208 A Sportswoman in India 



sitting outside at breakfast by 5 o'clock, the grass 

 covered with dew, and grey dawn just stealing over 

 the country. There was an air of suppressed excite- 

 ment at that hour when starting was so near, and the 

 morning before us might contain so much of the 

 unexpected. Preparations were being made all round, 

 and one of the most important items in the shoot, the 

 beating of the jungle, had to be arranged. 



The headman of the district had been interviewed 

 beforehand, and arrangements made between him and 

 Lalla for natives to beat for us. We had about a 

 hundred and fifty this time ; they were all made to sit 

 down outside our camp, squatting in a great circle. 

 The noise which those natives made it would be hard 

 to describe such a jabbering, vociferating, clamour- 

 ing, shouting. Lalla and the servants patrolled the 

 circle inside and tried to keep order with switches. 



Each of the coolies was given a scrap of initialed 

 paper, which they had to show at the end of the day 

 before they were paid ; otherwise many defaulters, 

 who have not borne the burden and brunt of the beats, 

 will creep in with the rest, towards evening, and try to 

 get equal pay. As far as possible, we chose out only 

 strong and younger men, for old ones are worse than 

 useless. But Lalla, as usual, allowed a greybeard or 

 two to creep in. 



The beaters wore nothing beyond a loincloth and a 

 puggaree ; they hid their pieces of paper in one or 

 the other, or often one of them took charge of half a 

 dozen and tied them carefully up into a corner of his 



