26o BIG GAME SHOOTING \ 



time of day and parted. Wild elephants, too, are not uncom- ; 

 mon in certain parts, so that altogether there is always a chance \ 

 of finding amusement. What fun there must have been in the ' 

 Sewaliks in the days of the Ganesa mammoth and the four- : 

 horned moose-like sivatherium ! Their remains in the British ' 

 Museum make one's mouth water to think of them. ] 



Among the larger ranges of hills in Southern India, the 

 best way of hunting is to send men in pairs before daybreak to \ 

 well-chosen positions to watch the forest, the sportsman with< 

 one attendant taking a line of his own, and working on or J 

 watching his particular beat till the sun is beginning to get| 

 powerful and the animals have lain down for the day ; then hei 

 should himself go round the different groups of watchers andl 

 collect their reports. It is important that the sportsman shoul(l 

 go round himself and not depute the work to his shikari, as aJ 

 stag or a bear may often have been marked down to an inch i 

 by the watchers and may be stalked forthwith, whilst if a driv^' ; 

 be decided upon the sportsman has an opportunity of studying j 

 the ground and settling all the details with his head shikari on ^ 

 the spot. Having gone round his sentries and withdrawn the 

 men, he should then return to camp for breakfast, order beaters 

 for any drives he has decided on, and about 1 1 a.m., when the I 

 sun is really hot and the animals marked down are likely to I 

 be disinclined to move, and so enable the beaters and guns | 



to get into position, he should begin operations. All driving 

 should be done in the heat of the day, when the animals are \ 

 lying down ; trying to drive when beasts are naturally on the 1 

 move generally results in the game leaving the beat before the ■ 

 men are in their places. Another great point to attend to in 

 driving is for the sportsman, if possible, to get up into a tree.| 

 It may sound ridiculous for a man to climb up a tree in aji 

 sambur drive, but he is far more likely to get an easy shot inij 

 this position, as the deer will neither see nor wind him, he.j 

 commands more ground, and he runs no risk of heading back'j 

 the wary old hind which often leads the herd ; the chances | 

 being that if he is rightly posted the herd will come right'] 



