SHOOTING FROM " MACHANS." 229 



tainecl at them through the dark shadows thrown by the 

 branches, or intervening bushes and boulders ; or at the best, 

 only long and uncertain ones, leaving, perhaps, not a drop 

 of blood on the trail. It seems, too, that this kind of sport 

 is unsuited or uncongenial to men of our race, who prefer to 

 meet the enemy, biped or quadruped, face to face in open 

 daylight without ambush or stratagem. On the other hand, 

 there is a certain charm for the true lover of nature in the 

 observation of the movements of wild birds and beasts after 

 nightfall, when alone the latter can be seen in their natural 

 state, since by daylight, whether they are stalked or driven, 

 they act under some fear or compulsion. 



The ordinary mode of following the sport of bear-shooting 

 in Bengal is to have a drive up to a line of " machans," or 

 platforms, constructed upon selected sites, the beaters some 

 hundreds in number driving a hill, or a " sal " forest, from 

 one to two or three miles in length ; and, after the first beat 

 is over, driving back again to the same " machans " from as 

 far on the opposite side. This is by no means an exciting 

 sport, except to young hands, to whom, all being novel, it is 

 interesting ; but it affords openings to pleasant pic-nics and 

 much social pleasure, especially in the cold season, when ladies 

 can sometimes join in such parties, and more or less mar real 

 sport by their charming presence ; for who can think of 

 the bear in the bush with a ]ady in hand, that is, beside 

 one upon the " machan" ; and the attractions of a tigress " in 

 posse " count as nothing as compared with those of an actual 

 lionne " in esse." A good tiffin under the greenwood tree, 

 washed down with iced champagne or claret-cup, is a good 

 thing in itself, but it is rarely conducive to good sport, and it 

 most certainly causes a drowsiness afterwards in some, whose 

 shooting under the most favourable circumstances is not 

 remarkable for accuracy or quickness. 



Far better sport is to be had in beating rocks, hills and 

 woods of no great extent by a hundred and fifty to two 

 hundred beaters only, while the sportsmen take up positions 

 on foot behind boulders, trees, or bushes ; but there is this 



