RIFLES, GROUND AND OUTFIT. 291 



to pay the beaters, however good he may be in 

 other ways, he probably will not be able to resist 

 the temptation of feathering his own nest at the 

 expense of the wretched beaters. A little atten- 

 tion to such apparently trivial matters will go far 

 towards making the excursion a success, instead 

 of resulting in failure. 



Of course sportsmen going out to India can- 

 not be expected to know the language or customs 

 of the country, and therefore they should en- 

 deavour to have among their number one who 

 does do so, and generally some one who has this 

 knowledge may be found among the officers of 

 the regiments, European or native, quartered in 

 most cantonments, who would be glad to join 

 the party. Any introductions to the head civil- 

 ian of the district will be found of great use, and 

 tend much towards smoothing the way for the 

 party. 



In conclusion, I will only add that I trust 

 these few lines may prove of some slight interest 

 and use to any sportsman who is going to attempt 

 : shikar ' for the first time. The veteran sports- 

 man will doubtless find many faults and imper- 

 fections in what I have written, but sportsmen 

 are usually generous, and I would therefore throw 

 myself on his mercy and ask him to be 



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