THE TEAK REGION. 23.'5 



He was going full speed, and was miicli screeued 

 by the long grass and dry bamboos, which he scattered 

 on every side in his passage, so that I had not much 

 confidence in the broadside shot wherewith I OTeeted 

 him proving successful. Something told me I had 

 hit him, however — a sportsman who has shot much 

 is seldom mistaken in his inward heart as to the truth 

 of his aim — and although he crashed away apparently 

 untouched I ran eagerly to the place where he had 

 passed to look for blood. Before I arrived I heard 

 the rinof of a rifle in R.'s direction, and then a lonof' 



CD -' O 



holloa which told me that the staof was down. Thouojh 

 greatly disappointed at losing the magnificent head 

 which I saw he carried, I went on to the trail, and 

 there I found great gouts of the red and frothy blood 

 that tells of a shot through the lungs. Some of the 

 Gonds now came up, and I left them to run the trail 

 down hill, while I hastened down to where the stag 

 had fallen. He lay on his side, close to R.'s post, 

 which he had been passing full speed when he fired and 

 toppled him over. The shot hole was, however, in his 

 haunch, and that wound I knew would never stop a stag 

 like this. So we turned him over and found my bullet 

 hole on the other side, just a little too high for the 

 heart. It was a true enough shot after all, and I was 

 very glad when I measured by spans his splendid horns, 

 though sorry for the disappointment of a brother 

 sportsman. 



Though not a very large stag, he was very old and 

 rather mangy, and had a perfect head with the usual 

 three points on each horn, and measuring from base to 

 tip forty-one inches, round the base ten inches, and 

 eight and a half at the thinnest part of the beam. I 



