Jungle By- Ways in India 



tions and instructions to shoot straight, to take 

 care to kill, etc. It is rare to get even an old 

 stager to keep cool when he has brought one up 

 to the more dangerous animals, unless he be a 

 man you have had for years and have been able 

 to properly drill. In this instance I had never 

 set eyes on my present man till five days pre- 

 viously. The tussocky grass admirably favoured 

 a stealthy stalk and near approach, and the bison 

 was apparently fully occupied in grazing on the 

 wet dank grass which grew along a narrow mud- 

 channel or drain, for it was little more than a 

 drain, which wound in a serpentine manner across 

 the maidan. The drain was edged, but not 

 hidden, by the tussocky grass. I was subse- 

 quently to make a very close acquaintance with 

 this drain, and to offer up a fervent thanksgiving 

 for its presence and the valuable help it afforded 

 me. We crept up to within about 30 yards, 

 and were then satisfied that the animal was a bull, 

 as indeed its solitariness led us to expect — that 

 and its gleaming black colour and great size. 

 However, as one occasionally finds old barren 

 cows leading a solitary life after the manner of the 

 old bulls, it was necessary to make sure before 

 firing. A few steps forward by the bison, who was 

 grazing towards us, took it into a little depression, 

 and I could only see the great black hump looming 

 above the grass as the ground rose slightly in 

 front of us. This necessitated my creeping still 



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