Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-11-11
THE MANEATER.

every NOuANlN NhNN CNlSA. ssilh
Capt KinCardin, and of course | have
had my share of perilous adventures
To be a successful sportsman, in the
higher sense of the term, requires perfect
health and powers of endurance to start
with A man who can't tramp for ten
or twelve hours on stretch, fOrdmg
streams, climbing hills, dodging junglCs,
and wading swampS, is no good in the
game countries The next things re
Quired are nerve and coolness, although
the two generally go together. No sports
man of reputation will feel fiGttered
when you praise his nerve 1t is some
thing which comes natural to him.
When you have only one shot left, and a
rhinocerOs is bearing down upon YOU or
mad tiger is lashing his tail for n
spring, or lion is giving you warning
that he considers you his meat, you don t
want to make mistake. In The few
seconds left you, you want TO do just the
right thing. If You are the least ratified
your friends might as well write your
obituary notice.
Il went out from BengalOre in the fall
OF 1870 with party Of British officers to
hunt tigers. We, of course, intended Ia
knock over anything else in the shape of
game, but tigers were the main object.
We took the railroad for about 100
miles up the country, and then secured
carts and drivers and heaters at village
and drove 20 miles to range of wooded
hills, which were greatly cut up with gul-
lies and travcrsed by sew .ral small creeks
The nearest village was in a fertile valley
three miles from OuI camp. The in
habitants were preparing to leave ii rs
we reached the neighborhood. Two man
eating tigers had made their appearance
in the hills and created the greatest con
stcrnation Their first victim had been
seized from a family circle sitting
around fire just al dusk. He was a
boy about Is years old, and the beast
had seized him by the hip and trotted of
with him rs dog carries bone. She
was in no hurry, going at slow trOt,
and her mate covered her retreat and
menaCed the father as he shouted and
flung firebrands. The boys cries were
heard for long time, and next morning
many places were found along the trail
where he had Clutched the grass with
his hands and pulled ii up by the roots
He had been carried less than half n mile
and all that was found of his remains
were two or three of the larger bones and
some bloody fragments of clothing. The
villagers organized grand hunt to
either kill the tigers or drive them away,
but the result was the killing Of one man
and the wounding OF two others, the
beasts seeming rather to seek a conflict
than avoid one by running.
The hunt was abandoned and the vii
layers lived i'll state of terror for the
next week. The appearance of single
maneating tiger in the vicinity of "A ma
tive village creates more terror than fire
or flood or epidemic After tiger has
eaten three or four human beings he
seems to lose all his fear of man, and it is
a fact that he will eat no other meat IN
less reduced 10 fierce hunger. When the
natives would no longer 90 forth 10 give
this pair of tigers opportunities To seize
them the beasts invaded the village
The huts were frail structures, with doors
and windows guarded by blankets, and
the tigers had entered three different
places by night and carried off victims
A woman whose husband had been
seized related the circumstances with
great detail A light had been kept
burning to keep the beasts away, but as
the family of five were asleep on the
floor at midnight one of the great cats
sprang in at the window. which was un-
defended. This opening, as saw myself
was only about two feet square The
beast sprang over Il child to seize the
husband and father, gripping the man by
the right shoulder There WAS a heavy
blanket at the door. and the tiger had
not noticed that opening OF course all
the sleepers were at once aroused. and
ali set up great yelling and screaming
So far from the tiger being in the least
put out by the confusion, he took his
own time and paid no attention TO any
one but his victim. He pinned the man
down fat on his back for moment,
growing in low tone
Strike him with my swordr' called
the man to his wife, but she, poor thing
was too frightened to use the weapon, al
though it was at hand and sharp enough to
have inflicted great injury. With his free
arm the man caught up billet of wood
and belabored the tiger but the beast
took a firm hold, lifted the man up and
sprang for the opening. II was fully
seven feet from the floor, and both fell
back with a crash The tiger tried it
again, but with the same result. He
then changed his hold 10 the man :
lulOdlt LldAIt u bliLlu spllllk. anu dllCI
some hard work managed 10 get out with
his victim, though it seemed absolutely
impossible for him TO accomplish it.
This occurred on the night before our
arrival, and We found the window casing
covered with blood and showing the
marks of claws. Further than that the
spOor left by the beast as 1t dragged the
body away was plain TO be followed, and
we ran over it about half mile TO find
the spot where the victim had been eaten
We had camped, as told You. in the hills
about three miles from the village. The
facts have given were picked up in the
village by an officer and myself, we hay
ing galloped over TO buy milk and fowls
We were more likely to find the tigers
there than in the hills, and d native was
dispatched to inform our party that we
would remain in the village over night
As the place was surrounded by groves
and bits of jungle, it was hard TO say
from which direction the tigers made
their nightly approach. For this reason
my comrade. who was Lieut.. Harrington
of the Sixty eighth native infantry,
thought il best that we should post our
selves at opposite ends of the village
There was enough of the afternoon left in
which to erect platforms in two conven-
lent trees, and as the sun went down and
night fell upon Us every native retired
indoors, and we began our watch. We
had been told that the maneaters sent
out no warning of their approach by
roaring. as is often the case, but that
they came with great stealth. and no one
was aware of their presence until too late
TO escape.
There were few cowardly cur dogs
in the village, but none of these had been
molested by the tigers One of them
took a great liking TO me, and when
mounted to the platform to begin my
watch he lay down at the foot of the tree
| sc0lded at him, and flung three or four
broken branches at his head, but he re
fused to 90 away. II was a balmy even
ing, with plenty of stars but no moon.
One could have seen a man moving many
rods away, If he kept in the open, but it
was very dark under the trees, and the
gra IS in the openings was two feet high.
/ was close to the hut from which the
man had been dragged, but had not kept
my watch long before | realized that il