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FORESTS OF GORAKHPUR AND NEPAL TERAI 241 



General Jacob, an old Indian officer who fought in most of 

 the campaigns of the first half of the nineteenth century, is 

 due the credit of inventing the conical principle. He also 

 advocated the gaining twist which Metford adopted, and 

 the hardened lead and the perforated point ; and for 

 game rifles he used an explosive copper shell, inserted 

 if required in the point ; but these, I found, burst too 

 soon, and did not penetrate enough in a big animal. 



On March 8 I joined camp with the Commissioner's 

 large shikar party, consisting of Mr. Charles Lindsay, 

 Commissioner of Gorakhpur, and Mrs. Lindsay, Mr. O. 

 (the Collector), Captain and Mrs. W., and Major D. 

 (police officer), also the Rajah of Bansi, a wealthy and 

 very sporting native prince. Our camp was pitched at 

 Sukwi, in the maidan, under spreading mango -trees. 

 The large white tents occupied quite an extensive space, 

 and the camp-following, with hackeries, bullocks, horses, 

 and lines of picketed elephants, had a most imposing and 

 picturesque effect. There were sixty elephants all told, 

 some for carrying tents on the march, the rest for beating. 

 The Rajah had a magnificent elephant. He had been 

 purchased by an eccentric old gentleman called Jungli 

 Read, living at Gorakhpur, from Jung Bahadur, who had 

 sold him because he was very wicked. But Read had 

 tamed him by kindness, and sold him recently to the 

 Rajah of Bansi, who wished to possess the finest elephant 

 in India, for Rs. 10,000, equal then to £1,000. He was 

 now perfectly gentle and of great beauty ; being highly 

 fed, his condition was perfect, and the other elephants 

 looked like babies beside him. The difference between a 

 lean, bony horse and one in fat condition is great, but 

 in elephants condition improves the appearance even more 

 markedly. This great beast was nearly 12 feet high and 

 broad in proportion. His head was well set on, and his 



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