2 1 8 The Hunting Grounds 



several private ones of beagles, spaniels; and cockers 

 for driving the covers. In no part of Great Britain 

 are woodcock more eagerly followed than on the hills, 

 and every year large sums of money change hands in 

 wagers as to what sportsman will kill the first cock. 

 The season begins in October and ends in March, 

 although solitary birds may be found a month earlier 

 or later. 



On my first arrival, Ooty was very full ; and, as 

 vacant bungalows were scarce, I put up for some time 

 at Dawson's Hotel, where I had every reason to be 

 highly satisfied with the accommodation, for my 

 quarters were extremely comfortable, and the living 

 first-rate : indeed I have seldom come across such a 

 cuisine. There was certainly only another like it on 

 the Madras side, that of the Club of Secunderabad, 

 where the mighty Tatiah ruled the roast. 



Having all my establishment with me, including 

 my celebrated hunting-gang, which comprised some 

 of the best trackers in the country, my old chum 



B and I took a snug compact little box called 



Burnside Cottage, with good stabling, outhouses for 

 servants, and a well-stocked garden ; which was most 

 delightfully situated just below the crest of a hill, and 

 overlooking the glen of the Mala-mund, a village in- 

 habited by the Todas, a strange race of people, who 

 are supposed by some to be a remnant of " the lost 

 tribes." The men are generally above the common 



