RAJAH'S METHOD OF KILLING DEER 45 



The Koondah Rajah has a peculiar method 

 of killing deer. He keeps a particular breed 

 of dogs, differing from any of the common dogs 

 of India, larger, and possessing an exquisite 

 sense of smell. These dogs are trained to 

 hunt deer, and although it is reasonable to 

 conclude that scent will soon evaporate and 

 die away in very hot weather, I have heard the 

 natives assert that they take on the scent of 

 deer many hours after they have passed. In the 

 hottest season of the year, when water is eve- 

 ry where scarce, the Rajah early in the morn- 

 ing sends some of his people with eight or ten 

 of these dogs to the covers bordering on water, 

 where they seldom fail of getting on the scent 

 of deer, they worry the poor animals about 

 the covers, until when almost dead with heat 

 and thirst they are obliged to go to the water 

 to drink and cool themselves; there the Ra- 

 jah and his friends are stationed on platforms, 

 or concealed in some kind of ambush to shoot 

 them. 



