Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1884-06-26
TIGER-SH0OTING.
Hunter Barras and His Experiences
of the Great Indian Sport-An Xxx
pensiYe Pastime.

india and Tiger Hunting, by Julius
Barras, SAYS:
Mr. Barras has introduced into his
recitals a somewhat new element. the
elephant, rather than the tiger. oc
cupying the most prominent position.
so that "Roghanatb, y 'Banacur. -
'Ashmut" and "Muarak Guj,n Ma
nut OAR Rijli" and "Futteh ALP
become quite the readers personal ac-
Quaintances, investing with special
interest the scenes in which they take
part as, not content with enioyino
sportin the usual fashion, the author
determined to drive his own elephant
having first studied the idiosyncrasies
of some of these noble ANNALS AS
we'll as the duties of a good mahout so
that on his second expedition, and
ever afterward during his twenty
eight years Of Indian service he would
follow up a wounded tiger and shoot
him from between the ears of the
great beast, a much more exciting per
Torrance than doing the same thing
from ones place il the howdah.
iger-shootlne, though an expeu-
sive pastme, IS a thoroughly manly
sport. for il is making war upon a
dangerous enemy, which must be held
in check. For one life sacrificed by
II MANY more are probably saved, to
say nothing of the cattle belonging TO
the villages, which the natives are
totally incapable of defending for
themselves. The elephants used for
tiger shooting are generally lent bv
the government, an official document
being at the same time handed to the
borrower, ia which the height. names,
supposed names, and prices of the an
imals are duly stated, for, in the event
Of a casualty, the loss must be made
good More than 8100 is rarely de
mauded for a government elephant,
although il is very often worth much
more, the tariff being based on the
expenses incurred by It's capture and
training. OF course it is very impor-
tant before making a selection to o3-
tain sone knowledge of the characters
and antecedents Of the elephants IN
the commissariat yard, and il you in
tend to be your own driver YOU must
also contive to be on good terms with
the one you choose for your personal
use. Elephantine perfection is, it
seems, represented by a gentle and
steady female, who viii stapd quite
still while the tiger is roaring and
charging in all directions; but as fe-
males of this SpicleS are by no means
more endowed with physical courage
than other pcrsonages OF their sex,
they generally become wild with ter
ror after having experienced one
mauling, and, far from remaining
Tranquil, make the best of their way
from the scene of action when they
find themselves IN danger, so that Mr..
Barras is perhaps justified in his pre-
ference for cross odd tuskers BE thIs
as it may, his first choice fell upon a
handsome fellow nearly ten feet high,
which had only killed two people
during long career and that while
incautlousiy approached during the
attack Of fever, and which bore a high
character for gentleness as well AS
courage. Though ready to obey or
ders "Roghanath' had a strong objec
ton to being made 10 kneel, so the
author, having but little time to spare
for making friends, thought it well
ito pass a vote of confidence, y and
after feeding him with bread and
sugar proceeded TO mount in orthodox
style, namely, by stepping on his
tusks when the elephant lowered him
self by advancing his front legs, and
then allowing himself to be transfer
red by toss of the head to his place
behind the ears. This done, Mr..
Barras, in his character of an enight-
ened European mahout, set forth for
his first ride.
But we must let him describe this
in his own words The native man,
from want of thought, keeps up con
slant drumming on the beasts head
with the goad or ankus;' | therefore
hoped not to use it at all. Such an
Improvement oil at once, however,
proved more than even the elephan-
tine mind could grasp. He began
really to enjoy himself, going his
own wav rather than mine, till at last
he marched straight into an immense
forest tree of the banyan species and
began to browse, He seized the
bouohs above his head, and, Juggling
Violently at them, brought them
down on my devoted skull. This
was too much. I raised the ankus and
brought it down on his head with a
blow that brought bload through the
skin. This had the desired effect,
and he at once bounded of by the
road he knew | wanted him to 60
He merely took with him r branch
about the size Of a small apple tree,
tn d scuss as he went along. From
this moment we were friends, and ]
do not think / ever had TO use the
hook again so as to bring blood;
generally, it was sufficient to tap him
with my finger to get him to do what
wanted
If the male elephant stands one
mgaling ne becomes fierce, and will
charge into any cover where he sup
poses the tiger to be, displaying on
some occasions a mistaken zeal which
has been known to produce fatal re-
suits. for which reason tuskers are,
as a rule. not much appreciated, Mr..
Barras, however, as before remarked,
gave the preference to a good fighter,
q -