SPORT IN EASTERN BENGAL 99 



for a loophole of escape. I did not want to part company 

 with the poor little beast I bestrode, even if it were certain 

 that the buffalo would follow the pony and pass me by. 

 But there was no certainty on this head. Again I looked 

 round, fifteen paces or less only separated us, and the brute 

 was rolling along over the ground in vicious silence, and 

 evidently meant business. My spine ran cold and already 

 I felt those long horns pitching me up into the air. Again 

 I glanced ahead. I strained my eyes for a haven of safety 

 and suddenly noticed that the road made a sharp right- 

 angle turn to the left about two hundred yards or so ahead. 

 I remembered the place as I had come this way that morning. 

 I also remembered to have heard it said that a buffalo in 

 pursuing along a road would usually continue his course 

 if one could get out of the straight line. I acted on the 

 thought and with some difficulty pulled the pony, now mad 

 with fright, off the road to the left. He slithered down the 

 embankment on his quarters owing to the pace we were 

 going, but luckily did not come down on his nose. Pulling 

 him together we went across the paddy fields at our best 

 pace, cutting off the angle and getting on to the road some 

 way down the bend. I glanced round. There was the old 

 buffalo charging along the road. But before he got round 

 the bend I had gained over a hundred yards on him, and 

 ran him out of sight. But it was quite near enough for me 

 and rendered me more than ever distrustful of the so- 

 called " tame " buffalo of Chittagong. 



Elephant used to roam the jungles of the Hill Tracts in 

 considerable numbers. Although protected now by Govern- 

 ment, their numbers were sadly thinned by the Keddah 

 Department, a Department which has probably done more 

 to destroy game and thin out elephants during the last 

 score of years than dozens of British sportsmen could do in 

 double the period of time. Sambhar, khakar and other small 

 deer were plentiful, though I never saw the spotted deer or 

 the hog deer. Of the carnivora tiger and leopard were 

 abundant, though the former was extremely difficult to get 

 at, owing to the extreme denseness of the jungle and the 

 hilly nature of the country. In fact in many parts of the 

 district, and more especially in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, 

 successful sport was difficult to attain owing to these 

 causes. 



The local conditions of travelling and of life generally 



