Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1881-02-17

were SO soon to be proved prophetic.
In few seconds the beaters began to
yell in chorus, and to fire bamboo
rockets, and can imagine how dis
gusted the tiger must have been to have
his siesta so strangely and so rudely
broken in upon.
eHow those chaps YELL" laughed
Farquharson.
Alick, / growled, /" and let them roar
as much as they like"
had been in eight box before
now, by having my attention diverted
from business at which strategists are
pleased to term the psychological mo-
ment.
Not sign had the tiger yet given Of
his presence. Not blade of the long
jungle grass stirred, save when rocket
fixed into it, setting it on fire.
The beaters were silent, signal for
the, shikarree, who held up his hand,
while his head was perched on one side
like that Of bird, in the attitude OF
listening.
Hush !"
Then came the unmistakable cough
kSCAClhA4l Cb1lCtt q lOdl VI a tkfScts
glanced at Alick, to ascertain how the
music agreed with him. He had paled
a little, but his eyes were flashing and
his lips compressed.
We have him r he excitedly cried.
Not yet, old boy. There's many a
slip between the cup and the lip" I
retorted
He cannot escape
Not if we can help it, but if he's
lodia bagh-a game killing tiger-we
may lose him yet"
There is, in my opinion, only one
variety Of tiger, although the animal,
like all others that I am acquainted
with, is subject to slight variation of
appearance that may be more or less
accounted for by his peculiar habits,
which vary according to the locality and
nature of the country he ranges over.
In many parts Of India over which I
have hunted, the natives recognize three
kinds of tigers, which they distinguish
according to their habits and range, by
the following names : First, the lodia
bagh, or game killing tiger secondly,
the oontia bagh, which lives chiefly
upon domestic cattle and thirdly, the
admee khane wallah, or man -eater,
which latter, happily, are few and far
between.
A single tiger will kill bullock or
buffalo every five days, if he gets the
chance, often eating the hindquarter
the first night, and hiding the remain
der in bush to consume at his leisure
Should he have been fred at, or dis
turbed on his return to his quarry, he
becomes cunning, and a great deal more
destructive, killing fresh bullock
whenever he wants food and / have
known tigers that have become SO sr1s-
picious that they would not return to
an animal they had killed, although
they had only Tapped the blood, and
the bullock was almost untouched.
On the other hand, 1 have known
tiger returning day after day to the car
cass Of the OK he had killed, and pick
ing the bones clean, notwithstanding he
had been twice fred at by native shi-
karree
But to return to my adventure.
The shikarree suddenly gave low
COO twice, which told me that he had
gotten on a warm scent. Suddenly I
heard slight noise like the cracking
of dry leaf I distinctly saw move
ment or waving in the high grass, as if
something was making its way toward
us.
Then I heard loud purring sound,
and saw something twitching backward
and forward just behind a clump of low
brush and long grass, about forty yards
off.
Hes therei'' I cried, in low tone,
to Alick, but without moving my eyes.
I know it.
q Keep cool p
e Hang it all. I'm as cool as let
tuce-leafp'
Another second and we saw the ami
NAL, its white chest shining like silver,
its ears laid back, and its open mouth
full of cleaning ivory teeth.
"Fd like to stuff him in that posi-
tion," observed Farquharson.
aHushl''
.Shall let him have it?s
g Not yet.
The tiger advanced about ten Yards
or SO in that low crouch which is the
prelude to the spring.
g Now, Alick!D I cried.
Farquharson fred at the second
spoke, letting the brute have one bar
rel.
On receiving the shot the tiger
doubled its head and paws into its
chest, and, turning completely over
head and heels, disappeared over
boulder into the Jungle.
g I've hit himl' tliumphantly ex-
claimed my companion.
g You have
g I fetched him between the eyes"
" Not q bit of it; you struck him in |
the chest, and don't think he's badly
HIT
& Clear that jungle ittlel'' shouted
Farquhsrson, who, with all the rashness
Of the neophyte, was for dashing after
the brute in hot haste.
While the men were tremblingly en-
gagged in obeying the orders, my prac-
ticed eye perceived a disturbance in the
grass a little to the left of the spot at
which the tiger disappeared. A /" chuck
of the tongue against the teeth from
the shikarTee, confirmed me.
" Look out, Alick, he's therein I
yelled; for Farquharson was already
breasting II have no other word for it
the grassy billows of the Jungle in
frantic eagerness to grapple with the
quarry.
Farquharson had reached an open
space, when the tiger leaped forth, and,
with tremendous bound, buried its
head In Alexis throat, both their heads
going down together.
L. c-.-t13