128 FOREST LIFE AND SPORT IN INDIA 
one than if he had lived long enough to attract 
many hunters, and to be fired at by a less experienced 
hand. 
The Gorakhpur forests have been remarkable for 
other waifs and strays. A rhinoceros, perhaps 
carried down by the monsoon floods, once took up 
his quarters in the Government forest, and was 
soon observed, for in these small areas so large an 
animal could not be hid ; and he, too, succumbed to 
a single shot from a Martini-Henry rifle, which 
easily pierced the tough skin on the shoulders. 
The history of one half of his hide, given to me by 
Mr. Clutterbuck, was curious. I brought to Eng- 
land a monstrous slab some inches in thickness, and 
it remained on my hands until I was due to return 
to India. Already I had in contemplation a mid- 
night journey through London, to end by hurling it 
from the top of a four-wheeler into the murky waves 
of the river, when I fortunately met an enthusiastic 
golfer, who faced his drivers with rhinoceros hide, 
and attributed lightness and elasticity to the 
material. So to him joyfully I handed over the 
skin, and received in return a cheque for the cost of 
carriage to England, and a generous gift of two of 
the manufactured clubs; and later I often won- 
dered, when congratulating myself on placing this 
skin so satisfactorily, how many pieces of the 
Gorakhpur rhinoceros were still wandering round 
the golf-links of the world. 
It is curious how, as a rule, hunting trophies fail 
to fill any useful purpose in daily life, though 
amongst uncivilized men they are largely used both 
for articles of clothing and adornment, or even as 
