THE MAIIADEO HILLS. 12? 



to him, and we found him lying with one fox before him 

 pinned up in the end of a blind hole, which he had already 

 half killed, and another blocking the way out behind him. 

 Poor gallant little Pincher I He died of a sunstroke some 

 three months later, from being dragged through a long 

 eighteen-mile march in the hot sun by a brutal dog-boy, 

 without getting a single drop of water. I had two brace of 

 capital greyhounds at that time ; one couple crossed between 

 the English and Kampur breeds, and the other bred from a 

 Scotch deerhound out of a Bunjiira bitch. The Indian fox is 

 not above half the size of English Reynard, but he has an 

 astonishing turn of speed, and doubles with wonderful agility. 

 These dogs had, however, the speed of them, and the run was 

 generally much in a circle ; so that though the ground was 

 well suited for riding, I generally went on foot, along with 

 some of the workpeople who greatly enjoyed the sport, and 

 some of whom (Bharyas) eat the foxes afterwards. It was 

 capital training for bison-shooting, which severely tries the 

 wind, and in which I also spent a day or two now and then. 



Stalking the bison in these hills is very severe work indeed. 

 At times they may be found pretty near at hand, but more 

 generally the Dhupgarh hill, or the great ravine, has to be 

 crossed first, and either implies a good many miles of stiff 

 work before the sport really begins. Then bison, though they 

 seem to move slowly, are often really going very fast ; and, 

 as scarcely a yard of the country they live in is anything like 

 level, what is apparently nothing to them is really a very hard 

 pull for their pursuer. The bottoms of the valleys are also 

 very hot even at this time of year; and at all times exercise 

 under an Indian sun is much more fatiguing than in a cold 

 climate. A wounded bison never stops going while he can, 

 short of nightfall, and must be pursued while a ray of hope 



