292 BIG GAME SHOOTING 



India is called, and on reaching the dak bungalow at 

 Mundla I found all there, so started off the next day 

 for my first camp, about twenty miles from Mandla. 

 Although there were plenty of sambur and swamp- 

 deer, I found no sign of bison. I remained a few 

 days, having good sport, getting some very good 

 specimens of the former, and then moved on to where 

 my " baiga " hunter told me I was sure to find gaur. 

 I pitched camp in a pretty basin surrounded with 

 flat-topped hills, covered with dense jungle on the 

 slopes, but with open grass-covered tops interspersed 

 with clumps of bushes ideal stalking ground, if I 

 could only find my bison there. I was up early the 

 first day, and struck a game path through the jungle 

 leading up to one of these tablelands. I found 

 fresh droppings and tracks of a herd as I went, so I 

 was in great hopes that I had now got what I wanted. 

 I had not proceeded far after reaching the level 

 when I heard a low sound. My shikari touched me, 

 " Gaur hi, Sahib " (there they are), he said. I pro- 

 ceeded silently in the direction of the sound, crouch- 

 ing low amongst the bushes. The wind was right 

 in my teeth ; nothing could be better. The jungle 

 got sparser as I went. Presently I smelt a smell 

 exactly like the smell of a cow-stable at home, and 

 shortly, on opening a small glade, there was the herd, 

 ten or a dozen, moving quietly across just like a 

 herd of tame cattle. They moved across the glade 

 out of sight into the bush beyond, and I then fol- 

 lowed as quickly as I could. Presently, as if by 

 magic, up popped a head and pair of horns about 30 



