Here is evidently the tip for any sportsman wishing to shoot one: find a tree with tracks three days old, and sit up in it on the fourth morning.

Sterndale says:

Hunting antelope with chitas has been described ad nauseam, and is in the opinion of the writer very poor sport. It is worth witnessing once, if only to see how fast a chita can go.

VIII. THE OUNCE, OR SNOW LEOPARD (Felis Uncia)

Generally, ‘Safed Chita’; Thibet, ‘Stian’

The ounce is fairly common on the higher ranges; there are few ibex grounds on which its tracks will not occasionally be seen, but owing to its nocturnal habits it is very rarely met with. It preys chiefly on ibex and burrel, and rarely, if ever, descends to the forest line. It will kill sheep and goats. A farm in Lahoul, belonging to the Moravian missionaries, suffered considerably in 1884 from the depredations of a pair of ounces that lived in the valley behind Kielang. The male of this pair was killed by an officer of the Royal Artillery, who saw the ounce on his return from shooting late in the evening. The next day he went back up the nullah prepared to spend the night out, shot a young male ibex and dragged the carcase down to where he had seen the ounce the day before. Just at dusk the ounce came to the bait and was missed clean with the first barrel; however, the sportsman, being highly favoured by the gods, bagged him with a second shot, and next morning brought him in triumph down to Kielang. The skin was a beauty, very pale yellowish white with black spots and black rings on the thick furry tail.

From the amount of slaughter ounces effect among ibex, it is probable that they hunt in pairs. In 1874 a sportsman in Pangi found a flock of five or six male ibex lying dead within a few yards of each other, killed by ounces; he had seen this particular flock some days before, had either disturbed them or was unable to get at them, and had given them a few days’ rest to settle down in. When he did go after them he found that they had all been slaughtered.

IX. THE THIBETAN LYNX (Felis Isabellina)

Thibetan, ‘Ee’

This beautiful animal is very rarely met with, but as the Tartars know it well by name, it is possible that it may be more plentiful than is commonly supposed; its nocturnal habits, as in the case of the ounce, shielding it from observation. The Tartars aver that it frequently kills sheep and goats; but though the lynx is quite powerful enough to do so, it is probable that the natives occasionally confound the lynx with the ounce. The lynx stands about 17 ins. at the shoulder, and is of enormously powerful make, with teeth and claws large enough for an animal of twice its size.

The Thibetan lynx has the orthodox prominent whiskers which are absent in the red lynx of the plains, but it differs from the European variety in the pads of its feet being prominent and bare, with short close fur between them, whereas in the European lynx the long fur completely conceals the pads.

The red lynx, Felis caracal, called by natives ‘Siagosh,’ is occasionally met with all over India. It is not common anywhere, or at least, possibly owing to its nocturnal habits, it is not often shot. A few are known to have been shot in Central India. It preys chiefly on hares, birds, and small deer. Sterndale gives the following measurements: Head and body, 26 to 30 ins.: tail, 9 or 10 ins.; height, 16 to 18 ins.

Measurements

X. WOLVES AND WILD DOGS

Space does not permit an exhaustive description of these vermin, and it must be briefly said that there are three kinds of wolves in India. First is the ordinary wolf of the plains (Canis pallipes) which is more destructive to children and cattle than to game, and is generally called ‘Bheria’ by the natives. Authenticated tales of its ravages among the infant population are only too common, an old bitch wolf with cubs laid up near a village naturally finding Indian baby the most easily procured and most succulent diet for her offspring. Wolves have occasionally been ridden down and speared, but only when found in the morning, and more or less gorged; a wolf in the evening, when empty, will lope along just ahead of good greyhounds till the latter lie down exhausted. They can occasionally be smoked out if their earths are found. Williamson describes a big bag made in this way near Allahabad in 1780; the earths were dug out, and at least ten pounds weight of children’s ornaments found in them. He also narrates a ghastly story of the way wolves attacked the starving natives during the famine of 1783 in broad daylight; as a rule, however, they seldom attack men.

The next well-known varieties are the grey and black Thibetan wolves (Canis laniger and Canis niger), generally called ‘Chanko.’ These are very destructive to game as well as to flocks and herds, as they hunt in small packs. Both grey and black wolves are found together, and interbreed. The black wolf is said to be rather the larger, but it is an open question whether the varieties are distinct or not, in spite of the fact of the black specimens Colonel Kinloch presented to the Zoological Gardens only producing black cubs.

A third variety of ‘Chanko,’ called the ‘golden wolf,’ has been mentioned by sportsmen, but this may possibly be the European wolf (Canis lupus), which extends to Turkestan.

The chief points of distinction between the three varieties of wolves, i.e. European, Thibetan, and Indian, are as follows: in the European wolf the carnassial tooth is as long as the two molars together, which is not the case with the others; it has also a dark stripe on the forelegs, which the others have not; and, lastly, the European and Indian wolves have black tips to their tails, which the chanko has not.

The remaining species of vermin is the Wild Dog (Cuon rutilans), generally called ‘Jungli-Kutta’: in Cashmere ‘Ram Hun.’ These veritable pests are found everywhere, and as they hunt in large packs are most destructive to all kinds of game, absolutely clearing out whole tracts of country, even being credited occasionally with killing tigers, which, as Sanderson points out, is by no means impossible if the tiger attempts to run away, and they get a chance of making their favourite attack from behind. He narrates two occasions on which he saw deer eviscerated by one or two snaps from wild dogs. They rarely, if ever, attack men, and are more like big red jackals than dogs. The cubs are quite untamable, and are the nastiest, most evil-smelling, vicious pets that heart could desire.

Measurements

XI. THE STRIPED HYÆNA (Hyæna striata)

Native names: ‘Lakhar baghar’ generally; ‘Rerha,’ Central India

This is scarcely a sporting beast, but being destructive to dogs is generally saluted with a shot if found by daylight, a thing which does not often happen. The striped hyæna is a large brute, with tremendous power of jaw, which lives principally on carrion, and will pick up a dog if found alone, though two or three dogs will easily beat it off. The hyæna has often been ridden down and speared, and shows little or no fight in spite of its large teeth. Hyænas are found all over the plains of India, but apparently neither in Burmah nor Ceylon. There were several which used to prowl about the barracks at Nowgong in Central India when the writer was quartered there, two or three of which were shot by the soldiers, and the jackals there paid them all the honours usually accorded to tigers, following them and uttering their peculiar note of warning which the natives call ‘kole baloo.’ The writer has often heard this cry, and as long as it continues no jackal within earshot will set up his ordinary howl. This hyæna is the common species that is found throughout Persia, Asia Minor, and North Africa.

Sterndale gives its length as 3½ ft., head and body; tail, about 1½ ft. The writer never measured one, but estimated the height of an old male as about 22 ins.

XII. ELEPHANT (Elephas indicus)

Native names: ‘Hati’ generally; ‘Anay,’ Canarese (Sanderson); ‘Allia,’ Singhalese (Sterndale).

The elephant is found along the foot of the Himalayas, from Deyhra Doon through Assam and Burmah to Siam; also in some parts of Central and Southern India and Ceylon.

The difference between the Indian and African elephant is well marked; the small ears, smooth trunk, and more intelligent head of the former being very conspicuous. The marks on the grinders are also different, being in the Indian elephant irregular loops, while in the African they form a string of decided lozenges joined by the corners. The African elephant has only three toes on the hind foot, while the Indian has four. The point of difference, however, which chiefly concerns the sportsman is that in the Indian elephant there is a cavity in the skull behind the bump on the top of the trunk which enables a bullet properly placed to reach the brain, while with the African variety this cavity is protected by the roots of the tusks, making the front shot ineffective.

The main points to be considered by the sportsman may be shortly summarised as follows:

The brain, which at most only presents a mark of about twelve inches in length by six inches in height, is situated low down and far back in the skull, the centre of it being nearly in the line between the two ear-holes. The three chief shots are the front shot, in the centre of the forehead towards the top of the bump at the base of the trunk, and about three inches higher than a line drawn between the eyes; the temple shot, the head of the elephant being at right angles to the sportsman, through the ear-hole in a line to pass through the opposite ear; the rear shot, behind the ear in the hollow just over the large bump at the junction of the jaw and neck. It must be taken at about an angle of 45° with the elephant’s course from behind. These are the shots to be tried for; if the elephant’s head is inclined at an angle, calculation has to be made to determine the line of the brain. If charging with the head carried high and trunk curled, it is almost impossible to kill him with a front shot, but heavy rifles will generally stop him. In head shots an elephant not killed on the spot generally escapes, so no time should be lost in finishing one that is floored. For weapon, a 4-smoothbore spherical ball with twelve drachms of powder is recommended. Indian elephants are seldom shot behind the shoulder, for as Sanderson says, ‘When an elephant can be approached to within a few yards, and dropped on the spot, it is hardly sportsmanlike to take a long shot, and risk wounding the animal uselessly.’ Females in a herd are always the first to charge. The tuskers are most likely to be found in the rear guard of a herd, and the animals should not be approached in cover unless they are feeding. A peculiar short, shrill trumpet is the sign that the hunter has been discovered; the herd stands perfectly still for some minutes and then closes up and moves rapidly off; or, if the elephant that perceives danger discovers that it is very near, it retires quickly without a sound, followed by the rest, so that the hunter may find the whole herd gone before he is aware that he has even been perceived. If a herd is attacked it stampedes, and if hard pressed the females with calves will charge.

When a herd stampedes in cover, as it is impossible to tell the direction it will take, the best course the sportsman can adopt is to stand still against a tree or a bamboo clump, and not attempt to run. A tree eight inches in diameter is said to be about the largest that an elephant can overthrow. If circumstances ever occur to make a run unavoidable, the flight should always be down hill and the steepest places at hand chosen, as elephants fear to trust themselves on a rapid descent at any great pace; up hill or on the level a man would be speedily overtaken on rough ground.

When a herd makes off it goes at a great pace for a short distance and then settles into a fast walk, which is often kept up for ten or fifteen miles if there is a wounded elephant and no young calves with it. The sportsman should pursue at once, as an ordinary runner can generally keep near for two or three hundred yards.

When elephants are close at hand, standing in indecision, no one should shout to turn them, as a charge from one or more of them is almost sure to be the result. A friend of the writer’s told him that once when stalking an elephant he could not get a fair shot at his head, so he whistled to make him turn; the elephant simply swung round and charged, but a shot in the head, though it did not floor, turned him.

The impression of the tusks in soft soil gives a good idea of their size. A groove that will admit five fingers means that the tusks will probably weigh over 60 lbs. the pair. Twice round the forefoot gives the height of the elephant at the shoulder.

In shooting single elephants, after the first rush of a hundred yards or so all noise often ceases, as the elephant breaks into a walk, and a novice would suppose that he had stopped when in reality he is rapidly retreating.

In following wounded elephants it is a good plan to send a couple of trackers ahead while the sportsman and his gun-carriers follow a hundred yards in rear, as the trackers, if alone, are not likely to be taken by surprise. Rogue elephants, though more liable to attack in the first place, are not more determined than others; a female with a young calf is much more likely to charge persistently, and the advantage of having only one animal to deal with is immense.

Thus Sanderson writes, and in conventional phraseology that is all very fine; but Sanderson seems to have let his feelings run away with him. I confess that a tiger charging never appeared undignified to me; his charge has always struck me as being a particularly neat, business-like performance, and the coughing roar that accompanied it did not at all detract from the show—spluttering indeed! Sanderson’s elephant does not roar because he is afraid of hurting his trunk. Then the poor bison a blunderer! The way an old bull will charge, dodge behind a bush till he sees someone following him or hears someone speak, and then charge back again, shows an amount of systematic ‘cussedness’ which deserves praise not ridicule. As for the bear, his best friends must admit that his natural grotesqueness is only enhanced by his efforts at retaliation; but he does his best.

With a single exception, all those elephants which Sanderson shot behind the shoulder seem to have given him a long chase before he could bring them to bay, probably because the position of the heart is much harder to judge in the Indian than in the African species, the centre of the outside edge of the latter’s ear when thrown back marking the spot. It is not so with the Indian elephant, whose ear is smaller.

A fight between two wild tuskers is said frequently to last for a day or more, a round being fought every now and then. The more powerful elephant occasionally keeps his foe in view till he perhaps kills him.

Though elephant catching is of old date, shooting wild elephants seems to have been unheard of at the beginning of the century. Williamson, who wrote about the year 1805, remarks with reference to M. Vaillant’s exploits in South Africa:

Sanderson says the largest elephant he has seen measured 9 ft. 10 ins. at the shoulder, and declares there is not a 10-ft. elephant in India. Colonel Kinloch measured one he shot 10 ft. 1 in., and the writer has seen a foot in Mr. Rowland Ward’s shop that measured 5 ft. in circumference, which should make the animal 10 ft. at the shoulder.

Sterndale gives 10 ft. 7½ ins. as the largest authentic measurement on record, and oddly enough quotes Sanderson as authority for the measurement of this elephant, which belonged to the Sirmoor Rajah.

As regards tusks, Sanderson’s biggest pair measured 4 ft. 11 ins. and 5 ft. respectively, with a girth of 16½ ins. at the gum, the pair weighing 74½ lbs.

Sir Victor Brooke’s big tusker measured: Right tusk, 8 ft.; 5 ft. 9 ins. outside socket; girth 1 ft. 4⁹⁄₁₀ ins.; weight, 90 lbs. Left tusk, 3 ft. 3 ins.; 1 ft. 2 ins. outside socket; girth, 1 ft. 8 ins.; weight, 49 lbs.

The skeleton of the well-known Arcot rogue elephant, now in the Madras Museum, measures 10 ft. 6 ins. at the shoulder. Mr. Rowland Ward considers that when alive it must have stood 10 ft. 10 ins.

‘Jumbo,’ the African elephant in the Zoological Gardens, stood 11 ft., and Sir S. Baker says that African elephants measure 12 ft. or more.

The three largest African tusks recorded in ‘Horn Measurements,’ by Rowland Ward, are:

XIII. RHINOCEROS

There are no fewer than four different kinds of rhinoceros to be found in India and Burmah; viz. Indicus, Sondaicus, Lasiotis and Sumatrensis. The first, which is the most generally known, extends from the Nepal Terai to Assam. The second is found in the Sunderbuns, and from Manipur through Burmah to the Malay Peninsula; the third is found in Arakan and Tenasserim; the fourth, from Tenasserim through Burmah to Siam and the Malay Peninsula; the two first varieties being one-horned, the two last two-horned. The Asiatic rhinoceros differs from the African in three particulars: the skin is divided into shields by well-marked folds; he has long upper cutting teeth (the African having none), and the nasal bones of the skull are produced and conical instead of broad and round (Sterndale).

The chief difference between R. indicus and R. sondaicus is that the latter has a well-marked fold in front of the shoulders, the line running over the back of the neck, whilst in Indicus it dies away on the shoulder-blade; the head of Sondaicus is also somewhat slenderer, and the female has no horn. In Indicus both sexes have this horn, and the curious tesselated appearance of the hide in one is very different from the tuberculated armour of the other.

Though Sondaicus has been described as the lesser Indian rhinoceros, there is little difference in the size between this and other Indian varieties.

R. lasiotis and R. sumatrensis have more or less hairy hides instead of tubercles. Lasiotis is larger, lighter in colour, with wide-set ears, a short tufted tail, and a long fringe of hair on the back edge of the ear; Sumatrensis is smaller, darker, with close-set ears (which are filled with black hair but have no fringe), and tail long, tapering, and semi-nude.

The native names of all four varieties seem much the same: ‘Gaindá,’ ‘Gairá,’ ‘Gonda,’ generally; ‘Gor’ Assam, ‘Khyenhsen’ Burmah, ‘Bodok’ Malay.

The rhinoceros does not extend to Central and Southern India, being only found in the heavy grass swamps of the Terai, Assam, &c.; consequently the only way of hunting this beast is with elephants. The rhinoceros may be either tracked up to his lair on a single elephant, or the jungle may be beaten as for tigers.

Measurements

In no branch of sport is it more necessary to have trustworthy men in charge of the mahouts of the pad elephants. A rhinoceros when roused makes such a noise crashing through the reeds and snorting, that, though he rarely charges home, and even then only bites instead of using his horn, he fairly terrifies both mahouts and their animals, and consequently, unless the line is under good control, the beating is carried out in a very half-hearted manner. The usual pace of a rhinoceros is a trot, but he will sometimes break into a gallop and gets over the ground with surprising speed. When shot they usually sink down on their knees and rarely roll over on to their sides. The flesh is said to be as good as, or better than, most Indian beef. The track is easily distinguished, as the foot has only three toes.

There is a story of a fight having been witnessed between a rhinoceros and a wild male elephant, in which the latter was worsted. A rhinoceros is said to have wantonly attacked the camp of two officers from Dinapore, near Derriapore, in 1788. The brute killed their horses, which were picketed, treed the officers and their servants, and ‘after keeping them in dreadful suspense for some time, and using some efforts to dislodge them, seeing the sun rise, retreated to his haunt.’

Their habit of depositing their dropping on the same spot, which is shared by many deer and antelopes, has been noted by all writers on the subject. Native shikaris watch these large heaps and take poor rhino at a disadvantage.

XIV. THE MALAY TAPIR (Tapirus malayanus)

Native names: ‘Ta-ra-shu,’ Burmese; ‘Kuda-ayer,’ Malayan

Sterndale says of it:

Measurements

XV. WILD BOAR (Sus indicus)

It is a maxim in India that the only sportsmanlike way of killing boar is with horse and spear, and therefore as these volumes treat principally of those beasts which fall or should fall to the rifle, this pluckiest of all beasts must be dismissed with a very brief notice.

Occasionally there may be some justification for shooting boar, but as they travel great distances, none ought to be shot within forty miles of rideable ground.

Several cases are on record in which an old boar has beaten off a tiger, and some in which the latter has been killed by a boar. The boar’s extraordinary activity and sharp tusks make him no mean adversary, and his short neck makes it difficult for a tiger to seize it and give it that fatal wrench with which he likes to polish off his victims.

XVI. THE PIGMY HOG (Porcula salvania)

Native names: ‘Sano-banel,’ Nepal; ‘Chota soor,’ Hindi

This tiny little wild pig is found in the Sál forests of Nepal and Sikkim. It has the reputation of going in herds like the peccary and attacking intruders in the same fearless way. In shape it only differs from the common wild pig in that its snout is comparatively shorter, and the eye consequently set midway between snout and ear. Its tail, too, is short and is hidden among the bristles on the rump. It has long bristles all over its back and sides, but no well-defined mane like an ordinary boar, whilst its ears are quite hairless and the under parts of the body and limbs almost so. Some stuffed specimens in the British Museum of apparently half-grown beasts are deep chestnut, a full-grown one being nearly black.

Measurements

XVII. CROCODILES

Native names: ‘Muggur,’ the snub-nosed variety; ‘Ghayal,’ the long-nosed variety

The crocodile is a kind of vermin, of which there are two varieties in India—the flat-nosed and the long-nosed. Though not perhaps objects of the highest form of sport, still a good deal of fun may be had with them; and as they are awful brutes for robbing the sportsman of any birds that may be dropped on the water—will take down his dog if he sends it in to retrieve, and in many places will take human beings—their destruction should invariably be attempted.

A few may be shot with a rifle, but they are uncommonly wary, and nineteen out of twenty that are hit will get back into the water and be lost. The most satisfactory way of dealing with them, besides being far the most sporting, is to bait a good large hook with a bird or small animal, and fasten it by a chain to a good long rope, the end of which is firmly picketed, the rope being coiled and the bait laid in shallow water. There must be lots of slack line, as the crocodile does not swallow anything at once, but seizes it and takes it into deep water to gorge. A number of lines may be laid and looked up in the morning or cool of the evening. When hooked it will take a good many men to haul a crocodile out, and as he resents the operation and can use his tail as well as his jaws, one or two sportsmen will find considerable entertainment in despatching him with spears. Some crocodiles grow to an enormous size, and their maws always contain round white stones, and often trinkets, the relics of inside passengers. The writer assisted at the death of a not extraordinarily large ‘snub-nose,’ which had six women’s rings in her. This beast was a female, and full of eggs. Another plan worth trying is to tie up a kid in the evening as a bait, just sufficiently far from the water to attract the crocodiles by its bleating on to dry land, so that the sportsman, lying well hidden about sixty yards off, should be able to make sure of shooting them through the back of the head.

Measurements.—British Museum: a snub-nose, 17 ft. 4 ins.; a long-nose, 15 ft. 1 in.

XVIII. GAUR (Gavæus Gaurus)

Native names: ‘Gaor,’ ‘Gaori-gai’; generally, ‘Gail,’ Chota Nagpur; ‘Khulga,’ Western Ghauts; ‘Karti,’ Mysore; ‘Mithan,’ Bhootan.

Gaur, or bison,[23] as they are usually called, are found in suitable localities, from the Terai, through Bhootan, Assam and Burmah, to the Malayan Peninsula and throughout Central and Southern India, but do not extend to Ceylon. The 28th degree of North latitude seems their extreme northern limit, otherwise it would be difficult to account for their absence in what appears to be such thoroughly suitable ground as the Sewalik range and the lower slopes of the Himalayas north of this limit, although elephants, whose food and requirements are almost identical with those of the gaur, are plentiful there. Hilly country, covered with extensive tracts of forest and bamboo jungle, is the likeliest ground for bison, though they occasionally visit the low ground at the foot of the hills, particularly when driven from the higher ridges by flies and the want of suitable pasture. Bison vary much in their habits according to locality; their migrations from high to low ground being mainly influenced by the rainfall (which regulates the growth of grass) and the prevalence of flies in their district. During the latter part of the rainy season, when the grass has grown high and coarse and flies are most numerous, Sanderson remarks that bison move into the thinner jungle at the foot of the hills. Forsyth says that in Central India bison retire to the tops of the hills at that season.

The general colour of an old bull bison is a dark brown, almost black, with a light slaty patch on the forehead, a grey muzzle, and the legs, from above the knees and hocks downwards, a yellowish white, the inside of the forearms and thighs being chestnut; the head is particularly handsome, and well-bred-looking, the high frontal which rises above the base of the horns adding to, rather than detracting from, its beauty; the pupil of the eye is large, and of a pale blue colour. Jerdon says the eyes are small. They may be in actual measurement, but they certainly do not appear so. The muzzle is large, and the ears broad without being coarse. The ears of an old bull are often torn to ribbons from fighting. The horns of such animals are rather rugged at the base, and the points are chipped and worn; but they are massive, have a beautiful outward curve, and are light coloured. The neck is short and powerful, the skin rather loose, with curious wrinkles in it that give the appearance of a small dewlap, which the beast is really destitute of. Behind the neck the beauty of the bison vanishes. The high dorsal ridge towering above the insertion of the neck makes the shoulders look loaded and straight, and the neck itself put on too low; the ridge running down to the centre of the back and there ending abruptly gives the quarters a dwarfed and drooping appearance, though this is far from being really the case. The tail is rather short and fine; the legs are particularly fine and clean, the hoofs being marvellously small and neat for so large an animal.

The cows, less heavily built than the bulls, are of a coffee-brown colour; the dorsal ridge is not so much developed, though it is still prominent; the legs are white instead of yellow—the writer heard an old bull described as looking as if he was wearing gaiters. The horns are thinner and more upright; young bulls are very like cows, and mistakes are frequently made when stalking herds, except by really experienced men. Old cows look enormous, they are often darker in colour than young bulls (in certain lights they look almost black), and are not unfrequently shot by mistake. Of course if there is an old bull in the herd to compare with them, there is little chance of error. The best bulls are those that have been driven from the herds by younger and more active rivals, and henceforward live alone. These solitary bulls are always the finest specimens, and are consequently the chief objects of the sportsman’s ambition. It is a very curious fact that bison appear to be the only animals which regularly resign, or are ousted from possession of, a herd when they attain their largest size and most powerful horns. Old stags will keep their hinds even when their horns are diminishing from age. Sanderson says solitary elephants are frequently young males waiting till they can appropriate a herd; but no sooner does a bison get really at his best to all appearances, than he at once gives way to a younger animal. The cream of bison shooting is naturally stalking them on foot. Sanderson describes hunting them on an elephant, a method which, of course, enabled him to bring heavy rifles into the field without fatigue, and was of enormous assistance in thick cover and in carrying the trophies; but his using the elephant to make the first approach must have considerably detracted from the sport, although he discarded his mount when following up a wounded beast.

The writer has had bison driven to him, on ground where stalking was impracticable owing to the density of the forest, and where the dryness of the season rendered tracking impossible; but there the fun only began when a wounded beast had to be followed up, though it was pleasant listening to the avalanche-like rush of an approaching herd, and amusing to see cows come through an apparently impenetrable thicket of bamboos, like harlequin through a trapdoor, only to stand staring at a few yards distance with their noses poked out, an expression of puzzled funk in their eyes.