, bumt-up ravines, frequently far away from water. I have never 
met with it, nor do I believe the chikarah inhabits Bengal, Assam, 
Sylhet, Cachar, or any part of the Eastern frontier. 

Stalking ravine deer is a favourite amusement among English 
sportsmen. I myself much prefer the sport to shooting black buck. 
The country inhabited by the former is generally undulating and broken, 
and there is not the sameness of the dead level plain on which herds 
of the common antelope roam. Moreover, where much hunted, the 
little chikarah becomes exceedingly di£Scult to approach, and the 
sportsman to be successful will have to work hard to obtain a shot. 
When he does get a charce, it is a small mark to aim at. I have 
already spoken of the extraordinary tenacity of life shown by the gazelle, 
more so than by any creature I have ever met with, not excepting 
even the common antelope. It is very swift, far too much so for 
any description of dog; and does not bound like the common ante- 
lope. The females are more numerous than the males, but not to the 
same extent as with the Sasin species. I once counted twenty-three 
in one herd near Jhansie ; to see so many together, however, was ex- 
ceptional, though it was not unusual in a day's sport to come across a 
herd of ten or twelve ; nowhere but in the Jhansie district have I 
seen so many collected together. 

Like other antelopes, the little ravine deer has many enemies besides 



2o6 THE GAME OF BENGAL, 

man. One day, when out with my riBe, I noticed an old female 
gazelle, with a fawn, stamping her feet, and every now and then 
making that peculiar * hiss * which is the alarm-note of the animal. 
It was not I that was the cause of her terror, for I had passed close to 
her only a few minutes before, and she seemed to understand by my 
manner that I meant no harm. No, there was something else. I 
turned back, and on looking down a ravine close by, saw a crafty wolf 
attempting a stalk on the mother and young one. I tried to cut the 
rascal off; but he was very wide-awake and made off, a bullet sent 
after him only quickening his pace. 

Another day, at Agra, a pair of jackals joined in the chase of a 
wounded buck, an account of which may perhaps interest the reader. 
Early one morning in February 1863, I had crossed the Jumna by the 
bridge of boats, and having ridden a couple of miles up the side of 
the railway, turned off to the right, making for the banks of the 
river, where I knew chikarah were to be fotmd, although only three 
miles from, and in sight of, the Taj Mahal and the city of Agra. I 
had left the fort before dawn of day, and reached my ground just as 
the sun rose above the horizon. Within half an hour I got two shots, 
and bagged a young buck feeding in a field; then a long three hours 
with no luck, although several chikarah were seen. On the way back 
to where I had left my horse under a tree, a fine buck suddenly 
jumped up out of a nullah, and scrambled up the opposite bank : just 
as he reached the level plain above a ball from my rifle struck him. It 
was aimed for the shoulder, but took effect too far back ; he fell, but 
recovered himself, and made off; my second shot, a very bad chance, 
missed. Having reloaded, I followed him up ; for some time I kept 
him in sight, but at length came to a mass of ravines, and was just too 
late, on rounding a corner,' to see which one he had taken. I had 
then to trust to the spoor, and followed the tiny footprints of the 
poor little creature for several hundred yards. Presently, on coming 
out into more open ground, I was surprised to see a pair of jackals in 
front, with their noses down, evidently following the same chase that 
I was engaged in. Instead of sticking to the spoor, I now kept the 
pair in view until I lost sight of them ; but having again taken 
up the tracks of the wounded chikarah and advanced about two 
hundred yards or so, I suddenly, on rounding a comer, came upon 
the jackals worryin<^ the unfortunate creature, which they had 
already much torn. On hearing my steps and looking up, they shink 



TEE GHIKABAH, OB INDIAN GAZELLE. 207 

off sulkily, and having retired about fifty yards, sat down, as if not yet 
despairing of obtaining a share in the spoil. I was very nearly tempted 
to take a shot, but threw a stone at them instead, and they speedily 
disappeared. Tbey evidently, from their lair among the nullahs, had 
seen the chikarah come past, and observed his tottering steps ; or, still 
more likely, had smelt his blood and followed him up. 

I have already alluded to the extraordinary speed of the black buck. 
The little chikarah, in proportion to his size, is hardly less swift of 
foot; and, moreover, the rocky broken ground which he frequents 
favours his escape from greyhounds, and makes it difficult, often im- 
possible, for the horseman to follow him. 

I have never been stationed in our Northern Punjab, but have 
been informed that the natives in that part of the country are in the 
habit of hunting the ravine deer with dogs (often Persian greyhounds), 
assisted by a large kind of falcon. The latter so hinders the progress 
of the gazelle by striking it in the face with its wings and tnlons, 
and persisting in stooping at it, that the animal becomes perplexed, 
and makes so many turns to avoid the one enemy, that at length he 
falls into the jaws of the other. Jerdon describes this mode of hunt- 
ing as follows : * The gazelle is occasionally hunted by dogs with the aid 
of the Saker falcon {Falco Cherrug)^ which strikes the antelope on the 
head and confuses it, so that the dogs come up and catch it. Without 
this aid dogs have very little chance, though now and then I have known 
one pulled down.' 

Once only have I seen a ravine deer run down by a greyhound, and 
then the course was not a fair one. It happened thus. One evening 
during the rains at Jhansie, in company with two friends, I started 
for a walk across country ; one of my companions had a fine English 
greyhound following him. We had proceeded only a short distance 
when our attention was drawn to a female chikarah coming towards 
us at a rapid pace. As she passed, I remarked to my friends that, by 
her distressed appearance, I was certain she had been recently hunted. 
Presently our greyhound caught sight of her and gave chase. We 
followed as fast as we could run, and after two or three doubles the 
hound pulled her down. While we were examining the game, a remark- 
ably- fine old doe, with an extra long pair of horns, three dogs came in 
sight, and, hunting by scent, approached us with their tongues hanging 
out of their mouths; they also had evidently had a long run. In 
another five minutes a man dressed in white, also running, came in 



2o8 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

sight, followed by two others. We called out to them, and the men, 
three British soldiers, told us that when looking for hares on the 
sides of a range of hills fully three miles oflF, they had put up the 
chikarah, and that their dogs had gone after her. They were pleased 
enough when we made over to them the old doe, and, slinging her on 
to a pole, ma«le their way in the direction of the barracks. 

The chikarah is as easily tamed as the common antelope ; they are 
favourite pets, and become strongly attached to those who rear and 
feed them. I have seen tame ones driven out with a herd of goats 
to graze, and never attempt to make their escape. It is not at all 
unusual to find the wild gazelles feeding close to, sometimes almost 
mingling with, herds of goats, when the latter have been driven out to 
pasture. Native shikaries use the horn of a buck chikarah to hold their 
precious suppl}*^ of gunpowder, with a simple cork at the month of the 
horn, and slung round the neck. 

I once shot a fine female ravine deer, with a splendid pair of 
horns, the nnusual length of which has already been mentioned. Poor 
thinsr! her fine horns were the cause of her destruction. I had been 
out all day shooting near a place called Bubeena, in the Jhansie dis- 
trict, and was returning late in the evening, when, within half a 
mile of the end of my journey, and nearly dark, the alarm hiss of a 
chikarah drew my attention. On looking up to my right, I could see, 
clear against the sky, still lightened where the sun had set, what I 
thought was a buck chikarah, for it had a longish pair of horns. I 
fired, the animal dropped dead, with a rather lucky shot through 
the throat, and on going up I found that I had killed a very old doe, 
with the remarkable pair of horns which I yet retain. 

The chikarah, as also the common antelope and nil-gai, all the tribe 
in fact, have the habit of leaving their dung in certain spots. I cannot 
explain the reason of this. The rutting season is towards the end of the 
cold weather, and the female drops her young about April, I think. 
Like all antelopes, the eyesight of the chikarah is very acute, and the 
animal is perpetually on the watch against danger. It, however, 
appears to be gifted with only a moderate sense of hearing, and still 
less so of smell. 




Tub Four-IIohnf.d 



CHAPTER XXV. 
THE FOUR-nORXED ANTEIX>PE (Teliaeeroi QiaidfKorHu). 



Its niiy step And glorious eye 

May gkDce in tameless tmnaport by,— Bieoh, 



This peculiar little animal, the most remarkable among our Indian , 
antelopes, is by no means common. I have seen it occasionally, bnt in 
small numbers, in the Lullutpore jungles, where I managed to shoot 
four fine bucks ; I have also observed it near Dinaro and in one or two 
other places in the Jbansie district, also on the banks of the Scinde 
river in GwaUor; I again met vrith it io Philibheet. It also inhabits 
the low hills and valleys of the Sewalik, but never ascends the Himalayas. 
I was very anxious to procure a specimen from the latter district, for 
— whether fimcy or not, I am utinble to say — it stnick me that the colonr 
of the animal in Rohilkund and the Dhoon differed from that of those 
I had met with in Gwalior; it was more of a yellowish tint. I was, 
however, unsuccessful in my attempts to procure one. Those I shot in 



210 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

Bandelkund were of a light grey or brown, and as nearly the size of the 
chikarah as possible. 

One day I brought in a buck of each species, and on comparing 
them we found the measurements were within a trifle of being the same. 
* The chousingha,' as the natives call the four-horned deer — weighed 
slightly heavier than the gazelle. The body was rather thicker, and 
the legs shorter, both measured about the same from the nose to 
the root of horns, taking the front or smaller pair of the fonr-horned 
variety, viz. four-and-a-half inches. The second and longer pair of 
horns were two inches further back, almost on the crown of the head, 
smooth, black, and sharp-pointed. The foremost horns of the best 
specimen I procured were an inch and a half in length, and situated 
almost between the eyes ; the hindermost three and a thii'd inches ; but 
these measurements, I believe, are above an average length. Only the 
male has horns. 

The face of the four-nomed antelope is uniform grey, without the 
dark markings on bridge of nose, or between the eye and comer of 
mouth, as in the chikarah, nor are the eyes of the former so prominent, 
beautiful, and soft as those of the latter. Moreover, the ears are some- 
what shorter, and the tail considerably so ; the latter is of a red colour. 
In length the animal measures about three feet, and rather less than two 
feet in height. The whole shape of the head of the four-horned antelope 
much resembles that of the gooral (Himalayan chamois), except that the 
forehead of the former projects in an oval form, somewhat resembling 
that of a sheep. The hair is much longer and coarser than that of the 
chikarah or black buck, there is less white on the under part of the 
body, and the animal is altogether less elegant in form than the gene- 
rality of antelopes. 

The four-homed antelope when hopping along the side of a hill, 
has often reminded me very forcibly of the gooral ; when put up it 
makes a dash forward till concealed by the cover, halts a moment to 
listen, then again runs forward. We came across it generally in the 
hot weather, when beating for saniber on the dried-up, rocky, high 
grounds of Lullutpore, where covered with low bushes and thicket, with 
here and there clumps of grass. I saw never more than four together, 
and, generally speaking, only a pair. 

The animal has a habit when running of holding its head low, 
like the parah and kakur, and the pace at starting is like that of the 
musk deer, not a trot, but a bounding leap, and seldom very fast. When 



THE FOUBnEOHNED ANTELOPE. 



211 



lyiDg in wait over pools of water, I seldom saw this animal come to 
drink ; we often found it in the hot weather on the burnt-up arid flats, 
far distant from water. The four-horned deer has been called chikarah 
by several writers, but this is an undoubted mistake. The females, I 
have noticed, are more numerous than the males. It is called ' Bher ' 
as well as * Chousingha ' in some parts by natives. The call of the 
animal is a quick, short snort, something like that of the chikarah, but 
at the same time easily distinguishable from the alarm hiss of the 
latter. 



V i 



212 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

THE SURROW, OR FOREST GOAT (Nemorhadus bttbalina). 



Far from the hunter's rage secure they lie, 

Close in the rock, not fated yet to die. — The Iliad. 



Description. 



A powerful, though somewhat awkwardly built, animal. 

Ejctrenie Length. — About 5 feet ; sometimes a few inches more. 

Height.—^ to 3^^ feet. 

Horns. — Black, ringed at the base, smooth above, taper to a sharp point, and curve 
backwards from near the crest of the head. The horns in character much resemble those 
of gooral, but are stouter and altogether larger. Average length about 9 or 10 inches. 
The finest pair that I have seen reached 13^ inches. Both sexes have horns much alike 
in appearance. 

Limbs. — Verv stout and muscular. 

Feet. — Large. 

Tail. — Short, and rather bushy. 

Colour. — Varies considerably: some reddish-brown, others more of a greyish tint- 
Head, rather coarse, dark on the top ; chin white ; ears rather large and open, white 
inside. A coarse bristly mane of dark hair runs down the neck, and a dark stripe down 
centre of back. I^wer parts whitish. 

The female is of a paler tint than the male, and not qmte so stoutly formed ; but the 
sexes are so ver}' similar in general appearance, that it is almost impossible to distinguish 
them, even at a very moderate distance. 



This extraordinary species of mountain antelope, though much songht 
after by English sportsmen, and still more so by native shikaries, is yet 
toleiubly abundant in the middle and lower ranges of the Himalayas, 
from Cashmere to Nepaul, and probably still further to the eastward. 
I did not once come across or see traces of the animal in the Bhootan 
hills, though gerow and kalcur were plentiful, nor so far as Jamaware 
does it inhabit the Cossyah or Jynteah ranges. 



THE SUHROW, OB FOREST GOAT. 213 

The surrow seldom ascends mountains of great elevation, but 
prefers those of a medium altitude. I have rarely met with it on 
ranges exceeding 10,000 feet in height. On the other hand it does not, 
as far as I have observed it, descend to the very lowest bluffs and spurs, 
and never inhabits the Terai, or forests at the base of the hills. 

With the exception, perhaps, of the little musk deer, the surrow is 
the most solitary of all Himalayan large game. I have seldom even 
seen a pair at one time ; and once only, during my many wanderings, 
three together. This happened near Mussoorie in 1860. I was returning 
late one evening, when a rolling stone on the opposite side of the valley 
I was descending an*ested my attention, and, on looking across, I saw 
three surrows, two old animals and one young one, standing in a group 
and eyeing our movements from the edge of a patch of thicket, from 
which they, doubtless, had just before come out to graze ; unfortunately 
they were out of shot, and though I searched everywhere for them the 
following morning, I could not discover their retreat. 

Occasionally a surrow is shot by an English sportsman, but owing 
to the extreme vigilance and cunning of the animal, and its invariable 
habit of remaining hidden throughout the day in almost inaccessible 
spots, and amidst the densest cover, few, comparatively speaking, are 
brought to bag. 

It is an animal exceedingly tenacious of life. I have known a surrow 
severely wounded in two places baffle its pursuers and make good its 
escape. It frequents very steep, rocky slopes, where the cover is thick, 
especially in the neighbourhoo<^l of landslips. It has been described by 
Adams as a ^ stupid animal,' but such is not my experience : on the 
contrary, I have always found the creature wary in the extreme, difficult 
to approach, and seldom found on open ground, with the chance of a 
clear shot ; but, generally speaking, standing in some deep ravine, on 
the side of the mountains, in the midst of a mass of Bingall bamboos, 
or some similar thicket, where it was impossible to approach him un- 
heard; and just as you are in the very thickest part of the cover, a 
shrill, snorting kind of whistle, followed by a crash, and clattering of 
stones, tells you that he is off. This has happened to me I might say 
dozens of times. 

Late one evening in October 1863, just as it was getting dark, and 
my tent yet several miles below, I was descending the side of a steep 
khud, in a pelting torrent of rain, sliding and slipping at every step, 
when I was suddenly startled by the shrill alarm note of a surrow. 



214 



THE GAME OF BENGAL. 



apparently quite close to me. The wliistle was repeated a second time, 
but the thicket was so dense I could see nothing. At last, after 
straining my eyes for some time, I made out the head and neck of 
the brute, glowering at me through the bushes. Aiming about a foot 
lower for his shoulder, I drew the trigger of my old two-groove, 
but the cap snapped, and to my disgust the same thing happened with 
the left barrel; still the animal never moved. Hastily pricking the 
nipples with a coarse needle, which one of my companions pulled out of 
his blanket and thrust into my hand, I had just got fresh caps on, when 
the patience of the 8urro"w was exhausted, and away he bolted down 
the hill. 

In some parts of Eumaon the natives erroneously call this animal 
* Thar.' I only once attempted dining off a piece of surrow, and the 
experiment was never again repeated, for the meat was tough and 
strong-flavoured. Of late years another variety has been discovered near 
the sources of the Burhampooter. Jerdon names it * The Takin,' and 
remarks, ' It has something of the aspect of the gnu of Africa.* I regret 
to say that I have never seen it, not even the skin or horns, and conse- 
quently am unable to furnish any information as to its ways and habits. 




rA> CiiAJioia. Malie. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 
THE GOORAL, ob HIMALAYAN CfiAMOIS (JVrtnwfcwfa* GonO). 



And vou, ye cngB, upon whose eitreme edge 
1 stand, and on the torrent'e brink beneath 
Behold the tall pines dwindled na to shrubs 
In dizziness of distance. — Bisoir. 



DBacRiPTioN. 

The Himalaysn chamois diflers considcialily, both in appeRrance and habit, from the 
animal inhaUting the mountains of Albania and Western Europe. It is rather larger, mote 
goat-like in aspect, not so elegantly formed, and is not so f^egarious as the European 
chamois. Moreover, the horns, iu><t(?ad uf projecting forward almost at ligbt angles to the 
frontal bone, and terminating in a hook (as is the case with Antilopt mjikapra), slope 
back from the crest of the forehead in a gradual curve ; the tips are almost straight, 

Extrrrru Zm^.— From 4} to 4j feet. 

Hriff/U. — About 3} feet ; occasionally a few iiicbas more. 



2i6 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

• 

Horns. — From to inches in length. Black, round, ringed at the base, smooth 
and polished above, and gracefully curving backwards from the crest of the forehead ; the 
pointe ven- sharp. 

Eyes. — Hazel. 

Ears, — Rather pointed and erect, brown externally, white inside. 

Limbs. — Thick and muscular. 

Eeet. — Large. 

TVifV.— Short. 

General CWoMr.— Above, deep rusty brown, dotted with black; darker down the back 
of neck and centre of back ; lighter altogether below. Upper part of throat white. 
The coat in the winter months is long and rough ; the hair longer at the back of the 
neck. 

The female much reFeaibles the male in colour and general appearance, so much so 
that the sexes are undistinguishable one from the other, even at a short distance. The 
coat of the female is, however, of a slightly pa^.er shade, and her horns are not, generally 
speaking, so thick at the base as those of the male. I have often seen a female goond 
with two kids. ^ 

Excepting perhaps the kakur, the gooral is the commonest and best 
known of any of our Himalayan quadrupeds, frequenting the grassy slopes 
and stony ridges of the lower ranges from as low as 2,000 feet up to an 
elevation of 10,000 feet. I once saw one in the Neti valley, still higher. 
The gooral may generally be found grazing in the morning and 
towards evening on steep hills, often under pine trees ; there are generally 
one or two together, though I once counted seven in two groups on 
one hill side within a space of perhaps six or seven acres. The nature 
of the ground on which the animals are found often makes the pursuit 
of them a dangerous sport. When much hunted and bullied they resort 
to the sides of steep precipices, where they are unapproachable ; and at 
times the hunter, if he means to get a shot at all, must walk gooral 
paths, to follow which, to anyone but a practised cragsman, is not only 
trying to the head and nerves, but hazardous in the extreme ; and often 
a single slip of the foot would precipitate him down hundreds of feet on 
to the rocks below. Occasionally these grassy slopes are covered with the 
line needle-shaped leaves dropped from the hr-tree, which makes the 
walking still more difficult and dangerous. To anyone with a tolerable 
head and sure foot, however, it is a charming sport, and I myself am 
never tired of a ramble after gooral. To be successful^ the sportsman 
must be a steady rifle shot, and at first should not be discouraged at 
frequently missing fair chances ; for it is difficult without practice to 
judge distances with accuracy, especially across valleys, with perhaps 
a fog rolling up between you and the object. It is a pity to fire at one 
of these aidmala unless it is in such a position that, if dropped by abnl- 



TUE GOOBAL, on HIMALAYAN CHAMOIS. 217 

let, the body will remain where it has fallen ; for if once it begins to 
roll down hill, gaining velocity at each turn, it will probably not be 
recovered till quite spoilt and useless. I have known them lost alto- 
gether, in this manner, by rolling down into some cleft where no human 
being could follow. 

During the day, if warm with a powerful sun, the animal lies down 
on some flat stone in the shade of overhanging rocks or bushes, perhaps 
under the stem of an old oak, from whence he can view the country 
around. ^Vhen reclining motionless in the manner I have described, 
it is often most difiScult to make out the creature. The sportsman 
should generally get above the ground he intends hunting, and every 
now and then descend and examine the slopes beneath : it is useless 
attempting to stalk from below, for the animal will be almost certain 
to discover him long before he gets within rifle shot, and with a * hiss ' 
of alarm make off. I have sometimes got a shot by copying this alarm 
note. Once I remember, after carefully examining the side of a hill, 
above which myself and two hill-men were seated, without being able 
to find a gooral, one of the men, as we were about to leave, made a sharp 
* hiss,' very like that of the real animal, and immediately, from within 
fifty yards of us, a fine gooral sprang up. He had been hidden from our 
view by a large projecting crag. Before I could fire a. shot, he was off, 
and we did not see him again till far below out of range. 

I am not aware of an English sportsman ever having lost his life 
when following the chase of the gooral or thar — the latter a still more 
dangerous sport — though it is not uncommon to hear of native shika- 
ries being killed by missing their footing when after these animals. 
I can call to mind three fatal accidents of the kind, and this seems 
remarkable, for as a rule the hill-men are wonderfully sure-footed and 
cautious. 

The gooral not unfrequently falls a prey to the hill leopard, and 
young chamois are often pounced upon when feeding unsuspecting of 
danger, and cari'ied off by the bearded vulture or lammergeyer. 

A friend, when shooting over the Budraj-hill, near Mussoorie, in 
company with a well-known shikary, named Seebhoo, had his attention 
attracted by the cries of some animal in distress, and, on looking in the 
direction from whence the sound came, he saw a lammergeyer in the 
act of rising in the air, with a young gooral firmly grasped in its talons. 
He watched the ruthless bird of prey, as it soared across a deep valley, 
until it finally disappeared among some trees on the opposite side, 
where, doubtless, it had young ones waiting for their food. 




n IIiuAUYAN Wild Goat. Male. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 
TIIE THAR, OR TEIIR,- OR HIMALAYAN WILD GOAT {nftntirayut Jtmlmeut). 



PESCltimON. 



F^-lrtrnf Length.— khoni 5 feet, more or l.^»s. 

llfight.—^ to 3i ft-et. 

Ilorm. — Trinn^kr, and meeting' nt thtt hiL!>(>, whpre they meanire 1) or 10 indies in 
circunjfereiiCT, rieint.r erect from tlic summit of 4lie forehead. And at the narna time prado- 
ally divergin(f. Tliey ciine gnicofiilly liack, aiwl teniiinate in a liiod of hook »boat 
7 inches apart. The lips of tlie lioms nre smoolli, round, and sharp. Aretage length of 
lioniH, from 10 to 12 iiicheti. 1 have mea^ureil a very fine pair, which reached 13} inchea- 
The horiiB of old malea are generally much wrinkled and rough at the baM. 

ZiHii*.— Thick and muscular. 

Fffl Largo. 



THE THAR, OR niMALAYAN WILD GOAT. 219 

Tm'L—llaiheT short. 

Colour, — During: the winter months the male has a long shajrgy coat of coarse hair 
with a wavy flaxen mane, falling over the neck and upper part of the shoulders. General 
colour of body : — Very dark greyish brown ; darker over hind quarters ; legs still darker ; 
belly lighter ; face almost black ; ears rather small, of a blackish tint ; tip of tail black. 
Altogether wanting a beard, which is remarkable, as I believe the beard to be one of the 
characteristics of the goat tribe. Thejuale thar has that strong unpleasant odour peculiar 
to goats. 

The female is altogether a smaller and less striking animal in appearance; coat nowhere 
shaggy, and of a drab tint ; belly, dingj* white ; horns of the same shape as those of the 
male, but altogether smaller. 

This splendid wild goat is common throughout the Himalayas, in- 
habiting the central ranges, but not usually frequenting such high ground 
as the burhel. It is more numerous and widely spread than the wild 
sheep, and is generally found on the steep sides of precipices and 
inaccessible mountains, where to follow it is perilous in the extreme, 
and often altogether impossible. In fact, I look upon the pursuit 
of hunting the thar as the most dangerous of all hill sports. The herd is 
frequently unapproachable for a time, and the sportsman is compelled 
to wait for hours, in hopes that they may feed on to less difficult ground, 
where ihe attempt to descend and get within rifle-shot may be feasible. 
The sport in many pai*ts of our Himalayan range is quite as hazard- 
ous as following the chamois among the mountains of Switzerland and 
Albania. It requires a good head and a firm foot to follow unhesita- 
tingly these wild goats in their native haunts ; but to a sportsman 
endowed with a moderate share of the above qualities — and that is all 
that I could ever boast of possessing — it is a charming occupation ; and 
in my opinion hunting thar, burhel, and other really wild creatures 
among the tops of our hills, is a sport second to none. Not only is the 
chase fascinating in the extreme, but nowhere in the world, except in 
these high regions, will the hunter or traveller meet with such magnifi- 
cent views. They are far beyond my powers of description, especially 
in clear frosty weather, when the snowy range is surpassingly beautiful ; 
the climate is then glorious, the air pure and exhilarating, the sky a 
deep blue without a cloud, and as a background shows oflF to perfection 
the dazzling white peaks of mighty Nunda Devi, and Dewalagiri, 

WTiose head in wintry grandtur towers 
And whitens with eternal sleet, 

nearly 9,000 feet higher than the loftiest summit in Europe. There was 



220 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

something so incomparably grand and awe-inspiring about these superb 
snow mountains, that I never tired of gazing at them. 

T first shot the thar in 1803, on my way back from Thibet, at a 
place called Neelap, opposite to Tappobund, in the Neti valley. On 
this occasion I succeeded in bringing down two, one of these a splendid 
old male, figuring at the head of the chapter. Again, in 1864, I was 
successful in Upper Gurwhal, near a place called Beti. In 1868 I 
hunted on a range of mountains called Luggun, also in the above pro- 
vince, and again visited Neelap. That year I shot eight altogether, 
which was good sport; and in 18601 bagged six more over the same 
ground, among them three fine males. In the latter locality, which 
is within twelve or fifteen miles of a large village and camping ground 
called Ramnee, thar were very plentiful ; mostly, females and young, 
though old males were also to be found on the highest crags. I have, 
in a single day, seen upwards of a hundred females, young males, and 
kids on these hills, and if I bad chosen, could have shot many, as the 
ground was first-class for stalking, and less difficult for walking than I 
have met with anywhere in our hill ranges. 

An old male thar, of noble mien, with flowing mane and shaggy coat, 
is a grand prize to any sportsman. These patriaschs, for the greater 
part of the year, remain separate from the females, and graze- on 
much higher ground. Old males are generally found in small herds, 
but not unfrequently a ver}' old fellow, as with many wild animals, is 
quite by himself. I once saw a large herd, all old males, numbering 
twenty-seven : this was at Neelap, on my first expedition to our 
Himalayas. They were on the opposite side of a deep gorge from 
where I was, and unluckily too far off for a shot, and the whole herd 
ascended in single file in the most tantalising manner up a very steep 
precipice directly opposite to the spot from whence I was watching them. 
It was a fine and rare sight, for old males seldom congregate in such 
large numbers. 

The tops of our middle xanges, from 7,000 to 13,000 feet, which 
thar usually frequent, are, generall}' speaking, bare of forest, but broken 
up into numerous rocky ravines, nullahs, and narrow glens, sloping down 
to the brink of stupendous heights and precipices. On the banks of these 
ravines many descriptions of coarse herbs, wild rhubarb, mixed up with 
long rank grass and vegetation, flourish ; and here the early sportsman 
will find the thar feeding. 

As with hunting the burhel, gerow, bears — all our hill animals, in 



TUB THAR, on nDTALAYAN WILD GOAT, 221 

fact — the sportsman who hopes to be successful at shooting thar must 
be up and off before the sun. The animals in the early morning are 
occupied feeding on ground comparatively easy for walking, and can 
generally be stalked at that time of day with much less diflSculty 
than a few hours later. When the sun gets warm they gradually 
descend by narrow paths the faces of precipitous cliffs and steeps, 
and lie down in caves under shelving rocks or trees in perfect safety. 
The mode generally practised by sportsmen when hunting the thar, and 
by far the surest method to lead to success is, first of all, to get above 
the ground where the animals are expected to be found grazing ; then let 
him gradually descend cautiously, and examine each ravine and rocky 
corrie, every out-of-the-way nook and corner, till presently, if luck 
attends him, he comes across the object of his search. Before taking his 
shot the sportsman should be careful that the animal he aims at will 
not, if struck with a bullet, roll down a precipice and be spoilt or lost, 
for the thar frequent very much steeper rocks and cliffs than the 
Himalayan chamois. 1 have seen a thar fall and roll for upwards 
of 1,000 feet till brought up by a clump of trees, and naturally the 
body was then worthless, the horns broken and skin destroyed, the 
carcase having beei\ literally dashed to pieces. 

Generally speaking, the sportsman will be able to convey a small 
tout high enough up to reach his hunting-ground in the early morn- 
ing : sometimes, however, this is impossible, and [ have often on these 
expeditions had to take up my quarters in a goat-shed or in some cave, 
protected from the wind at the entrance by bushes and boughs. These 
are not pleasant quarters, especially when recently vacated by the sheep 
and goats. Occasionally the herdsmen themselves may be on the 
uplands in charge of the village flocks ; and these poor fellows, gene- 
rally si)eaking, are a civil, obliging class, only too glad to assist a sports- 
man and rig up quarters for him inside the walled inclosure where the 
herds are collected, and shut in at night for protection against wild 
beasts ; and, moreover, for a few pence, they will provide him with a 
bowl of fresh milk morning and evening — no slight boon to a thirsty 
and wearied hunter on returning from the hills. 

At night when sitting round the log fire, as is usually the custom 
Ix^foro turning in — and I have sjKMit many a pleasant evening in this 
manner — the hunter will probably, by questioning the shepherds, glean 
some valuable information regarding the wild animals in the neighbour- 
hood, where and at what time in the day they foe<l, how they may be 



222 THE GAME OF BENGAL, 

got at, and so on. The shepherds themselves are often wiUing enough 
to accompany him next morning as guides and show the game. Thar 
and burhel get quite accustomed to tame goats and sheep, from con- 
stantly meeting with them, and unless hunted by dogs or fired at, may 
be seen feeding within a few hundred yards of the flocks and herds. 

If the hunter means to be successful in shooting thar, he must not 
shrink from crossing over rather dangerous places now and then, 
though at the same time, if he cannot trust his head, it is foolish 
to risk his life to slay after all but a poor goat. One thing may be 
safely said, however, if his companions, probably a couple of men from 
the nearest village, or perhaps herdsmen, perceive that he trips and 
stumbles, or hesitates to cross dangerous places, they will never take 
him to ground which they think he is unable or unfit to walk over in 
safety, however many thar there may be, for fear of an accident, and 
getting themselves into a scrape. Some of our English sportsmen 
reach perfection in walking dangerous ground, and I have known one 
or two who would cross over such perilous ledges that their shikaries 
dared not follow them. 

If unaccustomed to walking the side of a mountain in a dangerous 
part, the hunter should beware of running water below, for nothing is 
so liable as this to turn the head. Once, on the banks of the Pindur, 
I had imprudently followed a gooral along a path often less than a 
foot wide, and on the side of an exceedingly steep clifiF almost over- 
hanging the river. I was not very well at the time, and the foaming 
torrent below so affected my head, and made me feel so giddy, that 
I had to halt and tuni my face t<5 the rocky side of the precipice and 
collect my thoughts, before resuming my perilous journey. I once fell, 
by a piece of turf giving way, a distance of twenty feet, and luckily 
clutched hold of a bush, or might have gone down much farther ; as it 
was I was badly bruised, and could hardly move for a fortnight. 

An alpenstock about six feet long, slightly springy, and shod with 
a strong iron point at one end and rounded off at the other, is of great 
assistance for keeping the balance, and is also useful for either ascend- 
ing or descending. It is coming down a very steep slope that is so 
dangerous. I have often climbed with tolerable ease up the side of a 
mountain in the morning, and yet when returning later in the day 
by the very same course have met with considerable difficulty. In 
walking take short steps, and try always to keep the balance on the 
])inclmost foot, so that should a piece of turf or a loose stone give way 



THE THAR, OB UIMALAYAN WILD GOAT. 223 

with the other foot, you can recover yourself immediately. Never get 
into the habit of jumping in your walk, and where you suspect the 
ground to be rotten, try it well with your foot before trusting your full 
weight on it. Grass shoes are excellent inventions for walking upon 
slippery rodk, and your men will be able to procure or make you a pair. 
In crossing dangerous places, take your shoes and stockings oflF if you 
feel nervous : there is nothing like bare feet to give one confidence, 
and though the rocks will feel sharp at first, you will soon get accus- 
tomed to it. Be careful when you come to a landslip which it is 
necessary to cross ; some of these are highly dangerous, just a mass 
of stones and earth so balanced that the weight of a man's foot will 
set the whole side of the hill in motion, and likely enough bring some 
huge stones whizzing down from above. I have several times had 
this occur, and most hazardous it is. 

Thar frequent ranges of mountains exposed for months together 
to the full brunt of the monsoon, and consequently the very best 
ground from June to September is under a more or less heavy down- 
pour of rain ; worse still, the hills and valleys alike are enveloped 
in thick dense fog. It is simply impossible to carry on the sport 
under such circumstances; and, speaking from experience, I would 
strongly recommend no one to attempt it. In the first place it is 
miserable work to be out in a small tent exposed to a perpetual torrent 
of rain ; everything gets damp and uncomfortable ; your guns, in spite 
of daily rubbing up, get coated with rust ; you yourself are never dry. 
The walking on the sides of the hills is abominable, not to say danger- 
ous. Perhaps the heavy clouds may lift for an hour or two in the 
forenoon, enabling you to get out for a while ; a herd of thar is then 
sighted, and you are carefully approaching them, full of hope and 
excitement, when suddenly a vile black cloud rolls up the valley, 
enveloping you in an instant, and shutting out from your gaze the 
objects of your heart's desire ; down comes the rain, and you return 
home disgusted. 

The above is no exaggerated picture, but what I have experienced 
over and over again. I have sat for hours shivering under a dripping 
rock in the vain hope of the clouds breaking and once more permitting 
me to take the field, till the increasing darkness has warned me that 
night was coming on, and that it was time to return to my tent. But 
enough of this; I think I have said sufficient to dissuiule the keenest 
of sportsmen from attempting the chase of tho thar during the rains. 



2 24 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

I prefer the autumn to other seasons of the year, though doubtless 
a larger bag may be made in the summer months ; but the coats of thfe 
animals at this latter period are worthless, and the females are with 
young. In September the weather gradually changes for the better, 
and October is a glorious month, the best of all for this sport. The 
weather during that month and November is delightfully crisp and 
frosty, and as the snow falls the thar are driven lower down, and may 
be found on less inaccessible ground than earlier in the season. 

Always give up shooting in sufficient time to reach your tent 
before the shades of night overtake you. I learnt a lesson in 1868 which 
I shall never forget, and took care afterwards to leave ofiF the chase in 
plenty of time before the sun got too low. One day, in company with 
two paharies,'! took the field at daylight ; and as it was the last day 
we intended remaining in that particular place, one of my men canded 
my shot-gun, to procure some moonal pheasants, which 1 had observed 
feeding on previous expeditions, but did not fire at, for fear of alarming 
thar or other big game. Within half an hour of starting, I flushed five 
pheasants from a small ravine and dropped an old cock, which I stowed 
away carefully at the bottom of a bag ; it was a good bird for stuffing, 
only slightly knocked about, and in capital plumage. After that we 
had very bad luck; there was plenty of game, but so wild that it was 
in vain we attempted to get within rifle-shot, and more than once the 
thar perceived us before we saw them. We wandered farther and 
farther, but all was of no use. I fired two shots later in the day, and 
certainly should have killed, but I only wounded a young male thar, and ^ 
he escaped. In fact, do what we would, it was one of those days when 
dame Fortune would not favour us, and all our endeavours to meet with 
success were frustrated, so at last we gave it up with a sigh, and 
silently bent our steps homewards. And then for the first time I 
noticed that the sun had almost set, and darkness soon came on. My 
tent, still far below, appeared like a white spot in the distance. On 
we hurried, but it soon became difficult to continue our descent ; and 
at last, on coming to a place really dangerous even in brpad daylight, 
it was impossible to proceed farther, for night had set in. What was 
to be done ? There was no moon, and a cutting cold wind blew along 
the face of the mountain. We had had nothing to eat for many hours 
except some stalks of wild rhubarb, which my companions had peeled 
for me, and we were tired out with the day's toil. However, there was 
nothing to be done but to make the best of it. With much difficulty 



I 



THE TUAJt, on HIMALAYAN WILD OOAT. 



2IS 



we retraced our steps for a short distance, and groped our way to 
where wo had observed a hollow in the cliff with a slab of overhanging 
mclc; ou this bleak spot we were compelled to pass the night. I 
had three or four fuaeea in my pocket, and having collected some 
dry sticks, grass, Ac, we managed with these to light a miserable 
attempt at a fire. One of the men good-naturedly took off his 
blanket and hung it on one side of tbe cave to keep the wind off me. 
Suddenly I remembered tbe moonal pheasant, and out we imlled hira, 
an old cock bird, and doubtless us tough as leather, but that could uot 
be helped ; his beautiful coat, that had been intended for preserving 
and adorning a lady's hat, was ruthlessly torn off; with my hunt- 
ing-knife I carved the bird, dividing him equally into three shares : 
we frizzled the flesh in the hot ashes, fixing small pieces ou to the 
end of pointed sticks, and soon nothing was left but the bones. After 
that, we lay down side by side to keep one another warm ; my com- 
panions, accustomed to rough quarters, soon sinrahered, but there was 
little sleep for me. The rocks were as hard as iron, and the cold 
something fearful. Daring the night a herd of thar, on their way 
to drink, came clattering down the side of the mountain, sending 
stones and earth crashing below. At length morning dawned; we 
were stiff with the cold, and covered with ft-ost. We reached camp 
in another hour, and a tin of hot soup somewhat revived me, but I felt 
the effects of that terrible night on the hill-side for weeks after. 

Thar, on viewing an enemy, whether biped or qnadruped, make a 
loud sharp whistle, which may be heard a long distance off. This 
nlarm-note in sound is different, and easily to be distinguished from 
the whistle of the burhel, used on like occatsions. 

1 remember once witnessing, in fear and trembling, a dangerous 
encounter of one of my followers with a wounded thar, on the very brink 
of a fearful precipice. It happened thus. I had severely wounded a fine 
animal, which, after rolling down a slope some distance, had again re- 
covered ita legs, and, following a narrow ledge on the face of some steep 
rojks, bad entered a cave or hollow quite concealed from view. This was 
most annoying and tantalising, especially as for upwurds of a week we 
had met with a course of bad luck. I first attempted to follow the path 
which tbe animal had taken, but at length reached a projecting comer 
overlooking such a dizzy height that I could proceed no farther; ' ghabi-a 
gys,' i.tt. I became confused, as my men expressed it. It was almost as 
difficult to turn round and retrace my steps, but at length I succeeded 



■B^B 



220 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

in doing so, and joined my companions, onlj- to be laughed at. One of 
them, a shaggy -headed, wild-looking paharie, offered to venture on a 
closer reconnaissance if I would lend him my iron-shod stock. This I 
readily agreed to, but urged him to take my rifle instead ; he, however, 
preferred the pole. In a few minutes the clever fellow, as active as a 
monkey and sure-footed as a goat, rounded with ease the spot where 
I had been discomfited, and presently approached the place where 
we had last seen the wounded thar. 

• In another moment out came the shaggy old patriarch, and to my 
horror, rushed, with his head down, straight towards his biped an- 
tagonist, and endeavoured to pass him. The path at the spot was 
luckUy wide enough for the man to maintain his footing, and using 
his pole as a lever against the rock, he pushed the brute off him, 
and then, before the huge goat, badly hurt as it was, could again 
assault him, or rather attempt to push past him, he brought the stock 
down with his whole force on to its horns ; this, coupled with its 
wounds, seemed to stupify the creature, and a second blow behind the 
ear sent him rolling down the precipice — a performance loudly applauded 
b}' the spectators, two in number. We afterwards recovered the car- 
case, with both horns broken off and otherwise much injured. The 
marks of the animal's horns deeply indented my stock, and showed with 
what force the blow had been given. This is the only instance I am 
acquainted with of a thar attempting to face a man. The hero of the 
adventure informed me that the pathway terminated altogether at the 
cave into which the wounded brute had retreated, and that" to push by 
him was the only means of escape left, and that this was probably the 
cause of such an unlooked-for assault. 

The flesh of the thar, though eagerly devoured and considered deli- 
cate by natives, is coarse and strong-flavoured, and even when a young 
male had been shot I hardly ever could touch it, unless hard pressed 
for meat. As with domestic goatjg, the male has a very powerful and 
offensive odour about him, which the hide retains long after being 
stretched and preserved. The leather made from the skin of old males 
is much valued by natives on account of its tough qualities. 

It is nothing uncommon, as with the burhel, to see an old female thar 
with two kids — in fact, nearly as often as with a single young one. 
Opportunities will sometimes occur in shooting thar when the sports- 
man may get several shots at close range, and bag two or three animals. 

I once caught a herd of nine, four young males and five females. 



'■^HF^ 






THE THAR, OB HIMALAYAN WILD GOAT. 



227 



in such a position that they could only escape me by coming past 
within a few j'ards, or by ascending a very steep hill right opposite, offer- 
ing the very easiest of shots. The mouth of the gully in which they 
were feeding opened on to a precipice, down which even a thar could 
not descend. I had come across some wild rhubarb with the sap yet 
running from where the young shoots had been recently nipped. We 
followed the traces, apparent enough, and, within a hundred yards, came 
suddenly right on the herd in the position I have described. I bagged 
two males, and, had not my old muzzle-loader hung fire in one barrel, 
must have shot a third, for he came past not ten yards from where I 
was standing. A friend of mine, and a great hill sportsman in the 
highlands of Gurhwal, bagged five thar (if I remember rightly) under 
almost precisely similar circumstances, out of one herd. 



» * 



:<Q 



V * 



prf? 




• CHAPTER XXIX. 
TIIR RURtlEL, on BLUE WILD SHEEP (Oc« AV.hii). 



Patb or no jmtb, wlist cnre lh.'y.~A\'>iHDSWi)i 



D»CB1PT10!( OF A FINR MLLK 8 



f IfSftt, , 



Seight.—ii feet within half an inch- 

LenfflA.—laaluiivig lail, 5 Iwl 4 inches. 

Sonis. — 3 feet 1 inch in lengtb. nieoBurio^ round the curve, and almost 13 inchea ii 

cireumference at ihu b«M, ThohoniBneariy lueet in the centTO of the heid.ciine upwards I 

and outwards at a nindente on^lo, and describu eucli almost a c»mplKte half circle. The I 

pointB, which ire blunt, fion«liiues flat, finally curve inwards and to the rear (unlike the I 

tips of Otu Ammon burn* nbich point to the front) ; the lipe in thi« particular specimen I 

aiB 2 feot S inches nport. Tbe npe of the animal, I believe, is marked by divisions (not 1 

wrinltiea) on ihe h<ini«, one division for eitch year's growth, and thi« head has twelve I 
diBtinctly markt-d. The weipbt of the head is 10 lbs. 

The winter fleece, or nilhi<r cunt of coarse hib, with which the animal U furnished hj I 

nature, is of an ashy or bluisb-^Tey colour, tery much n«emblinf( the winter coat of tba 1 

reindeer. About June the burhel drops ibis long coane coat, vrbich is then replaced hy [ 



THE BUJiHEL, OR BLUE WILD SHEEP. 229 

,5 iiiudi lUrkor, shoilor, and nioie glosay coveriug. There ie a black sirij c or band running 
IfiiipthwriTB ailing each «ide of thH body, blnck, down Ihe fn>nl of the iege, oieo black on 
tbe che«l. Ahlomen wLit«. Tail short, white, tipped with black. 

Li'iiln. — Itnllicr sloiitlr built ; feet rather \itrge. 

No heard.' The female is smaller, colour much the some as that of tlia male, but with 
fener black inarkiii^ on the body ; honu sniall, selduiu uiuni than 7 or 8 inclim in l»n^h, 
Uat, riMDg erect from the bead : tliey curve outwanla, and at the lips are about S int-heB 
nparL Tho borus of both male and feiuali: (as i« the case niih utber wihl species of sbeep 
and duur) differ much in shape, thickness, and cune ; hardly two pairs are ever found 
to lie exactly Miuibr. 

Id some uf the males, especially yomif; ones, the face ii brownish grey ; in old mat 
often nearly black. 

£(«■».— Mud wft I.' ly long and pointed. 



The burhel inhabits the liigliest rstiigea of our Hiiiiu1ii.ja8, and will be 
generally found feeding on the rich, graasy slopes iu close proximity 
to iiud watered by the melting snow. During the sammer months the 
animals frequent the very highest peaks and crags ; but as winter comes 
on and snow falls, they are forced to descend for food, and may then 
be approached with much less ditHcuIty and exertion, The domeetic 
sheep is well known to be one of the most stupid among animals, and it 
haa been rightly described as the simplest and silliest of all creatures ; 
hut the hunt«r will soon discover that the burhel, onrial, ovis aminon, 
and other species of wild sheep, are, on the contrary, the most shy, 
cunning, and difGeulL to approach of all wild animals, excepting, 
perhaps, the markhor and ibex of Cashmere. Ever watchful and on 
the alert, they will take alarm even at the quirk of a marmot, the shrill 
scream of the snow-pheasant, a rolling pebble, or a passing shadow ; 
the slightest sound draws the immediate attention of the sentinels 
posted to guard the herd. The hunter, in following the burhel, will 
find his powers of enduring fatigue and his capabilities as a stalker 
tested to the utmost, and will succeed only by unflagging jierseverance 
and a determination not to be beaten. 

I need hardly say that the first object of the stalker is to obtain sight 
of a herd without discovering himself. Having succeeded so far, the 

• JerdoD, wliL'B sj'eahinn: of tlie ourial of the Punjab, Ovit lyclocvroi (an atiiiual that I 
have never hunted or wen), among other tvniarks iu the description of the male, says : ' A 
prornse lilnck I "urd rhmilhetliroal to the1irva«t, iiitenuixcd with some white linirB reaching 
Ui ihe level of the knees.' Tfaisappotrs tu lie rather a reninrkable fact ; fur [.innipus, when 
giviii)r the cbaraciwi sties of the genus Ovi», remarku 'no beard,* so ihe beard uf the mala 
t'urial wiiuld appuir Iu I« an unusual apfeuda^e. 



230 TKE GAME OF BENGAL, 

next thing is to approach within rifle shot, and if possible above the ^ 
herd, and within close range. And with such wideawake, restless 
animals as ovis ammon and burhel, the greatest care and caution is 
always necessary to be successful. Never be in a hurry on these 
occasions, or act without due consideration. Take note of the direction 
of the wind, and scrutinise carefully with your glasses the ground in 
the vicinity of the herd. Perhaps the animals are feeding slowly in a 
certain direction, and by making a rapid detour you may be able to 
head them, lie in wait, and obtain an easy chance at close range ; or, 
may be, by waiting patiently till the herd has fed on to more uneven 
ground, you may, by taking advantage of a ridge, a low ravine, a mass 
of rocks, or clump of bushes, be able to follow close in rear unper- 
ceived, and at length get a shot under favourable circumstances. 
Sometimes an approach for the time being is altogether impracticable ; 
but nearly always the hunter, by a little patience and perseverance, 
will at length be able to decide on some feasible plan for out-manoeuvring 
the quarry. At any rate nothing is gained by acting hastily or rashly, 
and without due thought in the first instance ; whereas, by patiently 
adhering to certain rules, always making the best of his chances, 
and last, though by no means least, using tolerably straight powder, 
the sportsman's efiForts will sooner or later meet with the success they 
deserve. 

One of the favourite resorts of the burhel during the summer 
months is on the grassy slopes of the Thibet valleys ; far away from 
any habitation, and in such out-of-the-way regions, the sportsman 
has often to depend entirely on his own rifle and gun to fill the larder 
and to provide flesh sufficient for himself and followers. I never, when 
beyond the Snowy Range, was altogether starved out, though more 
than once obliged to put up with short commons. On one occasion 
I was reduced to live on snow- pigeons and the scrapings of an old 
ham-bone for four days in succession, when fortune once more smiled 
on our efforts, and the evening of the fifth saw us returning in triumph 
with two fine burhel. One thing is very certain : shooting in the 
Himalayas is at all times hard work, and good food is absolutely 
necessary to keep the hunter up to the mark, and to enable him 
to bear fatigue with impunity. But T am wandering from my 
subject. 

The burhel is gregarious. I can hardly remember ever once coming 
across a solitary one, and they often congregate in large herds of forty 



THE BURHEL, OR BLUE WILD SHEEP, ^-31 

and fifty. T once counted in Thibet upwards of sixty together, mostly 
females and young, but including eight or ten young males. I some- 
times met with flocks of both sexes mixed together ; at others, small 
herds of old rams high up by themselves ; but I am of opinion that the 
males and females remain together in one herd for a longer time than 
is the case with the thar. They feed early in the morning, and that 
is the time to be up aiid after them. 

During the day,'* especially if there is a cold wind blowing— which, 
by the bye, is nothing unusual in Thibet — the animals retire be- 
hind some rocky cliffy, where they can repose in the sun, but still 
with an eye all round \o guard against surprise. Here they remain 
chewing the cud till the sun begins to get low, when they once 
more visit the pastures. Where much hunted and shot at, the wild 
sheep will, naturally, almost invariably be found watchful and on the 
look-out against danger, and only feeding or reclining on spots where 
their instinct tells them that they are safe from their enemies, 
and that nothing c«i,n approach without discovery. On the other 
hand, in out-of-the-way places, little frequented by sportsmen, the 
animals will occasionally be discovered feeding or lying down during 
the day-time on the banks of ravines or slopes of broad nnllahs — some- 
times directly under and within easy gunshot from the brow above — of 
a clifi^, or ridge of rocks, or reclining in the vicinity of such broken 
ground that the stalker can make his approach with tolerable ease 
and get one or more shots. I say that occasionally this may occur, 
and when such a chance does happen, let the sportsman be delil>erate 
and make the most of it. If he manages to get within close range 
without being discovered, -do not let him be in a hurry to take his 
shot, but look well round for the best ram in the flock ; he likely 
enough may be lying apart from the rest, and at first have escaped 
notice. Before you draw trigger at him even, have your spare cart- 
ridges ready for immediate loading; after your first pair of barrels, 
you may get several more shots. I have seen a herd, when surprised 
half asleep, in the manner I have described, start to their feet at 
the report of the rifle, but not knowing from which direction the 
danger threatened, stand irresolute for a/ew seconds, thus offering a 
Rph»ndid chance, if now cartridges have immodiat<.»ly replaced those 
discharged. 

It is, usually speaking, of little use, after having fired at, or tho- 
roughly alarmed a herd, again to attempt a stalk, or even to follow 



232 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

them up ; for burhel, under such circumstances, will often cross moun- 
tains and valleys for many miles before moderating their pace ; and 
certainly, will be so well on the qui vtve, as to admit of no more 
liberties being taken with them for that day at any rate. 

On apprpp^shing the edge of a khud or precipice overlooking a 
large extent of ground below, the greatest care should be taken. 
Let the hunter and his comrades advance on all fours, and on reach- 
ing the edge, lie flat on their stomachs for a few moments, and most 
carefully examine and take stock of every inch of ground below 
with the telescope, every dark clamp of ferns and grass — especially 
where overhanging rocks cast a shadow beneath — be most careful 
before showing yourself to examine, the side of a mountain covered 
with boulders, loose rocks, and fragments of stone, exactly resembling 
in colour the blue coat of the burhel. Many a time I have looked 
and looked again till firmly convinced no living creature was in 
sight, when the twit<5h of an old burhel's head — ^tickled probably by 
a fly — has suddenly opened my eyes, not only to the animal that 
moved, but to numerous comrades lying around him, 

I myself prefer the sitting position for taking a shot at an animal 
below or across a valley. I have often missed easy shots when resting 
the rifle-barrels on a rock or stone ; whether it is the jar, or recoil 
occasions this, I am unable to say ; but such is my experience, and I 
recommend something soft, such as a cap or handkerchief, being 
placed between the naked rock and the rifle-barrels ; moreover, this 
prevents the latter getting scratched by the recoil. 

One word more ; if using a rifle with short barrels, be careful when 
sitting down and about to take a shot at a burhel or thar beneath, that 
the muzzle is clear of the point of your boot. I once very nearly blew the 
ball of my toe ofiF, when firing at a gooral far below. I was descending 
a grass slope, when I suddenly saw the animal lying under the shade 
of a bush, and sat down to take a deliberate aim. The rifle — a breech- 
loader by Powell — had short barrels, and when I took my shot at the 
chamois I quite forgot that although there "was nothing between my 
eye and the object I was endeavouring to cover with the sights, yet on 
account of the position I was in and the shortness of the barrels, the 
mouth of the weapon only just cleared my big toe, which T as nearly as 
possible blew ofiF. This doubtless was clumsy on my pai-t; but I 
think it worth mentioning. 

As I have already said, the hunter will occasionally, under favour- 



TOE BUHUEL, OR BLUE WILD SHEEP. 



233 



ubli! circumstances, he able to uiake good liis approach witliiii very 
short range of a herd, and be repaid for days spent iu fniilless toil, X 
once met with such a lucky chance, the account of which is peihiips 
worth relatinff. Iu June ISCS I was hunting hiirhel quite by myself, 
and many milea away from our anow passes and British territory, 
among the bare round-topped bills of Thibet. I had been tolerably 
successful, having shot two old males with good heads, and one female ; 
but, in 8pit« of working hard day after day, livik had been for a whole 
week against me ; provisions were running short, and my camp fol- 
lowers, with no meat for their dinners, as usual were beginning Ui 
grumble and lose all faith in the sahib's customary good luck. We 
were eucamped in a <leep nullah on a beautiful patch of turf, with a 
sparkling stream flowing past within a few yards of the tent, I had 
been amusing myself collecting and pressing a. number of wild flowers, 
growing iu the vicinity, quite new to me. 

While thus engaged my Bhootiah shikary came up, and pointed in 
the direction of some towering rocky crags directly opposite, where he 
said a herd of burhel were to be seen. Now that very morning I hud 
been out from daylight to noon, up hill and down dale, without getting 
a single shot, although two herds of burhel had been sighted; and I 
was so disgusted with our want of success, caused by their extreme 
cunning, that I ^lad det«mnined on moving onr camp the following 
day, and trying new ground. On taking a look thrftugh my glasses I 
easily made out a large herd of wild sheep; many of them were cliinb- 
iug and clambering about the summit of the mountain, and with the 
naked eye were discernible against the sky line. Every minnte tlie 
number of the herd increased as they kept coming over the brow, and 
those that we 6rat bad noticed, after wandering about, came lower 
down, and one by one lay down. Evidently they had chosen this spot 
as a resting- place for the day, and in half-an-hour from the time we 
had fiist noticed them, the whole herd, upwards of thirty, had de- 
scended from the crags on the top of the mountain, and were reclining 
on a gentle slope of grass and flat stones. If we could only get round 
behind the liill and come over the top without being discovered, they 
would apparently be within close ride-shot, and such an opportunity 
does not often occur. My men were most nniciona that I should 
once more try a Mfalk, The ilistiitn-i; the iTCHtiircs wi-re oft' wiia 
giefttr but at length I consented, and in another t^m minntes we oivlu 
a start. 




234 THE GAME OF BENGAL, 

My Bhootiah shikary — the guide, interpreter, and leader of the expe- 
dition — was a first-class stalker, and I generally trusted to his judgment 
how to approach a herd in preference to my own ; but we were both 
of one opinion on this occasion how the attempt was to be made. By 
following the upward course of the stream for about a mile, gradually 
ascending, and at the same time keeping well out of sight, we hoped 
to gain a pass through the range of hills on which we had marked 
down the game, and by this means to surprise the burhel from the rear. 
If the whole herd had crossed over the brow on to the side of the 
mountain facing the tents, nothing could be easier than our stalk ; 
but, on the other hand, if a single one had loitered behind, or 
intentionally been dropped as a rear-guard, our efforts would be 
fruitless. A strong wind blew at our backs on starting, but we knew 
that when we had gained the pass, and rounded the hill on the 
opposite side, it would blow in our faces, and be consequently in our 
favour. 

In about half-an-hour's time we reached the gorge I have mentioned, 
and paused for a few minutes and carefully examined the side of the 
mountain we v^ere now about to scale, but not a living thing was to be 
seen. We had marked the spot under which the wild sheep were 
reclining, and the ascent was steep and difficult. But at length, after 
another half-hour's toil, we reached the wished-for position, or rather 
halted about lOO'yards below ic. All three of us were quit,e breathless 
after such a clamber — and in a country like Thibet, where the air is so 
rarefied, anything beyond a walk is almost impossible. I gent the 
elder of my companions forward to reconnoitre ; he took off his turban, 
long coat, and shoes, and advanced stooping at first, and then on all 
fours like a cat, we anxiously watching him the while. He selected 
a patch of tall herbage and grass on the very highest point of the crag 
to look through and over. As the man approached the spot, his 
pace became slower and slower ; he took a glance of about a quarter 
of a minute over the edge of the ridge, slowly drew his head back, 
descended a few yards, and then turning in our direction made a signal 
for us to come up, motioning at the same time with his finger that the 
game was still there. Hastily catching up my rifle and gun, the latter 
loaded with ball, we joined him; and there was such a grin of dolij^fbt 
on the man's face, that I knew at once there was something good in 
store. Carefully examining the nipples to see that the powder was up 

1 



THE BUBUBL, OH BLUE WILD HUEEV. 235 

— it was the days of muzzle-] onders — aud putting fresh capa on, X 
advanced and peeped over. And what a glorious sight met my view. 
There, witliin perhaps fifty yards, grouped in every sort of position, 
some few grazing, but the gieat majority lying down and chewing the 
end, was a splendid herd of animals ; but already an old fumale sus- 
pected danger, and with ears erect gazed intently up at me : no time 
was to be lost. Tliere wa4 a tine old male lying on a rock close below, 
a fair easy mark ; and just as I drew the trigger of my rifle, the old 
femnle, who had now discovered rae, gave a loud shrill whistle of alarm. 
The herd sprang to their feet, but all too late. The old ram never 
rose, but rolled off the rock dead, l^■ith a ball through the heart ; and 
a second bullet told loudly on the side of another. The whole flock 
now made off at full speed, "but still within shot. I fired both barrels 
of my gun, and another was hit by the last shot. Hastily reloading 
we desceuded, and rapidly followed. On rounding the corner a yonng 
r.iin, with drooping head, was seen slowly walking in front of us. On 
hearing our approach he looked round, and received a shot which put 
him out of pain. Yet another was lagging behind, but he was not 
much hurt seemingly, and appeared to recover himself, for he was able 
again to rejoin his companions, so we left off the pursuit, and returned 
to examine our prizes. The ram killed by the first shot was a splendid 
animal— I have only once shot a latter— with a fine pair of curved 
horns ; the second was a three-year old ; both had fine glossy coat^. 
There was a commotion in my camp far down below ; I could make oat 
with my glasses a group of camp followers anxiously awaiting the 
result of the echoing rifle-shots they had heard, and eager to learn if 
there was to be flesh for their dinners. I sent down the younger of 
my two companions with orders that everyone was to come up and 
help to carry home the meat, which was of great weight. I suppose 
the old ram alone weighed 250 lbs. or thereabouts. While the 
men wei-e coming up to us, we set to work removing the skins, and 
it was nearly dusk before we all gfit back to camp again, laden 
with tlie sp>>il ; and great witS the rejoicing over our unexpecti'd 
success. 

It is a mistake to make a practice of firing shots at long ranges, 
which seldom is a successful plan ; the hunter, though nflen outjinno 
by tho cunning of the creatures he is in pursuit of, will by carofiil 
m«t>wuvriiii; iMiOuer or later iiiei.-l with op|«.ip-t»uitieM; but wlun siiih 



236 TEE GAME OF BENGAL. 

chances do occur, he should be sure of his shot, taking cool and delibe- 
rate aim; for nothing can be more disheartening to himself and his 
followers if, through nervousness or anxiety to succeed, he should miss 
easy shots after much toil and fatigue. 

My first campaign against the burhel was undertaken in 1863, when 
comparatively a * Griffin,' yet I succeeded in shooting five fine males, 
one the magnificent old ram already alluded to, two smaller ones, 
besides several females. Not that I mean to boast, but I wish simply 
to show what a very moderate n'fle-shot can accomplish, armed, as I 
then was, with an old two-groove rifle, an Enfield rifle, and a smooth- 
bore, all bad sporting weapons. 

Burhel, like many other wild animals, are particularly fond of salt ; 
they regularly visit the camping-grounds of the traders when vacant, 
descending often great distances to lick up small quantities of salt, 
spilt here and there out of the leather bags carried by goats. I have 
often seen two young ones with a single female ; I believe that the 
former are able to follow the old ones in a few days after their birth. The 
attempt has been made to rear the lambs, but unsuccessfully, I think. 

The burhel never descends so low down as the ourial of the Punjab, 
but on one range of hills, bordering the Neti valley, I found both 
burhel and thar on the same ground. It was exceedingly thick, 
foggy weather at the time, and more than once I hardly knew what 
description of animal I was stalking. The burhel are fully capable of 
descending steep inclines at full gallop, and of clambering up the 
face of rocky hills to all appearance presenting an insurmountable 
obstacle. Unless struck in the shoulder, neck, or some such vital point, 
they often manage to escape ; and if recovered the following day, it is 
more than probable that vultures, wolves, foxes, or vermin of some kind, 
will have spoilt both skin and head, and the horns alone will remain 
as a trophy. 

The following is an excellent plan for recovering lost game, and well 
worth remembering by the young sportsman. On being compelled to 
give up the chase of a wounded burhel or thar, by night setting in, a 
snowstorm, or other cause, let the hunter mark well the course and line 
of country finally taken by the stricken animal, and early the following 
morning proceed himself or send a sharp lad to ascend the highest 
peak overlooking the direction noted the previous evening, giving him 
instructions to wat<3h the vultures. These lynx-eyed birds are gifted 



THE BURBEL, OR BI.VE WILD SHEEP. 237 

in aildition with a wondrous sense of smell, and will surely discover 
where tlie poor crippled creature has laid down aud died, and will 
be seen descending one after the other, as if from the clouds, to 
where the carcase ia lying. 

Tint a spcc)( tmd then a vulture, 
Till the MT is dark with piniDoe. 

The watchman has only to bend his steps as fast as possible to the spot 
ao pointed out, matiug all haste however, or the ravenona birds will 
have spoiled the prize with their huge hills and taluns. I have at 
different times recovered one bnrbol and two thar in this manner. 

The burhel has numerous enemies to contend with ; leopards are con- 
tinually following them ; also the ounce and the lynx. In Thibet, the 
wolf of that country preys on them ; and the young are occasionally 
killed by eagles. The bearded vulture or lainmergeyer (Oypceetu^ bar- 
latva) is said to be especially destructive to thenj. 

All things considered, the best time of year for hunting burhel ia 
the autumn ; the animals are then to be found at lower elevations than 
in the summer mouths, and consequently the labour of ascending to 
great heights in order to reach the game is mitigated. The coats 
of the animals are at that season in splendid condition, and really 
worth preserving as trophies. In the month of June or thereabouts 
a larger bag cau doubtless be made, for the weather on the higli 
ranges is then delightful, though exceedingly hot in the valleys, aud 
favourable for caiTying on the sport, but the Heeces of the wild sheep 
are at that period in wretched condition. The long winter coat of 
coarse hair is then dropping off, leaving patches here and there ; in 
fact, the skins are hardly worth the stretching. The females also at 
that season are with young ; though, as the males are easily distin- 
guishable from the females, the sportsman can avoid killing tlie latter. 
It is much more diflScuIt to distinguish the sexes of the gooral and one 
or two other hill animals, and it is therefore particularly objectionable 
to hunt them in the breeding season. Nothing can be more painful 
to the true sportsman than to shoot a poor thing in young, or with kids 
unable to provide for themaeives. The early summer is a season when, 
for the reasons just given, it seems only natural that the poor things 
should be left in peace for a time; so I recommend the montlis of 
August, September, and October iu the up]>er regions fur hunting burhel, 



233 THE OAME OF BENOAL. 

in preference to the spring or early summer. At tbat period raiu 'will be 
falling in torrents in the middle and lower ranges ; but the banter who 
keeps at considerable elevations will escape the dense clouds that 
envelope the hills and valleys below. 





CHAPTER SSX. 
THE OVIS AMlItlX {Limifeiu). 



Tins splendid wild sheep doea not belong, strictly speaVing, to India, 
as it ia found only across the border, hejond the snowy range. I will, 
however, include it in my liet of big game, as Thibet can be reached 
with tolerable eaae from our territory. 

I am aware that many sportsmen and natiiriilista consider the argali 
of Northern Asia and the Ovia ammon of Thibet to be identical. Un- 
donht«dly the two animals arc nearly allied, and bear a strong resem- 
blance to each other in figure and general appearance, but I venture to 
say that the difference in the character of thctr horns ia abundant 

proof of their being two distinct varieties. 

The horns of the Thibet amnion ram never, to my knowledge, have a 

final outward o(trl or twist nt the tips, nor do tliey ever, so far as I am 



240 THE GAME OF BENGAL, 

' aware, taper to a point in the manner of the argali and Ovis Po/ii, but are 
massive throughout, terminating abruptly with the tips very hlunty or flat, 

A glance at the illustrations belonging to this chapter will best 
convey my meaning to the reader. The sketch at the commencement of 
the chapter represents a skull of an ordinary-sized Thibet Ovis ammmi ; 
the head at the end of the chapter is that of the argali of Siberia. 

Description of a Ram Ovis Amman. — In general appearance a noble 
stately animal, standing from 3^ to 4 feet in height at the shoulder, 
and 6^ to 6J feet extreme length. Sometimes they even exceed the 
above measurements. The coat in winter is a thick fleece of coarse 
hail', with an under-covering of soft wool next the skin. The hide 
somewhat resembles the caribou of America in colour and appearance. 

General colour ^ dingy brown on the back, grey on the sides, and 
dirty white below; white in the chest, and a fringe of white, crisp, 
and rather curly hair about the neck. In summer this rough hair 
falls ofT, and is replaced by a close, short, darker, and smoother coat. 

Heady of great size ; nose, curved ; no beard ; ears, rather short and 
erect ; tail short ; limbs, long and well proportioned ; feet, large, and the 
print very like the shape of a heart. The horns grow to an enormous 
size ; they are light in colour, almost meeting at the base, triangular, 
with the comers rounded and very much transversely wrinkled. They 
curve backwards, gradually extending outwards, and finally curl in a 
circle forward with the blunt tips direct to the front. In a full-grown 
male the points are about 14 or 16 inches apart. The finest pair of 
horns that I ever saw measured 22 inches in circomference and 43 
inches in length, but specimens have been shot with horns measuring 
25 inches in circumference, and considerably longer than the above. 
A pair of horns in my possession, represented at the head of this 
chapter, measure 17^ inches round at the base, and 38 inches in 
length round the curve, and this ia about, or perhaps above, the 
average size of horns among full-grown rams. The skull with the 
horns above mentioned weighs 26 lbs. without the lower jaw, which is 
missing. 

The female is smaller and lighter built than her consort, and alto- 
gether a less striking animal. Her coat is in general much the same 
tint as that of the ram, but darker about the neck. As with the burhel, 
her horns differ much from those of the male ; they diverge at a moderate 
angle from ihe head, are flat, and curve gradually backwards ; are never 
of any great thickness, and seldom more than 20 or 22 inches in length. 



THE OVIS AMMON. 241 

I have inentioneJ, when speaking of the burhel, that I believe the 
age of the animal may be ascei'tained by counting the number of 
certain divisions (not wrinkles), clearly marked and defined on the 
horns, and I am of opinion, though open to correction, that the same 
rule applies to the Ovis ammon. The head in my possession is 
very much wrinkled, yet there are nine distinct divisions in addition, 
showing, I believe, the age of the animal to have reached that number 
of years. 

I have already spoken of the exceeding cunning and wariness of 
wild sheep in general, and assuredly the Ovis ammon is by nature by 
far the most diflScult to approach of all the genus Ovii, Moreover, 
unlike the burhel, which is often found feeding on rocky hills — 
favourable ground for the stalker — the giant sheep keeps more on the 
plain or low undulating ground, such as the bare, round- topped hills of 
Thibet, and consequently is much more difficult to stalk. Under the 
most favourable circumstances the hunter will seldom be able to ap- 
proach within 150 or 200 yards, and must sometimes take his chance 
at even longer ranges. I always in the summer months found the 
males apart from the females. Generally two or three old rams would 
be feeding together, and the females and young separate by themselves. 

I remember on one occasion counting 14 of the latter in one herd. 
Although the Ovis ammon is wild and restless at all times, I never, 
when following it, found the walking difficult, nor did I ever see the 
creatures clambering about on steep and precipitous ground, such as 
thar and burhel delight to frequent, though they are said to be able to 
ascend with ease the sides of crags and cliffs. The sense of smell 
appears to be very acute with Ovis ammon^ more so than with burhel or 
thar ; their pace, when alarmed, is a fast and strong gallop, and they 
will often travel many miles at a stretch before pulling up. 

I generally found them feeding in the early morning, on the side of 
some hill, valley, or ravine, where thei'e was an abundance of fresh 
grass and herbs, facing and enjoying the warmth of the rising sun. 
The animals go to drink once or twice a day, and occasionally may be 
waylaid on their journey to and from the water. Unlike thar and 
burhel, who not unfrequently, on discovering the sportsman attempting 
to approach them, betake themselves to high rocky ground, or descend 
steep precipitous cliffs, the giant sheep, when they suspect danger, 
almost invariably make for open ground, where they can see all round 
them. They are very powerful creatures, and a bullet or rifle-shell 



24a * THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

must be well placed to bring to bag an old ram. The flesh is exceed- 
ingly good, though not perhaps equal to that of the burhel. In the 
summer months the animals resort to certain spots, where they are to 
be found year after year, though of late, from constantly being hunted, 
their numbers have much diminished. When the snow falls, generally 
in September, the Ovis ammon^ kyang, and other animals inhabiting 
the plains of Thibet, retire to the high grounds of the interior, return- 
ing south to their old resorts in the spring. I constantly came across 
the bleached bones and skeletons of the big sheep, nearly always lying 
in the bed of some deep gorge or nullah. I was informed by my 
Bhootiah guides that the animals are frequently cut off and smothered 
by the first fall of snow, before they can escape and make good their 
retreat northwards. I once succeeded in capturing a lamb of this 
species in 1863, which was only a few hours old, at a place called 
Chissum, in Thibet. On returning one afternoon from shooting, we 
suddenly came across the dam and her young. My followers, blood- 
thirsty as natives invariably are, were lost in astonishment at my 
refusing to fire at the old one, standing looking at us within 80 yards 
or so, while we carried off her young. The camp was close at hand, so 
we conveyed our prisoner there, and put him — it was a young male — to 
one of my milch goats, but. as I fully expected, the foster-mother 
refused to nourish the young stranger, and persisted in butting it ; so, 
as it was evident our attempt ;was a failure, and that without a 
nurse the lamb would speedily die, we determined to restore it to 
its mother. We found her still hovering about the spot where we 
had robbed her, and having written on a card the date and particu- 
lars of the capture, we attached it by a blue ribbon* to the youngster's 
neck, and let him go. Within half-an-hour I had the pleasure of 
seeing the old female trot up to her restored lamb, and soon after walk 
away with it. 

I will end my remarks on the Ovls ammon with an account of a 
successful day's sport, when a tolerably fine ram fell to my rifle. In 
the summer of 1863 I had been upwards of three weeks in Thibet in 

company with B n of the cavalry. We had shot several burhel and 

other animals, but not a single Ovis ammon, and there appeared to be 
little chance of our ever succeeding in what was the chief object of the 
expedition, for the cunning animals invariably baffled all our endea- 
vours to get within range. At length we reached a place called Tazang, 
and pitched our tents by a stream of water in a deep valley. The hills 



THE OVIS AMMON. 243 

about us were bare, round-topped, an^ of a reddish colour.' No one 
had shot over the ground that year, and our men assured us that we 
should find several * Nyun ' as they called them, as it was a well-known 
spot always frequented by the giant sheep. 

The first morning we went out, several Oves ammon were viewed, 
but all attempts at stalking them were of no avail. The next three 
days passed with no better results, and we began to despair of ever 
succeeding. Moreover, it was most tantalising : each day wo sallied 
forth we met with herds of burhel, and more than once within easy rifle- 
shot ; but to avoid doing mischief by the reports of our rifles, we had 
resolved to fire at nothing but the * big sheep,' and in spite of our 
servants — camp followers, and all — grumbling for flesh, we still lived in 
hopes of fortune favouring ns. 

On the morning of the fifth day, we made a start at daylight, and 
on this occasion agreed to keep together. We first ascended a high 
mountain by a narrow ridge, from which we had a fine view on either 
side ; troops of kyang (or wild horses as they are called) were 
grazing and capering about on the plain below, and about ten o'clock 
we saw a number of burhel gazing at us from an opposite height, but 
none of the animals we were in search of were to be seen. After making 
a long and fruitless round we agreed to return in the direction of our 
camp, then about five miles oflT. We were walking in single file, first 

B n, then a Bhootiah, then myself, and a Bhootiah lad bringing up 

the rear ; no one had said a word for some time, and we were regularly 
down on our luck, when a low whistle from the native behind me drew 
general attention, and the next moment we were flat on our stomachs. 
The sharp-eyed young fellow behind me, the only one of us with his 
eyes about him, had spied out a ram Ovis ammoti standing on the summit 
of a hill to our right, fully a mile ofiF. Luckily we liad not been seen 
and the wind was blowing in our faces. We brought out the glasses 
and duly scrutinised tlie animal in the distance, but we had been so 
often disappointed that I for one had little hopes of ever getting a shot 
at him. For a quarter of an hour we watched him grazing and walking 
about, apparently by himself; he fed gradually over the brow of the 
hill, and disappeared little by little from view. When he was fairly 
out of sight, we sprang up from our cramped position, and made our 
way as fast as possible direct for the foot of the hill. Up we went, and 
at length, tired and breathless, reached the spot where the big sheep 
had last been seen. A minute or twato gain breath, and again a 

K 2 



244 THE GAME OF BENGAL, 

cautious advance was made. We agreed to separate about 50 yards or 
so, and come over the brow in a line with one another. Almost imme- . 
diately after my companion had crossed the summit, he fired twice, and 
at the moment I was unable to see over the crest of the hill in front of 
me, and did not know what had happened. I sprang forward, and 
below me to my left about 180 or 200 yards oflF, going at the speed of a 
racehorse, almost broadside on, was the object of my desire. There 
was no time to take a long or careful aim. I had a double rifle loaded 
with conical shells in my hand, and, aiming well in front, fired both 
barrels ; one shot missed, but the other, the second, struck the ammon 
so heavily that he staggered and almost fell over; but, again recovering 
himself, made oflP as before, but at a less rapid rate. I pulled out my 
glasses and watched him anxiously ; he was going very lame, and I 
could see a dark patch on his hind quarter, evidently where he was 
wounded, and sorely wounded too. 

Then commenced a long stem chase ; sometimes we gained on him, 
then he discovered his enemies, and again put miles between pursuers 
and pursued, and disappeared in the distance : we followed the drops 
of blood and sliding hoof-marks patiently till once more close up, when 
again the animal would observe us, and make oflF as before. My com- 
panion gave it up as hopeless and returned home, but the Bhootiahs and 
I still persevered. 

After following the chase for upwards of two hours we came to more 
broken ground, where numerous ravines and nullahs ran and crossed 
each other in every direction. Here at last we were fairly baffled, and 
lost all trace of the wounded beast. Having marked the spot up to 
which we were certain the tracks had reached, I directed my men to 
keep working round in circles, and endeavour once more to discover 
spots of blood or print of foot. I was stooping down following the edge 
of a stony valley and examining the ground for spoor, when a shout 
from one of the men and a clattering of stones drew my attention to the 
wounded ram. He had been lying down in the bed of the nullah, 
close to us, but had sprung up, and was now, poor fellow, stiflF from his 
wound, slowly ascending the opposite side of the ravine. He was only 
100 yards or so from me, and a fair mark. I sat down, took a careful 
aim, and just as he reached the top of the bank, a shell struck him fair 
between the shoulders, and, with a crash, down he rolled to the bottom. 
In another minute I was standing over the hard-won and long-wished- 
for prize, and, as can easily be imagined, I felt supremely happy at having 



THE OVIS AMMON. 145 

at hiat, after so many ilisappoiiituieuts, slain so rare an animal. He wiia 
a fine young ram, with a coat in first-rate condition, and a very tolerable 
pair of bonis. We took the sVm oft', cut the carcase up, and bid the 
greater part of the meat by piling stones around and over it ; and then, 
heavily laden, bent our wearied steps homewards ; we did not reach the 
tents without much difficulty and uiaoy a trip and stumble, but after 
such sport, I oared little for that, or the toil we bod gone tbrough to 
earn such a prize. 



246 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 



Part H. 
TUE GAME BIRDS 



CHAPTER I. 

L— THE INDIAN PEAFOWL (Pavo cristaius, LiNXiEUs). 



With pendent train and rushing wings 
Aloft the goi^ous peacock springs. — IIeber. 



This bird is so well known, and so closely resembles the peafowl often 
seen in our own farmyards, that it is needless for me to describe it. 
It is exceedingly common over Northern India ; and though a forest- 
loving bird in its natui*al state, yet even in the barest and most open- 
lying country in the plains there are few villages that have not a 
few birds in the vicinity. In many parts of the country, natives 
— the Hindoos at any rate — dislike sportsmen killing peafowl, as the 
birds are held by their religion to be sacred, and no one with any 
feeling would knowingly shoot them near temples or at* the backs of 
villages, more especially as when found in such places they are in- 
variably more or less tame, and there can be no sport whatever in 
slaying them. I have known serious aflFrays and disturbances occur 
through British soldiers unwittingly shooting peafowl in places such 
as I have mentioned above. In the jungles of our central provinces, 
where the real wild birds are met with in great plenty, it is quite 
another matter ; and a perfectly legitimate sport. 

When beating in line, arid a bird rises in front, there can hardly be 
an easier one t-o bring down; but I have seen long strips of jimgle 
beaten on the banks of rivers, with the guns posted well in front, 
and rocketing old cocks and hens rising several hundred yards back. 



THE INDIAN PEAFOWL, 247 

and passing overhead, with a strong wind to assist them, when it 
reully required some knowledge of shooting to bring them down Iiand- 
somely. I shall never forget witnessing a eorner, with three gal- 
lant ensigns guarding it ; presently a splendid old peacock, with a tail 
as long as a church steeple, rose above the cover with a tremendous 
flapi)ing ; he got five barrels at him, and at each shot kept rising 
higher in the air, leaving clouds of feathers behind him ; he would 
certainly have escaped little the worse, with the exception of being 
minus about three feet of tail, had not an old hand stopped him with a 
charge aimed well forward. 

Like our own cock pheasant, a peafowl will take any amount of 
shot in the back and rump, but a few pellets about the head or 
neck will bring him down easily enough. At the best of times, how- 
ever, there is not much sport in shooting peafowl, and it is a great 
pity to kill such beautiful birds without a purpose. A peachick is, 
when properly cooked, a bird by no means to be despised ; and I have 
often been asked, in out-of-the-way stations, where no turkeys were to 
be got, to hH)k out for a young peahen for the table. An old bird even 
comes in handy for soup, and I have heard old Indians say that 
Mulligatawny is never correct unless made with a peafowl. 

I was once asked to collect some plumes off the Indian peacock. 
When an old male is in full plumage, about the month of April or May, 
there is a patch of most lovely golden feathers in the upper part of the 
back, just below the neck, that is prized for ladies' hats, but only one 
plume can be got from each bird killed ; and after shooting half-a-dozen 
old cocks for this purpose, it seemed such a pity — if a stronger term 
was not applicable — that I gave it up. 

Our tame birds at home never reach the splendid beauty and per- 
fection of the wild ones of the jungle. I should be afraid to say what 
I have heard mentioned as the length an Indian peacock has been 
known to reach, measuring from the point of bill to tip of tail, but it 
was something almost past belief, though quite true. It would be 
impossible for the bird to sustain the weight of such a long train, 
without dnigging it along the ground, if the roots of the tail feathers 
rested on the extremity of the body. A cursory examination will show, 
however, that they extend far up the back. 

Peafowl delight to frequent patches of jungle and forest bordering 
rivers, especially in the hot weather ; the sides of hills covered with 
thick scrub and bushes, and the sandy nullahs and ravines of the 



248 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

Central Provinces, are their chief resorts. I am speaking of the bird in 
its real wild state. Though common enough along the foot of the 
Himalaya, it never ascends the hill valleys to any height. In the 
plains of our North- Western Provinces whole gangs of peafowl may be 
seen feeding in the early morning in the open corn-fields close to 
villages, roosting at night in some neighbouring mango-tope, or 
burgot-tree ; but, as I have already said, these can hardly be called 
wild birds or fair game, nor would I care to have one of these village 
birds put on the table. 

When beating for big game in the hot season, especially for tigers, 
for peafowl inhabit the very spots that hold the big cats, I have seen 
scores, I might say hundreds, of peafowl pour out ; and many a time 
has a rustle in the dead leaves close at hand brought the momentary 
hope that a tiger might appear; but presently the rustler turns out 
to be only a stately peafowl, who of course is allowed to pass scathless, 
with a muttered adjuration on his head for causing the disappointment. 

I have already spoken of the wonderful eyesight of peafowl. In the 
Central Provinces, when a large tract of jungle is being dniwn, all kinds 
of game, urged forward by the beaters, constantly pass close within 
shot of the guns posted in advance. I have had samber, cheetul, hog, 
and other animals, pass me on these occasions, quite unaware of 
danger ; but presently an old peahen comes to the edge of the cover 
opposite, and, before crossing an open glade, stays a moment, craning 
her neck the while, and casting her bright eye around to see that all is 
safe ; and ten chances to one, however well you are concealed, whether 
on the ground or sitting high up among the foliage of a tree, she spies 
you out, and, stooping down and uttering a croak of alarm to her 
chicks following behind her, hurries away back into the thicket. 

The usual cry of the bird is a loud, melancholy call, uttered four or five 
times in succession, and sounding, curious enough, not at all unlike the 
word peafowl, with the second syllable prolonged. There are other 
notes also that the birds make use of. They often call on moonlight 
nights from their roosting perches, and when unusually clamorous in 
the daytime it is the surest sign of rain that I know of. About sunset 
on a quiet evening a sportsman may know exactly — like a gamekeeper 
with his pheasants — how many peafowl there may be in the neighbour- 
hood, for about that time they fly up for the night into burgot, mango, 
or other trees, like pheasants in a home covert ; and the noise of wings 
in succession, as each bird mounts up, betrays their numbei*s. 



THE RED JUNGLE FOWL. 249 

Peafowl are very easily netted and snared ; natives constantly bring 
tbem round for sale in an Indian cantonment, and have a barbarous 
custom of fastening the eyelids of the unfortunate birds together with 
a thorn, to keep them from fluttering about, I believe. Their, principal 
food is com,' wild fruits and berries, and insects of all kinds, and I 
have frequently been told that they will also kill and eat small snakes 
and lizards, but am unable to speak as to the latter assertion being 
true, though I should imagine it to be not improbable. 

Peafowl have many enemies ; wild cats of all kinds, even young 
tigers and leopards, pounce on them. They are ruthlessly shot by 
British soldiers, and anywhere within ten miles of a cantonment soon 
become scarce. I have seen men at Jhansie return, after a day at 
peafowl, with upwards of a dozen birds. Jackals and foxes also catch 
them not unfrequently, and all kinds of eagles, falcons, and large 
hawks carry them oflF. 

One day, with two companions, I was out shooting near Jhansie ; 
we were busy driving an island in the middle of the Betwah, in hopes 
of coming across a pair of tigers that had been frequenting the neigh- 
bourhood, and doing immense damage for months past. At one beat 
over a score of peafowl flew out, and an eagle {Aquilafulvesceiis) soaring 
above, doubtless on the look-out for them, made a stoop with a tre- 
mendous ^ wh-h-h-ish,' and a stroke at an old peahen. So suddenly and 
with such wonderful quickness did the royal bird descend, that before 
the unfortunate old hen could throw herself into the grass, the eagle 
struck her a heavy blow (with his foot, I believe), which I heard most 
distinctly, and sent her headlong and seemingly lifeless among some 
bushes close by. I sent the man who was with me to pick the bird up, 
which he did ; the eagle followed him, and hovered over him, screaming, 
as though it would dig its talons into his head. On examining the 
peafowl I found it quite dead ; its head was laid clean open by the 
stroke that the eagle had dealt. 



IL—TIIE RED JUNGLE FOWL (G alius fermffineus, Gjcellx). 

Dbscrtption. ' 

Thvi cock-])ir(l in general appearance much resembles our little bantam, but has still 
bri<rhter plumage. 



250 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

Bill, nearly Llftck. Oomb and wattles, red. Top of head, golden brown. Hackles, 
golden yellow, long, and di-ooj)ing over brea.st and shoulders; these hackles are of a* 
horny sort of substance. Scapulars and upper wing-coverts, glossy red-brown. Back, 
dark brown. Hump feathers, long, and of a beautiful glossy orange-red. Upper wing 
coverts, metallic green. Secondaries, brown. Primaries, nearly black; outer edges, 
pale butf. Tail, long, curved, and forked ; of a beautiful metallic green and purple colour. 
Belly and under tail-coverts, black tinged with green. Throat, naked and red. I<egs, 
brownish, and armed with long sharp spurs. 

Female. — Of a very game appearance : face encircled with brown feathers. General 
colour of back, neck, and upper parts, pale grey-brown, finely freckled all over with white. 
Quills, whitish ; breast, pale reddish brown. 

This well-known, cheery little game bird abounds in nearly all our 
large northern forests, especially in the Terai and the lowest ranges of 
the Himalayas. The above-mentioned (Gallus ferrugineus) is the only 
variety found in Bengal, but is succeeded farther south by the Madras 
jungle fowl (G. Sonneratii), a totally distinct, very beautiful, but not a 
more game bird in appearance than our own little jungle cock. The 
latter is generally found in very thick jungle bordering rivers like the 
Sardah in Philibeet, especially where the banks of streams are much 
cut up and intersected by ravines, with thick patches of overhanging 
bushes. Wooded islands in rivers near the foot of the hills are also 
likely spots. 

In the early morning, or towards evening, the birds come out from 
the dense thicket, where they retire during the heat of the day, to 
feed near the edge of the forest. They like to scratch about at the 
back of old cattle-sheds, and where crops grow close to the jungle side, 
and will enter corn-fields to feed. In some places, where the borders 
of the forest are much broken and irregular, and the villagers have 
cultivation here and there between patches of wood and bushes, I 
have seen capital bags made by a couple of guns, three or four 
beaters, and a few bustling spaniels. The plan is this : to beat out 
strips and patches separately, and inake a comer here and there, placing 
the guns in the first instance between the patch or standing crop about 
to be beaten, and the forest, towards which the jungle fowl when 
flushed are certain to make. The birds, finding their retreat cut off, 
and pushed hard by the men and dogs, are forced to take flight, and 
when well on the wing offer as fine a shot as a sportsman could desire ; 
flying very strongly and swiftly, and taking a good blow to stop them, 
and unless killed dead — with the exception, perhaps of the common 
Indian grey partridge — I do not know of a more cunning or persistent 



THE BED JUNGLE FOWL, 251 

ninner, a more difficult bird to secure, often baffling the best of 
retrievers. 

In the thick forest the sportsman will often catch a glimpse of the 
birds running with great swiftness in front of him, but will have great 
difficulty in flushing them. Without a dog it is frequently impossible 
to make them take wing, and it is quite useless for the sportsman bj 
himself to attempt to follow them into the thicket with the object of 
making them rise, for they will very soon distance him, making their 
way through the bush much quicker than he can. 

The jungle fowl is one of the most cunning and wary game 
birds that I am acquainted with. Although the sportsman encamped 
near the foot of the hills will in the early morning hear the cocks 
crowing in every direction, and seemingly close to his tent, yet unless 
he knows how to set to work and where to look for them, the proba- 
bilities are that after three or four hours' hard work, he will return 
with only one or two birds to repay him for all his toil. Even when 
on service in the Bhootan Dooars, where these birds are plentiful, and 
where I suppose a shot had never before been fired, I found it difficult 
to kill more than a brace or two in a day. It is very seldom that the 
sportsman succeeds in surprising them, as they nearly always become 
aware of his approach, and instantly dive into the thicket. I remember 
once coming round a comer suddenly, and catching 1^0 less than nine 
jungle fowl together, scratching about at the bottom of a nullah, and 
got a capital right and left chance, killing a brace — one a magnificent 
old cock with a splendid set of hackles round his neck. I have shot 
jungle fowl and kallige pheasants in the same day, and out of the same 
description of cover ; but the former, though frequenting the lower 
spurs and ravines of our hill ranges,.never ascends to any great height, 
as the latter bird constantly does. 

Like the kallige pheasant, jungle fowl often, when fiushed by a 
dog, will settle in a tree close by, offering a tempting mark for a pot 
hunter. When stationed at Cherra Poonjee in our eastern frontier, I 
often descended from the Cossyah hills to fish for mahseer in a river 
below — a very dangerous amusement, by the bye, on account of the 
unhealthiness of the forest. Jungle fowl were exceedingly common 
on both banks of this river, and I have often seen three and four 
together, close to the footpath. Very often the forests and jungles 
where these birds are most plentiful harbour various kinds of large 
game, such as tigers, samber, and cheetul, the latter especially ; and 



252 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

when such spots are visited by shooting parties, little notice is taken 
of the jungle moorghies, who are allowed to whirl away scathless, the 
hunters devoting their attention only to the larger denizens of the 
forest. 

The cock birds, when full grown, are armed with tremendous spurs, 
longer in proportion to the size of the diminutive champion they adorn, 
than any game bird that I am acquainted with ; and these spurs, 
moreover, are exceedingly sharp. I learnt this fact from one of the 
first jungle cocks I ever shot at a camping ground near the Dunwar 
Pass, between Baneegunge and Shergotty. I only winged the bird, 
and after a long pursuit I grasped him by the legs as he was 
ascending a bank, and in so doing drove one of his spurs deep into 
the palm of my hand. They are, I believe, most pugnacious, and much 
resemble, both in manner and appearance, our bantams. The wild 
jungle cocks are, however, more brilliant in plumage than their con- 
freres of the farm-yard, and the hackles off the neck of an old cock 
are most valuable for making salmon and trout flies, as every angler 
is aware. The crow of the male bird is exactly similar to that of the 
bantam cock, except that the last note of the former is not prolonged, 
but terminates abruptly. 

The bird is one of the very best for the table; in fact, I hardly 
know of a better. 



III.— THE RED SPUR-FOWL {GaUoj)ciflu' SjHtdiccwt, Gmeux). 

Jbrdon's Dbscription. 

Male. — Head and nape dusky olive-brown : the forehead and round the eye pale whity 
brown, somewhat but!' in some individuals ; chin, throat, and sides of neck pale brown ; 
the rest of the body, both above and below, rich brown chestnut or bay ; each feather 
pale-eJged ; primaries brown ; the secondaries and tertiaries more or less minutely mottled ; 
tail with the central feathers chestnut, the others dark brown, more or less mottled, thi^ 
disappearing with age ; lower abdomen, vent, and under tail-coverts, olivaceous. 

Female. — lias the crown dusky blackish, the neck olive-brown, and the rest of the 
upper plumage pale rufous brown, each feather with two or three blackish bands, and 
minutely speckled, and the tip pale ; the rump and upper tail-coverts are minutely freckled ; 
the tail mostly blackish, with mottled rufous bars, tending to become obsolete ; primaries, 
their coverts, and the winglet, spotless dusky brown : throat albescent ; neck olive-brown, 
the feathers becoming rufous in the centre, and tipped with black ; bieost and flanks bright 
ferruginous, with narrow black tijw ; belly dusky brown ; under tail-coverts frerkkxi 
rufous brown. 



THE PAINTED SPUR-FOWL. 253 

I HAVE onlj once met with and shot the Red Spur-Fowl, and that was 
many years ago, near the Kuttra Pass, on a range of hills some forty 
or fifty miles from Mirzapore. 

The specimen I procured was a young bird, which unfortunately 
had not arrived at full plumage, and consequently was unsuited for 
supplying a description. 

I have therefore transcribed Jerdon's admirable description of the 
male and female Red Spur- Fowl from the * Birds of India,' and regret 
that I am unable to give any information regarding the habits of this 
handsome little game-bird. 



IV.— THE PAINTED SPUR-FOWL (GaUoperdiv Lurwlosus, Valenc). 

Dbbcriptiok, 

Male, — Head, above, dark brown ; neck, upper part of breast, and wingKioverts deep 
chestnut and beautifully spotted with white, each spot above and below black (reminding^ 
one much, only on a smaller scale, of the spots and eyes on the neck, breast, and upper part 
of the homed pheasant, lower part of breast yellow, 8i)otted with white, but the eyes 
fewer and larger. 

Tail. — Dark brown, feathers thick and square at the tips. 

Win4f$. — Short and rounded. 

Furnished with a pair of long formidable spurs on each leg about an inch apart. The 
upper one the longer of the two. 

Female, — General colour deep brown, altogether wanting the beautiful spots and rich 
tints of the male bird. A specimen that I have has two spurs, shorter than those of the 
male, sliarp, and high up the leg. 

I HAVE constantly met with this bird in the Jhnnsie district; it is also 
common on the banks of the Scinde and Betwah rivers. The male does 
not crow like the jungle cock, though both sexes make a kind of clucking 
noise like a true fowl. When running, these birds carry the tail up, 
not like a partridge. I have often watched them when hidden behind a 
bush or rock, waiting for the beat to approach ; sometimes over a dozen 
have run past me. They move very fast, and seldom take wing till 
hard pressed. The flight is swift, and rarely at any great height from 
the ground. The birds take a good hard blow to bring them down. 
I remember once in the Lullutpore district some of our Sahariah 





^^^^h^^^^^^H 


THE GAME OF BENGAL. ^H 

captured four small chicka that apparently had only been V 
\ a few days ; while we were looking at them the old hen bird was H 
top of a rock cli>si> by, calling and making a great fuss about H 
bery we bad committed. A friend of niino, when stationed in ^| 

Imlia, obtained a number of the eggs of the painted spur-fowl, H 
ceeded in reariag over a dozen chicks under a hen : the youug ■ 
thrived and grew apace, but persisted in fighting with the in- 
ts of the poultry-yard, and naturally, from their small size, were 
Ay worsted, often getting severely mauled in these combats. 
jsequcnce was that they one by one became sickly and died off, 

favourite haunts of this spur-fowl are rocky hills, or deep stony 
, near rivers, far away from the habitations of man. 



niMALAYAN PHEASANTS. 255 



CHAPTER 11. 
HIMALAYAN PHEASANTS. 



Se3 I from the Lrake the whirring pheasant springs, 
And mounts exultin<? on triumphant wings. — Pope. 



I.— THE MOONAL PHEASANT (Lojihophonis Impeyamis, Latham). 

Descriptiox. 

Maie. — Bill, blockish brown. The head is adorned with a tuft of dark, shining green 
feathers. The head, neck, back, greater and lesser wing-corerts and upper tail-coverts are 
of a dark blue mixed with green, and there are also some remarkably bright copper- 
coloured feathers, giving a lovely golden tint. The breast, primaries, and secondaries black, 
black also below ; the romp pure white ; the tail, which is short, and terminates almost 
squarely, and very unlike the tail of a true pheasant, is of a rich chestnut colour. 

The heu bird is smaller than the cock, and of a sober tint in comparison with him ; of 
a light brown colour, streaked with a darker tint, throat white. Not unlike a large grey 
hen, except that the tail is longer, and does not terminate so abruptly as that of the cock. 
The shape of the moonal is thick and heavy, and it does not belong to the true pheasants. 

It is a beautiful sight to see an old cock moonal rise from some crag, 
and with wings half closed, soar across some deep valley below, the sun 
shining on his brilliant plumage and showing off the white, black, and 
red tints to perfection. I have seen them constantly fly upwards of a mile 
after being flushed, before attempting to settle again. That admirable 
writer on Himalayan game, ' Mountaineer ' (Mr. Wilson, of Mussoorie), 
thus describes the flight of the moonal. He says : * It gets up with a 
loud fluttering and a rapid succession of shrill screeching whistles, 
often continued till it alights, when it occasionally commences its 
ordinary loud and plaintive call, and continues it for some time. 

* In winter, when one or two birds have been flushed, all within 
liearing get alarmed; if they are collected together, they get up in 



256 . THE GAME OF DENOAL. 

rapid succession ; if distantly scattered, bird after bird slowly gets up ; 
the shrill call of each as it rises alarming others still farther oflF, till 
all in the immediate neighbourhood have risen.' 

In formA* years this splendid bird was very numerous on the 
summits of the middle ranges of the Himalayas, and is yet to be found 
abundantly in out-of-the-way spots. The sportsman constantly comes 
across them when shooting thar high up on the pastures above the 
forests. I have in October and November counted over twenty birds, 
cocks and hens mixed together, busily engaged feeding. With their 
powerful bills (the upper mandible of which, by the way, is considerably 
longer than the lower) they drill holes in the turf in search of certain 
roots, which they principally subsist upon. They also eat readily wild 
raspberries and other forest fruits. I have shot more moonal than 
any other description of hill pheasant, excepting perhaps the common 
kallige ; and a by-day on the hill tops after this splendid bird, with 
three or four beaters, and a good retriever, was a very favourite 
amusement of mine. I have said that when on the look-out for thar 
in the higher ranges the sportsman is sure to come across moonal in 
the day's ramble. If he acts prudently, however, he does not fire at 
them, even should they rise well within distance, for fear of disturbing 
larger game ; but makes a point of remembering the spots which the 
birds frequent for a future occasion, and probably the day before he 
moves his camp to some other quarter, he has a turn at the pheasants. 
I have found by experience that the best way of acting, to meet with 
success, is to adopt the following plan : take three or four men or boys 
with you, and make them walk in a line with and above you, at about 
fifty yards or more apart. The farthest beater from you, who should 
keep along the brow of the hill you are driving, should be rather in 
advance of his companions ; you yourself skirt the edge of the forest 
below, and when a moonal is flushed out of the grassy nullahs above, 
he will come rocketing down, and, if you use straight powder, falls with 
a crash among the rhododendron bushes below, giving an opportunity 
to your dog to distinguish himself. 

One day in 1869 I killed five old cock birds and two hens in one 
morning, besides missing several others, but that was unusually good 
work. One of the birds I recollect was flushed quite a quarter of a 
mile above me, and came down hill straight over my head at a most 
tremendous pace ; aiming fully a yard in front of him, I let him have a 
dose of No. 3 shot, which had the effect of doubling him up completely, 



THE MOONAL PHEASANT, 257 

and be fell down a great distance below, to all appearance qnite dead. 
Mj dog, a thorougb-bred Irisb setter and first-class retriever, saw tbe 
performance, and on being told, bounded down tbe side of tbe bill to 
pick up the slain. Tbe wbole face of tbe bill was covered witb bushes, 
and I sat down to rest and give tbe dog time to 3earch for the bird. 
I smoked half a cheroot, but still no sign of dog Dash, so I gave him a 
call. Tbe faithful animal answered me by barking far down the khud 
below. I waited for a few minutes, and then, becoming impatient at 
tbe waste of time, called to the dog a second time ; he immediately 
commenced barking agaiu. This was most unusual conduct on his part, 
and as be seemed determined, for some reason of bis own, not to return 
to me, I at length made up my mind to go to him and see what was 
tbe matter. I made my way down hill for 150 yards or so, and 
presently saw through the bush<»s tbe red coat of my setter with his 
tongue hanging out of his mouth ; be was seated under a very thick 
thorn bush, with bis wbole attention fixed apparently on something 
above. I walked up, and there, about five feet from the ground, 
hung up in a thick branch of thorns, was the dead moonal cock, which 
the sagacious animal had discovered, but would not leave, till by 
barking be had brought bis master down to his assistance. 

This pheasant is much sought after, on account of the brilliancy 
of its plumage, by tbe paharies, who are adepts at snaring it ; and on 
whole ranges of bills, where twelve years ago I saw twenty and thirty 
birds each day that I went out, there is not a single one now to be 
found ; and it is certain, that unless Government establish laws for the 
protection of pheasants and other game, there will soon be none, and 
our glorious hills will have lost one of their chief attractions. 

For the first year, young cock birds are of a brown colour, hardly 
to be distinguished from tbe hens, but get their full plumage tbe next 
year. When young, tbe moonal is an excellent bird for the table, and 
old birds make good soup. I generally brought back six or eight stuffed 
moonal with me after an expedition into the interior. A good specimen 
is always worth preserving and sending home, to be cut up into plumes 
for ladies' bats. I would warn sportsmen to beware of one thing. 
When removing the skins from an old moonal, do not rest the bird on 
your knees, as I did once, and only once ; better put him on a table or 
stone, for this reason, they nearly always swarm with vermin, both 
large and small, which appear to be charmed at an opportunity of 
changing their quartci*s. 

8 



258 THE GAME OF BENGAL 

I will conclude my remarks on the moonal pheasant with an anecdote 
from my hill journal. In September 1869 I was encamped in Gurhwal, 
and one still beautiful evening was sitting outside my tent reading, and 
every now and then looking up from my book to admire a magnificent 
view of the snows directly opposite, a sight I never tired gazing at. 
One of my followers had been sent with a pitcher to a stream below my 
tent for water,and on returning,as he placed the chattie — or jar — of water 
in the tent, he told me that when going down he had flushed four moonal 
pheasants, which flew into a tree, and that on the return journey he 
had seen them still there. My khitmughar had informed me only a 
few minutes before that there was but a poor dinner in store for me, 
because the larder was empty. Such an opportunity was not to be 
lost, so, shutting up my book, I directed the man to show me the tree ; 
he pointed it out, and with my glasses I could pk-inly discern two of 
the birds sitting on a low branch. Putting half-a-dozen cartridges into 
my pocket, I picked up my gun, and told three of the coolies to watch 
my movements from above, and to wait till, by making a detour, I 
managed to get below where the birds were ; they were then to form 
line, the two outer men well forward, and attempt to drive the moonal 
in my direction by coming down straight towards me. I made a long 
round, and by taking advantage of the stream I have mentioued, up 
which I walked ankle-deep in water, at length reached the spot where 
I intended to halt in hopes of getting a shot. My men above had 
evidently lost sight of me, for after waiting five minutes or so they 
never attempted to act in the way I had ordered. The tree, in which 
I could see three birds still sitting, was about 150 yards above me, so I 
decided on attempting a stalk, slowly creeping up on my hands and 
knees in full view of the moonal if they had had their eyes open. I 
at length managed to get a clump of bushes between me and them, and 
then rapidly walked towards them ; when within fifty yards, the bird 
sitting highest up, on whom I had my eye, discovered me, and, with a 
croak of alarm to his friends, was about to take wing, when (tell it not 
in Guth, but I was in want of food) I knocked him off his perch. The 
other two fiew out, not directly towards me, but still within range, and 
a good left barrel sent an old hen splash into the water below. My 
coolies, seeing what had happened, now came running down towards 
me, and to my surprise put up a fourth bird, an old cock, out of the 
grase ; with a loud whistle he came rocketing over. I just had time 
to close my gun on two fresh cartridges, and fire right and left. The 



TUE SIMLA UOBNED PHEASANT, 259 

first barrel hib him hard, and the second dropped him dead within 
half-a-dozen yards from the spot where the old hen was still lying, 
half covered with water. So I did not manage so badly ; and, picking 
up my three birds, returned home in triumph. 



11.— THE SIMLA HORNED PHEASANT OR BLACK-HE^VDED TRAGOPAN 
(Arous Pheasant op Sportsmen). (Ceriornis melanocephaia. Gray.) 

Description. 

Male, — Billy black. Head, black. Throat, naked, blue and red ; a large round spot 
of red on the lower part of the neck. Back, wing-coverts, and upper tail-coverts, dark 
brown, varied with fine black, bufF, and whitish transverse markings : at the tip of each 
feather is a round white spot Neck, red-brown. Breast, deep rich red. Flanks and 
under tail-coverts, black and red intermixed, each feather having a round white spot at 
the tip. Tail, nearly black. Legs, reddish brown. 

Female, — Blackish-brown, varied with grey and black, each feather having a small 
white streak near the tip. Legs, grey. 

This beautiful bird is pre-eraiuent among our Himalayan game birds 
for the richness and magnificence of its plumage. I believe that this 
homed pheasant is a variety of the true argus pheasant [Argus gigau" 
teu8)y which bird is only found in Sumatra, Java, and the country of 
the Malays. The Himalayan argus is altogether smaller in size, and 
wants the long tail of the above-mentioned bird, which has been de- 
scribed by travellers as reaching four feet and upwards in length. 

The Himalayan argus is by far the rarest of all our hill pheasants, 
and is now, from constantly being snared and shot, seldom inet with, 
and then only in the most unfrequented valleys and regions hardly 
ever visited by sportsmen. In fact, a hunter might wander for years 
together in our hills without once coming across the bird. It is 
naturally wary and shy, and, from constant persecution by the hill 
tribes, hides all day in the densest thickets and tangled sciiib far 
down in the deep low valleys of the interior, where, without hardly 
ever showing itself in the open, or exposing itself in any way, it can 
yet find its natural food, such as wild fruit, berries and acorns. 
When alarmed, it runs with great rapidity over rough stony ground, 

82 



26o THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

and makes its way with surprising swiftness throngh a mass of thorns 
and bushes where a dog even is sometimes unable to follow, and will 
only take wing when hard pressed. The bird is much sought after, 
both by Europeans and native hunters, on account of the value of 
its beautiful skin. The latter especially clear whole forests of every 
single specimen ; and about the breeding time, by artfully copying the 
call of the cock, these poaching rascals attract every bird within hearing 
to where they are hidden, and so succeed in shooting them. Many are 
also snared with horse-hair nooses, and caught in traps of various 
kinds. A fine cock bird in full plumage is worth from seven to ten 
rupees, often more, so no wonder the paharies constantly and persistently 
trap them. 

When hunting in the neighbourhood of a smaU lake about eight 
miles from a place called Goonee Ramnee, in Upper Gurhwal, I 
several times came across this beautiful bird. One day I saw four 
together, and within gun-shot, but refrained from firing at them, as 
I was on the look-out for a gerow stag, and was afraid of echoing 
gun-shots disturbing the large game, being simple enough to imagine 
that I should later, when about to leave the spot, with the assistance 
of a few beaters, be able to get the birds up and shoot them with ease. 
But when I did make the attempt, T failed utterly, on account of the 
great impediments which the beaters met with, and consequently slow 
progress they made in forcing their way through the dense cover, the 
birds rapidly making off without my getting a single shot. 

As I am, comparatively speaking, but little acquainted with this 
bird, I will again take the liberty of quoting at length from * Moun- 
taineer.* He says : — 

* Its' usual haunts are high up, not far from the snows, in dense 
and gloomy forests either alone or in small scattered parties. In 
winter they descend the hills, and then their favourite haunts are in 
the thickest parts of the forests of oak, chestnut, and Morenda pine, 
where the box-tree is abundant, and where under the forest trees a 
luxuriant growth of * ringall,' or the hill bamboo, forms an underwood 
in some places almost impenetrable. They keep in companies of from 
two or three to ten or a dozen or more, not in compact flocks, but 
scattered widely over a considerable space of forest, so that many at 
times get quite separated, and are found quite alone. If undisturbed, 
however, they generally remain pretty close together, and appear to 
return year after year to the same spot, even though the ground be 



TEE SIMLA HORNED PHEASANT. 361 

covered with snow, for thej find their living then on the trees. If 
driven away from the forest by an unusually severe storm, or any other 
cause, they may be found at this season in small clumps of wood, 
wooded ravines, patches of low brushwood, &c., &c. 

* At this season, except its not€ of alarm when disturbed, the jewar 
is altogether mute, and is never heard, of its owa accord, to utter a 
note or call of any kind, unlike the rest of our pheasants, all of which 
occasionally crow er call at all seasons. When alarmed it utters a 
succession of wailing cries not unlike those of a young lamb or kid, 
like the syllable " waa, waa, waa," each syllable uttered slowly and dis- 
tinctly at first, and more rapidly as the bird is hard pressed or about 
to take wing. 

* Where not repeatedly disturbed, it is not particularly shy, and 
seldom takes alarm till a person is in its immediate vicinity, when it 
creeps slowly through the underwood, or flies up into a tree ; in the 
former case continuing its call till again stationary, and in the latter 
till it has concealed itself in the branches. If several are together, all 
begin to call at once, and run oflF in different directions, some mounting 
into the trees, others running along the ground. When first put up 
they often alight in one of the nearest trees, but if again flushed the 
second flight is generally to some distance, and almost always down 
hill. Their flight is rapid, the whir peculiar, and when even the bird 
is not seen may be distinguished by the sound from tay other. Where 
their haunts are often visited, either by the sportsmen or the villagers, 
they are more wary, and if such visits are of regular occurrence, and 
continued for any length of time, they become so in a very high degree, 
so much so that it is impossible to conceive a forest bird more shy or 
cunning. They then, as soon as aware of the presence of anyone in 
the forest, after calling once or twice, or without doing so at all, fly up 
into the trees, which near their haunts are almost all evergreens of the 
densest foliage, and conceal themselves so artfully in the tangled leaves 
and branches that, unless one has been seen to fly into a particular 
tree, and it has been well marked down, it is almost impossible to find 
them. 

* In spring, as the snow begins to melt on the higher parts of the 
hills, they leave entirely their winter resorts, and gradually separate 
and spread themselves through the more remote and distant woods up 
to the region of birch and rhododendron, and almost to the extreme 
limits of forest. Early in April they begin to pair, and the males are 



262 THE GAME OF BENGAL, 

then more gftnerally met Tvith than at any other period ; they seem to 
wander about a great deal, are almost always found alone, and often 
call at intervals all day long. When thus calling, the bird is generally 
perched on the thick branch, or on the trunk of one which has fallen 
to the gi'ound, or on a large stone. The call is similar to the one they 
utter when disturbed, but is much louder, and only one single note at a 
time, a loud energetic '^ waa," not finlike the bleating of a goat, and 
can be heard for upwards of a mile. It is uttered at various intervals, 
sometimes every five or ten minutes for hours together, and sometimes 
not more than two or three times during the day, and most probably 
to invite the females to the spot. . When the business of incubation is 
over, each brood with the parent birds keep collected together about 
one spot, and descend towards their winter resorts as the season ad- 
vances ; but the forests are so densely crowded with long weeds and 
grass that they are seldom seen till about November, when it has par- 
tially decayed, and admits of a view through. It feeds chiefly on the 
leaves of trees and shrubs ; of the former the box and oak are the 
principal ones, of the latter ringall, and a shrub something like the 
privet. It also eats roots, flowers, bulbs, and insects, acorns and seeds, 
and berries of various kinds, but in a small proportion compared with 
leaves. In confinement it will eat almost any kind of grain. Though 
the most solitary of our pheasants, and in its native forests perhaps Hhe 
shyest, it is the most easily reconciled to confinement; even when 
caught old they soon lose their timidity, eating readily out of the hand, 
and little diflSculty is experienced in rearing them. 

*The jewar roosts in trees, and in winter, perhaps for warmth, 
seems to prefer the low evergreens with closely interwoven leaves and 
branches to the latter and larger which overshadow them.* 



III.— THE SXOW PHEASANT OR SXOW COCK (Tetra^>galh4s 

Jlimalayensis, Gray). 

Description. 

A thick heavy-bidlt bird, belonging to the Tetraonida family ; one of the lai^st of 
Himalayan prame birds. 

Male. — Bill, lig:ht brown. Top of head, pale grey margined with brown. Lower 



THE SNOW PHEASANT OR SNOW COCK. 263 

part of back of neck, prev, minutely freckled with darker grey, tinged with buff; a brown 
spot on each side of the neck. Back, upper wing-coverts, and rump, grey, freckled 
with black and pale buff; the wing-coverts margined with buff and reddish brown. 
Tail, freckled like the back, with brown tips. l*rimaries, whitish, tipped with greyish 
brown. Throat, whitish. I-K)wer part of neck, whitish, barred with black. Breast, whitish. 
Belly, slaty grey. Flank feathers, maigined with black and reddish brown. Under 
tail-coverts, nearly white. Legs, pale red. 

Female, — Very similar in colouring of plumage, but smaller. 

I repeatedly came across the nest of this bird when in Thibet in 1803. It builds on 
the ground, generally choosing a convenient hollow on some steep hill-side. I also several 
times saw old hen birds, witk large broods of chicks, numbering 12 and 15 in a brood. 

The geoeral shape of the Huinwal (as it is called by the natives of 
XJppor Gurhwal) more resembles a very large partridge than a pheasant. 
It is a heavy, thick-built bird, but a strong flyer, and, like the moonal, 
when well on the wing takes a heavy blow to bring it down. I have 
only met with the Snow Cock on bare, rocky hill tops, never in high 
cover of any sort. It is partial to lofty ridges and crags, and often 
the birds assemble in large flocks. Once, below the Neti Pass, I do not 
exaggerate when I say that I saw upwards of fifty together in one 
pack. 

When after burhel, I constantly came across snow pheasants on our 
side of the passes and also in Thibet : in some places they were very 
numerous, and in out-of-the-way spots tolerably tame ; but I seldom 
shot them, except when pushed for food, for at the best of times they 
are but poor -birds for the table, having a very strong, unpleasant 
flavour. Moreover, the birds had nests at the time I am speaking of. 
Several times I came across old ones with young chicks, and one day 
one of my Bhootiahs discovered and pointed out to me an old bird 
under a shelving rock, sitting, doubtless, on eggs. I particularly ordered 
that no one was to molest her ; it was within a quarter of a mile of my 
encampment; but two days after, on passing the spot, the nest had 
been destroyed and, by the feathers scattered about, the poor parent 
bird apparently killed. My followers said that a fox had taken her, but 
1 suspect rather that one of them had had a hand in the business. 

The huinwal, in the early morning, just at daylight especially, 
utters a soft kind of whistle or cry pleasing to the ear, something like, 
though easily distinguishable from, the call of. the moonal. When 
flushed, like the latter also, it utters a succession of loud, rather harsh 
screams. Should a herd of burhel or thar be feeding near, their atten- 
tion is immediately aroused, as if perfectly aware that the birds only 



264 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

utter such cries when alarmed ; aud one day I remember, after a most 
fatiguing stalk, I lost my chance of a shot at a herd of burhel by three 
snow pheasants rising up in succession at my approach, and with loud 
cries flying directly over the animals I was creeping up to. Suspecting 
what the result would be, although it was quite impossible that the 
wary animals had seen or smelt me, for I was behind a ridge, and the 
wind blew directly towards me, I waited for a few minutes before agaiu 
attempting to crawl up. On slowly moving forward and looking over 
the ridge, I found that the burhel who, until alarmed by the huinwal 
had been feeding unconscious of dauger on ground most favourable for 
a stalk, had crossed a valley below, and were now standing in a group 
on the opposite side, their whole attention fixed in my direction. 
In another minute one of the herd uttered a shrill whistle, and they 
were oflF, 



IV.— THE CHEER PHEASANT {Phasiantu wallicMi, H^lkdwickb). 

Description. 

Male. — About the size of, or rather lai^er than our English cock pheasant. 

Bill whitish ; top of head dark grey ; neck and breast pale grey ; back and wing- 
coverts grey-brown, transversely barred with black, pale bull", or while ; rump, reddish 
brown or rufous, shafts pale; belly, barred with black and rufous; tail, pale rufous, 
broadly barred with dark brown, intermingled with black and pale brown. 

The tail is very long and tapering, and the legs are armed with moderate spurs. 

Female. — Very similar to the male, only more profusely marked with dark brown and 
black ; the shafts pale. She is rather smaller in size than the cock bird, with a shorter 
taU. 

Next to the tragopan, in my numerous rambles in the interior of 
the Himalayas I have come across and altogether seen less of the 
cheer than any other hill phensant. This magnificent bird, with the 
long tapering tail of the true PhasianinWy is said to be common in 
certain localities. In my first two expeditions to our hills, though I 
wandered far and rambled over a great extent of country, I only saw a 
few brace of cheer, a solitary one here and there, or perhaps two at a 
time ; but on the third trip, at a place called Permuttie, in Gurhwal, I 
came quite by chance across a number of cheer, and on first finding them 



THE GHEEB PHEASANT. 265 

on the slope of a hill clear of brushwood, but where a kind of long grass 
grew very thick, I must have put up over a dozen. I was, however, 
very shaky at the time, having been down several days with fever, and 
shot badly, only killing a brace. The next day I shot two more near 
the same spot, one a splendid old cock bird, which I stuffed ; but the 
greater number had made off to other haunts. 

A dog is most necessary for this sport. One of the birds that I 
brought down, the old cock already mentioned, was only winged, and it 
took my setter, though a first-rate retriever, fully a quarter of an hour 
to bring him, so close did he crouch and artfully hide himself. 

I am surprised that no attempt has been made to introduce this 
splendid pheasant into English woods and covers. I have never heard 
tliat it is a delicate bird, or that there is any difficulty in rearing it in 
confinement, and I should imagine that the English climate would be 
well suited for it. It derives its name from the similarity of the bird's 
cry to the word * cheer.' I consider the cheer the finest among Himalayan 
game birds. As, however, I am able to say but little regarding its ways 
and habits, I once more take the liberty of transcribing from *The 
Indian Sporting Review ' the very interesting and exhaustive remarks 
of * Mountaineer ' on the cheer. He says : — 

* It is an inhabitant of the lower and intermediate ranges, seldom 
found at very high elevations, and never approaching the limits of the 
forest. Though far from being rare, fewer perhaps are met with than 
of any other kind, unless it is particularly sought for, always excepting 
the jewar (horned pheasant). The reason of this may be that the 
general character of the ground where they resort is not so inviting in 
appearance to the sportsman as other places ; besides, they are every- 
where confined to particular localities, and are not, like the rest, 
scattered indiscriminately over almost every part of the region they 
inhabit. Their haunts are on grassy hills, with a scattered forest of 
oak and small patches of underwood ; hills covered with the common 
pine, near the sites of deserted villages, old cow-sheds, and the long 
grass among precipices and broken ground. They are seldom found 
on hills entirely destitute of trees or jungle, or in the opposite extreme 
of deep shady forests. In the lower ranges they keep near the tops of 
the hills or about the middle, and are seldom found in the valleys or 
deep ravines. Further in the interior they are generally low down,, 
often in the immediate vicinity of villages ; except in the breeding 
season, when each pair seek a spot to perform the business of inca- 



266 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

bation. They congregate in flocks of from five or six to ten or fifteen, 
and seldom more than two or three lots inhabit the same hill. They 
wander about a good deal on the particular hill on which they are located, 
but not beyond certain boundaries, remaining about one spot for several 
days or weeks, and then shifting to another, but never entirely abandon 
the place, and year after year may to a certainty be found in some 
quarter of it. During the day, unless dark and cloudy, they keep 
concealed in the grass and bushes, coming out morning and evening to 
feed ; when come upon suddenly while ont, they run off quickly in 
different directions, and conceal themselves in the nearest cover, and 
seldom more than one or two get on the wing. They run very fast ; 
and if the ground is open, and no cover near, many will run two or 
ihree hundred yards in preference to getting up. After concealing 
themselves they lie very close, and are flushed within a few yards. 
There is perhaps no bird of its size which is so difficult to find after 
the flock has been disturbed and they have concealed themselves ; 
when the grass is very long, even if marked down, without a good dog it 
is often impossible to find them, and with the assistance of the best dogs 
not one half will be found a second time. A person may walk within 
a yard of one, and it will not move. I have knocked them over with a 
stick, and even taken them with the hand. In autumn the long rank 
grass, so prevalent about many of the places they resort to, enables 
them to hide almost anywhere ; but this is burnt by the villagers at 
the end of winter, and they then seek refuge in low jungle and brush- 
wood, and with a dog are not so difficult to find. 

^ Both males and females often crow at daybreak and dusk, and in 
cloudy weather sometimes during the day. The crow is low and ir- 
regular, and when there is nothing to interrupt, the sound may be 
heard for at least a mile. It is something like the words " chir a pir, 
chir a pir, chir chir, chirwa chirwa," but a good deal varied; it is 
often begun before complete daylight, and in spring, when the birds 
are numerous, it invariably ushers in the day. In this respect it may 
rival the domestic cock. When pairing, and scattered about, the crow 
is often kept up for nearly half-an-hour, first from one quarter, then 
another, and now and then all seem to join in a chorus. At other 
times it seldom lasts more than five or ten minutes. 

* The cheer pheasant feeds chiefly on roots (for which it digs holes 
in the ground), grubs, insects, seeds, and bendes, and if near cultivated 
fields, several kinds of grain form a portion ; it does not eat grass or 



TUE KOKLASS Oli PUGBA8 PHEASANT. 267 

leaves, like all the rest of the pheasants. It is easy to rear in confine- 
ment, and might without difficulty be natuinilised in England, if it 
would stand the long frosts and snows of severe winters, which I 
imagine is rather doubtful. The female makes her nest in the grass, 
or amongst low bushes, and lays from nine to fourteen eggs, of a dull 
white, and rather small for so large a bird. They are hatched about 
the end of May or beginning of June. Both male and female keep 
with the young brood, and seem very solicitous for their safety. This 
bird flies rather heavily and seldom very far : like most others, it 
generally utters a few loud screeches on getting up, and spreads out 
the beautiful barred feathers of its long tail, both when flying and 
running. It does not perch much on trees, but will occasionally fly up 
into one close by when put up by dogs. It roosts on the ground 
generally, and when congregat€:.d together, the whole flock huddle up 
in one spot. They will, however, at times roost in trees or bushes.' 



V.~TIIE KOKLASS OR PUCRAS PHEASANT {Pucrasia Macrolapha, Lesson). 

Dbscription. 

Malr. — In size about that of an English hen pheasant. 

Bill black ; top of head brown, with a long crest of glossy brown and black feathers ; 
chet>ks, back of head, and throat, black, tinged with steel-blue or glossy green ; under 
the ear a large pure white spot ; the whole of the upper and under parts of the body pale 
gr^vLsh brown, each feather having a longitudinal stripe down the centre ; a broad dark- 
brown band from the upper part of the throat to the lower part of the belly. 

Tail. — Rather short, almost wedge-shaped, broad and rounded at the base, of a dark- 
brown colour, with some of the feathers tipped with black. 

I^ffs. — Light grey, and armed with rather long and sharp spurs. 

Female. — About 15 inches from head to end of tail ; latter, 6 inches long; legs, 4 
inches. Bird stands about 12 inches high. 

Iris, olive colour ; head, yellow, with small stieaks of dark brown along the cheeks, 
(»xt«*nding into a band of t^ame colour, which gradually blends with the light yellowish 
brown on the back of the neck ; throat white, with a slight reddish tinge. Feathers on 
whole of body, aUlomen, and back, coloured with short longitudinal streaks of fawn- 
colour, black, and light grey. Primaries reach beyond root of tail, each feather being of 
a dark brown on its inner half, and reddish yellow on its outer. 

This elegant bird is far more like the true pheasant than the moonal, 
tnigopan, snow-pheasant, or kallige ; and, though adorned with less 



268 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

gaudy plumage than the two first, is equally handsome, and the varied 
shades of colour of the cock bird cannot be surpassed in beauty. It is 
found throughout the middle ranges, and is tolerably plentiful in many 
parts. It does not inhabit the lowest hills bordering the Terai, as the 
kallige does, but is found very considerably higher up than that bird, 
and I have shot it out of the same cover as the moonal at an elevation 
of 13,000 feet. It is especially fond of cypress and oak forests, and is 
generally found singly or in pairs. I have never seen more than four 
full-grown birds together at a time. A sportsman often flushes the 
koklass when on the steep grassy slopes looking for gooral, especially 
if there are oak trees in the vicinity. I have been startled by the bird, 
which when rising makes a loud croaking noise. The koklass is a 
particularly swift flyer ; more so, I am inclined to think, than any other 
of the Himalayan pheasants ; it darts down the side of the mountains 
at astonishing speed, and requires, when well on the wing, an experienced 
shot to cut it over. 

The sportsman, on awaking in the early morning, when encamped 
on the uplands to hunt thar, will hear the harsh ^ kdk-kok-pokrass ' 
cry of this bird on all sides, and Pucrcuna Macrolophay when heralding 
the dawn of day in this manner, is generally sitting on one of the lower 
boughs of a cypress-tree. It is in the habit of hunting for food and 
scratching about in search of insects among pat<jhes of rhododendron, 
and I have observed it so occupied in close company with the moonal. 
I do not think that this bird approaches villages and habitations like 
the kallige, nor have I ever shot it out of standing com. They will 
crow three or four together on being startled by a distant gunshot, a 
stone rolling down, or a clap of thunder. 

Two brace is the most that I have ever shot in a day, though 
generally speaking, after driving the khuds with beaters, a few brace 
of koklass are included among the slain. It would, in my opinion, be 
a great addition to our English covers, and I imagine would not be 
difficult to introduce. Moreover, such a splendid flyer, as the bird 
undoubtedly is, would put the shooting of even first-class shots to the 
test. The koklass is not to be excelled as a bird for the table, and 
in flavour much resembles our hen pheasant. 



TEE WHITE-CBESTED KALLIGE PHEASANT. 269 



VI.— THE WIIITE-CRESTED KALLIGE PHEASANT (Gallopham atba-crittaius, 

VlQOBS). 

Dbscription. 

^fnle, — General shape more like a fowl than a pheasant. In size about as large as our 
hen pheasant, but thicker and broader across the body. 

Bill nearly white, curved, and sharp ; top of head blackish-purple, with a long crest 
of greyish-white feathers ; back, blackish-purple ; rump, blackish-purple, edges of each 
feather nearly white ; primaries, blackish ; breast, belly, and all the under parts pale grey, 
feathers pointed ; taU, which is much curved, blackish-purple ; legs, nearly black, armed 
with long and formidable spurs. 

Female. — Smaller than male ; colour brown ; the margins of the feathers pale rufous ; 
tail, nearly black. 

This well-known bird abounds throughout the lower and middle ranges 
of the Himalayas, from the Terai forest-s, at the foot of the mountains, 
up to about 8,000 feet ; I have occasijonally found it even higher. Its 
favourite habitat is among thick clumps of bushes and shrubs near the 
banks of rivers, in low valleys through which streams of water run, and 
on the slopes of hills where there is plenty of low bush cover, especially 
thorny thickets bordering on cultivation ; in the early morning, the 
vicinity of an old deserted cow-shed is a sure resort of this bird, if 
anywhere in the neighbourhood. I have flushed this pheasant and the 
common red jungle fowl from the same description of cover at the foot 
of the hills. The call of the bird, which may be heard at all times of 
the day, is a sharp * twut, twut, twut,* sometimes very low, with a 
long pause between each note, then suddenly increasing loudly and 
excitedly. Generally speaking, when uttering this cry, which at times 
might be mistaken by anyone unacquainted with it for that of some small 
bird, the kalligc is alarmed by a prowling marten or hawk hovering over- 
head — perhaps a dog — but still oftener it is heard when a pair of cocks 
are about to engage in mortal combat, a very common occurrence, for, 
without exception, the kallige is the most pugnacious bird that I am 
acquainted with ; and I have shot old males with their heads battered 
like game-cocks from constant fighting. 

This pheasant, like all Himalayan winged game, more or less, is a 
great runner, and the sportsman, when once he has been observed (and 
the bird has a particularly keen eye for danger) will seldom be able to get 



270 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

a shot without the assistance of a dog, so quiekljr does the kallige dive 
into the thicket, and, stooping, make its way over stones and very 
rough ground at surprising speed. In my opinion, the best dbg for 
this sport is a good bustling spaniel, not afraid to face the densest 
cover, and who will not hunt too far away from his master. I once 
had a common sort of terrier named * Snip,' who was at last carried 
off by a sneaking leopard, as already related; he was anything 
but a sporting dog in appearance, but a first-class one for flushing 
pheasants, and enjoyed the fun exceedingly. He had an excellent 
nose, which enabled him to hunt with great rapidity, so that the birds 
.were at length compelled to take wing, so hard did the bandy-legged 
little dog push them, giving tongue all the time, by which means his 
master below knew exactly in which direction the pheasant or pheasants 
were making, and posted himself accordingly in readiness for a shot ; 
and by acting conjointly in this manner we brought many a brace to 
bag. Not unfrequently a cunning old cock, instead of taking wing at 
once when the dog is close upon him, has a provoking habit, most 
irritating to both dog and master, of flying up into a tree, making a 
prodigious clucking the while, and at the same time has a look 
round to * see if the coast is clear : ' the bird in this manner often 
observes where the gun is posted, and then takes wing in a safe 
direction. 

The kallige pheasant when alarmed will generally fly down the 
khud, and will often take along the side of the hill. Though it will 
run, yet it hardly ever will fly up-hill. Its speed when well on the 
wing is amazingly swift, quicker frequently, I am certain, than any 
rocketer out of an English cover. Moreover, it will take a severe 
blow without coming down ; and a winged bird, should it fall into 
thick cover, might just as well have been missed clean, excepting, of 
course, if the sportsman has a retriever with him. Even then I have 
seen the best of dogs baffled, so cunning and swift-running is this 
bird. 

The kallige pheasant has many enemies ; he is shot off pretty close 
by English sportsmen in the vicinity of our hill stations, who, I am 
sorry to say, are not always particular about the time of year for 
j)heasant sJiooting, which is a great pity. The bird is constantly bullied 
by eagles, falcons, and hawks ; the pine marten is another deadly 
enemy, especially during the nesting season, and lastly, and far worse 



THE WniTEXRESTEB KALLIOE PHEASANT, 271 

than all vermin put together, there are in our hill stations a set of 
rascals who call themselves shikaries, and who are constantly in the 
habit of pestering Englishmen to avail themselves of their services as 
guides into the interior on shooting expeditions. These men have 
guns, and from one end of the year to the other — even when the birds 
are nesting or have young chicks just out of the eggs — make a perpetual 
practice of shooting them whenever they can manage to sneak up for a 
shot. I am sorry to say that in hill stations our ladies, quite un- 
wittingly, I am certain, so far encourage these poachers that they 
purchase the birds for their dinner-parties when brought round for 
sale, never thinking at the time that the game is out of season and 
unfit for food, and perhaps that the hen pheasant just bought was that 
same morning covering a brood of chicks, now left to die for want of a 
mother to rear tliem. 

It is not unusual to come upon eight or ten, sometimes more, of 
these birds all feeding together; but they never pack during the 
winter months, like the moonal or snow-cock. When not bullied by 
the hill men, they will come close up to the backs of villages, especially 
if there are fields of com at hand. I have shot them out of standing 
crops when the fields are situated near the jungle. The female has 
her nest on the ground under some rock, or at the foot of a hollow 
tree. I remember finding a nest, at the foot of a giant Deodara, 
within ten yards of my tent, when encamped near Mussoorie. We had 
actually halted at the spot for three days, with two dogs always running 
about, and no one had observed the nest, till, one morning as I was 
strolling out, I caught the eye of the old hen as she crouched on her 
eggs. She generally lays, I believe, from twelve to fifteen eggs — there 
were only ten in the above-mentioned nest — rather smaller than our 
pheasant, and almost white in colour, if I remember rightly. The 
traveller in the hills, when passing along the winding paths on the 
sides of the mountain slopes about spring-time, will, if he is an ob- 
server, occasionally hear a peculiar drumming noise, which is made 
by the male kallige pheasant — and only by this genus, I believe. The 
bird makes this noise by a rapid motion of its wings against the 
bo<ly. 

In ISCtlwas encamped at a place called Sunkot, one march beyond 
the Pindur river in Gurhwal, in those days a good spot for general 
shooting, though I believe the jungles in the neighbourhood are now 



272 THE GAME OF BENGAL, 

almost destitute of game. I made a lengthened halt, as the tracks of 
game in the neighbourhood were numerous. When on the look-out for 
gerow one day, we came across a pool of water in a very out-of-the-way 
place. The weather had been very hot and dry of late, and although 
there was only a puddle of dirty water left, yet by the scores of foot- 
prints of all sizes, from the huge gerow to the tiny kakur, and some 
of them seemingly quite fresh, it was evident that there was game 
about somewhere, although we, in the daytime, could find but little, as 
our attempts at stalking for the last three days had been fruitless. 
We agreed that in the evening we would hide in the foliage of an old 
oak close by and watch the water. About five o'clock, in company with 
a hill man, I clambered up. We had been sitting motionless for I 
suppose half an hour, when I was startled, all of a sudden, by the loud 
drumming noise I have already described close at hand. The sound 
came from behind, and on looking over my shoulder, my companion 
with a smile pointed out the * drummer.' An old cock kallige was 
squatting on the stump of a fallen tree, and, with its feathers all 
ruffled and tail spread, was causing this* extraordinary sound by rapidly 
beating its wings against its body. However, on this occasion the 
manoeuvres of the old charmer were of no avail, for not a single hen 
bird put in an appearance ; and presently he hopped down and dis- 
appeared. About ten minutes after, I shot a fine buck kakur from our 
ambush. 

T have been told, and believe it to be the case, that this pheasant is 
by no means the hardy bird that the tragopan, moonal, and other rarer 
varieties, are well known to be. The flesh is exceedingly good, and it 
is one of the best of hill birds for the table. 

There are two rarer species of kallige pheasant found in our hill- 
ranges of North-Eastern Bengal, both of which I have had the good 
fortune to procure and carefully examine. The first of these, G. Hors- 
fieldiiy I by chance obtained when crossing the Cossyah Hills, in October 
1865, between Cherra Poonjie and Gowhatty. I shot six birds near a 
halting-place called Nunclow, when to my surprise, though seemingly 
on the wing the same bird that I had often met with before in the 
Himalayas, I at once discovered, on picking up the first one shot, that 
it diflTered from the common kallige, though very similar in shape, size, 
and general appearance, for the crest on the head was black instead 
of white. In other respects it appeared to correspond exactly with 



THE WHITE.GEESTED KALLIOE PHEASANT. 273 

the common kallige pheasant. The second species, G. melanotus, I 
met with when on service in Bhootan in the month of Aprrl 1865. 
I shot nine birds altogether on the low ranges of hills near where 
my regiment was encamped at Bala. 

In general appearance, habits, call, and manner of running oflF when 
alarmed, these pheasants much resembled the common white- crested 
species, but both phime and rump were black, hence the title of black 
pheasant. 

Once on the march along a low valley in our hills, with my gun on 
my shoulder and dog * Dash ' at my heels, 1 halted for a few minutes 
where a stream of water trickled down the hillside for a drink. While 
quenching my thirst, the Hwut, twut, twut' of a kallige pheasant close 
above took the attention of my four-legged companion, who, with ears 
pricked up and tail going, -looked up in my face, and with his brown, 
intelligent eye asked, ^ May I put that fellow up for you? ' I motioned 
the dog on, and oflF he went. I stood back in readiness for a shot; but 
presently was astonished to hear a cry as of pain from the dog, followed 
by a series of yelps. Tt at once came across my mind that a leopard 
had got hold of him, so, dropping in a pair of ball cartridges in the place 
of those loaded with shot, I went to the rescue. After scrambling for 
ten or twelve yards through the bushes, I saw my setter coming towards 
me, and behaving in an extraordinary manner ; he was snapping right 
and left, and stopping every moment to bite himself. I stood amazed 
at such unusual conduct, and until the faithful creature came close up, 
was quite at a loss to understand what could possibly be the matter to 
account for such strange behaviour. Then when within a yard or two 
I saw what had happened ; the dog's head was one mass of enraged 
bees, stinging him fearfully, and driving him to the verge of madness. 
There happened to be a large pool of water below. In a moment I seized 
hold of * Dfish,' flung him into the deep water, and then took to my 
heels, for tho vile insects had already turned their attention on me. 
Pulling my coat-collar up, and striking right and left with my hat, I 
ran for some distance, till my enemies at length desisted from following 
farther. I had been stung severely on the neck and face, and had not 
my coat been very thick and closely buttoned up, should have suffered 
still more. On whistling, my dog presently joined me, looking very 
fcolish, poor brute, evidently in great pain, and he was nearly blind 
for several days after, but soon recovered. As it was, I consider 

f T 



274 



THE GAME OF BENGAL. 



that we were both fortunate to escape as we did, for these wild bees 
are extremely dangerous to meddle with. I did not go back to look, 
but suppose that my setter, when eagerly following up a pheasant, 
had run headlong into or brushed against a bees' nest probably hanging 
from a bush, and had brought the enraged inhabitants out on his 
devoted head. 



THE BLACK PAUTRTDQE. 275 



CHAPTER 111. 
IXDIAX PARTRIDGES. 

I.— THE BLACK PARTRIDGE (Francolinus lulijaris, Stephens), 



Now swept the hnwk destructive through the sky, 
Parrot nor francolin was left on high. — ANvXR-i-SuDAiLf. 



Description. 



Male. — Bill, rather long ; black. Top of lieati, black, each feather margined with rufous. 
Back of head, black 8}>otted with white. Back of neck, chestnut brown ; below this it is 
black spottetl with white. On the lower part of the neck the centre of each feather is 
black encircled with pale buff, and margined with pale brown. The scapulars and upper 
wing-coverts are the same. Back, nmip, and upper tail-coverts, transversely barred with 
black and white, tinged with grey and rufous. Secondaries and primaries, rich rufous, 
spotted and barred with black. Eais, white. Throat and breast, black. A broad chest- 
nut band on lower part of neck. Sides of breast, flanks, and belly, black spotted and 
marked with white. Vent, reddish-brown. Under tail-covert*, dark brown. Tail feathers, 
black. Legs, pale red ; has short rounded spurs. 

Female. — Altogether wanting the bright gaudy plumage of male bird. Throat, breast, 
belly, and under parts nearly white, transversely barred with black and brown. Under 
tail-coverts, brown. Tall, black. 

Without exception, in my opinion, the plumage of the male of this 
beautiful franeolin is more lovely than that of any other game-bird. 

Naturalists have, I believe, pronounced the black partridge of India 
and the common franeolin of Southern Europe to be identical. I have 
examined stuffed specimens of the latter in museums, and could not 
perceive a shade of difference, either in form or feather, between the 
European and Asiatic birds. 

I believe that no attempt has ever been made to introduce this 

T 2 



276 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

most beautiful game-bird into England, though I venture to say that 
the first fair trial would prove successful. Among other reasons that 
may be pointed out in favour of this assertion I may mention the 
following : — 

The francolin is a hardy bird, well able to withstand our hottest and 
driest summers or coldest winters. I think that this is fully proved by its 
inhabiting such opposite extremes of temperature as the plains of India 
and the upper valleys of the Himalayas. It is a bird suitable for 
preserving, not being easily scared, or when flushed given to taking 
long flights. It is not a quarrelsome bird ; and finally it is a bird that 
subsists on grain and insects, everywhere procurable, even in the least 
cultivated parts of England or Scotland. 

Though somewhat given to running before dogs, yet the black 
partridge is not nearly so incoiTigible and annoying to the sportsman 
in this respect as the French red-leg ; and I have known it lie ex- 
tremely well and aff*ord excellent sport. 

In spite of statements to the contrary, I believe that the black 
partridge of India never perches or roosts in trees, though, strange 
to say, the painted partridge, a bird very closely allied to the black, 
constantly settles in bushes, and in the Central Provinces, I have 
often flushed the painted species out of low shrubs. It is the genei-al 
similarity of appearance between the black and painted that, I believe, 
has given rise to mistakes and constant disputes among sportsmen on 
this point. Painted pai-tridges are often erroneously called blacks, 
•and vice versa. 

Once, when marching through Kumaon in the Himalayas on my 
way north, I saw a black partridge actually settled on a tree, but 
it was under most exceptional circumstances. I happened to be 
passing along the side of a khud or steep hill, the grass and bushes 
on which had been recently burnt by the hillraen. The whole face 
of the mountain had been on fire, I suppose, about a month before, 
and not only had the old grass been utterly licked up by the flames, 
but a great number of splendid fir-trees full of turpentine, as they always 
are, had been destroyed, so that nothing but charred stumps remained. 
The young grass had sprouted again, but the trees were entirely ruined ; 
and while wandering along the path with my dog and gun, the cry 
of a black partridge presently attracted my attention. It is the habit 
of the cock bird, when uttering this strange, grating call, to perch on a 
rock, stone, the top of an ant-hill, or some other elevated position ; but 



THE BLACK PARTRIDGE. 277 

on this occasion I distinctly saw the bird on the top of the burnt 
Btunip of a fir, about six or seven feet from the ground : this, however, 
could hardly be called settling or perching in a tree, for there were no 
branches, twigs, leaves, or foliage of any kind; nothing but the main 
stem, rendered black by the fiames. I attempted to get a shot, but the 
bird took wing when far out of range, and I did not follow it. But 
to return to our subject. 

Old Indians tell us, and with truth, that thirty or forty years ago 
the black partridge was much more plentiful than now. It is the old 
story — unreasonable men, not content with good sport, must qo in for 
slaughter, and have so persecuted the poor birds, by repeatedly shooting 
them at all times of the year, tbat their ranks are now much thinned 
in comparison with former times. I remember reading in the ' Old 
Bengal Sporting Magazine,' of one ' Gunga Brown,' a giant Nimrod 
in the good old times, and a splendid shot I have been<told, who, not 
once, but over and over again, shot seventy brace and upwards to bis 
own gun in a single day, over ground famed for blacks, between Lahore 
and Mooltan. Such slaughter as the above is unreasonable, and no 
wonder the poor blacks have suffered. I think I may safely say that 
in our times no siwrtsman, however good a shot he may be, and armed 
with the best of breech-loaders, could anywhere make such a bag us 
the above, and that half that number of birds to three or four guns 
would be considered firat-rate sport. 

There is good black partridge shooting in various parts of Northern 
India; for instance, in the Dhoon, Baraitch in Oude, and parts of 
Rohilkund: especially to the east of Philibheet. Some of the best 
shooting I have had has been iu Assam, where it abounds in certiun 
parts, especially in the sandy islands and grassy banks of the Berham- 
pooter. I also shot it on two occasions in the Cossyah hills, but it 
w&s nowhere conmion on the eastern frontier. The bird is common 
throughout the Himalayas, from the foot of the mountains to high up 
close to the snow passes. I have been informed that it has been shot 
beyond onr frontier, and over the snowy range in Thibet. In our hills 
it keeps to the valleys, in the vicinity of fields and cultivation, and 
not far from villages, but is nowhere in great plenty. In the plains, 
the usual resort for blacks is in high feathery grass bordering on 
jhcels ot rivers. The Hindustani name for this high grass ia ' surput,' 
i.f. level with the head. It is frequently called tiger grass, ,011 
nccuunt of its often affording concealment to tigers. The mention of 



278 THE GAME OF BENGAL, 

this high feathery grass reminds me of an anecdote I once heard, which 
is characteristic of its kind. 

An Anglo-Indian was once dilating on the extraordinary height 
that certain kinds of grasses reach in parts of India, and remarked 
* that when standing up in a howdah on the back of an elephant, he 
had often seen the tips of the grass reach higher than a level with his 
hat/ There was not the slightest exaggeration in tliis statement, as 
anyone who has visited Assam and ridden an elephant through the 
dense grass jungles bordering the Berhampooter can testify. But 
among the audience there happened to be one of those clever gentle- 
men who live at home at ease in old England all their lives, and who 
delight to criticise statements made by travellers, and express their 
unbelief on subjects about which they know nothing whatever; and 
here was a fine opportunity for the display of his wit. So waiting 
till our friend* had concluded his account of the extraordinary height 
of this Indian grass, he sarcastically observed, * And pray. Sir, what may 
have been the size of the geasshoppees ! ! ' 

Low sandy islands, covered with long feathery grass and a kind of 
bush common on the banks of rivers, such as the Jumna, Ganges, and 
others, called *jhow,' are likely to hold these birds. They feed 
chiefly upon corn, various seeds, white ants and other insects, and 
often may be put up close behind villages, in a patch of sugar-cane, 
dhal, or castor-oil plants, especially if there are fields of corn and 
mustard hard by. I am afraid at times they are not very choice 
feeders, though not nearly so bad as the grey in this respect. 

I have never been able to discover a nest of the black partridge. 
The hen bird is very cunning in choosing a spot to lay her eggs. 
Jerdon says that she breeds from May to July, laying ten or twelve 
eggs. 

I have said that there is a great similarity in appearance between 
the black and painted partridge. It is an extraordinary fact, but 
nevertheless true, that in no case are these two, though far and widely 
spread, found in one and the same jungle. There may be exceptions 
in Bombay and Madras, but I believe that I am correct in stating 
that it is not the case anywhere in Bengal. All through Bundel- 
kund the painted partridge is plentiful, but there are no blacks; the 
same thing is the case in many parts of Gwalior and the Saugor 
country. On the other hand, black and grey partridges constantly 
associate, and,. generally speaking, some of both species are shot in 



TSB BLACK FABTBIDOE. 379 

a daj'8 Bport. The kyah partridge is also frequently found in company 
■with the bWk variety. 

A black partridge, wbeu flushed in high grass, riaeB perpendicu- 
larly like a pheasant, till clear of the cover, and then makes off, flying 
horizontally, offering a fair and pretty shot, though the bird is by no 
means difficult to knock over, and does not require the blow that the 
grey does to bring it down. I have hod very pretty shooting in the cold 
weather in the early mornings, with half-a-ddzen coolies or so, at black 
partridge, at the same time baling some jungle fowl, quail, grey par- 
tridge, &c. The sportsman should carefully beat fields of mustard, or 
other corn, but the former especially if skirting high grass jungle. Ta 
the early morning, the birds issue out about sunrise from the thick 
cover, and feed in the fields. The sportsman himself should keep on 
the edge of the jungle, putting his men in a line with him, stretch- 
ing across the khets, or fields. When a bliick or any other kind of 
feathered game is flushed by the coolies, it will be certain to make 
fur the high cover, and in doing so offers a fine crossing shot, hardly 
to be missed if the gun be held well forward, for the pace of the bird is 
swift. 

The birds do not keep together in coveys like our English par- 
tridges, but rise singly or in pairs. 

The cry of the black is a most peculiar squeaking note, heard 
in every direction in the early morning during certain months of the 
year, especially near the banks of the Ganges, Jumna, or other rivers. 
Some one in the old Bengal Sporting Magazine declared that the 
sound resembled the words ' Be quick, pay your debts,' and so the cry 
does exactly. The Mussulmans say that the cry is ' Khoda teree 
kudrut ' {God thy protector), which also is very like the call of the 
bird. The cry may be heard a very great distance on a still day, and, 
as with the corn crake, I have been puzzled sometimes to decide 
in which direction and how far off the bird was. Sometimes in 
the hills when very high up, and overlooking villages and corn-6e1d8 
far below, I have heard the call of this bird when upwards of a mile 
off. The black is not the pugnacious bird that the grey, chikor, and 
others of the Perdix species are well known to be ; his short, diminu- 
tive spurs would, I imagine, be of little assiKtance in a fight. In India 
I have seldom seen him shut up in a cage, though the bazaars are 
full of shrieking greys; and in the hills chikor are also favourite 

|K>t8. 



28o THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

The bLack partridge, though of each magnificent and gay plumage, 
is a poor bird for the table ; the flesh is white, and with but little 
flavour. 



II.— THE PAIXTED PARTRIDGE (JVcmro/iMiw/^jWu*, Jard and Sblby). 

Having unfortunately lost my notes of measurement, colouring, Ac, of 
the painted partridge, I borrow Jerdon's accurate and exhaustive 
description. 

Jerdon's Description. 

Male. — Forehead, lores, face, brood superciliuni, and ear-coverte, ferruginous cfaeslnut ; 
the top of the head dark brown, with pale edgings ; the neck all round pale ferruginous ; 
the upper part of the back and scapulars, de.-p brown, the feathers edged laterally with 
creamy white, and this gradually passing into the markings of the wings, which are 
chestnut, with black bands ; the lower back, rump, and upper tail-coyerts are beautifully 
marked with undulating lines of black and white ; tail, deep brown^ the feathers iinely 
cros^-ljarred at their base. Beneath the throat is white, with longitudinal dark lines ; 
the whole of the rest of the lower surface yariegated black and white, each feather 
being white, with two dark cross-bands, and the shaft and tip black ; these dark bands 
gradually narrow towards the yent; under tail-coyerts, chestnut. The feathers of the 
Hank and sides^)f the rump are tinged with pale ferruginous. Bill, blackish. Iris, dark brown. 
Legs, yellowi**h red. 

Length. — 1 2 inches. 

Winy. — inches. 

TVifV. — 2J inches. 

Tarsus. — \\ inches. 

Weiyht. — 11 to l»i ounces. 

Female, — Differs in haying a somey»'hat ferruginous tinge beneath ; and in the throat 
leirjT n.oie or less lufous. 

In speaking of the black partridge, I have already stated that I 
believe it never perches, roosts, or settles at all in bushes, but the 
painted partridge most undoubtedly does. I have many times flushed 
it from low bushes, and am most positive on this point. The painted 
partridge is very common in the neighbourhoood of Jhansie, Lullutpore, 
Saugor, and Jubbulpore. It loves to inhabit low scrub and bush jungle 
growing on rocky undulating ground, with streams of water not fair 
ofiF. I have often flushed and shot it in the early morning out of 
fields of corn near the above description of jungle. I have never shot 
the painted species out of wavy grass such as the black partridge 



THE GREY FABTRIDGE. 281 

constantly inhabits ; possibly the former bird, in certain parts, may be 
found in this kind of cover, but such is not my experience. 

The cry or call of the two birds, though somewhat of the same 
^ squeaky ' description, is quite diflferent, and easily to be distinguished 
the one from the other. The traveller passing through Bundelkund 
will, in the early morning, hear the * tee, tee, teeturay ' of the painted 
partridge in every direction. The bird, when on the wing, very 
much resembles the black partridge ; in fact, the hen birds are hardly 
distinguishable the one from the other at a moderate distance. It 
offers a pretty, though not difficult shot, and does not take a hard 
blow to bring it down, like the grey partridge. As with the black 
partridge, the cock bird, when uttering its peculiar grating call, will 
be found perched on the top of some rock, stump of a tree, or other 
prominent position. 



III.— THE GREY PARTRIDGE (Orfygoi-nU Poidiceriaiia, QmiAv). 

DESCRiraON. 

About tbo size of, or perhaps a little larger than, our English partridge, but totally dif- 
ferent in habits, although somewhat of, a general similarity in appearance. The cock, 
however, has no horse-shoe mark on the breast, and the Indian partridge has long, formid- 
able spurs. 

Male. — Bill, dark brown ; feathers at base of bill, pale brown. Top of head, rufous, 
paler over the eye. Upper and lower part of neck, scapulars, wing-coverts, rump, 
and upper tail-coverta, greyish brown, transversely barred with pale rufous and brown, 
richer brown on scapulars and wings. Cheeks, yellowish brown. Throat, nearly white, 
tinged with bull', margined with a dark-brown collar. Neck, breast, and belly, pale rufous, 
transversely barred with dark brown. Under tail-coverts, pale brown. Tail, dark brown. 
Legs, pale yed. 

Female, — Plumage ver}- similar to that of male. 

I HAVE included this bird in my list of partridges, though by many 
sportsmen it is despised as unworthy of powder and shot, or the rank 
of a game bird ; not that when on the wing it does not oflfer a fine shot 
which it undoubtedly does, but because the grey is a dirty feeder, 
prowling about at the backs of villages, and is such a skulking running 
sneak, that it will spoil the best and steadiest of dogs in a very short 
space of time. It is common all over the country, and, as I have 
already mentioned, is generally to be found in the neighbourhood of 



282 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

villages aud cultivation, especially if there is any tall wavy gfrass 
growing near, a patch of sugar-cane or castor-oil plant. It is also 
generally to be met with in ravines and nullahs covered with bushes, 
on the banks of rivers, and in the early morning may be seen search- 
ing for food on the public road. In some parts of the country it in- 
habits tall standing grass, and is flushed in company with the black 
partridge. It much resembles the French red-legged partridge iu 
manner and habits, and even surpasses that bird in its powers as a 
runner. 

In the early morning, or towards evening, the grey partridge 
will be found feeding in fields bordering the jungle, and where the 
crops are tall enough to aflfiord concealment, may be walked up and 
shot with ease. Often, however, the cunning bird, having become 
aware, of the sportsman's approach, runs with great speed to the far 
end of the field, and escapes into some neighbouring ravine or nullah. 
A good bustling spaniel is of great assistance on these occasions, for 
often, until hard pressed, the grey will not take wing. Usually 
speaking, when shooting quail in March or early in April, or small 
game at an}^ period of the cold season, several brace of greys are 
included in the bag. 

The call of the bird is loud and enlivening, and may be heard 
early in the morning, in every direction. It is named * Teetur ' by 
the natives, after its cry, which in sound much resembles the word. 
Before commencing its regular call, the bird utters several single notes, 
beginning low, and gradually rising higher, till at length it makes 
the jungle resound with its loud ciy of * tee-teetur, tee-teetur,' or 
* kuk-leelah,' as some say it more resembles. It is one of the most 
pugnacious of game birds, and the males constantly engage in despe- 
rate combats. Old cocks are armed with sharj) and formidable spurs. 
Knowing the pugnacity of this partridge, and that the call of a single 
strange male bird will attract all the wild cocks in the neighbourhood, 
natives catch them in great numbers in certain places by means of 
horse-hair nooses fastened on to a small cage, in which an old cock 
is shut up. The owner, hiding in <Jose proximity, places the cage on 
the ground in some open spot ; the wild birds are soon attracted by 
the 'shouts' of the imprisoned one, and gather round to peck and 
strike at him through the bars of the cage, and in a very short time 
one gets caught round the foot or neck by a noose. The native 
comes forward, releases the captive, and puts him into a basket,. 



THE KYAH OR SWAMP PABTEIDGE, 2Ss 

and moving to another spot, again puts the cage down, and probably, 
in a short time, with a like result, so that iu the course of a day 
several birds are captured in this manner. 

The grey partridge is very easily tamed, becomes familiar and 
impudent, aud is a favourite pet with all classes of natives, especially 
among Sepoys. I have seen scores in our regimental lines. At night 
this bird, to avoid jackals, cats, and other vermin, invariably roosts in 
shrubs or trees, and generally selects the prickly babul. I have 
frequently heard them calling from their roosting-perches morning 
and evening, and for that matter have before now, attracted by 
the call of the bird, walked up to and shot them as they flew out, 
and on bright moonlight nights it is not unusual to hear grey 
partridges calling from bushes where they have hopped up for the 
night. The flesh is white, hard, and has little flavour; hardly worth 
cooking, in fact, at the best of times. 



IV.— THE KYAIl OR SWAMP PARTRIDGE (Or^y^omw yM/nm, Temminck). 

Description. (Taken from a specimen shot in Assam.) 

Male. — Top of head, pale brown. Bill, black. Cheeks, line over and under the eve 
pale butt*. Chin and throat, reddish brown. Back of neck, back, upper wing-corerts, 
rump, and upper tail-coverts, brown, barred transrersely with pale buff and blackish 
brown. Quills of the feathers, nearly white. Primaries, reddish-brown, darker at 
the tips. The centre of each feather on the neck, breast, and flanks, marked with a 
broad loniritudinal streak of white, margined with black, the outer edges being of the 
same pale greyish brown. Shafts, white. lielly, pale buff. Under tail-coverts, reddish 
brown. Tail feathers, brown, tipped with pale brown. Legs and c!aws, light red, armed 
with rather lar^ e spurs. 

Female. — Very similar to male, but smaller. 

One of the largest among Indian partridges. 

This fine partridge is common in certain parts of the country, such 
as Assam, various parts of Bengal, Philibheet, and other districts. It 
frequents lieavy grass jungle bordering lakes, swamps, and rivers, 
never in fact far from water ; often in localities impossible for the 
sportsman to follow on foot, and moreover frequently where such 
dangerous brutes as tigers, rhinoceri, and buffalo abound. 1 have shot 
many brace of kjah in a single morning by beating khets of mustard, 



284 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

com, &c., growing in close proximity to the high grass and reeds where 
the swamp partridge conceals itself during the day, and from whence it 
sallies out morning and evening in search of food among the crops of 
the villagers. 

This bird, like nearly all Indian partridges, is a runner, and some- 
times requires pressing to flush it. It generally rises with loud cries, 
startling the tyro to such an extent that he fires in a hurry, and probably 
misses. The kyah is a strong bird, of large size, and a powerful flyer, 
but offers a fair mark when within distance. I have frequently 
shot kyah and black partridge in the neighbourhood of Tezpore in the 
same day, and from the same cover. Great numbers of the swamp 
partridge are often flushed when beating with a line of elephants for 
tigers, buffalos, &c., but are usually peimitted on such occasions to 
escape, for fear of alarming the big game by the shots. Many sports- 
men of Bengal, especially in the neighbourhood of Calcutta, persist 
in calling this bird * chikor,' although I need hardly say that the 
kyah and chikor are totally distinct and do not in the slightest 
degree resemble one another either in appearance or habits. 

The bird is called kyah by the natives on account of its call, 
which much resembles in sound the word ' kyah.' At certain times 
of the year it is not a bad bird for the table, though it cannot boast 
of much gameness of flavour about it. I often tried to get a young 
bird tx) bring up, but could not succeed, nor did I ever see one in a 
cage. 



v.— THE CimvOR {Caccahis Chukor). 

Description. 



Almost exactly resembles both in size and colour the well-kno^vn French red-legged 
partridge. I have placed a stuffed chikor beside a French partridge to compare the 
two, and, with the exception that the latter appeared to be darker about the throat and 
more brown on the back and wings than the former, and differed slightly in one or two 
other points, there was a very great similarity between them, and Ihe remarkable and most 
beautiful crossbars on the side were developed much the same in both. The call of the 
birds is alike or verj* nearly so, hence the name of * chikor,' given to it by natives, 
which is the exact sound of the cry. 

I HAVE only shot the chikor in the Himalayas, and am not able 
to mention any other part of the country where they may be found. 



THE GHIKOR. aSj 

In our Himalayas it frequents the sides of stony, rocky hills, interspersed 
with bushes, especially near fields of cultivation, and not far from 
water. I have often seen the birds close to villages, and in the early 
morning running along the footpaths in front of me. They keep to- 
Ri'tlier in coveys, and occasionally collect in large packs of forty or 
fifty birds at a time. Tlie paliaries are in the habit of levelling pieces 
of ground for cultivation, one above the other, like huge steps cut in 
the side of the hill. These are favourite places for chikor in the early 
morning, and I have seen, one, two, three, and more coveys driven 
down fniffi the hills above, and spreiul out in the com below. The 
sportsmen have then only to post two or three markers on com- 
manding positions, follow the birds down, and slay them. 

I leurut what little I know of chikur-shootiug from a friend, 

Dr. CJ e of the Artillery, a first-rate sportsman, especially with 

the smooth-bore. 

A good retriever is extremely useful for this sport, almost indis- 
jK'nsable in faet; for, like his sneaky, running, French brother, a 
winged chikor will often make his escape on rough ground, or at any 
rate give much trouble in recovering, unless a dog is at hand to 
retrieve him. It is often hard work labouring up and down after 
these birds, especially where they are much shot at, or lato in the 
season, when they become wild and cunning in the extreme. 

The months of September and October are, in my opinion, about 
the best for this charming sport. In August they, generally speaking, 
have not grown to full strength, and should be left for another montli. 
A chikor as he comes whizzing down hill, and making a tremendous 
curve at the same time, often offers a difficult shot, especially when 
the sportsman happens to be crossing a steep slope or rocky 
lodge, and can only just baJance himself to fire at all. On the other 
hand, like moat winged game when flushed in front and well within 
distance, it is easy enough to bowl him over. Like the black par- 
tridge, this bird also ascends our hill valleys right up to the snow 
passes ; and onae, in Thibet, when in scarcli of hares' in some rocky 
i-avines, I came across a covey of chikor, and shot five before I had 
done with them. I imagined at the time that these Thibet birds were 
larger and marked slightly different from those found on onr hills, but 
unfortunately did not preserve a specimen. 

It is a good plan, after driving a covey about, when at len gth you 
lose sight of them, to sit down qnictly above where you bavo an idea the 



286 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

birds may be ; probably in a few minutes, especially if the covey has 
been split up, one of the lost tribe will ascend a rock, and swelling hia 
throat out, begin calling his brethren with full power; and when 
once the spell is broken, every bird in the covey will join in, and the 
sportsman then becomes aware exactly where each bird is, and will be 
able to pick them up in succession. I once had a couple of chikor in 
a cage, both remarkably tame birds. They were given to me by a 
poor hillman whom I had cured, by means of quinine, of a bad fever. 
I did not care for them in particular, as carrying them on the line of 
march was a bore, but did not wish to hurt the feelings of the poor 
fellow by refusing his present. They became so tame that I let them 
out every day in my tent ; they hopped up on the table when I was at 
breakfast in the most impudent manner, pecked at the servants' feet if 
they passed within distance, and made a practice of shu£9ing in the 
dust at the door of the tent. One day I was lying down reading, the two 
chikor seemingly asleep, and half buried in two round holes they had 
made under the table. Presently a distant * chik, ok, ok, ok, ok,' was 
heard on the hill above from some wild bird ; my two pets at once became 
intensely excited, and running to the door of the tent, with flashing 
eye and ruffled feather, the cock bird sent back an answer to the 
challenge from the hill-side ; soon came a reply, not from one, but 
apparently half-a-dozen throats. This went on for some minutes, till 
at last I put down my book, whistled to my dog, and went outside the 
tent. About a hundred yards off, on the top of a large rock, were a 
number of chikor, which my tame ones had attracted and betrayed. I 
was in want of some birds to fill up the stew-pan, so went round, got 
several shots, and brought back within a quarter of an hour two-and-a- 
half brace. The chikor is one of the best of Indian partridges for the 
table, and chikor pie is by no means to be despised at anytime, even 
by an epicure. 



VI.— TIIE SNOW PARTRIDGE {Lerwa nivicoh, Hobqsojs). 

Description. 

A fine bird ; perhaps the large.-^t of Indian partridges. 

Male. — Bill, red. Top of head, neck, throat, back, upper and lower wing-coverts, 
rump, and tail, transversely barred with blackish brown, buff, and tinged more or less 



THE BLAOK-THBOATED PARTRIDGE, 287 

with reddish brown. Breast, dark chocolate-brown, each feather margined with buff. 
Primaries, grey-brown. Thighs, transversely barred like the back. Under tail-coverts, 
brown tipped with whitish, and margined with black. Legs, red. 
/>»/m/<?.-- Plumage very similar to male. 

I HAVE constantly come across the snow partridge when shooting thar 
and burhel, in the highest ranges of the Himalayas, and often in large 
coveys, but not wishing to disturb the big game have left them un- 
molested. They were plentiful on the tops of some lofty mountains in 
Gurhwal, above a village called Elanee. I generally found them in the 
wildest and most unfrequented spots, among lofty cra^s, huge boulders, 
and rocks scattered over the sides of the mountains. I also met with the 
snow partridge, and shot one specimen — too much injured unfortunately 
by the shot to admit of stuflSng — in the Neti Valley, opposite a village 
called Jhelum. There were twelve or fifteen birds in this pack, and they 
weie particularly wary after the first shot. I came upon them suddenly, 
and being in search of moonal pheasants, with my shot-gun in readiness, 
killed one before the pack dived out of sight into a dense fog that 
surrounded me. At other times T have noticed the bird on the burhel 
ground, running in front of me, and their manner much reminded me of 
ptarmigan. They, however, seldom permitted my approaching within 
gunshot, but rose at a distance ; and I cannot confirm the statement 
made by one writer, that * they are generally remarkably tame.' 



Vn.— TIIE BLAOK-THROATED IIILL, OLIVE, OR PEURAH PARTRIDGE 

{Arboricoia torqtifola, Valekcirnnss). 

Dbscriptiok. 

In figure a round, plump bird. The smaUest of Bengal partridges. 

Length. — About 10 inches. 

Male, — Bill, black. Iris, dark gold. Upper part of head, brown or reddish chestnut. 
A bar of dark feathers, slightly streaked with white, extending from the front of the 
eyo to above and below the eyelids. Sides of neck and throat, spotted with black and 
white. A greyish white bar on the lower part of neck. Breast, slaty grey in front, and 
on each side, down to the thighs, of grey, striped with reddish chestnut ; each feather 
having a white line along its centre. Back, light olive-brown ; the edges of the feathers, 
bkck. Wing-covertB, brown, mottled with red and with bkick spots near the points. 



288 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

Tertiaries, browniali, with larjre round black spoU at the tips. Wings, dark brown. 
Abdomen, creamy or pale jp'eyi8li -white, a lew of the feathers edged with chestnut. Tail^ 
dark brown, short and n^unded. Legs, pale red, with short spurs. 

This little game-bird is common enough in certain localities, fre- 
quenting deep secluded ravines, and is especially fond of dense patches 
of ringall, and where the earth is soft and mouldy. It is seldom seen in 
the open, and immediately on hearing the approach of the sportsman 
dives into the thicket, and a good bustling spaniel or setter is then 
necessary to make it take wing. The flight is swift and curling, and 
generally close to the ground or the tops of the cover. Generally a 
few peurah or wood partridges, * bunteeturs ' as the natives call them, 
are shot inT;he autumn when a party is out pheasant shooting. The 
call is a soft cry, often heard in the forests of the interior. In the 
early morning, when passing through thick jungle, I have frequently 
seen a covey running along the footpath in front of me, but, as I have 
already mentioned, it is very difficult without a dog to force this little 
partridge to talie wing and offer a shot. 

My notes are so brief and inadequate as to the ways and habits of 
the little peurah, that I transcribe from the ^ Indian Sporting Review ' 
the interesting remarks of ' Mountaineer.' He says : — 

* This handsome little partridge inhabits the forests and jungles, and 
is never found in open spots or in cultivated fields. It is most nume- 
rous in the lower ranges, in the wooded ravines and hill sides from the 
summit to near the base, but does not occur at the foot of the hills or 
low down in the valleys. It is not so common in the interior, but met 
with to an elevation of 0,000 feet. It is rather solitary in its habits, 
generally found in pairs, but occasionally, in autumn and winter, five 
or six will collect together and keep about one spot ; it is a quiet, un- 
euspicious bird. 'When alarmed it utters a soft whistle, and generally 
creeps away through the underwood if not closely pressed in preference 
to getting up. Its flight is rapid, oftener across the hill than down- 
wards, and seldom very far, in general no more than eighty or a hundred 
yards. Its food being much similar, it is met with in the same places 
as the koklass, and both are often found together. Indeed in winter 
in some of the forests of the interior, argus, moonal, koklass, and 
kallige pheasants, and the hill partridge, are sometimes all found 
within a compass of fifty or sixty yards. I have not seen the nest or 
eggs. It feeds on leaves, roots, maggots, seeds, and berries; in confine- 



THE PlACK-TTtnoATEl) HILL PAItTHWdE. 



,Bi, 



iiieiit it will L'lit grnin. In a large cage or enoIi>siire its motions are 
very lively, running about with great spriglitlineaH from one part to 
another. It occasionally mounts into trees, but not 80 often as a forest 
bird might be exj)Oct«d to do. In the forests of the interior, in spring, 
it 13 often heard calling at all houra of the day. The call is n single 
luuil, soft whistle, and niay bo easily imitated so as to entice the birds 
quite cluso. At other soiisons it is never heard to call except when 
disturbed.' 




In former years this little partridge was very abundant in the 
noig)ilx>nrbiK>d of a small hike called Goomur Tal, aitnated a few miles 
north of the Pindur river, in Ourhwal. I several times encamped near 
tlii« iK-autiful spot, and generally shot a few brace of the Black-Throated 
Pikrtridge. 



290 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 



CHAPTER IV. 
THE QUAILS. 



While tho quail clamours for his running mate. — ^Thomson. 



I.— THE LARGE GREY QUAIL (Cotumix communis). 

There are several kinds of quail in Northern India, and at certain 
seasons the birds are numerous throughout the country. I am ac- 
quainted with six distinct species, and doubtless there are more. Two . 
of these, the bustard-quail and the blue-breasted quail, are, compara- 
tively speaking, rare, and I shall notice only two among the remainder 
as worthy of the sportsman's attention, viz. the common, and the black- 
breasted or rain quail ; the bush and button quails are so small as to be 
hardly worth a charge, though I have occasionally shot the former. 

The common quail of India is identical with the quail of Europe, 
and is so well known that it is needless to describe it. It is hardly 
necessary for me to say that the quail is a migratory bird ; though a 
few brace, I believe, remain and breed here and there, yet by far the 
greater number come in early in March, sometimes later, stay a short 
period, and disappear as suddenly as they arrive. I cannot tell where 
they come from or whither they go.* In some years the birds are 
exceedingly plentiful, so much so that I am not exaggerating when 
I say that one could hardly take a step in corn-fields where I have 
been shooting, without flushing one or more. In other years only 
a few appear. Then, again, there are certain localities where, year 

* I have teen informed on the authority of a brother sportsman from the Bombay 
Presidency that quail come over in large numbers from the Arabian coast, and that in 
the months of November and December they have frequently been seen to land at 
Kurrachee in such an exhausted condition as to be almost caught by hand. 



THE LARGE QREY QUAIL. 291 

after year, as with snipe, large bags are made ; but I may say that 
I have never yet been quartered in the Bengal presidency, at however 
bad a cantonment for shooting, where a bag of quail might not be 
made. Even at Allahabad, which is one of the very worst places for 
a sportsman to be stationed, I <iould generally manage at the proper 
season of the year to fill a quail-stick. 

At Jhansie I saw sixty brace of quail shot before 9 a.m. by a party 
of five guns, and opposite the Dilkhoosha at Lucknow, on the banks 
of the Goomtee, I shot thirty-three brace of quail in one afternoon ; 
and these bags are nothing in comparison with those I have known 
made in Lower Bengal. 

Quail shooting is very pretty sport; but when. the birds are flushed 
in the open, out of crops, on a dead level plain without a tree or blade 
of grass to get in the way, and they spring with a chirrup from under 
the feet of the gunner, as is generally the case, it is in my opinion the 
very easiest of all shooting, and there can be no excuse for a miss under 
such circumstances. A steady shot should kill five out of six fired at. 
The fliglit of the quail is very swift; but, unlike a snipe, the quail 
flies horizontally and steadily, generally only a few feet above the cover ; 
and although the speed is great, a charge of No. 8, aimed well forward 
for a crossing shot, or slightly above a bird going straight away, brings 
the little fellow to the ground easily enough. Quail in the north-west 
of India arrive just when the crops are ripening, and the best time of 
all to make a large bag is when the com is almost all cut, with just 
a few patches left standing here and there. I have seen such patches 
literally swarming with birds, and when the line of coolies approach 
the last comer of the crop, the birds rise in dozens, so that the cartridges . 
cannot be dropped in quick enough. 

The grey partridge is a desperate runner, and a jungle fowl knows 
how to make use of his legs when suspicious of danger, but the little 
quail beats them all. I have often seen a large piece of com beaten, 
and not a bird rise till the very last few yards, and then, when closely 
pressed, one after another, perhaps a dozen get up ; these have run 
through the field on hearing the approach of their enemies, and have 
only taken flight when pressed and almost trodden under foot by the 
line of coolies. So remember, young sportsmen, always be most par- 
ticular when quail shooting to beat out carefully the last few yards of 
a field ; and should there be some standing grass, bush, or thicket 
close beyond the last comer beaten, take the trouble to look them up, 

V 2 



292 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

for probably some of the little rogues have run across and taken 
refuge in the cover. 

A poor snipe when winged seldom attempts to conceal himself, 
though I have known j^icks do so, but hopelessly keeps jumping up, so 
that a bird in this condition is far more likely to be bagged in thick 
cover than one that falls dead, but a winged quail is the most cunning 
little rascal at concealing himself possible. I have known them in 
this state enter a rat's hole ; they will crouch under a clod of earth, 
or worm themselves right into the roots of a clump of grass ; in fact, 
in thick cover, without a dog, it is perfectly hopeless attempting to 
search for a bird only winged. 

In the early morning or evening quail abound in short growing 
crops, only a few inches high, such as young com or a kind of pulse 
called gram, especially if the field borders on a piece of sugar-cane or 
other high cover, into which the birds retire during the heat of the day. 
They are especially fond of fields of barley or other corn, near water- 
courses. In fact, the sportsman in search of quail should always make 
a point of beating crops near water in preference to others where the 
ground is very dry and no water in the vicinity. 

In some parts of the country I have made good bags of quail out of 
rice-fields, when not too wet at the bottom, and the snipe-shooter, late 
in the season about February and March, generally at the end of his 
day's sport has sundry brace of quail, which he has picked up on the 
edge of some jheel or paddy-field, strung on his game-stick. 

The usual manner of shooting quail is for a couple or more guns to 
turn out, with a line of coolies between them ; the line should be always 
kept well dressed, or birds will continually rise and make off behind 
the guns. The distance the coolies keep apart should be regulated by 
the kind of cover about to be beaten ; if very thick, only a few feet 
one from another, and vice versa. The men should each be furnished 
with a stick, which they should keep moving in front of them as they 
slowly advance ; no talking should be allowed, nor a step made after a 
shot, whether the bird falls or not, until the * all right' has been given 
by the gunner who has just fired and reloaded. It is a good plan 
always if possible to take the same men or boys with you for this kind 
of shooting, as in time they become accustomed and drilled to the work, 
and thus save a deal of trouble. It is sometimes very trying to the 
temper to go out with a lot of coolies who do not understand their 
duties, though probably most anxious to give satisfaction. One, on 



THE LABGE GREY QUAIL, 293 

seeing a bird fall, will rush forward, flushing half-a-dozen quail, and 
incur the wrathful displeasure of the gunners. Then when new to the 
work the men will not keep line, in spite of being continually expostu- 
lated with ; so, as I said before, it is a good plan to procure, if possible, 
the same gang of men for each day's shootiilg, and thus save a deal 
of trouble and annoyance. 

Generally speaking, a quail, when flushed and not fired at, or even 
when missed, does not take a long flight, but drops again within a few 
hundred yards, and it is always worth while, however numerous the 
birds are, to mark down as many as possible ; they are such runners 
that you will not find them exactly where they pitch? though probably 
not far off". 

A quail is very seldom seen on the ground ; occasionally in very thin 
cover I have viewed one stooping and creeping along like a land-rail in 
front of a line of coolies, but not often ; and I do not once remember 
seeing a quail on the wing that had not been flushed by man, dog^ 
hawk, or something of the kind. The birds always, I believe, come in in 
the night. I have searched a field through one evening without finding 
a single bird, and happening to pass through that same field not twenty- 
four hours after, have found the crop literally teeming with birds, so 
that one would imagine that they arrived and dropped in a large flock. 
I have seen a whisp of snipe come in in broad daylight, but I never 
yet met with anyone who had witnessed quail arrive in like manner. 

Some kinds of quail keep together in regular bevies — the bush 
quail, for instance ; but the common large quail are generally flushed 
singly or in pairs, though of course at the end of a field that has been 
beaten through, a number of birds that have been driven together 
rise simultaneously. 

I have met with quail in corn-fields, and very plentifully too, in 
the interior of the Himalayas, not, generally speaking, on the sides of 
the hills, but in broad cultivated valleys. Between Almorah and 
Someser, in Kumaon, there is a valley, wide and flat at the bottom in 
parts, where in some years good sport may be had with quail. 

The natives net quail in vast numbers and bring them round for sale 
to the residents of our stations to fill up their quaileries, or houses built 
on purpose to keep and fatten quail as required for the table. When 
the quail have arrived, many hundreds may be purchased for a few 
rupees. The natives keep the birds also for fighting ; they are most 
pugnacious. The only way of preventing those in quaileries from 



294 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

continuallj' fighting is to keep them shut up in pitch darkness, and 
this plan is always adopted. It is a curious fact, I have noticed, that 
most quarrelsome game-birds, such as the jungle cock, the kallige 
pheasant, or the common grey partridge, are one and all armed with 
formidable spurs ; yet the quail, of all birds about the most eager for 
the fray, has no spurs. Jerdon tells us that * the female quail is larger 
than the male.' I was unaware of this fact. 

Bush quail, as already mentioned, keep together in large bevies, 
and are not migratory. They rise all together with loud outcries, but 
are hardly worth powder and shot. 

One would imagine, when the natives are cutting their crops, with 
men, women, and children moving about, talking, and laughing, that 
whatever game there was in the neighbourhood would very soon make 
itself scarce ; but not so with quail. I have found birds in plenty 
within a few yards of a whole gang of natives, totally indifferent to the 
chattering and noise going on close at hand. Sportsmen should be 
very careful when shooting near villages, or in fields where the natives 
are cutting their barley, rice, or whatever the crop may be, or accidents 
will happen. I have on several occasions seen the people of the 
country hurt, though never severely, by quail shot. A native when 
cutting his corn squats down, so that often his white puggree or top 
of his head is just below the level of the crop ; and though they may 
be perfectly aware that sportsmen are approaching, they are so heed- 
less and apathetic in disposition that they will not move till a leaden 
shower perhaps stings one of them up ; and then, although not hurt in 
reality, nor able to show a drop of blood, a great fuss is made, till a 
few rupees from the unlucky sahib who fired the shot makes the peace 
again. I must confess, however, that, speaking for myself, nothing 
makes me shoot so badly as people moving about in front, or the idea 
that perhaps a native may be concealed in the corn somewhere near. 
English sportsmen are sometimes thoughtless and inconsiderate when 
shooting quail, and with a line of coolies walk backwards and forwards in 
a field of heavy corn just ready for the sickle, doing immense mischief. 

The little quail has numberless enemies to contend with. I have 
often watched large hawks, especially a fine light-coloured harrier 
{Circtis Swain807ii{), regularly beating a field up and down, till presently 
he comes over a quail not on the look-out, pounces down,' and carries 
him oflF. Moreover, the natives train their hawks to catch quail. The 
Rajah of Benares, many years ago, had some splendid falcons and hawks 



THE BLACK-BREASTED QUAIL. 295 

for this sport ; the falcon used for large game-birds, such as floriken 
and wild ducks, was the * byree ' {Falco Peregrinus)^ and a smaller hawk, 
called the * Shikra * (Micronisus badius), for quail. 

The natives, I have already mentioned, net quail in immense numbers; 
and cats, foxes, and other vermin, continually catch them. 

Quail are favourite birds for the table ; and the little rogues, even 
in a wild state, are as fat as can be ; perhaps as a tit bit, they are not 
equal to a snipe ; but a quail pie, or curry, is a dish for a king. 

There are two very small descriptions of quail, most lovely little 
birds, called * button quail,' on account of their diminutive proportions. 
They are migratory, I believe, and found in much the same cover, and 
at the same time of year, as the large quail ; but, on account of their 
small size, are not considered worthy of notice by the sportsman. 



II.— THE Br.ACK-BREASTED QUAIL (Cofumix Coromandelica, Gmelin). 

The black-breasted quail is very similar in general appearance to the 
common quail, except that the black patch on the breast of the male 
bird is strongly marked, and at once distinguishes it from C com- 
munis : the latter also is rather larger than the former. Jerdon, speak- 
ing of the two quails, says, — 

*Tlie two birds may always be distinguished by a glance at the 
primaries, which are unspolted brown in the present bird (C Coroman- 
deUca)^ barred in the grey quail.' 

I have often shot both varieties out of the same fields of com in 
March and April, and only became aware of the fact when counting 
the slain at the end of the day, so much alike are the two birds in 
flight and general appearance. 

The black- breasted quail is often called the * rain quail ' by sports- 
men, on account of its appearing in great numbers during, the rainy 
season of the year. I have in a few hours shot fifteen and twenty 
brace in the neighbourhood of Jhansie during the months of July and 
August. The bird frequents grass and bush jungle more than the 
common quail is in the habit of doing. The call is a measured * twit 
twit, twit twit,* several times repeated, and the early traveller, during 
the rains, will hear the cry in every direction as he passes through 
grass and bush jangle, with fields of cultivation not far distant. 



296 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 



CHAPTER V. 
THE SAND-GROUSE. 



He rained flesh upon them as thick as dust: and feathered fuwls like as the sand 

of the sea. — Psalm Ixxviii. 28. 



I.— THE LARGE SAND-GROUSE {Pterocle^s arenanwt, Pallas). 

Description. 

Top of head, and the wliole of the upper parts pale bufi", marked all over with black 
blotches and irregular transverse lines. Throat yellowl<*h bufi*, with a black V-sbaped 
mark. Lower part of throat greybh, gradually becoming paler, spotted with black. A 
black bar crosses the breast, below this a broad band of buff. Belly black. Lower wing- 
coverts yellowish-buff. Primaries grey-brown ; quills brown. Bill browmsh-grey. I^gs 
feathered. Toes naked, and pale brown. 

A thick-built heaNy bird. 

This fine bird is very numerous in some localities of Nx)rthem India, 
especially in the Punjab. I first met with and shot it in the Agra 
District, two marches out on the Gwalior road. There were two or 
three plains in the AUyghur district, where in the cold weather — the 
bird is only a winter visitant — a few flocks were generally to be found ; 
and I again shot the large sand-grouse in the Calpee District, but in 
none of these places were they very numerous, as I have been told they 
are in the neighbourhood of Ferozepore, Umballa, and other of our 
Punjab stations, as also in many parts of Rajpootana. 

The large sand-grouse is a very powerful, swift flyer, and without 
exception will take harder knocks to bring down than any Indian bird 
of its size that I am acquainted with. I once killed five with two barrels 
* into the brown ' of a flock. I was up to my ankles in water, snipe 
shooting, when my companion, so:ne fifty yards ofiF, called * Look out ! ' 
and then for the first time I noticed a large flight of birds coming 



THE COMMON SAND GEOUSE. 297 

straight towards me ; there was a large stone, most opportune to crouch 
behind ; the grouse came close over, and the next minute my two 
barrels dropped five of them fluttering in the water, and with No. 8 
shot, but they could only have been ten or twelve yards from me when 
I drew trigger. 

I have invariably found the large sand-grouse a particularly wary 
and wide-awake bird, and seldom feeding on ground where a stalk was 
feasible. They frequently plough ground in the early morning, and in 
the heat of the day retire to sandy plains, with here and there patches 
of bushes ; about nine or ten o'clock, they generally make for water, 
and fly straight backwards and forwards from their feeding ground to 
the pool or river where they drink, so that an observing sportsman, by 
hiding beneath the line of flight, may get one or more good chances. 
So cunning were these birds at Allyghur, that attempting to creep in 
for a shot was labour lost, so we made a practice of driving them, 
posting the guns behind bushes and stones, and then sending natives 
round to put them over. Of course our endeavours were often in- 
effectual, but occasionally several brace of birds were killed in this 
manner. One day, in a single drive, I remember a succession of them 
came directly over where three of us were posted, and after a deal of 
banging we picked up seven fine grouse.* 

The large sand-grouse is, I believe, occasionally seen in the LuUut- 
pore district, though I never once came across it ; nor did I ever see one 
during my three years at Jhansie, though I visited every comer of that 
district. It is a most excellent bird for the table. 



IL— THE COMMON SAND-GROUSE (Pterocles exustus, Tbmminck). 

Dbscriptiow. 

Male. Length. — About 12 inches. 

Tail. — 4 inches, with two central feathers extendinir 3 inches further. 
Tarn, — Feathered down to feet ; toes bare. 

Upper and back parts of head light brown, inclining to yellow round neck and under 
tliroat. Upper part of breast, light yellowish-brown, with a thin blackish bar extending 



* In Rajpootana they are usually shot from behind a cart or off a canieL 



298 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

across from one shoulder to the other. Upper parts of wings mottled yellow and 
light brown, the lower ends of the feathers being edged with vandjke-brown, so as to 
form a small patch of spots on the shoulder. Primaries long and pointed, like those of 
a wild pigeon, crossing each other over the back when the wings are closed, of a dark- 
brown colour, with their inner halves white just where they meet on the back. Tail 
light brown, and two long central feathers nearly black. Breast, beneath the black bar, 
of a golden colour, verging into a reddish-chestnut under the abdomen and down the 
thighs. 

Female, — Slightly smaller than the male, and not so brightly coloured. The spots on 
the shoulders are smaller and of a lighter tint, and the white hJEilves of the primaries more 
dingy. Central feathers of tail not so long and tapering as those of cock Hrd. 

The sexes of the common sand-grouse differ so much in plumage from 
one another, that they are often mistaken for distinct species. I once saw 
in a museum two cock birds and two hens, classed separately ; and it 
took some time to convince the scientific worthy in charge that he had 
coupled the gentlemen as one pair of sand grouse, and the ladies as 
another. This sand-grouse is gregarious, and about the commonest of 
all Indian game-birds. In some parts of the country they abound, and 
thousands may be seen on a single plain, and I have shot them till 
tired of the slaughter. They delight in sandy plains. They may also 
be found on stubble-fields and ploughed ground, the latter especially. 
They drink regularly twice a day, about 9 or 10 a.m. and again between 
4 and 5 in the afternoon, flying in a direct line from their feeding- 
grounds to the water. The flock generally settles on some sand-bank ; 
the birds run down to the water, take a long drink, and after a short 
pause, again take wing. 

The Namaqua partridge of Africa, as described by travellers and 
sportsmen, must closely resemble our common Indian sand grouse. 
Their habits appear to be very similar, and the cry or call of the 
African birds has been said to resemble the words ' pretty dear,' uttered 
at regular intervals, and these words convey exactly the sound of the 
call of the Indian rock pigeon or sand grouse. They are called 
* Buk Teeturs ' by natives, or chattering partridges, and are rightly 
so named, for the birds are hardly ever silent when on the wing, though 
I never yet heard one of them call like partridges when on the ground. 
The birds are regular grouse, and their small feet are feathered down to 
the very toes. It is extraordinary how difficult it is to distinguish a 
flock of sand-grouse, when crouching down on a plain or ploughed field, 
so exactly does their mottled plumage resemble the natural surface of 
the soil. I have often marked down a pack, and walked up to within 



THE COMMON SAND GROUSE, 299 

twenty yards, and yet for minntes together been quite unable to make 
them out. The flight, when the birds are well on the wing, is very 
swift and powerful, and like nearly all the sand-grouse tribe, they take 
very hard blows, often without coming down. When winged they 
never attempt to conceal themselves, and I have noticed that when 
they fall in thick cover, dogs have little trouble in retrieving them, so 
imagine that the scent of the bird must be powerful. 

Very often the sportsman hears the clear * wuk-tee-wuk ' of the 
sand grouse high up in the air, long before he catches sight of it 
passing over head. As I have already said, the birds when flying are 
seldom if ever silent, and their shai*p-pointed wings, dark under 
plumage, and peculiar flight distinguish them from other game at a 
glance. I have met with good sport by lying up of an evening 
a little before sundown, near some pool of water where grouse are 
in the habit of drinking, and for half-an-hour or so had capital 
shooting, as they kept coming and going. Like all other game-birds, 
when much persecuted by sportsmen, sand grouse become wary and 
suspicious of danger ; but, unlike the large variety, which are invari- 
ably cunning and difficult to approach, I have usually found the common 
sand -grouse easy enough to get within shot of. 

In the Jhansie district these birds were exceedingly numerous, 
and 1 have seen thirty brace and upwards killed in a day. We always 
made a point of turning out to shoot grouse on the 1 2th of August, and 
generally succeeded in making a bag. In Lullutpore, Gwalior, Saugor 
— in fact all over the Central Provinces and Central India — sand 
grouse abound ; but in Lower Bengal, Assam, or such-like countries, 
they are far less numerous, in many places rare, in others not found 
at all. In the neighbourhood of Allyghur I have seen hundreds of 
them ; also in the Agra district, but in Philibheet sand-grouse appeared 
to be verA' scarce. Jerdon remarks : — 

* In some parts of the country, as at Mhow and Saugor, most of 
them leave the district after breeding in July, and do not return till the 
end of the rains.' 

I can confirm the above remark, and I made a note to the same 
effect when at Jhansie, as applicable to that district ; but am still at 
a loss to say where Fterocles exustus retires to during these two or 
three months, for I don't believe they migrate. 

The birds are good for the table, though the skins are tough ; the 
flesh is dark in some parts, white in others. I have seen the nest 



300 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

more than once ; the hen generally lays her eggs in bare open gronnd, 
with no attempt at a regular nest. When crossing an arid plain in the 
hot season of 1872, I, as nearly as possible, put my foot on to a sand- 
grouse crouching on her eggs ; my boot was certainly within ten or 
twelve inches of the old bird, when she fluttered off, and until she 
moved I was quite unconscious that I had so nearly crushed her, her 
plumage so exactly corresponded with the nature of the ground. There 
were four eggs in this nest, of a light greenish-grey colour speckled 
irregularly with brown. 

When in Thibet, during the summer of 1863, I shot a large de- 
scription of sand grouse, Syrrhaptes Tibetamis, which I had never seen 
before ; in fact, I believe it to be peculiarly a Thibetan grouse. I stuffed 
two specimens of this species, and have them still in my collection. 
They are considerably larger than extistusy neck in front light yellow, 
wings and tail very long and tapering, primaries of wing black, breast 
dull white much speckled with gray spots or small transverse markings, 
abdomen white. The Hoouiahs and Bhootiahs called them *kak,* 
from the cry of the bird. I should say that they hardly exceeded in 
weight the large sand-grouse of the plains ; but they were altogether 
longer in the body, and not so thick-set and squat in appearance. 1 
only came across these birds once, and shot five ; they were sitting on 
the edge of a pool of water, and allowed me to walk close up to them. 
I remember at the time remarking that they appeared to be tired and 
weary, as if they had come a long distance quite recently, and had 
not yet recovered their strength. 



III.— THE PAINTED OR BANDED SAND-GROUSE {Pterocles fasciatus, Scopoli). 

Description. 

Male. — Graceful in form. Head small. Chest much rounded and developed. 

Bill red. Feathers at base of bill whitish. A black band across the ^front part of 
head, just above the nostrils ; then a whitish band. Top of head pale fawn, streaked 
witli black. Back of neck greyish buff. Back, upper and lower wing-coverts, rump, 
and tail, pale brown, transversely barred with blackish brown and yellowish buff. Wings, 
long and pointed, but not so much as P. catistu/t. Primaries, brown ; margins, pale 
bufF. Throat, reddish buff; lower part of neck greyish buff, edged with a broad band 



THE PAINTED OR BANDED SAND GUOUSE. 301 

of rich reddisli brown, then *a narrow pale-yellowish band on the breast, below this a 
blackish bar. Belly and under tail-coverts brownish, each feather having two blackbh 
bars near the tip. The transverse bars on the wing white. Legs feathered to toes ; toes 
naked^ brownish. 

Female. — Altogether of a duller tint than the male, and more spotted on the upper part 
of the body ; minutely barred across the breast and lower parts with black and dingy white, 
and wanting the beautiful bars on the head, wings, and breast of the cock bird. 

This is one of the most beautifuUj marked game-birds that I am 
acquainted with. 

The only part of Tndia where I have met with it has been in 
Bundelkund. In the Jhansie district it was very common. I re- 
member we shot twenty-three and a-half brace of * painters * one 12th 
of August within two miles of the cantonment. We generally found 
them on rising ground where covered with rocks and bushes, often 
in regular thick cover, and I have shot this grouse constantly on 
the sides of steep hills covered with thicket, where no other kind of 
sand-grouse would ever resort. 

I have noticed the painted grouse on the wing after sunset, and 
long after other game birds have gone to roost. 

I have described the large sand-grouse as an exceedingly wary 
bird, and the common species is, generally speaking, tolerably cunning ; 
but the painted grouse is one of the most stupid of game-birds. The 
flight is not swift ; and when the bird rises, as it usually does, within 
close range, there can hardly be an easier mark to knock over. 
Moreover, after being fired at, should the bird escape, it will probably, 
after circling about, uttering its peculiar clucking call, pitch again 
within a few hundred yards. Like other kinds of sand-grouse, the 
painted species is well worth procuring for the mess-table ^ it is an 
excellent bird. 

Thore is a fourth species of sand-grouse which occasionally is met 
with in Northern India, but which I regret to say I have never come 
across. It is called the Pintailed Sand-Grouse {Pterocles alchata). 
Jerdon remarks, in allusion to this bird: * It is said to swarm in 
countless numbers in Palestine, and Mr. Blyth believes, and with 
justice, that this bird, rather than the Coturnix communis^ is the ^ quail ' 
of the Israelites. 



302 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 



CHAPTER VI. 
THE BUSTARD, OOBARA, AND FLORIKEN. 



Tlie chase of the bird requires such caution and patience as would sorely try the temper 

of even a practised deer-stalker. — White's * Selbonie,^ 



I.— THE INDIAN BUSTARD {Eupodotia Edwardsii, Qvjly), 

Description. 

Male. Height, -From 3^ to 4 feet. 

Bill. — 2 inches in length, of a yellowish colour, nearly straight and pointed. 

Iris. — Pale yellow. 

Legs. — About 20 inches, and yellow. Three toes, with claws shaped like those of 
common fowl ; no hind toe. 

Neck. — 16 or 18 inches. 

Tail. — 12 inches. 

Wings, broad and rounded, when closed do not reach to within 6 inches of tail. 

Upper part of head, where tliere is almost a plume, glossy black. Neck, which 
in old cock birds is covered witli long feathers, white, duller behind than in front. 
A line, 2 or 3 inches broad, of dark brown feathers, extends across the upper part 
of the breast, from shoulder to shoulder. Remainder of breast down to end of abdomen, 
white, mottled with light fawn colour. Back and upper parts of wings reddish, beauti- 
fully variegated with very thin lines of dark brown. Tail the eame, but with slightly 
darker tinjre. The feathers not unlike those of a turkev. Primaries and lower feathers 
of wing black, with a tip of white on the end of each feather ; altogether wanting the long 
moustache of the European bustard i^Olis tarda). 

Female. — Considerably smaller in size than the male, plumage not so bright. The 
feathers on the neck not so long, nor of so pure white, but speckled throughout. 

There are many varieties of Bustard, and among the largest and most 
noble in appearance is the Indian. This bird is, in my opinion, the 
king of game birds, and the value of its feathers, its excellence as a 



TUB INDIAN BUSTARD, 303 

bird for the table, and last, though not least, the verj- great diflfieulty 
in shooting it, render it a prize to be much coveted ; to slay an old 
cock bustard is or should be the ambition of every young sportsman, 
and an achievement only brought about by perseverance and a know- 
ledge of the habits of the bird : many a sportsman spends the whole of 
his service in India without bagging a single one. 

I first met with the bustard on the road between Mirzapore and 
the Kuttra Pass. I again shot it when marching from Allahabad 
to Saugor. And during my three years' service at Jhansie, I con- 
stantly came across this splendid bird ; as also in LuUutpore and in 
Gwalior. Between Morar and Jhansie, in the neighbourhood of 
Dubra, there is a plain behind the Dawk Bungalow, a favourite spot 
for bustard. It is common in the Saugor country, and, I have been 
told, in the neighbourhood of Hansi ; occasionally in the Meerut 
district. Once I heard of it at Mozufifemugger. I have never met with 
it in Bengal Proper, Assam, nor anywhere on our Eastern frontier. 
The Indian Bustard is not usually found on the dead level plains, as is 
often supposed to be the case, but frequents low, rocky, undulating hills, 
or high grounds mterspersed with patches of bushes and scrub jungle. 

Generally a pair may be seen stalking about together, sometimes a 
solitary one, occasionally four or five ; and I once counted, within two 
miles of the city of Jhansie, no less than fourteen bustard, nearly all 
females, feeding in a field of young corn. The birds are not often met 
with in the hot weather ; they are sometimes seen in the cold season, 
but the best time of all for finding them is early in the ^ rains.' After 
the first downpour they may be seeti on ground such as I have described. 

The bustard is the most wide-awake and cunning of all feathered 
game, and seldom permits the sportsman to approach within close 
range. The eyesight of the bird is wonderfully keen ; and they will 
hardly ever feed or settle near grass or cover high enoagh to screen 
an enemy, or to allow a stalk to be made. In attempting to approach 
the birds for a shot, the same tactics as I have already described 
for approaching black buck should be adopted : circle gradually round, 
keep your gun hidden behind you on the oflF-side from the game, walk 
leisurelj', and never look towards the quarry, but so manoeuvre as to 
appear to be passing by and not taking the slightest notice of them. 

Many scores of times I have tried, by getting a bush in a line with the 
bird, to creep up stealthily within distance, but have seldom succeeded. 
When about a hundred yards off, the sharp-eyed bird had almost in- 



304 THE GAME OF BENGAL,' 

variably discovered me and taken to flight. Perseverance, however, will 
be rewarded in time, and on one occasion I grovelled up a shallow 
ravine on my stomach to within forty yards of five cock bustard ; one 
fell dead to the right barrel, loaded with B B shot, and a second 
dropped to a similar dose from the left, but again recovering himself, 
took to flight. I watched him till out of sight, but still keeping my 
eyes in the direction in which the bird had flown, I fancied, though not 
at all certain, that I saw him throw up his wings and settle in a large 
patch of high grass. Having picked up and duly admired the slain 
bird, I made straight for the high patch I have mentioned, and making 
my syce lead my horse and walk in a line with me, we crossed back- 
wards and forwards three times, and beat the whole of the grass with- 
out finding what I hoped for. Just as I was wiping the perspiration 
off my face, and remarking to my attendant that I must have been 
mistaken, the bird rose within ten yards of us, and this time fell dead 
enough. I could see by the dry blood marks on the feathers that he 
had been severely wounded by my first shot. 

The flight of the bustard much resembles that of the common 
vulture, especially when at a distance, but the former bird may 
always be distinguished from the latter in the following manner. The 
vulture makes several powerful strokes, and then sails along with 
wings extended; again he strikes out as before, and once more 
glides along motionless. The bustard, however, slowly flaps his wings 
in a measured manner as he flies ; but never once, from the moment 
he takes wing till the time he settles, however long a flight he may 
take, does he ever glide along with the wings extended as the vulture 
does ; and the knowledge of this fact has often enabled me to decide 
between the one bird and the other at a very great distance. 

The bustard generally flies tolerably straight when flushed, till he 
reaches the ground where he intends alighting, when, probably to see 
that all is safe, he sometimes circles round before he drops. It is a 
good plan, if the bird flies right away out of sight, to mark the line of 
flight taken, and probably, by following the direction carefully, you 
will again find him. The bird does not often rise any great height 
from the ground, is very awkward in getting under way, and carries 
its head and neck fully extended ; the flight, though heavy, is 
powerful. 

The food of the bird is principally locusts — when removing the 
skins of specimens I have found the stomach full of these insects — 



THE INDIAN BUSTARD, 305 

grasshoppers, various kinds of beetles, worms, centipedes, and sach 
like* It is said they will even eat lizards and small snakes, bat I 
am doubtful about this, and have never once found anything of the 
kind when stuffing the birds. I have also seen them in the early 
morning busily engaged in a field of corn, eating the young green 
shoots. Jerdon tells us : * In default of insect food it will eat fruit of 
various kinds, especially the fruit of the Byr and Coronda.' Doubtless 
this is correct, though I have never discovered anything of the kind in 
the stomach of the bustard. I once flushed one, when shooting quail, 
out of a high piece of standing com ; he had the temerity to fly directly 
over my head and got two barrels of quail shot, which made him drop 
his legs and swing about ; but again recovering himself, he made off. I 
thought that he had made good his escape, but about half-an-hour 
after, when we had finished our quail shooting, I was delighted to see 
my syce approaching with the bustard in his hand. We had left our 
horses about a quarter of a mile from our shooting-ground, bidding the 
syces wait our return. Our grooms had heard the report of my gun, 
and from where they were seated, on higher ground, had noticed that 
the bustard staggered and was badly hit ; and, the bird flying in their 
direction, they were able to watch it for a longer time, and to keep it in 
sight a further distance than I could. They saw the bustard collapse 
suddenly, and fall dead on the open plain. 

The finest old cock I ever shot, or rather assisted in shooting, was 
close to Jhansie ; a friend and I flushed him, and marked him down 
again ; we followed him up, and, by taking advantage of the ground, 
succeeded in getting within long range, about 60 or 70* yards, when 
he rose, and our four barrels were just sufficient to bring him down. 
This was a magnificent old cock ; I stuffed him, and my friend, who 
took part in slaying him, ^ent him home to England. The bird was 
of such great length that it took a box the size of a coffin to contain 
him. 

I have found it an excellent plan, where the birds are very "wild and 
unapproachable, to drive them. The sportsman, who will day after day 
find the same birds on the same spots — very likely in company with 
sundry old black bucks for mutual protection — should mark well once 
or twice the exact direction the birds take when flushed, which will 
generally be over the same line of country. Next time he visits the 
place, to which the birds will be almost sure to have returned, let him 

X 



3o6 THJB GAME OF BENGAL. 

ensconce himself behind a bush or rock under the line of flight he 
marked on the previous day, but without allowing the game to witness 
what he is about, and then direct an attendant to move round and 
quietly put the bustard up ; very probably he will from his ambush 
have the pleasure of seeing them make straight for the ambuscade 
laid for them. Of course this stratagem does not always succeed, but 
I have several times practised it with success. 

One of Scindiah's o£Bcers at Jhansie had a buffalo trained for 
stalking bustard, and by this means killed several. The way he 
managed was as follows : — Guiding the buffalo by his tail in the 
direction of the game, he concealed himself behind the beast, and thus 
was able to get within shot of the birds, who, accustomed to see cattle 
grazing about, suspected no danger. This appears to be rather a poach- 
ing dodge, however, and I have never tried it. 

The birds may often be seen stalking about, with natives cultiva- 
ting their fields close by; and yet, directly a European sportsman 
comes in sight, the bustard immediately take notice of him, and utter 
their hoarse cry of alarm, sounding something like the word * hook.' 
A fine- sighted, accurate-shooting small-bore rifle is a good weapon for 
bustard ; * though I generally trusted to B B shot, with rather a large 
charge of powder. 

The first bustard I ever killed, a fine old cock, was with a rifle 
bullet, but a desperate * fluke,' as the story will show. Many years 
ago, before I had been in the country a year, I obtained a month's leave 
to accompany two others on a shooting trip. I was then stationed at 
Benares ; we travelled rapidly to Mirzapore, and commenced marching 
in the direction of the Kuttra Pass, on the Sanger road, till we 
reached a place called Lalgunge, where we put up at a small 
bungalow. My companions were both old sportsmen, though I at the 
time was a regular GriflSn. I had brought a double Enfield rifle 
with me — about the worst sporting rifle that I am acquainted with — 
and was most anxious to shoot one of the numerous black bucks which 
we saw constantly on either side of the road. Within a week, after 
a goodly expenditure of ball cartridges, I had bagged two bucks. One 

of my companions, Captain P y, had mentioned more than once 

that bustard were occasionally to be met with in the neighbourhood, but 

' I can strongly recommend those made by Holland of Bond Street, as particularly 
suited for bustard-shooting. 



TMB WDU.V BUSTAIiD. 



307 



never having seen one, I had only a meagre idea what the biids were 
like. 

At length wo moved our qnattora to another bungalow farther on, 
a march of eight or ten miles ; and, instead of keejiing to the road, 
I made a detour in search of game. Within an hour of starting I 
severely wounded a fine black buck in the hind-quartL-ra, but the 
creature made off. I followed him alone for a very hing distance, until, 
quite tired out with running, I sat down on the brow of a bill to recover 
bri'atb. While mopping my face with my handkerchief, I was startled 
by hearing a deep, harsh, guttuiul ' hook ' behind me. I looked round 
and observed for the first time four large birds stalking away, and 
looking back over their shouIderB at me. Not knowing what they 
were, I was watching them unconcernedly, when it suddenly struck me 

(hat they were the very birds Captain P y bad so often spoken 

about, and had been describing to me only the previous evening, viz. 
bustard. My gun was with my syce far behind, but I determined on , 
taking a shot with my rifle. There was no time to spare, already the 
birds were preparing to take wing ; so glancing along the sights, I took 
aim at the nearest, and tired just as one of the others took to flight. 
The bnllet fell short, but struck the bustard as it ricochetted, 
and to my delight the bird dropped motionless ; on running up I 
found that I had killed a magnificent old cock. The bullet had poised 
through the throat, just below the ear — a great piece of luck. Presently 
my syce and horse came up ; we slung the bird over the saddle, and 
made for our halting ground. My companions were both astonished 
at my good fortune — and perhaps a little envions as well at the success 
of the Griffin— and wondered how I had managed to hit him so neatly ; 
but, as was natural for a youngster, I did not furnish them with the 
whole facts of the ciiae, but merely stated that I had knocked the bird 
over with an Enfield bullet. 

The skin of the bustard ia very thin, and atufiiDg one, or rather 
taking the skin off, is a laborious tusk, and requires much care, 
esjiecially if, as is often the case, the body ia covered with rolls of fat. 
At certain times of the year it is a good bird for the table, espe- 
cially a young hen, boiled like a turkey, or baked, as some pre- 
fer. At the same time if the bustard of Europe {Otis tanla) ia not 
superior when cooked to the Indian species, I think that its great 
excellence has been esaggerat«d, for 1 venture to aay that the flesh of 
the Indian bustard at the best of times cannot compare in delicacy 



3o8 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

with that of the floriken, nor, as I am informed, with that of the oobara. 
The feathers, I need hardly mention, are highly prized by the salmon- 
fisher for certain flies. 

Natives often catch these birds ; they watch and mark them down 
just before dark, and then draw a net over them. I have often seen 
them brought into stations for sale at a rupee each. 

One day, when on horseback, I flushed three bustard ; as they were 
making off^, a large tawny eagle, ynth wings half closed, made a swoop 
at them ; the bustard rose higher in the air, and I distinctly heard them 
uttering cries of distress. The eagle having regained a position above 
the pursued, came down again with a tremendous rushing noise like a 
bolt, but missed his aim a second time, and after a third iinsuccessfol 
attempt desisted from molesting them further. Having a partiality for 
anything in connection with hawking, I became excited at so grand 
a sight, and clapped spurs to my nag to keep pursuers and pursued in 
sight. Possibly I approached too near, and thus was the cause of the 
eagle giving up the chase. 

I have often read about the pouch said to be in the bustard's throat 
for the purpose of holding water. Certain it is that the Indian bustard 
has no such appendage, for I have again and again most carefully 
examined the throats of both cocks and hens, and could discover 
nothing of the kind. 

It has been said by certain writers that the bustard is * swift of foot,' 
and more extraordinary still, * has been coursed successfully by grey- 
hounds.' I am only able to speak as to the Indian bird, though I 
imagine there is not any great difference in habits, if there be in 
plumage, between it and the African Pauw, or the Great Bustard of* 
Europe. I myself have never seen the bustard run s>viftly, or move 
in any other manner than a stately walk. Sometimes, when suddenly 
alarmed, they move away from the object that has frightened them at 
a rather quick pace just before taking wing, but that is all that can be 
said. 

As to the second assertion, * the coursing with greyhonndfl,' as 
regards our Indian bustard, I will answer for its being a fallacy, and a 
single day's trial would speedily convince the most sceptical on this 
point. 

The bustard builds no regular nest, but about the end of July or 
early in August the female selects some suitable spot on the ground, 
generally a hollow in an open field, amid the sprouting shoots of some 



THE INDIAN BUSTARD. 309 

young crop. There she deposits two eggs of a mottled brown colour, 
and rather larger in size than those of a turkey. 

1 have been informed on reliable authority that about the breeding 
season the cock bustard often utters a peculiar long-drawn droning 
note, and that this singular call is generally heard after nightfall. 

Bustards may often be seen feeding in open fields ; they are especi- 
ally partial to patches of linseed, called by the natives tillee. It is not 
the crop itself which forms the chief attraction to the birds, but swarms 
of locusts and grasshoppers, which invariably abound in these fields of 
linseed, and, as already mentioned, form a favourite food of the 
bustiird. 

Before concluding my rather lengthy remarks on the bustard, I must 
mention that I have several times observed that the bird — all the 
Otidoe I believe are given to this practice — instead of making oflf on 
the approach of man or other disturber, sometimes crouches down and 
attempts to conceal itself, and I believe that this manceuvre is practised 
when the wary bird has come to the conclusion that there is no immi- 
nent danger, and squats down simply to avoid being noticed. Once, 
when crossing a vast plain on the back of a camel in the Mirzapore 
district, I observed while yet a long way off^, on a low range of hills to 
my right, the white neck of an old cock bustard, near the track we were 
pursuing. The bird, after eyeing us for some time, as we neared the spot 
where he was standing, at length squatted down behind a bush with 
the design of allowing us to pass by without noticing him ; and I 
daresay the same trick had often been practised before, but this was 
the last time, for I had observed through a telescope the manoeuvre 
of the wily Otis. Directing the native on the saddle behind me 
to take the guiding string of the camel and to pursue his course 
slowly for the purpose of attracting the keeu eye of the old bustard, 
doubtless still peering at our movements from his place of con- 
cealment, I slid down on the off side of the camel into a soft clump 
of grass. If we had gone through the ordinary performance of 
making the camel ^ baith ' or kneel down to enable me to dismount, 
our halting, the usual, delightful customary gurgling of the brute, 
as he doubles in his legs for the position required, and our whole 
behaviour, would to a certainty have awakened the suspicions of 
the crafty gentleman behind the bush, and induced him to seek safety 
in flight ; but I was in hopes that by dropping down quietly in the 
manner I have described, with the camel moving steadily on to take 



3 CO THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

tLe eye of our friend, I might, by taking advantage of the ground, steal 
within gunshot range. Most unfortunately I had only brought with 
me cartridges loaded with No. 5 shot, far too small for such game, but 
that could not be helped. There was a low, rocky ridge, behind where 
the bird had crouched. On the crest of this ridge I noted a certain high 
bush as a landmark, as nearly as possible opposite to where the bustard 
lay hid ; and then stooping down to avoid being seen, I hastily turned 
back and retraced my steps in the direction we had just previously come. 
After walking two or three hundred yards, an opportune nullah branched 
off in the direction I wished to take ; along the bottom of this I took my 
course, and at length fairly turned the enemy's flank by getting behind 
the ridge I have described, which screened me from view. Glad to be 
able to straighten my back again, I now rapidly made for the spot I had 
marked for taking my shot, and placing my mushroom-shaped hat on 
the ground, slowly peeped over, and there within thirty yards I had 
the satisfaction of beholding the bustard, fairly outdone, cunning as 
he was. He had his back to me, and had risen to his feet again, and 
was standing erect, with his eye still fixed on the camel, now some dis- 
tance off; and doubtless was congratulating himself that he had been 
passed by unperceived. Poor deluded fellow ! Chuckling to myself I 
strode towards him to gain a few yards for the small shot, and as he 
in the customary way of his species made two or three awkward 
flounders forward to get under way, and raised his heavy wings, I seized 
the favourable opportunity, and a single barrel dropped him dead. 



II.— THE OOBARA (Houbara Macqueenii, Gray). 

The Punjab is, I believe, the only part of the Bengal Presidency where 
the oobara is found, and it certainly does not frequent our North- 
western Provinces ; but as it is a very fine game bird, and may perhaps 
be found in certain localities in Bengal that I am not aware of, I have 
included it in its proper place among the bustard tribe. I myself have 
never had the good fortune to come across a single one ; but the follow- 
ing interesting notes, supplied by a brother sportsman from the Bombay 
Presidency, will amply make up for my deficiency as regards this 
particular bird. 



THE OODASA. 311 

My friend's notes are as follows : 

' So fiir as Diy experience goes, I have only met with the oobara in 
any numbers in Sind, altbough I hare occasionally come across a few 
in the plains of Bajpootana, in the vicinity of Nuseerabad; but as a 
general rule I believe it may be assumed, that they are to be found in 
certain parts of Northern India where large tracts of sandy plains exist. 

* In appearance the bird (which belongs to the otidte tribe) is very 
like a small bustard, and about midway in size between that and a 
floriken. The plumage is of a mottled brown, white under the wings, 
and white-breasted. Both male and female have a ruff of white feathers 
round the neck, but in the male this is far larger, and in an old bird it 
has almost the appearance of a beard when in fall plumage. 

* The oobara, like birds of the same tribe, has only three toes. It 
feeds principally on wild berries, and in Sind on the leaves of the 
Jamba or wild mustard, but will, I believe, also eat inaecta, and especi- 
ally locusts. It is also justly considered a great delicacy for the table. 
The feathers of the oobara are much prized, and are extensively used 
in the manufacture of salmon flies; and there is also a small piece 
niider the shoulder of the wing, which is much valued for ladies' bats. 

' The oobara is a very shy bird, feeding only in the morning and 
evening. In the heat of the day it lies down generally under the shade 
of a bush. It seldom allows itself to be approached within range by a 
sportsman on foot, but can be stalked on a camel specially trained for 
the purpose, and then only in the heat of the day. When flushed it 
tukes a long flight, and generally does not settle under half a mile, 
except in the very hottest part of the day. 

' Oobara are generally to be found in pairs, but I have frequently 
seen OS many as eight or ten together. They are very fond of ground 
covered with small sandy hillocks, in the shade of which they scratch 
about and repose during the beat of the day. 

' The oobara I believe to be to a certain extent a migratory bird, 
leaving India about the end of February, and coming in with the first 
approach of the cold season. The earlieut date I can remember to 
have flushed one was on August 28th ; but this was unusually early, 
and the bird was a solitary one and quite out of condition. 

' I hud long laboured under a mistaken impression that oobara- 
shooting must be very tame work, simply from the fact that they had 
to be potted oEF a camel's back ; but when I once took to it, and fonnd 
what care and patience were necessary before a bird could be brought 



312 TEE GAME OF BENGAL. 

to bag, I altered my opinion, and after this enjoyed several days' stalk- 
ing, and came to the conclusion that the sport itself was not only good, 
but exciting. 

* The way oobara are shot in Sind is oflf the back of a camel driven 
by an experienced shikary. The camels are specially trained for the 
purpose, and taught to circle round very slowly, obeying the slightest 
touch of the rein, and to stand perfectly still when stopped, so as to 
afford a steady shot. On coming on to a plain known to be frequented 
by oobara the shikary at once reduces the speed of the camel to a very 
slow jog-trot, and carefully examines the different tracks of the birds, 
which are to be seen in every direction. A good shikary will at once 
tell a fresh foot-print from one a day old, and how long since the bird 
has gone on. As soon as he has hit upon a perfectly fresh track he 
turns his camel short off, and proceeds to wheel round it in a large 
circle, until he has succeeded in determining that the track has not 
extended beyond the circumference of the beat. Being now assured 
that the bird is within the circle, he 'then proceeds very gradually to 
diminish the circumference each round, carefully examining each tufb 
of grass or small bush as he passes. The bird, the moment it becomes 
aware that it has been seen, crouches down, and, like the ostrich, 
fondly imagines that when its head is rammed into a bush its whole 
body is out of sight. The shikary eventually brings you to within 
twenty or thirty yards of a bird hidden in a bush ; or, as I have often 
seen it, squatting down on the bare plain. 

* The colour of the bird, which seems peculiarly assimilated to the 
nature of the country it frequents, renders it most difficult to see, and 
it often requires great practice and an experienced eye to discover it 
when squatting, even when within twenty yards. I have often been 
driven round a bird half a dozen times, with the shikary vainly at- 
tempting in a low whisper to point out where it was, before I could 
distinguish it myself. When the bird has been brought within range 
the camel is at once stopped (slightly to the right hand, of course, so 
as to allow a good shot), and if a hot day the bird will simply allow itself 
to be shot. I have, however, always found it far better to allow it to 
rise, feeling that there is far more satisfaction in bringing it down on 
the wing than in knocking it over on the ground. The moment it is 
dropped the camel is made to kneel down, and the shikary runs up to 
the oobara, and gives it the coup de grace by cutting its throat, after 
the manner of the followers of the faithful, and, slinging the bird behind 



THE BENGAL FLORIKEN. 313 

the camel-saddle in less time than I have taken to relate it, jumps up 
and starts off after another. Sometimes, however, towards the after- 
noon, when the birds are beginning to get lively, they will not lie, and 
in this case the best way of getting a shot is to circumvent them in a 
very large circle, and while the birds' attention is taken up with the 
manoeuvre, to drop off the camel without stopping, and then run in 
sharply on foot. In this manner I have shot many a bird that would 
never have allowed me to approach within range on a camel's back. 

^ The largest bag I have made is eight oobara in one day in Lower 
Sind, but I have frequently known from ten to fifteen bagged by one gun, 
and I am told even more than this may be shot in a day in Upper Sind, 
where they are far more plentiful. It depends, however, entirely on 
the training of the camel and the experience of the shikary, for although 
it may seem simple enough, it is by no means as easy as it looks to 
stalk one scientiBcally.' 



m.-TIIE BENGAL FIX)RIKEN (Sh^iheotideB BenffaUnms, Quxus). 

Dbbcbiption. 

Male. //rtV/A/.— About 22 or 23 inches. 

Beak.-- 1| inches, nearly straight, and rather stout. 

Iris, — Gold colour. 

Leffs, — Yellow, 10 inches in length. Toes, three only, small in proportion to size of 
bird. 

Tail — 6 inches in length. 

WitiffB, — Short, not extending when closed to within 3 inches of end of tail. 

Long, loose feathers, hanging in the front of the neck, from the throat to the beginning 
of the breast, and alno a kind of plume from the back of the head to nearly the lower part 
of neck. Black on the head and neck, and for two inches down the back ; black down 
the breast and abdomen, where there is a reddish tinge. Lower parts of body to the tail, 
bhick. Back pale rufous, mottled with black. Wings white on outer parts, with here 
and there light brown feathers, and gradually merging into beautifully streaked brown, 
rtni, and black variegations; outer edge of three first primary feathers, bkck. Tail- 
coverts dull brown, variegated with streaks of a light fawn colour. Tail black, tipped 
with white. 

FeniaU, — Rather larger than her consort ; a peculiarity of the florikens, though not 
of the bustards. Though perhaps less strikingly, can hardly be said to be less beauti- 
fully marked than the male. She has no plume on the back of the head, though the 
feathers are longish in that particuUr port ; no long feathers down the front of the neck. 



314 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

Head and neck, light fawn or yellow, variegated with streaks of brown across 
the feathers. The back beautifully mottled with numerous brown spots and splashes. 
Wings of a lighter tint. The primary quills darker, but no actual black or white on 
wings. 

This floriken, one of the finest of oar Indian game birds, is generally 
found in the open grass patches in the Terai, especially where the high 
jungle has been recently burnt, and the young grass shoots have again 
begun to sprout. In Assam it is very plentiful, especially in the sandy 
churs (or islands) covered with grass in the Berhampooter. Also in certain 
parts of the Purneah and Dinagepore districts ; in the Nepaul Terai, 
Bareilly, and Philibheet country, the bird is common, especially near 
the banks of the Sardah. I have never once met with it in the Jhansie 
district, though the lesser floriken or leek was tolerably common, nor 
anywhere in the neighbourhood of Saugor or Jubbulpore. 

I never shot the bird till in 1865, when quartered at Tezpore, in 
Assam, where, as I have already stated, it was common. On two 
occasions I killed five splendid birds in a day, and several times two 
or three. The old cocks, from their conspicuous black and white 
plumage, may be seen a long way ofiP when stalking about, as they 
often do, near the edge of the grass jungle. When much hunted, 
they naturally become wild, but in out-of-the-way places I have had 
little difficulty in shooting them. It does not take much to bring one 
down ; No. 3 shot is about the best size, and if a floriken rises within 
range, it can hardly be missed, so slow is the flight — a steady measured 
flap, not unlike the flight of an owl — hence its name * ooloo moor ' in 
some parts of the country. 

It is a good plan always, if possible, to keep following up the same 
bird ; whether it is that it becomes tired or not, I cannot say, but I 
have found that often at first, on the sportsman approaching, a floriken 
will rise very wild, and take a long flight ; the same thing will likely 
occur a second or perhaps a third time, and then, after two or three 
of these flights, the bird will settle in some high standing grass, and 
not get up at all, allowing you almost to tread on it without moving. 

A dog is most useful for this sport : I have constantly marked a 
floriken down, but have not been able to flush or find him again through 
want of a good setter, or bustling spaniel, to discover his whereabouts. 
Moreover, a winged bird if it falls in thick cover, is sometimes most 
difficult to find without a retriever. Sometimes if on putting up a 
floriken the sportsman conceals himself immediately, the bird, after 



THE BENGAL FLOBIKEN, 315 

making a long flight, will gradually edge round and settle again near 
where it originally took wing. 

It is a remarkable fact that in both descriptions of floriken, the hen 
bird is larger than the cock. This is not uncommon with certain 
kinds of hawks and falcons, but it is the only instance that I know of 
among game birds, except the quail and painted snipe. The floriken 
often makes a kind of cluck as it rises, and on settling I have fre- 
quently seen it run for some distance in a stooping position. 

It is not unusual to come across two or three old cocks together 
by themselves. Their chief food is grasshoppers, locusts, centipedes, 
beetles, white ants, worms, and such like. I have observed them 
sometimes jumping up in the grass, and this habit often betrays them. 
When beating with a line of elephants in the Terai, I have seen twelve 
and fifteen of these birds in the course of a day, but usually they are 
not fired at, for fear of disturbing large game. The floriken is one of 
the very best birds for the table, having an excellent flavour, the meat 
being particularly rich and delicate. In Assam turkeys are scarce, but 
a floriken, at the head of a table, is an excellent substitute; and I 
have often been asked by ladies who had a dinner party coming o£F, to 
procure them a floriken. I have never once found the nest or seen 
the eggs of this bird. In Assam I believa they went away to breed, 
for at certain times of the year not a bird was to be seen for months 
together. 

I always imagined that the Bengal floriken, like the bustard, was 
polygamous, but doubtless am mistaken when so good an authority 
as Hodgson tells us : * The floriken is neither monogamous, nor poly- 
gamous, but the sexes live apart at no great distance.' 

I have seen a peregrine falcon, belonging to a native gentleman, 
slipped at a floriken ; but the latter, though twice flushed by beaters, 
persisted in throwing itself into the long grass so soon as ever the 
falcon attempted to gain a position above the quarry. At last the 
floriken took refuge in a very dense patch of grass, and baffled all our 
efforts to detect his hiding-place. 



3i6 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 



IV.— TIIE LESSER FLORIKEN or LEEK {Si/pheotides aunttu, Latham). 

Description. 

Male, Heiffht^Ahout 12^ inches. 

Very similar in general resemblance to the large floriken, though much smaller, except 
in one remarkable point : the cock bird is decorated with a plume of beautiful thin curling 
black feathers, about three inches in length, commencing from behind the ear, and curling 
gracefully forward over the head ; the tips of these feathers are flat and circular, and 
altogether this plimie gives the bird a most elegant appearance. 

The head, neck, breast, upper part of legs, under the tail, and abdomen, black ; wings 
white, speckled here and there with light brown feathers, white also just above the 
round of the wings ; the back, a beautiful mottled brown of a very gamey description. 
The eye full and large ; a white spot on side of the head close to the ear. 

i>^«.— Kather long, and the toes same as bustard and lai^r floriken, viz. three, 
wanting the hind toe. 

The Female is slightly larger than the male. 

Of a pale yellowish brown, beautifully speckled on the wings. The down at the roots 
of the feathers, as in the larger species, is of a lovely pinkish hue. 

Until quite recently it was a matter of constant dispute among sports- 
men and naturalists whether there were not two distinct species of 
lesser floriken ; but this matter has now been set at rest to the satis- 
faction of all ; and Jerdon, who to my personal knowledge took great 
pains to clear up all doubt in the matter, in the * Birds of India,' 
Fpeaks most decisively and to the point, giving hig opinion most dis- 
tinctly, and putting the matter, I venture to say, beyond further con- 
troversy, that there is only one species, and I have not the slightest 
doubt but that he is right. What gave rise to this difficulty was, that 
certain brown floriken were shot in various parts of the country, 
which, on being dissected, proved to be male birds, and then some 
asserted that the brown and black were distinct species of floriken; 
but the fact was, these brown cock birds were simply specimens of 
Sypheotides auritiiSy in a plumage which adorns the bird at certain 
seasons of the year. It is in the breeding season, as with all birds, I 
believe, that the lesser floriken appears in full dress; and when in 
perfect feather there can hardly be a more lovely bird, with his coal- 
black neck and breast, and strikingly beautiful upper plumage; but at 
other times, as already explained, he wears a garb more resembling the 
female. 



THE LESSER FLOItlKEN OR LEEK. 317 

Young cocks not unfrequently, like young black game, have a 
patchy coat of black and brown, reaching the complete plumage, I 
believe, in the second year. 

I have not met with the smaller nearly so frequently as with the larger 
floriken, though in many parts of the country it is very common ; in the 
neighbourhood of Nuseerabad, for instance. The first one I ever saw 
was close to the race-course at Luckuow, but afterwards I shot several 
at Jhansie, where they appeared in limited numbers soon after the 
first fall of rain, at the same time as the bustard. After two or three 
months, they disappeared again till the same time, about the first 
week in August, the next year. In habits this bird much resembles 
the larger kind, as also in the description of food it subsists upon. It 
also, I have been told, has the habit of jumping up in the grass, and 
thus drawing attention to its locality. Jerdon and other writers have 
stated, possibly correctly, that this peculiar habit of rising in the air 
a few feet above the grass, flapping its wings, and then dropping down 
again, is for the purpose of attracting the females. I am by no means 
sure, however, that this habit may not arise from the birds jumping up 
at flying insects just out of their reach. 

I have never personally observed the lesser floriken going through 
this performance, though I more than once noted the larger kind 
doing so in Assam, and always about July and August, which is said 
to be the breeding season. But on the other hand it is the time of year 
when flying insects are most numerous. I may add that floriken are 
particularly addicted to feeding on the cantharides. 

It is often found in vast plains covered with a short light-coloured 
grass ; and at Jhansie I flushed and shot it on rising ground covered 
with grass and short scrub bushes, just where one would expect to find 
bustard. I once saw four together, but never more, and generally 
speaking one rose here and another there, at some little distance apart. 
If within distance, there can hardly be a simpler or more easy shot. It 
often, when alarmed suddenly, utters a croak. The flight is just like 
that of the larger kind, and the bird has the same habit of circling 
round, and also stooping and running with its tail held erect after 
settling. Like S. Bengalensisy the flavour of this bird is justly con- 
sidered most excellent. The flesh of the body is dark ; that of the legs 
a lighter colour. It is a carious fact, but I believe strictly the case, that 
although the two descriptions of floriken are found over large tracts of 
country, yet nowhere are they to be met with in one and the same spot. 



3i8 



TEE GAME OF BENGAL. 



The same remark applies also to the black and painted partridge, and 
the two varieties of jungle fowl. Jerdon tells ns : 

* The floriken lays three or four eggs of a thick stunted oval form, 
very obtuse at the large end, and of a dark olive colour.' I never have 
seen a nest, nor could I ever procure an egg, although I constantly 
have offered shikaries a reward to bring me one. 



THE QREEN PLOVER OB LAPWING. 319 



CHAPTER VIT. 

THE PLOVERS. 



Far from her nest the lapwing cries * away.* — Soakspears. 



I.— THE GREEX PLOVER OR CRESTED LAPWING (Fanellw cristatus). 

This well-known bird, which it is unnecessary for me to describe, is 
seldom met with by the Indian sportsman. In certain parts of the 
Punjab it is, I believe, tolerably common. Jerdon states that it is 
only found in the Punjab, but here he is mistaken. In 1872, when 
shooting snipe at Philibheet, on the banks of a slow, sluggish stream, 
I came across a kind of common or downs, on which I observed several 
large flights of lapwings. After some trouble I managed to shoot six, 
and without a doubt they were the true green plover or crested lapwing, 
for I most carefully examined them. On the same plain I observed 
a small flight of golden plover and several curlew. This is the only 
occasion, however, that I ever shot or met with the bird in our North- 
western Provinces. 

There are other plovers, somewhat resembling the green plover, 
found in various parts of India, but unworthy of being included in 
the Game List. One of these, the Bed-wattled Lapwing, or the ^ Did 
he do it,' as it is called from its cry, is one of the very commonest birds 
in the country, and generally found on the banks of every village pond. 
It is a most tiresome bird, often by its cry giving warning to deer and 
other animaJs of the approach of the sportsman. Only ' Griffins,' or 
youngsters fresh from England, ever think of expending a charge on 
such worthless creatures. 



320 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 



II.— THE BLACK-SIDED LAPAMNG {Chettusia gregaria, Pallas). 

This is a bird I have never shot, though I observed several small flocks 
v^hen on a shooting expedition in the Baraitch district, in Oude, in 
the cold weather of 1869. Unfortunately, they were too cunning 
to permit of a near approach, so I failed in procuring a specimen. 



III.— TIIE GOLDEN PLOVER (Charadi-iuslimgipeSyTEHiLiscv), 

The Indian golden plover differs somewhat from the English species, 
though very similar in general appearance ; it is smaller, about 8 or 9 
inches in length. It is by no means common anywhere in the north- 
west of India. I once shot a pair within a mile of the city of Jhansie ; 
also several couple in Assam, where we occasionally came across small 
flights. In Oude, golden plover were more numerous than in any part 
of the country that I have visited. One afternoon, in the neighbour- 
hood of Lucknow, I was returning from a day's snipe shooting in 
company with a brother officer, when, quite by chance, we came across 
a large flock of golden plover in a marshy meadow, and shot several 
of them. I also shot three specimens in the Baraitch district, and 
observed one or two flocks in PhUibheet, near the banks of the 
Sardah. 



IV.— TIIE STONE PLOVER {.Edicnemus crepitans, Temminck). 

This bird, common in some parts of England, especially in the county 
of Norfolk (hence one of its names, * the Norfolk Plover '), exactly 
resembles in plumage, I believe, our Indian bird. I have often observed 
it in the neighbourhood of our large rivers, such as the Ganges and 
Jumna, and it especially frequents ground in the vicinity of low sand- 
hills, with patches of bushes and coarse grass growing here and there. 
It is, generally speaking, by no means a wary bird, but takes a hard 
blow to bring it down. It is a swift runner, and, like others of 



THE STONE PLOVER. 321 

the plover tribe, crouches down behind stones or bushes to escape 
observation from anyone approac}iing. It is often called the ' go^le- 
ejed plover ' bj Indians, on account of its lai^e full eye. The bird 
feeds at night principally, and, like the woodcock aud other night- 
feeders, the eye is unusually lai^ to enable it to detect worms aud 
various insects in the darkness, I have often observed it in mango 
clumps and gardens, close to large stations. The cry is very loud 
aod shrill, aud is often heard on moonlight nights. The stone plover 
is especially clamorous if disturbed after nightfall, and T remember 
hearing an anecdote of a thief being captured owing to the timely 
alarm given by one of these birds. 

The chowkeydar or watchman of a village in Rohilknnd was one 
night sitting inside bis hnt, when the repeated cries of a stone plover 
near the outskirts of the village attracted his attention, and, imagining 
that some biped or quadruped was prowling about, he determined on 
having a look round his beat, and presently surprised a thief in the 
very act of stealing a bullock. 

Occasionally I have come across large flocks of these birds ; once at 
Jhansie I counted over twenty together ; but usually a pair, or perhaps 
three or four, are seen at one time. They are at all times worth a 
shot, for the flesh of the stone curlew is excellent. 



322 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 



CHAPTER VII L 

TILE CRANES. 



Part loosely wing the region, part more wife 
In conmion, rang'd in figure, wedge their way 
Intelligent of seasons, and set forth 
Their airy caravan high over seas 
Flying, and over lands, with mutual wing 
Easing their flight. — Milton. 



1.— THE COMMON CRANE or COOLUNG (Grns cinered). 

DjaCRIPTION. 

Stands erect, and is graceful in appearance ; male about 45 to 48 inches in height. 

Bill. — Strong and pointed ; greenish yellow at base, lighter at tip. 

Irides. — Red. 

Colour. — Dark slatey blue or grey. A patch of white on back of neck and sides of 
head below the eyes. Black down the throat, breast, and underneath. Primaries, black. 
Wings and rump, dark grey. Legs, toes, and claws, blmsh black. Tail, blacky rather 
short, with a kind of plume or tuft of feathers drooping down on either side. 

This beautiful aud elegant bird, the common crane of Europe, is one 
of the earliest arrivals of the countless thousands of wild fowl that 
migrate southwards from Northern Asia. Not far from Allyghur, in 
the North- Western Provinces, there is a large jheel near a village called 
Somna, where formerly coolung, early in October and November, 
flocked in hundreds, and it was here that I first made their acquaint- 
ance, or rather dealt destruction in their ranks. 

Soon after daybreak the bird may generally be found feeding in 
marshy or flooded ground ; worms, grubs, and various kinds of insects 
forming its chief food. 

The coolung is also a great devourer of corn, and in the early 



THE DEMOISELLE OB XUMIDIAN CRANE. 323 

morning I have constantly observed large parties feeding, in company 
with wild geese, on the crops of the villagers. In some districts they 
do much harm to young wheat. At these times, a sportsman may with 
care be able to make good his approach, and with a charge of B B shot 
bring down one or more. They are, however, wary birds at all times, 
and wiU often elude the best efforts of the gunner to creep within 
shot. When the sun gets high and powerful, they make off in a direct 
line to the sandy islands or banks of the nearest river, where they 
remain lialf asleep during the heat of the day, again winging their 
way to feeding grounds towards evening. The bird gets the name of 
* coolung ' from its cry resembling the word. I have often he^ird a flock 
of coolung in the air above me, generally about mid-day, soaring at such 
a height as to be almost undistinguishable, and circling round and round, 
with what object I never could rightly understand. The flesh is of a 
dark colour and most excellent flavour, one of the best of birds. 



II.-TIIE DEMOISELLE, or XUMIDL^N CRANE, or * KARKARRAII ' 

(Anthrop<ndf$ viryo, LiNN^Us). 

There is a smaller crane also common in Northern India, called by the 
natives the *karkarrah,' from the cry it utters; Anthropoides virgo and 
Demoiselle Crane of naturalists. This bird, belonging, like the first- 
mentioned, to the Gniidw family, is even more graceful than the com- 
mon crane, and is smaller, though otherwise much resembling it in 
colour and habits. It has an elegant plume of pendent feathers 
drooping from the breast, and there is more black about the neck and 
head than with the larger species of crane. I have met with it con- 
stantly in the neighbourhood of Allyghur, where I have seen flocks of 
several hundreds. They were in the habit of settling about mid-day 
on a vast sandy plain, and on one occasion I managed to grovel up a 
ditch within close range, and with two barrels of heavy shot brought 
down five. Like the bittern, heron, and one or two other birds, a 
winged karkarrah is an awkward bird to handle, and occasionally it will 
strike a severe blow with its sharp bill. A dog should never be sent 
to retrieve one, unless the bird has fallen dead, for a wounded' karkarrah 

T 2 



324 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

(and the same remark applies also to the coolung), has been known to 
destroy a dog's eye by a single stroke of its bill. 

I notice a remark of Jerdon's in his ^ Birds of India.' He says 
of the demoiselle crane : ^ It betakes itself during the heat of the day 
to rivers to drink and rest^ and never to tanks or jh^ls, as the Sams 
and common crane do.' 

This is not an invariable rule, however; for I have not once, but 
repeatedly, observed this bird on the margin of jheels, and once I shot 
two on the edge of a jheel near Somna, in the AUyghur district. 

The karkarrah affords exceUent sport to the falconer, more so even 
than the heron. I have seen one of these birds make good its escape 
after a long pursuit from a pair of highly-trained falcons. The crane 
rose to an immense height in the air, and at length, by its extreme 
swiftness of flight, altogether baffled its pursuers. 

There is a third species of crane, the sarus {Grua antigone), well- 
known to every Anglo-Indian, and very abundant throughout our 
North- Western provinces of Bengal. It is considerably larger than 
the coolung, but much resembles it in carriage, habits^ and to a certain 
extent also in general appearance ; but does not migrate, breeding in the 
plains of India, on the banks of jheels, where there is an abundance of 
reeds, grass, and coarse vegetation to afford concealment to the nest. 

I have several times discovered the nest of the sarus : the eggs are 
almost white, large in size, and two in number. 

I have not included this fine bird in my Grame List, as I do not 
consider it worthy the attention of the sportsman. It is seldom fired 
at, and is held to be sacred by the Hindoos. 



THE WOODCOCK. 325 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE WOODCOCK AND SNIPE. 



And lonely woodcocks haunt the watery glade. — Pope. 



I.— TIIE WOODCOCK {Scolop(kv nuticola). 

Though I have constantly come across this bird in my numerous 
rambles in the Himalayas, I have only twice shot it. Nearly always 
when I flushed woodcock I was in search of gerow or other large 
game, and feared that by firing a shot I might alarm them. 

During the latter part of October 1869, when shooting over a range 
of hills near Elanee, in Gurhwal, I daily flushed woodcock in my 
rambles, and could easily have shot several couple had I felt so disposed, 
but, for the reason mentioned above, held my hand. These birds rose 
from a place where some springs trickled out of the hiU-side, and flowed 
through a deep valley filled with ringall bamboos ; and this spot, from 
the numerous tracks, was evidently a favourite retreat for gerow. So far 
as I could see from specimens I have examined, the Himalayan wood- 
cock differs little, if at all, from our British winter visitor. They also 
appear to frequent exactly similar spots. I have more than once been 
informed of woodcock being shot in the plains, but should imagine it 
to be highly improbable if anywhere distant from the foot of the hill 
ranges. I have been informed by gentlemen staying through the winter 
months at Nynee Tal, that at the marshy end of a smaller lake called 
Bheem Tal, there is excellent cover for woodcock, and that in some 
winters the birds have been found there in numbers. 



326 TEE GAME OF BENGAL. 



II.— THE SNIPE {Gallhiaffo scolopoj: And G. strenurn), 

I HAVE included under one head the common and pintailed species 
of snipe ; they are so very similar in general appearance, that it is only 
by a very close inspection one observes that they differ at all one from 
the other ; and in a day's sport specimens of both varieties are usuallj 
shot, perhaps half the number pintails and the remainder common 
snipe, or thereabouts. 

Snipe migrate from colder climates to the plains of India about the 
first week in October, and arrive about the same time of year as wild 
geese, ducks, and other fowl. The birds first appear in our Northern 
Provinces, and in a few weeks spread themselves over the whole 
country, and consequently there can be little doubt that Gallinago 
scohpax spends the summer months, and breeds in Northern or Central 
Asia, probably beyond the Altai mountains in Siberia, or in the vast 
plains of Mongolia. I have always been a lover and keen foUower of 
snipe shooting, and each year looked forward with impatience for the 
first sign of the cold weather and the arrival of the spipe. 

The bird is so well known, being exactly similar, I believe, to our 
English variety, that it is needless for me to describe him. As in 
Britain, the birds are very much more plentiful some years than 
others. It depends very much upon whether there has been a heavy 
downpour of rain during the months of July and August, so as to fill 
up the j heels, rivers, and tanks all over the country; in that case the 
birds are nearly always more or less numerous. If, on the contrary, 
but little rain has fallen, which is sometimes the case, and consequently 
there is little marsh and swamp, the snipe will not pitch or stay, but 
pass on to other spots where they can find feeding grounds more 
suitable for their requirements. 

The best snipe shooting tliat I have ever had has been in Bundel- 
kund, more especially in the Jhansie district ; but I have also met 
with first-rate sport in the vicinity of Lucknow, also in Baraitch. 
There are numerous jheels famed for snipe all over the Allyghur, 
Bolundshuhur, and Meerut districts, in Rohilkund also, especially 
Philibheet, and in the vicinity of Moradabad. Goruckpore, again, is a 
well-known country for all kinds of wild fowl ; but it would be tedious 
to the reader, and unnecessary for me to name other spots good for 



THE SNIPE, 327 

this fascinating sport, so numerous and wide-spread are they ; suffice 
it to say, that there is hardly a station in our North- Western Provinces 
from whence, either by rail, driving, or generally by a morning's ride, 
the sportsman may not reach the edge of some jheel where he may 
fire away at snipe to his heart's content. 

One seldom meets with a good dog for snipe shooting in India. I 
can hardly call to mind, during my service, more than two or three 
animals really useful for this particular sport. There is so little scent, 
especially during the heat of the day, that it is almost impossible for 
the best of dogs to point a snipe, and he will be almost certain, through 
no fault of his own, to flush far more birds than he finds ; and unless 
it be a steady, close working spaniel or setter, that will down charge and 
also retrieve, I may say dogs are worse than useless, and the sportsman 
has to depend on beaters, or rather men to walk in a line with him to 
put up the birds. This undoubtedly takes away somewhat of the 
pleasure of the sport. Speaking for myself, I would rather shoot 
ten couple of birds over dogs, than twice the number with beaters. 

As my remarks are intended chiefly for the benefit of the young 
shikary, I will now give a few general rules to be observed by an 
Indian snipe shooter, which may, perhaps, assist him to fill the bag. 

Always walk deliberately and slowly, taking short paces ; be ever 
at the ready ; learn to fire quickly and sharply, with both eyes open 
and well in front of the object, as soon as the gun can be brought up 
to the shoulder; and always fire at a bird if within distance, however 
difficult and twisting a chance it may offer. Never speak yourself, or 
allow your attendants to talk, and make as little noise or splashing in 
walking as possible. Try and mark where birds pitch that have risen 
some distance off : and if a snipe drops to your shot in thick grass 
or rushes, on walking up, throw your handkerchief as nearly as possible 
over the spot where you think the bird fell, before beginning to search ; 
without such a mark, one is liable unwittingly to wander from the 
vicinity of the lost bird. 

Walk down wind, with the sun at your back, if possible. As a rule 
do not begin your shooting till the sun is well up, and the air warm. 
Early in the morning the birds will seldom lie well, and by following 
them about from one spot to another you may drive them away 
altogether ; whereas if you wait till later, say ten o'clock, these same 
sni[»e will afford you excellent sport. Employ the early hours of a cold 
weather morning in duck shooting : good snipe jhecls generally hold 



328 * TEE GAME OF BENGAL. 

duck as well. If by yourself, four attendants or coolies are generally 
sufficient to take the field with; if possible, place the mall on one 
flank, so that your attention is then fixed in one direction, and yon are 
prepared to turn that way only ; whereas if your men walk on either 
side of you, it is doubtful on which side a snipe may rise, and your 
attention is divided. 

The man or boy carrying your bird- stick or game-bag— the latter 
is hardly ever used in the tropics— should be close to you; he should 
be an extra sharp fellow, as it is his duty to assist you in marking 
Trfiere the birds fall ; he also carries your bag of ammunition ; do not 
burden yourself with a belt of heavy cartridges, but put a dozen or so 
into your pockets at a time. It is hard work continually drawing the 
feet out of deep mire and bog, and it is a pity to make a toil of a 
pleasure, so I recommend the young shikary to make a break in the 
day about the tiffin hour, and to take a good rest after his labours ; 
before now I have taken a nap into the bargain. On resuming^his sport, 
he will find that he shoots all the steadier for it. When shooting in 
company, and generally speaking, it is best to be in pairs, the sportsman 
next the water, if there is only a narrow strip of marsh skirting the 
edge of the jheel, as is often the case, will probably get more shots than 
his comrade on the land side, so it is a good plan every now and then 
to change places. Always carry a couple of cartridges loaded with 
duck-shot in a small upper pocket ready at hand to be slipped in in 
place of the snipe charges.* In large jheels, flights of duck and teal 
sometimes pass over head and give good chances. 

In Bundelkund the natives make a practice of growing patches of 
rice in the vicinity, and below the level of large tanks of water. The 
crop is kept moist by allowing a small stream of water to trickle 
through from the tank. These places are, above all others, favourite 
resorts of snipe. The sportsman should wait till the villagers cut the 
crop of rice, or he will do much harm walking backwards and forwards 
in it ; when the rice has been harvested, there is usually a long wet 
stubble left, and here the long-bills delight to dabble about ; and, gene- 
rally speaking, such a spot as I have described is a certain find, 
There are also in some parts of the country, slow, winding rivers, 

^ It is a good plan to make a JLved nile always to keep different coloured cartridges 
for the various sizes of shot you are in the habit of using. By adhering closely to thi« 
rule you can carry them always in one bag or pocket, and yet be able at a glance when 
necessary' to select what you may require to load your gim with. 




TUE SNTPE. 



3'9 



such Bs the Surjoo, in Oade, and the Bourcea of the Goomtee, m 
Philibheet; along the banks of which every now and then, are 
comers and baja fringed with rushes and grass, affording excellent 
cover for snipe. The sportsmen — there should he two guns, one ou 
each bank, keeping exactly opposite to each other — may wander for 
miles and miles, each turn in the river opening out freah views and 
new country; and not only are the 'chahas' — as the natives call 
snipe — abundant, and afford capital sport, but every now and then a 
spring of teal or flight of duck, aronsed by the firing, pass over head, 
and keeping over the water, as tliey invariably do, run the gauntlet., 
and receive the fire of both the gunners. This kind of shooting 
is, in my opinion, more enjoyable, and tlie sport superior to jheel 
shooting, or walking backwards and forwards in a marsh ; but it is 
unfortunately exceptional to meet vrith rirera such as 1 have above 
descnbed. 

It may be only fancy, but I cannot help thinking that it is the case, 
— for I speak from eiperience — that though to all appearance the same 
bird in both countries, the snipe one flushes in England on a frosty 
morning out of a ditch, or from the edge of a stream, is a swifter 
and more twisting flyer, and considerably more difficult to bring 
down, than the bird which the sportsman in Bengal puts up out of a 
rico-fiold or edge of a awamp. 

I have heard of very large hags being made by a single gun in one 
day, such as fifty and sixty couple. I myself have never killed over 
thirty-eight couple (besides seventeen duck and teal) in a single day. 
I once made one of a party of three at Jhansie, when the bsg reached 
eighty-seven and a half couple, besides over forty head of duck; and 
on another occasion I succeeded in shooting twenty-seven and a half 
couple of snipe and three quail before twelve o'clock, which perhaps 
waa my best performance ; this, T And by my game-book, was on October 
8th, 1871, which year was a particularly good one for long-hills ; more- 
over, the above was the opening day of the season, and the reason I 
left off shooting so early was that 1 ran short of cartridges. 

There is always a little friendly rivalry at a station, who shall make 
the first bug of snipe. I had already made three rounds in tbe neigh- 
bourhood in search of any advanced guards, but had been moat unfortn- 
nat<>. for the grand total of my bags on these three expeditions was 
one jack eni]>e. On this occasion J started on hoTseback about six 
o'clock in the morning, accompanied by one attendant and a red setter. 



330 TEE GAME OF BENGAL, 

We visited various patches of water, but with no result, and I began to 
think that my luck would never change. I was riding along the edge 
of a kind of canal, about nine o'clock, when dog Dash poked up a 
snipe, which C]!X)ssed the water and dropped within thirty yards, but 
on the other side, and the water between was broad and deep ; if I 
wished to get a shot at the bird, I must retrace my steps a good half 
mile to a bridge, and then come back along the opposite bank. Now 
where this single bird had pitched was a most likely piece of ground 
for snipe, a long patch of marsh about fifty yards wide ; but only three 
days before I had walked over every foot of this very place, got one 
shot, and only slew the jack snipe already mentioned, which was not 
encouraging. 

I debated within myself whether it was worth while to take the 
trouble of making such a round, especially as it was time to be off to 
breakfast, unless I meant to make a day of it. At length I determined 
to have a look, as peradventure the long-bills might have come in 
since my last visit. So marking carefully by a bush the spot where 
the bird I had seen had dropped, I went round, and on arriving within 
a hundred yards of the ground, left my horse under a tree, dropped in 
a couple of cartridges, and walked up. I had hardly taken a dozen 
steps when a whisp of at least twenty birds rose close in front of me ; 
two barrels into the brown of them, dropped three, and the whistling 
of the leaden shower among their ranks had the effect I had hoped 
for ; instead of keeping together, they spread and dropped one here, 
another there, all over the place. 

This looked like business. I retraced my steps to the tree where I 
had left my syce and pony ; first tied the latter up with a rope, and 
took the man with me. I then took off my collar and neck-cloth, 
filled my pockets with cartridges, and tucked up my sleeves ; back we 
went, and for the next hour and a half I fired away, for the birds 
were exceedingly plentiful, and lay like stones. At last, on demanding 
for about the tenth time from my attendant a fresh supply of cartridges 
to replenish my empty pockets, the reply I had been expecting for 
some time came out : ^ Aur kuchh nahin hain, Sahib,' or, ' There are 
no more, Sir.' I had fired away every shot in the locker, or rather 
every cartridge in the bag, and T had come out with eighty. We 
returned to where the pony was tied up, and counted the slain, and, as 
I have already mentioned, the bag reached twenty-seven and a half 
couple of snipe and three quail ; one quail and two snipe my dog had 



THE JACK SNIPE. 331 

failed to retrieve ; but the result was satisfactory. Had I come pro- 
vided with as many more cartridges as I had expended, I think I 
could have killed my fifty couple by two o'clock; but as it was, I 
felt more than satisfied with the morning's sport, and directing my man 
to follow at his leisure, I rode back at a good pace, and reached 
home just as the twelve o'clock gun was fired. 

About the middle of March snipe begin again to collect in whisps, 
and by April 1, warned by the first blasts of hot wind, they are 
away to other climes. I find a note in my game-book of a strange 
occuiTence. On May 2, 1871, when out tiger shooting, and when the 
hot weather had regularly set in, I shot seven snipe, and flushed 
several more on the edge of a tank near a village named Goorsora in 
the Lullutpore district. What had caused these birds to delay their 
departure so late I cannot imagine. I remember that when cooked they 
appeared to be thin, and wanting the flavour for which snipe are so 
justly famed. 

Indian sportsmen cannot have failed to notice the number of hawks 
and falcons collected near j heels in the cold weather, and some of the 
smaller kinds appear to prey almost entirely on snipe, the larger ones 
on ducks. I have many times had a bird just fallen to my shot snatched 
up by one of these rascals; the marsh harrier {Circus (jeruginosus) 
is especially troublesome ; several times it has been necessary to fire 
at the robber before he would drop the bird that he had seized, and on 
two occasions I have killed hawks with my snipe in their clutches. 

Natives, generally speaking, name their birds by a word resembling 
its particular cry or call, and nothing, in my opinion, can be better or 
more exact than * chaha ' for the little long-bill. 

The general habits of the snipe in India are so similar to those 
of the English bird, that there is no necessity to enter into further 
details. 



III.— THE JACK SXIPE (Gallinaffo ffaUinuia, his V£Vb). 

Thih well-known bird corresponds exactly, 1 believe, with our own 
little judcock, and does not require describing, nor can I remember 
or find anything noted down in particular regarding him. He rises 



332 TEE GAME OF BENGAL. 

in the same silent way, and after a short flight drops again, as in 
England. 

I remember a pool of water in Assam where I invariably found a 
few couple of jacks, but never once saw a fall snipe, which was so far 
remarkable that I do not think such a thing commonly occurs. Some 
gunners do not fire at jacks, but that in my opinion is a mistake ; 
though a little chap, he is worth a charge. 

Jerdon remarks : ^ It makes its appearance later than the common 
snipe, and departs earUer.' Curiously enough, as regards the first part 
of this assertion, I had made a note to the contrary- before I ever read 
the above, for when at Jhansie, I noticed that for three successive years 
we found and shot the little judcock before a full snipe had been seen, 
and I have been confirmed in this opinion by several experienced 
sportsmen. 



IV.— THE WOOD SNIPE. (Called also Solitabt Snipr) 

{^Gallinago nemoricola, Hodgson.) 

Dbsckiption. 

Top of head blacky white on throat, breast light brown^ with numerous spots and 
short bars of dark brown ; abdomen^ dull white, barred transyersely with black ; back 
deep black, with numerous longitudinal splashes of light reddish brown. Tail, black at 
the lower part, chestnut at tip. 

This fine bird is seldom met with by the sportsman except in certain 
localities. 

In size it is midway between the woodcock and common snipe, and 
many of the feathers, especiaUy on the back, much resemble the mottled 
plumage of the former. 

The flight is heavy and sluggish, much like that of the woodcock, 
but not so rapid. The wood snipe often lies very close, and on rising 
utters a hoarse croak ; after circling about for a moderate distance it 
generally settles again not far off. 

It inhabits swamps surrounded by thicket and high grass, and 
generally situated at the foot of low bush-covered hills near the base of 
the Himalayas, in preference to open marshes, such as the common 
snipe delights to frequent. It often associates in smaU parties ; I have 
seen three rise almost simultaneously from the margin of the same pool. 



TEE HIMALAYAN 80LITABY SNIPE, 333 

I have known old sportsmen who have shot all over the country, 
and have not seen^ much less kiUed, one of these birds. I hare twice 
been fortunate enough to meet with this snipe : once near the foot of 
the Himalayas I flushed one from the comer of a marshy pool, but 
so suddenly that I was unprepared, and before I could get my gun 
up he was gone, I did not see another * nemoricola ? for many years, 
till when shooting in the Philibheet district in January 1872, I came 
across not one, but over a dozen of these birds ; they were close to 
one another. I was with my brother-in-law at the time ; we had gone 
out one morning to shoot snipe from off the back of a pair of elephants 
we had with us, each in a howdah. The marsh was covered with a 
very high kind of rush, so that it would have been impossible to see 
sufficiently well to shoot on foot. 

We soon put up several common snipe, and presently my companion 
fired at one, and I then saw a large dark bird, which I thought at the 
time was a solitary snipe, rise with a croak, and after curving about 
drop close by ; we went up, and not one, but three rose, two of which 
fell to our shots. We soon found several more, and nine were killed 
altogether ; they offered the easiest of shots, and did not rise till the 
elephants were close on them. They were particularly fine, gamey 
birds, and proved most excellent for the table. I stuffed two of the 
least shot among the lot, and have them still in my collection. 



v.— TIIE HIMALAYAN SOLITARY SNIPE {GalUnago solUaria, Hodgson). 

Here we come to a bird with which I am unacquainted, so I borrow 
Jerdon's description. 

DBSCRIPTIOir. 

Head, above brown, with pale superciliary lines; a dark band from the base of 
the bill, gradually lost in ear^overts ; upper plumage much as in the conmion snipe, 
but the whole of the feathers more spotted and barred with rufous ; a conspicuous pale 
buff stripe along the scapular and inner edge of the wing ; primaries brown, with a 
narrow pale edging externally, and the innermost tipped with white ; secondaries and 
tertiaries broadly barred with dark brown and pale rufous. Tail, deep black at the base, 
with a broad sub-terminal band of bright ashy rufous, tipped brown, and the extreme 
tip pale ; outermost reotrices olive brown with white daiUies or white and brown bars, 
passing into white on the abdomen and rent, with some olivaceous bands on the upper 



334 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

belly and flanks, and the sides of the Tent and under tail-coyerts whitish. 
Bill, — Reddish brown ; Irides dark. 

Feet, — Greenish yellow. Wing, — 6 J inches. Tarsus, 1 J inch. 

Length, — 12^ inches. Tad, — 3^ inches. Middle toe, IJ inch. 

Extent, — 20 inches. Bill at front, 2J inches. WeigJU, — 6J ounces. 

He continues : * The Himalayan Solitary Snipe has hitherto only 
been found in the Himalayas, and no details of its peculiar haunts are 
recorded. It inhabits thin forests near swampy ground, and in winter 
has been killed at from 3,000 to 6,000 feet of elevation.* 

Once, I firmly believe, I came across this bird, but, as is usually the 
case on such occasions, had no gun with me. It was on the edge of 
a small lake above the northern bank of the Pindur in Gurwhal, called 
* Goomur Tal.' Having just arrived from a long march I took my setter 
down to give him a swim in the lake. There were some rushes and 
low cover on the margin, and my dog put up a heavy large snipe, 
which I am convinced was Gallinago solitaria, but unfortunately it 
made away. 



VI.— TIIE PAINTED SNIPE (Rhynchaa Bengalensis, Linx^us). 

Description. 

Larger and stands higher than common snipe ; bill shorter and curved at the tip. 

Bill light brown ; chin dull white ; upper part of head dark brown, with a light 
streak down the centre, also yellow streak behind the eye; a white bar across lower 
part of breast, and extending above rounding of wings; upper part of breast dark 
and speckled; lower part dull white, as also thighs, which have several long white 
feathers covering them; wings and back dark olive brown, glossed in places with 
green, and barred with yellow ; tail dark grey, transversely barred with yellow ; legs 
green. 

This bird, although included in the game list, is no true snipe, and 
in my opinion is not at any time worth firing at. It oflfers the easiest 
of shots, flying quite slowly, and very like a common snipe that has 
been sorely wounded. Generally speaking when one is flushed, there 
are others not far distant. They often spring from very thick short 
reeds, where no true snipe would be found. They do not leave us for 

other climes, but remain and breed in the plains. My friend H s 

informs me that he has often found the young of the painted snipe in 




THE PAIHTED SNIPE. 



335 



Lallntpore, and that the bird makes its nest about July among the 
sedge bordering jheels. When batched the young resemble the young 
of the moorhen, but with the beak longer. The marking and diversily 
of colour on the wings of this bird are most beautiful ; bat it is much 
inferior to the snipe as a bird for the table, and offers no sport in 
the pursuit of it. 

Jerdon tells ua : ' In this genus the females are not only larger 
than the moles, but they are also much more richly coloured,' 



CHAPrElt X. 
ON WILIJ-FOWL srKxrriNG IX INDIA. 

While l«rds i>f calm ait brooding on the chanue.l wave. — J 



Befoke taking each one of the birds comprising our long list of Indian 
geeae a.ud ducks, and describing their particular wa.j^s and habits, X 
purpose saying a, few words on the above subject, and the general 
method adopted in India to meet with success. 

American writers on field aporta constantly inform U8 that ' no- 
where in the world are wild fowl so plentiful as in their own country.' 
Travellers and apoitsmen who have visited Egypt, Canada, China, and 
other countries, tell the same tale of their belief and experience; but 



«■ 



ON WILB-FOWL SHOOTINO TIT INDU. 337 

I think Indians who have, during their Berrice in the tropica, visited 
certain parts of Upper India— and doubtless it ia much the same 
throughout the country — will bear me out when I say that the countless 
thousands that visit the country in the cold season, driven south by 
hard weather from other latitudes, can hardly be surpassed in numbers 
or varieties in any other part of the world. In Grorruckpore, Allyghur, 
Oude, Central India — all over the country, in fact — there are jheels and 
tanks where wild fowl congregate in dense clouds. Every Indian can 
recall to mind — for there is hardly one among us who, however little 
he cares for shooting, will not now and then have bad a shot at wild 
duck — how, on some cold-weather morning, after creeping up to the 
edge of a jheel, where, from the quacking and general conversation 
kept up, he has reason to believe that sundry of the Anas family are 
collected, he has taken his shot ' into the brown ' to commence the day 
with. Who can forget, when that first shot was fired, the tremendous 
roar caused by the wings of the rising thousands ? 

Their rii-ing' all at once was like tbe Boiind 
Of thunder board remote. 

Then, as the gunner hastily reloads, what a scene is there overhead 
and around ; what a whistling of wings and variety of calls and 
cries from the different swimmers and waders thus suddenly aroused 
into activity, as they wheel and soar round and round, some making 
off to otiier resorts, but the greater number pitching again in the water 
and reeds around. 

There are certain of the duck tribe that remain altogether in the 
country, breeding on the banks of rivers and jheels — such as the 
spotted-billed duck and other species — but by far the greater number 
spend the hot-weather months in other climes, to which they migrate 
about the end of March; some disappear before. Most of these 
migrants are similar to, or merely varieties of species, that during the 
winter months visit the shores of Britain. They again return to . 
India early in October, to some districts sooner, to others later, but 
the first week in October is about the general time. I believe the 
migration of wild fowl depends greatly on the weather they experience 
in the cold countries they visit. I have noticed that near the foot 
of the Himalayas vritd fowl arrive earlier than they do farther sonth ; 
for instance, I see, from the notes in my old Game Register, that 
when stationed at Allyghur, in the North-Western Provinces, we shot 



338 THE OAME OF BENGAL. 

both duck and snipe on September 15th, but that at Jhansie, mncli 
farther south and more central, we did not once, in three successive 
seasons, shoot or jQnd a bird till the middle of the first week in 
October. This is easily to be accounted for ; the whole of our Indian 
wild fowl migrate to and return from the north, and I believe, though 
I am not perfectly certain on this point, that snipe breed in countries 
to the north of India, and Bftturn south from the same quarter as 
the geese and duck. Naturally, after their long flight south, the birds 
drop to rest and refresh themselves on the first and nearest patches of 
water and marsh that they meet with; and this accounts for their 
being found, in the first instance, on those lakes and jheels in the 
north of India below the Himalayas, and for their afterwards spreading 
themselves farther south. 

There are several large lakes, such as the Pangong Lake, in Ladak, 
the Bhavan and Manasarowar Lakes, south of the Karakoram range of 
mountains, in Chinese Thibet, the Paltee Lake, near Lassa, and others 
to the north of Nepaul, and travellers who have visited these pieces 
of water during the summer months have reported that their banks 
and surface literally teem with thousands of wild fowl which have 
retired to these secluded spots for breeding purposes. And doubtless, 
though certain of the Anatidce may journey much farther north to 
the lakes of Turkestan, and even Siberia, yet the Manasarowar and 
other lakes only a short distance, comparatively speaking, beyond the 
Himalayas, probably afford a refuge and breeding-place to the great 
proportion of the myriads of wild fowl which journey south and scatter 
themselves over the plains of India towards the close of the month 
of September. 

In 1863, after spending upwards of two months in Thibet, I recrossed 
the snowy range towards the end of July, and to avoid the rains below — 
easily discernible by masses of dense clouds that filled the lower valleys— 
I kept rather high up for a month or two, about 12,000 feet, hunting 
thar and burhel, and also collecting the skins of moonal and other 
pheasants. One bright moonlight night early in September (the 8th, 
I find) I was encamped on the summit of a range of hills, and soon 
after dark, when sitting round the log fire, as was my custom, and 
conversing with some shepherds, who were grazing their flocks on 
the hills around, our attention was taken by the sound of birds* wingfs, 
and the quacking and chuckling of wild ducks. They were passing 
from north to south. As it got later the whistling of pinions increased ; 



ON WILD.FOWL SHOOTING IN INDIA. 339 

and although we contd not see the birds, there must have been many 
thousanJa crossiag overhead. I was hoping that this exodus would 
have continued till daylight, but no ; the following morning, though I 
wiia constantly on the look-out, not a bird was to be seen. I distinctly 
recognised the deep call of the Brahminy duck among the passing 
host high overhead ; twice also I heard the peculiar whistling notes 
of the mdgeon, which is not a very common bird in India. There were 
no geese apparently ; their deep cry, if heard, could not have been 
mistaken. These birds were undoubtedly en route to the plains, for it 
was just the time of year when wild fowl arrive there, and likely 
enough they were coming from the very spots already mentioned. 

Wild ducks are generally found in India restuig and feeding on 
patches of water, with more or less cover, such as reeds, rushes, and 
grass on the edge. These ' jhfiels,' as they are called, much resemble 
the lakes and tarns of Ireland and Scotland. Some of them are 
very large, but generally speaking the beat sport ia to be found in 
the smaller-sized lakes and tanks, where the birds, being collected 
in a smaller compass, are more easily got at. There are certain 
jheels, well-known and famed for duck-shooting, where year after 
year the birds assemble in thousands, and remain throughout the 
whole season, in spite of being constantly persecuted by sportsmen 
and netted by natives. There are other takes, to all appearance, just 
OS likely, but which are not popular with the birds ; probably in the 
latter places there is some description of weed or water-plant wanting, 
which the ducks require for their food. Besides jheels, there are regular 
tanks or ponds in many parts of th6 country — the Central Provinces, 
for instance — where the water is dammed ap by high earthen mounds 
or walls. These reservoirs are often favourite places for various 
kinds of wild fowl; then again, there are certain narrow, winding, 
sluggish rivers, which ore also favourite resorts, for duck and teal 
especially. 

The first generally to arrive is the little teal ; nearly always, in fact, 
a flight of teal is the advance-guard of the main body. Geese and 
coolung are also early comers ; then the gadwall, pintail, and others 
flock in ; the last to come and the last to go is the bhie-winged teal or 
garganey. Some kinds of wild duck ore partial to certain parts of the 
country, and do not resort to others ; for instance, no wild duck is mora 
common in the tanks and ponds in the Sanger and Nagode country 
than the beautiful pintaiL Yet in the Jhansie district, not far distant. 



340 THE OAME OF BENGAL. 

we seldom shot many of that species, perhaps one or two in a. day's 
sport, but not more. Again, in the large jheels about Jhansie there 
were nearly always one or two large flights of the red-crested 
pochard ; but at Allyghur, though we occasionally found and shot this 
bird, it was not nearly so plentiful; and I might give many other 
instances. 

The little teal seems to be abundant everywhere ; even far away south 
in the Assam jungles any likely patch of water would be almost sure 
to hold one or two flights of these little beauties. They will often 
be found paddling about on flooded ground, with water only a few 
inches deep, as they are surface-feeders. It would be exceptional to 
find in such a spot any of the pochard tribe — birds with their legs 
far back to assist them to dive to the bottom for their food. These 
. latter birds resort to jheels and tanks, where the water is compara- 
tively deep; so does the pintail. It is a pretty sight to see a flock 
of the latter feeding ; not diving out of sight, but with their heads 
down and tails in the air, plucking off the weeds and shoots that 
grow beneath the surface. Many of our common English wild ducks 
are rare in India, and vice versa. The mallard is by no means a 
common bird in Bengal, although it is occasionally to be met with. 
I have only seen it at all plentiful in one district, and that was Philib- 
heet. The widgeon, again, is not often shot; but the gadwall, an 
uncommon bird in Britain, is very plentiful in India. The ruddy 
shielddrake, one of the rarest of birds in England, is met with 
everywhere in India, and so on. Our Nimrods are very careless 
about naming their game correctly. I have constantly heard the dark 
brown little white-reyed duck miscalled widgeoh. The gadwall very 
often is erroneously named mallard, and I remember a gentleman — a 
good sportsman too — actually disputing with me that he was right in 
naming the spotted-billed duck a mallard. These miscallings give 
rise to much confusion and mistakes when accounts of shooting trips 
are sent to newspapers and magazines, leading the public to wrong 
conclusions. 

Duck-shooting is carried on in various ways, according to the 
description and size of the water and the surrounding country. In 
some very large jheels little will be done without boats and numerous 
guns; in others, yon* can get very good sport alone and shooting 
from the bank. Sometimes, especially in jheels and ponds with little 
cover, the birds, after a few shots have been fired, make off, while in 



ON WILD•FO^VL SHOOTING IN INDIA, 341 

others the gunner may fire away all day, and they will only go from 
one place to another. This is generally the case in extensive pieces 
of water. In some of our lakes there are corners where the tall 
reeds and grass afford concealment and protection from the sun, and 
yet are not so thick at the bottom as to prevent the birds from swim- 
ming about ; there, aboufc midday, a sportsman in a boat, punted along 
silently by a man behind him, will get sometimes capital sport ; birds 
will keep rising one or two at a time within distance, while others 
only a few score yards farther on, from laziness, or because they are 
partly concealed, will not take wing till the noise of the approaching 
boat makes them fly up. The first time a duck-shooter visits a jheel he 
should mark well the course and direction the ducks take when flying 
round or going away altogether ; it will likely enough assist him to fill 
his bag on a future visit. There are, generally speaking, certain points 
of land jutting out into jheels, or small islands, over which the birds 
continually keep crossing, and from whence a gunner, if tolerably well 
concealed, will get more shots and at closer distances than his com- 
panion labouring and following the birds firom place to place. 

About five miles from Jhansie there was a beautiful lake, surrounded 
by high hiUs. Unfortunately the back of one of these hills was used by 
the battery of artillery stationed at Jhansie as a ' butt,' and when the 
gunners were out at practice, it was of little use visiting the spot 
for sporting purposes. The heavy booming of howitzers and guns 
close by was too much for the feelings of the wild duck inhabiting the 
lake, and each morning, at the discharge of the first nine.poun<lBr, 
they made off en masse. 

At other times this lake was a favourite resort of mine in the cold 
season. It was not far distant from the river Betwah, and about sun- 
down swarms of wild fowl, early in the season especially, poured into 
the jheel from the river to feed all night. Knowing this habit, I often 
drove or rode out from Jhansie of an afternoon to the spot, procured a 
boat from a village hard by, with a man to guide it, and then made 
for a creek at the far end of the lake, bordered on each side by high 
rushes and reeds, and a favourite feeding-ground for wild ducks. We 
hid ourselves at the farthermost point of the creek, overlooking a long 
strip of open water running down the centre of it, and at the same 
time facing in the direction of the setting sun, so that in the short 
Eastern twilight we might see the wild fowl more clearly as they flew 
between us and the sky, where the last gleam of day still lingered. 



342 THE GAME OF BENGAL, 

Presently they would begin to arrive, and if luck favoured us, a goodly 
flight, after circling around, would prepare to pitch, though not on 
this occasion to feed, for it was a case of * first come first served,' 
and the breech-loader was brought into play. Then the scared wild 
ducks would make off, leaving perhaps one or two of their number 
behind ; but hardly are the fresh cartridges dropped into the barrels, 
when another flight appears on the horizon, to meet with a similar 
reception ; and so the sport continues for perhaps half an hour, when 
it becomes too dark to see to shoot longer. I have on three or four 
occasions, in a short space of time, shot over twenty duck and teal in 
this manner ; and one evening, a friend and I, assisted by the light of 
a brilliant moon, bagged thirty-eight duck, besides losing at least half 
a score more in the darkness. 

The flight of some ducks is much swifter than that of others. 
The little teal, especially when flying singly, surpasses, I think, all 
others in this respect. The pintail is another very rapid flyer, as also 
is the little white-eyed duck. The larger pochards, though powerful, 
and taking heavy blows to bring them down, are not so quick on the 
wing as those I have previously mentioned. 

I have already said that small jheels can be commanded and 
shot from the edge with facility, but that in large jheels boats are 
necessary. Generally speaking, it is of little use for a single gunner to 
attempt by himself to shoot large patches of water ; he will probably 
only alarm and drive the fowl off, without doing much execution; 
whereas with six or seven guns a good account of the ducks might 
have been given. I have often been one of a party of this kind, and 1 
will describe the usual way of proceeding on such occasions. 

A day is chosen for the expedition; probably Thursday, as that 
day, through the kindness of our late Commander-in Chief, is strictly 
ordered to be a day of no parades or duty of any sort except what is 
absolutely necessary. Men are sent on before to pitch a tent near 
the lake fixed on for the duck-shooting, and to have breakfast ready 
at an appointed hour the following morning, for the arrival of certain 
hungry Nimrods. Instructions are also given to some trustworthy 
individual to collect a sufficient number of boats and get them ready 
the preceding evening. Sometimes duck-boats, usually made of wood, 
or with wooden framework covered with hides, are borrowed and sent 
out, should anyone in the station possess such things. I had one 
for several years, but sold it, finding that the expense of teeping 



ON WILD^FOWL SHOOTING IN INDIA. 343 

it in repair, and sending it out carried by four coolies, was too 
. great. But the usual contrivance used by sportsmen for wild-fowl 
shooting on water, is made as follows : Two * dug-outs,' or canoes 
made of logs hollowed out, are lashed firmly together side by side. 
About a yard or so from the bows, a native bedstead or charpoy, usually 
borrowed from the nearest village for the occasion, is placed across 
both boats, legs uppermost, and fastened by ropes in its place. The 
sportsman sits on the bedstead with one leg in each canoe, his car- 
tridges by his side, and is propelled along by two natives using 
poles, and standing behind him, one in each canoe. This makes a 
tolerably steady and safe platform, from which a sitting shot can be 
taken with ease, and the only difficulty is to take a shot when a bird 
rises or passes on the right hand. Each sportsman should be accom- 
panied by a sharp fellow in a single canoe, to assist him in retrieving 
the wounded and slain, or in putting up ducks that have settled on open 
water, where it would be useless attempting to get at them. 

A certain number of birds, more or less, according as the cover into 
which the} fall is thick or the contrary, are always lost in duck-shooting. 
It is a good plan, just before coming away after a day's shooting, 
when several birds have been lost, for one of the sportsmen to take a 
good retriever with him and examine the edge of the lake, where there 
is sufficient cover to conceal the wounded. Winged birds always 
eventually make for shore, though at first they may fall and dive about 
in the middle of a lake to elude their enemies. Some kinds of ducks, 
if winged by a shot, are pretty easily captured, while others, especially 
the pochards, are very difficult to retrieve, and I have often seen two or 
three boats take a quarter of an hour or more in open water before 
they could tire out one of these birds. With a dog it is a much 
easier matter, of course ; but really good retrievers for this description 
of sport are seldom met with in India. As a general rule I would 
recommend the sportman not to attempt to pursue or catch a slightly 
wounded diving duck such as the pochard, especially if it has fallen 
into deep \«ater, but to remain perfectly quiet, and presently the bird 
will be almost certain to reappear within shot and a second barrel 
gives him his quietus. 

Of late years Government have encouraged the ^British soldiers to 
employ their spare time in shooting by lending them old smooth-bore 
muskets, capital weapons, by-the- way, for duck-shooting. The measure 
is excellent, but the result is that a jheel, lake, or river anywhere in 



344 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

the neighbourhood of a large cantonment, is perpetually being visited, 
and shots fired at the birds on it. The wild ducks on such waters 
consequently soon become wary, and it is necessary in these times to 
look for good sport farther away from our large stations than in 
former years. 

On reaching one of our Indian lakes in the middle of the day, 
especially if the sun is unusually warm, anyone unacquainted with the 
habits of wild duck would be apt to imagine that the water was 
deserted, and not a bird in the vicinity, so quiet and still everything 
appears, without a sound of any kind. But the sportsman who knows 
what he is about, will before leaving examine carefully with a telescope, 
if he hus one, the edge of (he jheel. Flocks of birds may be hidden 
by the reeds, or sitting with their heads under their wings basking in 
the sun on the muddy bank. I have found them many a time, under 
the above circumstances, collected in thousands, and with a little care 
the gunner may creep up and pour in a deadly volley of shot. 

I have already stated that natives are in the habit of netting wild 
fowl during the cold weather. I have known hundreds taken in a 
single night by simply placing a net about six feet broad, propped up 
with sticks, across certain spots where the birds fly low before pitching 
to feed. The mesh of these nets is just large enough to hold a duck's 
head when thrust through, and in the darkness the birds fly up against 
the net, become entangled, and before they can extricate themselves 
a man comes in a boat and pops them into a basket. Where this 
netting work is much carried on, fowl naturally become extremely wary. 

When shooting by myself, without a boat, I^ have found it an 
excellent plan, when the wild ducks are sitting on open water out oi 
gun-shot, to fire a rifle bullet skipping along the surface. This is a 
most effectual way of causing every bird to take wing, and by hiding 
up, with good luck, a flock may come within distance. 

There are two species of wild duck, mentioned by Jerdon as occasion- 
ally found in Bengal and our North- Western Provinces, which I regret 
to say I never have come across, and am therefore unable to include in 
my list. They are both rare in India. The first is the pink-headed 
duck {Anas caryophyllacea), Q,nd the second the Smew [Mergellus alhellus), 
the latter by no means rare in the winter months on the shores of 
Britain. 



THE COMMON WILD GOOSE. 345 



CHAPTER XL 
VnU) GEESE. 



LTp they rose with cry and clamour 

With ar whirr and beat of pinions. — Longfellow. 



I.— COMMON WILD GOOSE (Anser cinereus, "SIeybr). 

It is unnecessary to describe this well-known bird, for I believe it to 
be exactly the same as the common grey goose that visits our shores in 
winter. In northern India, towards the end of September, or early 
in October, wild geese arrive in large flocks from the North, probably 
from Siberia and other climes. In company with the coolung or crane, 
they are among the earliest to appear. There are certain spots where 
year after year they congregate and pass the winter. In the Allyghur 
district thousands of wild geese spread all over the country, and a 
jheel close to a large Jat village called Somna was, years ago, early in 
the season, an especially favourite place for them, as also for both 
descriptions of coolung. 

Early in the morning the sportsman will find the birds feeding on 
the crops. Young wheat or grain is a favourite food, and they are 
most destructive to the corn of the villagers. They generally are 
cunning enough to keep well away from high cover, which might give 
concealment to an enemy ; but now and then, by taking advantage 
of a piece of sugar-cane, a field of dhal, or some other high-standing 
crop, the gunner may make a successful stalk, as I have done many a 
time. Moreover, the birds are so taken up with their morning meal, 
that this is the best time of the day to get a shot at them. When the 
sun gets high and powerful, the flock takes wing with loud clamour, 
and makes straight for the banks of some neighbouring river, where, 



346 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

during the heat of the day, they lie asleep till late in the afternoon 
on some sandy island or mud-bank, well out of harm's way. I have 
seen hundreds of geese about mid-day on the churs or islands of 
the Ganges and Jumna basking in the sun, with their heads under 
their wings. Towards sunset they again take flight to their feeding 
grounds, passing generally in a direct line from the river to the 
fields of young com, grain, or swamp, and at no great height from 
the ground. A sportsman, by watching the birds and studying their 
habits, may waylay them as they pass to and fro, and get several 
shots ; but the geese, after being fired at once or twice, become wary, 
keep higher in the air, and avoid spots from whence the gunner has 
spread death in their ranks. When lying on these sandy banks in the 
heat of the day, one or two vigilant sentinels generally keep wide 
awake to protect their comrades, though I have stolen a march on them 
now and then. 

Many years ago, when proceeding by steamer with troops up the 
Ganges, we grounded and stuck fast for several days below Ghazeepore ; 

— no unusual event, by the way, on these trips — and a comrade, A d 

of the 27th, and I amused ourselves by exploring the surrounding 
country with our guns, but met with little success so far as sport 
was concerned. 

For two or three days in succession we had noticed a large flock 
of geese, settle about 10 or 11 o'clock on a long strip of sand in 
the middle of the river; there must have been several hundreds of 
birds, but the spot was so open, without a particle of cover anywhere 
near, that there appeared to be no hope of out-manoeuvring them, and 
getting within shot. While watching them one day from the high 
bank of the river we noticed several large native boats, with sails up, 
pass close by the geese without alarming the flock, or even attracting their 
attention ; and my companion observed, * If we could only get on board 
a native boat we might have a capital chance ; ' and then 1 remembered 
that about half a mile above there was a ghat or ferry, with several 
dinghies plying to and fro ; so we made our way there, and after some 
little trouble hired a long narrow boat with two men. The current 
of the river, which was running very strong, rapidly brought us in the 
required direction, without the use of either sail or oar. We lay 
down at the bottom of the boat, with our guns heavily loaded with 
B.B., in readiness, and directed one of the boatmen to steer us along- 
side of the sandbank. We presently glided within twenty or thirty 



THE COMMON WILD OQOSE. 347 

yards of the birds ; and then, when all too late, one of the sleepy 
sentinels became suspicious of danger, and gave a croak of alarm, which 
was followed by the appearance of numerous heads from under wings. 
The next moment we poured in a raking volley, which left five birds 
dead on the sand ; another dropped, with a broken wing, in the water, 
and I saw a seventh tumble head over heels into a clump of bushes 
on the river-bank ; we recovered them all, and returned to the steamer 
in triumph. 

On another occasion I was not so successful in a wild-goose chase, 
which occurred near Jhansie. I was out fishing a few miles below a place 
called Oorcha, but had brought a gun with me as usual. I observed 
some twenty or thirty grey geese, about mid-day, settle on an island in 
the middle of the river Betwah. They were too far from either bank to 
admit of a successful shot, though the river was not very broad at the 
spot ; but at one end of the long shelving bank on which they were 
collected there was a mass of Large rocks. If I could only get behind 
these boulders without being discovered I could obtain a fine chance 
for a shot. I had been wading when fishing for mahseer, and was 
already wet, so did not mind going into the water. Entering the river 
about three hundred yards above the island, and stooping, so as to get 
the rocks between myself and the geese, and thus screen me from their 
view, I slowly advanced, making as little splashing as possible. I had 
almost arrived within distance, with the water above my knees, when, 
just as I was preparing to land and peep over, I observed a long dark 
object^ which I had hitherto taken for the upper portion of a slab of 
rock, slowly sliding into the river. Horror ! it was a huge muggur, or 
crocodile. The chances are he would not have touched me, but the 
very idea of such a monster being close at hand was too much for my 
feelings, and, without thinking more of the geese, I made direct for the 
shore as fast as possible, and the next moment had the mortification 
to see the flock, which now had perceived me, rise in the air and 
make ofip. 

The sportsman should avoid, if possible, taking his shot at a goose 
when flying towards him, for unless struck in the head or neck or a 
wing broken the feathers on the breast of this bird are so thick 
that even the heaviest shot often prove inefiectual. Always watch 
a bird that has evidently been struck, especially if he keeps wagging 
his tail as he makes off"; likely enough, after proceeding many hundred 
yards, he will suddenly collapse and fall dead with a ^ whop ' that may 



348 THJE GAME OF BENGAL. 

be heard a long way off. These birds are considered by many as 
coarse food for the table, but I have known them late in the season, 
when well fed with corn, to be most excellent ; and when jugged in the 
same manner as a hare, a wild goose is not to be despised. 

I have often attempted, when a flight of geese have taken up their 
station in some unapproachable position, such as an island in the 
middle of some large river, to try what effect a rifle-bullet would 
have among their ranks. One would imagine that a dense flock of birds 
huddled together would be an easy mark, but the contrary is my ex- 
perience. Only once did a rifle-bullet prove successful, and on that 
occasion it cut off the head of a gander and passed through the body 
of an old goose close to him. 



II.— THE BAR-HEADED GOOSE {Anser indtcus, Qumjs), 

This bird in general habits much resembles the common species, 
but it is, I believe, only found in India. It appears to arrive about the 
same time, and doubtless from the same countries; and early in 
October spreads over the whole of our North- Western Provinces. At 
Allyghur they were exceedingly plentiful, more so than the common 
goose. At Agra, and between that and Muttra, they were also very 
numerous. They were not so common at Jbansie, and still less so towards 
Lullutpore. I shot the bird several times in Assam, though it is by no 
means plentiful, at any rate in that part of the province where I was 
stationed. Generally speaking, I have found it easier to stalk a flock of 
bar-headed geese than the common kind. I have on several occasions — 
twice in the Allyghur district — seen the two feeding in one large flock 
together, though they separated on taking wing. The bar-headed goose 
is considerably smaller and lighter than the common goose ; it has a 
small, handsome head, with yellow bill, and the dark bars across the 
back of the head are very distinct, the bird having altogether a very 
game- like appearance. 

The cry of this bird differs from that of the grey species. Though 
not very common about Jliansio, wo yearly shot a number, and I can 
remember a very stfccessful day's work at a flock of bar-headed. I 
had received information that some of these birds were in the habit, 



THE BLACK^BACKED GOOSE. 349 

early every morning, of feeding on some young corn in a field, where 
formerly a large piece of water had been kept in by a bund or bank. 
The natives had drained the water ofi^, and sown their com in the 
bed of this lake. Early one morning, in company with three friends, 
I drove out to reconnoitre the spot, and sure enough there were 
some fifty or sixty of the geese, but right in the middle of the field, 
where there was no cover. After a consultation we agreed that I 
— being lame at the time — should remain on the bund, and mark 
wounded birds, and also look out for a shot, while the other three 
were to surround the flock, and then suddenly, on an appointed signal, 
rapidly creep in from either side. Our plan succeeded exactly as we 
had hoped. The geese, on observing their enemies, stopped feeding, 
but, on account of the number of their foes, were puzzled for the moment 
in which direction to make off, and while yet considering they allowed 

my friends to get within range. R d, who was on the right, opened 

the ball by knocking over two ; the flock then wheeled towards S ^y 

and T r, who dropped two more ; and they then came right over 

my head, and I shot a fifth ; a sixth bird, badly wounded, was also 
recovered soon after. 



IIL— THE BLACK-BACKED GOOSE {Sarcidiomis mdanotd), 

DBBCBIPnOlf. 

The male b a heavy, clumsy bird, with an extraordinary soft protuberance on the 
baee of the upper mandible. 

The neck dull white, spotted with black ; the back and wings very dark glossy blue 
and green, much like the colouring of the Moonal pheasant on the wings. 

The female — ^remarkable for its small size in comparison with the male — ^is without the 
deep colouring of that bird. 

The ^ nuktah,' as this bird is called by the natives, is very common in 
many parts of the country. It is not a regular goose, and altogether 
differs from A. dnereus and A. indicuSf far more resembling, in fact, a 
large duck, such as the muscovy, than a goose ; nor does it migprate, like 
the true wild geese, but remains in India, and breeds in lakes and 
sluggish rivers, where reeds, rushes, and grass abound, affording cover 



350 TEE GAME OF BENGAL. 

for the nest. During the rains they spread all over the country, and 
may often be seen feeding in flooded fields. Unlike the common wild 
goose, this bird is by no means wary, and does not make straight 
away from a jheel after the first few shots, as wild geese are in the 
habit of doing, but keeps circling round and round. The disparity in 
size between the male and female is most remarkable. I should say, 
though I have never weighed them, that the male is quite twice the 
weight of the female. 

The black-backed goose seldom resorts to large open lakes devoid 
of cover, but prefers swamps and jheels covered with weeds and grass. 
I have shot ten of them in a day ; they generally ofter single shots, or 
perhaps a pair of birds come past together. When flying in a flock 
across firom one place to another, I have noticed that they are not so 
particular in keeping a line or acute angle as the generality of wild- 
fowl ; the flight is heavy and slow, but the wings and feathers of the 
body are very thick, and will resist any but large shot. The glossy 
dark green and purple feathers on the wings of the nuktah have often 
reminded me of the resplendent coat of the Moonal pheasant, which they 
very much resemble in tint and shade. Though a coarse ugly bird in 
appearance, it is a mistake to imagine that it is not good eating. I 
was always of this opinion till a friend assured me to the contrary, and 
rightly so ; for when properly cooked it is an excellent bird for the table 
— superior, in my opinion, to the grey or bar-headed goose. 

In addition to the three species of geese I have mentioned as 
common to Bengal, Jerdon tells us of the Pink-footed, the White- 
fronted, and the Dwarf Goose being occasionally found in Northern 
India. I regret to say that I have never had the good fortune to come 
across these birds, and imagine them to be rare visitors. 



THE MALLARD, 351 



CHAPTER XII. 
WILD DUOKS. 



The falcon, poL^ on soaring wing, 

Watches the wild duck by the spring. — Scott. 



I.— THE MALLARD {Anas boschas). 

TnovQB 80 veiy common during the winter months in Great Britain, 
the mallard is only occasionally met with by the Indian sportsman in 
Bengal. I am, however, told that it is exceedingly plentiful in the 
flooded parts of Upper Scinde. Nowhere have I found it plentiful, nor 
have I ever shot more than two in a day. In the cold weather of 
1872 I was shooting in the neighbourhood of Philibheet, in Bohilkund, 
and came across several flights of mallard, besides single birds ; in fact, 
the common wild duck was more plentiful there than in any other 
part of the country that I am acquainted with. At Allyghur I occa- 
sionally shot one or two, but never more. During three years* residence 
in Jhansie, though constantly out duck-shooting, I only bagged one 
mallard. I have been informed that it is found in the neighbourhood 
of Gorruckpore, where there dre numerous fine lakes abounding with 
wild-fowl in the cold weather. 



IL— THE SPOTTED-BILLED DUCK (Atuu pacOarhyncha). 

Description. 

Male, — Head above dark brown, a dark streak from baae of biU along side of head ; 
neck and breast, greyish white, spotted with dingy bUck, the spots becoming larger on 



352 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

breast and below ; feathers on upper part of back dingy black, each feather edged with 
light grey ; rump black ; tail brown. Greater wing-coverts white, bordered with black ; 
speculum, dark bluish green, margined mth black and white ; bill dark, tip bright yellow, 
with a red lump at base. 

Female. — ^Much resembles male, but is rather smaller. 

This particularly fine and handsome duck is, I consider, the most 
remarkable of all our Indian wild-fowl. Jerdon tells us that it is 
peculiar to India, or at any rate to Asia. I have been informed that 
it is found in certain parts of China. It does not migrate from the 
plains, but stays and breeds in rivers and lakes where there is plenty 
of cover. It is called the ^ nullah duck ' by some sportsmen, 6n ac- 
coimt of its resorting to nullahs or watercourses. In the Bombay 
Presidency I am told that it is often termed the * silver-grey duck.* 
Unlike other wild fowl, it is seldom if ever seen on the banks of large 
rivers, such as the Ganges or Jumna ; but prefers slow winding streams, 
with plenty of reeds, rushes, and grass on the margin. It also fire- 
quents jheels with the same description of cover. A pair, or four or 
five will usually be found together ; sometimes more, but never large 
fiights. On being alarmed, and rising, the bird utters a measured 
quack, several times repeated, similar to, and hardly to be distinguished 
from, the call of the mallard. In fact, it is often called mallard by 
sportsmen who are not particular about naming wild-fowl correctly. 
It is not a wary bird, except where often alarmed and fired at by 
gunners. The flight is heavy and sluggish; and if within common 
range one of these birds can hardly be missed. Moreover, it is brought 
down with a less heavy blow, and with greater ease, than many other 
wild ducks. I saw a pair of spotted-billed ducks exhibited at the Crystal 
Palace Poultry Show of 1874. They were priced at lOOi. ; but doubt- 
less the owner did not wish to part witlkthem, and for that reason put 
a fancy price on the birds. The spotted-billed duck is an excellent 
bird for the table — unrivalled, in fact. I have shot it all over the 
country, including Assam ; but it was more numerous in Bundelkund 
than in any other province I am acquainted with. 

I have never seen the nest, nor could I ever procure an egg. 
Jerdon tells us ^it nidificates on the ground, among long ^;rasa, 
laying eight or ten greenish-white eggs.' 



THE WIDGEON. 353 



III.— THE WIDGEON {Anas Penelope). 

This bird, like the mallard, though one of our commonest visitors 
in England during the winter months, is bj no means plentiful in India, 
or at any rate in our Northern Provinces. During a season I generaUy 
shot a few, perhaps ten or twelve, sometimes not so many. Like the 
mallard, birds are often shot, and called widgeon, which are not 
really so. The bird is a swift flyer and may be recognised from 
other fowl, when high in the air, by its whistling note. 



IV.-THE PINTAIL DUCK {DaJUa acuta). 

Description. 

Male. — Billy bluish. Head, bftck of neck, and throat, brownish, speckled with 
pale brown and black. Breast and belly, whitish, spotted with pale brown. The 
whole of the upper parts dusky black, margins pale, and transversely barred with white. 
Primaries, greyish. Speculum, greenish. Tail, long and greyish-brown. Under tail-coverts 
pale reddish-brown. Legs and toes blackish. 

The general colour of the female is brown, marked with blacldsh-brown. 

This beautiful bird, about the most elegant of all the duck tribe, visits 
our Indian provinces in vast flocks. £ found it exceedingly common 
in the tanks and jheels of the Saugor and Bewah country, and plentiful 
in the neighbourhood of Allyghur, but not nearly so common in the 
Jhansie and Lullutpore districts, though we generally picked up a few 
couple in a day's sport. It is very plentiful in certain parts of Assam. 
A friend and I killed nineteen couple of duck one day off the Lowqua 
lake, opposite Tezpore, on the Berhampooter, and more than half the 
birds were pintails. 

They are exceedingly rapid flyers, and are unsurpassed among wild- 
fowl for the table. The pintail duck is at once recognised, however 
high in the air, by its long outstretched neck, long pointed tail, and the 
amount of white in the under part of the body. It feeds under water, 
not diving under the surface altogether, like the pochards, but ducking 
under, with half the body above the water, in the manner that we 

▲ A 



354 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

often see swans feeding. It is, generally speaking, an easy bird to 
approach, even when feeding on open pools of water, tbongh naturally, 
where mnch persecuted by sportsmen, it requires a little care to stalk a 
flight of pintails. 



v.— THE GADWAXL {Anas gtrepera), 
DBSCRipnoir. 



Male, — Bill, lead colour. Irides^ hazel. Head and neck, pale brown, speckled with 
dark brown. Back^ ff^J> marked vnih grey lines. Point of the wing, small coTcrta, 
chestnut-brown, tinged vnih orange. Gretiter wing^coyerts, primaries, and secondaries, 
blackitfh. Speculum, white. Tertials, tinged with brownish-grey, margins paler. Rump, 
upper and under tail-coverts, bluish-black. Tail, brown, with pale margins. Neck, dark 
grey. Under parts, white. Legs and toes, orange ; claws, black. 

The general colour of the female is brown, marked with pale brown. Under parts, 
white. 

This fine heavy duck in Northern India takes the place as it were 
of the mallard, and is about the commonest of our large wild duck. 
E have found it more or less numerous in every part of the country, 
more especially in the Allyghur district. It was also exceedingly 
common in the tanks, lakes, and j heels around Jhansie. It is one of 
the early birds to arrive, and is excellent for the table. 



\1.— THE SHIELDRAKE {Tadonia vuIjMJiser). 

Dbbcription. 

Male. — Beak, vermilion. Irides, brown. Head and neck, greenish-black. Lower 
part of neck, a broad white collar, a broad chestnut band on the breast passing round 
between the shoulders and upper part of back. Back, upper tail feathers, white. Scapu- 
lars, blackish, edged with rich red-brown. Tips of wings and wing-coverts, white. Pri- 
maries, brown. Speculum, green. Tail, white, black-tipped. A broad line on breast and 
belly, rich brown. Sides and uuder-parts, white. Logs and toes, pinkish. 

Length. — About 24 inches. 

The female resembles the male, but is not so richly coloured. 

This bird is far less common in India than in Britain. Only once 



TRIE BUDDY 8HIELDEAKE, OB BBAHMINY DJJOK. 355 

have I ever met with it, and that was at Allyghur.* I found a pair, 
and, after infinite trouble, killed the drake. The amount of white on 
the plumage of these two birds, although there were thousands of wild- 
fowl in company, drew mj attention to them, and I was in great hopes 
4hat I had shot some rare description of duck, until I picked it up, 
when, bj its peculiar shaped bill, I at once recognised the common 
shieldrake. 



VII.— TIIE RUDDY SmELDRAKE, or BRAHMINY DUCK (Tadama rutila). 

Description. 

Male, — Beaky lead colour. Irides, yellowish-brown. Head, cheeks, chin, and throat 
almost white, gradually becoming a rich red-brown on the lower part of the neck and 
body ; near the base there is a black ring. Shoulders and scapular feathers, pale buff. 
Primaries, dark grey or blackish. Speculum, metallic green. Tail, dark grey. Legs and 
toes, almost black. 

Length, — About 25 inches. 

The female is smaller, but much resembles the male, the black ring of the neck 
being absent 

I HAVE given a short description of this bird, as it is very rarely met 
with in England, though one of our commonest Indian ducks. I have 
heard it asserted that the ruddy shieldrake sometimes met with in 
Europe differs somewhat from 'our India, bird ; but, judging from 
stuffed specimens, I must confess that I can perceive no difference in 
the plumage of the two. Sportsmen hardly ever take notice of this 
bird, though by the way the * chukwah-chukwee,' fes the Hindoos call 
the Brahminy duck, seldom gives a chance to the gunner, being one 
of the most wide-awake of all wild- fowl ; and, when in company with 
others, often spoils a good chance, by giving notice of danger with its 
alarm-cries as it makes off. It frequents the banks of all our large 
rivers, more especially the Ganges, where it may be seen at all times 
feeding in the shallows or mud-banks. As a rule it is seldom to be 
found in tanks, and it is exceptional to find it in company with other 
ducks. In size and shape this duck more resembles one of the an^er 
tribe ; and I remember one morning, when yet so early that it was 

' I am told that it is very plentiful at the mouth of the Indus, where all descrip- 
tions of wild fowl congregate in myriads during the cold weather. 

AA 2 



356 THE GAME OF BENGAL, 

impossible to distinguish the colour of objects, I brought down three 
unfortunate Brahminy ducks passing overhead, in mistake for geese. 
Thej delight to paddle about in flooded fields, are also partial to young 
com, and I have seen them feeding in company with wild geese on the 
young crops. When at Jhansie I noticed that the Brahminy ducks, on 
first arriving, appeared in large flights, but soon the flock divided into 
small parties of two or four. I have eaten one of these birds, and 
certainly it was perfectly good for food, though not, at the same time, 
to be ranked amongst the best birds for the table. 

It has been stated that this bird is a foul feeder, and a writer in the 
Indian * Sporting Review,' speaking of Tadoma rutilay says : * It is often 
found devouring carrion on the banks of rivers, and is frequently seen 
banqueting in company with vultures, and associating with such other 
villanous companions.' 

Jerdon quotes this passage, and strongly expresses his disbelief in 
such a statement, and I am convinced that the writer was quite mis- 
taken ; for though the bird certainly frequents the banks of our large 
rivers, I have never met anyone who could say that he had observed 
the ruddy shieldrake feed on anythiug but its natural food. 

This bird, according to Hooker, has the peculiar habit of Tad<yma 
vulpaniser of breeding in rabbit holes. It is held to be sacred by the 
Hindoos. 



VUL— TILE SHO^'^LLER (Spatula chjpeata). 

Description. 

Male. — Bill, lead colour. Head, greeniBh-black. Neck and scapulars, white. Back, 
dark brown; margins of the feathers, paler. Shoulders, lesser wing-coTerte, and 
tertials, slaty-blue. Upper ¥nng-coverts, white. Primaries and secondaries, nearly black. 
Speculum, green. Rump, upper and imder tail-coverts, and tail, nearly black ; breast, 
chestnut-brown. Legs and toes, orange-red ; nails, black. 

Length. — 20 inches. The bill is long, wide at the tip, and rounded. 

Female, — Brown, marked with darker brown streaks. 

This is another very common bird, and in the winter months is found 
all over the country. It is generally met with singly or in pairs. I 
cannot remember ever once having seen a large flight of shovellers. 
Tliey oflFer few attractions to a sportsman; and though I generally 




TEH RED'GBESTED POOIIARD, 357 

took my shot at one of them passing overhead, yet at the end of the day 
my syce or some other servant was presented with Spatula clypeatUy 
for he is not mnch of a bird for the table, however well cooked ; and, 
moreover, has a habit of frequenting Dhobie's ponds and pools of water 
close to villages, which no well-bred wild duck would think of in- 
habiting. The plumage of an old drake shoveUer is very beautiful, 
though the ungraceful bill detracts somewhat from the elegance of the 
bird. Unlike most wild ducks, I have frequently come across this 
bird in lakes and pools of water perfectly bare of cover, with nothing 
but mud and sand on the margin. The female much resembles the 
common wild duck, but has the peculiar broad-tipped bill, the same as 
the drake. 



IX.- THE RED-ORESTED POCHARD {FuligiUa rufina). 

Description. 

Male, — Beak, vermilion-red ; tip, white. Irides, reddish-brown. Head and neck, 
chestnut-red ; crest of long soft feathers. Lower part of neck and upper tail-coverts, 
brown. Back, and scapulariee, yellowish-brown. Upper wing-coverts, ashy-brown. 
Primaries and tail, greyish-brown. Out webs of secondaries, white. Breach, belly, and 
under tail-coverts, black ; flanks white. Legs and toes, vermilion. 

Female, — Without a crest ; top of head, dark brown. Cheeks, throat, and sides of 
neck, grensh-white. Upper parts of body, pale rufous-brown. Shoulder and speculum, 
greyish-white. Breast, reddish-brown. 

This fine duck, one of the largest and heaviest we meet with in India, 
is common in our Northern Provinces, frequenting large lakes in dense 
flights. At a well-known lake near Jhansie, called Dinaro, there were 
always in the cold season several large flights of these birds. At 
Allyghur they were also common, especially on the Adown jheel. I 
also constantly shot this fine duck as far south as Assam. It is a strong, 
powerful flyer, with very thick plumage, so that heavy shot is necessary 
to bring it down. The male bird, with its lovely silky plume, red eye 
and bill, black breast, and white speculum, is a very handsome duck ; 
but the female, with its sober grey and white plumage, is less striking. 
The * lal seer,' as this bird is called by the natives, meaning * red head,' 
is one of the diving ducks, feeding on the bottom of weedy lakes. A 
flight passing overhead in the dark may be distinguished from other 
wild fowl by the noise of their wings. 



358 TEE GAME OF BENGAL. 



X.— THE RED-HEADED POCHARD {Fuligula ferina). 

This well-known bird in Britain, called * dun bird ' by fowlers in some 
localities, is common generally over Northern India ; and I have shot 
it in almost every station in the North- West where I have been quar- 
tered. It is a diving duck, as its legs, placed far back in the body, at 
once show; very thick-built, and not a graceful bird; feeding on 
various weeds, grass, &c., growing at the bottom of lakes, jheels, and 
sluggish rivers. I have heard this bird erroneously called Uie ' canvas 
back,' the well-known and far-famed American duck, which certainly 
belongs to the pochard tribe, but is larger, and never visits India. 

Like all the diving class of ducks, this bird, unless shot dead, is, 
especially in jheels covered with weeds, lilies, and creepers, most diffi- 
cult to retrieve, more so than any duck I am acquainted vnth. Unless 
in shallow water the best of retrievers are usually baffled, so cunning 
are these birds, often putting only the tips of their bills above water 
to breathe, with their bodies well concealed the while by a patch of 
reeds or rushes. This pochard has shortish wings, and is a heavy 
flyer ; but the feathers are very thick, especially on the breast ; and 
No. 5 shot, with a good charge of powder, is, in my opinion, the best 
for the sport. 



XL— THE WHITE-EYED POCIL\RD {Fuli^uia nyroca). 

This bird, one of the smallest of the pochard tribe, is common in many 
parts of India, more especially in Bundelkund. General colour, deep 
reddish-brown ; speculum, white ; white under the chin ; belly, white. 
Length about fifteen inches. At Jhansie it was exceedingly numerous, 
and in the cold weather afforded good sport. It is a swift-flying bird, 
occasionally found in flocks, but more often singly or in pairs. It 
loves to frequent jheels with plenty of cover. I have met with capital 
shooting about mid-day in tanks bordered with high reeds, with every 
here and there open pieces of water. Here, when the sun becomes 
powerful, the white-eyed duck retires, and a sportsman, seated in a boat, 
and noiselessly punted by a couple of natives, will, xmless the birds 
have been much bullied and shot at previously, meet with good sport ; 



^^^^^^^1 


J 


^^^^^ 


^^^^P THE TUFTED DUCK. 359 

the (lucka rising one or two at a time, and ofifering capital chances as 
thcj- top the cover. I have noticed that on these occasions teal, gad- 
wall, and other kinds of fowl, at once rise and make off on the report 
of a gun anywhere near, but that the little brown, white-eyed duck 
does not take alarm. The plamage of this bird is rery thick and 
close, and, though small, it takes a severe blow to bring it down, and 
unless dead, like all the pochard tribe, often gives great trouble to 
recover. I have frequently, at Jhansie, lost the half of my winged birds 
in a day's nport. I have already mentioned, when speaking of the 
widgeon, that the white-eyed duck is often erroneoualy so termed, 
though it does not resemble a widgeon at all, either in shape or colour, 
I have noticed a rather remarkable fact in connection with this bird : 
on three different occasions I have shot specimens minus theii' feet, 
which I believe had been frozen off in some far-distant country. On 
all three occasions both feet were missing, so that it would appear 
improbable that a trap or gun had been the cause of the missing 
members in every instance ; but I came to the conclusion that, the birds 
bad lost their feet by visiting some very cold clime, and that the webbed 
portion had become frozen and dropped off. If tliis was the tme reason, 
it would appear that the little pochard migrates to colder regions 
than other wild-fowl, or why should this one species be affected in such 
au extraordinary manner ? 

It is only a tolerable bird for the table, not to be compared in thia 
respect with the gadwall, teal, and others. 


XU.— THE TUFTED DUOK (Fuliguia erittata). 
DsscRiPTiDir. 

Mdf,-m\ WuiBh i Dul, black. Irides, yellow. Hand, neck, back, ramp, wings, 

tail und under lail-coTerts, hlnct Dead, partiaUy created, lin(ied oo the chunks willi 

^nm^ SecondnrioBorBpeculimiipBrtiall? while. Oliin, wliite. The wliote uf the undar 

^^^^^mtfih.-~\Q ioch<». 

^^^^^^KaJf.— Dark titown. Under puts of Uie bodj, gi«;ieli- white. Si)eculiim, while. 

^^P This is a rare bird in Xorthem India. I have occaeioually met with 
^B it, but have only once shot it, and that was at Allyghur. in 1864. 
^H Strange to say, I have on several occasions observed tufted dacks 







36o THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

bronght round for sale by natives who had netted ihem. So perhaps 
I have been unlucky in my attempts to meet with this bird. Its black 
and white plumage is so marked that it is easily distinguishable from 
other fowl when flying. 



Xni.— THE MERGAIISER (Mer^us castor). 

Descrtftiok (from a specimen shot on banks of Sardah, Kohilkund^ in 1872). 

Male, — Bill, vermilion-red. Ridge and tip of the upper mandible and lower mandible, 
black. Head, crested, greenish-black. Upper part of neck, breast, belly, and lesser 
wing-coverts, white. Breast, tinged with pink, or salmon-colour. Back and scapulars, 
black. Primaries, greyish-brown. Secondaries, white, with black margins. Rump and 
tail, grey. Legs and toes, vermilion-red. Liength 24 inches. 

I never have had an opportunity of observing the colouring of the plumage of the female. 

The thickly-toothed bill of the merganser enables it to seize its prey, small fish, with 
facility. 

This is a rare bird in Bengal. I have only shot it twice ; once on the 
banks of the Sardab, in the Philibheet District in 1872, and once in 
Bhootan in 1865. In fact the bird seems only to frequent rivers near 
the foot of the Himalayas. I never yet saw it in a jheel. Such is 
my experience, though I may be in error; but T have never once 
come across the bird far away from the hills. 

When traveUing in the Himalayas I have more than once seen the 
merganser flying up and down the Pindur river, in Kumaon ; and I 
am inclined to think that they frequent all our hill rivers more or less, 
for I saw another flight of these ducks passing over the Ganges, in the 
interior of the hills near Teeree. The male bird is very beautiful ; the 
rosy tint on the breast and under feathers is a lovely hue. I have 
never attempted to eat this bird, but should imagine its flesh to be 
coarse and strong-flavoured ; for its bill, with its peculiar rows of teeth, 
proclaims it to be a fish-eater. 



XIV.— THE GARGANEY, ok BLUE- WINGED TEAL (Querqueduia circia). 

This somewhat handsome little duck is larger than the common 
teal. It does not arrive so early as the above-mentioned bird ; but 
I have each year noticed that it is about the last to leave the plains 



THE TEAL. 



361 



I 



of India. I have even seen Bmall fligLta of ibis species in the month 
of May, which is unwsnally late for migrating wild-fowl. This was in 
the hot season of 1871, in the LuUutporc District. I find a record 
ilk my gilme-hook that I shot on May 8 of that year five blue-winged 
teal in a small tank about tbirty miles from Lallntpore. Certainly 
the hot season of 1871 was a mild one ; and in the same month of May 
of tbat year I killed several suipe ; quite as unusual a circumstance, if 
not more so, than shooting the garganeys. 

The flight of this bird is swift, though not, in my opinion, to the 
same degree as tbe common teal. Like the latter species, the blue- 
winged teal often assemble in large flights. I can remember spreading 
destruction among a deniie flight, bringing down fourteen with two 
barrels — not much to boast of, by the way — but at the time I was in want 
of game to send into Lueknow, where I was then quartered, so did not 
scruple to pour in a mui-deroua volley at close range. 

I think that this bird appears to be found pretty generally over our 
Korthern Provinces; but nowhere hare I seen such large flocks of 
garganeys as in Oude. In the cold season of 1869, in company with a 
friend, I visited a large lake and marsli in the Baraitch District, called 
Dehowrah, and I should be afraid to say how many head of wild-fowl 
we slew ; but the number was very great, and a large proportion of tho 
ducks we brought to bag were blue-winged teal. I met with tliis bird in 
the Himalayas several times, first at Nynee Tal, then at Bheem Tal, 
another lake near the former, where I shot three birds ; again on the 
Pindur river; and, lastly, I shot tbree more in small patches of water 
high up in the middle rauges^two close to a tea-garden at Gwaldung, 
and a tbird at Goomur Tul, on the opposite side of the Piudnr river. 
I do not think these stray birds remained to breed in the out-of-the- 
wuy spots I have mentioned, though it is possible, but I am inclined to 
think that they wei-e mirely resting themselves. The dnike garganey, 
though not of such bright and gaudy hues as the common teal, is a 
most beautifully marked duck, and is considered a good bird for the table. 



XV.— THE TEAL lQufrg>ud<Ja <rccca). 

In speaking of the garganey, or blue-winged teal, I bave mentioned 
that it is late to arrive, and especially lute tn d(^rtintj from the plains 
of India. Exactly the contrary is the case with the common teal ; it is 



362 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

one of the earliest ducks to arriye, and does not delay its departore 
nearly so late as the garganey. I find that for a succession of years, 
when quartered in various parts of the country, a teal was almost 
invariably the first among the ducks to &11 to my gun ; and gene- 
rally in Bundelkund a spring of teal formed the advance-guard of the 
wild fowl travelling south from the cold regions of Northern Asia and 
other countries. 

There can hardly be among birds a more beautiful fowl than 
the drake teal. The lovely markings of the head and neck and the 
bright patch of green on the wing, together with the beautiful shades 
on the back and tail, form a perfect gem in beauty. 

I am of opinion that of all wild fowl the little teal is the swiftest 
in flight, only equalled perhaps by the goose teal ; and a single bird as 
it passes at full speed offers as pretty a shot as a sportsman could wish 
for. A teal, usually speaking, when winged, is not nearly so difficult 
to recover as many other kinds of duck. I have seen enormous flights 
— many hundreds together. It is a pretty sight to see a flight of 
these birds wheeling and curving about over a piece of water, with 
the sun shining on their wings, as they may often be seen. The birds 
when in a flock keep very close together, so that often six or eight may 
be brought down at a single discharge. 

Teal may be found in flooded fields of com or paddy, where no other 
duck resort. In some parts of the country they are netted in immense 
numbers. There are many jheels in the neighbourhood of large rivers 
without a single bird resting or feeding on them during the day ; but 
at nightfall, generally speaking, just as the sun is setting, the fowl pour 
in in myriads frt)m the sandbanks of the river, where they have been 
lying asleep all day. Native shikaries are fully aware of these spots 
and of the habits of the birds, and act accordingly, setting their nets 
during the daytime in the manner I have previously described. I have 
known teal, when a number are taken together, seU for less than an 
anna, or three halfpence, each. 



XVI.— THE W^mSTUNQ TEALS or TREE DUOKS (Dendrocy^na major. 

Dendrocygna awmiree), 

Thebe are two kinds of these birds that I am acquainted with, the lai^;er 
and smaller, but they are very similar in colour and shade, which ia 



I 



TUE WEITEBODISD OOOSE TEAL. 



3'3 



of a rich red brown. They remain all the year round in the plains, 
frequeuting weetly tanks covered with rank vegetutioii, and may often 
be seen iu company with the white-bodied goose teal. They are, 
however, in my opinion, not worth powder and shot, and I never fired 
at them, unless to provide food for servants and villagers, for I do not 
eonaider them regular wild ducks. The flight is slow and laboured, 
and while soaring round they utter a continuous chuckling whoHtle; 
hence the name. I have several times seen this bird perch on trees 
and bushes. 



XVn.— THE WHITE-DODIED GOOSE TEAL (AV<n/flM coromimddim 



^>\ 



DBSdUFTIUK'. 

Male. — Top of head gloMjr block, b black line round tlie neck ; back nnd wings gloasy 
stMl blue, mixed with dark preeu ; a white pat4:h on wing« ; bee, neck, and breoat white ; 
white also below. Bill bUick, lep pale yellow. 

LrngtA. — I'l inc'hps. 

Female. — Altogelher of a duller plumage. 

This pretty little bird is another of the diicb tribe that does not 
migrate to colder climea, but remains and breeds in the plains of 
India. It is smaller than the common teal, and is not elegant in 
shape ; but the glossy tints of green and steel blue on the wings are 
very beautiful. It is very common all over the country, I believe, 
resorting to lakes covered with water-plants and weeds, and may often 
be seen in company with the black-backed goose and whistling teal. 
It is an amaxingly swift flyer, and generally flies very low, only a few feet 
above the wat^r, uttering a chuckling noise as it wheels round and 
round the pool from which it has been flushed. It takes a severe blow 
to bring it down, the plumage being exceedingly thick, and resisting 
small shot at any hut close range. 

Jerdon says : ' It breeds generally in holes in old trees, often at 
some distance from water; occaBionally in ruined houses, temples, 
old chimneys, and the like, laying eight or ten (sometimes, it is stated, 
as many as fifteen) small white eggs.' 

I have heard this bird called 'the clucking teal ' by some sportfi- 
men, on account of its habit of chattering as it flies swiftly backwards 
and forwards ; but it is quite erroneous so to name it, for the clucking 
t«al {QiMnjuedula glocilans) is an exceedingly tare bird, hardly ever 
met with. 



364 THE OAME OF BENGAL. 



CHAPTER XIIL 

MISCELLANEOUS. 



EveniBg comes on : arising from, the stream 

Homeward the taU flamingo wings his flight ; 

And where he sails athwart the setting heam 

His scarlet plmnage glows with deeper light — Sottthet. 



THE FLAMINGO (Phamicopterus roseus). 

This beautiful bird, so well known that a description is needless, 
visits India in the cold weather months in company with the clouds 
of other migratory wild fowl which arrive about the first week in 
October, and leaves about the same time as the others, early in March. 
They are gregarious, often congregating in large flocks, but the Ally- 
ghur district is the only place where I have seen flamingoes in any 
numbers. 

Flamingoes appear to be rare in Central India. I find that I have 
once only noted meeting with these birds during my three years' sojourn 
at Jhansie, and that was a small flock passing overhead. I should 
not have noticed them at all, had not one of the birds uttered its 
peculiar trumpet-call. They were flying in a line at a great height, 
and steering southwards. 

A male flamingo stands about four feet high, but the body is small 
in comparison with the height of the bird ; the female is rather less, 
and somewhat wants the brilliant rose-coloured feathers of her consort. 
They are wary birds, and have a habit of frequenting open lakes and 
jheels, with no cover of any kind to conceal an enemy, or behind 
which a sportsman might creep up within shot. Once I brought down 
three with two barrels, and twice I have killed single birds. Their 



THE BFTTEBN. 365 

bills are of extraordinary shape, and they are said to feed like the 
Anas tribe. 

One evening, when retoming on horseback afber a day's shooting, 
aboat six miles from Allyghnr, I happened to pass near a large open 
sheet of water, and drew rein for a few moments to admire a beautiM 
sight. About a quarter of a mile from me, in the middle of an open 
plain, a large flight of flamingoes were standing motionless in some 
shallow water. There were, I suppose, over a hundred birds, and nearly 
aU were standing balanced on one leg. It was about sunset, and the 
beautiful pink feathers of the flamingoes, brightened up by the beams 
of the setting sun, and rendered still more conspicuous by the reflec- 
tions in the calm water, made a strikingly effective picture. 

The flesh of the bird is only tolerably good ; we once had one cooked 
by way of experiment, for the mess-table, but it was universally pro- 
nounced to be but a poor bird. 

Natives constantly bring flamingoes round for sale, in our up- 
country stations. 



THE BITTERN {Botaurus steUaris). 



This bird is tolerably plentiful over Northern India, resorting to certain 
jheels, where it finds suitable feeding-grounds, and generally each cold 
season half-a-dozen bitterns or more are brought to bag. They gene- 
rally are found when snipe-shooting, in marshy spots where there is an 
abundance of tall grass and low reeds. The bird will often not rise till 
the sportsman is close on him, and it is almost impossible to miss it, 
for the flight is very slow and heavy, and a few grains of snipe-shot 
are sufficient to bring it down ; in fact, I know of no bird that is so 
easily killed. Generally, if let off once, the bittern again settles within 
a few hundred yards, and perhaps on the second occasion, without a dog 
to follow and flush him, will so conceal itself that the sportsman, 
after a short search in vain, passes on. The bittern is an excellent 
bird for the table. 

When stationed at Tezpore, in Assam, I twice shot a small species, 
the Black Bittern {Anletta flavicollis). It was by no means rare in that 
locality, but I have seen it nowhere else. 



366 THE GAME OF BENGAL 

THE CURLEW (Numenius arquata). 

This bird, so common and well known on the shores of Britain, is met 
with on the banks of our large rivers, and occasionally on the muddy 
edges of jheels and tanks. I have nowhere, however, found it 
numerous. I shot several when stationed at Lucknow, and in the 
Baraitch district, on the banks of the Surjoo, they were tolerably plentifuL 
During my three years at Jhansie I only shot one curlew, though I 
occasionally heard the well-known cry of the bird, as he passed overhead 
high in the air. I saw several in the Philibheet district, and shot a few 
in the neighbourhood of Allyghur. 

As in England, the *Whaup' is almost invariably on the alert 
against danger, and difficult to approach. 

When travelling in the Himalayas in 1 863, and steering for the 
Neti Pass, I observed a species of curlew on the edge of a river far below 
the road, feeding on a shelving bank of gravel, near a village called 
Jhelum. I carefiilly examined the bird through a powerful telescope, 
and feeling certain that it was worth obtaining for my collection, 
determined on making an attempt to get a shot at it. With some 
trouble I descended, and, as the bird rose, brought it down, but unfor- 
tunately it fell into the river and was swept away by the current. 
1 never before or since have met with a similar species of curlew. I 
was close enough to see that the legs and bill were red, and that 
it had some dark markings about the head ; and when years after I 
read Jerdon's description of a rare species of curlew {Ihidorhynchus 
struthersii) which frequents rivers of the Himalayas, it struck me at 
once that the bird I had lost was the Red-billed Curlew. 

There is a bird common over our North- Western Provinces, 
and well known by the name of * Black Curlew.' This, however, is 
an erroneous title, for the correct English appellation for the bird is 
the * Warty-Headed Ibis.' I have shot it occasionally, but it is hardly 
worth a charge ; and I can assert that it is undoubtedly a foul feeder, 
for a brother of mine once saw this bird hard at work feeding on the 
offiil of a recently-slain black buck. 



THE WniMBREL (Numenius ph^pus). 

This bird is more common and loss wary than tlie curlew. I have seen 
many on the banks of our large rivers and jheels, and shot several when 
stationed at Allyghur. 



THE aitEEN PIGEON. 



THE BENGAL GREEN PIGEON (Oow^nM/As.w'w/rfcnu.), 

There are several kisda of green pigeon frequenting the plsiiua of 
India, besides otliers found in our hill ranges. Among the latter may 
be mentioned the well-known ' koklah.' I have met with at least four 
or five species in the plains, but the above-mentioned is the most 
common in the North-Weatem Provinces, and is called by the natives 
'bnrryal.' It can hardly be termed a game bird, though worthy of 
notice by the sportsman, on account of its being an excellent bird for 
the table, * 

Generally speaking, they are to be found in small flocks in peepul or 
burgot-trees, the fmit of which is a favourite food of the green pigeon; 
but I have seen, and not iiufrequently, very lai-ge digbts of greeu 
pigeons. The plumage of the bird, which is a lovely mixture of yellow, 
light and dark green, matches in an extraordinary manner (doubtless 
a provision of Nature for it« protection), with the foliage of the trees 
tliftt it is in the habit of frequt^nting. I hare constantly stood under 
a peepul-tree with my gun in readiness, in vain endeavouring to dis- 
tinguish among the leaves overhead the forms of several 'hurryal' 
which I bad marked into this very tree ; but until one of the birds 
hud moved its position — and they have a cunning habit of remaining 
perfectly still when danger is at hand — I have found it almost impos- 
sible to make them out, so exactly similar in colour was the foliage of 
the tree and the plumage of the birds. 

The green pigeon feeds almost entirely on wild fruit, seeds, and 
berries of various kinds ; an especial favourite among wild fruits is the 
fig. The flight of the bird is powerful and rapid, and its feathers are 
80 thick and close that small-shot is but of little nse. The f>:^t of the 
bird are eomowUat like those of a parrot, and I have seen them high 
up in the branches of some fruit-tree, clambering about, bead down- 
wards, to reach JVnit, in the manner of the Psiltaeidw family. 

When out shooting in the Lutlutpore jungles, during the hot- 
weatber months, onr encampment was usually in tlie vicinity of some 
rivor, such as the Botwnh, tlio Jaiuin, or Dessaun, and of an evening 

my Mend H a and myself often amused ourselves fishing fur 

mahstior. One evoiiiug wo had used our best endenvtnrs, both with fly 
and bait, to capture a fish for our dinner, but in vain, and at length we 
had given it up as a bad job. My companion wuut huure, leaving mu 



368 



TEE GAME OF BENGAL, 



to finish a cheroot. While thus employed my attention was taken by 
a flock of green pigeons which had settled in a large fig-tree leaning 
over the river. I had no gun with me, or probably one or two of the 
birds would have been shot, as we were short of "provisions. The fig- 
tree overshadowed a fine pool in the river, and from the birds moving 
about and feeding on the fruit, several over-ripe figs fell with a splash 
into the water. I noticed three or four fish move, but had no idea what 
they were after, till presently I distinctly saw a mahseer take down 
a fig the instant that it touched the water. A boy, my attendant, 
was quickly despatched up the tree for half-a-dozen ripe figs, and in 
the meantime I selected from my book a large-sized bait-hook ; and 
presently, when the lad descended with sundry of the fruit, I buried 
the hook into the heart of an extra tempting-looking fig, and fastened 
it securely in its place with a piece of cotton. Then shortening the 
line, and carefully approaching the water, I * bobbed' the fig on to 
the surface of the pool, but only for an instant ; there was a mighty 
swirl in the water, and I caught a glimpse of a head and tail, and 
down went the line. A few moments after, I found myself hard and 
fast in a struggle with a six-pounder, which, after a determined resist- 
ance, was successfully landed, and ten minutes later was transferred to 
the camp kettle. 



THE INDIAN UAUE. 369 



CHAPTER XIV. 

THE INDIAN IIARE {Lejms ruficaudatus). 



I saw the hare that raced about with joy. — Wordswobth. 



I BELIEVE Jerdon tells us of two species of Indian hares to be found 
in the plains, but I am only able to speak of one kind that I have met 
with below the Himalayas, or perhaps it may be that the two are so 
nearly alike that I have not noticed the distinction between them. 

The hare of India is somewhat of the shape and colour of our own 
well-known animal, but much smaller, weighing little, if any more 
than a full-grown rabbit, and, in general habits, much resembling the 
latter. The animal when pursued will sometimes go to ground under 
rocks or stones, and will seldom be found lying out in open country 
where there is no cover. I have frequently met with them in the low 
valleys of the Himalayas, but they never wander to any great height ; 
between Almorah and Nynee Tal I have shot several. 

There is another species of hare found in Thibet, and occasionally on 
our side of the snowy range. This animal much resembles the mountain 
or blue hare of Scotland. I found them very numerous in certain 
localities of Thibet, and generally in stony nullahs where there was 
plenty of bush, grass, and cover. I shot thirteen one forenoon in the 
neighbourhood of a place called Tazang, where they were exceedingly 
plentiful. They were of a bluish colour, mixed with pale brown, with 
shorter ears, and in size rather larger than the hare found in the 
plains; moreover, the fur was altogether thicker, only natural for 
such a cold country as Thibet. I imagine that the coat turns white 
in winter, like the Scotch hare ; but though I constantly put this question 
to the Bhootiahs and Thibetans, I could not get a clear reply in the 
affirmative, though I have little doubt that such is the case. 

B B 



370 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

The hare of the plains of India is common all over our North-Western 
Provinces, and is very numerous .in many parts, especially in the 
neighbourhood of Roorkee, Allyghur, and Agra. In the vicinity of the 
latter station I have shot twelve and fifteen in a day. In Bundelkund 
the animals abound, and are exceedingly common on the sides of rocky 
hills. In Bengal, though in some parts common enough, they appear 
to be less numerous than in provinces farther north. In Assam we 
seldom shot more than two or three in a day, and then only near to 
cultivation. Thick bush and grass jungle, with fields of com in the 
vicinity, are generally the resort of the Indian hare, though they may 
be often found in fields of dhal or castor-oil, close behind villages, and I 
am perfectly certain in my own mind that these animals, which are found 
so close to the habitations of the natives, are not the choicest of feeders. 
The banks of small rivers, where much cut up and intersected by 
nullahs and ravines covered with scrub, are generally sure finds for 
hares ; and in many parts of the country there are pools of water 
surrounded by a fringe of thick grass ; these spots should be carefully 
beaten by the sportsman, as they are very likely to hold hares. In l;he 
month of March, when the quail come in, hares are often put up and 
shot in standing com; and when snipe-shooting on the edge of a 
tank or jheel, if the ground is not too wet, the sportsman will often 
get a shot at a ^ khurgosh ' as he makes off. 

In some parts of the country I have seen very fair coursing. At 
Allyghur we never shot hares in the vicinity of the station, as several of 
the residents kept greyhounds, and in the cold weather it was nothing 
unusual to kill six or eight hares out coursing in a morning. 

The ears of the Indian hare are unusually long. The animals are 
constantly swarming with vermin. The natives, though not up to 
wiring them, net the creatures in great numbers, and bring them 
round in baskets for sale. With so many enemies to contend with, 
it seems extraordinary that the animals are not altogether exter- 
minated, and were it not that they are so very prolific, doubtless this 
would be the case. The very spots where hares take refuge abound 
with jackals, foxes, cats, mongooses, and snakes. The pariah dogs 
turn out in gangs from neighbouring villages, and systematically hunt 
through every yard of cover in search of them, snapping them up in 
their forms, or running them down when they make off. Nor is 
this all that the unfortunates have to contend with. Eagles, falcons, 
and hawks are ever on the look-out to pounce on them should 



TEE INDIAN HARE. 371 

they show tKemselves by day, and numerous owls constantly prey 
on them at night. I have often noticed large hawks sitting per- 
fectly still on the top of a 4>ush or ti'ee, where they will patiently 
wait, watching the jungle beneath them, till some partridge, quail, or 
hare moves, and, unconscious of danger, exposes itself to view ; the bird 
of prey immediately opens his wings, silently makes a swoop down, 
and, fixing its talons deep into the back of the victim, carries him 
shrieking away. Jackals, generally speaking, spring on hares and other 
creatures from an ambush, catch them when asleep, or creep up to 
them when feeding. In my opinion, they seldom fairly run a hare 
down by coursing it. 

When speaking of the chikarah, I related an anecdote of a pair 
of jackals joining in the chase of a wounded gazelle, but that was 
exceptional, and I believe that it was the smell of blood that attracted 
the ravenous pair. But I once witnessed a fair* course between a 
Jackal and a hare, which at the time I noted as remarkable. 

In the cold season of 1872, I was out shooting near Jhansie, in 
company with two brother sportsmen. We had during the morning 
shot over some snipe ground with tolerable luck, but in spite of its 
being the middle of October, found the sun extremely powerful ; there 
was not a breath of air, and the heat and glare were intense. So about 
mid-day we retired to the side of a hill, where, recvhans svb tegmine 
of some bushes, we discussed our tiffin and lit our pipes. While 
talking over what were to be our plans for the afternoon to fill the bag 
to the best advantage, our attention was taken by what we took at first 
in the distance to be a dog chasing a hare ; this was nothing unusual, 
as the British soldiers from the barracks often came that way with 
dogs and guns. The pursued and pursuer came straight towards us, 
and from where we were sitting — well above the surrounding country — 
we had a good view of the chase. 

From brake to brake she flics, and visita all 

Her well-known haunts where once she ranged secure. 

Presently the poor hare, hard pressed, made several quick turns to 
escape, but all in vain. She was fairly run into and killed. It was only 
when the two animals were within a short distance of the foot of the 
hill that we, for the first time, had doubts whether or not it was a 
dog that had so successfully chased the hare ; the animal appeared to 
be too short in the legs for a dog, and, moreover, seemed to have a 

B B 2 



372 



TEE GAME OF BENGAL. 



bushy taU. One of my companions, S ^y, had a rifle with him, 

and we suggested that he should clear up all doubt in the matter by 
knocking the gentleman over ; so down he went. The animal was still 

worrying the hare, but looked up and observed S ^y when yet a 

good distance off. He turned round and made off, but my ftiend 
made an undeniably good shot, rolling him over dead with a ball 
through the shoulder. We all ran up, and there lay a common jackal ; 
it was a female, long and thin, and, to all appearance had cubs not far 
off. The hare, a fine one, was only slightly torn, and we carried it off. 
When the ground is open the Indian hare offers an easy shot, but 
when beating through rough ground, with patches of grass and bushes 
here and there, and a hare is started, it often requires a good snap shot 
to roll her over. The animal dodges about, like a rabbit in furze, far 
more than is the habit of our English hare. 



GUNS, RIFLES, GAMP EQUIPAGE, ETC. 373 



CHAPTER XV. 

GUNS, RIFLES, AND SPORTING EQUIPMENTS; CAMP EQUIPAGE 

AND CARRIAGE. 

Spobtsicen bound for the East very often ask, What is the best de- 
scription of battery for India? but the question is not so easily answered. 
It is a strange fact, bat nevertheless true I believe, that hardly any 
two sportsmen, however experienced they may be, hold one and the 
same opinion as regards the most serviceable guns and rifles for Indian 
shooting, and indeed in these times, with so many improvements, and 
ingenious contrivances constantly being developed and brought before 
the public by gun-makers and others, it becomes a difficult task, and 
requires much time and study to select from among so many clever 
systems and inventions, that which is reaUy the most useful and efficient 
for Indian jungles. 

I can therefore only oflfer my own ideas on the subject for the 
benefit of my brother sportsmen, and as my conclusions have not been 
hastily arrived at, but are the result of long experience, I trust that 
some few of my remarks may be of real practical use. 

In the first place, I think all will agree with me, that in these 
times three good breech-loaders, i.e. two rifles, and one gun, are suffi- 
cient for all ordinary purposes. If the sportsman intends waging war 
against rhinoceri, and the like armour-coated beasts, a heavy single 
rifle may be added to the battery with advantage. 

It is also, I consider, a matter of the greatest importance in an 
Indian battery, to have as many of your weapons as possible, of one 
and the same system of breech-loader, and of the same gauge, so that 
one description and size of cartridge may fit at least two of your guns. 

I strongly recommend No. 12 as the gauge for the pair of large 



374 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

bores, and for this reason : Eley's No. 12 cartridge cases are procurable 
almost anywhere in India ; but there is often a difdcoltj in obtaining 
cases to fit guns of 10, 14, or 16-bore. 

I would also advise that the stocks of all three weapons should be 
built exactly similar to one another in every respect, and copied if 
possible from some old favourite gun which the sportsman has been 
accustomed to use for years. The advantage of this plan is, I think, 
obvious enough : for a standing shot perhaps the length and bend of 
the stock does not so much matter, but for a quick snap shot from a 
howdah, or at game passing rapidly through cover, when there is only 
time to pitch your weapon up and fire at once, then is the time when 
a rifle or gun to which you are accustomed, naturally and instan- 
taneously covers the mark, whereas, one too long, or too short in the 
stock, or that does not fit the shoulder, probably causes you to miss. 

The following are the weapons with which I recommend the young 
sportsman bound for India to furnish himself :-r 

1. A double, central-fire, double-grip, breech-loading rifle, twelve 
bore, rifled on the late Captain Forsyth's system, to throw a spherical 
ball accurately up to 1 50 or 180 yards, and a heavy shell for short 
distances, to bum 4 to 6 drs. of coarse powder without unpleasant recoil. 
Weight, from 9^ to 11 lbs. according to the strength of the sportsman. 
Pistol grip stock, barrels rather short, extractor and locks strong and 
powerful, sights to fold down flush, no fixed upright back-sight, or if 
the sportsman cannot do without one, let it be very low and with 
the nick cut deep and broad. 

2. A double gun, of exactly similar breech-loading action and gauge 
to the rifle, rather stouter, and heavier than the ordinary type of 
smooth bore, to throw ball well at short distances, and moderately choke 
bored in the left barrel. 

3. A double, central-fire, double-grip, '450 or '500 bore express, with 
as low a trajectory as possible, and extremely accurate up to 200 yards. 
To carry solid metal cartridge cases. 

I am of opinion that these three weapons constitute a perfect 
battery for howdah-shooting, and in efliciency are fully equal to five 
double muzzle-loaders. 

The pair of twelve-bores are well adapted for shooting on foot when 
driving the jungles for big game, such as tigers, bears, samber, &c. ; 
also for machan-shooting. To prevent mixing the rifle and gun ammu- 
nition when shooting ball with the latter, I recommend the spertsman 



GUNS, ItlFLES, CAMP EQUIP AGE, ETC, 375 

to make a practice of invariably using green cartridge cases for the one 
weapon, and blue for the other. 

The expi'ess rifle will be brought into play against black buck on 
the plains of Bengal, gazelle on more broken ground, or for stalking 
cheetul in the early morning on the banks of rivers ; and it is the weapon 
of all others for shooting burhel and thar on the upper steeps of the 
Himalayas, or gooral and kakur on the lower slopes of the mountains. 

Each weapon should be fitted into a strong leather case, with the 
usual appurtenances, including spare strikers, a recapping machine, 
shell mould for heavy rifle, and a strong waterproof gun-cover, bound 
in leather, for each. 

As regards explosive shells, I have tried three descriptions : Forayth's 
Bwedge shell, the copper bottle shell, and the old hollow conical bullet 
filled with a detonating composition, and with a wax plug, and coating 
of varnish on the outside. I consider the two first inventions as de- 
cidedly the best, and both of them certainly more to be depended on 
for stopping dangerous animals, such as tigers, panthers, and bears, 
than any kind of round or conical bullet. Shells, in my opinion, are 
unsatisfactory missiles for shooting rhinoceri, and such-like animals 
with very thick hides. Often the shell bursts prematurely, and, instead 
of killing the creature, only inflicts a severe flesh wound. 

Both the swedge and copper bottle shells have each their peculiar 
advantages, but they are both so good and deadly in their effects against 
animals with thin skins, that I consider them about equal in merit. 

Let me warn the young sportsman against one thing. The deto- 
nating composition (composed of chlorate of potass and sulphate of 
antimony), used for filling rifle shells, is of such a highly dangerous 
character, that I would advise his only mixing a small quantity at a 
time ; should there be any over after filling his shells, let him throw 
it away rather than keep it for future purposes. I can remember 
two serious accidents occasioned by reckless sportsmen putting away 
detonating powder, in the first instance in a cap box, in the second in 
a stoppered bottle, and both gentlemen had their hands severely injured 
by explosions taking place on theii* opening the cap box and bottle, by 
turning round the lid of the box and the stopper of the bottle respec- 
tively. 

I am of opinion that in a country like In^ia it is a great mistake fur 
the sportsman to burden and tire himself with numberless belts and 
pouches. 



376 THE' GAME OF BENGAL, 

For rifle-shooting, one broad belt round the waist, with a hunting 
knife and pouch attached to it, the latter to contain ten or twelve 
rounds of ammunition, is quite enough to carry. I am speaking of 
shooting on foot, in the hot weather months. In the hills, a small 
telescope, or pair of field glasses, may with advantage be added, and 
such small articles as a pocket knife, pipe, tobacco, and lights, and 
two or three yards of stout string, may also be stowed away in the 
coat pockets. An attendant should caiTy spare ammunition, a small 
brandy flask, and if the sportsman is out for the day, some sort of 
cooked food or biscuits. 

I used for many years the double-edged dagger-shaped hunting 
knife, termed the * Shakespear knife * (after the well-known sportsman 
of that name), and I venture to say there could hardly be a better de- 
scription of weapon. 

It should be carried in a leather sheath on the left side, attached 
to the waist belt by a frog, and with a spring to prevent the knife 
being pulled out and lost, by a bough or twig catching the hilt' when 
passing through thick jungle. 

The ball pouch— also attached to the waist belt, and carried in front 
of the right side — should be made of some waterproof cloth, or covered 
with a piece of otter or leopard skin, capable of keeping the cartridges 
perfectly dry, even in a deluge of rain. 

I will now pass on and make a few remarks relating to the best 
kind of dress for an Indian sportsman. 

Perhaps, all things considered, a rather short, close-fitting, but 
nowhere tight, Norfolk jacket, with a band round the waist, and with 
plenty of pockets, is the best cut of coat for shooting purposes. A 
good thick, broad patch of leather on either shoulder, enables the 
sportsman to bear the weight of a heavy rifle, without tiring or bruising 
his shoulder. 

The trousers should be of the same material as the coat, and, like 
it, fitting rather close, but at the same time easily, to the figure. 

I can strongly recommend a good roll of flannel or cashmere stuff, 
called in India a ' cummerbund,' wound rather tight round the waist, 
and worn under the jacket, and over the upper edge of the trousers 
as a protection to the loins against the sun, and also as a support to 
the body. 

The material and colour of the shooting suit are also matters of 
considerable importance. 



QUNS, RIFLES, CAMP EQUIPAGE, ETO. 377 

For the plains I recommend a kind of *ChowBOotie ' or four-threaded 
cotton or linen fabric dyed a grubby green tint, as best suited for the 
jungle plains of India, and also for the lower ranges of hills^ where 
covered with forest and thicket. 

For the upper ranges, among bare crags and rocks, and where the 
cold is often excessive, a good suit of woollen stuff, of a gray or stone 
colour, will be found the best. 

I have tried many descriptions of solar hats, and helmets, and my 
experience is, that a good pith, mushroom-shaped hat is the best for 
rensting an Indian sun. One great advantage of a pith hat is, its 
extreme lightness, but unfortunately there are two or three serious 
objections to the mushroom-shaped * topee.' 

In the first place, when riding on horseback, at even a moderate pace, 
it is impossible to keep it on the head without a chin strap, and even 
then it is most awkward and inconvenient. 

Again, it is a bad hat to wear when passing through dense thicket, 
on account of its shape and size. Brambles and twigs continually 
catch the brim, and not only hinder the sportsman's advance, but make 
a rustling which is very liable to scare deer and other game. 

In spite of these drawbacks, however, on account of the excellent 
protection from the sun it affords to the head and neck, I prefer the 
mushroom hat to the best felt helmet, even when provided with a good 
puggree. 

We have* now only to speak of boots and gaiters, to conclude these 
remarks. 

For real hard wear and tear on the plains of India, or for march- 
ing up the hill valleys, I have found few superior to the ammunition 
boots as served out to our European soldiers. They are very strongly 
put together. It is a good plan to soak a new pair in oil for several 
days, before attempting to wear them. The leather is generally so 
hard that a galled heel is often the result of neglecting this precaution. 

For walking in the jungles, when on the look-out for samber, 
cheetul, and such-like vigilant creatures, to ensure success it is per- 
fectly necessary to have soft shoes unshod with iron, and which do not 
creak. Sainber leather is well adapted for making this description of 
shoe, and is also well suited for gaiters. Some prefer knickerbockers, 
which certainly are comfortable, but they are not proof against 
thorns, or ^ spear ' grass, so common in the plains of India, and which 
can only be kept out by a good stout pair of gaiters. 



378 THE GAME OF BENGAL. 

When shooting in the hot weather on the plains, I consider that a 
good single-pole tent is absolutely necessary as a protection from the 
heat of the sun. K in a country where the roads are fairly good and 
carriage easily procurable, this may be supplemented by the addition of 
a sleeping-tent or pal, and also a cooking- tent or rowtie for the servants ; 
but where locomotion is difficult, the sportsman must content himself 
with a smaller camp. It may be as well here to describe the various 
tents I have alluded to. 

A single-pole tent is generally about twelve or fourteen feet square, 
with inner and outer walls, and also a double roof about two or three 
feet apart. The inner roof sometimes has a felt cover to it, which is 
an excellent plan, and renders it almost impervious to the rays of the 
sun, even when the tent is pitched in the open. This tent has from 
six to eight entrances, which are each fitted with fine mat blinds called 
chicks, and screens (called purdahs) to keep out the dust, heat, or 
cold, as the case may be. A carpet, with a common set of strong and 
serviceable camp furniture completes the tent, which in ordinary 
weather makes a comfortable abode.* I may mention that a portion of 
the inner wall, screened ofi^, serves the purpose of a bath-room. A tent 
of this description, complete, costs, when new, from 501. to 701. and can 
be carried by two of three camels. 

There is a smaller description of tent somewhat similar to the 
above, called a hill-tent, but with only one wall. The chief advantages 
of the latter are, its lightness, and also that it can be pitched under 
trees where a single pole could not go. It is also far cheaper, costing 
from 35Z. to 401. On the other hand, it is not so capable of resisting 
either heat or rain. 

A sleeping-pal is a single stretch of canvas about four folds thick, 
open at each end, and over a ridge pole. The ends can be closed at 
pleasure. Its advantages are, the ease with which it can be carried and 
pitched, and its cheapness. It costs from 8Z. to 12{., according to its 
size, and it makes an excellent sleeping or dressing tent. 

A rowtie is a humble description of pal, but only two cloths thick ; 
it costs, perhaps, from 61. to 8{. It is indispensable to have a tent at 
all seasons of the year for your servants, or they are sure to get ill from 
exposure when most wanted. 

When travelling in the hills, where nothing can be carried but on 
men's heads or backs, and where the heat is much less, the very smallest 
quantity and description of tents can only be taken ; a small pal for the 



GUNS, BIFLES, CAMP EQUIPAGE, ETC. 379 

master and a blanket tent for the servants is generally considered ample 
for all hill purposes. The best places to procure tents are Jubbulpoor, 
Futtehghur, or Cawnpore. These tents are always provided with every 
requisite, including mallets, pegs, packing-bags, and necessary tent. 
In the hills or on rocky ground a set of iron pins, with rings through 
the heads to serve the purposes of tent-pegs, are indispensable. 

A few hints as to pitching a camp and the spot to be selected may 
here not be out of place. Always pitch your tent, if possible, under 
a tree, and within easy reach of, but not too close to, a village, 
and in such a position that it may be protected from the midday 
and afternoon sun, in the hot weather facing the breeze, and in the cold 
season in a sheltered situation. The cook-room tent should be at a 
convenient distance, and always to leeward. Pitch your tent, if you 
can manage it, right under a thick mangoe or burgot tree, cutting 
away, if necessary, some of the limbs, so as to make way for it. Avoid 
a tamarind tree, as it is popularly supposed (though I will not guarantee 
the fact) to be conducive to fever. In selecting your site for a camp, 
be most careful that there are no bees' nests in the vicinity, or you will 
speedily be ejected by these vicious insects. I have already related one 
or two anecdotes to illustrate the danger of provoking or even ap- 
proaching these creatures. Endeavour to select a spot near running 
water, or the shores of a lake, but avoid carefully low-lying ground or 
the vicinity of stagnant pools. 

Good drinking-water is a most important matter, and should be 
carefully sought after. I well remember an occasion when I and my 
followers were nearly poisoned through inattention to this point, and 
all through carelessness in drinking from a foul well. This happened 
near Lucknow in 1868. 

In India we are frequently visited by violent storms, especially 
about the middle of June, when the monsoon is at hand : it is always 
advisable to be prepared for these sudden squalls, however fine and 
settled an appearance the weather may bear ; so never neglect to have 
a trench dug round your tent, and the ropes slackened should there be 
a sign of coming rain. 

A few words as regards carriage will suffice. Always procure 
camels, if possible, to carry your tents and baggage, unless you should 
be out shooting in the monsoon. It is most dangerous to use these 
animals on wet or slippery soil, though they are invaluable over sandy 
or broken ground. 



38o 



THE GAME OF BENGAL. 



In the hills nothing can be carried except by men. 

A good camel will carry from 300 to 400 lbs., a fair-sized hackery 
or buUock-cart about 1,000 lbs., and a hill-man about 40 lbs. The hii« 
of a camel is from 6 to 8 rupees a month, and a baggage-camel can be 
purchased for about 120 rupees, or 121. 

If bullock-carts or men be used, special contracts should be entered 
into before starting. 

The average length of a march in India is frx^m eight to twelve 
miles, but when necessary twice the distance can be covered. 

In conclusion let me add that a perwannah, or permit, from the chief 
magistrate of the district through which the sportsman intends travel- 
ling, is very necessary for procuring supplies, and to ensure all your 
wants being attended to. 



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