A yungle Trip. 249 



now to be seen. The deer were scared and in small 

 herds, not exceeding seven or ten, proving how they 

 had been thinned out by shooting. In fact, Minneria 

 had become within the last four years a focus for most 

 sportsmen, and the consequence was that the country 

 was spoiled ; not by the individual shooting of visitors, 

 but by the stupid practice of giving the natives large 

 quantities of powder and ball as a present at the con- 

 clusion of a trip. They, of course, being thus supplied 

 with ammunition, shot the deer and buffaloes without 

 intermission, and drive them from the country by inces- 

 sant harassing. 



I saw immediately that we could not expect much 

 sport in this disturbed part of the country, and we de- 

 termined 'to waste no more time in this sport than 

 would be necessary in procuring the elephant-trackers 

 from Doolana. We planned our campaign that evening 

 at dinner. 



Nov. 18. — At daybreak I started Wallace off to Doo- 

 lana to bring my old acquaintance the Rhatamahatmeva 

 and the Moormen trackers. I felt confident that I could 

 prevail upon him to accompany us to the limits of his 

 district; this was all-important to our chance of sport, 

 as without him we could procure no assistance from 

 the natives. 



After breakfast we mounted our horses and rode to 

 Cowdelle, eight miles, as I expected to find elephants 

 in this open but secluded part of the country. There 

 were very fresh tracks of a herd, and as we expected 

 Wortley and Palliser on the following day, we would 

 not disturb the country, but returned to Minneria and 

 passed the afternoon in shooting snipe and crocodiles. 

 The latter were in incredible numbers, as the whole 



