THE BANTING 97 



tsaing, whose suspicions had been aroused before 

 being fired at, was evidently a crusty old gentle- 

 man, and had I been using a black-powder rifle 

 would probably have charged at the first shot, 

 as soon as the smoke had betrayed his adversary. 

 As it was, he waited until a second shot made 

 our position clear to him. He was too badly 

 wounded to give further trouble. 



It is hardly possible to exercise too much 

 caution when following up a wounded beast. 

 All the Bos tribe have an unpleasant habit 

 of occasionally turning off at right angles, and 

 then retracing their steps for a short distance in 

 thick cover, keeping parallel with the original 

 track. The beast then stands hidden from 

 view intently watching his trail, and as the 

 sportsman in following it passes the spot where 

 the animal is waiting, it rushes out and charges 

 him from behind. The Burmans mentioned in 

 the chapter on bison were caught in this way 

 — both men alike having followed up the animal 

 at once after wounding it, believing it too badly 

 hurt to charge. The writer knows of an instance 

 in which a European, a coffee-planter in Mysore, 

 was caught by a charging bison in this way and 

 almost killed. The horn caught him between 

 the shoulders, entirely penetrating one lung. 

 The victim owed his life to a magnificent consti- 

 tution, and the promptitude with which he was 

 sent to England as soon as he could be moved. 



