The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1873-07-09
A Tiger-Manf.
FATAL rEaHNArlos OF An ENCOUNTER WITH
A .MaS-sLAyEa. 81 q

N SSntlsU1Hal 'sCfitaS aHS I1fOHttf tos ahNfal
the following extract from a private letter OF
theesurviStng gentleman In aiate tiger afiny
at Secunderabad = AZ Az ss4
dyes, l have bad very, very narrow
shave from man.cater, but. thank God, III
am not tigers meat as yet, and may never ne
so long IS baYe good weapon and 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 perma-
ncnt injury whatever. Such miraculous
escape no man has ever had, and / doubt
whether any sportsman living has ever
cheated a tiger out Of bis prey as | have
done, After this might well be called q
slippery customer Now for my yarn.
have been working in very wild piece OF
country the last three months, and on ,ac-
count Of the high grass and having mol
leisure was unable to follow up any large
game, although tigers 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 feld-work Of most important irriga-
ton project, when, on the evening OF the
23d, khu6ber came to me Of fresh human
victim added to those which had fallen to a
monster Of a nan.eater. So troublesome
was the brute that when out Mt work we
always feared being carried away. One man
was walked out of my camp q month ago.
knowing this to be ptscsa Hubbur, loaded
my Express cartridges and ordered my
camp TO the nearest village, four miles of.
The next morning early started alone with
my sbikaree--a frst-class man, having been
one of Nigbtingale's men. We arrived near
the kill, but owing to the thickness OF the
bushes could not see the brute, although
could hear the crunching Of bones. moved
cautiously toward him, when there was a
sudden bound, and he was of. just got
one more glimpse Of a part Of his body, but
did not fire, as had not fair shot, He
went Oh, and / marked him some distance
of going into small cane-feld. l followed
up, but found the spot dangerous, SO decided
on going for heaters, and returning after
breakfast. Accordingly, at II ] returned
with about eighty men, accompanied by a
Young friend named c., who was most
anxious to see atiger-hunt--a good little fel.
low, and one whose memory deeply lament.
On arrival at the ground L pointed out to
the beaters the cane the beast had gone into,
and directed them to beat up toward me
where posted myself. about three hundred
wards off, on large rock, some fifteen feet
from the ground. My friend, my shikaree,
and myself, taking cur places close to each
other, the beat began. and ended without
signs of the brute. and was much disguised
aud disappointed, and was returning to
camp. On my way i walked up to within
five yards Of the cane had seen him 20 into
in the morning, and pointed out the place to
g.. my young friend c.. We both sat down
and chatted for about ten minutes, when my
shikaree proposeda beat over the same ground
toward us. ] directed them to commence
nj the same time expecting nothing to APP
pear, as the noise and hubbub the beaters
had made would have driven the devil him.
sell out Before the beat commenced or
dered my shikaree, village shikaree, and
poor young c. to so up a tree close to
where we had been sitting, and took my
stand at the roots, my maistry, Ramiah,
being behind me. The beat commenced,
and hardly progressed fifty yards when from
the very cane out rushed tie fnan-eater,
greatly Infatuated, and not more than four.
yards from me. He stood for one instant
and sprang at me. I dropped on my knee
and received him in his spring, having only
line to fire the first barrel and hold my rifle
up to ward off the blow he aimed at me.
The rifle was knocked out of my hands, and
! WIS sent spinning over with my maistry:
For some time we two, with the tiger, were
rolling over together, and l 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, and fell
again, and must have been unconscious
from the. blow for about a minute,
for when l recovered myself l saw the
monster two yards from me, with his
back turned toward me, reared up against
the tree, and mauliDg some one. My
first impulse was to seize my rifle, and
this found on top Of bush close by.
tried to cock it, but found that the stop
bolt was 50 jammed forward against the cock
by the blow that the latter would not move.
l then tried to open the breech to Use the
back so frightfully that nothing could be
done. just then the animal bounded away
with roar shall never forget. To my
horror and deepest regret l found my
poor young friend, whom / had placed for
safety in the tree, had fallen victim to this
brute. J rushed forward Immediately, and
with the assistance of my rnaistry was
carrying away the poor young fellow, who
was insensible, when the tiger charged
again Having no weapons to protect
ourselves with, we dropped young G. rs
quietly as we could, and ran to tree twenty
yards of. The animal came up to c.,
smelt him all over, walked round him, roar
ing and lashing his tail, and then sat down
beside him, wishing, no doubt, to make a
meal Of him; but his broken jaw, which was
hanging, must have prevented this / did
not know what TO do. Here was helpless,
not q weapon available; all the beaters had
bolted, and the sun with vengeance was
blazing on my bare head. Twas feeling faint,
as I had only just recovered from an Illness
which had weakened nae much. Tat last
got desperate, descended from the tree, and
ran on to some ten heaters who, with nv
servants, were up in trees. These COL
iecled, and fortunately they had two TOM
toms with them; / took one of them myself,
and heading the heaters, we walked to-
ward the brute, making R devil Of q row.
He could not stand this, 50 sneakcd away
into the jungle. We then rushed on, picked
up tho young man, and were retiring
when be againt charged out. of ID bush. The !
poor young fellow had recovered con- |
seriousness, and begged me not to leave him |!
When i found the animal coming at us again, |
/ toIn-tomed aud shouted ,diabolicaiy, and |
my stanch men and the heaters did the |
same. The brute charged UP to within |
about twenty yards Of US, stood, rOared at |
US, turned tail, and bolted We then ran
with the young fellow some halfmile, until
clear OF the jungle, and then stopped. My
'.Greeneri' the young man had mp the tree,
and this was damaged also.,sl GU would ike
TO know how the poor young fellow got
into the brute's" clutches. Well. after
was knocked over, the, infuriated brute
was So stunned and blind from the effects of
the shot that he ran at the tree after rolling
over with me, reared up against it, and was