270 Incidents of Foreign Field Sport. 



elephants had to use their whole weight to crush it 

 down and make a path for themselves. Through all 

 these obstacles we had to go to get to a place where 

 we were informed that wild cattle were abundant. We 

 had got perhaps half-way across our hateful course 

 when we saw smoke rising in the far distance, but as 

 the wind was blowing from us we did not heed it. In 

 a quarter of an hour, the fire had spread considerably 

 but still we did not think it menaced us, so went on in 

 single file, a large mucknah leading the way and stamp- 

 ing down the reeds which were of the consistency of 

 small bamboos. In another quarter of an hour there was 

 a great blaze, and the flames spread rapidly along to our 

 right. Beginning to think things did not look quite 

 so pleasant, we hurried on our animals, still not- 

 surmising that we were in danger ; but one thing we 

 owned looked threatening, and that was that the 

 wind showed indications of veering round, blowing 

 one moment from the north, then from the south, 

 and never remaining consistent for five minutes. 

 As the flame increased so did the wind, ending at last 

 in a gale. These prairie fires destroy some game, but 

 not as much as might be expected, for every animal 

 has his own run, and at the first signs of smoke they 

 clear off into forests devoid of undergrowth. But 

 to return to this occasion. The fire had heretofore been 

 receding from us, but suddenly it spread to our right 

 front, then a fresh blaze broke out to the left. The 

 greater part of a " maidan," some ten miles long by 

 almost as many in width, was now ablaze. Our 

 elephants became alarmed and would not go straight, 

 but kept turning round and hesitating, so the mahouts 

 had to use the driving-hooks freely to make them 



