Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1886-04-30
I'm AT THE DEATH"

There were three OF US chumming to-
gether in solitary little hole in the
jungle, not SO very far~-as one counts
distance in India-from Secunderabad.
We were Cooper's Hill young men; and
fate and the government had given us
a chance OF distinguishing ourselves
and extinguishing our fellow creatures
by the making OF branch railway in
Guiding a bridge and a tunnel. So
there were thee of us; and a. right jol-
ly time we had on the whole. Our
bungalow was a real work of art, COW
cred with creepers, by which I do not
mean to insinuate centipedes, of which
however, there was also agood few, but
jessamine, plumbago a climbing moss
which one of us had rescued from the
tangle Of the jungle, and coaxed to live
in g. more civilized pesition-besides
many other lovely specimens. To
save our valuable time, we generally
addressed each other by our initials.
Mine, unfortunately, spelt NJ. A. G.,
to which my companions, in moments
of hilarity, sometimes added second
course of p. /. E. Twas the eldest of
| the trio.
We had not been very long at our
branch-line work when was laid low
with an exhausting attack of jungle
fever and agus. My friends E. S. P.
and H. F. by turns nursed me with g.
tenderness and care for which I can
never be sufficiently grateful. Ipulled
| through, thanks to them; but since
that time, have been subject to rather
severe fits of ague, from one OF which l
was recovering at the time the Incl
dent happened I wish to tell you about.
1t had been an absolutely broiling
day, and we had been driven to the
| verge of insanity between the heat and
the flies. We were reclining after our
! days work, on our basket sofas. on
the veranda, in thec cool of the evening,
| putting away solemnly and silently at
| our brier-root pipes, when it suddenly
struck us that a group of native work
men, who were experimenting the
cooking of their evening meal in cor
ner OF our very improvised sort of
| compound, must have received some
exciting intelligence. Being young and
| sportively inclined, we were all three
fellows of one idea, and that idea was
''tigers."
"Just call to that gaping fool and
ask him what's up" suggested I, in
washed-out voice.
est. John" shouted E. S. P, whose
voice carried farther than either of
ours, clapping his hands loudly at the
= same time, to attract the attention
OF the gabbling group, and up came the
tallest, thinnest native to be met in
very long days ride. We had christ.
ened this man est. John" first, be-
cause he wore the most fearfully and
wonderfully made cameps hair gar
ment that civilized eyes ever looked
upon; and secondly, because he was
so desperately lean and lank, we were
certain that he must feed on either
locusts or grasshoppers; which are
both. supposed to be a very anti.
fat diet.
! Up, then, came this mysterious
co0lie, and with many salaams, much
gesticulation and showing the whites
of his eyes, he informed us that there
was a most bloodthirsty man-eater
lurking in the neighborhood, close by,
at our very door! Hooked nervous
ly round, not enjoying the idea of be-
ing caught by Monsieur Maneater
armed only with a brierwood pipe. E.
and II. at once appeared to be seized
with St. Vitus's danceso absurdly and
HISTORICALLY active had they suddenly
become.
"Where was he last SEEM" Chow
large was he?" "What village was
the scene of his last meal?" Chow
many people was he known to have
eaten?" "Who brought the news?"
"Send him up to be questioned"
St. John went away, and in few
minutes reappeared, accompanied by
a native postman, who, it seemed,
knowing that the railway Sahibs were
partial to tiger, had kindly dropped
in with the intelligence. Wefound out
all we could from the man and re-
warded him with some money and TO-
bacco. ~
The last victim was g. poor native
woman, who had crept into the cor
ner of the veranda of a bungalow some
! miles away and fallen asleep, from
which, poor soul, she was roughly
| awakened, and then half carried, half
dragged to clump of thick jungle
grass and bushes about two and a
half miles from where we were. The
postman's eyes and teeth glistened
with sympathetic pleasure as he saw
how keen and eager the other two fell
lows were to be after the brute. Twas
out. of it altogether, as I could not
trust my shaky hands with rifle in
such q case of life or death, SO I look
ed on and listened to all their sug-
gestions and arrangements with the
deepest interest. = '....5 r. q
THAT poor old bag of bones is not
likely to have afforded him much OF q
gorge =" said III. "He may turn up
|. on our veranda tonight, boys, to see
If he can find some light refreshment
here
4"He will get some black pepper,
which may not agree with him. said
p. s. r, who had gone into what we
called our armory and brought out his
rifle, which he began to clean and make
ready for very active service.
By this time darkness had closed in
round us, With that small respect for
twilight which 50 bothers the enter
prising traveller in foreign lands. The
servants and workmen had dispersed
to their various Affiliations, and our
white headed native factotum was.
standing before rs announcing dinner
}5s' Hush! 3 said HI, putting his finger.
mp m q commanding way and listening
inteftly Didn't either Of you hear
something leap over the wall
%, bother your imaginat ion-Im