Omar and Munshee helped me select the men from 

 the number of those who had previously demon- 

 strated their courage and resourcefulness in the 

 face of danger. I had a long pole put up near the 

 village, and we rehearsed the capture innumerable 

 times : the pole would fall, and the men would cast 

 the net and secure it over the bunch of grass tied 

 to the top to represent the orang-outangs. We re- 

 peated that performance for several days, and I 

 always stood by with my rifle in my hands as if I 

 were ready to put an explosive bullet into the bun- 

 dle of grass, if it tried to escape. 



When they had played the part so many times 

 that there seemed to be no chance of a blunder, we 

 had a full rehearsal. As the pole fell, this time, 

 the other men closed in, beating with the clubs, 

 pounding tom-toms and yelling. I wanted them to 

 make just as much noise as possible when the orangs 

 came down ; for noise paralyzes animals with fright 

 and makes them easier to handle. 



On the eighth night at Omar's village, I called 

 all the men together and announced that we would 

 start next morning before daybreak. Once again 

 I made them promise that they would not kill the 

 beasts without my permission, and I, in turn, prom- 

 ised them that I would shoot if there was the least 

 danger. Long before daybreak the village was 

 astir. All those who were to take no part in the 

 hunt were ordered to stay behind, and they stood 

 silently watching us while the men shouldered the 



