230 POSTSCRIPT. 



For hours I followed the herd with the greatest patience, and refrained from firing easy 

 shots at many fine buck, in hopes of getting within range of the one on which I had set my 

 heart. 



It was not to be, however ; the big buck was too careful of his personal safety, and 

 always contrived to keep on the side of the herd farthest from me, while he never halted even 

 for a moment. At length, in despair, I fired two shots at him, as he was walking or trotting . 

 at upwards of two hundred yards — both shots were unsuccessful. Had the buck been a small 

 one, not worth shooting, I should probably have knocked him over ! 



I was also exceptionally fortunate in the pursuit of Gaur during a short shooting trip 

 in Central India, and my account of it will, at any rate, give a more complete idea of the 

 circumstances attending the fascinating sport of Gaur shooting than is afforded by the slight 

 experiences recorded in Chapter XIV. 



I must, however, warn the young sportsman that such good fortune as befell me, falls to 

 the lot of few, and that, under ordinary circumstances, the bag which I was lucky enough to 

 make in a few days, would be considered a good one for a month's labor. 



I purposely avoid mentioning the exact locality where I enjoyed such excellent sport- 

 not that I would not willingly assist a brother sportsman, but because publishing particulars 

 about good shooting ground spoils the sport of many, by sending numbers of sportsmen to 

 the same place. A recent author, with the best intentions, has done much to destroy the 

 shooting in the Himalayas, by giving details of all the best localities. The result has been 

 that all the best valleys are invaded by crowds of keen sportsmen, who interfere with each other 

 and probably return disappointed. 



I shall therefore only state that my shooting trip led me to the Satpura hills, and will 

 limit myself to a general description of the country, and of the incidents of sport, omitting 

 all names of places. 



It was on the 12th of May 1884 that, after a march of nearly a hundred and fifty miles 

 from the nearest cantonment, I found myself at a village situated at the foot of a range of 

 hills which had been recommended to me as holding plenty of Gaur. The village officials 

 were very obliging, and the headman sent for four or five inhabitants of neighbouring jungle 

 hamlets, who were well acquainted with the haunts of the game. On the following morning 

 I took advantage of a moon that was near the full, and started for the hills at 3 A.M., leaving 

 tents and all heavier impedimenta at the village, and taking only ' absolute necessaries with 

 me. It was just daylight when I reached the top of a plateau of considerable extent, where 

 a large spreading tree and a good well afforded every requisite for a comfortable bivouac. 

 We were now on the summit of the main range, which stretched away as far as the eye could 

 reach from east to west, while its width varied from fifteen to thirty miles. The average 

 elevation was somewhere about 2,500 feet, while here and there loftier peaks rose from 500 

 to 1,000 feet higher. Towards the north the land trended away — not in regular slopes but 

 in broken ridges of diminishing height — towards the distant plains ; while on the southern 

 side, steep scarped cliffs overlooked the low hot valleys, which ultimately merged in the level 

 country a few miles beyond. Our plateau was one of a succession of similar table-lands which 



