196 INDIAN BIG GAME 



select a thickly foliaged tree and, if possible, 

 go high up. 



Comfort, to my mind, is essential for the 

 Englishman if he is to stay quiet. He is not 

 accustomed to, and cannot, squat like a native 

 on his hunkers or in a ball for long ; he fidgets 

 and probably makes noises. 



If you are only going to sit up a short time, 

 make a chair seat in the ground, with a back and 

 ample leg room, or use a stool in a tree. If sitting 

 up all night, have a platform on which you can 

 spread your bedding, place your kit alongside of 

 you, and rest or sleep in comfort. 



I like my machans to have a platform of 

 seven feet long and four feet wide. They are 

 always made of stout saplings. All native beds 

 creak. I have had special charpoys made with 

 tape and stout oiled wood, but they all creaked. 

 All charpoys, moreover, sag in the middle, and 

 your kit gravitates beneath you. 



In a machan of the size mentioned I have my 

 bedding, pillows, and mattress. The saplings 

 make the last necessary ; and after 9 p.m. I rest 

 or sleep, with one ear open, in comfort. In no 

 other way can real silence be kept all night. 



If you are a heavy sleeper, or snore, you must 

 cure these horrid habits by a little will-power. 



For choice let the machan be lengthways, your 

 feet towards the kill. On the alarm you slip 

 down your blankets, sit up, and are ready. 



Do not try to command many views. You 

 will fail to do so, and will fidget. Get one or 

 two good views, and pile leaves high underneath 

 and elsewhere. 



