A CRUEL LESSON. 55 



secutors. It was a cruel lesson to me, and never to be for- 

 gotten, and one from which much might be learnt in the 

 cause of humanity. By this I do not mean that even here, 

 where the predatory animals keep them down quite fast 

 enough, hinds should never be shot and good yeld hinds 

 killed in proper season are not the worst of venison, but I 

 allude to the wanton, indiscriminate destruction of game at 

 all seasons an unsportsmanlike practice which, I regret to 

 say, is by no means uncommon in a country where there are 

 no strict laws in force to prevent it, and one which has ruined 

 sport in many easily accessible and much-frequented places, 

 where game was formerly abundant. With the smaller ani- 

 mals, such as gooral and kakur, it is not always easy to dis- 

 cern the gender to which they belong ; but with jurrow and 

 suchlike large game this can seldom be mistaken. 



After the deer had been put out of its misery, I left the 

 men to bring it down, and straightway returned to camp in a 

 mood that was more thoughtful than elated, although I must 

 confess to a pardonable amount of satisfaction at having 

 found the wounded hind. There was a good deal of wrang- 

 ling about the distribution of the spoil. But all was amicably 

 arranged by my two Goorkhas, who divided it with their 

 kookeries into small equal portions, and distributed it fairly 

 as far as it would go. 



Before returning to Shore I had another successful day at 

 gooral, killing one of two animals I shot at right and left. 



Gooral-stalking in the precipitous and broken ground on the 

 middle ranges is, perhaps, the pleasantest, though not the 

 grandest kind of mountain sport. The amount of stiff climb- 

 ing it entails is quite enough to give it zest without making 

 it excessively laborious. The sportsman can generally return 

 to his tent to rest during the heat of the day, whilst the gooral 

 are doing likewise, hidden away among the shady recesses of 

 the rocks, and he can always get back at night to a comfort- 

 able bed. Moreover, in a good locality, one seldom has to 



