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to it in a most playful manner, followed in the same way by the 

 younger stag. The senior followed slowly and with great gravity 

 first " dunted" (I know no word so expressive as that old Scotch 

 one for the performance) the hind very ungallantly out of his way, 

 and then turned his horns upon his junior who " stood up" to him 

 for some time most bravely, but of course without success, 

 although the joust lasted long enough to be a most interesting one 

 and the entire picture of deer, rocky back ground, mountain scenery 

 and mountain mist was one most worthy of Landseers's pencil. 



The result of the stalk which followed was, that I got up to 

 within a long shot of the herd, by that time joined by another hind, 

 and broke the shoulder of the larger stag, who however managed to 

 stumble down into a large " Sholah," as the hanging woods of these 

 hills are termed by sportsmen, in which as dusk came on and being 

 lost at night among the Koonda mountains, or any part of the Neil- 

 gherry hills, is no light matter, I had to leave him and out of which 

 I fear I shall never get him.* A curious instance of what may 

 have been conjugal affection, or perhaps the "feminine curiosity" 

 mentioned by my friend HAWKEYE, happened just after my shot. 

 Being beaten by the tremendous hill, and out of wind after a 

 residence on the plains my hand shook, so that I missed with my- 

 first barrel and thus sent the herd galloping wildly along the hill 

 side : the second shot however brought the big stag down on his 

 head and knees : when he picked himself up finding that, in his 

 crippled state, he could not get up-hill, the poor animal turned and 

 staggered down to the wood beneath him ; one of the hinds seeing 

 her lord thus pull up, stopped herself and watched him ; what were 

 her reasons for this, I cannot imagine. 



" Verily," as the " Old Forest Ranger" says, " there is no more 

 gallant beast than a Neilgherry stag," and of all the boons that 

 men should be ever thankful for, there are none greater than good 

 health and good eyesight, so bountifully granted to many and so 

 little thought of with gratitude to the bestower. I cannot think of 

 any pleasure to exceed that of stalking for samber or ibex among 

 the Koondah mountains : the climate and the scenery repay the 



* I never saw him again ; he got during the night into a still deeper and larger 

 wood in which he probably fell a prey to a tiger. I saw and wounded a tiger 

 ?iear the spot next day. VAGRANT. 



