1 SHIKAR SKETCHES. 



configuration of the ground. The first plan is to 

 have a mechan, or platform of branches, made in 

 a tree overlooking the water. This platform is 

 then covered with armfuls of green grass, not dry, 

 on which you can place a rug or blanket, and 

 surrounded by a screen of branches, with their 

 leaves on. It is generally made large enough to 

 accommodate yourself and an attendant, and long 

 enough to permit you to lie down and enjoy a 

 nap, should the tedium of watching prove too 

 much, and the drowsy god assert his sway. The 

 second method is to have a pit dug about four 

 feet deep and as many wide within easy shot of 

 the water. The earth removed from the pit should 

 not be thrown up a la i shelter trench ' outside its 

 mouth, but should be carried off and deposited 

 some distance in the j ungle. A few low branches 

 may be stuck round the mouth of the pit to re- 

 semble bushes and form a screen. In the pit the 

 sportsman and his attendant crouch, and, being 

 level with the ground, are less likely to attract 

 the attention of any animal. One trial, however, 

 of this latter plan was enough for me, for, in 

 addition to the exceedingly cramped position it 

 entailed for several hours, and the attacks of mos- 

 quitoes, which are generally more numerous the 

 nearer you are to the level of the ground, the 

 pungent, and anything but aromatic, odour of 



