Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1884-08-28
III 2 y q III - = -
INTERVIEWED BY A TIGER.
A story or Northern india. :.

Story of Northern india.
: '*Tiger-hunting's very good fun in its
way said Mr.. H., as we sat in the
veranda of his bungalow (house) one
fine July evening, watching the sun
sink over the rocks that overhung the
Nerbudda River. ..It's very good fun
J = at least, SO long as you're hunting the
tiger: but when the tiger takes to hunt
ing yiou. it's not quite SO jolly. q s5''iA
. "But, although I've had some mar.
row escapes in that way, too, Z d sooner
have them all twice over than one tisuch
adventure, as happened Dime CLOSE to
this very spot, about six years ago. %
! In those days. as you may think, the
place looked very different from what it
does now. TIE railway wasn't even
begun then. and / was the only white
man for miles round drts7b' - s44i'a7tt
: "All this clearing was as thick as a
hat-brush, with trees and jungles right
down to theswater'sl edge. and iflyou
wanted to go anywhere your only
chance was to look out for some place
where an elephant had crushed his way
through! the thickets, ande then follow
his track. "a. :.
! II don't believe YOU have slept yerv
sound here In those times. can prom
Use You Iididn't for the FIRST month or
SO. i" No sooner did 1T get dark than
you'd hear IA row like fifty cracked
trumpets all blowing at onee, and by
that you would know that an elephanti
was coming down to drink at, the river,
/ ::..TheE that would wake up the crocorj
diles in the mud along the bank, and in
a minute they'd all be splashing and
believing in, chorus. one, louder than
another. an a. ''"' - '.''f '~''i''"'
.sThen" the monkeys in the trees
overhead would begin squeAking. and
chattering and bowling like mad.Tna7s''
& .'Then that would arouse sOme,aread-.
full old. native bird, whose name ] could.
never find out (perhaps1 no one had
ever been able to invent one bad
enough for it,. and it, would start
shrieking away as if somebody. was be-
ing murdered. 49,. -.
7.And then, all at once, there would
come rolling through the depths OF the
forest the roar Of tiger, which seemed
to strike them all silent for a moment,
las a canyon browns the craekle of tirel
works; but in another minute or two.
they were ali just as bad rs ever.
i .sBut the things that plagued me
most We're the jackals. You've heard
them often enough. and so you can
Judge what it must have been for a
man fresh out from Europe (and rather
feverish into the ibargains to hear under
his window, every night and ali night
longs a noise as if forty children were
being bitten yhaf a dozen mad dogs.
! '.'.At last, Il couldn't. stand 1T !. any
longer, and made up my mind that
I'd teach them to hold their tongues be-
fore / had done with them, if I had to
keep watch for a fortnight to do It. 2"
$50, early one morning went out
to small clearing in the. very heart OF
the wood, 'where there were plentyaof'
iackais' tracks about, and sdugria hole
deep enough to cover me, leaving just
my head and arms out s4,lttss ,d5 1sHf
I . Then I waited till night came, on,
and when all my native servants We're,
asleep. ! took my double barrcled rifle,
and away went and got into the, hole
to wait Till the ia .kals turned up. ''
ssBut one would have thought the
sneaking brutes knew what was after;
for, although they had come in crowds
when / eds0,,t want them, yet now,
when / was Watching and wishing for,
them, not one would show his nose. gia
Swell, there I waited. and waited,
till at last got so tired and stiff that l
was lust thinking of giving it up and
going homecso bed, when / thought ]
heard. rustling in the thicket just in
front of me. ..., 80, :. .'''' ~, go
nThe Frext moment there was a
sharp cracking, like dried -twigs snap
ping under a heavy weight. and out
into the clearing, with every point OF
him quite plain in the glorious summer
moonlight. came stalking the biggest
tiger / had ever seen inlmy ifs.s64a yl4l
:. It's, no use trying to make out that
wasn't frightened. I Uas frightened,
and very badly frightened, too, can
Il Indeed, I couldn't well have beeh
in worse fix than 1 was. IF HAD
been on tree, should have had no
fear, for the real Bengal tiger can't
climb like the panther or the cougar,
Even4if Ishad been out on level ground
I'd sihave felt more comfortable;l for
then, at least, i should have, had q.
chance to fight or rum, But, damned
as, I was into this, precious hole, with
my head Just level with the ground, 1
seemed put there on purpose for the
beast to eat whenever he liked = ~
N.sThe tiger saw me as plain as I saw
him, and came creeping on till could
feel his hot breath On my face, and
count every one of the great white fangs
that s,litrered so ominonsly In the moon
light. Why didn.tt1 shoot him 2.yoili
say ~ Why, just because. at the very
first made, he'd have bit-
ten my head off like a strawberry. ). My
only chance was to keep stock still. and
dld sHsaTfrg1 xsre,gystE IslSI ~ esfsfftf.fYf1
MEANWHILE, Mro Tiger seemed quite
as much taken back as / was. The
sight of q man s. head growing out of
the ground like mushroomwas,. no
doubt, quite new thing in his expert
ence, and he evidently, did not. know
what to make of, it, He proWled back
ward and forward in front of me, sniff
ing uneasily, and coming SO close to me
every now and then that the froth from
his open jaws and great red tongue flew
off Id flakes all over my face.
s.This was bad enough, as you may
think; but it was a mere joke as towEat
was coming. For now the tiger, hav-
ing looked at me long enough in front,
took it into his head to go round behind
me. tIfs4ef5 lsnh4
Then I felt as il all was over. Even
while could see what the tiger was
doing. it was quite as much as 1 could