FORESTS OF GORAKHPUR AND NEPAL TERAI 239 



I had several views of arna, but on each occasion they 

 were moving across an open place, and reached the dense 

 jungle, where they disappeared. One morning I was 

 camped at Basauli, at the edge of the forest, when a native 

 came to say that a big arna bull, which was ' must,'' he 

 said, and very wicked, was committing havoc in his village 

 by knocking down houses and haycocks, and trampling 

 his bit of com and chasing his tame buffaloes ; and he 

 begged me to come at once and slay him. His wife and 

 children and all his brothers were up in trees, and they 

 were afraid to come down. I mounted my good elephant, 

 and, armed with every weapon I possessed, was soon 

 advancing in the direction pointed out. The great brute 

 was standing still in a patch of green com, and faced away 

 from us. The mahout walked the elephant straight for 

 him, and he did not notice our approach until we got 

 within 200 yards. He then faced suddenly round, and 

 I had a good opportunity of observing his enormous pro- 

 portions. He was very little like a tame buffalo, as he 

 had none of the angular coarse shapes of the common 

 bhainsa, being round and fat, with straight square back, 

 enormous thick neck, and great fierce head, with a crescent 

 of huge black horns. It was fine to see the sulky glare 

 of his wicked eyes, as he swung round and had one steady 

 look at the beast which dared to dispute his possession 

 of the ground. The size of his adversary seemed to dis- 

 may him not in the least, and the insolence of any animal 

 coming to disturb his reflections seemed to enrage him at 

 once. Shaking his huge homs and lashing his tail, he 

 just put down his black head, and, with a peculiar roar, 

 came full gallop straight for the elephant. My steady old 

 hati stood there, preparing to receive the charge on his 

 own broad forehead, but at about 25 yards the bullet 

 from the 8-bore rifle struck the bull fair between the homs. 



