EARLY DAYS IN OUDH 49 
audience, for his presence will not readily be noticed. 
I once watched a tiger in grass about three feet 
high, which therefore concealed him when he 
crouched, endeavouring to secure one of a herd of 
spotted-deer around him. The tiger repeatedly 
charged, bounding above the grass in the direction 
of any rustling made by the wary deer, who at once 
scattered in every direction, to re-form the circle 
later on. The whole performance, which seemed 
more like a friendly game of blind-man’s buff than 
deadly earnest, lasted for some twenty minutes, 
until the tiger wandered away and the deer re- 
sumed their feeding. There is evidently no per- 
petual dread of death accompanying the natural 
nervousness of wild beasts. They recognize the 
vicinity of an unpleasant neighbour by scent, by 
sight, and: by hearing, and take steps to avoid him, 
and when death comes there is in most cases no 
painful struggle. It is rare that one hears such 
heart-rending cries as may be uttered when the 
hunter approaches a disabled animal, cries that 
extort a hasty vow that there shall be no more 
hunting, and have at least the practical effect of in 
future staying the hand until there is a certainty 
that the shot will be fatal. . 
I look upon the spotted-deer as one of, if not 
quite, the most sporting deer inIndia. His beauty, 
the ground he frequents, and the caution he displays, 
all conduce to render stalking a pleasure. In certain 
localities he may be speared from horseback, and 
many were thus killed by Captain Greig and his 
brother when Forest Officers in the Pdétli Dun of 
Gurhwal; but the locality was exceptional, the 
4 
