Butte record., 1856-05-03

SOI' iAHF~i Il oil lSiINttt iptA~tt jay vt
fore lie could recover himself, before
he could have well assured himself
that he was foiled, the Terai-wallah
was upon him. The claws Of his ad-
ver>aIy were fixed firmly in his neck,
and the horrid jaws were already gra-
ting near his throat. 1t was the work
Of a moment. We could scarcely see
that the Terai-wallah had gained the
advantage, we could scarcely distin-
guish his huge foro-paws grasping the
neck, and his open mouth plunged at
the throat, when kagra made another
spring, a bound in which he evidently
concentrated all his energy. The Te-
rai-wallah was dragged with him for
a little; the claws that had been dug
into his neck were torn gratingly thro'
it; the open mouth snapped fereely
bat harmlessly at the advancing shoul-
der and Kagra was free. His neck
and shoulder, however, bore bloody ira
ces Of the injury he had received; and
no sooner did he feel that he had got
rid Of bis assailant than he turned
with greater ferceness than ever to as
sail his foe. "Shayash! kagra, bravo!
I'll make it two hundred gold mohurs," :"
SAID the king turning to his prime-mi-
Mister.
"The ASYLUM Of the world com
mands it, two hundred let it be-" re-
piled the minister as he took out his
tablets anew. But the interest of the
contest in the arena was too intense
to admit Of our attention being with
drawn from it. It was but for an in
stant that the two tigers stood survey
ing each other, open-mouthed, after
Kagra had shaken off the grip Of his
adversary. With distended jaws, the
ample mouths opened to their utmost
limit, their beautifully streaked skins
starting from their forms il excitement,
their eyes distcndcd as they watched
each other, the ends Of the tails NOV
ing once or twice, as if with convuI-
siye witches, they stood. kagra
was the first to attack again. This
time his opponent wastoo near to try his
former stratagem Of slipping to one
side. lie met him boldly. They
stood at that moment near the centre
of the arena; and as the sharp claws
moved incessantly, and the huge
mouths tried to grasp the neck on eth
er side, it was impossible to distinguish
the attack from the defence, all was
so rapid. Drawing gradually nearer
as tley thus fought with claws and
mouths ferociously, uttering fierce
sraris as they did so, both seemed to
have succeeded in gripping then an
tagonist With thel lhouths buried
in each othar's throats, and their claws
dug deeply into the neck, they rose
at length to the contest On their hind
legs, -training and 5ugging, and urest-
ling as it were, with each other, each
with his utmost force and skill. It
was a spectacle Of startling interest,
that; and however You may turn
away, good madam, and exclails nor
ribie! or savage. believe me, there
were many elements Of the sublime in
that contest; and, doubtless, such con
tests often take place In the Jungle
They stood more than six feet high as
they thus grappled with each other,
elevated on their hind legs, In sort
Of death struggle; their round heads
and glariug eye surmouuting the mus
cular pillars Of their long bodies beau
tifuliy.
It was wonderful to see how firmly
the claws We're fixed into the neck on
both sides. There was no shifting Of
position, uo further grasping either
with claw or mouth. 1t was now
a contest Of life or death. Both
were bleeding freely, and it would
chiefly depend upon strength as to
which should be thrown under the 9TH
er, and thereby probably lose his hold.
These things take long to describe,
but they occurred very rapidly.
There was deep silence IN the are
na and in the gallery, as the two wild
beasts confronted each other on their
hind legs; deep silence and earnest
gazing Oh all sides and from all quar-
ter-; even the very breathing was sus-
pended in many as they watched the
contest--not for long, however,
As | have said, kagra, more skilful or
more impetuous than antagonist, over
threw him at length, and the two roll
Ell over on the arena; the Terai-wal-
lab on his back beneath, kagra above.
"Shavash, kagral" uttered the King,
again, well pleased. ''kagra has the
advantage" muttered more than one
voice in English. But the advantage
was only momentary. The hind legs
Of Kagra were being plunged into the
belly of his foe, when the Trai-wallah
who never let 90 his hold for moment
with Lis mouth, struck enc .f his fore