2 92 CONSTRUCTION OF MACHANS. 



to lessen the chance of a tiger winding the sports men ; 

 also, a tiger rarely looks up, unless his attention is 

 attracted by some sound. The platform should be 

 screened with leafy branches of a kind whose leaves 

 will not dry up quickly, nor rustle when touched; and 

 a hole six inches square must be left in front to fire 

 through. There should of course be good moonlight, 

 as nothing can be done during dark nights. But in Mr. 

 Sanderson's opinion there is no way of shooting tigers 

 so seldom successful, as watching for their return to 

 an animal they have killed. Nevertheless if a man is 

 unable to organize a big beat with elephants and native 

 beaters, it may be his only chance of getting a shot. 

 The first indication of the tiger's approach, when 

 he does come however, is hearing the bullock start or 

 make some uneasy movement, at a " tie" ; while jackals 

 and other small animals give notice of it at a " kill. " 

 The sharp chirping of squirrels and birds also some- 

 times indicates that a tiger is at hand; * and above 

 all, the " swearing" of monkeys, and the screams of 

 peacocks and other birds, during a beat. 



As little noise as possible should of course be made 

 in putting up the platforms; for this reason therefore 

 it is better to have the wood used in their construction 

 cut and prepared at a distance, and carried quietly to 

 the required spot. Sir Samuel Baker mentions that he 

 prefers triangular platforms formed of three thick pieces,, 

 with fifteen or twenty cross-bars, and advises that they 

 should be made large, firm, and roomy, so as to be 

 steady in a wind, f He considers a scaffolding, with 



* Thirteen Years among the Wild Beasts of India, by G.P. Sand- 

 erson, 2nd edit., 1879. 



f Wild Beasts and Their Ways, by Sir Samuel W. Baker, 1891. 

 Vol. i, pp. 1689. 



