Five elephants, at a reward of seven shillings per tail, more
than pay the prime cost of his gun, to say nothing of the deer
and other game that he has bagged in the interim.
Some, although very few, of the natives are good sportsmen in a
potting way. They get close to their game, and usually bag it.
This is a terrible system for destroying, and the more so as it
is increasing. There is no rest for the animals; in the day-time
they are tracked up, and on moonlight nights the drinking-places
are watched, and an unremitting warfare is carried on. This is
sweeping both deer and buffalo from the country, and must
eventually almost annihilate them.
The Moormen are the best hunters, and they combine sport with
trade in such a manner that "all is fish that comes to their
net." Five or six good hunters start with twenty or thirty
bullocks and packs. Some of these are loaded with common cloths,
etc., to exchange with the village people for dried venison; but
the intention in taking so many bullocks is to bring borne the
spoils of their hunting trip - in fact, to "carry the bag." They
take about a dozen leaves of the talipot palm to form a tent, and
at night-time, the packs, being taken off the bullocks, are piled
like a pillar in the centre, and the talipot leaves are formed in
a circular roof above them. The bullocks are then secured round
the tent to long poles, which are thrown upon the ground and
pinned down by crooked pegs.
These people have an intimate knowledge of the country, and are
thoroughly acquainted with the habits of the animals and the most
likely spots for game. Buffaloes, pigs and deer are
indiscriminately shot, and the flesh being cut in strips from the
bones is smoked over a green-wood fire, then thoroughly dried in
the sun and packed up for sale. The deer skins are also
carefully dried and rolled up, and the buffaloes' and deer horns
are slung to the packs.
Many castes of natives will not eat buffalo meat, others will not
eat pork, but all are particularly fond of venison. This the
Moorman fully understands, and overcomes all scruples by a
general mixture of the different meats, all of which he sells as
venison. Thus no animal is spared whose flesh can be passed off
for deer. Fortunately, their guns are so common that they will
not shoot with accuracy beyond ten or fifteen paces, or there
would be no game left within a few years. How these common guns
stand the heavy charges of powder is a puzzle.
