2o8 BIG GAME SHOOTING 



out with those sahibs and got killed the said Rustum having 

 met with his death by getting out of his tree and going to get 

 a drink of water while the guns were following up a wounded 

 tiger, or some equally nonsensical breach of orders. Accidents 

 of course do happen, even when all precautions are observed, 

 but the majority of them are occasioned by the natives' own 

 carelessness. 



Natives are often very unwilling to give information about 

 tigers, partly from fear of being turned out to beat, and partly 

 from the universal idea that the tiger, if he escapes, or his mate, 

 if he is killed, will take vengeance on them. They often also 

 consider it unlucky to mention his name, and talk of him as 

 a jackal, precisely as in Sweden a bear is never talked of as 

 such. 



Sitting up for a tiger over a kill or bait is the least amusing 

 and least certain of any method of hunting him, but often in 

 large forests which cannot be beaten, or where the sportsman 

 is single-handed and without elephants, it is the only way to 

 get a shot. 



The erection of the platform, or ' machan,' too frequently 

 disturbs the tiger and drives him away. If the sportsman can 

 procure baits, a good plan is to select a good place for a machan 

 before tying up ; tether lightly so that the tiger may drag the 

 carcase away. Make the machan when the first bait is taken, 

 tie up again till he kills again in the same place, and about 

 three days after the second kill tie up again and sit over it. 

 The best machan is a cot with low rails round the edge, fitted 

 with ropes to sling it in a tree. The sportsman's blankets and 

 pillows can be spread in it, he himself can lie comfortably at 

 full length watching the bait or kill, there are no sticks to 

 crackle and make a noise ; and when the moon goes down or 

 he has had his shot, he can turn round and sleep as one only 

 sleeps in the open. The sportsman should be at his post by 

 four o'clock in the afternoon, as if the tiger means coming he 

 will probably come early. Sanderson says he enjoys the sport ; 

 it's pleasant enough if the tiger comes soon, but if he puts off 



