74 THE WHITE-FRONTED OR LAUGHING GOOSE. 
DURING THIRTY years I have, myself, only twice met with this 
species, and I have only once shot it. 
On the 27th of November 1874, when boating down the 
Jhelum, and when about half way between Shahpur and Jhang, 
I caught sight of three Geese on a sand bank on the river, which, 
looking somewhat like Grey Lags, yet struck me as being both 
browner and smaller than this species. This was about 8 A.M. 
I took a small boat and worked from up-stream very carefully 
down on to the party, and succeeded in getting to within about 
fifty yards, when they rose, and I knocked two down with 
loose No. 3 shot out of the right barrel of a long double No. 10 
bore, and the third, with a green (wire) cartridge, No. 2 shot, with 
the left. When I first saw them, the three were seated close to- 
gether at the water’s edge ; no other Geese were near; but a small 
knot of Mallard were feeding on the brink about fifty yards 
lower down. The Geese were very wary; rose to their feet as 
soon as my skiff got within ninety or hundred yards, and walked 
away inland from the water’s edge as I drew nearer. It was 
only by extreme care that I was able to get within shot. 
Although I had knocked all three down, before I could 
load again or land to secure them, one flapped away, along 
the sand for some distance, and finally got on the wing 
and flew heavily, barely rising two yards above the surface 
of the water, across an arm of the river to the mainland ; 
where it gradually sank in a bare field. I got my glasses 
and saw that it was lying with its wings outspread and 
head down, and concluding that it was dead, I sent a 
boatman to retrieve it. He got up to within a few yards of it, 
when it suddenly stood up and flew off apparently all right. 
Away it flew, quite out of sight down the river. I marked the 
direction, followed it up, and after a long search, I found it 
in the water in a side arm of the river. I worked up to it most 
cautiously, but it rose at about hundred yards and flew off very low 
across the river. Following the direction, I also crossed the 
river, and striking inland found it, about half a mile from the 
river, walking about slowly amongst some bare sandhills. There 
was no cover, but I was able to crawl on hands and knees to 
within about 80 yards, beyond which the sand stretched perfectly 
bare and level. The moment I emerged our Goose started to 
rise, I fired a wire B. B. cartridge at him, the pellets of which 
cut the sand up all round him and rattled against his feathers, 
but did not impede his progress. Henow flew stronger than 
ever, and went away inland for a good mile, but I ran to the top 
of a sandhill, and getting my glasses to bear, marked him 
down precisely between three small trees. It was by this time 
past midday, and very hot; all my people were tired of plod- 
ding through the loose sand ; all objected to going further after 
this Goose. In the first place they declared he had flown 
away altogether out. of sight; in the second place they said 
