H. It. H. THE PRINCE OF WALES' SHOOTING IN INDIA. 1095 
riding up. We then drove on for a coujile of miles and reached a place called 
Bijalia Kondul (3) at about 12-30. Getting out of the ear we walked to the 
raachans which were about 200 yards distant, flushing some partridge on the 
waj'. The machan in which Colonel Worgan and I were placed was not a good 
one except from the point of view of being nicely sheltered. It did not allow 
one to swing a rifle round quickly in the event of the tiger breaking cover from 
any direction other than that immediately in front of us. Little basket stools 
would have been extremely useful here. 
The tree on which the machan was erected had a lot of dry leaves which made 
a constant cracking noise as the wind rustled through them. 
The cry of the beaters began at 12-50, a not unmusical “ Yoo-oo ” in a pleasant 
intonation, punctuated now and then by the beat of a drum, and was maintained 
continuously up to the shooting line. Some jackals sneaJced out, stood for a 
moment on the edge of the open space, and then crossing in haste, vanished 
bej’ond, while the pit pat on the dry leaves of many jjeacocks’ feet was heard, 
followed by a whirr as a cock cleared the open space and floated down 
into the brushwood beyond. 
The beaters’ voices seemed to approach and recede, as they mounted a ridge 
or crossed a depression. 
A quarter past one passes but no tiger. He seemed to be keeping along 
the bill. Suddenly two shots rang out — then silence — -that pregnant silence 
of wliich the secret is known as a rule only to the shooter and often not to him. 
We remained quietly in our machan thinking that probably the tiger had been 
killed by the Prince. The heir apparent of Bhopal then came up to our machan 
and told us he thought the tiger was hit. We got down from the machan 
and learnt what really happened. Actually a tigress did come out very fast in 
front of uttered a “ woof ” and passed clean under the machan and out 
in the rear, giving very little chance of a certain shot, and fled untouched — going 
away equally fast. The Prince did not fire as it was not a possible shot. She 
was an old hand at the game and had evidently escaped her fate on many previous 
occasions. Three Sambhar also broke out and it was at these the shots had 
been fired. 
After this we had lunch and then drove back towards the Raisen road 
to a place called Makhni ( 2 on the map ) about eight miles awaj', where 
the second beat was arranged. At 3 o’clock the raachans were reached 
and the beat began. At about 3-45 the beat came up. But no tiger was 
seen, only some bears and one male and two female Nilgai, which passed 
within sight of Colonel Luard, but out of range. The reason I think why 
the drive was blank was that we had been expected in the morning, 
many people had been about and thek movements had driven game 
away. Moreover the machans, as in Mysore, were in rather too ojien ground 
and too near the out drive. Getting into the care again Ave drove to the scene 
of the third beat Avhich was in Makhni forest about two miles off. Two shots 
■w'ere fired, but nothing was hit nor did the majority of the guns see an^-thing 
but a lot of langurs and some quail and pea fowl.* 
So much for the fate of His Roj^al Highness’ party. Those who were not 
with the Prince had better luck. 
Sir Godfrey Thomas, Captain Poynder, Captain Legh, Cajitain Metcalfe and 
Mr. A. Metcalfe, under the guidance of Colonel McConaghy, went to Satdhara 
(1). The first beat, a very long one, produced a tiger. It was shot by 
Captain Poynder and was in fine coat, and had a magnificent ruff on its neck. 
As it lay on the ground by the tree near Captain Pojnider’s tent it looked a fine 
• The peacock is sacred in the eyes of Hindus. In tlieir mythology it is the steed on whieli the 
goddess Sarasvati, the Minerva of India, rides, and therefore peacock feathers are not unlucky 
here as they are in Europe. Peacocks are never molested in Hindu States ; but in Mussulman 
States like Bhopal they can be shot, as long as they are not in or close to villages. 
3.5 
