■2bo Tlir: HIGHLANDS OF CENTRAL INDIA. 



was re^Yarded soon after by the appearance of the stai,% 

 walking slowly along in the same line, and showing by 

 his dignified gait that he had no suspicion of danger. 

 He was passing about a hundred yards below me when 

 I pulled on his shoulder with the little single " Ex- 

 press " rifle, and he fell to the shot without a sound. 

 The Bheels came running up at once, and as I had not 

 gone down to the stag proceeded to cut his throat in 

 the orthodox Mahomedan fashion, though I am certain 

 he was stone dead long before they arrived. He was 

 one of the finest harts I ever saw — in beautiful con- 

 dition, with much of the cold-weather mane remaining, 

 and of a peculiar and rare rich chestnut colour. His 

 horns were very stout and handsome, though about four 

 inches shorter than those of the Bori stasr- The colour 

 of the sambar of these open light jungles is generally 

 decidedly lighter than that of those which inhabit the 

 more shady forests further east. Sometimes a very 

 black stag will be found, however, even here ; and the 

 colour of all varies a good deal at different times of 

 tlie year. 



The next day we again went out locg before day- 

 break. I was beckoned up a very steep hill 1jy the 

 Bheels on the top ; and when I got there some time 

 after the sun was up, and a good deal fatigued by 

 the climb, I found it was only to tell me that they 

 had seen two stags go up the opposite hill slope, 

 betw^een which and our hill there lay a valley as deep 

 as that from which I had come up. They had never 

 been at tliis scouting work before, or they had well 

 deserved a thrashing for their pains. There was nothing 

 for it but to descend to the valley again, which was 

 almost severer work than coming up. The slipperiness 



