Page:Gazetteer of the province of Oudh ... (IA cu31924073057352).pdf/356

 348 SIT great. Where numerous the cultivators are obliged to watch the fields by night. “ After the antelope the níl-gáe (Tortáx picta) come next as regards num- bers in this district. No Hindu will kill the níl-gáe, as they consider them allied to the domestic cow, Such however is not the case, for they belong to the same family as the antelope, and are so classed by naturalists. They are very destructive animals and require shooting carefully, or will invari- ably get away to die of their wounds. The male is a very handsome creature, and if he has come to mature age is of a dark blue colour. This is the blue bull of the Indian sportsman. The Muhammadans are very fond of eating his flesh, but it is usually considered coarse and inferior to the flesh of the antelope by Europeans. They are to be found in numbers on the waste land, situated in the eastern part of the district. They are, however, scattered in small numbers all over it, and wherever there is a piece of tree jungle níl-gáe are sure to be found. The female is of a light dun colour, and like the female of the antelope bas nothing very striking about it ia appearance. Europeans usually consider shooting the níl-gáe but very poor sport, for there is not the same excitement about it as there is in antelope shooting. The nicety and delicacy of hand required in antelope shooting is probably one of its chief charms to the English sportsman. The n1-gáe is, however, a very destructive animal as he can eat as much as an English ox, and their numbers should always be kept down if possible. “ The wild pig (Sus Indieus) is dying out rapidly in this district. They are still to be found on the low grass lands in the eastern portion of the district, and a few in the tree jungles in the western portion. The part of the district inhabited by these animals is however not suitable for the sport of riding them down and killing them with a spear. The wild pig is a very fine looking creature, feeds cleanly, and is of a very different habit from his domestic native relation. The Pásis are the greatest hunters of the wild pig in this district, and it is to their exertions, together with the spread of cultivation, that this animal will in a few years only be known by name. " The párha, kuown also as the hog-deer, is found in the eastern portion of the district, and inhabits the same kind of ground as the wild pig. Like the pig they are becoming very scarce, and in a few years hence will cease to exist. There is one other animal still existing in this district which requires notice. The swamp deer of Bengal (Cervus wallichữ) known also as the gon, báralı singha, and maha. They are to be found in small numbers in the tall grass jungles on the banks of the Chauka and Gogra. The stag iš a very handsome creature with fine branching horns ånd not unlike the red deer of Scotland. This year (1874) I have shot two stags, but took good care not to shoot the hinds; and as long as the grass jungle remains we shall still have the pleasure of seeing this noble creature. They are very harmless and shy, but rarely leave the grass jungle and feed entirely on grass. Their flesh is quite unfit for consumption, and the only inducement to shoot them is for the sportsman to hang up the heads and horns as a trophy to delight his eyes when the time comes when be will be unable to sight and draw the trigger of his ride.