BLUE-BULL SHOOTING 41 



I had worked all the neighbouring jungles and 

 plains that I knew of, and was just wondering how 

 I could manage to get four or five days' leave to 

 open a campaign against a "very large tiger" (they 

 always are " very large " till they are shot), which 

 had been reported to me at a place on the railway 

 about a hundred miles away, when a remark of our 

 quartermaster's put an idea into my head. 



" Ever been to Bir ? " he asked, and on my replying 

 in the negative he proceeded to describe it as a sort 

 of earthly paradise, and yet only five miles distant 

 from the barracks. This was good enough for me if 

 there was only something to be shot, so I sent my 

 shikari off to ascertain. In a day or two he returned 

 and reported plenty of nilghai in the Forest Iteserve, 

 near the bungalow. 



Nilghai are not considered very high-class game in 

 India as a rule, but they very frequently provide 

 uncommonly good sport in British territory. In the 

 Native States they are ridiculously tame, and, more- 

 over, the shooting them is very likely to lead to 

 serious trouble with the villagers. In case they may 

 not be familiar to some of my readers, I propose to 

 give some account of them. 



The nylghau is the largest of Asiatic antelopes, 

 being only approached in size by the rare oryx, which 

 frequents the Arabian desert. In fact it is the largest 

 of all living antelopes, except the monstrous eland of 

 Southern Africa, from which it differs greatly in the 

 fact that its horns, unlike those of the eland, are very 

 short, never exceeding nine inches. 



In general appearance they resemble the cattle of 

 the Channel Islands very much, and it is small 

 wonder that the Hindoo natives of India should be 



