92 DIARY OF A SPORTSMAN NATURALIST 



onwards again. On the way we passed through an area of 

 burnt forest and very parching work it had been, mouth, 

 nose and eyes becoming clogged with the fme powdery dust 

 which rose on all sides at our every stride. These forest fires, 

 or rather the work of extinguishing them, is about the most 

 onerous of the jobs the Forest Officer has to tackle in India. 

 They occur in the hot weather between early March and the 

 time when the rains break in June and early July. The 

 forest during this period becomes like a tinder — full of 

 inflammable spear grass two to three feet high, or in other 

 parts elephant or tiger grass, fifteen to twenty feet high, 

 with bamboos and other inflammable matter in abundance. 

 Owing to the carelessness of travellers lighting fires to cook 

 their food, smoking in the forest, or to wilful incendiarism by 

 cattle owners or others, great tracts of forest may be burnt 

 out at this season, backed as the fire is by the prevalent hot 

 winds. Great sheets of flame sweep onward consuming 

 everything, dry leaves, twigs, grass, and darting and curling 

 up the tree-trunks and bamboos, the latter under the heat 

 bursting with the crack of a rifle shot. It is a wonderful 

 sight, but dangerous work trying to put out a big fire, as, 

 without exercising care, one may get cut off by the flames 

 creeping round without one being able to perceive it till 

 too late. 



Shortly before reaching the burnt-out patches we were 

 suddenly startled by the sharp barks of the muntjac or 

 barking deer coming from a point about twenty yards 

 away. I crept forward and a rush sounded in the jungle, 

 and again the sharp barks recommenced, but still quite 

 close. I continued moving cautiously forward and suddenly 

 halted. Before me in a small form in the grass lay a tiny, 



light yellow-brown object, pure 

 white beneath. It was a tiny deer. 

 Its large head — in proportion to 

 the rest of the body — was borne 

 on a long slender, thin neck, the 

 elongate, slight body was covered 

 with longish, rather coarse, light reddish-yellow hair shghtly 

 spotted and with a darkish dorsal line ; the belly white and 

 legs long and very slender. It could have only been recently 

 born and made no attempt to move. Whilst I was inspect- 

 ing the little animal again came the short, sharp barks, and 

 a rusthng in the bushes now slightly to the right, but still 



