TIGER SLAYER BY ORDER 



the direction the beast has taken must be definitely as- 

 certained by examining each footprint, and looking for 

 the faintest speck of blood on fallen leaves and bushes 

 against which it may have brushed. Any thick cover, 

 too, from which the animal might make a sudden onslaught 

 should be very carefully approached, with the rifle not 

 only at full cock, but held ready for instant use, and 

 lastly, the sportsman should be accompanied by some men 

 who may be relied on to stand firm ; for even a wounded 

 tiger will seldom make good its charge if boldly faced. 



I would therefore impress on all young sportsmen 

 desirous of becoming successful big-game hunters, the 

 necessity of invariably following up and killing any animal 

 they have wounded, not only because by doing so they put 

 the poor beast out of pain, and incidentally secure a 

 sporting trophy, but in addition, probably save some human 

 lives, for wounded animals such as tigers, leopards, bears 

 or bison are always a source of danger to any natives in 

 the neighbourhood, who might inadvertently come upon 

 them while seeking for cattle or firewood in the jungle in 

 which they are lying up. 



There is yet another practice to which every would-be 

 hunter of big game should, if he wishes to succeed as such, 

 devote his attention and study to acquire, and that is, the 

 art of tracking. It is, doubtless, difficult to learn, but by 

 constantly accompanying his men when scouring the 

 jungles for game, and carefully observing various marks 

 or indications of where an animal has been, he will in course 

 of time be able to decipher them with ease. 



He will find it very difficult at first to distinguish 

 between the footprints of various beasts, and may find 

 himself mistaking the track of a goat for a boar or those 

 of a hyena for a panther, but time and experience will over- 

 come these difficulties, and he will ultimately be surprised 

 to find how easily he is able to discriminate between foot- 

 prints much less distinguishable even than these, as, for 

 instance, those of a tiger from a tigress, which though 

 apparently very similar, are to the practised eye quite 

 different, the former being much squarer, especially if 

 the animal is old, whilst those of the tigress are more oval 

 in shape. 

 34 



