Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1874-06-11

| the more appalling, as he skunk like a
| shadow from bush to bush, but always on
| a line with me, and, as | fancied, nearer
aud nearer to the roadside. do not know
| how long this continued. l was in that
state of mind to take no count of time, and
my only idea was TO get Oft as fast as posi-
! BILE to the village for assistance. 1t was Just
then, and when was plodding along over
the ruts and stones in the path, that
heard, or fancied | heard the sound of
| bearers voices borne family toward me
on the night breeze. "Hay oh Hi oh!
HAY oh! III oh I" seemed to be waited to
me from affair like song of delverance,
and | stopped for moment to be sure
that my ears had not deceived me. At the
time, indeed, was very doubtful whether
| was awake or asleep, sane or insane. 1t
might all be a horrible nightmare, and
my ghastly companions mere freak OF the
Imagination. pinched my arm to make
certain l was not dreaming; but | need
not have put my waketulness to
this test, for there was the tiger,
and this time in front of me.
He must have passed ahead while /
stopped to listen; and he now lay
crouched in the very middle of the path,
about twenty PAGES in front of me. The
moon was shining very brightly at the
moment, not cloud near it, and could
distinctly make out every limb of the an
imal, even to his tail, which was moving
| from side to side with a rapid whisking
motion. Instinctively | stepped few
PAGES backward, fully expecting to see the
| tiger pounce upon me in one or two OF
those great bounds peculiar to the ami.
NAL; but he did nothing of the sort-he
only sneaked a little nearer, his belly
upon the ground, and so stealthily that |
could only tell that he had moved by his
| preserving the same distance from rue as
| before. Not daring to look round, |
stepped back again, halfdead with terror,
! but supported to some extent by the cries
of the palanqun bearers in the distance,
that were now drawing rather closer to
me. 1t was palanquin coming along
the road from Pooree, and if it came
quickly might be saved, This was the
| question: Would the tiger devour me be
fore it could arrive, or not? ] could not
| think upon it, my brain swan, and be-
| lieve for a time | must have been uncon-
scious of anything abont me. The last
| thing | remember was an attempt made
to shout although, whether | did shout
or not | cannot say, and then | awoke to
! find myself in the arms of stranger
who was bending over me and holding
a flask to my lips. There was
crowd of bearers and armed poems
standing round, and two palan-
quins, one of which was Waldron's. In
few words the stranger explained it all.
He was the head assistant to the collector
of a neighboring district, and was travel
ing on duty from Pooree when he came
to the place where poor Waldron lay alone
on the road. Luckily, he had a medicine
chest with him, and was something of
doctor. He prescribed for my friend on
the spot, and ordered a few OF his hangers
on to take up the sick mans palanquin
and follow him. They travelled at their
best speed, or | might not have lived to
tell the tale. The civilian went on TO tell
me that he was reused the second time by
his poems, who ran ahead, shouting out:
"Bagh, Baghl" Tiger Tiger and by the
commotion among his bearers, who nearly
allowed the palanquin to fall on the
ground. He seized his rifle, which lay
loaded beside him; but when he jumped
out of the palanquin the tiger was gone,
and there remained in its place. to his
great establishment, myself. That a Eu.
ropean should be found in a faint on such
u
to him until told my story, when, seeing
how fatigued and excited | was, he insist
ed on my getting into his palanquin while
he walked alongside it. My own palan-
quin, | should say, was being brought
slowly after us by two or three of my new
friend's numerous retainers.
There is little more to tell. We all
three duly arrived at the bungalow,
Waldron in a profound sleep, from which
he awoke late next morning much better
in health. Whether the narcotic he had
taken was q cure for cholera, or his attack
was a very slight one, | cannot say, but
certainly he was rs fit to travel that day as
| was myself. Perhaps was the greater
invalid of the two, for | was suffering
much from fever, brought on, no doubt, by
the fatigue and excitement ofthe previous
night However, this cholerastricken
village was no place to stay in, and
Waldron and | determined to go on to
Pooree at once, and this time by daylight.
| Thanks to the official importance Of our
civilian friend, we had no difficulty
this time in procuring bearers; and
about one o'clock in the day we re-
turned over that terrible road, that
must ever leave vivid impression
! upon my memory, without lufther
adventure The civilian was bound in
the other direction; but he tod me that
he would be in that part Of the country
again in few weeks, when he would
certainly beat up my friend the tiger.
And long afterward-after we had lett
Pooree, and were busy with the parade and
drills Of regimental existence had a
letter from this same civilian, sending me
tiger which he vouched for as the
coat of the identical beast that went so
near eating me up. 1t was the only tiger
that haunted that particular road, he said,
| and it was killed by native Shikarree
for the sake Of the Government reward