204 bernier’s voyage to the east indies.

The hunting of the Nilgaux or grey oxen, which I faid were a kind of elcks, hathno great matter in it. They are inclofed in great nets, that are by little and littledrawn clofer together, and when they are reduced to a fmall compafs of enclofure, theKing, the Omrahs, and the hunters do enter and kill them at pleafure with arrows,half-pikes, fables, or mufquets; and fometimes in fo great numbers, that the Kingfends quarters of them for prefents to all the Omrahs.

The game of the Cranes hath fomething of divertifement. ’Tis a pleafure to feethem defend themfelves in the air againft the birds of prey; they fometimes kill fomeof them; but at length, not being nimble in turning, many flrong birds mailer them.

Of all the games that of the Lion is the moll royal, becaufe there is none but theKing and princes that can exercife it (unlefs it be by a very particular leave); but itis alfo the moll dangerous. The manner of it is this: when the King is in the field,and the hunting guards have difcovered the place of the lion’s retirement, they tiefall an afs thereabout, which the lion foon comes to devour, and without caring tolook out for other prey, as oxen, cows, mutton, or Ihepherds, he goes to feek fordrink, and returns to his ordinary lodging place, where he lies down and lleeps untilnext morning, when he finds another afs in the lelf fame place, which the huntershave fattened there as the day before; and when they have thus baited and amufedhim feveral days in the fame place, and now know that the King is nigh, they atlength tye fall another afs, but whom they have made to fwallow a quantity of opium,to the end that his flelh may the better lull afleep the lion, and then all the country-men of the circumjacent villages fpread large and llrong nets, made for that pur-pofe, which they alfo by degrees reduce to a fmall compafs, as is praclifed in thehunting the Nilgaux. All things thus prepared, the King mounted on an elephanttraped with iron, being attended by the great hunting mailer, fome Omrahs ridingalfo on elephants, by abundance of Gourze-berdars on horfeback, and by a numeroushunting-guard on foot, armed with half-pikes, approacheth to the nets from without,and with a great mufquet Ihoots at the lion; who when he finds himfelf wounded,comes directly to the elephant, as his cullom is; but he meets with thofe big netsHopping him, and the King Ihoots fo often at him, that at lalt he kills him. Yet inthis lalt hunting there was a lion that leapt over thofe nets, fell upon an horfemanwhofe horfe he killed, and then ran away; but the hunters met with him, and in-clofed him again in the net, which caufed a great dillurbance to the army; we werethree or four days padling in fmall torrents running down the mountains, betwixtunder-wood and fuch long grafs as that camels hardly can be feen therein; and happywere thefe that had fome provifion of vidtuals, for all was in diforder: the Bazarscould not range themfelves, and the villages were remote. The reafon why they wereto Hop there fo long, was, that as it is a good omen with the Indians when the Kingkills a lion, fo it is a very ill one, when he faileth, and they think that the Hate wouldrun great hazard if they Ihould not mailer him. Hence ’tis alfo that they makemany ceremonies upon the account of this hunting; for they bring the dead lionbefore the King in the general afiembly of the Omrahs, and after he hath been wellviewed, and exactly meafured, ’tis recorded in the archives, that fuch a king, at fucha time, flew a lion of fuch bignefs, of fuch hair, of fo long and large teeth and claws,not omitting the leaft circuinltances.

I lhall here only add a word in reference to what is commonly Laid of the opium,that the afs is made to fwallow, viz. that one of the chief hunters aflured me, that itwas but a tale of the vulgar, and that the lion flept fufficiently without it, when he hadhis belly full.

Now