POACHERS. 75 



to prevent the success of one's efforts being 

 much delayed, if not altogether frustrated, by 

 the action of poachers. 



The most important factor in dealing with Keepers and 

 the poaching question is to have a good keeper poachers 

 or keepers. It is needless to say that a good 

 keeper must be intelligent, honest, industrious, 

 sober, capable, and, above all, take a strong 

 interest in the ultimate success of the work. 

 He must be endowed with strength, endurance, 

 and pluck. He must be prepared to spend long 

 hours of the night or early dawn alone or in the 

 company of a well-trained dog, listening intently 

 for any suspicious sound, and on the alert for 

 any suspicious movement, ready at a moment 

 to capture the poacher or to take full mental 

 notes of the circumstances under which he may 

 see the poaching carried on, for it may well 

 happen that before the magistrates he may 

 be subjected to severe and searching cross- 

 examination by a sharp and not over-scrupulous 

 attorney. 



In connection with this point, too, the keeper's 

 own character must be such as to stand the 

 test. If in his past history there is anything 

 which will tend to cast doubt on the reliability 

 of his evidence, it will very likely come out, and 

 the case will certainly be dismissed. Then, too, 

 he should know something of the complicated 



