THE SAL FOKESTS. 393 



performance. The first shot was a little high on the 

 shoulder, but would soon have killed her, and fully 

 accounted for her confusion of ideas. She had evidently 

 been lying on the watch for spotted deer coming to 

 drink. A laro;e herd of them broke out of the ejrass 

 while our interview was in progress. Coming to camp, 

 I found that F. had shot a black buck antelope on the 

 road ; while D. returned with a young Jxtrd-singhd stag 

 and a spotted deer. In the evening F. went out, and 

 killed a laro;e bear, which came down to the river to 

 drink beside him. Next day we were almost equally 

 fortunate, though no tiger was met with ; and we spent 

 a Christmas of considerable joviality in that remote 

 wilderness, the dinner consisting, as far as I recollect, of 

 a (peacock) turkey and sambar tongue, supported by 

 roast haunch of red-deer venison, as ]rneces cle resistance, 

 with cheetul cutlets and fillet of nilc-ai veal as entrees, 

 followed up by boiled quails and roasted teal, and con- 

 cluded by the orthodox plum-pudding and mince-pies 

 out of Crosse and Blackwell's tins. Sundry glasses of 

 whisky - toddy, imbibed round a rattling bonfire lit in 

 front of the tents, were fully justified by the really 

 severe cold after sunset. Stalking the hdrd-singhd, 

 however, alibrds the finest sport ; and from the less 

 exclusively nocturnal habits of the animal, as well as 

 the open character of the country, resembles deer- 

 stalking in Scotland more than any other of our field 

 sports. 



When hurrying through this country in January, 

 en route to the eastern forests, I halted for two days in 

 the upper valley of the Halon to stalk the red deer, 

 which I had never before seen. The grass was very 

 thick and long, and, being still green, was entirely 

 unburnt. At a place called Motinala, where a deep 



