318 THE HUNTING GROUNDS 



one greenish line along the whole length of the back, 

 and a yellow one on each side. Their bites scarcely 

 give any pain at the time, the punctures being so 

 small as hardly to be perceptible, but they cause an 

 uncomfortable irritation, and with persons in a bad 

 state of body often occasion nasty ulcers, which are 

 slow to heal. The gang were accustomed to smear 

 their naked legs with some peculiar kind of grease 

 mixed with ashes, the scent of which prevented the 

 leeches from biting, otherwise they would have been 

 seriously inconvenienced by their attacks. 



After following the trail for some miles, Chineah 

 and Googooloo, who were creeping along a ragged 

 hollow, which appeared to have been the pathway of 

 an impetuous torrent, some little distance in front, 

 made a sign to us to keep silent, and shortly after- 

 wards they beckoned us to advance. With great 

 caution we crept noiselessly forward, stopping from 

 time to time to listen, and after crawling on our 

 hands and knees for nearly a hundred yards, we 

 trained the crest of the hill, where we had the 

 satisfaction of seeing a large herd of bison quietly 

 browsing on the green herbage in a patch of open 

 teak-forest. 



Having satisfied myself that we were well to lee- 

 ward, and in no danger of being discovered by their 

 remarkably keen scent, I raised myself cautiously 

 behind the trunk of a tree to reconnoitre ; and after 



pointing out to B a fine bull, who, surrounded 



with cows, was lazily nibbling the young and tender 



