SMALL GAME SHOOTING. 35 



white, a sort of " swamy " or sacred stone. My horse shied 

 at it, and as he wheeled round with his good eye he saw the 

 yawning gulf below. By a desperate effort he threw himself 

 back on the path with his hind quarters dangling over the 

 drop. I felt him gradually slipping back ; fortunately there 

 was the branch of a tree overhanging us, and by standing up 

 in my stirrups I managed to reach it. The horse, relieved 

 of my weight, struggled back on to the path, and I, with the 

 assistance of the branch, did the same. It all occurred in less 

 than a minute. I was too occupied to see how awful it was, 

 but my friend, who was leading, told me it was one of the 

 most frightful scenes he had ever beheld. We quietly 

 returned to the bungalow, and never again attempted to 

 ride down the pass of the Happy Valley. 



I had more small game shooting in these days, than I 

 ever had afterwards. We generally took a line through the 

 low jungle with a dozen or so of beaters and shot everything 

 in the shape of game we came across, consisting chiefly of 

 partridges, quail, hares, florikin, with an occasional peafowl, 

 and more rarely a chickara or ravine antelope. I have had 

 many a pleasant day's shooting in this style, and though our 

 bags were not great, there was a sufficient variety to keep up 

 the excitement. A florikin, like a woodcock in England, was 

 a prize worth getting, and many a mile I have ridden for the 

 chance of one, when news has been brought in of their 

 whereabouts ; it is generally found in long grass, also in 

 grassy bush jungle, flies heavily and easily shot, but 

 eagerness to bag often results in a miss. It is a very 

 delicate bird for the table. In some of the grass ground 

 quails were very numerous, affording capital sport, twenty or 

 thirty brace to one gun being not an uncommon occurrence. 



