The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1889-07-20
missed the grove entirely. and Just as

missed the grove entirely, and just a.
the flood-gates of heaven opened
dashed into native hut on the edge
OF clearing. | did not see the hui
until close on it, and entered 1t suppos.
ing it to be inhabited. Even when
called aloud and got no response, and
know by the sound of my voice that the
hut had been abandoned, | reasoned
that | was on the outskirts of the
village. and that my companions had
taken shelter in huts near by.
The storm had long beon gathering
and its blackness brought night at once.
AS soon as the lightning began to play
| could see the interior of tho hut by
the flashes. There was only one room,
with the usual mud floor, and the only
article left behind was hamper, such
as the natives strap to their backs To
carry loads. This stood in corner,
and l supposed it contained some per-
sonal effects to be carried away ut the
owners convenience. Had | not seen
this hamper, and thereby got the idea
that the hut had just been vacated, ]
should not have dared cross it and sit
down on the floor with my back to the
wall to wait for the storm to cease, as
every hut is taken possession of by
| serpents as soon as abandoned. The
| roof was in pretty good repair, and ]
had nothing to worry about. The thun-
der and lightning were soon over, but
the rain continued to fall for at least
two hours. Then it ceased almost in a
moment, and the clouds rolled away
and allowed a new moon to show its
face.
The remainder of the party had taken
shelter under the trees, and as soon as
the rain ceased they came out into the
open and began to call for me. was
resting easy and half asleep when
heard the first call. and at the second
| drew my feet under me and stif1ly
pulled myself up. AS l did so l heard
snarl and a growl, followed by the
fall of the hamper and rush, and |
was thunderstruck to see tiger spring
put of the door, AS subsequent investi-
cation proved, he was crouched be-
tween the hamper and the wall, and
had been in hiding all the time / was
in the hut Why did he not attack mep
He might have been frightened at the
storm, as many savage beasts are, or
my boldness in walking in upon him
he recovered his courage as soon as he
left the hut. The search party was
directly in his path to cover, and he
charged right among the men and
knocked one of the natives down, and
stopped long enough to inllict bite
which resulted in death.
On subsequent trip, a year later,
and further to the south, / had an
other odd encounter with a tiger. 1t
ought to have cost me my life, and
why it did not no tiger hunter has
ever been able to satisfactorily explain.
We had been in the village of Syderpul
for three days, three white men and
dozen attendants. seeking to destroy
man-eater who had created great
havoc, when the beast came out of
man seated in front of hut not two
hundred feet from us, and reached
cover with his prey before we got the
alarm. We raised a great shout and
discharged our rifles after him, but he
replied with a growl and kept on. In
this case, and in this alone. | saw the
tigers method of carrying off a human
being. He seized the man by the
shoulder and gave the body twist
until the weight of it rested on his
back, and he trotted Off under the
burden as if it did not weigh ten
pounds. There was a howl all over
the village, and the old mans relatives,
who were many, set up such wailing
as made evening hideous.
We could do nothing that night, but
were astir early next morning. and
were not long in tracing the tiger to
dense thicket in the bed of ravine
mile away. He had not carried the
body there. however. Being either
sharp set with hunger or over-bold in
self-confidence, he had stopped within
forty rods of the village for his horrible
feast, and only some fragments OF
clothing and few bones were left tc
tell the poor mans fate. Our beaters
not only found the tiger at home, but
he was defiant and ready for fight.
Twice he charged up the steep bank to
find that his tOrmentors had taken
refuge in trees and escaped him. He
finally retired to the center of the
thicket to bide his time. We flung
stones at him, and fired several bullets
into his retreat, but while he growled
his rage he planned to wait until he
could get an advantage. The leader
of our party was afraid the beast would
sneak off unseen, and he stationed us
to prevent such an occurrence. Invent
to the head of the ravine, and there
found great rock. took my station
on the left of it, LOOKING down upon the
thicket, and the beaters redoubled their
exertions to drive the tiger out
had been at my station about ten
when felt, rather than heard,
the presence of something, and ]
about to find that man-eater
before me and hardly arms
length away. We looked square into
each others eyes, but that was the only
effort l could make. / was seemingly |
frozen to the earth. l had been per-