36 WILD MEN AND WILD BEASTS. 



We proceeded very cautiously in single file, Moideen 

 leading, and after going about half a mile we heard the bison 

 a short distance in front. The herd was about to lie up for 

 the day, and had betaken themselves to a mass of thick young 

 bamboos. 



There were several of them ; but near the edge of the 

 thicket, with her face towards us, lay a cow, and, from her 

 position, we saw we could not advance without alarming 

 the herd. I was anxious to get a bull, but, fearing that in 

 attempting to do so I should lose all, I made up my mind to 

 take the cow. She lay in deep shade, and I fired at her 

 shoulder, on which she sprang up, and, together with the rest, 

 dashed off to the left. 



My battery was but a poor one, consisting of a 12-bore 

 single rifle, and a 14-bore double gun. I caught the latter from 

 Moideen, and fired both shots at a bull as they rushed off. 

 Eeloading, we took up the track, and soon came on blood in 

 large quantities, and a few hundred yards ahead we came on 

 a bison, standing with his stern to us, at the side of a patch of 

 jungle grass eight feet high. 



We decided on moving round this grass, to get, if possible, 

 opposite his shoulder, and on going to the right we suddenly 

 came on the cow. She caught sight of us, and, wheeling 

 round, stood head on. Expecting a charge, I got behind a 

 tree, and as she stood looking at me, with her nose poked out, 

 I fired at her head, and she fell dead in her tracks. 



We had supposed that this was the beast whose blood we 

 had seen ; but, on examination, we found that as she lay in 

 the bamboo thicket her hind foot had probably been drawn 

 up behind the forearm, and in firing I had sent the first ball 

 through the foot, breaking both toes. Being unable to run in 

 this crippled state, she had wheeled round on finding herself 



