BISON JUNGLES 



WE were stationed in Dharwar, and as there 

 were said to be some good bison in the 

 Kanara jungles, which were handy to get to 

 from there, I took my tent and went out for a week. 

 To help me, I was allowed to have a fireman belonging 

 to the railway. He was called Jungli Billi (wild 

 cat) on account of his wonderfully stealthy and 

 noiseless movements and his knowledge of the jungle 

 and all that was in it. He never seemed to tread on 

 a stick or crush a leaf under his foot, and when he 

 was walking behind me I often looked round to see 

 if he was really there. 



I was using steel-tipped bullets in the Express 

 rifle, and, before I started, a friend told me that 

 bison were dangerous things and that my rifle 

 was not heavy enough for them, and that he 

 would lend me his own i2-bore rifle. He added 

 that I might have a little difficulty with the hammer 

 of the right barrel, as it was broken, and to cock it 

 one had to tie a bit of string round it and pull it up ; 

 also the left barrel often jammed after one had fired ! 

 Needless to say, I never ventured on anything so 

 dangerous as letting it off, though I made a point 

 of taking it with me, for fear of seeming too ungrateful. 



70 



