434 
A DAY’S SHOOTING ON THE NILGIRIS NEAR OOTACAMUND. 
BY 
Lr.-Cou. H. R. Baxnr, 1.4. (retd.) 
(With two plates.) 
*“ Good morning, Sir.” 
I look up with a start from my workin the garden to find Anthony, my shikari, 
with a broad grin on his face enjoying the “‘ jump ” he had given me, He always 
likes to steal up quietly and take me unawares, does Anthony ; I suppose he 
considers it is “‘ infra dig ”’ for a shikari to make a sound. ‘ Whatisit’” ? Task, 
though I know very well what he has come for, because I generally go out shoot- 
ing once a week during the season and invariably send him out a day or two 
beforehand to prospect for game and he has come to report ; I find it best to 
do this because if one goes out without prospecting one is liable to go to a place 
where some one else has recently been. 
“Done see two woodcock, Sir ; master better come at once. ’ 
But I object to come at once as arrangements have to be made to hire a carriage 
(I don’t possess a car !), to get the tiffin basket ready and to collect and send out 
the beaters ; so I enquire where it was he saw the cock. 
“ Near Forester Hut, Sir; one in shola near first swamp, one in long nala where 
master missed jungle cock last time. ”’ 
I don’t like being reminded of such things so hasten to arrange to go out the 
next day, meeting the beaters at Forester’s Hut at 8 a.m., meanwhile I send to 
arrange for a carriage to be at the bungalow at 7 a.m. next morning, warn the 
cook to have curry-puffs and other good things made over night and packed into 
the tiffin basket, not forgetting liquid refreshments and smokes and a change of 
boots and socks, and I am ready barring the filling of the cartridge bag and the 
putting together of the gun. 
Up early next morning I proceed to awaken my son C. who had overnight 
informed me that “‘ he did not mind coming.” He is up here only for a short 
visit and it is not worth his while taking out a game license which costs Rs. 30 
for a month or Rs. 50 for the whole season ; however he is keen enough when once 
he gets out and it is a good education for him. A substantial chota hazri follows 
and we are soon dressed in our shikar kit which consists of the oldest garments 
we possess because we have occasionally to scramble through thick jungle, to 
say nothing of having to wade through treacherous, boggy swamps—and we are 
ready for the gharry and what a conveyance it is when it does turn up, late of 
course as usual ! a wretched old victoria that once boasted of rubber tyres and 
a pair of skinny worn-out horses that are really past work. Ooty does not 
boast of a decent livery-stable and one has to take what comes or foot it, or 
stay at home; and to make matters worse bad luck seems to come my way pretty 
often. On two occasions one of the horses slipped down onthe asphalt 
portion of the road soon after starting necessitating a wait till a fresh (?) horse 
thas been procured and on another occasion one of the wretched ill-fed beasts got 
colic when we had gone some 6 miles on our way obliging us to stop and unharness 
it, when it promptly lay down and remained where it was till evening when’ it 
was taken to its stable and died during the night ! however, we happened that 
time to be not so very far from the rendezvous so we set off to it on foot and 
by evening another horse had been fetched. ‘‘ Nil desperandum ”! so we load up 
to-day hoping we won’t have any accidents and off we go as fast as the skeletons 
of horses can draw us and what a glorious sensation it is to drive, even at a crawl, 
in the early hours of a December morning up in these hills ! hoar-frost lies in 
all the hollows and there is a keen nip in the air in spite of the sun which rises 
