March, 1848. TIGER-HUNT. 57 



miles of country he (or at any rate, some other game) 

 might be driven past a certain spot. Thither, accordingly, 

 the natives were sent, who built machans (stages) in the 

 trees, high out of danger's reach ; Mr. Theobald and 

 myself occupied one of these perches in a Hardwickia tree, 

 and Mr. Telle another, close by, both on the slope of a 

 steep hill, surrounded by jungly valleys. We were also 

 well thatched in with leafy boughs, to prevent the wary 

 beast from espying the ambush, and had a whole stand of 

 small arms ready for his reception. 



When roosted aloft, and duly charged to keep profound 

 silence (which I obeyed to the letter, by falling sound 

 asleep), the word was passed to the beaters, who surrounded 

 our post on the plain-side, extending some miles in line, 

 and full two or three distant from us. They entered the 

 jungle, beating tom-toms, singing and shouting as they 

 advanced, and converging towards our position. In the 

 noonday solitude of these vast forests, our situation was 

 romantic enough : there was not a breath of wind, an insect 

 or bird stirring ; and the wild cries of the men, and the 

 hollow sound of the drums broke upon the ear from a 

 great distance, gradually swelling and falling, as the natives 

 ascended the heights or crossed the valleys. After about 

 an hour and a half, the beaters emerged from the jungle 

 under our retreat ; one by one, two by two, but preceded by 

 no single living thing, either mouse, bird, deer, or bear, and 

 much less tiger. The beaters received about a penny a-piece 

 for the day's work ; a rich guerdon for these poor wretches, 

 whom necessity sometimes drives to feed on rats and offal. 



We were detained three days at Sulkun, from inability 

 to get on with the carts ; and as the pass over the Kymore 

 to the north (on the way to Mirzapore) was to be still 

 worse, I took advantage of Mr. Felle's kind offer of camels 



