Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1886-09-09
THE BLACK TIGER.

Francisco tore his cigar from DE-
tween his lips and dashed 1t to the
ground.
"Ten hundred doubloous!" he cried
in an agony of impatience. "senor
Henrigo, it is impossible! You hear
me, Senior Henrigo, it is impossibp'
l kill him. Yes, kill him for one
doubloon. But catch him alivel
Non, non. Not any tigrero in Hon
duras can do that thing.
"You know how strong is this tiger
Nero-this black tiger. With one slap
OF his paw he kills me an OK. He is
big like horse, nimble like cat; he
| can lump like bird, and his claws
and teeth--they are cuchlllos-they
are crooked knives, with edges like a
razor" d.
a soft musical voice interrupted
| him.
"Buenas dias," it said, and Francis
co and myself turned at the same mo-
ment to recognize in the speaker lad
| named Guillermo, who had been work
ing with the gang of mahogany cutters
in the forest near the hacienda where
/ was stopping. He was apparently
not more than sixteen years OF age,
but his bare arms and legs were knot
ted with punches of muscle, and his
handsome face had an open, fearless
expression, seldom met with among
the poems or laborers of Central Amer
lea.
Good day." he repeated, "what is
the TALK"
"Folly," replied Francisco, "much
,oolishness. One tiger Nero ID kill
fourteen oxen in three weeks for Don
Josey Garay, here at the hacienda.
He is come into the pens and carry of
three calves; he is kill one herder, and
the whole hacienda is frightened at
him. know him. He is the biggest
tiger in all Honduras; and what do
you think Gulllermo? Don Henrigo is
give me five doubloons when / catch
him alive. Eli, how is that like you?
| am not kill him; no, am not even
scratch him. l am catch him in my
hands and Senior Henrigo give me five
doubloons."
The extravaganza OF the idea made
Francisco laugh. He was one of the
boldest "tigreros," or profession tiger
hunters, in Honduras, and with only
his spear had killed dozens of the
beasts which prey upon the herders'
oxen; but he had never before thought
OF capturing one of them alive, and
the idea seemed to him absurd.
But the boy, Guillermo, did not
laugh. -''--
Give doubloons" he said gravely;
chow much reals Is 80 much doub-
loons?"
"Six hundred"
He brought his right fist down into
the palm of his left hand with a sound
ing blow.
81 catch him for you, Senior Henri
co." he said quietly. "Not one scratch
he shall have. l know the patch of
sarsaparilla where he hides and to-
night / catch him. Six hundred realsl
Yes, Senior Henrigo, I catch him to-
night for 600 reals" And the boy
turned on his heel and vanished as
quickly as he had come, but not so
quickly that he failed to hear
Francisco's jeerinp cry: "You-a boy
catch tiger Nero alivef Carramba!
He will bite you in bits"
At o'clock that night Guillermo
was again at the hacienda.
1.-THE trap is built, Senior Henrigo,"
he said, quietly, "but have no bait.
| am only boy-I--and to coax the
tiger the trap will need one calf, one
young COW to cry and cry, so that the
tiger may hear it and come. am
only a boy-I-and / have no calf"
That's all right, Guillermo," said
at once, for liked the boys spirit,
and, while / doubted that he could do
that which so old and experienced a
tigrero as Francisco so declared i'm
possible, / was willing to aid him
to the extent of furnishing bait for his
trap.
"If you want to see Don Tiger walk
into the cage, it can be so," CUTLER
mo told me few minutes later, as he
laid the bawling calf which had pro-
cured from my friends herd across
his shoulders. There will be young
moon tonight, and / make youa nest
IN the vines high up in mahogany
tree, where you can see, but Tiger not
see you"
Good boy" / said heartily, "that
will suit me exactly.
When l had procured my rifle and
a light lunch from the hacienda, we
made our way to the sarsaparilla
jungle wherein the tiger lurked.
The trap proved to be an Enclosure
of logs, about seven feet long, by five
wide. and six high. The sides were
made otstrong young tree trunks firm
ly planted In theground close together.
The top was built into the sides by
notching the top and side timbers.
and the whole was so secured by wedges
and dovetails as to be solid as a rock.
In front-directly below the perch
which Guillermo soon built for us in a
mahogany tree over-run by yines-a
sliding door was raised and secured
by bar which passed along the top
OF the trap, and was so arranged
that a violent pull at the bait would
spring spindle which communicated
with the pole through a grapevine rope,
and send the heavy door, sliding in
its grooves, smoothly and swiftly
down to the grass.
Darkness came suddenly. The calf
kept up a continuous crying, and
made Guillermo-who was crouched
beside me-say more than once,
Poor calf Poor little COW! But il Is
better so, he would add, "better that
cali be killed, and tiger caught, SO he
can not kill so many more cows and
maybe people"
had just looked at my watch, and
saw that it was 10 o'clock, when a
shrill, walling cry broke the stiffness
OF the night, and made me iump SO
that the watch slipped from nv hand.
and would have fallen to the ground
out Tor the chain that held it. The
cry was repeated three times, and
each time 1t seemed more mournful
and bloodcurdling. 1t was not like
the roar OF a lion-rather, the cry of
anger OF an enormous cat.
For a moment the calls bawlinu
stopped, but presently it began again.
louder than before, and Guillermo
ciutched my arm and pointed through
8 nit in the vines to the grass in front
OF the trap.
A 1.-THE shape had suddenly leaped
out OF the shelter of the jungle and was
crouched before the trap door. Its
BODY seemed to be as big as the aver.
age horse, but its short legs and crouch.
ing position brought its belly to the
grass: It's tail moved slowly from side
to side, and its eyeballs glowed in the
hall darkness like live Goals.
In the moonlight the shape was
black as shadow.
z here re- ~~rrv shartas .ra