io6 DIARY OF A SPORTSMAN NATURALIST 



It hides easily and has to be carefully watched for in a beat 

 or will get away to a certainty. The one in question was 

 shot just ahead of the dogs by my neighbour in one of the 

 beats. 



As to the dogs mentioned above. 



In their beating operations in these parts the men made 

 use of village pi-dogs whom they train with great skill. 

 From two to three couple of these, a most nondescript 

 mongrel crowd to look at, but exceedingly good at their 

 work, were taken into the forest with the beaters and then 

 unleashed. They worked independently of each other and in 

 no way as a pack, unless two happened to get on to the same 

 slot, but once they had got on to an animal's trail, whether 

 deer, pig, or more dangerous game, they never left it and 

 sent it forward if possible to the guns. They also proved 

 most useful in following up wounded animals. 



On the day I speak of we had three beats in the morning, 

 securing a sambhar, civet-cat, three pigs, and some jungle 

 fowl. But the afternoon provided the excitement. 



As we smoked a cigar after lunch some of the Mug coolies, 

 a merry keen set of men who loved the outing, being them- 

 selves jungle-men from the Hill Tracts country, came and 

 squatted round us and were questioned as to what we 

 might expect in the afternoon. 



" Pig, sahib, lots of pig and there is a very large old boar 

 with long tushes. A very heavy old devil who is very 

 fierce." In this part of the district pig were shot, as the 

 country was quite unrideable and they were very destructive 

 to the crops. Further west and in the neighbouring district 

 of Noakhally pig-sticking could be indulged in, probably 

 the finest sport to be obtained anywhere with as comrade a 

 good handy fast nag. Another man volunteered the infor- 

 mation that he thought there were at least five to six 

 sambhar in the next two beats. One of the shikaris thought 

 there would be a leopard. But there were few beats in 

 these parts which were not credited with at least one pard — 

 but, if present, he was usually cunning enough to get 

 away, so we did not attach much importance to the state- 

 ment. 



We soon got into our positions. I was on a broad 

 boundary line beneath a stunted mango tree which afforded 

 shade from the sun and also hid me to some extent from 

 anything breaking out. We never made use of machans 



