A BONNIE BAG. 39 



friend, the Gond, caught me by the arm, whispering, 

 ' Bun-Bhinsa, sahib !' (Anglice, f Bison, sir.') 

 In a moment, I was all attention, and, looking 

 in the direction in which he was pointing, I saw 

 a sight that made my heart beat and my pulse 

 quicken ; for at last my dream of seeing, and, I 

 hoped, slaying, the mighty wild bull of the forest 

 seemed about to be realized. I have taken many 

 a head of game since then, but never have I felt 

 the indescribable, almost breathless excitement 

 and keen tension of the nerves that I did at that 

 moment; for the sight that met my eager gaze 

 was one worthy of being pourtrayed by the pencil 

 of a Landseer, viz., a magnificent bull bison, 

 standing half-hidden amid some low and thin 

 bamboos, that ineffectually screened his massive 

 proportions, and rubbing his horns against a tree ! 

 He was not eighty yards from me, and seemed 

 quite unconscions of my presence. Taking a 

 careful aim at his shoulder, I fired, and the 

 answering ' thud ' of the bullet told me plainly 

 that I had scored a hit. With an indignant 

 snort, he wheeled round, and, as he crashed into 

 the jungle, I let him have the second barrel, I 

 am afraid anywhere ! I could hear him pounding 

 away, and the sounds of his progress became 

 fainter and fainter, till suddenly they ceased 

 entirely. I and the Gond gazed blankly at each 



