SHOOT THE ONLY STAG. 53 



had been killed on the island for a long time, and the 

 advantage of not wearing any conspicuous color when out 

 after game was very manifest on this occasion. We were 

 posted by the side of the high road where the forest had 

 been cleared and a scrub jungle had grown up. I saw the 

 stag suddenly appear on some rising ground above the 

 road and deliberately take his bearings. Now as all my 

 companions had something white about them which made 

 them very conspicuous, and I had nothing of the kind visible, 

 he came straight down to where I was standing, and on 

 his coming within shot got the contents of both my 

 barrels which turned him back severely wounded, and he 

 fell dead after proceeding a short distance ; a fine beast, 

 13 hands at the shoulder with small but very thick 

 antlers. They tell me that the deer on the island never 

 have very large antlers. My sporting friends after this 

 event, took great pains to hide every scrap of white in their 

 dress, but no more stags came to be shot. There was said 

 to be a great number of tigers on the island and some 

 hundreds of Chinamen were reported to be killed each year 

 by them, but as the Chinamen belonged to secret societies 

 who were in perpetual feud and always ready to kill each 

 other, I am afraid many a murder has been falsely attri- 

 buted to the "gentleman in stripes." In respect to this, 

 I was told rather an amusing story of a very knowing 

 Chinaman. The stems of the large cable-like creepers 

 that twine about the forest trees like huge snakes, are 

 valuable on account of their variety of colour and beauty of 

 grain, for wood veneering ; the above mentioned individual 

 having found a spot where these valuable creepers abounded 

 and fearing that others might reap the harvest, adopted an 



