Netting Game in Assam. 301 



forward. Down went the nets ; more than a dozen 

 animals, and amongst them a bear, were entangled. 

 These dispatched, the nets were hastily re-erected, 

 when a commotion of no common order proved that 

 there were some animals which had not yet put in 

 an appearance. A tigress at one point, and a three- 

 parts-grown cub at another, now made a rush ; the 

 latter was easily killed by two men, but the former 

 had only two lads opposed to her ; still they did their 

 devoirs right well, and gave the foe "many a stab, but 

 had not strength enough to drive the blades home. 

 I hurried up, armed with a breechloader. Of course 

 I thought a rifle more effective than any spear, but 

 the lads wanted no assistance. The tigress tore, bit, 

 and struggled until she had got her head and one 

 forearm through the netting, when I thought it quite 

 time to interfere, and going up to her I put a ball 

 through her head. While this was going on at one 

 point, many buffaloes had stampeded over the first 

 line and were entangled in the second, which they 

 carried a considerable way with them in their impetus. 

 Finding I was no longer required at the inner circle, 

 I hastened to the outer, where I found at least fifty 

 natives stabbing bulls and full-grown cows, whilst 

 others were passing nooses over the legs of the calves 

 and heifers. One bull was very powerful, the meshes 

 of the net burst before him ; a native approached the 

 brute incautiously, and in consequence got tossed ; 

 only the forehead had struck him, but he was pitched 

 a good twenty yards, and in alighting he fell against 

 the stump of a tree which fractured his thigh. With 

 two balls I killed the enraged beast. Had he got 

 loose I have no doubt he would have killed 



