IN SEARCH OF BIG GAME. 
23 
certain to get a seladang, as there were d number about there 
which were quite undisturbed. 1 inquired if he knew of 
any particular bull which be could put me on to, and 
explained to him that I did not care very much about follow- 
ing herds. He would not, however, commit himself, but stuck 
to it tluit there were plenty of seladang about. 
The follovving niurning the old headman rKtnrned up 
Stream in aliitie dug-out, leaving before daylij;ht, and after we 
had broken up camp we were conducted by the Batin Ulu, 
who acted as our guide, to the up-river settlements by a route 
overland, which took us fairly close to uur yesterday's hunting 
grouti<:l, Bukit l a Simpai. W'e came acro?s fre&h tracks 
of elephants just after we had left the clearing, but they were 
those of the elephants we had met the previous day and no 
bull had obligingly joined them during the night. On our way 
up we managed to bag a wood partridge and a mouse deer, 
which was considered a good augury for the future hunting. 
We arrived at the Batin's place sooti after noon, and fourid 
that the old man had made a nice little hut on the baidc of the 
river which he wished me to occupy, and was evidently very 
anxious to make us as comfortable as possible. We ascertain- 
ed that there was a large clearing about half an hour's walk 
from our camp where report had it seladang were always 
to be found, so soon after two o'clock Yasin and I, with 
one of my Malays and a Sakai guide, w^ent up towards the 
clearing. Before we arrived there, however, we came across 
quite fresh tracks of a solitary bull seladang which had crossed 
the path we were following. We changed our direction and 
took up the tracks. Almost at once we noticed blood on 
the track, and after a careful examination decided that he had 
cut one of his hind feet which was bleeding profusely. We 
came to a spot where he had lain down and found quite a 
pool of blood, and afterwards a place where he had been stand- 
ing shaking his hind leg and distributing the blood all round. 
We followed him till nearly four o'clock when we found 
we were close to the big clearing near our camp, having made 
a w^ide circle round it. Proceeding now with great caution, 
expecting to find him lying down near the edge of the padang, 
waiting for the cool of the evening when be would probably 
go out to feed, we heard him quite close to us and almost 
immediately saw his huge black body for an instant as he 
rose from his resting place. But I did not see his head, 
in fact, I only caught a momentary glimpse of him at all 
before be vanished. We had no time to follow him further 
that afternoon so returned to camp. I think he must have 
cut his foot by stepping into one of the Sakai^s elephant traps 
