Know

horror stricken and entreated for his sake, and that of Nepaul, that I would not shed the blood of a descendant of a cow, for he assured me, I should never be able to kill him. ing their prejudices and wishing to humour him, I assured him I would not molest the son of a cow provided he would let me pass unmolested, which I pointed out to him he appeared in no humour to do, as he was bellowing and tearing up the ground at an awful rate. Delhi Sing then entreated me to run away; to this I would not consent, for in the first place I had no inclination, and in the second place being on foot I knew that flight would involve certain destruction. Delhi Sing determined, however, to shew me the way, and off he bolted, with the enraged bull after him. I immediately laid my rifle on the bull, and struck him well at the back of the shoulder, when over he rolled as dead as a stone.

The chiefs returned to me shortly afterwards, and expressed their great horror at what had occurred, assuring me something very dreadful

would befall me for destroying the animal; Delhi Sing, alone appeared satisfied at his narrow escape. The chiefs were still further greatly shocked on learning two days afterwards that I highly approved of a rump steak from the brute. I may here mention another anecdote of the animal's ferocity. Mr. B. Hodgson, the late Resident, at this Court, although not a practical sportsman, had five native keepers in his pay for the purpose of taming for him good zoological specimens. One of these fellows by the name of Prem, was induced, after much persuasion and the promise of a handsome reward, to go down to the forest, and endeavour to shoot a bull. Being a low caste man (a Chumar), he had no compunctions, and having been well found in ammunition and well primed with brandy, away he went, and the first evening of his arrival, he came upon a

small herd with only one bull in sight.

Think

ing a cow the much safer of the two to encounter, he fired at and wounded one, when to his surprise down came the bull to the charge,

THE BULL CHARGE.

113

and up a tree bolted Prem, where he was kept the whole of the night, and the greater part of the following day by the bull, who steadily mounted guard under the tree. Thirst at last compelled the bull to drink, when down slipt poor Prem more dead than alive, leaving his gun and ammunition behind him, and never stopping until he got to the Presidency at Khatmandoo some forty miles distant; when he informed Mr. Hodgson of his adventure and narrow escape, vowing that nothing should ever induce him, again to go in search of the Ghowrie Ghai. He added that he far preferred skinning and stuffing to such a mission, and that the bull during the greater part of the night, in his rage at not being able to get hold of him, snorted fire and brimstone out of his nostrils to such an extent, that he nearly smoked him out of the tree. We, of course, had a hearty laugh at the latter part of this story. Prem, however, religiously kept his vow, and invariably refused to accompany me, even after I had killed several, alledging that he was a marked man among the bulls.

Bears are found both in the Nepaul forests and on the hills in great numbers; but I should be almost afraid to commit to paper, the numbers I have killed there, and the encounters and narrow escapes I have had. In many parts of the hills, particularly in the snow, the beautiful musk-deer is found, the privilege of destroying which is monopolized by the Durbar; a certain number of men being appointed annually for that purpose. A description of this curious little animal, and his habits may be interesting. The musk-deer, called in Nepaul Kustoora, is in size about as long as a small gazelle, beautifully formed, very active, and graceful in all its movements, and particularly shy. It inhabits all the most unfrequented parts of the hills, the male being much sought after for the musk-bag, which lies near the navel and is about the size of an egg. This musk is found only in the male deer, and, unless cut off before the animal is dead, the whole is absorbed in the system, and the pod becomes useless. They are therefore almost invariably taken by nooses.

The natives have many curious traditions

It

regarding this deer, especially as to the manner of the generation of the musk pod. The muskdeer, although one of the most timid and harmless, is at the same time one of the most deadly enemies the viper and adder have in the hills, and its mode of destroying them is curious. The ground on which the musk-deer are generally found, contains likewise large numbers of the small hill-adder, a reptile little more than eighteen inches long, but very venomous. throws itself in the way of man or beast, and invariably bites them. The musk-deer, however, seek for and destroy the adders, wherever they find them, in the following manner. The deers travel generally in pairs; the first that discovers an adder, gives a sharp snort through the nostril, when the other deer immediately comes to its side. The two now commence a series of the most eccentric gambols, jumping and skipping about, over each other's backs, and running round the viper in a circle (I may here mention that the inner hoof of the muskdeer is black and hard, and as sharp as a knife),