TRACKING. 353 



Transport by boats when practicable is cheaper but slower 

 than that by carts, for while the latter may have to go only 

 ten or twelve miles by land, the boats may have to cover 

 double that distance in consequence of the windings of the 

 river. 



Unless furniture suitable for camp use be provided there 

 will be great breakage ; every article should therefore be 

 strong, and should fold up in a small compass compactly. 

 Among other things, a long, reclining cane chair, large and 

 small hand "punkahs" of the leaf of the "tal" palm, and 

 a fine mat (" sital-patee "), to be laid upon the bed should 

 never be forgotten, being indispensable in warm weather. 



The art of tracking is not a strong point in Bengalee 

 " Shikarees," and there are no Kamabs or Chingachgooks 

 among them. Sometimes a really able tracker may turn up 

 among Santhals, and professional tiger and panther hunters, 

 but few such will be found in the ranks of the ordinary 

 " Shikarees " of the country. As a rule Europeans neglect to 

 acquire this most necessary accomplishment in sportsmen, 

 preferring to put themselves in the hands of natives who 

 pretend to a knowledge of the art, which is both useful and 

 interesting, the writing of footprints and other signs being 

 as legible and full of meaning to the adept as that of a book 

 to the student. 



Should your camp be pitched near a police station, 

 authentic information of the whereabouts of the game of the 

 neighbourhood may be gathered from the village watchmen, 

 who come in to make their reports, and the offer of half the 

 Government reward paid for the destruction of wild beasts 

 of prey will act as a wholesome stimulant. From the police 

 officers and constables at the station itself, very little will be 

 elicited, as they are ignorant in an extraordinary degree of 

 things not falling within the routine of duty ; but useful hints 

 may be extracted from the register, in which all deaths caused 

 by wild animals are regularly recorded. 



Unless you join the camp of some official you are not 

 likely to meet natives of the higher orders, the majority of 



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