y measures
which may tend to remove the evil. It has been suggested that
persons are to be found in the vicinity of Calcutta trained for
the purpose of destroying tigers; and His Honour has written to
the Bengal Government requesting that half a dozen of these
'shikarries' should be sent to the Straits for a limited
period, to be employed in the destruction of these animals. The
Governor has also directed that in the meantime, should it be
deemed expedient, a certain number of volunteers from convicts
of the third class should be permitted to beat the jungle once
every month with tom-toms (native drums), horns, etc., which,
if they do not lead to the destruction of the tigers, may
frighten them away from the island, to which they come from the
neighbouring state of Johore."

Later, in 1859, finding that the number of tigers on the island, and the
number of people killed by them, were still increasing, the Governor,
General Sir Orfeur Cavenagh, discussed the matter with the then
Superintendent of Convicts (Major McNair), who informed him that he had
good shikarries amongst the Indian convicts, and it was arranged to
organize parties of convicts for their destruction. Three parties, of
three men in each party, were selected, and armed with the old
muzzle-loading muskets and ball ammunition. One party was sent to the
Bukit Timah or Central district, another to the Serangoon and Changi or
Eastern district, and the third to the Choo Choo Kang or Western
district. These parties were generally successful in killing half a
dozen or so in the course of the year, chiefly in the Central or garden
district. Recourse was also had to trapping them in cleverly-constructed
deep pits, built cone-wise, and by heavy beams of timber suspended from
tree to tree over their tracks, connected on the ground with springes;
but only upon rare occasions were they successful in this way. We had in
our possession several skins and skulls from those destroyed by
convicts. Some castes amongst these convicts from India, when employed
on this duty, were also very expert in catching such venomous snakes as
cobras and craits. They appeared not to possess the slightest dread of
them, and would stealthily follow them to their burrows, then grasp the
tail, and by a rapid movement of the other hand along the body to just
below the head, grip the snake firmly at the neck and allow it to coil
round their arm.