158 INDIAN BIG GAME chap. 



had exercise oneself, but with one's servants 

 fresh. 



I used to make a state entry on the elephant 

 at the end of a march, and the simple jungle 

 people would make profound obeisance to the big 

 beast, as to one connected with their worship. 



The officials and people all through this trip 

 were delightful : simple, unspoiled, and willing. 



We saw chital daily on the road, but the only 

 shikar I had was in sitting up for wild dog. We 

 came on a freshly killed four-horned antelope, and 

 saw three dogs sneak away before we got there. 

 I had only my gun with round bullets with me. 

 I climbed into a tree about twenty-five yards 

 from the kill. The wild dogs came back after an 

 hour and I took a careful pot-shot, and missed. 

 The dogs ran off a short distance. I shinned 

 down the tree, had another careful shot, and 

 again missed. Then the dogs cleared out. I was 

 much vexed, for I had never shot one, and I 

 wanted also to get rid of these pests. Assuredly 

 my 12 -bore, which is old and worn, cannot fire 

 round bullets with any attempt at accuracy. 



During the last two marches the great tracks 

 of buffalo were apparent along the road in 

 increasing numbers : and when I pitched camp 

 on the last day of the march I realized that we 

 were in the haunt of these fine beasts. There were 

 many of them in that country, frequenting by 

 night, for the most part, the rice-fields and clear- 

 ings of existing and deserted villages, and moving 

 at dawn into the adjacent jungles. The country 

 was plain jungle, with outcrops in all directions 

 of rocky hills a few hundreds of feet high. The 



