84 Leaves from an Indian Jungle. 



trunks and leafless branches of forest trees, only a few of which 

 throw out a thick head of sappy young leaves at this period. 

 The general appearance of these jungles is that of English 

 woods in October thin on the steep exposed slopes of now 

 parched and beaten-down spear-grass, dense and thicketty 

 in the ravines seaming their sides. 



Along the dry boulder- strewn bed of the stream rises 

 a fringe of larger, taller trees, opening into little occasional 

 bays or natural clearings ; and the entire forest is carpeted, 

 often knee-deep, with the great dried and fallen leaves of 

 the teak and other trees. In such ground not a step 

 may be taken in silence. On the other hand, game which 

 might otherwise have escaped notice betrays itself here by 

 the loud crackling of the leaves. 



In those parts game is scarce and wary, and to anyone 

 who would condemn me as a poacher, I would recommend a 

 few days in the dense and hard-to-work jungles of which 

 I speak. If you cannot come to your game, why not let it 

 come to you, which is after all the raison d'etre of beating or 

 driving ; besides this, there is a certain great charm in a 

 night vigil, such as I hope to describe, understood that you 

 don't smoke heavily, or open sodas with a noisy gurgling 

 every half hour, and then go to sleep condemning it all as 

 a fraud. 



We had taken the precaution of " stopping " this pool 

 for the past two nights, by the simple expedient of a couple 

 of jungle men and a smouldering cowdung fire placed a 

 hundred yards or so up the glen. My Korkus reported that 

 on the second night they had spent most of their time in 

 a tree, as a tiger had shown extreme impatience at being 

 baulked of his water, and had prowled round and round 

 within a short distance of the pool, giving vent to his dis- 

 appointment in low growls. 



