58 DIARY OF A SPORTSMAN NATURALIST 



Since I could not emulate my companion in his noiseless 

 progression which, in his eagerness, would quickly have 

 left me far behind, I placed him behind and we advanced 

 in this manner for well over an hour and a half. In the 

 period we covered a bare three miles, the tracks leading us 

 dead away from the direction I wished to go in. But 

 this appears to be almost invariably the case in bison 

 tracking, and you must be prepared to follow where the 

 trail leads. Latterly we had been silently walking through 

 a piece of high sal forest, following a narrow path which 

 was more or less clear of dead leaves swept clear probably 

 by the fierce, hot wind which blows during the day at this 

 season. Gradually the ground began to rise and the forest 

 to open and thin out in front. Evidence had shown that 

 the trail was becoming hotter and hotter, and I was 

 breathless with excitement and anxiety, expecting 

 momentarily to run into the herd or to hear the well- 

 known short, sharp, snorting bellow which is the signal 

 for a stampede. 



As soon as we noted the forest thinning again with the 

 rise of the ground, it became evident that the herd must 

 be close. I could not trust my companion sufficiently to 

 send him on to make observations ; nor, at this stage, 

 would I give up the honour I wished to have myself of 

 running down the bison and telling the head shikari about 

 it afterwards. Slower and slower still we advanced. 

 Suddenly I felt a touch on my arm and a hand came 

 stealthily forward, pointing to my right front. I turned 

 my head slightly and at once made out the head and 

 shoulders of a bison. The rest of the body was hidden 

 behind the stems of two sal trees. We stood motionless, 

 not daring to move even an eyelash, as for all we knew 

 there might be bison on our left flank. Gradually I made 

 out three other bison immediately in front of us. They 

 were in the thinner part of the forest and the light fell in 

 large chequered patches on their backs. Look as I might 

 I could see no more. There was nothing for it but to wait 

 till they moved away. The animals were all browsing, 

 and in about a quarter of an hour or so they gradually fed 

 forward and disappeared. We waited another ten minutes 

 and I then motioned to my companion that I would go 

 forward and that he was to follow at some distance behind. 

 He nodded, and may or may not have understood. So far 



