THE BANTING 103 



of an ' atee gyi ' (Anglice, Big Bull) it is not 

 worth while following them. 



I remember once, however, following the 

 trail of a herd the bull of which had left tracks 

 which were certainly not those of a big animal. 

 They were of medium size, and after much 

 deliberation I was only induced to follow them 

 by the size of the herd, which numbered about 

 ten animals. As the ground had been undis- 

 turbed it was likely, other considerations apart, 

 to have more than one bull with it, and the 

 herd leader might be expected to have a decent 

 head. Indeed, the tracks showed that there were 

 two other bulls, young animals, with it. When, 

 after a long tramp, I came up with the herd, I 

 found to my joy that the best bull had a khaki- 

 coloured coat, so all doubts as to his age were 

 dispelled. He acknowledged the shot by gallop- 

 ing off; but before he could disappear in the 

 undergrowth, a second bullet caught him in 

 the rump and, raking him, bowled him over. 

 He had quite a good head, the horns, which 

 were well corrugated, measuring 25 in., with a 

 good span. This animal was exceptionally small 

 for his age, which I put down at about ten years. 

 I have since, however, on several occasions 

 followed solitary bulls whose tracks were smaller 

 than I like to see, and have invariably found 

 the owner to be a young bull, bright chestnut 

 in colour, with a head not worth taking. 



