The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1886-06-24
Moonje wanted me to go and kill
Z Ii =.

Moonie wanted me to 60 and kill
'maneater,' but l didn't like leaving
him.
""Then you go, old boy said he for
DR.. Johnson came in just as you left,
and says Pm twice the man ] was
yesterday; I'll got along we'll enough
with book and q cheroot or two"
"And may take your double bar
relied breech-loader?"
"Of course; anything l have,
Monsoon. Johnson says Moonje has
been full OF tigers ever since the last
Rajah took to preserving them, and
made it death to kill one; but for
Gods sake, Monsoon, take care OF
yourself Those man-eaters are no
joke, and if were you / would ride to
Poonahjar and get Simpson and Dever
to go too
".No,' said l, 'Twentyman. This
is an affair of danger, and I'll stalk
the beast alone. There shall be no
Englshman but myself to share the
glory
"'You are plucky fellow. Monsoon
said Twentyman. AS you like, but
for my own part, I'd rather have one
Englshman than thousand OF those
noisy devils, with their Internal drums
aud horns. They'd spoil an angels
shooting
1.-THE rest of that day spent in pre-
pairing for the tiger campaign at Moon
je. l put on my redbrown shooting
coat, made of stuff of that peculiar
dry leaf color usually worn by Indian
tiger hunters, and which | was the
first to introduce into the presidency.
The plan OF this coat was my own III
vention; it had fourteen pockets, each
designed for a special purpose, and new
er used for any other. 1t held caps,
gun picker, tigers fat Progressing locks,
spare nipples, gun-screws small boot
Jack 1.-THE use of which will tell you
presently "a knife with sixteen blades,
creased patches, iron bullets, cartridg-
es, a pocket revolver, hook, a dried
tongue, fusees, a sketch book, cigar
case, powder horn, small key bu
gle, camp stool, and a few other
items, useful to man of several re-
sources.
LAS this white tiger l was to fight
had escaped the native pitfalls, poison,
spring guns, and other strategems of
the crafty natives OF thejungle village,
felt that at last / had met q foeman
worthy OF my arm. and prepared for
a gigantic effort. filled Ramchunder's
howdah with tulwahs (keen native
swords), double barrelled guns, rock
cts and boar spears; SO that, keeping
that sagacious animal near me fasten
ed to tree, could return to him at
any time for fresh weapons and for
lunch; for, even in my enthusiasm for
the chase, did not forget some cold
fowls and two or three bottles OF
champagne, ETC.; my khansamah, or
butler, was to sit in the howdah and
attend to the commissariat and gener
al stores.
"The day came. Ifelt q strange glow
of pleasure mingled with a strange
presentiment of danger which 1 could
not shake off, do what might. How
ever, said nothing to Twentyman,
who wished me every success. and Off
l went on Ramchunder, who seemed
proud to share in the adventure; which
was more than the cowardly khansa-
man was, for his teeth shook like cas-
tanets, and he dropped a bottle of
bitter beer in sheer nervousness IN
packing. At last we were ready.
"Juhlde jaon Ego quick cried |
| to the mahout; and off trotted old
Ramchunder to the side of the Moon
lie Jungle, where all the beaters had as
sembled.
eff you'll believe me, even at the
taking OF Mooltan there wasn't such g.
gol mol Il am again talking Hindo-
stanee-I mean, in pure English, row
as when about 200 of the native tel
lows began to break into the jungle Of
praus trees and korinda shrubs, firing
matchlocks, yelling like fends broke
loose, rafting metal pans, ringing bells
md blowing horns; while half a dozen
| OF the boldest and most active of the
heaters were sent on to climb trees
and give notice if the man-eater stole
away in their direction. It was ar
ranged that l was to lie in wait, with
Ramchunder, opposite to one OF the
most tigerish places; q crossing over a
| dry nullah, or ravine, where three ma
tive postmen had been carried off on
consecutive days by the same tiger.
|
weighed upon me as soon as | found
myself alone with that miserable funky
old khansamah, who did nothing but
mutter prayers from the Koran and
look at his amulet of tigers claws. l
tell you, sir, all sorts of disagreeable
anecdotes came fermenting up in my
mind. thought of how Major Bun
sen, in the Forty-third, had died in
four hours OF lockjaw from q scratch
he received from a tigers claws; and
of how Captain Charters, of the
Fourth Light Infantry, was found
dead in the jungle from a tiger bite.
II had been particularly careful with
Dostee Pooloo, the captain OF the
bearers, as to tigers, for these rascals
generally frequent the same spot, and
I had every reason to suppose that
should soon have my hands full.
"Dostee Pooloo, my boy said l.,
handing him cheroot for the niggers
like you to be civil), 'be sure and drive
everything that is in the jungle SOU
westerly, for if | am far away from
Ramchunder and the guns, when they
break covert, there'll be q blank space
left for me at the mess-table to-mor-
row. When I said this, Dostee Poo
loo showed all his box of teeth, and l
saw that he was game to do just what
| wished, so long as he hadn't to fight
the tiger himself.
"Having planted my old khansamah
with Ramchunder and the cold fowls,
champagne, and the doubled barrelled
rifles near an Old palm tree, with strict
;njunctions not to move, ] stole off
down the nuliah whish- whish, as the
natives say-which means very gen.
thy.
II suppose I had not gone more
than 800 yards from where left the
khansamah, before a path to the
right, trodden down as if by wild bears
through a tract OF tall, dry, dusty jun
gle grass, burnt by the sun to pale
straw color, attracted my attention.
The heaters seemed to rouse nothing,
and l began to think the story of the
white tiger all @ humbug and a sham.
aThe path led on past a little tope
| Of eeooanHt palm, strung with fruit.
Curiosity aid g. natural love OF ad.