238 MISCELLANEOUS. 



ing over a few years. Three of these tigers were man- 

 eaters, for one of which he received a reward from the 

 Mysore Government of Rupees 300. On two occasions he 

 shot four tigers to his own gun in two days. Only one 

 tiger out of the forty-four was over 10 feet in length. 

 Major Pleydell was a keen sportsman and spared no 

 expense to ensure good sport, his arrangements being 

 perfect, and his shikaries the best at Secunderabad. 



The expenses of a tiger shooting trip average about 

 350 rupees a month for each individual of a party of three 

 guns, exclusive of liquor. If there are more members the 

 expenditure decreases in proportion to their numbers, the 

 heaviest items being payments for beaters and for garas 

 by tigers. Whenever a tiger was shot the beaters got 

 double pay, viz., 4 annas apiece ; as 120 were gene- 

 rally employed, the amount expended came to only 

 Eupees 30 for the day's work. The outlay for garas 

 came to about Eupees 250 per mensem. This included 

 small presents for the use of the haylas as baits, viz., about 

 4 annas per diem apiece. Of these we had never less 

 than one dozen, and sometimes as many as thirty tied up, 

 so that the total amount for beaters and garas exceeded 

 Eupees 500 per mensem. 



Soda-water is an absolute necessity in the jungle in 

 hot weather. Large quantities must be taken out, and 

 arrangements must be made to send back the empties and 

 to obtain fresh supplies periodically. Nothing is so 

 refreshing as soda-water when drunk from the bottle so as to 

 imbibe as much as possible of the gas. No other liquor 

 except water should ever be taken while under arms 

 during the day; cold tea soon ferments and becomes 

 nauseating, nor is it possible to keep it cool. Claret and 

 hock mixed with soda-water, and an occasional glass of 



