Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1878-09-04
Tiger Hunting in India.

A party Of two or three is perhaps
better tnan a large number; but this
IS OF little consequence, as the enjoy
ment to be deprived from the sport
depends III a great measure on the
sportsmen themselves. The choice of
elephants is a very important matter
as they must be steady and to be de-
pended upon, and care should be taken
not to choose them either too large or
too small. The reason is obvious. A
very large one will probably be clumsy
and unwieldy, and much less intelligent
than smaller animal; while the other
extreme IS not so safe, in case of the
tiger sprlnglng up and reaching the
howdah.a 1t is seldom, however, that
the spring ofthis beautiful, 1.-the creature
exceeds seven or eight feet
A thoroughly trained shooting ele-
plant Will astonish you by his intelli-
gence, even seeming to enter into and
enjoy the sport; bat pad elephants are
not necessarily highly trained, as their
work is simple and easily taught.
These latter are, however, fitted by this
work for future training into shooting
elephants ..
TIE greater part Of the accidents that
have occurred in the prosecution of
this sport have been in consequence Of
the lnefficiency of an elephant, or have
arisen from its suddenly taking fright.
as one that has previously been injured
by q tiger will unfrequently become
t1mld and loose courage on future occa-
Slons. Therefore, on the elephant de-
ponds the safety Or otherwise of it; and
too much attention cannot be given to
the choice Of mount. AIT
t. lhe Shlkaree,d "a native who is we'll
acquainted with the habits of the tiger.
who obtains for yolr" Information from
| the village land who prepares decoy,
must beyour next thought after choos-
ing your elephant, and lucky is he who
| gets zone Thoroughly to be trusted.
| This man, after gathering intelligence
as to when and where our intended vic
tin has last been seen, sets his decov
IN the most'likely place. 1.-The decoy is
some life, animal, such as young buf-
talo. If the bait has disappeared in the
night, the Shikaree knows where to find
/ our game in the morning. l-f
h. When a tiger has taken the bait, ne
seldom moves away far that day, and
| good Shikareel soon tracks him to his
hiding place, which will probably be in
thick jungle. Then the pad elephants
go to Work(and beat him sout, which
takes time, for, the animal generally
sinks about for a time when the sports
men discovers Of what sort of stuff his
elephant is made, for d good one will
scent out where the tiger is, and indi-
cate his position to his master at once.
The stealthv creature tries for some
time to get away without being seen,
rarely charging until wounded. He be-
/ comes fierce enough, ~ though, when
brought to bayj but. when it charges, so
long as the elephant stands firm there
is little danger, as one gets good close
shot, and il is zones own fault if one
misses. the opportunity; of disabling, if
not Of MORALLY Dwounding it. Very
1 rarely does it mount to the howdah; and
the task. Of defending himself is not left
entirely to the sportsman, as the ele-
Iphant Will assist him to the best of his
j power. a great deal depends on your
having plenty Of GOODNESS and nerve,
and then, even supposing the vicious
brute to almost reachthe howdah, no
/ better chance could offer itself of taking
q mortal shot.
! A friend was once out tiger shooting,
when having had the satisfaction of
seeing his enemy fall to his rifle and
stretch itself out apparently dead, he
dismounted and approached it. AS he
bent down to examine. it seemed to
Erecover, and, starting half up, seized
him by the leg. He had laid down his
/ gun, and now, taken bydslrprise. lost
i his wits; = and, his ocarelessness might
/ have proved fatal, but for the trtlsty
fanimal lieihad ridden, which placed its
huge foot onthel the tigers body and
crushed out its remaining life.
r. The brain of a tiger is seated far back,
; almost into the neck, and this should
never be forgotten, as. a shot at that
point is almost invariably fatal.
! We often hear accounts Of tigers
i twelve. orgeven thirteen feet long; but,
from my own experience, Ishould say
that this is exaggeration,; as ten feet
4 is the greatest size / ever knew Of any
one killing, and this was considered a
very rare specimen. This probably
arises from the fact that the skins can
kbe stretched as, much as, two feet, Or
even more. The tigress is always
smaller than the male G'ai9a
j. Iihaye heard it said that the "man
I,eater' becomes, NANCY in consequence
of'his human repasts, but do not believe
there is any truth in it; however, [ do
d not doubt that the tiger having tasted
human flesh once or twice, acquires
! liking for it above anything else. One
4 ofthese tigers will keep a district Of
many miles N, a state of constant
alarm.
f. Before concluding, it may be as well
to say few words on the subject of
guns. The great object is, OF course, to
produce an lnslantaneously fatal result,
or else the animal may creep away and
: die by itself, while you lose the skin
youjhad set your mind upon. For this
Esport, therefore, large bores and ex-
.plosive shells are the best things posi-
Tile. f}oo sa.aa If9di IT. f5A
l. NIIINUACy'C 1arpa paiOtIno entitled