132 SHOOT FOUR BUFFALOES. 



Early in the morning we started, with three elephants following, to 

 examine the rice-fields along the nullah. We found the track of two 

 buffaloes quite close to the elephants' pickets, and after carrying them for 

 two miles through undulating, grass-covered hills, and swampy bottoms, I 

 saw a buffalo standing broadside on in a pool amongst long grass at the 

 foot of a slope we were descending. I was riding a very fine elephant, 

 Tara Ranee — Queen of the Stars — at the time. The buffalo had not seen 

 us, so, telling the mahout to keep the elephant steady, I sent a ball through 

 its shoulders from the 8 -bore, which dropped it on the spot. Immediately 

 there was a great rushing about in the grass, and the herd — of which the 

 two we had followed were members — consisting of about a dozen individuals, 

 came trotting towards us, all covered with wet mud that glistened in the early 

 sun, with their noses poked stupidly in front of them, not seeing where the 

 shot came from, and undecided whither to flee. They nearly ran over the 

 trackers who had not seen the buffalo when I did for the long grass, and 

 who had gone several yards in front of my elephant before I fired. On 

 seeing the elephants the buffaloes broke into a wild gallop, passing us to 

 right and left, and within a few yards' distance. I bowled over one with 

 my second barrel before they got level with us, and seizing my double 

 4-bore, I killed a third, and wounded a fourth behind us. I knew this one 

 could not go far ; and when we had examined the fallen ones, the trackers 

 and I followed and came upon it, a large cow, lying dead. It was unfortu- 

 nate that only one of these — the first one fired at — was a bull, and he was 

 but an insignificant one ; but the last-recovered cow had a splendid pair of 

 horns, which, though less massive, are longer, and have a finer sweep and 

 greater symmetry, than any bull's I have seen. They measure 9 feet 1 inch 

 from tip to tip, outside curve, and across forehead. 



The day was getting hot by this time and I returned to camp. On 

 hearing of our success a number of men immediately started to cut up two 

 of the buffaloes which had had their throats cut before they were dead, with- 

 out which Mussulmans will not eat any animal's flesh. On their return, 

 with elephants carrying the meat of the two huge creatures, the camp was 

 shortly festooned with meat cut into long thin strips for drying in the 

 sun. The surplus was to be taken to Dacca for the men's wives and little 

 ones. I told off two men to preserve a quantity of meat for the mahouts 

 who had been left at Dacca, and though it would only give them a taste 

 each, Indian sporting dependants all like to have a share in the products of 

 their master's hunt. 



I spent two or three days in this neighbourhood, not so much for shooting 

 as to see the country. I took the whole of the elephants out fur a few hours 



