TIGER-SHOOTING. 159 



truth of the scriptural statement that ' where the car- 

 case is, there will the eagles be gathered together/ 

 and sure enough the 'kill' would generally be lying 

 close by, and near it, in all probability, Master 

 ' Stripes ' himself. Sometimes, however, tigers will 

 leave the 'kill,' and go and take their mid-day 

 siesta some distance off. 



To ensure their not having done this, and to 

 c harbour ' them as is done to the red-deer on the 

 breezy, purple-clad heights, and among the deep 

 and wooded coombes of Exmoor whoever is going 

 round the 'hailas,' takes a wide circle round the 'kill/ 

 assuring himself by a careful scrutiny of the ground 

 that the tiger has not gone out of the proscribed 

 circle. Being satisfied as to the exact locality of 

 the tiger, the shikari returns to camp, having pre- 

 viously untied and brought in the ' hailas ' that 

 have not been killed, and makes his report to his 

 masters, that is, if none of them have accompanied 

 him in his rounds. Beaters are then collected, 

 and a start made about eleven o'clock, when it is 

 very hot. The object of deferring the beat till 

 the intense heat of mid-day is, that tigers are very 

 unwilling to travel far during heat ; in fact it has 

 a great effect on them, and I have seen a tiger's 

 feet quite raw and blistered by having to pass 

 much over burning rocks and sand during a beat. 



The sportsmen then select a spot, either in a 



