THE STAG OF THE BLACK CUEETA ROCK. 26/ 
I Started to find him, I did not succeed in getting a stalk, so 
put nw men throuj^h one or two small woods, posting myself at 
the likely spots for the deer to break coven 1 was proceeding 
to one of these points when 1 was told a stag had been seen 
standing at the edge of the wood, w^hich he had entered with- 
out my seeing him. 1 ran round the top to intercept him, on 
which he quietly trotted out at the bottom, a fine handsome 
beastie," as a Scotch keeper would say, I at once recognised 
him to be the stag I was after and one that had dodged us out 
of the very same wood some time before; he seemed now 
to be making for a wood at the foot of the precipitous rock. 
The first black leopard 1 ever saw came out of this wood and 
sat in the open washing his face with his paws, like an old 
black torn cat before the fire, so I named the rock after him. 
Seeing that the stag was making for this cover I concluded 
he would in all probability lay up there. I had a pony out 
with me so 1 tied him up near the run by which the deer had 
entered, and ordered the men to Wcdk through the top ; but 
there was one difficulty to be overcome ; the wind was 
blowing right into the wood ; if I posted myself at the lower 
and most likely spot for the deer to break cover, he would 
be sure to have my wind and not come out that way. I 
therefore tried a stratagem. Walking along close to the 
wood I stood at one spot letting him thoroughly wind me, 
and when I judged he knew exactly where I was standing 
I stole back the way I came and made a long detour 
to a pass higher up the hill. The men had orders to 
enter the wood from above and commence clapping their 
hands as soon as they saw me posted ; presently out trotted 
a smaller stag some distance up the hfll above me ; he 
stood and looked at me and gave a temi)tint3r shot, but I 
