The Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1885-1886, 1886-07-12

Forearm of the Beast Usual Mode OF
Capturing Food-Man- Eaters.
A short, thick-set man with dark mus
taHhe, III which the gray hairs were beginning
to appear pretty thickly, sat i'll the rotunda
of the Palmer house the other evening. TO
! look at him one would not think there was
anything very remarkable i'll his appearance,
but he was all the SAINT one of the lest known
sllkaIris of the far East, famous throughout
India and Burnlah as the most deadly tip.s
shot since the days of Gordon Cumming
Wherever the camp fire is bit and the days
! sport is helng talked over some aneciote Of
| Jack Alger Is sure 10 be introduced
| FIRST ACQUAINTANCE WITH The TIGER
My first acquaintance with the tiger in
his natural state, said Mr.. Alger, in reply Ia
a request fer a yarn "was made in the
p,ngh's of the Teiai. They are hard beasts to
| tackle, especially the man caters, and those
who have engaged in tiger shooting, either
on foot or on elephants, know full well how
many shots the brute sometimes takes.
Where population is exceedingly scarce the
tiger loses much Of his skulking, hiding dis
position, and attacks his prey in the open.
Knew once of a lad heriing cattle who was
pursued over Il meadow and through the herd,
and was killed by the tiger, who lad begun
TO eat hun, when scared away by the villagers.
| saw the body; il lay in the midst of an
open field, at least 3D0 yards from any cover.
1t was discnboweled, with the chest torn
vide open, but the face was Is that If one
who lis III a pleasant sleep
The enormous forearm of the tiger has at
tracted attention You have seen a cat ,,at
dead mouse or the face Of q dog that was
teasing her, AMI it Is easy to understand what
tremendous blow Il tiger could give in the
same manner, but | believe il "A mistake TO
suppose that he strikes down his prev with
his paw. He strike in self defense and when
fighting, hut not whom Sej4ing his victim. |
have seen many carclssts OF deer, cattle buf-
ialoes, and horses which hai been killed by
tigers, and they all had the same appearance
-four deep holes at the back of the neck
made by the animals Incsor teeth; no other
mark, and of course if the tiger had begun 10
Iced on the body it was extensively laccratcd
And if the prey had Struggled much and had
succeeded in dragging the tiger a few wards
the chest and fOrelegs would bear tn; ilnprss-
SION of the claws and tho tremendous grin.
but these, as Far as my experience gu,S, were
exceptional cases.
ut is evident that The tiger in Selling his
prey, ruShes onto its back, grips the neck
with his Jaws as with Il wise, and with
hls arms continuing the animals struggles. lies
there upon its victim until 1T is suffo,aie,l.
With human being it Is different A tiger
has been seen To seize and carry oil man hy
the neck, OF the arm, or thigh, mdlirerently.
A SEARCH IN THE JUNGLE
81 was out once after a tiger on foot and
having wounded him severely, was searching
for him in the jungle with a number Of
heaters. Three times we came upon hint and
each time he broke cover by charging through
the mob of us Once he struck a man on the
chest, knocking him over, and scratching HIM
severely. Next time he seized one of the
heaters in his jaws, by the thigh. giving him
a rapid shake and passing on. But these are
all eases in which the animal WAS acting in
self defense, or i'll retaliation What | have
said before refers to its usual mode of cap
turing food
we are told in natural history books that
the tiger disdaiHs to touch carrioa. This is
not so. The same thing is said in regard to
the eagle, and Is equally erroneous The bon
also is, believe, ms little scrupulous as any
other cat in this particular. ] have told YOU !
how tho tiger captures and kills his prev.
When dead, if the body I've convenient To his |
covert, he lets it remain; if it he too far out |
In the open 1t is dragged further toward the |
jungle and there lies until dawn Some. |
times the body is dISembowled after being |
a little way, and is then drawn |
away TO some hidden spot A tiger has been |
seen TO disembowel a goat, holding it by the |
throat, lying on its back underneath the |
body and ripping it open by repeated kicks |
with its hind claws. He appears to prefer a |
rump steak, or a round, to any other Dor.
uon. These are almost always the first part |
eaten, then the ribs, rarely the forequarters
and never, within my knowledge, the head
Il cannot call to mind having met iii any |
book wSh an accurate description Of the tigers |
cries. The snarling and growing of the ami
NAL when stirred up with long pole is
familiar TO all who have visited menacerie,
and appears TO be the only noise the creature
makes when in state of captivity; but in his
native forest, in the long nights of the cold
season when the woods on the hills seem to
deep III the moonlight. the tiger, striding along
n his native forest news like an Old tom cat
or rather like a hundred old tom cats in
'hoius. 1t is loud and harsh and grating
meow. 1t is seldom heard more than twice or
jhrIce, WheIIthe tiger is on the lookout for
'ood usually in the evening, he lies silent and
notionleSS i'll some dense covert close to water,
where animals resort to drink, and when one
u these approaches near enough he bounds
'tit on his prey i'll perfect silence, or with an
'hr'lpt- sonorous grunt, terribly startling.
winch appears to paralyze the victim and de
,rive 1t OF all power fly or resist. "-C Chicago
Herald