The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1886-05-27
SNAKE AND TIGER.
The Thrilling Encounter Witnessed BY
Hunter in the Indian Jungles.


Hunter in the Indian Jungles.
A gentleman, tiger-hunting in the
jungles of India, gives the following de-
scription of thrilling night-scene he
once. witnessed. A woodman, he says,
had been killed by tiger. While
beating up the jungle, we came upon
the body. Knowing that the tiger
would return for its prey at night, / in
sisted that the woodman's body should
lie there, while I and my Indian serv-
ants took up our positions to wait and
watch for his coming, that might
shoot him.
1t must have been about ten o'clock,
and | was doing, when my arm was
grasped by Chiniah. The moon was
shining, and looking round, I found
Chiniah's teeth chattering, and his face
as pale as a corpse. The other man, with
his hands over his face, sat trembling. /
then looked in the direction where
Chiniah's Mortified gaze was fixed, and
l, too, was taken aback. The body of
the wood-cutter was slowly moving to
and fro, the arms and legs occasionally
lifted up, whilst no agent was visible.
1t made my blood run cold, and 1 felt
a sensation as if cold water was being
poured slowly down my back along the
spine. The contortions continued, and
| knew not what to make of them.
''Did | not tell you, Sahib,' whispered
Chiniah, chow wrong it was to sit up
over the body of Hindoo? We should
have carried him to the village and had
him burnt, but now we are all dead
men; he will arise presently, and kill
us.
"Hold your tongue, you fool" re-
piled. s'The dead do not come to life
again in this world; there is some trick
being played upon u.s.
Here jackal came along the ravine
and out into the open, and approached
the corpse, but getting within a few
yards, put his tail between his legs,
and with a frightened cry of the Pheeal,
ran for his life.
'sWill you believe me now. Sahib?"
said Chiniah.
| was getting nervous. The body
moved backward; its face before hid
den, became exposed There was not
cumbed. | believed they had tainted.
Watching intently, | saw glide across
the chest of the dead man the head of
an immense rock snake. 1t was wider
than large plate across, and its tongue
was licking the corpse all over. The
movements of the limbs were now fully
explained. My feeling of horror dis
appeare |. The movements of the snake
were inaudible, but could see the dis
gusting process of covering the body
with saliva. We waited patiently, feel
ing assured that the tiger would make
his appearance, and / was curious to
know what view he would take of this
| infringement on his prey. After fully
two hours work, the snake opened his
horrid jaws and began to swallow the
body head foremost. Now python S
teeth are so arranged that once any
| thing enters his mouth, it can not be re-
jected again. Gradually the head and
neck disappeared. Then there was a
terrific roar andsa huge object seemed
to be hurled into the moonlight, and we
saw it was the tiger at full leap. The
infuriated brute dropped directly on the
| body of the woodman, and seized the
| python by the back of the neck. In
stantly the snakes huge body, in cir
cumference equaling mans, and
nearly thirty feet long, wound round
the tiger, in quick convulsive move
ments, and we could hear the bones
being crushed one after another. The
roar the tiger gave at the first squeeze
was appalling; but before long the roars
turned into means, the means into a
gurgling sound, and gradually they too
| ceased, while the contortions of the
snake continued for over an hour
Youths Companion.