EARLY DAYS IN OUDH 51 
quently laid by the banks of a stream, and that if 
this is crossed at. a distance from the waiting dogs 
further pursuit is abandoned. At any rate, the 
wild-dog is a spoiler of the jungle and a cruel fiend. 
He alone proceeds to eat an animal before life is 
extinct, tearing lumps of flesh from the quivering 
body ; and though it may be said in his excuse that 
he has no means of otherwise killing the larger deer, 
yet the long-drawn anguish which surely in some 
degree, in spite of appearances, precedes the capture 
and the lingering death which follows it, seems to jar 
on the sportsman’s desire that a sudden, painless 
death should conclude the triumph over the fleetness, 
cunning, or ferocity, of an opponent. 
From the Kheri forests I made yearly a short 
trip into Nepal, crossing the boundary at the ford 
on the Mohdn River north of Duduaghat, and here 
my attention was attracted to an aspect of forest 
life which afforded much interest in future travels. 
I allude to the superstitions of the forest people, to 
their firm belief in the spirits of the jungle, in the 
transmigration of the souls of bad men to the bodies 
of tigers and other animals, and to their conviction 
that the hunter might be seriously influenced in his 
life and welfare by interference with these dreaded 
powers. 
My friend and I had on one occasion halted 
beyond the border at a Tharu village, and, as usual, 
we went amongst the inhabitants to have a friendly 
chat, and to discover, if possible, the whereabouts of 
any tiger that might be in the vicinity. We ex- 
perienced the usual reticence to afford any informa- 
tion, and were not surprised, knowing already that 
