THE GAUR 65 



old — gives a clue, I think, to his rather weird 

 behaviour. I take it that having designs on the 

 harem of his herd leader, the latter gave him a 

 tremendous thrashing (his body was scarred 

 with barely healed wounds) and drove him from 

 the herd. Finding himself during one of his 

 rambles close to this herd of mithun, he con- 

 sorted with them faute de mieux, knowing full 

 well that he could knock any mithun bull who 

 tried to object into a cocked hat. It was rather 

 exciting at the time. There was no tracking, 

 or anything of the sort. The headman of the 

 village mentioned quite casually that for some 

 days past a huge bison, as he described it, had 

 been seen going about with the herd of village 

 mithun. One of the cows, he said, had a clapper 

 round her neck, and if we could only locate the 

 herd by the sound of the clapper, the bison would 

 certainly be found with them. I set off at once, 

 accompanied by a fellow-sportsman and two of 

 the villagers, who were to take us to the herd. 

 We had previously tossed for the shot, the luck 

 falling to me. We tried in one direction, but 

 after going a mile or so with no signs of the herd 

 made for a small stream about two miles from 

 the village, on the banks of which there was a 

 large strip of kaing grass. The villagers said 

 the herd would probably be found in this. Just 

 as we got to the stream we heard the clapper 

 going, and presently out walked the herd of 



