252 THE HUNTING GROUNDS 



and at this time the jungle is considered free from 

 fever, the greatest danger to which the Indian sports- 

 man is exposed. 



1 had left my eyrie, " Burnside Cottage," near 

 Ooty, having received information that a herd of 

 elephants were said to have been seen near one of 

 the collector's spice -gardens in the Bolanputty 



Valley, and was staying with M , who was in 



the regiment then quartered at Coimbatore, whilst 

 my gang went out to gather intelligence. After 

 an absence of five days they returned, their search 

 having proved a blank, no fresh trails having been 

 discovered. 



As was my general custom before the departure 

 of my gang on an expedition, I had distributed 

 some few rupees to purchase sheep, fowls, &c., for 

 sacrificial offerings to their "Sawmies," so as to 

 propitiate the deities, and bring good luck on the 

 enterprise, and on this occasion it appears that the 

 non-success of the reconnaissance had excited the 

 indignation of the whole gang against a certain 

 stone image of Haniman (the monkey-god) in the 

 neighbourhood of the lake, as sheep had been sacri- 

 ficed, cocks immolated, cocoa-nuts broken, and in- 

 cense burnt before him, and yet the search for game 

 had proved a failure. 



I was enjoying a weed after dinner with M 



and B , when loud discordant vociferations were 



heard in the servants' outhouses, and going out to 

 see what was the matter, we found the whole gang 



