CHAPTER XII 



The Indian wild buffalo Its size, appearance and "habitat Dangers in 

 tracking them up An encounter with a solitary bull A shot with a 

 10-bore rifle Hit but not disabled At bay Effects of a second shot 

 Threatening to charge A timely shot Floored A herd encoun- 

 tered Selecting the bull Badly hit, but makes off Found lying up 

 Dead or alive ? The question unexpectedly solved The advantage 

 of being prepared A shot in the chest The last gallop Buffalo 

 shooting a dangerous pastime Poor trophies as a rule The Indian 

 bear A terror to the native Attack without provocation Many 

 victims Bears uncertain in temper Effects of feeding on intoxicating 

 berries Dangerous to tackle Very tenacious of life Size and general 

 appearance Where found The best plan for bear shooting They 

 afford good sport Two narrow escapes An exciting adventure No 

 room for two to pass A lucky shot The non-dangerous big game of 

 India First in size and importance The sambar Some description 

 of this animal A good head A fine trophy The bara-sing or swamp 

 deer Its resemblance to the red deer The chetul or spotted deer 

 The handsomest of the deer tribe The barking deer The mouse 

 and hog deer described. 



THE Indian wild buffalo * is found in the swampy Terai, 

 in the plains of Lower Bengal, in Assam, Burmah, and 

 Central India. 



A bull buffalo often stands nineteen hands at the 

 shoulder and measures as much as fifteen feet from nose to 

 root of tail. His head is long and narrow, almost free from 

 hair and of a dark, black, slaty colour ; the tail is short, 

 and does not extend below the hocks. The horns are 

 enormous, and have been known to exceed twelve feet 

 measured round the curve from tip to tip. The females 

 produce one, sometimes two, young, always in the summer 

 season after a period of gestation of ten months. 



Buffalo delight in swamps, where they can obtain rich 

 pasturage, and also wallow in the mud during the heat 

 of the day. Unlike the bison, they never ascend to 

 heights. 



* Bdbalus Ami. 



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