Rhinoceros Shooting. 83 



obtainable, but the poor Cacharies, often living twenty 

 miles off, would be impressed by force and brought 

 in. They pestered me so by following me about, that 

 on one occasion, when I had wounded a tiger, they, 

 thinking it was a rhinoceros, rushed in, only to be 

 met with the signal of danger, whoof ! whoof ! I don't 

 think I should have been sorry had one or two of 

 them met with a warm reception. I stood by, ready 

 for any emergency, but did not tell the people what 

 the wounded beast was until he charged upon them 

 when I killed him with a shot in the chest. I told 

 them the next time they ran in, if it was a tiger, I 

 would not interfere, and if a few of them were killed 

 and probably eaten, the others would perhaps keep 

 further off and not interfere with my sport ! 

 The Cacharies are far pluckier than the Assamese, 

 and there was a grand old man at Burpettah who 

 was credited with having killed over one hundred 

 tigers during the annual inundations. A sacred 

 temple exists, Hazoo by name, some twenty miles 

 to the south of Gowhaty, on the opposite bank 

 of the river, where Hindoos, Bhuddist and even 

 Mussulmans congregate, the attraction being not 

 the sanctity of the shrine, but the hordes of loose 

 women who live there in villages by themselves not 

 a man being allowed to associate with them in their 

 homes. They are the finest women in the Province, 

 wear a distinct dress, very like that worn by the 

 better class of females in Southern India. They 

 are tall, well proportioned and are common to any 

 native who chooses to pay them for their favours, 

 but one has never been known to extend her com- 

 plaisance to any European, official, or otherwise 



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