282 A Sportswoman in India 



and at the same time J. fired too. He squirmed 

 round on one side and glared up at my tree, seeing 

 me distinctly, and then rolled over dead. My first 

 shot, which of course had been a very easy one, was 

 just right straight through his heart ; my second 

 had hit him behind ; J. did not hit him. As we 

 generally fired from different sides, it was not hard 

 to tell to whom a shot belonged. 



This was the finest of my three, only exceeded in 

 size by one of Captain F.'s, which had a longer tail. 

 Enormous beasts they look, as they lie dead ; their 

 muscle, especially in the forearm, is colossal. This 

 skin was beautifully marked ; a lovely head with a 

 great, sprouting moustache ; he had a large yellow ruff 

 all round his neck ; the joint at his wrist measured 

 twenty-six inches round. 



These three tigers were all which fell to my own 

 bag in the Deccan. J. shot five and Captain F. four 

 in our two months. We returned to civilisation, two 

 of us bearded like the pard, all burnt mahogany colour, 

 much lighter in weight, and quite fit. Alas ! to be 

 back in " the man-stifled town " again, after that life 

 in the jungle which defies all description. There is 

 so much connected with it which one never forgets, 

 and yet which is hardly worth describing, which 

 sinks into one's being and becomes part of oneself 

 a precious part. 



Do not set out on a tiger shoot without being 

 prepared for a great deal of discomfort. Your temper, 

 your personal comforts, will all be trodden under 



