262 TRAVELS IN THE EIGHTIES. 



a considerable number of Europeans connected with 

 the railway resided in the locality, it was not surpris- 

 ing to find that game had become exceedingly scarce 

 in the neighbourhood, though without, of course, 

 affecting the wide flat region thirty miles to the 

 south, for which I was bound, and bordering upon 

 the Great Desert. Of other districts, Ludhiana 

 offered some attractions in the shape of numerous 

 official bungalows, which are conveniently situated in 

 regard to shooting, besides the fact that the populace 

 were more inclined to regard a sportsman with tole- 

 rance, or even complaisance, which is not the case in 

 other native states around for example, Faridkot, 

 although I had made the acquaintance a short time 

 before of the Maharajah of this state, as well as of his 

 eldest son, who had expressed themselves as anxious 

 and willing to organize an exhibition of hawking for 

 my benefit, and would of course have given me every 

 opportunity in their power for large game shooting. 

 I was credibly informed, however, that this meant 

 being continually attended by the Maharajah's people, 

 whose only idea of antelope shooting would perhaps 

 have been that of surrounding, and firing, possibly 

 rather at random, into a herd, without any notion of 

 stalking them beyond the method previously alluded 

 to; while the opinions of the fanatical population 

 with regard to sport would have rendered it unadvis- 

 able to dispense with the Maharajah's protection. 



The country through which we rode the whole day 

 was of an intensely level character, half of it con- 



