TIGERLAND 



4 What is it ? " I asked, too sleepy to care, yet hoping it 

 might be the fresh track of a leopard. " Bison, sahib," 

 he replied, using the local name, which for the moment 

 has escaped me. I looked, and there, impressed deeply 

 in some mud, were what appeared to me the hoof marks 

 of a bullock. 



Now I had been told that bison sometimes visited the 

 neighbourhood, but having heard of none since my arrival, 

 had come to regard the information as one of the legendary 

 traditions of the place. However, as the evidence before 

 me seemed conclusive, and the " shikari " declared the 

 tracks to be quite fresh, my interest was aroused, and 

 every other beast I had seen or heard of now sank into 

 insignificance. 



On my arrival at the bungalow, I was met by my 

 " factotum," in other words, my " boy," who, despite his 

 sixty years, still retained this youthful title, and who 

 amongst his many self-claimed virtues possessed some 

 sporting instincts. 



This, I may mention, was the only bond between us, 

 for in other respects we held some differences of opinion, 

 more especially in the matter of my whisky and cheroots, 

 regarding which his views were decidedly socialistic. 

 At some period of his existence he had possibly owned a 

 name and probably a caste, but both had long since been 

 abandoned, and now, as he informed me, " he was same 

 like caste as master," meaning to imply thereby that he, 

 too, was a Christian. 



But to come back to my story. As I entered the bunga- 

 low I could see from the old " boy's " face that he had 

 something important to impart, and on coming in later 

 with my tea, he told me he had just seen some bison on a 

 certain hill a little distance off. 



" But how do you know they were bison ? " I inquired, 

 wondering how he could have seen them since the hill 

 itself was not visible from the bungalow. 



" I see them myself, four cows and one bull-cow," he 

 replied promptly, never at a loss for details if he thought 

 they would be welcome, an accomplishment common to 

 most natives. 



In this particular instance, however, the information 

 160 



