Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1885-01-14
THE MAN.EATER OF DORAYPORE

According to their habits in procuring
their food, tigers are divided, by the
people of India, into three classes. The
least harmful is the 'gamc-killer," who
lives in the hills and dense forests where
game is abundant and leads the life of a
bold, honest hunter. He feeds chiefly
upon deer and wild hogs, retreats readily
from man, and so long as he remains q
game-killer, he is real blessing to the
ryots who have hard work to protect
their crops from the droves of deer and
wild hogs.
The "cattle-liftcr" is big, fat, lazy
thief, too indolent to pull down fleet.
footed wild animals, who prowls around
the villages after nightfall, or the edge
of the jungles where the cattle are
herded, 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 a
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 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 man-eater.
Tigers who prey upon human beings
are usually old cattle-lifters, who, from
long acquaintance with man, have
ceased to fear him, and find him the
easiest prey to overcome and carry off.
A large proportion of the man-eaters are
NANCY, superannuated old tigers or
tigresses whose teeth and claws have
become blunt from long usage, and who
find il too great an exertion to kill and
drag off bullocks.
Thanks to our English sportsmen,
and improved fire. arms, man-cating
tigers are now rare compared with
what their numbers once were. 1t is
not possible now for a single tigress to
cause the desertion of thirteen villages
and throw out of cultivation a tract OF
country fifteen miles square, as once oc.
Cured; nor for another to kill one hun
dred and twenty-seven persons before
being laid low. Yet, in spite of zeal.
Gus English sportsmen and brecch-load.
ing rifles, the man-eaters still devour
over eight hundred human beings in
India every year.
1t is but natural that in the tiger
country one should hear many very in.
tcresting tiger stories. II once hap.
pened that at the close of glorious
days Demonstrating on tho 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 il, won't youP''
said i, with hungry interest. Had he
| many people to account forp"
Thirteen, IL remember rightly
All, he was famous brute in his day
They called him the 'Man-eater Of Dor.
aypore.' That was several years ago
and was quite a youngs;er then" he
added, with smile, as he stroked hi:
long, jet-black beard. "Do you really
want to hear all about itP'
Eyes, everything you can remem
ber."
| Well, the Doraypore man-eater wa.
the terror of little village of that name
and several other villages, too, for thai
matter, right down below here, not faI
from the foot of this very range. w,
had q small timber depot there once
and used to run down to it every two
or three weeks for day or so at ,
time. There were plenty of cattle lift
ers about and ever so many cattle
killed, but they were cheap and nobod,
made any great fuss about tigers unit
one fine day one of the brutes made ,
mistake and carried off herd-boy in
stead Of bullock
| Then there was a great scare. i
wasn't so much the loss of the hcrd-bo,
that the people cared for, for one nativ'
more or less don't matter much, bu
you know when a tiger once begins :,
eat men, somehow he never stops unit
he gets dose of cold lead.
Sure enough, 1t wasn't long afte
that until two or three wood-cutter
were picked of at the edge of the jungle
and then the brute got holder, came on
nearer the villages, and carried off tw
or three women.
''Mind you, all this wasn't done 4
any one ncighborhood, but in half
dozen different localities, sometime
miles apart. One evening the brut
might be seen near certain village
and perhaps before the next mornin
he would pouncc upon some poor wrctc
five or six miles of.
when tho people saw what res,
Lee and hungry brute that fellow was