182 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[OeT. 1, 1886. 



Address all communicatio7i8 to the Forest and Stream Publish- 

 tng Co. 



HUNTING IN THE HIMALAYAS. 



Lights and Shadows of an Indian Forester's Life. VI. 



I DATED my last budget from Hurdwar, where I re- 

 mained until the 14th of November coUectins the deodar 

 ties sent down from the mountains during the summer, and 

 despatching them down country to Delhi and Agi-a. By 

 that date my young assistant, Charley C, fresh from a three- 

 years' course in Germany, had reported himself for duty. 

 I had collected three hundred pairs of sawyers for the con- 

 version of the season's jield of sal timber— the staple build- 

 ing timber of the region— had been furnished with the Trig 

 onometrical Survey's map of my division, about a thousand 

 square miles in area, with instructions to divide it into 

 blocks, make a rough valuation survey of the timber of each 

 block, outline a general plan of operations based on the 

 standing stock and annually productive capabilities of the 

 forest, submit a well-considered scheme of fire conservancy, 

 report on the feasibility of clearing the Ramgunga Channel 

 for rafting and s-ubm i my estimate of costs, to rid the divi- 

 sion of a notorious man eating tiger, and offer a hundred 

 dollars for his skin; further, I was called on to thoroughly 

 master the details of the local timber and bamboo sales, 

 which footing up as they do to about eighty thousand rupees 

 (forty thous ind dollars), nearly half the estimated revenue 

 of my division, and being exported across a frontier line of 

 fifty miles in li-ugth. afford especial facilities for combina- 

 tion between the mercliants and my subordinates for de- 

 frauding the govcx-nment. From tins you may infer that 

 sport is only incidc-ntal to, and not the actual business of, a 

 forest officer's life; but the tact is same is so plentiful in 

 these uninliabited regions that you run across it go where 

 you will, and can turn aside to stalk a fat stag or beat up a 

 likely looking clump of long grass for tig( r without any 

 undue interference wiih the matter in hand, whether it be 

 estimating stock or moving from camp to camp. 



So on the morning of the 15th, behold my quiet camp once 

 more a scene of dire confusion. The tents struck, a dozen 

 camels being loaded and biJlowing their vain remonstrances, 

 while servants and camel drivers maintained an incessant 

 and more or less disputatious chatter. Tne elephants were 

 ready by the time we hud dispatciied our chota haziri of cof- 

 fee and toast and eggs, and impatient to get- aw ay from the 

 discordant clattir, we mouuted them at once, my native 

 superintendent taking the back seat of my howdah, and 

 Charley C, with his shikaree (huntsman) — Ram Buksh — 

 filling the second howdah. 



Passing through the city of Hurdwar under the eyes of the 

 troops ol monkeys, which regarded us philosophically from 

 the roofs of the houses, we skirted the right bank of the 

 Ganges to a lord about five miles up, where we crossed and 

 entered a vast, almost treeless plain, covered at this season 

 with a coarse grass from four to six feet high, through wiiich 

 ran a beaten road to the southwestern corner of my "division, 

 two davs' march from Hurdwar-. There is more ol- less game 

 scattered over these plains, and after the December fires, 

 when the grass is reduced to smkll scattered clumps, there is 

 no difficulty in making a bag; but at this season it is hard to 

 come. on it, and still more difficult to shoot it when you do 

 come on it, for the only sign it gives is a ripple in the grass 

 as it moves out of the way. But as it is as easy for the ele- 

 phants CO go through it as along the road, and all of us be- 

 ing more or less keen the fii st day out, we struck into the 

 grass and followed the line of the road at three or foiu' hun- 

 dred yards distance. We had not gone far before 1 saw a 

 ripple in the grass, and moved the elephant down on it, 

 Tnere was a rush for about twenty yards, and all was still 

 again. A hog deer most probably, but there was no chance 

 of sighting him, so we went on our way. 



Another couple of miles and a shot on my right, rapidly 

 followed liy a second and a third, turned my eyes in the 

 direction of the othf-r elephant, when I saw" Charley and 

 Ram Buksh reloading; by the time t'jey were ready the 

 elephant had started the game again and anotlier three 'shots 

 were fired. This continued for about a quarter of an hour, 

 the elephant continually putting up the game, and following 

 it now this way, then tnat, and I should think something 

 like thirty shots must have been fired when the yelling of a 

 small pig(an old boar never yells) announced that some stray 

 bullet had found its billet. "How does your mahout like 

 loading a pig?" I asked my supeiiutendent, who being a 

 Hindoo mountaineer had no prejudices against anything 

 eatable, "Oh, he does'ut mind, Bahib,"was the reply, "as 

 long as he is not asked to handle it." Coming up we saw 

 the elephant sit down and Charley and his shickaree both 

 dismount, Charley quite excited and Ram Buksh very hnppy 

 in the anticipation of a good square meal, for he is a Musbi 

 Sikh, and loves wild pork belter than unythin,e that runs. 

 With the aid of ropes and pulleys the game was soon secured 

 behind the howdah. and we once more went on our way. 

 In the course of the next two miles we started another 

 sounder of pig, and two or three hog deer, but without a 

 chance for a shot. Charley had several shots at the grass, 

 but witliout any apparent effect. At length I too was 

 tempted to tire. I caught sight of the tips of a stag's horns, 

 and haying set him in motion, I told the mahout to get 

 straight behind him if possible. This little arrangement he 

 Was unable to negotiate, and at length I called a halt 

 and bidding Gorind Ram, the superintendent, fire together 

 with me, I tried to locate^ the shoulder, a rather difficult 

 matter with nothing to guide one but the tips of a pair of 

 horns of unknown length and form, but luck favored us, the 

 beast dropped, and hurrying up to the spot the elephant 

 dropped ou his knees, and Gorind Ram drawing his hunting 

 knife, jumped down to inflict the coup de grace secmidvm 

 arteni. He plunged his blade in beliind the ears, intending 

 to cut tlie throat, but ihe next moment there was an earth- 

 quake or sometiiing hke it Gorind Rnm and the stag flew 

 up at the elephant, wiiich sprang to his teet and got away a 

 dozen yards before he could be brought to order and the 

 matter investigated, Gorind Ram meantime had picked 

 himself up more astonished than hurt >tnd reported the stag 

 goue with the knife in his throat. Letting him mount to 

 his seat, a feat which satisfied him that the most important 

 of his bones were still iu working order, we began beating 

 our game, Charle\ joining us on the otlier elephant. We put 

 him up at 1* nglli and ioiir or five s'lots were fired together, 

 but ou takiny up the ekphauts tin re was another rush for a 

 few yards and aKOiher bro'idside. Again we went up to 

 where we had seen him stop, and again the poor beast stag- 

 gered to his feet, but only to roll over again, and Ram 



Buksh dismounted and finished the throat cutting. Getting 

 the beast secured behind the howdah, a labor in which all 

 hands joined, we found that the first shot had taken effect, 

 entering the upper jaw below the eye and slashing it all up; 

 this had stunned him, and Gorind Ram's blade plunged into 

 his throat had restored him to consciousness, he had got rid 

 of the knife again in his struggle and bled to death. 



Remounting we started for the campmg ground on the 

 Ganges, where we dismounted and sent the elephants away 

 for fodder. Charlej'^ and I discussed our luncheon and the 

 events of the morning under the shade of an acacia tree, 

 while Ram Buksh skinned the stag. The camels made their 

 appearance about 11 o'clock, and not caring to be in the way 

 while matters were being straightened out, Charley and I 

 took our rods, and calling one of the chuprasses to carry our 

 rifles in case of need, went down to throw a fly on the 

 Ganges. We strolled along about a mile at fifty yards apart 

 without getting a rise, when I struck a fish in some rapids, 

 and after about ten minutes' lively play ran him well up the 

 bank. It was a compact little fish about seven pounds 

 weight. While I was disen.gaging the fly, Charley, Avho was 

 fishing in deep water just below me, shouted that he had 

 hooked a whale or a crocodile or something, and looking I 

 saw his line running out at a pace that threatened to exhaust 

 it. It stopped in time, and Charley got a chance to reel in, 

 but before long bis fish was away again, down stream tliis 

 time, so I went on fishing the rapids, and after a time landed 

 another fish nearly the same size as the first. Charley was 

 by this time nearly a quarter of a mile down stream, so I fol- 

 lowed him down. 



After about half an hour's whipping without a rise, 1 

 wound my line up short and set off to see if Charley was 

 still playing his whale. He was now coming up stream, and 

 I saw that he had the fish in tow still. By the time 1 joined 

 him the fish had gone to the bottom and refused to move; 

 but as he was not more than thirty yards from the bank, I 

 told the chuprasse to put down the fish and rifles and try 

 , stoning. This started the fish again, but he was getting 

 played out and soon answered to the rein and allowed him- 

 self to be run a dozen feet up the bank, where he was soon 

 disposed of. We had no scales in the camp, but judging 

 from many fish I had weighed I estimated him at twenty- 

 five pounds. These Ganges fish are called Mahseer, and are 

 a species of Salmonidoe; the flesh is white and very fine, and 

 tlie head of a big fish a morsel for a cjourmet. We had now 

 had enough of fishing for one day and returned to camp to 

 find our tents pitched and everything in order, and Ram 

 Buksh with two or three assistants busily occupied in shav- 

 ing his pig. 



The next day's march was through similar country, more 

 or less diversilied by clumps of trees with a scrubby under- 

 growth, and in one" of these clumps I bagged a brace of wild 

 bantams. The elephant put up several bead of game, but I 

 had had too much experience in shooting in long grass to 

 throw my ammunition away. Charley and his shikaree 

 kept bansjing away, and hetween them bowled over a hog 

 deer, and while they were loading it I pushed on to the camp, 

 to get the report of my forester, who had been at his post 

 about a week. The man-eater afforded the first item of in- 

 telligence. News had been brought in that morning that he 

 had "killed one of three village women wlio were out grass 

 cutting on tlie northern skirls of the forest, some fifteen 

 miles up river. There was no news from the eastward, there 

 being no postal communication along the line before my 

 arrival, and the bamboo cutters were only just entering the 

 forest from their villases on the south. 



After dinner I held office, the superintendent being present 

 while I heard all applications for timber and bambooswhicb 

 the forester had received to date. The applications for 

 bamboos were practically mere notifications of intention^ to 

 cut, but the applications for timber wanted my sanction 

 before felhng could commence. Sal timber was cut only by 

 the department for export down country, but among the ap- 

 plications was one for a windfall sal tree lying in a specified 

 water course. On this I passed my orders, "Referred to the 

 superintendent with instructions to sanction the application 

 if it proves a windfall, as reported." I had received a hint 

 from ray official chief that, although he believed the super- 

 intendent pretty honorable, he thought it very probable that 

 the foresters and merchants worked into each others' hands 

 behind tis back. I had a different opinion. I believed the 

 superiotendant and sheristidar of ray office had hitherto run 

 the division between them, and I felt it necessary to put 

 them completely oft' their guard before I displayed the slight- 

 est want of confidence. 



Toward 4 o'clock Charley and I, taking Ram Buksh and a 

 couple of chapi"as,ses to be in waiting with our rifles, strolled 

 into the forest for an hour's ramble. We picked up a pea- 

 cock and a brace of bantams and saw a herd of spotted deer, 

 bat were unable to come up with them. 



We had now six days' march to this place where our timber 

 operations are in progress, the road being the boundary line 

 of the forest and grass land the whole way. Postal commu- 

 nication was established, and on reaching the fourth stage 1 

 found reports from all the eastern sub-eiivisions waiting me. 

 Starting in the morning about 6 o'clock, wc struck three or 

 four miles into the forest, getting into camp about noon, by 

 which time the tents were generally pitcfied and breakfast 

 ready, or at least so far forward, that it was on the taljle by 

 the time we had washed and changed. In these rambles I 

 was acquainting myself with the condition of the forests, 

 classes and available stock of timber, etc., taking copious 

 notes which I committed to paper daily on my arrival in 

 camp; of course the superintendent thought I was looking 

 only for game. 



One day he sounded me by pointing out a decayed sal 

 tree and asked me if I did not tliink it would be better to sell 

 such trees than wait until they fell. I asked if he thought 

 there were any purchasers for such trees, and he assured me 

 that he could sell scores of such dry trees in the season if \ 

 would give the order— he was putting his foot in it, but it 

 was my policy to lull him to sleep. In the afternoon I held 

 office hearing and passine my orders on all applications for 

 limbfr. We got plenty of venison ou the way to keep the 

 camp well supplied and generally succeeded in bagging a 

 brace or two of birds, bantam or peafowl. The latter make 

 an excellent raulligatawney, and a young bird, although in- 

 ferior to a turkey, is by no means a roast to be despised. 

 The bantam is very gamy and I think superior to either 

 pheasant or partridge. 



On the sixth day we reached the Ramgunga, and on the 

 seventh entered the little gorge through which it escapes into 

 the plains. The road winds along the hillside on the left 

 bank at two or tliree hundred feet above the river, the 

 opposite bank is alluvial drift, and rises generally three to 

 five hundred feet perpendicularly from the river, but at 

 I about eight miles from the plains the narrow gorge opens 



into a broad valley nearly a mile wide, through which the 

 Ramgunga winds its devious way. At the opening of the 

 valley there is a small bungalow belonging to the depart- 

 ment; it is a ground floor building with a commodious sit- 

 ting room, two bed-rooms and bath-rooms within fifty feet 

 of the edge of the river, which at that point is about forty 

 feet below. This will be Charley's headquarters for the sea- 

 son, and as I dismount and look through the building I feel 

 by no means sonj that it will be mine too for the next few 

 weeks. 



The camels marched into camp about an hour later, to- 

 gether with the mail runner, who brought the verbal intelli- 

 gence confirmed by letter that the man-eater had bagged a 

 bamboo cutter about ten miles to the eastward the evening 

 before. This gave me great anxiety, for unless his depreda- 

 tions were put a stop to, a panic would ensue and the forest 

 be deserted. A batch of English correspondence which the 

 runner brought with him occupied me until breakfast, and 

 contained among other matters a suggestion that I determined 

 to act on immediately. This was to apply to the officer 

 commanding the nearest Ghoorka regiment, to place a party 

 of his men at my disposal to hunt up the man-eater. 



I was now in full postal communication with all my for- 

 esters, nine in number, and with the head office, and after 

 breakfast I disposed of my English correspondence, sum- 

 moned the sheristadar, heard and passed orders on all ver- 

 nacular reports and petitions, g^ive a final audie^uce to the 

 superintendent, told him I should hold him responsible for 

 efficient supervision, and with a few general and detailed 

 Instructions as to his duties, bade him take his elephant and 

 prepare for an early start in the morning: on his tour of in- 

 spection. It was now near 5 o'clock, and Charley, who had 

 sat it out with me, was not sorry to have the office closed, 

 and cast a fly upon the rippled bosom of the Ra Jigunga. 



Shikaree. 



Camp Boksab, Lower Gusheval, Sewaliks, East Indies. 



NOTES FROM ORANGE COUNTY. 



A FEW camp and other notes from Orange county, this 

 State, may not be ami.ss, inasmuch as we do not hear 

 from it often through your columns. That it is so close to 

 us may account for its bein^ overlooked, but there are still 

 attractions there if we look in the right place. 



Fust of our paity was Chief, so dubbed because he always 

 proved himself "high boat" when it came to the question of 

 landing the largest and most fish. He is one of JSfew York's 

 leading architects, and was the life of the camp. His 

 original "sermons," effervescing with humor, were our de- 

 light, while a few time-lionored chestnuts sown occasionally 

 among the natives, never failed of a crop of applause. It 

 was he who feeling somewhat sensitive and discouraged at 

 his great deficiency iu adipose matter a whde agn, asked a 

 friend of his, an Irish gentlemam, "Tell me, S., did you ever 

 see a thinner man than I ?" In a rich brogue, his friend, 

 always ready with a quick repartee, rcphed, "Well, to tell 

 you the tiuth. Charley, I have [C. felt encouraged], but I 

 had to pay fifty cents at the museum." The second on oar 

 list is John Ayres, who took the part as guide. He hails 

 from Central Yalley and is the inventor of summer tobog- 

 ganing. At the bottom of the list appears the undersigned, 

 who, though one of the clan, Phil^. minor, hobnobs and freely 

 associates with a noted but cross black spaniel, who has 

 assisted him in bringing many of his own clan to bag. 



Our first camp was made on the shores of Lake Mt, Basha, 

 a pretty little sheet of water, near Monroe, on the Erie Rail- 

 road. We tempted the small mouths here for two days and 

 a half, with satisfactory results, though our largest fish 

 weiglied only a little over two pounds. Helgramites and 

 crawfish were the baits most freely taken. Fair strings of 

 pickerel are caught at this season by the valley people, who 

 drive over the rough mountain roads in all imaginable rigs 

 to picnic and fish. Some good shooting can be had here a 

 little later on, as this lake seems to be a favorite feeding spot 

 for blue and green winged teal, mallards, redheads, black 

 and, quite often, canvasback ducks. The great drawback ia 

 that there are no accommodations for sportsmen; hence it is 

 a case of camp-out. with no alternative. Partridges may be 

 found in the densely wooded sections, while in the swales 

 fall woodcock are already stopping on their flight southward. 

 Our second camp was' located at Summit Lake, two and a 

 half miles back in the mountains from Central Valley sta- 

 tion, and about twelve miles from our former encampment. 

 During our stay here of five days we fished Slaughter Pond. 

 UppeAnd Lower Twin lakes and Summit Lake, with fair 

 scores. The owners of the latter body of water are making 

 well-directed efforts to restock it with bass, having put in a 

 goodly number from the lakes adjacent, and a nice consign- 

 ment of big ones, ready to spawn, from the State hatchery. 

 Though bass fishing in this lake is prohibited, fishing for 

 pickerel and other fish is permitted. The largest pickerel 

 killed here lately was one of three and a half pounds, by 

 Capt. Jos Luce, of Poughkeepsie. Another gentleman took 

 twenty-one in a few hours. 



The sport of tobogganing in summer, as here practiced, is 

 an exhilarating pastime. Much is heard of it as a winter 

 sport for Canadians, but it was left for the fertile mind of 

 ,lohn Ayres to originate and introduce it as a fixture for both 

 seasons. The track or shde is made of planking, and is five 

 feet wide. It extends up the mountain back from the lake 

 one hundred yards. The grade is eighty feet, and the 

 descent is made inside of six seconds. The "tobog2;an" used 

 for summer pai'takes of the nature of a boat, so that when 

 the descent is made and the lake reached— for the slide runs 

 into the lake— the boat, with flags flying and its human 

 freio-ht shouting, goes skimming for fifty yards or more over 

 the smooth surface of the water as though shot from a gun. 

 A stationary endne draws it up the incline, again and again 

 to go rushing down like a whirlwind. In winter the sport is 

 pursued as in Canada, with toboaaans and sleds. 



At one time, not long ago, ruffed grouse were compara- 

 tively plenty throughout this section of the countiy, but 

 owing to persistent trapping the coveys have been greatly 

 decimated. Some of the hotels engage to take all the birds the 

 trappers can procure, hence a ready market is at hand._ A 

 step in the right direction toward stopping this nefarious 

 business has been taken by two New York gentlemen, who 

 have at heart the interests of game protection. They have 

 engaged two constables, paying them from their private 

 purses, to patrol the adjacent partridge country in search of 

 snares and snarers. This looks like business. All credit to 

 them for their good work. 



The Central Valley Shooting Club must be made up of 

 live men too. There is scarcely a farm in the valley but 

 that has one of the club's signs up in some prominent place 

 forbidding shooting thereon, showing that the farmer has 

 become interested, and been taught the value of Bob White. 

 A very commendable resolution has been passed by this cIud 



