SHOOTING ON FOOT. 313 



moment upon the extensive "jheels" lying east of the Mud- 

 doomuttee river, as many as forty or fifty thousand of them 

 on the wing, and I never fail to execute justice upon some of 

 them for the benefit of my attendants as I paddle back to 

 camp, the natives highly approving of their rather fishy 

 flavour. 



The great fishing eagles and hawks too are a nuisance, 

 swooping down upon winged birds and carrying them off 

 almost from the bows of the canoes in the boldest and most 

 impudent manner ; as if considering themselves the real pro- 

 prietors of the wild-fowl, they insist upon taking toll in kind, 

 they also flutter and alarm the ducks by their close attend- 

 ance upon the gunners, and make themselves exceedingly ob- 

 noxious in every way, and should therefore be made examples 

 of in a few instances. 



Hitherto shooting on lakes and lagoons only has been 

 treated of, but there is another, and to my mind a far plea- 

 santer mode of following this sport, and that is by walking 

 along the sides of narrow " jheels " and water-courses fre- 

 quented by wild-fowl and shooting them from shore. There 

 are many such pieces of water in this country which can be 

 commanded by a gun half-way across, so that two guns one 

 on each side can completely cover them ; but a Rob Roy or 

 other light description of boat is essential for good sport, or 

 many winged birds will of necessity be lost. 



I know no district in which this particular kind of 

 shooting can be so thoroughly enjoyed as Manbhoom, where 

 are numerous sheets of water formed by the banking up of 

 the lower ends of hollows and slopes, locally known as 

 " bunds ; " some of considerable extent, and others narrow 

 enough to be within easy range to their middle. Below these 

 reservoirs, maintained for irrigation, and beneath their lower 

 or embanked extremities, are terraced rice-fields, into which 

 some water percolates incessantly, keeping them soft, moist, 

 and weedy till the close of the cold season, and very attrac- 

 tive to snipe, which resort to them in great numbers, even so 

 late as April. These terraces are called "habals," and are 



