262 THE HIGHLANDS OF CENTRAL INDIA. 



apparently halted for the day in a shady place. Two of 

 them appeared to have first-rate antlers, and we stalked 

 round a long way to get in on them from above, and 

 without giving them our wind. We blundered it, 

 however, coming down at the wrong point, and the 

 herd broke a long way to our left hand. T. fired into 

 their backs as they struggled up the opposite slope in a 

 confused gang, but without apparent effect ; and the 

 last of them was disappearing over the brow when I took 

 a long shot at him with my single "Express." It was 

 two hundred and fifty yards at the least, but I had 

 often before killed as far with this rifle, and down he 

 dropped. Crossing over, we found the stag lying dead ; 

 but, though it was one of the two we had marked, his 

 antlers were very inferior. Nothing is more deceptive 

 than the apparent size of sambar's horns while stalking ; 

 as they have all the same number of points, the guide 

 to size and quality afforded by the branches of the red 

 deer is here wanting. On examination we found this 

 to be still another instance of the curious occurrences 

 before mentioned ; for it was T.'s ball after all that had 

 killed him, while mine had missed ! 



After this we made a long round through the hills 

 looking for bison, but without success ; and were de- 

 scending towards the camp by a long narrow spur of 

 bare basalt, when we saw the Skunk near the top of 

 an isolated eminence rising out of the valley violently 

 signalling to us ; and soon after we were scanning the 

 proportions of a fine bull bison lying down on the 

 further side under the shade of a small tree. It was a 

 very easy stalk, and we crept in to about seventy yards 

 in the grass. T. fired both barrels at him as he lay, 

 which is always a mistake, the vital regions being then 



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