3o8 BIG GAME SHOOTING 



Aboo, with the Commissioner and Sir Pertab Singh, 

 the Prime Minister of Jhodpore, the most charming of 

 companions, and one of the best sportsmen in India. 

 He told me that a few miles from where we were 

 camped there was a preserved jungle in which I was 

 at liberty to shoot. But, he said, as no cattle were 

 allowed in, it was so dense that I should probably 

 see nothing, although I might hear a good deal 

 moving about. 



He gave me a Bheel as hunter, and off we went 

 one morning before break of day. When I entered 

 the jungle it was just light enough to see. The only 

 thing to do was to follow one of the runs made by 

 bears, and trust to luck. I took my double rifle in 

 hand, and led the way. Away went a sounder of 

 pigs, grunting and rushing through the high grass. 

 But I did not war with these. Then a sambur 

 would go off with a swish. The place was fairly 

 alive with game of all sorts ; but as to shooting, it 

 was the merest chance in the world. After going 

 some distance we came to a sort of glade with grass, 

 still pretty high, but more patchy, with rocks 

 scattered about. Suddenly I caught sight of two 

 black objects bundling away in the grass about a 

 gun-shot from me. Judging them to be bears, I 

 took a snap at one as at a vanishing rabbit. Then 

 there arose an uproar as if some fiend had broken 

 loose. I reloaded and stood still, wondering what 

 would happen. I could not see, but judged from 

 the sound that my bear, no doubt very sore behind, 

 was cruising about looking for someone to pay out 



