Rhinoceros Shooting. 81 



had I spoken, than the apparently defunct animal 

 jumped on to his legs and came at me open- 

 mouthed. Fortunately the mucknah swerved 

 and thus escaped being cut. The next instant the 

 rhinoceros was knocked over. On the 27th we killed 

 another. They are far easier to slay than buffaloes, 

 but the elephants fear them more, and are far less 

 steady than when after other game. This was a 

 most successful trip. We killed thirteen rhinoceros, 

 a tiger, a lot of buffalo, a bear, and many deer, 

 besides wounding a gaur and over a dozen more 

 rhinoceros, and other game of all sorts. I caught a 

 young rhino, after slaying its mother, and it required 

 fourteen villagers to bring it into camp. When I saw 

 it the next morning it was mad with rage ; so was 

 securely tethered, yet the little vixen tried to get at 

 everybody who went near. In the course of a few 

 days it quieted down, ate plantains out of the hand 

 of its attendant, and in a week followed the man 

 about. 



THE ASSAMESE. 



Before concluding this chapter I may as well say a 

 few words on the inhabitants of this vast province, 

 which has been in our possession since 1826, but 

 which, a few years ago, was the most backward and 

 least cared-for of our satrapsies in the East. 



The inhabitants consist of Hindoos, mongrel 

 Bengalis, and Cacharies, who, I fancy, are de- 

 scendants of the former conquerors and occupiers 

 of the country, viz., the Burmese. The latter are a 

 jolly drunken set, somewhat like the Burmese in 





