62 SHIKAR SKETCHES. 



of some ten miles back to camp, where I arrived, 

 long after dusk, tired out, disgusted and miserable. 



Many years previous to my adventure, ele- 

 phants used to be caught in these jungles by 

 means of driving a herd towards a line of pits, 

 when some were nearly sure to fall victims ; the 

 ground was then dug away all round, and tame 

 elephants employed to extricate and subdue the 

 captured ones. There were several other pits on 

 a line with the one that had nearly done me such 

 good service, but time and decay had caused the 

 coverings by which the others had been concealed 

 to fall in, and so they were plainly visible, whilst 

 this one above had remained tolerably intact. 



Poor Ramiah was nearly as crestfallen as myself, 

 but, with true Indian philosophy, bore the disap- 

 pointment better than I did, merely remarking, 

 'Kismet hi, sahib' ('It is fate, sir'). I think, 

 though, in his heart of hearts, he was glad we 

 did not again come up with the tusker. 



And so ended my first trip to the lovely Doon 

 Valley, and, though I was certainly disappointed 

 at not getting any of the nobler species of big 

 game, still I had very much enjoyed myself, far 

 more than if I had spent my leave at Mussorie. 



This elephant was shot a few months later some 

 fifty or sixty miles from where I came across him, 

 and the fortunate sportsman obtained the five 



