TIGERLAND 



been at our post about an hour when I heard a rustling 

 among the leaves to my left, and shortly afterwards a fine 

 " sambhur " came out about eighty yards to my left 

 front. I fired immediately, aiming behind his left shoulder. 

 He fell to the shot, which I found afterwards was a little too 

 far back, but quickly regaining his legs, dashed down the 

 hill towards the beaters. 



As there was evidently no other animal in the beat, 

 which had come close up, we followed the wounded animal 

 as quickly as we could ; but his tracks showing only 

 occasionally, we had some difficulty in finding him. But 

 we did so eventually, and owing to a somewhat curious 

 accident, for we suddenly came upon him jammed in a 

 small " nullah " and totally unable to move or extricate 

 himself, owing probably to weakness from loss of blood. 

 He was still alive, so I lost no time in putting him out of 

 pain with a bullet through the brain. 



We now moved our ground to another ridge running 

 north and south, with a valley on either side. We posted 

 ourselves as before on the ridge, sending the beaters to 

 beat up to us from the valley as before. This was a very 

 long beat, and ended in a blank ; but just as the beaters 

 had finished, Karram Sing, who was standing beside me, 

 pointed out something which he declared was a " sambhur," 

 lying under a tree on the brow of a small ridge rising from 

 the valley to the east of where w r e were posted. 



I looked in the direction he was pointing, but for some 

 time could see nothing. Presently, however, I saw some- 

 thing moving, and soon made out the whole body of a 

 " sambhur," with its head turned towards us and its ears 

 twitching backwards and forwards. Judging the distance 

 to be about 250 yards, I put up the 250 sight of my '500 

 Express, and aiming full at his chest fired, hearing dis- 

 tinctly, to my surprise and delight, the unmistakable thud 

 of the bullet as it struck. 



On receiving the shot he got up and began moving 

 slowly to the top of the ridge. I then fired the second 

 barrel, which apparently hit him too, for I could see the 

 animal stagger, but he quickly recovering himself, dis- 

 appeared over the brow, though not before I had time to 

 give him another shot. 

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