354 BIG GAME SHOOTING 



As a rule, natives object more or less strongly to nylghai 

 being shot, regarding them as cattle ; and as they afford 

 poor sport with the rifle, most men spare them after having 

 obtained a few specimens, especially if the ground is not 

 rideable ; but where they can be ridden it is quite another 

 matter. A wounded bull will give a grand run, and even an 

 unwounded one can be ridden down if well pressed at first 

 This is rather a difficult matter for a single horseman, but 

 parties of three or four have frequently done it. Kinloch 

 mentions an instance of its having been done single-handed, 

 and gives some stirring accounts of his own adventures after 

 nylghai. Cows, he says, it is almost impossible to catch, the 

 only chance being with heavy old bulls. 



Blue bulls have frequently been tamed and trained to carry 

 loads. Sterndale mentions one he used to ride, but they are 

 as a rule dangerous in captivity. The writer owned one who 

 would let him sit on his back when lying down, but he would 

 always charge any pony that came near him, dropping suddenly 

 on his knees to use his horns. He used to break loose, and 

 hunt the native gardeners up trees, whilst he enjoyed the 

 produce. As the bull would not consent to be led, he had to 

 be left behind when the writer's battalion left the station, and 

 his last exploit was to hunt the portly native landlord of the 

 house round and round the premises when he came to look at 

 his property. 



The hide is very thick, especially on the shoulders, and is 

 much prized by the boatmen on all the rivers for making up 

 into the inflated skins they use. 



Sterndale remarks : ' He sometimes even devours such 

 quantities of the intensely acrid berries of the aoula (Phyllan- 

 thus emblica) that his flesh becomes saturated with the bitter 

 elements of the fruit. This is most noticeable in soup, less so 

 in a steak, which is at times not bad.' 



The writer has never had the luck to taste any part of a 

 blue bull that was worth eating except the tongue. 



