Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1878-05-06
A Nest Of Tigers.

nected with large cotton manufacture
ing house in Manchester. l was sent
there as judge of cotton, to buy up the
best that could be found, in order to
supply the demand arising from the fail
ure of the American market.
Brown, Jones & Co. footed all my
bills. and must say that 1 enjoyed my
trip.
l should have enjoyed it much more
but for the intense heat of the weather.
This caused me much distress in the
middle of the day, and at such times |
have been forced to halt and repose un-
der the shade of the stately banyan, by
the borders of some roadside tank.
My bearers made no objections to
these halts, but. on the contrary, enjoy
ed them. l was travelling by daa0k, as
it is termed in India. having relays of
bearers to carry my palanquin from vii
lage to village.
This method of journeying is one of
the most luxurious in the world, as the
motion is so easy and gentle as to dis
pose one to sleep, and all the comforts
you can need are carried in the palan-
quin. The only improvement on it that
l know of is the Nile-boat, with its lux
urious cabin or rich mans yacht.
Both these are very expensive luxuries;
whereas dva0k travelling is as cheap as
railway.
After going about for some time on
the great cotton estates, and buying ma
ny valuable crops for my employers at
favorable credits, l began to think of
returning homeward. l was stopping at
the time on the estate of Mr.. -, one
of our best customers, rich Scotchman
who had immigrated to India to start
cotton-farming, and succeeded we'll, like
his countrymen all over the world.
Mr.. - insisted that I should stay
week at his place, now that our busi-
ness was done, and he would show me
some sport. Knowing that a week more
or less, in my departure would make but
little difference, since my cotton was on
its road to Calcutta, accepted his invi-
tation. and passed very pleasant week,
shooting the multifarious kinds of game
that thronged the neighboring jungles.
Outside the cotton-felds lay narrow
belt of wood toward the south, separat-
ing Mr.. IS estate from the patches
of rice and the paddy fields of the neigh
boring ryOtS. These fields stretched for
: the next two hundred yards, and were
then lost in the thick jungle. the home
of wild hogs, peafowl and various other
winged and four-footed game. Hares
and foxes were plenty, and my host had
two or three brace of magnificent Eng
, lish grayhounds, with which we enjoyed
D splendid sport.
: was also shown the native Indian
sport of hawking, practiced with the In
dian Peregrine Falcon, known as the
: bdhree; where the great lead colored
D stork, the cyrus, with his crimson head
and neck, was chased down and killed
by hawk half his size.
. shot numerous peacocks and black.
:. crested forikens, and went out hunting
the wild boars, or "pigsticking," as it il
now termed in India.
), had many risky adventures, out O.
e which luckily came scot-free, both with
a hogs and snakes but the climax of al
e was one that L stumbled on by acciden
:. one morning, and which came near cost
ing me my life.
had started from the house abou
/ an hour before day break, to reach Ger
If tain tank about five miles of, where
g was informed that game was very plen
, tiful, as the tank was a regular mornin,
watering place.
Mr.. IS chief Shskkdree, or hunts
"a man, went with me as a guide, and
=, was warned to keep in the open ground
4 and avoid the jungle, as the place wa
le very ''tigerish.'
q Young and ardent as was, it wa
in the chosen wish of my heart to see Il
T. ger-a thing | had not yet succeeded i
IN dong in the daytime. Thinking that
y should probably meet one coming HON
= from his nocturnal stroll if | arrive
early enough, | took my Henry riff
: along with me, resolved to bag one
lv possible.
d. | had knocked over too many grizzlit
he on the prairies to be afraid of sneal
.. ing tiger.
Or | was destined, as the sequel wi
er show, to have surfeit of tigers and
to it had not been for the aid of my trust
, repeater" should not now be tellin
- ne the story.
w Mohammed, the shikkaree, stole sof
L. ly along by my side in the gray dusk
it the morning, bearing his long matchloc
ar on his shoulder, and as noiseless as
he ghost, with his bare feet. A tulaoar,
Iy curved sword, as keen as a razor, hur
,er a. by his side, and he bore at his back
es, bundle of-what do you think ? VIII
5 skyrockets.
,ck .What in the world do vor w.nt mi;