The Arizona sentinel., 1886-07-03

the daytime, will slink off with
 surly growl of fear. This rule,
 however, certainly does not hold
 good with equal force after nightfall.
 Then wild animals are on the prowl
 after prey, and they seem to be per-
 fectly aware of the advantage they pos
 sess over human being of a vision spe-
 cially adapted by nature to penetrate the
 pitchy darkness of the night. Not only,
 therefore, is there a greater probability
 of travellers meeting with dangerous
 animals when passing through the for
 est after sunset, but the tiger and his
 comrades of the jungle are then bolder
 and more to be feared; and though the
 tiger be coward at heart, yet, under
 cover of darkness, and perhaps pinched
 with hunger, the sound of voices in the
 dead stiffness of the night, entices the
 brute to approach the roadway; and a
 string of defenceless natives, passing
 within few yards of his lurking place,
 still further awakens his evil instincts,
 The temptation proves too great, and
 with bound, he springs upon one of
 the hapless travellers and carries off his
 shrieking victim.
 In the year 1883, no fewer than forty
 seven thousand four hundred and
 seventy-eight head of cattle were
 devoured by wild animals; and there
 can be no doubt that the
 tiger is extremely mischievous in this
 respect, and in consequence lays very
 severe tax on natives inhabiting vil-
 lages bordering upon large forests, or
 anywhere near to his stronghold. A
 pair of royal tigers will probably kill
 and devour from ten to twelve bullocks
 of large size within a months time;
 and a tigress with two or three nearly full-grown cubs is still more destructive.
 The latter, not content with pulling down cattle for food, will often, out of pure mischief, destroy two and three at a time.
 There are tigers which live almost en- tirely on large game, such as deer wild pigs, seldom approaching villages or the haunts of man; but, unfortu- nately, the great ajority depend almost entirely on cattle for food; and this is not to be wondered at. The ruminants of the forest are timid, restless crea- lures, ever on. the lookout against dan ger, so that it happens constantly that, in spite of the crafty, nOiseless approach of their striped enemy, he is discovered ere he can creep to within springing distance. The tiger, however, is often more successful when lying in wait hard by some pool of water in the iungles. After long hot day, towards nightfall. deer, parched with thirst, are often impatient to reach the precious water, and incautiouslY approach with out perceiving their hidden enemy.
 But the tiger soon discovers that he can provide himself with food with far less trouble and exertion by'preying on cattle. Not only is stalking them easy when the herd is grazing on the outskirts of the jungle, but often - unlike deer, which bound away almost immediately on discovering their lurking enemy-a herd of cattle will stand spell-bound, paralyzed with fear, thelr whole atten- ton fixed upon the striped marauder groveling along the ground and rapidly approaching to within springing dis trance. Then, when too late to make their escape, the foolish creatures turn to fly; but with bound, the tiger is upon them, and seizing a victim in his terrible grip, brings it to the ground, and kills it with one wrench of his DOW erful jaws.
 The Asiatic lion, from certain char acteristics, such as the almost total want of mane in the male, and its smaller size, was formerly held to be of differ ent species from the lion of Africa; but are now inclined to consider the two animals identical. Little is known of the habits of the Indian lion, and except in Clutch, Guzerat, and one or two other spots in the Bom- bay presidency, it has become extremely rare. Sportsmen who have met with and shot the animal, describe it as dan gerous when wounded and followed up; but, like the.tiger, unless provoked, the Indian lion almost invariably endeavors to make of on being disturbed. Nor does the animal appear to be nearly so bold and dangerous after nightfall, as is the case with the African lion. A crouching lion in long grass or bushes, even in comparatively bare, open ground, is more difficult to distinguish than the tiger, on account of the tawny hide exactly matching the color of the surroundings.
 It may be here mentioned that it is to suppose that the male lion in its wild state, carries the long flowing mane that we see in specimens shut up in cages. The lion often inhabits dense, thorny thickets, and his mane, from constant 'tcembing." and wear and tear when passing through prickly bushes, becomes shortened in measure, and wants the flowing luxuriance of hair so marked in our caged specimens. The Indian lion, though an inveterate cat-1 like his striped brother, sell dom, if ever, takes to devouring human beings.
 The panther and leopard both in a great measure bear similar character to the royal tiger; they seldom will attack man, unless provoked, driven to bay or wounded, when like all the larger fclida, they be- come highly dangerous. and lives are often lost in their pursuit on foot. h. stances now and again occur of both these animals showing unusual ferocity, and taking to man-killing; but for this habit is exceptional The panther of Central India-a large, powerful beast-is held to be by many experienced sportsmen, as also by na- tive hunters, a more dangerous animal to cope with than the tiger, and both panther and leopard ascend trees with facility, 8 power fortunately denied to the tiger.
 Not many years ago, an officer seated in a tree in company with a native, fired at a panther passing below. the creature severely. The panther sprang up the trunk of the tree, dragged the unfortunate sportsman