ON THE HABITS OF TIGERS 105 
approach, there is pleasure in expectancy, and more 
in its fulfilment, and at the same time there is no 
necessity to shoot, if for any reason there is no 
desire to slay. You have no duties toward the bag, 
as is the case when a party is in the field, and, if 
you so wish, the camera or the notebook can take 
the place of the rifle. My wife and I once watched 
for nearly half an hour a tiger who lay directly 
beneath our feet, and I have rejoiced in the gambols 
of mother and cubs a few feet away ; while there are 
many opportunities in such circumstances of learn- 
ing characteristics of wild life which are soon lost 
when the same animal is in confinement. But if 
the sportsman is out to kill, he should before firing 
remember that the game has to be retrieved single- 
handed, and that the shot, if badly placed, may 
change the calm strength of the tiger into fury that 
only death will appease. 
When fired at, a tiger will almost invariably 
charge in the direction he is standing, and hence a 
facing shot is generally the worst that can be 
offered. To fire at the head from the same level 
may result in the bullet glancing from the skull, 
and the mark selected should be the base of the 
neck. Here the opening into the chest cavity is 
small, and if the bullet passes outside the shoulder- 
blades into the great masses of muscle little damage 
will be done ; but otherwise a conical solid bullet of 
‘577 bore will traverse the length of the body and 
be found mushroomed in the hind-quarters, while 
the same bullet fired at a broadside target within 
30 yards will pierce both shoulder-blades, and may 
be felt under the skin on the other side. When a 
