the mud near the bank, and allowing little save the tip of his nose to appear above the surface: here he indulges in the utmost extent of grovelling luxury, an occasional snort alone indicating his presence; and here he remains until the approach of evening or the desire for food induces him to emerge. When lazily inclined, these creatures, accustomed to consider themselves masters of the waste, will allow their pursuers to approach within fifty yards before they condescend to take any notice of them. A fine large bull will be lying down in some snug patch, and from his place of repose will look quietly at the hunter until he presumes to invade the immediate precincts; then he rises, stretches himself well up, and, lowering his head almost to a level with his knees, charges. A bullet causes him to make a sudden pause: he then turns and flies, but in most cases only for a short distance, for again coming to a stand-still, he charges a second, and sometimes a third time upon his adversary. Should the balls tell without being immediately mortal, after he has received three or four he generally takes refuge in his speed, and then it is necessary, in order to come up with him, to follow upon horseback. Throwing back his horns, and giving a stamp with his foot, he goes off like the wind; and it requires a good steed, perfect in all points, to plunge into the heavy cover which is usually the scene of the chase. The hindmost of the sportsmen can only see the hats of those who lead, can only hear a tremendous rush through the jungle, boughs and branches of trees splitting and canes rattling, with now and then the sharp crack of a rifle. Should the buffalo succeed in breaking cover, off he goes at a pelting pace through the open country, the only chance of coming up with him being the faintness and exhaustion from some wound unfelt at first. When severely wounded the buffalo will seek some secure retreat, often choosing so impenetrable a thicket that it is almost impossible to dislodge him. He may be heard panting and snorting; but unless angered by the shower of balls poured into his hiding-place-he is provoked to come out, there is no

means of expulsion. Sometimes, if wounded by one of these shots, he will rouse himself to a new encounter, and, rallying all his energies, will charge again with great gallantry, stumbling perhaps, and falling at the moment of his final and vain attempt. But when the trees and underwood are matted together with the huge creepers that coil themselves round them in innumerable involutions, where the prickly pear chokes up the soil, and the canes attain a gigantic height, the buffalo may bid defiance to his assailants, and die in peace.

The coolness with which an Indian buffalo will endure the attacks of his human foes, is exemplified by the following description of a chase which occurred within rather a recent period. The sportsmen were not of that tame sort who would be content to sit at their ease upon an elephant, taking an occasional shot while catching a momentary glimpse of the animal as he bursts through the jungle into some open space, losing sight of him perhaps for a whole hour, or having the mortification of seeing him with his tail high in the air far out of bullet range. These gentlemen trusted to their own dexterity, and the blood and bone of their Arabs, pursuing at full speed over rough and smooth, through bush, brake, bog, and brier, an object worthy of their guns-a large bull buffalo, an animal usually answering the description given of him by an old Bengal sportsman-that is, 'black as death, fleet as the wind, huge as a young mountain, and wicked as the devil.' Having received intelligence of the whereabouts of three wild buffaloes which had been the terror of the country within a range of fifteen miles for the last two years, the sportsmen mounted their horses at daybreak and proceeded to the place of destination, their guns and ammunition having been sent on before. The country was of the most desolate description, consisting of a series of bogs, small lakes; and high-grass jungle, diversified with tracks of arid sand, crossed and intersected by the beds of rivers, now dry, with high and crumbling banks, difficult, and indeed barely possible, to scale.

The retreat was certainly well chosen by the buffaloes, the three occupying separate positions; and so well had they been watched by the sufferers from their depredations, that the party in quest of the adventure were directed to the very spot in which one was reposing. Following on the trail, they found the animal lying in the water on the opposite side of a small lake, his head and part of his back alone visible, and shewing to a certainty that he was a large and powerful bull. The sportsmen crossed at a shallow place a short distance below him, and at their approach he rose from the water and gazed at them in bold defiance. Expecting a charge, the gentlemen simultaneously fired a volley; but in consequence of the unsteadiness of the horses, not accustomed to the discharge of guns upon their backs, the bullets apparently fell harmless: the noise and the blaze, however, proved a sufficient hint for the buffalo, and tossing his head he went off, breaking his way through very difficult ground. The party of course dashed after him, sending a shot ahead at every convenient opportunity, but without the effect of diminishing his speed. Crossing the open country at a pelting pace, he vanished over the bank of one of the dry rivers already mentioned. The sportsmen followed upon his traces without much hope of coming up with him; but, greatly to their surprise, on arriving at the bank which he had descended, they saw him in the dry bed of the river engaged in a furious contest with another buffalo, and both so intent upon the work of destruction, as to disregard the human intruders. The scene which this battle occasioned is described as being remarkable for its fierceness and grandeur. The animals rushed on each other with the utmost fury, the crash of their meeting horns resounding, while they spurned the glittering sand in clouds over their dark bodies. After standing for a few minutes mute and motionless, the party fired a volley, but the combatants were too fiercely engaged to notice it, and it was not until after repeated hints of the same kind that the smaller of the two, having made a last and tremendous rush, turned and fled, pur

sued by his opponent, following closely across the loose sand. Both made for the bank, which they clambered apparently with the greatest ease, although it proved at that place too difficult for the sportsmen, who were obliged to ride lower down to obtain a footing for their horses. The buffaloes in the meantime had got considerably ahead, and when next espied were making their way to the Ganges, which spread its broad bosom full in sight. Both entered the water, but the strength of one was now failing; and finding it impossible to breast the current, he relanded, and staggering from the effects of a welldirected shot, fell to rise no more.

The day was now too far spent, and the horses too much exhausted, to admit of more business upon this occasion; but those who have once tasted the strange delight of buffalo-hunting are sure to renew the onslaught, and accordingly our friends were soon in their saddles again. Upon reaching their ground, their servants and scouts informed them that the buffalo chased on the first day's expedition, which was reported to have been severely wounded, had returned to his old haunts in the lake, and, more infuriated than ever, attacked every living thing that came in his way, and had killed a poor man employed in weeding his rice-fields. Upon arriving at the lake, well provided with guns and ammunition, and having a small elephant to perform the duty of beater, they could see nothing at all of the buffalo. Almost disheartened by their vain attempts to find him, they began to despair of their day's sport, when a loud noise intimated the presence of the foe, and with his huge head and horns appearing above the high grass, he was seen in the very act of charging. Shots were fired immediately, but two of the horsemen falling together into the same hole, a predicament in which a sportsman in India often finds himself, on recovering their ground, saw the buffalo in full chase after another of the party, who was making a circuit to rejoin the main body. A ball now hitting the animal in the muzzle, he paused in his career, and, turning short round, rushed into the jungle. It was now

necessary to dislodge him-a work of considerable difficulty; but at length out he came, and, receiving another bullet while in the act of charging, made across the plain, the party following at their utmost speed. Soon distancing his pursuers, he took up another position in the midst of a pool of water. Apparently he had become weary of the contest, and would gladly have retired from the field, for he remained quiescent for some time; and it was not until after he had received several shots, and had been severely wounded, that he arose, and, gaining the top of the bank, took once more to flight. He now entered a richly-cultivated country, and made the best of his way to a large village in the distance, still displaying unabated speed notwithstanding the injuries which he had sustained. Having reached the village, which, being interspersed with patches of long grass and jungle, afforded good cover, he upset everything that impeded his progress, while pursuing what might well be termed a headlong course. At length, having reached a piece of high ground immediately above a broad dry ditch, he made a pause, affording the first opportunity for a shot since he had left the water. Receiving a volley, he came down with all the fury of wrath and desperation, obliging his assailants to turn and seek a place of security whilst they reloaded their guns. Having effected this object, they advanced again to the spot, but the buffalo was gone: the villagers, however, had marked the place of his retreat, and pointing it out in the midst of some very tall reeds and brushwood, reported that he was upon his last legs. The party accordingly rode up to the place: he was not to be seen, but the hard breathing, resembling the blowing of a whale, sufficiently indicated his presence. Firing at random, a heavy crash shewed plainly that he was not quite so far gone as had been expected, but he had evidently no desire to renew hostilities, and made no attempt to come out. One of the gentlemen finding an aperture in the thicket, put in a couple of well-directed shots, which sealed his fate; but he died game, for he made a final effort to confront his foes, sinking on his knees in a fruitless attempt at a charge;