INDIAN TIGERS.
[TO THE EDITOR OF TRH "SPEOTAT08.1
SIR, —I have some practical knowledge of tigers and tiger-killing, and I doubt whether the failure of the native " shikarees " (hunters) to kill more of these animals than they do is correctly explained either by yourself or by correspondents in other papers.
I think the explanation is simply this,—that the shikaree is not paid his full dues. He, with perhaps two or three assistants, brings his bundle of heads and skins to the Collector's station from a considerable distance. He has to write a petition (not on stamped paper) applying for his reward, and to present it to the Collector. His skins, &c., are examined, counted, and ordered to be destroyed, and the reward to be paid. But how long do these operations take, and who performs them ? Examining skins and heads to see they are the real thing, and not made up, is by no means a pleasant duty on a hot day. The Collector and his deputies have now-a-days almost invariably a press of more important—at all events, more urgent—work to do. The shika- ree may have to wait days—I have heard of his waiting for weeks —•before being attended to.
But say the Collector orders a native subordinate to see the skins are right. He does not do it for nothing, or if he is above picking for himself, his subordinates are not. " Thal- is not a tiger's skin at all," "that is a cow's head," " that is a cub" (half reward only), &c., &c. A few such remarks soon bring the shikaree to terms. Then when the reward is ordered to be paid, a warrant of payment has to be issued to the Treasurer, to be copied and registered. Time, and sometimes " grease," are required for these transactions. A good treasurer may then call in the akikaree, have a receipt ready written out for him, and pay the money into his own hands ; but more generally the treasurer will send one of his " peons" (messengers) with the money, and tell him to be sure to get a receipt before paying it. Now the shikaree can seldom, or ever, read or write, and is generally an ignorant, credu- lous fellow, with a lively dread of Government offices and officials. He has, as a rule, to pay for nearly every step in the process, from the writing of his first petition to that of his receipt, and how much he pays depends mainly on his own character and on that of the Collector. Under the most favourable circumstances, he may pay only 6d. per tiger; under others, he may have to pay 5s., or just half his reward. Besides this, his own and friends' food and
lodgings at the station, and their expenses to and fro, have to be paid for.
Now if the whole of the five rupees (ten shillings) per head' was paid at once and without deduction to the shikaree, 1 believe- it, with other gains hereafter mentioned, would afford him quite a- sufficient stimulus. But there is the difficulty. Collectors have their hands full of work, and they must first do that portion of it which their superiors show (whatever they may say) they consider of most importance, and depend on it, paying rewards for tigers- does not come under that category. I believe I have correctly described facts in nine out of ten Bengal districts, in the past, at. any rate.
But there are two points on which a change might, I think, be- made with advantage. First, cubs should be paid for at the same- rate as full-grown animals. Can anything be more absurd than to- give the shikaree inducement to spare the beasts when easy to kill, and preserve them till they are more difficult to get hold of, and more destructive ? Secondly, instead of compelling the shikaree- to bring in heads and skins, easy enough when there is but one, and when the Collector is not far off, but very different when the- latter is 100 miles off, and there are twenty or thirty heads and skins. Let some one prominent part of the animal be selected, the production of which shall be necessary to entitle to reward.
I object to either the whole head or whole skin being taken,. because, in the first place, they are heavy to carry, and in the- second, because by permitting the shikaree to dispose of them he- would be enabled to increase his profit. He makes something, as it is, by every tiger. He sells the fat, the claws, tongue, whiskers, &c., and he often gets some small present from a village which he- has rid of a pest.
In the case of tigers and leopards which have not changed their milk-teeth, the whole head should be required, because it is not always easy at that stage to distinguish the jawbone of one of` these from that of some other carnivorous animal ; but after the- change of teeth, the lower jaw alone should be sufficient. At all' events, the skin should not be taken. If it were once known that the shikaree was allowed to keep the skins, a demand would spring up for them that would speedily clear the country.
At present, there is no active demand, partly on- account of Government taking the skins for destruction, and partly because- no one seems, so far as I know, ever to have thought of paying the- shikaree better than Government. A little trouble soon makes the- shikaree a good skin-preserver. And what would a good skin fetch in London ? Suppose a shikaree got ten shillings from- Government for the head, ten shillings from some one for the skin• (and he might get five times as much for a good skin), five shillings more for etcasteras —and I see nothing unreasonable in the supposi tion—how long would tigers last in most parts of the country?
I meant to have told you how I first became acquainted with the shikaree's difficulties, but my letter is already too long.—I amr Sir, &c., Y. [The suggestion about the skin seems perfect ; but the headman- should be fined too, else the shikaree, like the English ratcatcher,, will leave the cubs to grow.—En. Spectator.]
Previous page
