EARLY DAYS IN OUDH 39 
elephants, to camels, to the wild beasts of the 
forest, and ceased to object to guns being fired 
from the saddle, some developing great courage 
in moments of real danger. An Australian mare 
bought in 1890 was still alive in honourable retreat 
in 1909, and, could she speak, could tell many a tale 
of the tigers, panthers, and elephants, she had met ; 
and a white hill-pony I possessed took me within 
five yards of a tiger crouching by a buffalo he had 
just killed. It is true that neither the pony nor 
myself knew that the tiger was so close to us till he 
rose and glared at his visitors, but all the more 
credit to the pony in standing his ground when a 
hasty retreat through the dense undergrowth could 
but have led to pursuit and disaster. I trust that 
that tiger lived to a good old age and died in peace, 
for he had us both at his mercy and took no advan- 
tage. 
One might write of other horses which in their 
time enjoyed the headlong rush after the pursuing 
dogs, or swiftly pulled the light dogcart along the 
jungle tracks when returning to the welcoming camp, 
while the lamps lit up the dim forms of the wild 
beasts, vague and fearful in the darkness; but 
while recording the loyal aid of elephant, horse, 
or dog, the natives of India must not be for- 
gotten, those who were lovers of sport for sport’s 
sake—not professional shikaris who adapted their 
work to the price it commanded, but those who 
enjoyed the success of the hunt after sharing its toil 
and danger; for them there is always grateful 
remembrance for unselfish service, for cheerful 
courage, which would, if necessary, save the master’s 
