466 THE TROPICAL WORLD. 



noitring the traces of the animal, points out the direction that 

 is to be followed. On his right and left hand walk the Englisli 

 sportsmen, fully prepared for action, and behind them the most 

 trustworthy of their followers, with loaded rifles ready for an 

 exchange with those that have been discharged. Then follows 

 the music, consisting of four or five tambourins, a great drum, 

 cymbals, horns, a bell, and the repeated firing of pistols, and 

 convoyed by men armed with swords and long halberds. A few 

 slingsmen make up the rear, who are constantly throwing stones 

 into the jungle over the heads of the foremost of the party, and 

 even more effectually than the noise of the music drive the tiger 

 from his lair. From time to time, one of the men climbs upon 

 the summit of a tree, to observe the movements of the grass. 

 The whole troop constantly forms a close body. The tiger in 

 cold blood is never able to attack a company that announces 

 itself in so turbulent a manner. If he ventures, it is only with 

 half a heart ; he hesitates, stops at a short distance, and gives 

 the hunter time to salute him with a bullet. 



The tiger is particularly fond of dense w^illow or bamboo 

 bushes on swampy ground, as he there finds the cool shade he 

 reqiures for his rest during the heat of the day, after his 

 nocturnal excursions. It is then very difficult to detect him, 

 but the other inhabitants of the jungle, particularly the peacock 

 and the monkey, betray his presence. The scream of the former 

 is an infallible sign that the tiger is rising from his lair ; and 

 the monkeys, who during the night are frequently surprised by 

 the panther or the boa, never allow their watchfulness to be 

 at fault during the day. They are never deceived in the animal 

 which slinks into the thicket. If it is a deer or a wild boar, they 

 remain perfectly quiet, but if it is a tiger or a panther, they 

 utter a cry designed to warn their comrades of the approach 

 of danger. When, on examining a jungle, the traveller sees a 

 monkey quietly seated on the branches, he may be perfectly 

 sure that no dangerous animal is lurk- 

 ing in the thicket. 



During the night the cry of the 



jackal frequently announces the tiger's 



presence. When one of these vile 



animals is no longer able to hunt from 



age, or when he has been expelled from his troop, he is said 



to become the provider of the tiger, who, after having satiated 



