But I own I was not quite so eager in pushing through the jungle as I should have been the next day; it was quite novel to me, and I could not help thinking every now and then of the dreaded cobra or the scarcely less dreaded tiger. Indeed, of the last I had a fearful reminder before I rejoined Mr. L.
In a small space of clear ground I came suddenly upon the skeleton of a man, evidently lately killed, for much of the flesh was still adhering to the bones. Probably it was the poor driver of whom we had heard. I had quite lost sight of Mr. L., but presently heard him shout from some distance behind me. I made my way towards him, and soon reached a small paddy-field (rice-field). Here was a small bull of a very dark colour, who did not seem at all pleased with our intrusion: he looked at us for a minute, and then came galloping towards us, shaking his head and tail in his anger. My two servants called out that it was a wild cow, and crouched down behind me. I felt a little nervous, but faced the animal, and drew a pistol from my belt; however, as he came near, I saw a small piece of cord fastened to one of his horns, and therefore knew it was not an "unner" or wild cow. I desired the men to shout, and myself did the same, running towards the animal and waving my hat. He stopped a moment hesitating, and then, as I rushed forward, he threw up his tail in the air and scampered off, very much to my relief.
Mr. L. now came up, and we proceeded on our road. Presently one of the men who was a little in advance stopped and pointed to a tree at a little distance. Mr. L. primed his gun and fired, and down dropped a fine hen. Wild hens abound in the jungles, and are excellent eating, possessing a slight flavour of game.
Soon after we came to a spot of ground where we beheld a number of quails. I fired and killed two. Again we went on, but met with no further adventure until we came to Chogga. The last mile and a half of our journey lay through paddy-fields with the stubble still on them. The heat was intense, and by the time we reached our destination I was thoroughly tired.
Chogga is a small native village surrounded by jungle, standing about seven or eight miles from the river. It does not belong to the English, but is in the territory of one of our tributary rajahs. Mr. L. has a bungalow there, if such it can be called, consisting as it does of a single room about sixteen feet square, built of mud, and thatched with rice-straw. He has made many converts here, and is about to erect a Christian village about his own bungalow, which is half a mile from Chogga itself, and well situated on a small spot of rising ground. The appearance and manner of these wild, naked, yet Christian savages, was to me deeply interesting.
As soon as we arrived, a number of natives, both men and women, crowded about us. Many of them were Christians, though in dress they adhered to their old habits. Mr. L. at once took off everything but his trowsers, and after some hesitation I did the same. After this we had breakfast and then lay down on our camp beds and rested for two or three hours. About one I felt hungry, so went out and shot a few doves, which abound on every tree.
SPORTING.
About half-past three we collected as many men as possible and went out to beat the jungle, through which Mr. L. and myself worked our way until we came to a small open space. There one of us posted himself; the other went on until he found another similar spot, where he also stationed himself. As soon as the shikarree who was with us saw where we were ready, he stole out of the jungle and placed the twenty-five men in a large semicircle, our positions being the centre, and the radius about half a mile. As soon as they were all stationed, at a signal they began to roar and groan and make the most frightful noises, beating the bushes with their long bamboos, and pushing through the jungle towards the open space where we were placed. This was in a high jungle, and really the scene on such an occasion is most exciting. You stand on a small space of fifteen or twenty yards in diameter, bounded on every side by lofty trees and thick underwood, your gun in your hand, your man behind you holding the next charge in readiness. In every quarter the shrieks and yells of the beaters are heard; presently there is a whirr in the air, and a peacock flies through the open space above your head. Bang goes the gun, off runs one of the men to pick up the bird; load again! quick! hark! What a rush in the bushes! There it comes! An elk or stag, shot but not killed; and a man rushes out and cuts the animal's throat.
An alarm of "Tiger!" was now given, but it proved false, as nothing but a wild cat darted over the glade. Shouts again rend the air, and a magnificent red peacock, with a deep green tail and neck of gold, flies over our heads, his long tail streaming behind him, and the brown hen at his side. The opening above our heads was small, and an immediate fire was necessary: I fired and missed him. The beaters now approached nearer and nearer, shouting, and their dark forms soon became visible gliding one by one out of the jungle. Nothing more was to be found there; we accordingly moved on, and presently were beckoned to by the shikarree. He pressed his finger to his lips and whispered "Choop! choop!" and, pointing down a narrow opening in the jungle, showed us a large leopard, beautifully spotted, lying apparently asleep. While loading our guns the animal awoke, and was stealing off just as we fired and hit him, though he contrived to crawl off. The next day, however, we found the body, as the arrow was poisoned. The skin is valuable. The shikarree, who proudly bore off the body, would suffer no one to assist him; but that same man would not carry home the merest trifle from the bazaar, but must be followed by a coolie.
Captain W. soon met us, and we returned home to dinner, after which we sallied out by moonlight to seek some deer, but were unsuccessful.