XIV BUFFALO AND SOME REGRETS 159 



jungles consisted of fair -sized trees with much 

 grass at foot, generally breast-high and often over 

 a man's head. 



There was a full moon, and we used to go out 

 as day broke ; and, if lucky, we made out grey 

 masses looking very solid in the uncertain light of 

 the moon and early dawn. Then we would follow 

 and stalk them until either we decided there was no 

 head big enough, or until the buffalo, after several 

 alarms, started away in earnest. The grass was 

 so long that the trackers said further pursuit was 

 useless. For the first few days I listened to 

 them. After that we took up the tracks and 

 never left them all day, in the ordinary bison- 

 tracking manner. 



At first, when we did not see the buffalo in 

 the rice-fields, we generally came on them in the 

 lighter surrounding jungle. 



I spent seven days after buffalo, either morning 

 and evening, or all day, seeing them singly or in 

 larger numbers. 



One evening we spotted a herd grazing in 

 overgrown deserted rice on the edge of scrub 

 about four miles from camp. We stalked 

 round, but on getting within shot found the 

 grass so high that I had to climb a tree in order 

 to see. 



There was no bull with a really good head, 

 although there was a cow with thin, but wonder- 

 ful, horns that I estimated at 12 feet from tip to 

 tip, round curves and across forehead. I had 

 the pleasure of watching this herd of eleven 

 animals for nearly an hour from close range. 

 Returning home, we came on absolutely fresh 



