MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 145 
No. I—WOLF HUNTING IN THE SOUTHERN MAHRATTA 
COUNTRY.* 
I have been tempted by the interesting account of your correspondent, Mr. 
C. W. Waddington, on the subject of Wolf Hunting, published in Vol. VII 
of this Journal, to recount a somewhat similar experience that I had last year. 
My experience, however, differs in one important respect, which, of course, 
considerably qualifies my pleasure in the recollection of it, and that is, whereas 
“C. W. W.” was riding with a spear, I was riding (by an unlucky circumstance) 
with a gun. As, however, my object in writing this is to show the staying 
powers of a country-bred horse as against those of a full grown male wolf, and 
as the point of my story is in no way affected by my having had a gun instead 
of a spear, I hope it may still be of interest to your sporting readers, 
im the month of February, last year, I was encamped in a remote village, 
Ootgee, in the Jath District of the Southern Mahratta Country. I went to 
this village, because I had heard that great annoyance was being caused in the 
neighbourhood by wolves who carried off sheep and goats, and attacked 
children, On the evening of my arrival I was told that a pair of large 
wolves, male and female, with a couple of cubs, had taken up a position in a 
“eave” (as it was called) within a mile or so of my camp, close to a thorough- 
fare, and that the parents were in the habit of watching for passers-by and _ at- 
tacking them. My informants persisted that the jungle was impenetrable and 
riding an impossibility. In the morning I went to look at the place (taking 
both a gun and a spear), and found it to be a very large babul plantation, 
several hundred acres in area, thick in some places, but more or less rideable 
in others, though not sufficiently so for there to be any hope of Spearing a 
wolf ; and, moreover, it seemed impossible to imagine that any animal would 
be foolish enough to leave such an extensive shelter and trust itself to the 
open country outside. I, therefore, gave up all idea of spearing, and wander- 
ed about with my gun, looking for the wolves; but not seeing anything of 
them, I went back to camp, leaving men on the watch. At 12 o'clock one of 
these men ran in to say the large male wolf was lying under a tree close to 
where I had been in the morning. I immediately galloped off, taking, un- 
luckily, only my gun with a few ball cartridges, and little thinking that I 
should uever cease to regret not having taken a spear, I soon came on the 
wolf, and, dismounting, I approached him for the shot ; but before I could get 
within range, he moved off, first slowly, then faster, so I called out for my 
horse and followed him, as well as I could, through the babul, keeping on the 
inside of the circle in which he was going, and between him and the centre of 
the cover, After a while I saw the open country before us, and so did the 
wolf, for he stopped short, turned inwards towards me, and stood still, allow- 
ing me to ride close up to him and fire. Isaw the bullet strike the ground, 
and my horse at that moment, being a bit startled at the shot, reared straight 
* This appeared in the J'imes of India on 22nd March, 1893, 
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