Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1885-01-30

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"Sure enough, it wasn't long after
that until two or three wood-cutters
were picked off at the edge of the jun
gle; and then the brute got bolder,
came out nearer the villages, and car
ried off two or three women.
"Mind you, all this wasn't done 10
any one neighborhood, but in half a
dozen different localities, sometimes
| miles apart. One evening the brute
might be seen near certain village,
and perhaps before the next morning
he would pounce upon some poor
wretch five or six miles on.
"When the people saw what restless
and hungry brute thar fellow was, you
have no idea how badly scared they
were. Why, it was perfect reign of
terror. In half Il dozen villages or more
nobody felt safe for single day. Most
of the cattle-herders refused 10 take
their cattle into the jungle any more
| tllutI lOl lONC ahN wv PSS'
brutes nearly starved. No wood-cutter
dared go into the jungle either, tor it
would be literally walking into the jaws
of death. Men did not dare TO set foot
into the jungle except in parties of a
dozen or more.
"Of course the people stopped going
out after night, but the first thing any
body knew the old man-eater came and
took man right out of Doraypore, and
got away with him. There were big
patches of thick jungle about, and for
all the natives could do the tiger was
safe enough. They hadn't gun Of any
kind that they could have killed him
with.
| Invent out three times, think, with
a lot of good trackers and beaters from
the villages, and we tried our best to
bag the brute, but he was too smart for
us.
"Well, things went from bad To worse
until finally one day party OF men
came up here post-haste to bring me
word that the night before the man
eater had actually carried of the grown
up daughter of the headman of little
village close TO DOraypore. She was
seized on her own doorstep, just after
dark, and carried of right before her
mothers eyes. The headman begged
me to come down and try once more to
kill the brute. Well, of course drop
ped everything, got my rifle ready
had only one good one then-and went
down to DOTaypOre.
"The villagers had marked lin down
as closely as they dared in expectation
of my coming, and they knew very
nearly where he was, so early the next
morning, with a dozen OF the best
trackers and about fifty beaters, we set
out. heard afterward that all the rest
of the villagers went to their temples
that day to ask their gods to give us
good luck.
"The trackers soon led us TO large
atch of thick, matted jungle liz which
the tiger was thought to be lying. We
posted several men up in trees to watch
the tiger whenever he ran and mark
him down. After getting up little,
low, scrubby tree with two trackers,
close to the point where we thought the
tiger would break cover, we gave the
signal to the beaters at the upper end OF
the thicket, and the beat began. The
men worked along slowly, keeping well
together for safety, not making too
much noise, but quite enough TO scare
the tiger. The beaters worked along
the edge of the patch, and before they
had gone more than half way down, the
man-eater skulked out of the bushes ut
the lower end. expected him TO come
close to my tree, and he did start for the
nearest cover, which was beyond us,
lust As we thought he would, but before
he got within anything like fair range
he suddenly changed his course, and
made off rapidly in another direc-
tion. lie twigged us, you see, and pro-
posed to give LIS II good wide berth.
drew up and blazed away at him as he
ran--iust for luck-one barrel after an
other, but taking all disadvantages TO-
gether, 1 missed both times, and the
brute bolted off at a lively gait, growl-
ing at us until he disappeared.
"After that we had TO track him, and
it was nearly three hours before we
finally lodged him in another jungle
patch. 1t was about the hottest part Of
the day, and he didn't like to move, but
the beaters finally drove him out. This
time he came out precisely where we
thought he wouldn't, and being clear
out Of our reach, he skulked of without
my even firing at him.
"He lei as fine chase the rest Of
that day until late in the afternoon.
just as We were talking about giving
up the hunt for that day, and going
home, one of the markers in tall tree
nearest the hills got terribly excited
about something, and began to wave
his arms about like a maniac, and yelled
out to US, pointing toward the jungle in
the direction the tiger had gone. Pres
emily We saw cloud Of dust of that
way, aud little later herd of cattle,
rushing wildly along road leading
from the jungle toward DOraypore. We
supposed the cattle had met the tiger
and stampeded OH the spot. As quickly
as he could, the marker slid down oui
Of his tree aud came running toward u:
at the top OF his speed. He came Or
painting and perspir,ng, and what Dc