Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1873-07-24
FATAL TERMINATION OF AN ENCOUNTER
WITH A MAN-SLAYER
A TiaER-aUNT.


A gentleman sends the Pioneer (of
lndia) the following extract from a
private letter of the surviving gentle
man in a late tiger atfray at Secun
derabad
eyes, lhave had very, very narrow
shave from man eater, but, thank
God, l am not tigers meat as yet, and
may never be SO long as l have a good
weapon and a good eye. Now, my
dear fellow, shall relate to you how l
am still in the land Of the living, and
that, too, without any permanent injury
whatever. Such a miraculous escape
no man has ever had, and I doubt
whether any sportsman living has ever
cheated tiger out of his prey as l have
done. After this Knight well be called
a slippery customer Now for my
yarn. l have been working In a very
wild piece of country the last three
months, and on account of the high
grass and having no leisure l was
unable to follow up any large game,
although tiger were roaring around me
and elephants committing havoc The
hills have lately all been on fire, and
the long grass cleared away, and ! had
just completed the tield-work of most
important irrigation project, when, on
the evening Of the 23rd hu65m came
to me of fresh human victim added to
those which had fallen to monster of
a man eater. So troublesome was the
brute that when out at work, we always
feared being carried away One man
was walked out of my camp month
ago. Knowing this to be pucka
ktubbur, l loaded my Express cartridges
and ordered my camp to the nearest
village, four miles off The next
morning early started along with my
shikaree-a first-class man, having
been one of Nightingale's men. We
arrived near the kill, but owing to the
thickness Of the bushes could not see
the brute, although I could hear the
orunching Of bones. I moved cautious
" toward him, when there was a sudden
bound, and he was off / just got one
more glimpse of a part of his body, but
did not fire, as had not fair shot
He went on, and | marked him some
distance off going into a small cane
field. followed up, but found the
spot dangerous, SO decided on going for
heaters, and returning after breakfast.
Accordingly, at IL l returned with
about eighty men, accompanied by a
young friend named G--, vino was
rnost anxious to sec a tiger hunt-a
good little fellow, and one whose
memory deeply lament. On arrival
at the ground | pointed out to the
beaters the cane the beast had gone
into and directed them to beat up
toward me where posted myself
three hundred yards off, OH large
rock, some fifteen feet Fl ON the ground
My friend, my slikaree, and myself
taking our places close to each other
the beat began, and ended without
signs Of the brute, and l was much
disguised and disappointed, and was
returning to camp. On my way l
walked up to within Ave yards of the
cane had seen him go into in the
morning, and pointed out the place to
my young friend G., We both sat
down and chatted fer about ten minutes,
when my shikaree proposed beat
over the same ground toward US. l
directed them to commence, at the
same time expecting nothing toappear,
as the noise and hubbub the heaters
had made would have driven the devil
himself out. Before the beat com-
menced l ordered my slikaree, avillagc
shikaree, and poor young G -, to go
up tree close to where we had been
sitting, and l took my stand at the roots
my 1haistry, Ramiah, being behind me.
The beat commenced, and hardly
progressed fifty yards when from the
very cane out rushed the man eater,
greatly infatuated, and not more than
four yards from me. He stood for one
instant and sprang at me. l dropped
on my knee and received him in his
spring, having only time to fire the
first barrel and hold my rife up to
ward off the blow he aimed at me-
The rifle was knocked out of my hands,
and was sent spinning over with my
maistry. For sometime we two with
the tiger, were rolling over together,
and saw my shot had broken his jaw,
which was hanging down. This
doubtless prevented him from using his
teeth, and probably the blow from the
Express bullet at such close quarters
stunned or blinded him for the moment
as otherwise he must have damaged us
more than he did. He got up, reeled,
aud fell again, and must have been
unconscious from the blow for about a
minute, for when / recovered myself /.
saw the monster two wards from. mn