TIGERLAND 



were military men colonels, majors, and captains, as 

 the case might be, and such titles being more familiar to 

 natives than the new, strange- sounding one of superin- 

 tendent, the chief police officer of each district came to 

 be designated the " Culnail," " Majur " or " Cuptane " sahib 

 according to the rank held by its first superintendent. 



As time went on, and these officers were transferred 

 from one district to another, this peculiarity led to some 

 comical complications as for instance in the case of a 

 colonel who happening to be sent to a district where the 

 force had been raised by a captain, would find himself 

 reduced to that rank, for strive as he might against it, 

 to his subordinates and the people he was always the 

 Cuptane sahib, and would remain so to the end. My own 

 case was even more peculiar, for in my last district, as 

 second in command I had been called the " chota " or 

 little " Majur sahib," but now, although a much more 

 important personage, was only a captain. However, I 

 consoled myself with the reflection that to be a full-grown 

 minnow was perhaps a more dignified position than being 

 only half a triton. 



But to come back to my adventures. My new district 

 was a small one that is as regards population, for quite 

 one-third of it being forest the number of inhabitants was 

 considerably below the average, and, consequently also, 

 the staff of officials the district magistrate, the civil 

 surgeon, a forest officer and myself making up the sum 

 total. The work as is generally the case in such districts 

 was extremely light, the result being that the officials 

 having plenty of leisure, had almost of necessity game 

 being so plentiful developed into keen sportsmen, and 

 throughout the camping season generally contrived to 

 camp together for a week or two at a time. The recol- 

 lection of these periodical foregatherings are amongst the 

 pleasantest of the many pleasant incidents in my Indian 

 life which I can still recall, though it was at one of these 

 reunions about three months after I had joined that 

 we experienced an adventure which was perhaps too 

 perilously exciting to be quite enjoyable at the time. I 

 had been about twelve months in the district when one 

 morning I received a report from the head constable 

 36 



