22 BIG GAME 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, ora 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 youare 
hidden. Choose a spot where you have some chance of making 
out his outline against the sky if he should come, and whether 
