THE HUNTING-GROUNDS OF THE OLD WORLD, 



Meanwhile the population of the whole neighbourhood had been mus- 

 tered to a grand hattue. Whatever may be said against a battue as a mur- 

 derous and a mechanical process of destruction, demanding no strength, 

 resource, or instinct on the part of anyone but the gamekeeper, it is a 

 totally dififerent proceeding where wild beasts are the game. A vast 

 quantity of these, including several tigers, are driven into isolated jungles, 

 and the surrounding grass is fired, when a tigress suddenly breaks cover 

 and tears a horsekeeper to pieces. 



" W was much affected at the death of his horsekeeper, for he had 



been in his service for some years, and had always proved himself a faithful 

 servant. However, as nothing could be done, we retook our station in the 

 line, and the battue was continued." The complete list of that day's bag 

 was " two tigers and two cubs, three cheetahs and one cub, three bears and 

 two cubs (one taken alive), five elk, four spotted deer, four pigs (four small 

 squeakers taken alive), one porcupine, and one bull neilghau — total, 32 head 

 of game. 



" When we came near our camp the procession was reformed ; my gang 

 and some of the Sepoys amused themselves by dancing in front of the dead 

 tigers, before which our guns were carried decked oiit with fiowers, and 

 singing an extemporary song, the burden of which was something to this 

 effect : ' That great and gallant deeds had been performed that day ; that 

 foiir tigers of burnt fathers having eaten dirt, and the brave and generous 

 gentlemen being satisfied with their day's sport, plenty of bucksheesh and 

 inan (rewards and presents) would as a matter of course, fall to the lot of 

 their weU-wishing followers, whose mouths were watering and stomachs 

 panting with the thoughts of how they would be filled by the sheep which 

 the well-known charitable and generously-minded gentlemen would cer- 

 tainly distribute.'^ The chorus being taken up by the whole party, was 

 something deafening." 



StiU the man-eater remained at large, and the glory of vanijuishing him 

 in single combat was reserved for the " Old Shekarry " himself. Knowing 

 that several post-runners had been carried off by the monster near a par- 

 ticular bend of the road, the author, disregarding the protestations of his 

 gang, provides himself with the jingling rattle of a post-runner and proceeds 

 slowly down the road : 



" While ascending the opposite side of the ravine I heard a slight noise 

 like the cracking of a dry leaf; I paused, and, turning to the left, fronted 

 the spot whence I thought the noise proceeded. I distinctly saw a move- 

 ment or waving in the high grass, as if somethiag was making its way 

 towards me; then I heard a loud purring sound, and saw something 

 twitching backwards and forwards behind a clump of low bush and long 

 grass, about eight or ten paces from me, and a little in the rear. It was a 

 ticklish moment, but I felt prepared. I stepped back a couple of paces, in 

 order to get a better view, which action probably saved my life, for im- 

 mediately the brute sprang into the middle of the road, alighting about six 

 feet from the place where I was standing. I fired a hurried shot ere he 

 could gather himself up for another spring, and when the smoke cleared 

 away I saw him rolling over and over in the dusty road, writhing in his 



