The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1882-03-23
Tackling a Tiger.

| 9f
In the afternoon we continued on on,
march, but with no signs of being l;k sI
to meet with sport, and abont fos,
o'clock we turned toward our ca nm
We marched along carelessN. witboa.
observing order or caution, and vera
not prepared to take advantage 81 Al.
bars warning when he exclaimed. aRa
ware, Sahib!' and a full-grown tioa,
went past us at gallop. A stragclisy
volley was fired after it, and, alt6ollg2
evidently not struck, the beast STONED
and rearing itself on its hind LEGS clawed
the bark of a tree just as cat scratcbes
the leg OF chair or table. Mr.. Grant
and myself fired simultaneously. but
without effect, and before thought d
the creatures intention had time to tIash
through my mind, / was down underjt,
| claws.
Selling me by the left thigh, the tie,r
shook me as a dog shakes a rat; and
then growing horribly, dragged me It
tremendous rate through the thick IN.
dergrowth of the forest. / heard tho
frightened shouts of my companions.
and the report of several shots, and then
a dizziness came over me, but did not
lose consciousness. AS | was iostIea
through the forest several times caught
hold of the trees, but the tiger, growl
ing fiercely, shook me free in an instant
All this time, though quite calm and
collected, l felt strong desire to pr.
serve my existence. and never for mo
ment experienced that apathy with re-
gard to my danger that some persons
have described under very similar cir
cumstances.
How long was in the jaws Of this
brute | can not tell. 1t seemed to me
an age before the creature stopped. Nv
companions afterward declared that
had been dragged at least half 4 mile.
They followed as fast as they could
run, and although / was unaware Of il
at the time, never lost sight of the beast
To this circumstance undoubtedly owe
my life; for had there been any delay IN
rendering me assistance it must have
been fatal to me-
The moment the tiger halted it N
leased my thigh, and seemed to be at
tracted by the approach of my compan
ions, though, as yet, did not see them
myself. Taking advantage of thisrelea
l tried to creep to the shelter of some
tall bushes near at hand. In an in.
slant. and with a terrible roar, the
creature bounced upon me, seizing me
this time by the shoulder, and decorating
my chest with his claws. A shot was
fired and l heard the bullet whistle over.
head. Fear of hitting me had caused
them to fire SO high.
The second and third shots were
equally unsuccessful, and the tiger
again releasing me, began to lick up
the blood which oozed. through nv
jacket. began to feel very faint, and
could not repress a groan. Several
times the tiger dabbed his paws, appar.
emily in play. about my face, but did
not use its claws, very fortunate for
me. Presently the beast seemed tobd
seized with a sudden rage, and com
menced to spit like an angry cat at soms
one approaching, whose footsteps
could hear, but | could not see him, for
| was lying fiat on my back. There
was the sharp bang of a rifle close 70
my head, heavy weight fell across
me, and then | comprehended that ny /
brave friend Grant was pulling mefron
under the dead body of the tiger.
Captain Lucy and some of the natives
came up and proceeded to stanch tna
How OF blood from my wounds. Ihss
on my thigh was the worst. The hen
was bitten and torn to such an extenl
that the bone was visible.
The wounds on the chest were $50 +
severe, but my shoulder was not yeT +
much injured. When the bleeding wss
stopped | tainted, and, upon recover
ing consciousness, found / was beng
carried along on rough litter formed
OF boughs. I suffered great pain. e.
pecially in the leg, and was exceeding
ly thankful when we arrived at ou
camping place.
As soon as the news spread aDo@
that tiger had been slslu,
the people came crowding around om
tent to see it. The hub-bub tnsi
created was horrible. There was snou h
ing, singing, beating Of tom-toms ma ~ +
drums, blowing of reeds, dancing ana Il
exulting over the dead animal. 10 ~
weak state the noise was particulsr
irritating; and as it was in vain 70 y
peal to the sympathies of these peops.
the dead beast was removed to u
lance, where the rejoicing continues Z
night. Il
The following day fever set ID, ~ ~
toward noon / became delirious "
few lucid intervals, was in this ~ ~
for five days.-From "Johg Bree''y
in Burnaab.s'
DIR. James McCosh, she President