SPEARS AND GEAR 271 



pin through ; whip the shaft at the edge of the 

 mouth to avoid any projection. 



Buy the very best bamboos in the market. I 

 get my own from Calcutta, and pay between three 

 and four rupees each for them. Keep your shafts 

 with a thin coating of oil on them when not used. 



Knives, — If you are hunting alone always carry 

 a big knife on you. Baldock's pattern is the best 

 I know of. This has a hollow circular handle, split 

 in two longitudinally and serrated on the inside. 

 A ring slides over the outside. If you break your 

 spear you insert your broken shaft into the hollow 

 handle, slide the ring up till the two segments grip 

 tight, and you have then a fresh spear. It can of 

 course be used as an ordinary knife. The drawback 

 to this knife is its large handle ; a knife for use on 

 horseback should have a compact flat handle. Never 

 carry it in your belt. I used to, but one day, years 

 ago, I fell on it with my horse on top of me. I was 

 laid up for some weeks, and have now a dead patch 

 in my back a couple of inches square with no feeling. 

 The side of the leg as a place for carrying the 

 knife has the same objection, it may break your 

 leg. The back of the calf of the leg is probably 

 the best place. 



Hunting Gear. — Rattles, bombs, and white 

 " stopping " cloth should always be taken on an 

 expedition. For crops there is nothing so good as 

 a long rope with, if you like, one or two little bells 

 attached. This is passed over the top of the crops, 

 and two men at each end go along sawing it with 

 alternate pulls. No animal will stand it. 



Horse Feeds. — As regards horse feeds many men 

 make a fetish of oats. They are hard to get, and 

 are, in my opinion, not good enough in quality to 



