A GOOD SHIKARI 433 



ance resident in Srinagar, or a brother sportsman who has 

 been for a trip through the country. There are a num- 

 ber of pseudo-shikaris in Kashmir — men who pretend 

 to know everything, while in reality they know nothing 

 — and it is sometimes difficult to avoid falling into the 

 hands of these gentry. But a shikari secured through a 

 friend, or through some one who has been shooting in 

 Kashmir, is usually all right. It is not physically possible 

 for a single man to know all parts of the district in 

 which game is to be found, so any one who professes 

 this knowledge should be viewed with suspicion ; but 

 every good shikari knows certain nalas intimately, and 

 in others he has not visited, he will obtain locally all the 

 information required. 



The main duty of a good shikari is to take his 

 employer up to game unperceived, that is to place him 

 within reasonable range, without allowing the animal 

 pursued to suspect the presence of danger.^ Few men 

 have the experience and patience required for this. It 

 will have been noticed in the preceding narrative how 

 often my presence was detected by the game before 

 I fired a shot. Generallv this was due to Abdulla's 

 impatience. He was a good shikari, on the whole — 

 exceedingly keen on his work, most energetic, an un- 

 tiring walker, and gifted with marvellous quickness of 

 eyesight — but his impatience on a stalk was uncon- 

 trollable, and he more than once spoiled a good chance 

 by showing himself over a bit of exposed ground, which 



1 It will be remembered that the remarks in this and succeeding chapters are 

 only meant for those unacquainted with Kashmir game ; experienced sportsmen 

 would prefer to do the stalking for themselves. 



2 F 



