The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1885-01-10
THE MANEATER OF DORAYPORE.

According to their habits in procuring
their food, tigers are divided, by the
people of India, into three classes. The
least harmful ID the ''game-killer, who
lives in the hills and dense forests where
game is abundant and leads the life of
bold, honest hunter. He feeds chiefly
upon deer and wild hogs, retreats readily
from man, and so long as he remains a
game killer, he is real blessing to the
ryots who have hard work to protect
their crops from the droYes of deer and
wild hogs.
The s'cattle-lifter'' is q big, fat. law
thief, too indolent to pull down fleet
footed wild animals, who prowls around
the villages after nightfall, or the edge
of the inngles where the cattle are
herdod, and kills a bullock about every
four or five days. The annual loss to the
cattle owners, whose herds are thus
preyed upon by cattle-lifters, is very
great, since each tiger destroys, in
year, cattle worth about four hundred
dollars.
But even the most industrious cattle
litter sinks into insignificance in the
presence of the fierce ''man-eater," the
scourge and terror of the timid and de-
fenseless natives. Until a tiger has once
had his fangs in human flesh, he has an
instructive fear of man, and unless
brought to bay will nearly always re-
treat from his presence. But with his
first taste of human blood that fear van
ishes forever. His nature changes, and
he becomes a man. eater.
Tigers who prey upon human beings
are usually old eattle-lifters, who, from
long acquaintance with man, have
ceased to fear him, and find him the
easiest prey to overcome and carry of.
A large proportion of the name eaters are
NANCY. superannuated old tigers or
tigresses whose teeth and claws have
become blunt from long usage, and who
find it too great an exertion to kill and
drag off bnllocks.
Thanks to our English sportsmen,
and improved fire. arms, man-eatlno
tigers are now rare compared with
what their numbers once were. Il is
not possible now for single tigress to
cause the desertion of thirteen villages
and throw out of cultivation a tract of
country fifteen miles square, as once CO.
Cured; nor for another to kill one hum
dred and twenty-seven persons before
being laid low. Yet, in spite of zeal
GUS Engl fish sportsmen and breech-load-
ing rifles, the man-eaters still devour
over eli hit hundred human beings in
India every year.
1t is but natural that in the tiger
country one should hear many very in
teresting tiger stories. 1t once hap
pened that at the close of glorious
days Demonstrating on the Animallai |
Hills with my old friend, Theobald, we
sat before a cheerful campfire in the |
Jungle over our chocolate and sweet |
meats, with our native followers all |
about us, discussing the events of the
day,
''Did you ever kill man-eater, Theo-
baldp" asked presently.
yes
Tell me all about it, won't your"
said l, with hungry interest "Had he
many people to account forp"
Thirteen, if / remember rightly.
Alb, he was a famous brute in his dayi
They called him the 'Man-eater of Dor
ayporc. That was several years ago,
and | was quite youngsser then, he
added, with smile, as he stroked his
long. jet-blaok beard. do you really
want to hear all about itP''
''Yes, everything you can remem-
Well. the Doraypore man-eater was
the terror of little village of that name,
md several other villages, too. for that |
natter, right down below here, not far ,