Tiger'Shooting 261 



It is best not to begin to beat till eleven or twelve 

 o'clock ; by that time the tiger is probably asleep, and 

 is less likely to be disturbed too soon. Even should 

 this happen, the sun and the rocks are by that time 

 so scorchingly hot, that he is very reluctant to leave 

 his cool sanctuary. From fifty to a hundred coolies 

 are wanted for a beat ; on this occasion we had 

 eighty. Their pay was one rupee to eight coolies 

 that is barely twopence each ; but it was doubled if 

 a tiger was shot. As Furreed, the head shikari, re- 

 marked, " it takes very clever business " to arrange 

 skilfully a good beat. 



We beat a long nullah (a valley) on that first day, 

 two miles long and half a mile wide. Most of the 

 coolies and shikaris were sent to one end, the guns 

 were posted at the other ; but besides this, stops had 

 to be placed all along the sides, at any point where 

 the tiger is likely to break out. The coolies who act 

 as stops all climb up into trees, and if they see the 

 tiger coming their way with the idea of breaking 

 out, they snap a twig or two, which invariably turns 

 him back at once. 



Besides this, we had brought with us about ten rolls 

 of broad, white cloth stuff, each piece a yard wide and 

 twenty yards long, and called " stopping cloth." This 

 was fixed on to trees or bushes along the edge of the 

 beat, at places where the tiger was known by the 

 shikaris to be particularly likely to break out all 

 this with the same idea of keeping him in the desired 

 direction of the guns, of course^ 



