CONSERVATORS’ WORK 149 
possible doubt of his intentions—so near, in fact, 
that he fell dead at her feet when struck by a 
bullet between the shoulders. 
These animals fight each other with desperate 
ferocity ; their passion obliterates every other instinct, 
and the hunter may approach within a few yards 
and watch the duel. The horns are seldom more 
than 9 inches long, but they are sharp enough to 
penetrate the thick hide of the chest and neck and to 
inflict serious wounds ; and if one of the combatants 
is shot, the sound of the rifle does not deter the 
survivor from goring the fallen foe, in the belief that 
his prowess is alone responsible for the victory. In 
such cases it is best to slay the victor also, for 
“nilgai” are vermin, and will not tolerate any 
other deer in their vicinity. Their impertinence 
and other selfish qualities are due, doubtless, to their 
being classed by the natives as cows, and therefore 
safe from the village ‘“shikari,” though the villagers 
are glad to have them butchered so long as they 
themselves do not incur the penalties of mortal sin. 
I have seen in the dawn an endless procession of 
“nilgai” on the banks of the Koriala River, and 
could have slaughtered a score without trouble; but 
there is a limit to being a cat’s-paw, even though, 
as the natives evidently thought, a few more sins 
made no appreciable difference to the “ sahib’s ” 
hereafter. 
There were panthers in the Charda Forest, a wily 
crowd who declined all allurements ; one patriarch 
in particular was fond of goat, but would eat only 
in perfect solitude, and I believe that his age was 
held to entitle him to a full stomach before his 
