Round the Camp Fire. 189 



ation of those set in authority over him. We find, there- 

 fore, that he is an instrument that can be played on with 

 remarkable success by quite an ordinary performer. 



Keeping in view the direction of these preliminary 

 observations, let us imagine some Indian * district ' which 

 contains good hunting-grounds giving shelter to a typical 

 fauna, including tigers, and that in such a district an 

 ' outsider ' desires to indulge his fondness for sport. 

 Now it is possible that he may imagine that all his 

 difficulties end with the receipt of permission to shoot in 

 those jungles ; but, if he is wise, he will recognize that 

 there are a few preliminaries to settle before arriving at 

 this consummation. 



It may be that all of the district officials are keen on shoot- 

 ing ; and this is certain to complicate matters, and make the 

 case the most difficult of all for our f outsider ' to tackle ; for 

 there is no avoiding the fact that the officials adminis- 

 tering a district in various capacities are usually in a 

 position to bring pressure to bear on refractory subjects 

 at their will, while the inhabitants are practically bound 

 to observe their wishes in such matters as are here treated of. 



Or it may be that none of them care for the pleasures 

 of the jungle ; and here the path would appear more 

 smooth, which however depends on a variety of other 

 circumstances. 



Let us however take a simple case from which those 

 more involved may be inferred by the reader and assume; 

 that of the four or five district officials, the Deputy Commis- 

 sioner is the only one keen on tiger-shooting. 



Although it depends on several factors, it may be takeni 

 for granted that a Deputy Commissioner has the power to- 

 make himself, within certain wide limits, absolute autocrat 

 of the country he administers. , 



