EARLY DAYS IN OUDH 31 
—that to the west named Motipur, now a station on 
the Bengal and North-Western Railway, whose line 
runs through the whole area; then followed eastwards 
Chakkia, Charda, and Bhinga, the Nepal frontier 
forming the northern boundary of each forest. In 
those days the Motipur sal forests on the high 
ground were full of game, and the lowlands, stretch- 
ing away to the Sarda River in the west, and the 
Girwa River in the north, were called by the natives 
the “home of the wild beasts.” Nishangara stood 
on a bluff in the centre of this sportsman’s paradise, 
overlooking the plains, and a snug double-storied 
house that I erected now replaces the grass shanty 
found on my arrival there. Cultivation has since 
spread up to the forest boundary, and the rumble of 
the locomotive is now heard throughout the day ; 
and listening to it, it is curious to reflect that not so 
long ago the wild-buffalo was seen in these swamps. 
Yet even now one may find panthers at almost every 
camp, and at Murtiha there are always at the 
beginning of the winter one or more tigers in resi- 
dence in the bamboo thickets near the Mohan River. 
In the time of which I write the forests were not 
frequently visited even by the civil officers, and the 
solitary European fond of sport had a pleasant time. 
The forests of Chakkia and Charda, now reached by 
road from stations on the Bengal and North-Western 
Railway, also contained a good head of game. It is 
true that tigers were always scarce, being generally 
visitors from Nepal, and staying only a few days; but 
the panthers were numerous and sly, and there was 
thus much sport—indeed, some is still to be had in’ 
shooting these, by using a live goat as bait. To be 
