CHAPTER IX. 

 MY BIG TUSKER. 



ONE evening I was descending a river in a prahu. It 

 was very pleasant work. Two Dyaks were seated in 

 the bows propelling the boat by noiseless strokes, for it 

 was my wish to avoid disturbing any game which might 

 be coming down to drink. Another Dyak in the stern 

 steered the boat with his paddle. I was seated in ' the 

 centre of the boat cross-legged, upon a sort of little half 

 deck which I had constructed for shooting purposes, and 

 beside me lay my elephant gun and my express rifle, 

 the former by Holland and the latter a perfect master- 

 piece by James Lang. 



A sportsman will easily understand why I had this 

 little deck constructed. Say, for instance, that you are 

 seated upon the athwart ship plank which is ordinarily 

 used as a seat in boats. To begin with, your feet are 

 always in the bilge water, and you have no table upon 

 which to lay your rifles, ammunition, pipe, tobacco,, 

 matches, etc. 



Moreover, if you are a right-handed and right-eyed 

 man, you can fire to the left with ease, but you cannot 

 fire to the right without turning your whole body round 

 facing the right bank of the river, and it is difficult to 

 do this in an ordinary boat. If you have a little deck 

 constructed you can spin your body round in any direction, 

 and can thus in a moment find the most comfortable 



