of the Old World. 79 



had provided my troopers with two hundred rockets 

 in order to drive the game into the more open jungle. 

 > In an hour I received intelligence that the line 

 was formed ready to advance, and, it being now broad 

 daylight, I gave the signal to move on, by a ferocious 

 flourish of cholera horns, which sound was imme- 

 diately taken up by all the tomtoms, horns, and 

 dubties ; and this discordant music was only surpassed 

 by the unearthly howling and shouting of the beaters, 

 who seemed to outvie with each other as to who 

 could utter the most fiendish yells. 



The Doctor, who kept near me, was armed with a 

 heavy single four-ounce rifle which he had taken from 

 one of the gang ; and as he marched along he shouted 

 at the top of his voice, in a most ferocious and threat- 

 ening manner, something that appeared to me to be 

 some very ancient Gallic war-cry, until his breath 

 failed him. His route was perfectly well marked by 

 strips of his old blue regimental frock-coat, which 

 were left hanging on the thorns of the bushes as he 

 passed. 



As we advanced, sudden crashes every now and 

 again in the jungle let us know that the game was 

 a-foot. Now a herd of deer, or a sounder of hog 

 were visible for a moment, as they bounded through 

 the thicket in front of us. Sometimes a flock of pea- 

 fowl passed over our heads, or a swarm of monkeys 

 went jabbering away in the trees above us, shrieking 



