anil 
OR eee | 
DARJEELING AND THE BENGAL TARAI 241 
some time a bison, who in the absence of pro- 
hibition would probably never have been seen, 
and certainly would not have been so accom- 
modating ; and we for a time awaited the pleasure 
of a rhinoceros whose bulk appeared to block the 
width of the forest path, but who ultimately 
decided to permit our escape, though our elephants 
had already fled, their drivers taking full advan- 
tage of the well-known distaste of elephants for 
rhinoceros. That dislike, however, is not so pro- 
nounced as to cause the elephant to flee when 
none pursueth, and we formed no good opinion of 
the mahouts of Bengal, in comparison with those 
of Northern India, after this occurrence; for we 
knew from experience that, though the latter might 
on very rare occasions demur to taking the sports- 
man into danger, they would never leave him there 
alone to save their own skins. 
There is excellent fishing on the river boundary 
between Bengal and Assam, and in other streams, 
and enthusiasts would have no difficulty in getting 
good sport. For shooting, a stanch elephant is a 
desideratum, but a great deal might be done on 
foot or on horseback. Tigers are frequent, but the 
grasslands extend over so wide an area that in the 
winter months tracking is almost impossible, save in 
the wide stretch of sandy watercourses, where in 
the early morning tigers are sometimes found 
basking in the warm rays of the sun. The ideas 
of the Bengali with regard to shooting over a bait 
are distinctly amusing. We entrusted ourselves to 
an aged “ shikari,” who placed us in a leafy bower, 
so large that a bridge-party might have been 
16 
