22 /'/(; C.A.M1-: SHOOTING 



may be got out of the day's work ; but, after all, the beaters who 

 out-climb the Spanish ibex (as described by Mr. Chapman in 

 his ' Wild Spain ') and the natives who risk their lives in the 

 driving, have always seemed to the present writer to be the men 

 who did the work, and were principally responsible for the 

 success of the day's sport. To the guns who are posted by the 

 organiser of the beat little advice can be given, except to obey 

 orders, stick to their posts, be careful not to shoot at anything 

 until it has passed them or, at any rate, at anything which 

 is in such a position with regard to the beaters and other 

 guns as to make it unsafe to fire to keep their attention concen- 

 trated upon the business in hand, to make all arrangements for 

 concealment and ease in shooting directly they are posted, 

 and then to keep quiet. There is not quite enough in this 

 form of sport for the gun to do to please some men,, but de 

 gustibus non est disputandum. 



Night shooting is another form of sport, sometimes ren- 

 dered necessary by the shyness and nocturnal habits of such 

 beasts as the grizzly and the Caucasian ibex. There are 

 charms in night watching peculiar to the hour, which appeal 

 particularly to the naturalist and lover of outdoor life ; there is 

 a certain fascination in the mystery of the night, the gloom of 

 the great woods, and the awful stillness of the white peaks ; while 

 the children of the forest always seem more natural and less sus- 

 picious at night than at any other time. But it needs every 

 charm which the night can boast to tempt a man to sit hour 

 after hour in the shadow, without stirring, without speaking, 

 without even thinking of anything except the sport in hand, 

 whilst the rain runs down his spine in a strong stream, or a cold 

 wind catches his body, heated by the tramp to the ambuscade, 

 and slowly freezes it. If you must shoot at night, be careful 

 about the wind : find out as well as you are able from what 

 quarter you may expect your bear, and take care that your wind 

 does not reach him before he reaches the carcase by which you are 

 hidden. Choose a spot where you have some chance of making 

 out his outline against the sky if he should come, and whether 



