232 MISCELLANEOUS. 



some smoking tackle. For night shooting I used a bit of 

 moist cotton wool on which the heads of some wet matches 

 had been rubbed. This was fixed close to the foresight 

 that was before the days of luminous paint, which ought 

 to be the very thing for this purpose. About ten dozen 

 long iron nails should be taken for pegging out skins, and 

 some iron tent pegs will be found very useful for hard 

 ground, plenty of arsenical soap for preserving the fleshy 

 parts of the skin (nose, lips, and feet) will be necessary. 

 Ordinary wood ashes are best for the broad surfaces, and a 

 mixture of these with powdered alum should be well 

 rubbed into the skins before they are dried, which is 

 effected by pegging them out on the ground, hairy side 

 downwards, in the shade of a tree. They must be tapped 

 with a stick every half hour to prevent the white ants 

 from attacking them. They must always be lifted at dusk 

 and stowed in a place beyond the reach of jackals or village 

 dogs, which prowl round camps at night and eat anything 

 they can find. 



The following is a good recipe for arsenical soap : 

 Powdered arsenic 2oz., camphor 5oz., powdered lime 

 2 drachms, salt of tartar 6 drachms ; these must be set 

 aside unmixed. Then take 2oz. of white soap, cut it 

 into thin slices and put it into a saucepan with a little 

 water over a slow fire ; stir frequently, and when melted 

 add the lime and salts of tartar, then the arsenic, and 

 finally the camphor ; let it simmer for a few minutes and 

 then transfer to an air-tight jar. Turpentine is also very 

 effective, and can be used in the absence of arsenical soap, 

 or in combination with it if so desired. 



A golden rule for all big game shikaries is to " make 

 the most of your first shot, a better chance will seldom 

 occur." The rifle I took to India in 1867 was a pin-fire 



