292 HUNTING FAVOURITES 



visited this paradise of the sportsman, and seldom 

 am absent from it for a short period, but that I wish 

 to return. The reader must not imagine, how- 

 ever, that in this distant land all is couleur de rose ; 

 no ! far from it ; but the sweets far outbalance the 

 bitters. Indian shikaris, I fear, will not feel dis- 

 posed to have Hindostan placed in a second position 

 to this country ; but I have no hesitation in doing 

 so, as I know both, and therefore can judge of the 

 pretensions of each. 



The African elephant, on an average, is quite 

 eighteen inches, often two feet, taller than his 

 Indian congener, and male and female alike bear 

 ivory, while, in our Eastern Empire, few males 

 possess tusks, and the cows are always without 

 them. Again, the lion is a much nobler and heavier- 

 built animal than the tiger, nor is he the skulking 

 rascal that the latter is. Hear the king of beasts 

 roar at night when he visits the vicinity of your 

 camp ; his approach may be made on silent feet, but 

 if so listen to the bass voice that proclaims his 

 presence, and you can well feel satisfied that the 

 utterer of those deep toned notes does not dread 

 any other denizen of the forest or veldt. 



Further, the giraffe and hippopotamus are only 

 found in Africa, while the varieties of antelopes 

 common to this continent are too many to be 

 enumerated, and in the majority of instances far 

 excel in stature any representatives of their species 



