A SHOOT IN INDIA IN 1911-12 153 



I opened the rifle it jammed, and an examina- 

 tion made subsequently at Calcutta showed that 

 the mainspring of the left barrel was broken. 

 Whether it was broken by my firing at the bear 

 without putting the gun to my shoulder, or 

 whether the premature discharge of the rifle on 

 that occasion was due to the failure of the spring, 

 must remain for ever a mystery. 



The incident showed that it is impossible to 

 completely eliminate the risk of accident in big- 

 game shooting. If I had known also that the 

 big rifle, upon which I relied for protection in 

 the event of a charge, was out of order, I should 

 not have felt so confident, and might not have 

 put in so deadly a shot. 



The buffalo had a fine head, with very well- 

 shaped horns. The length round the horns and 

 across the forehead is 8 feet 8|- inches, and the 

 head is one of the most prized of my trophies. 



I had the satisfaction of having done the right 

 thing in the hunt for this buffalo. On two 

 occasions I had refrained from firing when a 

 shot was not likely to have been successful, and 

 might, on the first occasion, have been disastrous ; 

 and the trouble I took to reconnoitre the clearing 

 in which we had first seen the buffalo, was well 

 repaid. Dhokuri's admiration for my shooting 

 was still further increased, and to that simple 

 savage I shall always be a bit of a hero. An 

 Indian judges by results, and the fortune which 

 had favoured me so markedly both in 1909 and 

 1 91 1 would not, in his eyes, detract from the 

 merit of the performance. 



I heard a tiger on one occasion, in broad daylight. 



