BIG GAME 81 



is particularly careful to eschew this form of 

 diet, as he finds that the small shells become 

 imbedded in his back teeth, whence they are 

 dislodged with difficulty, and, if swallowed 

 whole, tend to engender appendicitis. 



It has always been a source of consolation to 

 me to know that I was not the only man to 

 draw false conclusions from a single experience, 

 many other elephant-hunters, in days when 

 comparatively little was known on the subject, 

 having adopted equally unsuitable methods, 

 of which hiding behind a piece of pampas-grass 

 and making a noise like a bun is by no means 

 the most futile. 



To my mind, the whole idea of tying up a 

 live " bait " and concealing oneself in its im- 

 mediate neighbourhood savours somewhat of 

 the cruel and unsportsmanlike. My maternal 

 grandmother was an annual subscriber to the 

 funds of Our Dumb Friends' League, and I 

 long ago promised her that I would never 

 attempt to entice panthers in this fashion. 

 In spite of many temptations, and in the face 

 of much ridicule, I have resolutely kept my 

 word. 



I have, of course, no objection to offer to the 

 practice adopted by sportsmen who expose 



6 



