THE HOUSEBOAT UP-COUNTRY. 117 



And that your coolies carry — 



Tiffin basket duly provisioned. 



Game carriers. 



Game bag containing : — 



Spare cartridges. 



Dog lead. 



Shooting knife. 



Box of matches. 



String. 



Canker cap. 



Pocket gun cleaner. 



Tweezers. 



A few bundles of cash, 20 in each. 



Spirit flask. 



And some scraps for the dogs. 



This seems an unnecessarily long list of things to take afield, but you may rely upon 

 it that at some time or other you will be sure to want the very thing you have omitted to 

 take with you. 



To thoroughly enjoy a day's sport the gun should be out the whole day. The coolie 

 who carries the tiffin basket can return after the midday repast with the game that has been 

 shot during the morning and with the dog that has been working. No one should go up- 

 country for a fortnight's trip without a brace of dogs at least. A cut foot or a strain might 

 easily render a dog useless for a time; so, as in many other cases, it will be found expedient 

 to have two strings to your bow, and more if you can manage it. 



Return to the Boat. — On returning to the boat see that your dogs are well 

 attended to, that all seeds are carefully removed from their feet, ears, &c., &c., that if wet 

 they are thoroughly dried and that they have a good feed before being shut up for the night. 



Ticketing Game. — Hand over "the bag" to 3'our boy and see that the birds are at 

 once drawn and hung up under shelter, and that a ticket with the date is tied securely to 

 each bird; these tickets should be prepared beforehand; they can easily be made out of 

 an old pack of cards. The date should be legibly written on them in English and Chinese 

 so that when game is sent out as a present the recipient may know when the birds were shot. 



Precautions against Losing your Way.— It is no easy matter to put in 

 writing suggestions which will prevent a sportsman, especially if he is new to the country, 

 from losing his way occasionally. Some men find their way about by a species of instinct, 

 often working miles inland and are never at a loss to discover the shortest way back to their 

 boat. Other men lose their way almost within gun shot of the boat, and are completely 

 puzzled if the flag is temporarily hidden from their view by a tree or copse. It is anything 

 but pleasant, even to an old hand, to spend a night in a farm house or in a native boat 

 (especially if the thermometer is below freezing point) ; so, on the principle of prevention 

 being better than cure, a few precautions, which may perhaps be found useful, at any rate 

 by beginners, are here given. 



