Vandalia Whig and Illinois intelligencer. [volume] (Vandalia, Ill.) 1832-183?, 1832-08-22
NJ Sl--ssL Ian -SUS.
A TIGER HUNT.
BY CAPT. MUNDY.

"On clearing the wood, we entered an oper
space of marshy grass, not three feet high:
large herd of cattle were feeding there, and thu
herdsman was sitting, singing, under bush
when, Just as the former began to move before us
UP sprung the very tiger to whom our visit wa
intended, and cantered off across bare plain
dotted with small patches of bush jungle. I'll,
took to the open country in style which woult
have more become fox than tiger, who is ex
pected by his pirsuers 10 fight, and not to run
and, as he was flushed on the flank of the line
only one bullet was fired at him ere he cleared
the thick grass He was unhurt, and we pursued
him at full speed Twice he threw us out by
stopping short ID small strips of jungle, and then
heading back after we had passed; and he had
given US very fast burst of about two miles,
when Col Arndd, who led the field, at last reach
ed him by capital shot, his elephant being in
full GREER. Al soon as he felt himself wounded,
the Tiger crept into a close thicket OF trees and
bushes, and cr.uched. The two leading sports
men overran ths spot where he lay, and as came
ND / saw him through an aperture rising to at
tempt charge! My mahout had Just before, In
the heat of the chase, dropped his ankoos,* which
I bad refused toallow him to recover; and the
elephant, peiiS ~-t--:~..~l.- ey~~.,d f''-'i-o-
rrtaed by the goadng he had undergone, became
consequently, unmanageable:-h appeared to
see the tiger as soon as myself, and l had only
time to fire one shot, when he suddenly rushed
with the greatest fury into the thicke, and falling
upon his knees, nailed the tiger with his tusks to
tie ground Such was the violence of The shock,
that my servant, who sat behind in the kawas,t
was thrown out, and one of my guns went over
board. The struggles of my elephant to crush
his still resisting foe, who had fixed one paw on
y; hot l QhilUpd m,
hold on with all my strength, to keep myself in
the howdah. The second barrel, too, OF the gun,
which still retained in my hand, went off In the
scntfe, the ball passing close to the mahouts ear,
whose situation, poor fellow, was any thing but
enviable. As soon as my elephant as prevails
ed upon to leave the killing part of the business
to the sportsmen, they gave the roughly used It's
ger he coup-de-grace. twas a very fine female,
with the most beautiful skin l ever saw.
'My brute got severe scratch over the eye,
and his ears were good deal clawed. 1t grieves
me to convict 50 sage an animal as the elephant
of that purely human vice, inconsistency; yet
the case is fragrant; for--if the reader recolect-
the last time was out, he ran away at the charge
of the tiger---ap act which might, however, be
attributable to the influence of bad example shewn
him by his brethren. The mahout escaped, most
fortunately, without injury. This practice of
charging is, in an elephant, almost as bad fault
as the other extreme; particularly as these ami
mails usually follow up the kneeling position by
rolling over upon their side, in order to crush
their foe by their weight; in which case, the
sportsman is exposed to the triple casualties of
bad fail, being shot by his own guns, and getting
within the clutches of the tiger. The courage of
well trained elephant is passive; and | have
heard an experienced sportsman say, that this
kind Of furious attack, and the common
precipitate flight, proceed from the same source
fear"
A LION HUNT.
The only account of a lion hunt is from hear.
say Capt Mundy never having had the good
fortune (queryD to fall in with the monarch of
the woods. The sagacity of the elephant Is here
portrayed in so remarkable manner, thai we
shall extract ii.
"A gentleman Of our party had, perhaps, as
perols an adventure with ono of these animals,
as any one Of the former; he having enjoyed the
singular distinction of lying for some moments in
the very clutches Of the royal quadruped. Tho
l have heard himself recount the incident more
than once, and have myself sketched the scene,
yet am not sure that relate it correctly. The
main feature, however, of the anecdote, affording
so striking an illustration of the sagaclty of the
ele plant, may be strictly depended upon.
"a lion had charged my heroes elephant, and
ne, having wounded him, was in the act of lean,
ing forward in order to fire another shot, when
the front of the howdah suddenly gave way, and
he was precipitated over the head of the elephant
into the very jaws of the furious beast The
lion, though severely hurt, Immediately seized
HIM, and would doubtless shortly have put fatal
termination to the conflict, had not the elephant,
urged by the mahout, stepped forward, though
greatly alarmed, and grasplng in her trunk the
top of young tree, bent it down across the loins
of the lion, and thus forced the tortured animal
TO quit his hold! My friends life was thus pre-.
served, but his arm was broken in two places
and he was severely clawed on the breast and
shoulders. The lion was afterwards slain by the
other sportsmen who came up.n
*Iron goad to drive the Elephant.
Hind seat in the howdah.