242 THE FORESTS OF UPPER INDIA 



perfect tusks measured over g feet in length, and were 

 snow-white and beautifully curved. The track left by his 

 fore-foot was 6 feet in circumference. He figured after- 

 wards in durbars, covered with gay hangings and bearing 

 a silver howdah. To possess such an elephant is the 

 greatest pride of a Rajah. He was more for show than 

 use as a shikari elephant, being too valuable and heavy 

 to risk in swampy land for fear of getting into quicksand, 

 but he looked well in camp. 



Our Commissioner had obtained passes for the party 

 to go into Nepal, where game and tigers were plentiful. 

 We marched next morning north-eastwards across a wide, 

 open maidan, covered with a sea of long grass in the rains, 

 but now nearly bare, the grass having been all burnt, 

 except in patches where the water still lay. The line 

 was an imposing one, the howdahs at equal distances and 

 pad elephants in between. This day, however, the jungle 

 was too open for much game. A very fine tiger cat, 

 nearly as big as a sheep-dog, was shot, a rather rare 

 specimen of the wild felines, called ' kaksa ' {Felts biverina)* 

 Black partridge and hares were useful additions to the bag. 

 Mrs. Lindsay hospitably entertained the party in a large 

 tent, ready pitched, on our arrival at Biskope, a jungle 

 village in Nepal. The weather was hot, but the evenings 

 beautiful. 



Major D. was our boss shikari, and a capital good 

 fellow. He made dispositions for our next day's advance 

 into the wild and little-known jungles of the Nepal Terai. 

 Tigers and wild elephants were to be met with, and per- 

 chance the ugly rhinoceros, besides plenty of smaller 

 game. The morning was bright, and the line of elephants 

 was soon in motion, facing across an open plain straight 



* Described by Jerdon as frequenting the Nepal Terai ; length 

 34 inches, tail 12 inches, height 16 inches ; a gray tiger-cat, partly 

 spotted and barred, and very destructive and fierce. 



