ECOLOGY 295 



of the grass bordering on the jungle. One yellow-striped flash and he was 

 gone. But we were sure he would not run far. If we were persistent in our 

 driving, we would soon see him again. 



It was slow work. The jungle vegetation, streaked with light and shade, 

 made it difficult to pick out the tiger. But shortly before the light began 

 to fade, we spotted him. A heavy rifle roared just once, and the tiger lay 

 dead on the ground. 



There were several days of the hunt when we received no reports of 

 tiger or leopard. All hands then went out on the elephants to shoot what- 

 ever they could. The game on such days included swamp deer, black buck, 

 alligator, chital, hog deer, partridge, pheasant and peacock. We never shot 

 at these when we were out after the big cats, for at such a time the sound 

 of shooting might have frightened them away. 



No one could say that comforts and conveniences were lacking on the 

 hunt. We lived in large, firm tents. One pad elephant carrying our lunch 

 always traveled along with us. Out in the open, in the bright sun, it was 

 very hot, but with the jungle always at hand and clumps of trees about, 

 one could easily find shady retreats in which to rest. Our luncheon hour 

 varied greatly, because on the tiger or leopard days we never stopped till 

 we had bagged the quarry or lost it for the day. 



All in all our shooting trip netted two tigers, two leopards, and a croco- 

 dile, besides the smaller game already mentioned. 



One last word about elephants. In our hunt they were so careful of their 

 footwork, so indomitable in pushing through difficult spots of the terrain, 

 that we were able to scour the tiger country quite thoroughly. Their bulk 

 was, an aid rather than a handicap in plunging through the jungle. Their 

 great trunks tossed logs aside, pulled saplings up by the roots, and tore 

 boughs from trees. In dealing with any impediment, their trunks showed 

 almost manual dexterity. A sure and subtle understanding existed between 

 every elephant and its mahaiit. As a matter of fact, the inahaut's language 

 is a special dialect incomprehensible to the layman. 



In return for their services, the elephants were given particular care by 

 their keepers. They required, for instance, one bath a day in order to keep 

 their skins healthy. The bathing and scrubbing in the stream near the camp 

 was a regular ritual. It was an engaging sight to watch the great beasts lie 

 down docilely and allow the natives to give them a thorough scrubbing. 

 For a brush the natives usually used a good brick which was not too rough 

 for the elephant's thick hide. 



This tiger hunt belonged to an elaborate type that takes place at rare 

 intervals. The average man in India does not possess twelve elephants; if he 

 did, he would find more productive uses for them than tiger hunting. 



A tiger district, as I have indicated, is not precisely overpopulated with 

 tigers. One does not hunt them in a random way as one might hunt deer. 

 A machan is erected only when tigers are known to be in the immediate 



