154 The Hunting Grounds 



Googooloo, who was my best tracker, always kept 

 at my heels, with my second gun, and carried in his 

 belt a knife, a bill-hook for cutting the way through 

 thick jungle, and a few rounds of ammunition. 



Mootoo (short for Choury Moottoo), Veerapah, 

 Narinah, and Rungasawmy, trackers, each carried 

 a spare gun with its ammunition, and a knife with a 

 saw, bill-hook, or axe in his belt. 



Ramasawmy (a preparer of skins) carried a large 

 backwoodsman's axe, as well as the implements of his 

 profession, and Perriatunibee, who usually went by 

 the abbreviation of " the Gooroo," on account of his 

 having some pretensions to priestcraft, carried a large 

 leather " mushuk " or skin containing water. 



To Naga, the Mulliarry whom Chineah had en- 

 listed in his late reconnaissance, I entrusted a gun, 

 and furnished him with the bill-hook and short spear, 

 with which weapons all my people were armed, as 

 they served not only as a protection, in case any of 

 them were detached, but also as a kind of badge 

 which showed they belonged to the shekar gang. 

 Besides my own regular shekarries, I engaged four 

 coolies to carry my traps through jungle-paths where 

 carts or ponies could not go. 



I had given orders to my head servant to see that 

 every man was provided with a new pair of " chup- 

 ples" or sandals, a dark "langooty " or waist-cloth, 

 and a " combley jule" or country blanket, made of 



