OUR HEADQUARTERS. 203 



the " barasingha " (twelve - horned), which designation, as 

 also " burrasingha " (large - horned), is given promiscuously 

 by Europeans as well as by natives to all varieties of large- 

 horned deer in India, but never by natives when they speak 

 of them among themselves, only when describing them to 

 foreigners. From this I conclude that the misnomer was 

 originally coined by those who were unacquainted with their 

 true local appellation, and thence adopted by shikarees and 

 others for the large-horned Indian deer in general, though 

 for none in particular. I have even heard the jurrow or 

 sambur, which carries only six regular points, called a bara- 

 singha. But we will now proceed to the resort of this splen- 

 did brute, where I hope we may ^become better acquainted 

 with him. 



Our headquarters were at first established near the ham- 

 let of Nouboog. It was rather early for the ground in that 

 neighbourhood, very few stags having, up to that time, found 

 their way down from their summer quarters on the higher 

 ranges for the lower woods were still full of tormenting 

 flies, and the shepherds with their flocks had not as yet left 

 the open pasturages above the forests. Other sportsmen, too, 

 were at present in possession of the best shooting localities 

 farther up the glen. The distant bellow of a stag was occa- 

 sionally heard towards evening on some neighbouring hill. 

 But on our reaching the spot where we hoped to have found 

 the animal that had spoken, his voice would tell us that he 

 had travelled far away to some other part of the dark forest. 

 On such occasions Eamzan was wont to give vent to his dis- 

 appointment by heaping abusive epithets on the innocent 

 animal and its relatives, and expectorating towards it. 



On one of the shooting-grounds farther up the " nye " 

 (glen) being vacated by its occupant, we left our depot of 

 supplies at Nouboog, and at once took his place for we 

 learnt that he had been but a short time there, and had not 

 much disturbed the deer. 



In order to avoid the trouble and delay entailed by the 



