A Story of War

My stag is hit and has gone to ground in the jungle somewhere. Yesterday I have breakfast at 6.30 and set out at dawn about 7.10, returning at 7.30. We sweat up and down the grassland slopes, up to 8724’, but see no saddlebacks. Plenty of ibex and one lot of five comes quite close. One decent stag at which I fire twice downhill, nearly 200’, and I miss and he gets away.

I see a white hawk type with a black bar on his wings. Also a buck jungle sheep, but not worth shooting.

This morning out at dawn and plenty of sambhar, but the wrong sex. About 11.30 we beat some jungle and out comes a stag towards me. I miss first shot and then stop him with a full deflection shot at about 50’.

The boy serves up wonderful food, though he is not the cook, and he only has a grass hut to perform in. Many Nilgiri laughing thrushes around.