should have been exceedingly uncomfortable, and exposed to every kind of annoyance from the rascality of the natives, who had hired themselves to us as servants with the intention of making a pretty sum by cheating us on the road. They did not seem at all to approve of the plan of joining the detachment, and some deserted that night, it not being worth their while to proceed, now we had some person with us who was aware of the tricks generally played off on griffs. The greater number of servants who get situations with young men in Calcutta, will only serve them during their griffinhood. When they find they can no longer rob with impunity, they leave their situations, and go in search of another fresh hand, whom they pluck in the same way. In this manner, these scoundrels often manage to amass a considerable sum of money, when they set up the trade of usury, lending money at the rate of twenty-four per cent interest, to young officers and others. They have often been the ruin of thoughtless youths who, had they not fallen into such hands, would probably have become ornaments to their profession. We rather rejoiced that the vagabonds had made themselves scarce before they obtained an opportunity of robbing us to any extent.

We proceeded on our march with great glee. The soldiers were as fond of sport as ourselves,

and went out with us every day to beat for game. We had capital shooting at partridges, pea-fowl, hares, snipes, and innumerable wild-fowl, and we were rather an acquisition to the detachment, which otherwise would often have been on short commons: very little in the eating way, being procurable at the wretched villages through which we passed. After ten or twelve days' march, the country presented a wilder aspect, and became jungly. Tall thick grass, interspersed with stunted bushes, began to take the place of well cultivated fields, and we now anticipated falling in with nobler game than we had as yet been able to find.

We observed that the few villages which we passed were stockaded round, to prevent the incursions of the wild beasts at night. Several deer and wild hogs crossed our path and were shot. One evening, the camel drivers came running into camp in great alarm. They had taken the camels to drink at a jheel * a little way in the jungle, when a tiger made his appearance for the same purpose on the other side. They, of course, at once took could not be persuaded to go back; but having pointed out the direction in which they had seen the beast, we loaded our rifles, and, accompanied by about a dozen volunteers from the men, started in chase. When, * A lake or marsh.

to their heels and

however, we arrived at the jheel, he had taken his departure. We found the prints of his feet in the loose sand, and followed them some distance into the jungle; but, as night was fast closing in, and it was already so dark that we could hardly see ten yards around us, we judged it prudent to return. Our friend was prowling about the camp all night, and in the morning we found he had killed a bullock belonging to one of the hackeries,* which had got loose from its fastenings, and strayed away a short distance in the jungle to graze. F- and myself remained behind next morning, and had another hunt for the tiger, but were again unsuccessful.

On arriving at the village of Ragonathpore, a number of the natives came to our tents, and complained most bitterly of the conduct of two bears, which had taken up their residence in a cave in a mountain close to the village. The brutes had killed some, and mutilated others of the inhabitants, who had fallen in with them while collecting fire-wood, or searching for honey, bees' nests being common in the jungle, and of these the bears are immoderately fond. I saw one poor wretch who had been frightfully mangled. He had been on the mountain, he said, searching for honey, when the bear suddenly rushed on him *Indian carts.

4.8

A SHOOTING PARTY.

and tore the scalp from the top of his head with his claws, and otherwise severely wounded him. This had occurred about a week before our arrival.

No sooner had we swallowed our breakfast, than the guns were overhauled, and put in readiness for instant service. We sent for the head man of the village, who soon collected fifty or sixty of the natives provided with tom-toms,* and various other noisy instruments to act as beaters. A party of the more respectable inhabitants said they would accompany us; and they accordingly came armed to the teeth with spears, swords, and shields, and some few with bows and arrows; others, in the excess of their zeal, had brought out matchlocks, but they seemed to have such a vague idea of how they were to be used, and carried them in such a dangerous manner, generally pointing at somebody's head, that I decidedly objected to this part of the armament. I had, moreover, no great opinion of the steadiness of our new allies; and even allowing that they did not shoot any of us by accident on the way to the hill, I felt pretty certain that on the least alarm in the jungle, a shower of balls would be sent in every direction but the right one, and that probably some of the beaters would be shot, of which of course we should get the credit. They were accord* A kind of drum.

A SHOOTING PARTY.

49

ingly though unwillingly left behind. Some of the soldiers obtained a few spears in case we should come to close quarters; and after a great deal of noisy discussion on the part of our beaters, as to the nearest route to Bruin's residence, we started. On arriving at the foot of the hill, we made the natives sit down while we ascended to reconnoitre the ground. We found a second hill behind that which the bears were said to frequent, and in a ravine dividing the two their footmarks were plainly discernible. From these we could form a very good idea which way they were likely to take when forced to break cover. There we determined to take our stations in order to cut off their retreat from a large thick tract of jungle, beyond which, it was evident from the trail, lay a favourite resort of theirs.

A sergeant who accompanied us was placed at one end, while F- and I took up positions about a couple of hundred yards apart, in the ravine, where two well beaten tracks intersected it, both evidently favourite runs. I had a double rifle with me, and was attended by a servant, on whom I thought I might depend, with another double gun loaded with ball, which he was to hand to me as a reserve, in case I should not dispatch the brute with the first piece. A corporal of our party, an intelligent fellow, was

D