mi
P L A T E XX.
SHOOTERS COMING BY SURPRISE ON A TIGER.
W „ . „ B t l , . covcr is very Ingh. and vl.cro >v»lklng wo„ld ,c Jangerons, or
too lr„ul,lo»„K., •.,„ Clophnnl ^vlll k- fovuul exlvemely serviceaWe. Tl™ IS the
e i l h c r 1.1 grass ov in undo,-wood; l-otl' -»fe'y. f»'' ™"V=nience
of seeing ,!„• birds dislinetly. It eertainly is at first dilEcnlt ,o sltoot from an
c l e p l n n l - l.nl in tl.c course of praetiee llie mot,on beeomes iam.bar to the
hand an.l eye ; and, for ihe most part, w e find sucli as persevere in lh,s method
become as stilful as others on I'ool. The habits of elephants, which pluck up
g , , s s or tear olV l,ongl,s incessantly, and, being ineon.moded by ft.es are perp
e t u a l l y agitated in ti.e endeavour to gel rid of them, cause a goo.l dea of
motion', which ettcctually deranges even the most exact marksman for a winlc.
T h e aimexed Plate gives a full view of a person mounted on an elephant,
b a v i n - „otbing bul the bai-e pad. In this w a y the molion is less fell, than ,n a
howdnh ; hi,I it is b y far less convenient. My o,,inio„ respecting the preference
to any partictlar for,,, of the hondah, has been before expressed : I will here
" at the phaelon or gig-body is by far the best;•epeat, e s p e c i a l l y w h e n the
u p p e r r a i l -wo r k , or s t anda rds , a,-e of ,r( i th b r o a d l e a the r s t r aps ; w h i c h .
y i e l d i n g to the pressure, obviate that ve,-y unpleasant sensat,on produced by a
i , a r of ivood, or other h.ard substance, perpetually swinging against the back, at
every pace the elephant takes.
A s the most dangerous .situations should he well known, and as this Work
,nay fall into the hands of persons about to proceed 10 India, I shall in a fntn,-e
N u m b e r , as well as in this instance, lay some stress on tlie i„,prudence, and I
m.ay say inutility, of ventai'ing into such places as appear, according to our
s p o r t i n g term, " rather tige,-ish." There are many spots abounding with game,
w h i c h none will venture into on foot. We cannot always judge fron, appearances;
though, on the «hole, they arc tolerably indicative of the real state of
the case. There are, however, certain matters which may be adduced, and serve
as a general guide.
W h e r e v e r peacocks and spotted-deer abound, the tiger will generally he a
visitor : the bordei-s of jungles containing such game .are h i g h l y dangerous; they
are, mostly, to be found in covers of grass mixed with underwood, witi, small
ravines intersecting; in which either small courses of water or stagnant pools
are to be seen. And it is to be, above all things, noticed, that the extent of the
cover by no means governs in this particular; fret|l,cntly a very small jungle,
remote from larger tracts of wilderness, being infested ; notwithstanding sneh
t i g e r s as are from lime to time discovered may be killed in succession.
T h e r e appear to be certain situations naturally so aeceptablo to game of all
kinds, that they never fail to contain abundance of every description. Tigers,
o f coui-se, do not breed in small covers, bul find iheir way from distant jungles,
and take up their abode where they can meet with a good supply of prey.
A companion on an elephant is h y no means favourable to shooting, as the
p a r t i e s inevitably are mutually constrained. One generally alights, making h,s
w a y through the cover, hy means of the numerous paths; while the other aids
in pulling up the game, cliielly peacocks, black and grey partridges, florikens
and quails, causing the elephant to proceed through the more dense parts ;
w h e r e the peacocks, in particular, lake shelter during the heat of the day, and
in which they find abundanee of beetles, and other provision. The keen sporl.sman,
often loo regardless of the hazard, being accompanied by his tpiesting
spaniels, and by servants conveying a supply of refi-eshnient and an umbrella,
and who are also pi'ovided willi latties to beat the covers, proceeds along such
p a r t s as appear most favourable to his recreation. Possibly months oryears may
elapse without the most trifling accidcul ; many, indeed, have been so fortunate
as to g o through their whol e career of sporting, willioul even seeing or hearing
a tiger. Others in a short lime have experienced the reverse ; being so unlucky
as to lose many favou,-ile dogs, and to find themselves repeatedly in iinimnenl
danger.
H o w e v e r , those who resort much to heavy covers must, now and then, expect
their .sport lo be interrupted by a sudden g rowl or bark, which is very abrupt and
impressive ! This announces the tigers presence ; and may, in general, he said