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the Great Canara Forest, where that rare animal, the Indian bison is found.

But, in the mean time, I find plenty of occupation during the cool hours of morning and evening, in procuring venison from the neighbouring jungles, or shooting antelope, which abound on the black plain within a few miles of the cantonment. The heat of the day is devoted to reading, studying natural history, preparing specimens, or making drawings of any rare animal I may have met with in my morning's ramble, and in the evening we all dine together on the produce of the day's sport, each of the young civilians taking it in turn to act the host and furnish the liquids.

The Southern Mahratta country, in which Dharwar is situated, presents a fine field for the naturalist as well as the sportsman, affording almost every variety of game found in India.

Of beasts of prey, the tiger, and two varieties of the panther are nu

merous.

The cheetah, or hunting-leopard (Felis Venatica), is rather more rare, and a variety of the tiger-cat is found occasionally.

The Indian bear (Ursus Labiatus) is common in all hilly districts.

Wild hogs abound in the jungles, but are daily becoming more scarce in the open country.

Hyenas, wolves, wild dogs, jackals, and foxes, compose a list of vermin that occasionally afford an hour's sport in the absence of nobler game.

Wild elephants are found in the Canara forest, along the western frontier of the district; and within twenty miles of Dharwar, we find the stately bison (Bos Gaurus), that noble stag, the samber, or Rusa deer (Cervus Aristotelis), vulgarly called the elk, on account of its enormous size; the beautiful spotted deer, or cheetle (Cervus Axis); the rib-faced deer, or muntjack (Cervus Muntjack); and the dwarf musk-deer (Moschus Minina?) hardly so large as a hare.

The neilghau (Damalis Risia) frequents the bauble jungles to the eastward.

Low coverts upon rising grounds are the favourite haunts of the fourhorned antelope (Antilope Chickura).

The little graceful gazelle is found, in great numbers, scattered over the barren land, between the great forest jungle and the extensive plains of black alluvial soil, commonly called cotton-ground, where the common antelope (Antilope Cervicapra), and bustard, afford constant and beautiful practice for the rifle.

Of small game there is also a great variety; but, except for the sake of our mess-table, we do not trouble them much.

The painted snipe (Scolopax Capensis), the common snipe, and a great variety of the duck tribe, are very numerous. Hares, peafowl, junglefowl, spurfowl, painted and gray partridge, florican, a small species of bustard (Otis Aurita), sand grouse (Tetras arenarius), and five varieties of quail, complete the list.

The Latin names of the above animals and birds, are those assigned to them in Cuvier's "Animal Kingdom."

Dharwar, May. For the last week I have devoted my time almost exclusively to antelope-shooting on the Black Plain, where the

apparently endless level extends on all sides to the horizon, like a dark sea, studded with little hillocks, that resemble islands. Morning and evening I ride out here, armed with my rifle, spear, and telescope, and wander over the cotton-ground, where the antelope feed, watching their habits, and daily discovering some new and interesting feature in their character.

The Indian antelope (Antilope Cervicapra) is somewhat larger than the roebuck, an adult male standing nearly three feet at the shoulder, and weighing about ninety pounds. The old bucks are dark coffeebrown, or nearly black above, and white beneath, with a white spot round the eye, head long, nose rather square and blunt, with an incipient muzzle, or naked space between the nostrils. Horns from eighteen to twenty-two inches long, dark brown, annulated with from twelve to twenty-two rings, and beautifully twisted in a spiral form. Female harmless, pale fulvous above, white beneath, with a white line, running along the side. Very young males are of the same colour as the female, but become gradually darker with age, till at five or six years old, they have acquired the darkest hue, and are then called black bucks. They are gregarious, and go in herds of from ten to twenty; each herd being under the command of an old black buck.

This is their rutting season, during which period desperate engagements take place between the males; they fight with great obstinacy, lowering their heads and tilting at each other so furiously, that their long spiral horns frequently snap in the encounter. When a stray doe gets accidentally, or perhaps intentionally, into a herd of young males -who, driven away by the old black bucks, form themselves into a club of bachelors-a series of single combats ensues, which are maintained for hours, till the strongest, or most chivalrous of the fraternity, shows a decided superiority over all the others.

The little timid doe, who has stood aloof, anxiously watching the progress of the fight-like Helen, the cause of many woes-now, quietly walks off with the victor.

Valiant alike, in love and war, the conqueror with swelling throat, tail curled proudly over his back, and head erect, sidles up to his hardwon prize, uttering a low bellow of delight. The skittish doe repels his advances, tosses her pretty head, and starts off in a succession of graceful bounds, clearing the air like a meteor.

On, with the speed of light, dashes the excited buck, stretching himself across the plain in a long striding gallop, the rapid stroke of which is more than the eye can follow, and at length overtakes the bounding doe, in a race where his muscular powers are taxed to the

utmost.

When the doe is wearied out, and can no longer avoid the male who even has recourse to blows to bring her to subjection-she yields herself, and remains in company with the buck for several days, generally in some secluded spot, where no intruder is likely to interrupt their honeymoon.

I have observed, and watched for several successive days, a pair in this retirement, and have seen the poor buck, at length, driven from his partner, by some more powerful rival, whom the doe follows, always becoming the willing prey of the conqueror.

The beaten buck generally leads the life of a hermit for the rest of

the season, but sometimes returns to the society of his bachelor friends.

It often happens that the old black buck of a herd, is led astray by one of his own skittish does, and does not return till another male has usurped his place, and established himself in the good graces of the ladies of his harem. If both bucks happen to be renowned warriors a desperate combat ensues, which is seldom decided without a broken horn, at least. But if the intruder be a young male, he walks off at once, like a wise dog, who leaves the room as soon as he sees prerations making for throwing him out of window.

Antelope exhibit great affection for their young, exposing themselves, in their defence, to dangers which they most dread. I met with a remarkable instance of this while trying to approach within shot of a black buck, in company with a doe and fawn. The fawn followed the doe, when she made off at my approach; but its weakness not allowing it to keep pace with the old ones, they both halted, and forced it by blows to crouch in a furrow. As often as it attempted to rise, they returned, and pushed it down again, remaining by it, although I had by this time approached within shot, as long as the fawn continued to show itself. This display of parental affection quite disarmed me, and I left the poor things unmolested.

To give my readers an idea of the various methods of killing and taking antelope, I shall transcribe the account of a few days' sport, selected from my journal.

Kardagee, March 1st.-Here I am again, in the land of the antelope, working the long rifle daily, and keeping myself and followers plentifully supplied with venison-I killed three this morning, missing but one shot. The first dropped dead, hit in the shoulder; the second, a black buck with twenty-one inch horns, distant one hundred and ninety yards, fell after running at full speed; about a quarter of a mile, although the ball, weighing nearly an ounce and a half, had passed through his body close to the heart; the third, a fine buck with twenty inch horns, was feeding with his hind-quarters towards me, when I fired; he raised his head just as I covered him with the sight, and receiving the ball in the back of the neck, dropped dead, without moving a limb.

March 2d.-To-day I only killed one antelope, which I brought down at a long range; he got up again, although shot through the loins, and led me a gallop that made old "Vulcan's" tail shake before I speared him.

Gudduk, April 26th.-Shot badly this morning, and missed several fair shots, which I ought to have hit; the antelope, in this part of the country, being by no means shy. On my way home, I tried the speed of a young buck, and found that "Merlin," although a fast horse, could not touch him over a dead plain. I was pulling up after going about a mile, when chance put the buck in my power. In jumping a ravine, he fell and broke his fore-leg. I observed his lameness, and a gallop across a few fields blew him so completely, that I ran into and speared him.

Sudugee, November 19th.-Nothing has been done to-day, except taking out the Kolapoor Rajah's hunting cheetahs. They had three runs each at bucks without killing, which I was not sorry for, as this, like

falconing and coursing, is a sport by no means to my taste. All I wished to see was the extraordinary degree of speed exerted by the leopard in chase; and this was displayed to-day in perfection. The rapidity of his stroke, and the length of his bounds, are almost incredible; giving a rate of going, for a few seconds, too rapid for the eye to follow. In judging of the speed exerted, there is only this to guide you—an antelope, one of the swiftest animals in nature, going his best pace, and straining every nerve to escape; and the bounding leopard, flying through the air with a velocity that gains upon his prey as if it were only going at a gentle canter. The reason of their not killing to-day, was being slipped at too great a distance, the antelope being very shy. Neither of the leopards could or would keep up his prodigious velocity for more than three hundred yards; and failing to strike the buck within this distance, he became sulky, lay down, and remained growling, till the keeper, coming up with his cart, blindfolded and secured him, after having appeased his wrath with a lump of raw meat. This style of hunting is a beautiful sight to see once; but, in my opinion, is a sport better calculated to please an effeminate Rajah than a European sportsman.

Noulgoond, May 13th.-The antelope here are extremely shy, owing chiefly to their having been much persecuted of late by a tribe of Huru shikaries (deer-hunters), encamped in the neighbourhood.

These people-a wandering caste of natives, who earn a livelihood by snaring game-not only destroy great numbers of antelope, but render the animals so wild by constantly driving them towards their snares, that they start off the moment a man appears in sight. Their method of taking them is as follows:

Having selected a convenient spot frequented by antelope, they erect two oblique lines of small bamboos driven into the ground, beginning at about three hundred yards apart, and bringing them gradually together in the form of a funnel, till they are within forty or fifty yards of each other. Along the oblique lines of upright posts, they extend cords, to which are suspended feathers and white pieces of antelope skins that flutter in the wind, and across the narrow passage, between the two lines, are fastened loops and snares of various kinds. This being prepared, the whole tribe, men, women, and children turn out, and surrounding a herd of antelope, drive them quietly towards the wide part of the enclosure. Here they rush upon the antelope with tremendous yells, and the poor animals terrified by the noise behind them, and scared from turning to the right or left by the fluttering of the feathers and pieces of white skin, rush blindly forward, and in trying to escape through the narrow passage, are entangled in the snare and taken.

Another method of taking antelope is by means of a tame buck, who having a number of wire nooses fastened about his head and horns, is turned out in the plain where a herd of wild antelope are feeding. No sooner does he approach the herd, than the old buck steps forth and gives battle to the intruder; his long spiral horns become entangled in the nooses attached to the head of his antagonist, and the shikarie, who has been lying in ambush, runs up and secures him before he has time to disengage himself.

For the last week I have toiled across the heavy black plain for

many hours every morning without once getting within shot of an antelope. Yesterday I tried an expedient commonly resorted to by native hunters, of approaching my game under cover of a light moveable frame of bamboo, clothed with branches; but in this I failed, either from my own want of skill, or from the antelope having become acquainted with this artifice. To-day I tried the experiment of using a stalking bullock, and with better success. It enabled me to get within one hundred yards of a large herd, headed by an old black buck, which I knocked over with the second barrel whilst going at speed, after having missed a fair standing shot with the first.

May 22d.-To-day the stalking bullock failed me, and being in want of venison, I tried the experiment of driving the antelope. Having remarked the course which they generally took when disturbed, I posted myself in a ravine as nearly as I could guess in their line, and sent my man a circuit of a couple of miles, on horseback, to drive them towards me. He played his part admirably: the antelope crossed the ravine within twenty yards of me, and I dropped two of them, right and left.

May 23d.-I crossed the river this morning in search of new ground; for the antelope near our encampment now know my green coat so well, that it no sooner appears upon the plain, than every one makes off, as if a cheetah had been slipped at them. I shot one buck out of a herd of young males less shy than the others.

I fired at a long range of two hundred yards, and broke his foreleg near the shoulder; but he went away upon the remaining three at a rate which "Challenger's" best pace could not equal. By the time I was mounted, the buck had a long start, skimming like a bird over the treacherous cotton-ground covered with holes. I was pressing little "Challenger" to do his utmost, when he sank to the knees in a deep fissure, and rolled over with a tremendous crash, going several times head over heels before' the impetus of his speed was exhausted. We both got up rather stunned, and I found myself lying twenty yards from my horse, with my hunting-cap driven into the earth, leaving a beautiful cast of its figure. The buck was out of sight, but I knew where he was making for; and, it being quite contrary to my principles to leave a poor wounded animal to die a lingering death, I laid in again till a glimpse of a distant herd assured me that my quarry was among them-for I had observed that a wounded antelope when pressed, always tries to join a herd-I could soon distinguish him by his lameness, and singling him out, I rattled him for about a mile over broken ground, when he became blown, and I speared him. He was a middle-sized buck, with horns of thirteen inches.

May 25th.-My brother's horse, "Merlin," performed a feat to-day, which I believe has never yet been accomplished by any horse in India -that of running down a full-grown buck antelope.

We were returning in a sulky mood after a long walk over the plain, having shot badly, and missed where we ought to have killed to a certainty. A fine buck had been leading us a long round without allowing us to get within range, and we had mounted with the intention of riding back to the tents. My brother's horse was in one of his fidgety moods, fretting and bucking like a goat, till at last he lost patience, and seeing the buck that had baffled us trotting along with a very supercilious air,

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