. The diary of a sportsman naturalist in India. Hunting; Game protection. some firmament and BEATING FOR BEAR IN CHOTA NAGPUR 35 I also had soma litters prepared in which to carry the ladies up the hill. In this then unsophisticated part of the world we had only one palki or palanquin in the whole Station, and dandys and rickshaws were unknown ; not that the latter would have been of any use. At last I was satisfied and, as the sun neared the horizon, I chmbed down the rocky hill-side to the small bungalow on the road where I was to pass the night, and spent the evening in a dream of delightfu
. The diary of a sportsman naturalist in India. Hunting; Game protection. some firmament and BEATING FOR BEAR IN CHOTA NAGPUR 35 I also had soma litters prepared in which to carry the ladies up the hill. In this then unsophisticated part of the world we had only one palki or palanquin in the whole Station, and dandys and rickshaws were unknown ; not that the latter would have been of any use. At last I was satisfied and, as the sun neared the horizon, I chmbed down the rocky hill-side to the small bungalow on the road where I was to pass the night, and spent the evening in a dream of delightful anticipations, the only excitement being the arrival of the carts with the com- missariat for the next day—and by their number that was evidently to be done in no niggardly fashion. Just before I reached the bungalow on my return I noticed vultures winging their way across the dropping to earth at the foot of the hill to my right. Being stiU new to the country and in- terestedin every- thing I deviated •• from my route to see what they -' were about. I soon spotted a dead village cow with two crows on it, and several vultures approaching with ungainly hops to their unsavoury feast. These vultures are a common sight in India. They each have a station of their own high up in the heavens, and soar slowly round in circles throughout the day, keeping a close look-out both upon the country below them and on their neighbours in the sky. If they see a dying or dead animal on the earth below them they drop to the ground in great sweeping circles,-ever dropping and dropping till they get close to the earth, when they plane down a steep incline of air to the ground. If, on the other hand, they see one of their neighbours high up in the heavens leave his station and start off in a certain direction, they know he is making for a place where there is a dead carcase, and they take the same direction, keeping on and on till they see the bird in front of them dropping to earth, when the
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubjecthunting, bookyear1920
