NIGHT-SHOOTING. 6 5 



Many a cold night-watch did old Jeetoo and I have to- 

 gether for game, although they were not often attended with 

 success, as such work is very uncertain. 1 Something is, at 

 any rate, occasionally added by night-shooting to one's know- 

 ledge of the habits oiferce naturae. For instance, I was under 

 the impression that a tiger in its wild state always killed its 

 food and never touched dead meat, until one of our nocturnal 

 experiences proved that it will greedily devour even carrion. 



There had been a dreadful murrain among the cattle 

 throughout the district, and Jeetoo amongst others had lost 

 many of his beasts. As they died he merely dragged their 

 carcasses from his gote (cowshed) to a neighbouring jungly 

 ravine, and there left them to rot, and, from fear of infection, 

 without even stripping them of their hides. One day he came 

 and reported that a tiger had been at them for several nights. 

 At first I thought he might have been mistaken, and that 

 the nocturnal visitor must be a bear. But he so positively 

 insisted that it was a tiger, that I at once resolved to go and 

 judge for myself. 



On reaching the village, we forthwith proceeded to inspect 

 the place where the dead cattle had been devoured, and there 

 found the fresh unmistakable footprints of a large tiger. Jee- 

 too had already removed all the carcasses, except one, to some 

 distance, in order that there might, for obvious reasons, be 

 more certainty of getting a shot. As it was growing late in 

 the evening there was no time to be lost. We hauled the 



1 For night work I have found the following a good method of aligning the 

 sights on an animal. Stretch a broad bit of white tape along the rib of the 

 barrels between the back and the fore sights, binding it at either end on the 

 rib with a bit of thin twine whipped tightly round the barrels. Commence 

 aiming with the tape well in sight, and with the muzzle end of it rather above 

 your object. Then gradually depress the muzzle on to the point you wish to 

 hit, at the same time lowering the eye until the tape is hidden from view by 

 the back sight, on the required alignement, when at once press the trigger. 

 By this means you can tell if the back and the fore sights are correctly 

 aligned, whereas you are uncertain of this if, as is customary, the fore sight 

 only is rendered visible by having a bit of white cotton, or any other dodge, 

 fastened on to it. 



