The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1878-11-28
A HUNT AFTER TIGERS.


The elephants that morning were un-
usually uneasy and fdgety, and, had no
doubt, instructive knowledge that they
would soon be called upon to engage in
other than their ordinary daily duty.
Elephants in some ways much resem-
BILE horses, and most particularly in this
respect-that, as long as they have their
wits about them, they can be trusted to
display more than ordinary sagaCity
but once they lose their heads or become
hurTied, then there is an end Of all hope
Of making them behave otherwise than
in the most idiotic manner.
As we logged along the jerky motion
that the elephant lent to the hOwdah,
which was passed on tome, its occupant,
was anything but pleasant; however, in
time usage made it less and less unbear-
able, until at length l rather liked it than
otherwise.
Standing on the animals back behind
each hoWdah, and holding on to the
same, was a shikari, whose duty it was to
keep sharp lookout and to apprise us
the instant he spied game of any sort.
The praCtiCed eyes Of these fellows as
tOnished me considerably. Though al
ways carefully on the alert myself, never
once did I sight game without my shik-
ari having done so and pointed it out to
before hand.
We had thirteen elephants all told,
were pushing our way through a very
small field, which brought US rather too
close to one another, when suddenly my
shikari, in an excited manner, pointed
straight to the elephants head; but I,
with straining my eyes, could see nothing.
| keenly alert for some sign Of life, l was
soon startled by a quick, rushing sound
| quite close, and the next instant the
crack of two or three rifles was heard.
We've killed big tigerP suddenly
shouted one Of our party, to which we
laconically repned, "Oh, ah !"
But it was a fact. He had seen the
beast standing in path we were follow.
ing, and shot him in the chest, F. finish
| ing him with a shell.
He was beauty, not very long, but
very muscular and thiCk-set-the picture
| of physical strength. Those who have
seen a tigers forearm after the skin has
been taken of, revealing the blue mus
/ Gle and sinew, have seen the perfection
| Of physical organization.
! Some two hours after the kill, an event
] happened that provoked a considerable
amount of merriment among the rest of
! the party, but which to me was anything
but mirth-inspiriting. One of our party
mad knocked overs a deer, which, on being
hit, cried most pitiOusly. My elephant,
on hearing the sounds, stopped suddenly,
paved for a moment, then turning sharp
around, ran away as hard as he could 90,
at the same time brandishing his trunk
and tail in the air, and believing with
all his might, as if the bullet had hit
him and not the deer.
AS luck would have it, there were very
few trees about if there had been many,
the hOwdah and I would in all probable
ity very soon have formed a mixed ruin
on the ground. AS it was, the hOwdah
sWayed in the most awkward and alarm
ing manner, and seemed likely at any
moment to jerk itself free from its fasten-
ings.
Not particularly caring for the motion,
and not knowing how far'the joke might
be extended, I shouted to the mahOUt to
stop the brute, he all the time making
frantic endeavOTs to do so by belabOring,
in the most relentless manner, the skull
of the terrified beast with an iron crook
that he was welding with both hands.
1t was all of no use, and not till he re-
sorted to the cruel plan Of digging the
crook into the animals flesh did he man
age to pull him up.
We wended our way to reedy swamp,
distant some three miles. On the far
side was a high bank, and then the for
est began.
The reeds had been burned to some
extent, and the water had dried up,
leaving the ground sticky rather than
sWampy, and into this we urged our un-
willing elephants. After a while a friend
fired twice, and he called out to us that
he had killed a tiger that had been
sneaking slowly toward the wood.
On crossing and dismounting, we found
that one shot had missed completely, and
that the other had gone through his
back, passing near the heart. There
we're two OF three old wounds. which the
poor beast had licked and thus healed
but one bullet had gone through the ball
OF the fore paw, and had evidently caused
exquisite pain. The tiger had beenunable
to forage for himself, and was evidently
starving. His was a happy release.
The next beat a strip of country inter-
sected by the dry bed of a mountain
stream, where some years before
including myself, had killed fine -
The grass had been burnt, and there was
no covert for large game. For some
miles we followed the course of this
raYine.
At some distance we saw the elephants
being hurried by the mahouts in a
tiCular direction, and on coming nearer
We saw our friends firing repeatedly at
moving object in the grass. A leopard
shortly after ran out and lay down in the
open, where it received the coup de
grace.
My elephant knocked up beast that
ran to my right, and I followed. It
turned out to be a tiger cub, which I
brought down ,adly wounded, and which
in this condition made Intellectual efforts
to get up and bite the elephant. The
mother had tried to sneak off ahead,
leaving her cub to take care of itself.
Madame tried to shelter herself behind
that stump of a tree, but this protection
proved inadequate, ana she was polished
off
A nObOb, in an unusual fit of candor,
communicated to us that he knew a
likely place for tigers, and we trudged
off under his guidance. The day was
very hot, not a breath Of wind, and owing
to the many trees, ones umbrella was of |
little use. The sal trees are by no means
outrageous, and the sun beat down heav- /
Ky. Our guide took us along the bed of
a mountain torrent; there was no cover /
whatever, and we thought we were on a !
FOOLS errand.
I was sitting down and listening to the
man behind me, who was explaining
rather apolOgetically that these hill men |.
had no consciences, when the mahOut
said: "Ahi6, bagh, bagh!" and pointed to
the ravine in the direction of my right /.
front.
There were some trees in the way, and
for the life of me I could not see the /