:270 SHIKAR SKETCHES. 



casion, after pulling down the deer, two if not 

 three of the pack paid forfeit with their lives 

 from the rifle of the looker-on.' 



The hyaena is, I think, one of the most repulsive- 

 looking animals in creation, with his great gaunt 

 head, powerful jaws, high withers, and narrow 

 quarters ; and were it not for the evil reputation 

 he has of occasionally carrying off children, and 

 sometimes affording a good run with horse and 

 spear, would, I think, generally remain unnoticed 

 by Indian sportsmen. He stands about twenty- 

 eight to thirty inches high. The hair, which is 

 long and coarse, is of a dirty light-brown with 

 black stripes. He is a cowardly brute, and hardly 

 ever shows fight. I seldom troubled myself about 

 them, and, though I have had two or three gallops 

 after them, I never got the first spear, though on 

 one occasion my horse pursued the brute, as will 

 be related later on. They sometimes give good 

 runs, not from possessing any great powers of 

 speed or endurance, but because they have a 

 marvellous power of turning and twisting just 

 as the horseman imagines he is going to spear. 



On one occasion I remember, near Kamptee, a 

 hya3na giving us a run of over two miles after 

 being speared (which he was within a field or two 

 of the start) over very bad ground, and under a 

 burning sun before he was despatched. 



